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Baseball is back, but the DH is everywhere, and that’s awful


Muda69

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https://deadspin.com/baseball-is-back-but-the-dh-is-everywhere-and-that-s-1848642336

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There’s only one bad thing about the MLB lockout being over: The game is changing forever.

The universal designated hitter is here.

Sadly, it wasn’t a good idea back in 1973 when Ron Blomberg stepped up to the plate for the New York Yankees as the first ever DH. And it isn’t now, as the National League officially joins the American League with a hitter added to the lineup to bat for the pitcher.

It was something the players union wanted. And it wasn’t about enhancing the game, delivering fans more excitement at the park or saving pitchers from themselves at the plate.
 

Nope.

This was a selfish move that’s all about them, not the game. The idea is to create another big-salary job. For sure, teams will pay loot for a home run-hitting DH.

 

Recently, we saw David Ortiz get into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a DH. He was the second “full-time” DH to get in after Edgar Martinez made it to Cooperstown in 2019.

In the past, being just a DH was frowned upon. Often, it meant you didn’t have a good glove and they didn’t want you to be a butcher in the field. It hardly made fans and HOF voting-writers regard DHs as the greatest players of all time.

For sure, the DH has been around forever in the AL. That league always felt like a beer/softball league with game scores like 12-10 on the regular.

In the Senior Circuit, the NL was true to when the game was invented.

All nine players that played the field, hit. It was so simple. It was pure.

The best part was that there was always added strategy to the NL game. There’s a lot more moving parts. The manager actually managed, not just rearranged his junk every few innings.

NL games were about bunting, hit-and-run, and deciding to pinch hit for the pitcher or not.

The AL? Everybody swings for the fences. Managers like the late, great Earl Weaver simply waited for the three-run homer. To me, it made the game boring.

That’s what we have now. Players are either hitting home runs or striking out. That’s just not baseball. And don’t believe the analytics from guys wearing pen protectors and have never picked up a bat.

We got a taste of an all-DH MLB in 2020, the pandemic-shortened 60-game season. I don’t remember thinking how more exciting this is.

Many have applauded the move to have a DH in both leagues. Those are the same people who can’t see the brilliance of a 1-0 gem pitched by a great pitcher, aided with a few key plays made behind him.

Yeah, we get it. The NFL has turned into the Arena Football League where you throw on every down. That’s why all the stats are inflated and fans think QB Matthew Stafford is a Hall of Famer despite NEVER being an All-Pro and making the Pro Bowl just once in 13 seasons. Football is more than just compiling stats.

In the NBA, everyone is 3 crazy. Everybody just jacks up three-pointers simply because three is greater than two. Again, the game has changed so much, all we see is either a dunk at the rim or a 3-pointer. The midrange game is nearly extinct.

No one wants baseball to return to the stone ages. We want the game to progress and stay relevant.

It’s just that the designated hitter is the least of the game’s worries. And the loss of the game at its most natural state is hard to swallow. Will kids who pitch in Little League not hit anymore? And will we have a generation of kids who never take the field, but instead just expect to get four at-bats a game and go home?

Let’s hope not.

According to the Baseball Research Journal, from 1973 to the completion of the 2017 season, only nine players appeared in 1,000 or more games at DH. Two of those players made the Hall of Fame: Frank Thomas and Paul Molitor. But in both cases, it wasn’t their full-time gig. Thomas DHed in only 56.42 percent of the games he played. Molitor played in the DH spot just 43.76 percent of his career.

Of course, we will have to accept the DH. It ain’t going away. Still, we don’t have to like it.

I'm not a huge baseball fan, but I am a purist when it comes to the game.  This is a travesty,  the abomination that is the DH should have stayed in the inferior American League.

 

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I am a Cubs fan.  I always liked Kyle Schwarber.  I understand his expertise and career path looks like a DH.  That is the ONLY reason I "support" the DH.  I am like you, I am too a baseball purist.

Wonder how many jobs this will cut?  If any.

Benches have been made up differently for years in the NL/AL.

1 hour ago, Muda69 said:

https://deadspin.com/baseball-is-back-but-the-dh-is-everywhere-and-that-s-1848642336

I'm not a huge baseball fan, but I am a purist when it comes to the game.  This is a travesty,  the abomination that is the DH should have stayed in the inferior American League.

