SHE SAID: Pitchers at the Bat

Ok, I am just going to come right out and say it and this may be a post many don’t agree with, because come on, who can argue that frosted tips are out of style? I am a Yankee fan, have always been a Yankee fan, and grew up watching and cheering for the American League. I also wasn't alive prior to 1973 and never saw a game played in the AL prior to the introduction of the Designated Hitter. However, I don’t agree with the Designated Hitter and I think pitchers should still have to bat, whether or not it has become painful to watch. I guess I am what some people refer to as a "Purist." Here is goes.....

The essence of the game of baseball for just over a hundred years from 1871-1973 was that a baseball player was a complete baseball player. If you were a pitcher, you pitched and if you were a fielder, you fielded. Regardless of what position you played, if you were a baseball player, you also batted. Players back then were not specialists, they were complete players. The important thing to remember about what it means to be a complete player is that it doesn’t always mean you can do it; it means that you do it. Sure, playing left field is different than shortstop and being a pitcher is certainly different and most arguably the hardest position in baseball since it once required you to field, pitch, and bat. We all know pitchers can still pitch and the great ones can still field; after all, Greg Maddux won the Golden Glove a record 17 times. However, most pitchers today cannot bat, or at least not well and this is an argument for the DH. However, that wasn’t always the case. Great hitting pitchers were long woven into the history of the game of baseball, starting with a fellow called Babe Ruth, who we all know started out as a pitcher. As a pitcher, Ruth had a record of 94-46 and many argue he would have gone into the Hall without ever hitting a home run. On top of this, Ruth was averaging .300 while he was pitching. Pre 1973, there was also Don Newcombe, who hit .359 in 1955. Even more recently, since the introduction of the DH in 1973, which ironically coincides with the introduction of metal bats, there have been over a dozen pitchers who have hit over .300, including Orel Hershiser and Mike Hampton. There are many, many reasons why we don’t see great hitting pitchers today, one of which is they simply don’t get any practice and are no longer looked at be both a great pitcher and a great hitter. But, bottom line; there is nothing physically about pitchers that makes them unable to hit.

Another argument for the DH, the rationale behind its introduction, is that it would put more offense into the game at a time when pitchers were seen to have the upper hand, while also many felt, making the game more exciting to watch. The first part was solved by lowering the pitching mound and restoring the strike zone to pre-1963 dimensions. In terms of making the game more exciting for fans, I guess it depends on who you are asking. I know some people who love to watch 10-9 games filled with home runs. I mean, who doesn’t love a home run? I grew up hearing my dad talk about watching Sandy Koufax and the excitement of a 1-0 game where the pitcher threw a solid 9 innings (shocking, I know). In the 5 years before the DH was introduced, the average number of runs scored in a game was 3.9. Now, AL teams have scored
5.0 runs since 1999. Not a huge increase, but notable just the same. I would much prefer to see a close game where the pitchers battle than a home run derby between 2 designated hitters where the pitcher barely lasts 6 innings. And yes, I am exaggerating here.

Finally, just to touch on the argument that the DH extends the life of a player’s career. In essence, this is true. In the AL, when a player can no longer field like they used to but are still an
effective hitter, they may have the option of becoming the DH where they can concentrate solely on hitting and ignore the stress of playing in the field. In my opinion, if a player can no longer field, should his career be extended? He is lacking one of the fundamental skills needed to be a major league player. I am all about going down in style instead of playing out a few extra years just because you can. I would not want to play the final years of my career knowing that I was
no longer the great player I used to be.

Regardless of my opinions, I may be the eternal optimist, but I am realistic enough to know the DH is here to stay. I make no apologies for being a baseball purist. I only wish I could have been alive to see the game played when it was played the way it was intended, before the rules were changed and the AL and NL played by different rules. And that's just what adding the DH does, it changes the fundamental rules of the game of baseball. You don't see someone suggesting we add a position between 1st and 2nd do you? I prefer the game that was played when the grass was green. (Yes, I had to thrown in the knock on Astroturf.)