Ban the DH ! !

[shifter4]

MLB is once again under pressure to expand the abomination known as the
Designated Hitter , to the National League !

Instead , it should be abolished in the AL .

It changes the game in a way that is against Nature !

Abner Doubleday is whirling away ! !

Bah.....

Credit to Bob Walk of the Pittsburgh Pirates for the term " Ban the DH "

[Colgate Studebaker]

I'm with you Bill, get rid of the DH altogether. Unfortunately I gave up on major league baseball years ago and the DH is one of the reasons why. Remember Warren Spahn? A southpaw that could swing the bat, and actually hit well. He was a standout in the 50's for the Milwaukee Braves and actually had several games he won with his bat. I say let the pitchers re-learn how to hit and play the game as it was intended to. Bill

[t walgamuth]

I agree with expanding it. Let the old guys hit!

[jackb]

I'm going to talk a little heresy here and probably tee off some local folks up here(Mass)...... First off, compiling stats from different eras and thinking they're equivalent is silly. Second, and more to the point, I don't see the DH as a "real" baseball player. Especially so when determining MVP or other such designating monikers. Tell me , seriously...when Big Poppy is riding the bike in the locker room while his other 9 team mates are out on the field playing defensively (a "real" part of the game), should he be in the running for MVP ? HOF ? I don't think so. Yes, I know he can hit the ball along way, he's won a lot of close & crucial games......but he can't advance a base or even steal one, and probably for the last many years of his career, could not hold a glove and help out defensively. A good friend of mine told me something last season that impressed me: Baseball is the only game where the "Defense" controls the play. I think those are real factors in giving special monikers to a "ball" player. And while I'm on a rant, I thought this year's Super Bowl was one of the best, not because of the local boys (Pats), but because it showed the strategy of both defensive coordinators to shut down very good offenses. And lastly, before I get off my stump.....this is the 1st post on StoveHuggers..... don't know if its my last...Go Sox !

[paintim613]

This is why I am a NL fan all the way. DH in the AL is not real baseball IMHO.

[voxnut]

Agreed - it is going to be a dark day when the DH expands to the NL. It may make me lose interest in following baseball.

[jclary]

My wife is the true spectator sports fan in our family. However, even she rarely ever watches a complete baseball game. Too long, too boring, and we usually have more important things to do. I will have to remember to ask her what she thinks about the designated hitter. What's amazing about her is that by playoff time, she will somehow rattle off stats most of us don't know. When newspapers joined broadcast media in mostly promoting deviance, perversion, and political correctness...I decided to drop my subscription rather than support such garbage with my money.

Even though she no longer has a sports page section of the news...my wife finds the info for free on the internet. So she still amazes me with her sports knowledge.

Oh...and the newspaper tried to get me to subscribe again by throwing free papers in my yard. They stopped after I brought a case of littering against them.

[sweetolbob]

Considering high schools, colleges and most minor leagues are using the DH, it's either change to allow it or just have close to an automatic out batting ninth. I'm sure Abner can handle it, he seems to have watched the change from wool uniforms, the conversion to webbed trapper pocket gloves, protective equipment for catchers and elevated pitching mounds while remaining pretty still.

Bob

[StudeRich]

DH, MLB, NL, AL ? It's a good thing this is not in the General Studebaker Specific Discussion Forum, or I'd be saying: What the %@&* ? Model Stude. is THAT?

The ONLY way I would ever find this, is experimenting with the "New Posts" Button that I never use, like I just did.

[Skip Lackie]

The player's union wants to expand the use of the DH as it provides more opportunities for employment for veterans who are still good hitters but are no longer nimble in the field. Whatever you think of the DH idea, some of the other proposals (eg, extra innings start with a runner on second) are much worse.

[Hallabutt]

I'm going to buck the tide of this thread. First I don't think that "defense, controls the play. On the contrary baseball, is intrinsically, the most balanced of all the team sports, as far as offense and defense. No doubt that on any given day pitching can dominate any lineup, but an offense can counteract a dominating pitching performance in many different ways. In addition the way the rules have been skewed towards the offense for years. The high strike is not called, a pitcher is no longer allowed to pitch inside or risk getting thrown out of a game, trips to the mound are timed and regulated arbitrarily. Another new one requires that a relief pitcher face a minimum of three batters. Yes the DH has been a leading cause in the giving a leg up for the offenses. MLB believes that's what the fans want to see, the home run rules the game.

Argue if you will, but the DH is not going to go away. I believe in the DH, but I have not always felt this way, on the contrary it had to prove itself to me, which it has. I hate to see an over matched pitcher hit. It's simply an effort in futility, to watch a pitcher walk up there, and three pitches later he walks back to the dugout. In addition these guys do not spend enough time in the batting cage to become hitters, or are they geared to getting out of the way of a pitch. Some people think that because a pitcher walks up to the plate with a bat that he has the natural skill set that will allow him to protect himself. Most of the time he does not. It is not unusual to see a pitcher's carrier ended, because of his inability to protect himself. Then heaven help him if he should get on base, he has to face a whole new set of dangers. These are among the highest paid athletes in sports, like the QB in football, MLB is trying to protect them as best as they can.

There will always be some guys like Big Poppy, and Seattle's Edgar Martinez who was justly voted into the hall of fame. Edgar was simply the best right handed hitter in baseball, during most of his career, and a DH most of the later part of his time. He came up as a third baseman, and not a bad one either, but injury limited his use at the position. He was also an honest gentleman, and a true credit to the sport. Never the hint of a scandal, during the steroid period. MLB was truly blessed to be able to share in his exemplary career, which due to a great extent on the DH.

Finally the DH is going through a transition period. As I said previously there will always be a DH, or two, like the Big Poppy, but the position is changing. It is becoming a position, where regular positional players, like a fourth outfielder are filling the position. These are players who do not lack the physical skills to play a defensive position, but for whom there is no room in the regular outfield. They also have the ability to run the bases, break up a double play etc. I guess that either we learn to love the game as played or find something else to get excited, during baseballs six months of summer. Good luck!