 

I think a lot of us saw this coming in 2020 when the NL allowed the DH, for whatever reason.

Never let a crisis go to waste to instill change.

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I don't follow the MLB all that closely anymore, but it always confused the heck out of me as to why one half of MLB allowed DHs and the other didn't. The entire league needed to either allow DHs or not allow them, IMO. Honestly I was never a big fan of watching pitchers, with sub .100 batting averages, attempt to bat anyway. 

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1 hour ago, AG said:

I don't follow the MLB all that closely anymore, but it always confused the heck out of me as to why one half of MLB allowed DHs and the other didn't. The entire league needed to either allow DHs or not allow them, IMO. Honestly I was never a big fan of watching pitchers, with sub .100 batting averages, attempt to bat anyway. 

it forces strategy....a pitcher than can bunt is huge in moving runners.  A pitcher that is a decent hitter is a pure blessing to a team.  Forces the use of pinch hitters, different use of the bullpen, etc.  A pitcher that does get on base has to run...and that can have impact.  Requires more out of a manager and a pitcher.  Also provides some check in balance for a pitcher that wants to brushback or bean someone, knowing he has to dig into the batter's box as well.

But hey....what's tradition??  

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2 minutes ago, Bash Riprock said:

it forces strategy....a pitcher than can bunt is huge in moving runners.  A pitcher that is a decent hitter is a pure blessing to a team.  Forces the use of pinch hitters, different use of the bullpen, etc.  A pitcher that does get on base has to run...and that can have impact.  Requires more out of a manager and a pitcher.  Also provides some check in balance for a pitcher that wants to brushback or bean someone, knowing he has to dig into the batter's box as well.

But hey....what's tradition??  

LOVE this explanation.

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At a time when baseball is declining in popularity, and failing miserably to engage younger fans, baseball should be looking to inject more action into the game. This is a step in that direction. For that reason, I support it completely.

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10 minutes ago, Bobref said:

At a time when baseball is declining in popularity, and failing miserably to engage younger fans, baseball should be looking to inject more action into the game. This is a step in that direction. For that reason, I support it completely.

Hear me out here.....or MAYBE they shouldn't have had the pi$$ing match and the lock out.  Maybe THAT would have helped.  Not 1 sane person gives 2 rips what these prima donnas are complaing about while they are making millions upon millions of dollars.  BTW, gas is $4.29/gallon in Demotte/Wheatfield area, so excuse me for not giving 1 single $hi+ about their concerns.

"Never let a crisis go to waste."

Edited by DE
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11 minutes ago, Bobref said:

At a time when baseball is declining in popularity, and failing miserably to engage younger fans, baseball should be looking to inject more action into the game. This is a step in that direction. For that reason, I support it completely.

If the DH is not slowing down the decline in popularity for the AL, what makes you believe it will slow it down overall?  DH is nothing new.  Are the ratings and attendance much higher in the AL vs NL?  Has a true correlation been established that having an extra stick of a .250 hitter than can't field brings significantly more interest to the game for a younger demographic?  Is hitting the only way to drive excitement in baseball?  Perhaps for the casual fan I guess.

BTW, .250 is generous.  According the the stats I reviewed, the average AL DH hit .229 in 2020....NL DH's for interleague games hit .235.  Wow.  Huge excitement!!

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11 minutes ago, Bobref said:

At a time when baseball is declining in popularity, and failing miserably to engage younger fans, baseball should be looking to inject more action into the game. This is a step in that direction. For that reason, I support it completely.

By adding more and more strikeouts?  DH's have become boom or bust types.  HR's or strike outs....for the most part.

1 minute ago, Bash Riprock said:

If the DH is not slowing down the decline in popularity for the AL, what makes you believe it will slow it down overall?  DH is nothing new.  Are the ratings and attendance much higher in the AL vs NL?  Has a true correlation been established that having an extra stick of a .250 hitter than can't field brings significantly more interest to the game for a younger demographic?  Is hitting the only way to drive excitement in baseball?  Perhaps for the casual fan I guess.

BTW, .250 is generous.  According the the stats I reviewed, the average AL DH hit .229 in 2020....NL DH's for interleague games hit .235.  Wow.  Huge excitement!!

