Opponents to the rule say it puts pitchers in a special class. Separating statistics, like in football. Why is this a bad thing? Like I said before, pitchers pitch. Making them do something else on top of their normal job seems unnatural to me. With the DH rule, pitchers can focus solely on pitching. This is why the AL has superior hide-hurlers year in/year out. A half-inning on the bench spent focusing on the next three hitters is much more valuable than having to put on a helmet, borrow someone else’s bat and swing wildly at three pitches or maybe give bunting a crack.
Why would you want to risk your ace pulling a hammy rounding first, doing something he shouldn’t have been doing in the first place? Yankees fans will point to The Artist Formerly Known As Chien-Ming Wang. The guy hurt himself running. Running! It’s like making Tom Brady go out and cover on punts.
Now I don’t think the DH rule is for everyone. I would be right at the front lines with NL fans if the league was thinking of adopting the rule across the board. I think it’s good to have one league with and one league without. That’s what makes the World Series the ultimate championship. Clashing styles meeting for the chance to decide who’s the best. And there is a more classical sense to the NL’s DH-less existence. Classic, not fun.
The DH makes hitters and pitchers better. The pitcher can focus on his pitches, and a powerhouse hitter who doesn’t bring much to the table in the defense category can concentrate on what he does best. And if somebody’s ailing, they can take a couple days off from the field. Anytime we’re on AstroTurf Mike Lowell practically fills out the lineup card himself.
Now obviously, all of this comes in light of the fact that Boston’s humble DH is slowly sinking into the sandpit of old age. His tired knees are bone-on-bone. His swings are late and slow. His confidence is shot.
But buck up, Sox fans. Things could be worse.
Imagine if he had to play first base.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
"It’s like making Tom Brady go out and cover on punts."
Before this article, I was against the DH. Now I'm against the DH and advocating this.
2 - ebooker
If my DH only had two HRs, I'd be against the DH too.
/checks stats
Crap..
3 - Tony
One thing I had to correct was calling Ruth the only good hitting pitcher. Just off of the top of my head Cy Seymour was an outstanding hitting pitcher that eventually became an outfield as was Smokey Joe Wood (who became an outfielder after blowing out his arm). This was very common up until the 30s.
That being said, the NL NEEDS to adopt the DH.
Most pitchers can't hit which invalidates two spots in a lineup (the 8th and 9th spots).
The defense is worse because good hitting players like Edwin Encarnacion are playing the field only because of their bats.
The offense is worse because older players who can still hit but definitely can't even pretend to play the field flock to the American League.
I'll give up the double switch to solve those problems.
4 - Brian_Kist
Kid by the name of Ankiel who was a pretty good pitcher for a while.
Since you are making football analogies, why don't they just have a defensive team and an offensive team for baseball?
Everything that makes baseball different from football is also the reason I love the sport. Players should play offense and defense.