you're down 44 - 10 in an nba basketball forum as of the time of my post. not exactly a hotbed for purists.
Nice stupid post here, since when is the pitcher not a position player. IIRC he stands on the field with the rest of them and should bat and run the bases with the rest of them.
The baseball/football section of a NBA basketball forum being for a city that has a NL team. I expect most here are for baseball purity. I am definitely for keeping the NL the way it is. I'm not a fan of AL ball. If you want a DH, why not just have an offense and a defense like football. I see only having the pitcher have a DH a successful gimmick to produce more runs.
"I screwed up the game of baseball. Baseball needed a jolt of offense for attendance, so they decided on the DH. I never thought it would last this long." - Ron Blomberg [the first DH ever] in The Journal News (April 5, 2003) "It's 30 years down the DH highway, and this rule makes even less sense now than it did in 1973 — if that's possible. Here are five reasons baseball should abolish this abomination now (by Jayson Stark in ESPN.com on April 4, 2003): 1. Once, it was at least slightly intriguing to have two leagues playing the same sport using different rules. Now, with interleague play, it's not intriguing anymore. It's absurd. 2. Let's take that one step further. The DH rule may have cost the Giants the World Series. This was a team constructed around its bullpen, not its spare bench parts. So Dusty Baker essentially had no DH. In fact, his Game 7 DH — Pedro Feliz — was a guy who had made it through the first six games without an at-bat. No other sport would tolerate a situation this farcical. 3. The idea 30 years ago was that the DH would allow some beloved older hitters to extend their careers once they could no longer play the field. Whatever happened to that brainstorm? All these beloved older hitters DH'd Opening Day: Ken Harvey, Al Martin, Jeremy Giambi, Matt LeCroy and Josh Phelps. Face it: The DH is now just an excuse to be one-dimensional. 4. The only reason to have a DH rule is that fans allegedly like more offense. Obviously, DHs are better hitters than pitchers. But how much more offense does this rule really generate? The average AL team scored one more run every three games than the average NL team last year — and got one more hit every four games. So we're talking about two extra runs a week. That'll pack 'em in, all right. 5. Finally, the game is simply way more interesting without the DH than with it. Period. Ask any manager which is more strategically challenging — managing a game under NL rules or AL rules. It's no contest. It's baseball's cerebral side that separates it from all the other games ever invented. And the game is way more cerebral with no DH than with it. That's one thing that hasn't changed in 30 years — and never will. "The designated hitter rule is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws." - Rick Wise (1974) "The rule allows crusty veterans, such as Chili Davis and Cecil Fielder, to earn between $3 million and $7 million a season when they otherwise would be worthless. Artifacts of the mid-1980s such as Harold Baines and Eddie Murray, who are more suited for the AARP than the major leagues, play well past their primes thanks to the DH. Worst of all, the DH singlehandedly creates Hall of Famers. Of the players who have reached 3,000 career hits during this decade, only Robin Yount did so minus the aid of the DH rule. Neither Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor nor George Brett would have achieved that milestone were their careers dependent upon their ability to play defense. Spectacular careers notwithstanding, these players' lifetime stats should be accompanied by asterisks the size of baseballs when compared with those of their Cooperstown contemporaries." - Journalist Byron Vogel in KSU Publications (April 8, 1998)
And let us applaud Craig Biggio one more time for this factoid. Maybe the AL should go to little league style, since pitchers are pitchers and all. Have a guy standing next to the pitcher that fields the position for him, like he were the pitching machine. Also, designated hitters are not designated runners, so the AL should either have ghost runners or allow its teams to have guys run for the DH when he hits the ball. Now that would be awesome.
In a section with Astro homers and national league purists.... and knowing the people that post in the tac, exactly the place i would consider a hotbed. Aside from that, you still did not answer the question. Name me one positive about not having a DH.
i've seen polls done on this issue from time to time...and while i'm sure they're not scientific, i've never seen even one in support of the DH. just one?? ever watched a yankee/red sox 5 hour marathon? The idea of the DH was because in the early 70's the AL had problem drawing fans. This was a stunt. A gimmick. It's worn past its use now.
Will you quit being a lawyer and stop dancing around the question. Its pretty simple... Tell me one positive about not having a DH.
More strategy. Quicker games. Makes the full 25 man roster more important due to double switches, pinch hitters, and higher importance of the bullpen. Makes for good laughs from Hank Steinbrenner whining that it's too difficult for a professional athlete to run in a circle. etc, etc. There are plenty of positives.
It's pretty much analogous to checkers and chess. I don't know if there is an "advantage" in playing checkers v. playing chess, but they're different games for sure.
are you reading my posts? the length of games was already one. i posted a whole host of quotes with issues about the DH. look, i prefer the NL game. i do not like the DH. i know AL guys who don't like the DH. i'm fine with you liking it. great for you.
in your opinion. the strategy of the game is minimized with the DH...i don't think that's even questionable...given the zero impact of removing a pitcher at any given point.
All of which make the game more watchable. The DH is trash. The DH sucks. It's a bush league gimmick from the 70s, an era when another junior circuit team attempted to wear shorts on the major leagus playing field. The best thing about not having the DH is not having the DH. Not having to watch some ****** emerge from the dugout 4 or 5 times per game only to swing for the fences, and then jog four or five feet when he hits a grounder or popup. Little leagues (at least the ones around my area) do *not* use the DH. High School does *not* use the DH. Does NCAA? Do Pony leagues? And, who the hell cares whether Japan uses it?? Christy Matthewson swung a bat. Bob Gibson swung a bat. Sandy Koufax, Dizzy Dean, Nolan Ryan (at times), Steve Carlton, Cy Young, Warren Spahn, Walter Johnson, Bob Feller all swung bats. It didn't seem to hurt or shorten their careers. They pitched more innings, had longer careers (except Koufax), and had generally better statistics than these half-the-game sissies today. There are probably changes that can make the greatest game even greater. But the DH is not among them. The DH is garbage, and it's time it became a thing of the past.
If you like 4.5 hour Homerun fests with only nominal strategy then maybe the DH makes the game more watchable for you. But its silly to grump that no one attempted to answer your question. I think baseball without a DH makes for more interesting decisions, its the 6th inning and your starter has been pitching pretty well and still looks strong, but you are down one with 2 on and one out. Do you bunt em over and count on a hit from your leadoff guy. Do you pinch hit and hope your set up guy has his good stuff today. Or even season long decisions, like if a Carlos Lee loses another step, at what point does his fading defense prevent an NL club from being able to use his big stick. Also its interesting when a pitcher who can hit a little helps his own cause with a knock. Personally I work part time at the Ballpark, and I watch every pitch of Astros home games. (Literally every pitch, I have to record them). So the idea of games being longer, with less strategy doesn't appeal to me. I mean I see your point if you are mostly in it to see offense. But don't deny that the lack of a DH makes the game more "watchable" for many, it certainly does for me.