You are on FIRE today.  Love it Bash.  

Changing for the sake of changing......PrOgReSs

So dumb.

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1 minute ago, Bash Riprock said:

If the DH is not slowing down the decline in the AL, what makes you believe it will slow it down overall?  DH is nothing new.  Are the ratings and attendance much higher in the AL vs NL?  Has a true correlation been established that having an extra stick of a .250 hitter than can't field brings significantly more interest to the game for a younger demographic?  

BTW, ,250 is generous.  According the the stats I reviewed, the average AL DH hit .229 in 2020....NL DH's for interleague games hit .235.  Wow.  Huge excitement!!

You’re ignoring the “opportunity benefit.” DHs put the ball in play more than pitchers. And there is always the possibility that something will happen vs. watching the pitcher go up there, take his three, and sit down. DHs may not hit as well as the average position players. But they are a much tougher out than the pitcher.

As for statistical analysis of the effect of the DH, I don’t have to do it. The owners, who have a lot more at stake than you or me, have already done that. That’s why they voted to expand it to the NL.

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8 minutes ago, DE said:

Hear me out here.....or MAYBE they shouldn't have had the pi$$ing match and the lock out.  Maybe THAT would have helped.  Not 1 sane person gives 2 rips what these prima donnas are complaing about while they are making millions upon millions of dollars.  BTW, gas is $4.29/gallon in Demotte/Wheatfield area, so excuse me for not giving 1 single $hi+ about their concerns.

"Never let a crisis go to waste."

I confess, I haven’t a clue how your quasi-political complaint relates to the subject under discussion.

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4 minutes ago, Bobref said:

You’re ignoring the “opportunity benefit.” DHs put the ball in play more than pitchers. And there is always the possibility that something will happen vs. watching the pitcher go up there, take his three, and sit down. DHs may not hit as well as the average position players. But they are a much tougher out than the pitcher.

As for statistical analysis of the effect of the DH, I don’t have to do it. The owners, who have a lot more at stake than you or me, have already done that. That’s why they voted to expand it to the NL.

Interesting "factual" take here.  Would love to see those facts to back that claim up.  They may have better batting averages, but that doesn't EXACTLY equate to putting the ball into play MORE.  Bunting/sac. flies/situational hitting.  

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2 minutes ago, Bobref said:

You’re ignoring the “opportunity benefit.” DHs put the ball in play more than pitchers. And there is always the possibility that something will happen vs. watching the pitcher go up there, take his three, and sit down. DHs may not hit as well as the average position players. But they are a much tougher out than the pitcher.

As for statistical analysis of the effect of the DH, I don’t have to do it. The owners, who have a lot more at stake than you or me, have already done that. That’s why they voted to expand it to the NL.

Have a solid baseball background....not ignoring anything.  I can play the same card and say you are ignoring the significantly more strategic analysis applied by having the pitcher step into the batter's box.

As far as that analysis....just point me to it so I can read it.  Because I don't buy that increased attendance at AL ballparks occur because of the DH rule or that younger folks flip on their TV's to watch for the same reason.  I believe the owners (and the union in the case) are trying anything to stop the decline....and in this case it includes of throwing anything at the wall that sticks.

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6 minutes ago, Bobref said:

You’re ignoring the “opportunity benefit.” DHs put the ball in play more than pitchers. And there is always the possibility that something will happen vs. watching the pitcher go up there, take his three, and sit down. DHs may not hit as well as the average position players. But they are a much tougher out than the pitcher.

As for statistical analysis of the effect of the DH, I don’t have to do it. The owners, who have a lot more at stake than you or me, have already done that. That’s why they voted to expand it to the NL.

😅This is LITERALLY the definition of having ONE job and they can't do it.

5 minutes ago, Bobref said:

I confess, I haven’t a clue how your quasi-political complaint relates to the subject under discussion.

Not surprised at all.

5 minutes ago, Bobref said:

I confess, I haven’t a clue how your quasi-political complaint relates to the subject under discussion.

You are a smart man, think REAL hard and you can figure it out.  It isn't rocket science.

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1 minute ago, Bash Riprock said:

Have a solid baseball background....not ignoring anything.  I can play the same card and say you are ignoring the significantly more strategic analysis applied by having the pitcher step into the batter's box.

As far as that analysis....just point me to it so I can read it.  Because I don't buy that increased attendance at AL ballparks occur because of the DH rule or that younger folks flip on their TV's to watch for the same reason.  I believe the owners (and the union in the case) are trying anything to stop the decline....and in this case it includes of throwing anything at the wall that sticks.

Baseball is a game of patience and strategy (among other things), but patience is NOT something a lot of today's youth have.  Some people forget or are just out of touch with reality.

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4 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Why doesn't the game just get rid of pitchers and use a pitching machine?  Possibly a lot more hits, aka "action", that way.

 

I like it....or if they don't want to automate, use batting practice pitchers to serve it up and they can turn every game into Home Run Derby.......Screw defense.....just park it!!

Afternoon game at Wrigley Score.......

Chi Cubs - 116

StL Cards - 102

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5 minutes ago, Bash Riprock said:

I like it....or if they don't want to automate, use batting practice pitchers to serve it up and they can turn every game into Home Run Derby.......Screw defense.....just park it!!

Afternoon game at Wrigley Score.......

Chi Cubs - 116

StL Cards - 102

😂

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7 minutes ago, Bobref said:

You guys are fiddling while Rome burns. Soccer will soon pass baseball in popularity if the trend is not reversed. I love baseball, and don’t want to see that.

What makes you think I don't?  I just don't buy that pushing the DH into the NL makes the game better or more marketable.  Especially to a younger demographic.  

Professional sports, baseball included, stopped marketing to the family and went after corporations.  Families were priced out or stuck in the nosebleeds.  So kids (unlike my generation) didn't go to the ballpark in the numbers of the past.  As a result, those kids that are now ticket buyers that didn't grow up in the ballpark don't care now.  They have other interests.  They have little to no tradition.

If they truly wanted to bring the game back, they would make it more affordable to the family.....that includes tickets, concessions and parking.  Generations care because they are there to establish love and tradition.  If not, why should they invest their time and significant dollars?

In addition, MLB started to play politics, hoping to pull younger folks....at the end of the day, they didn't care and some of us older folks that would prefer politics kept out of our entertainment, were turned off.  MLB is reaping what they sowed.

Edited by Bash Riprock
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42 minutes ago, Bobref said:

You guys are fiddling while Rome burns. Soccer will soon pass baseball in popularity if the trend is not reversed. I love baseball, and don’t want to see that.

Sorry, but where have you been?  Baseball is in soccer's rear view mirror, worldwide.

37 minutes ago, Bash Riprock said:

What makes you think I don't?  I just don't buy that pushing the DH into the NL makes the game better or more marketable.  Especially to a younger demographic.  

Professional sports, baseball included, stopped marketing to the family and went after corporations.  Families were priced out or stuck in the nosebleeds.  So kids (unlike my generation) didn't go to the ballpark in the numbers of the past.  As a result, those kids that are now ticket buyers that didn't grow up in the ballpark don't care now.  They have other interests.  They have little to no tradition.

If they truly wanted to bring the game back, they would make it more affordable to the family.....that includes tickets, concessions and parking.  Generations care because they are there to establish love and tradition.  If not, why should they invest their time and significant dollars?

In addition, MLB started to play politics, hoping to pull younger folks....at the end of the day, they didn't care and some of us older folks that would prefer politics kept out of our entertainment, were turned off.  MLB is reaping what they sowed.

FIRE!

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14 minutes ago, DE said:

Sorry, but where have you been?  Baseball is in soccer's rear view mirror, worldwide.

Where have you been? Everything’s in soccer’s rear view mirror worldwide, and has been for quite some time. I’m talking about the national pastime of the USA.

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1 hour ago, Bobref said:

You’re ignoring the “opportunity benefit.” DHs put the ball in play more than pitchers. And there is always the possibility that something will happen vs. watching the pitcher go up there, take his three, and sit down. DHs may not hit as well as the average position players. But they are a much tougher out than the pitcher.

As for statistical analysis of the effect of the DH, I don’t have to do it. The owners, who have a lot more at stake than you or me, have already done that. That’s why they voted to expand it to the NL.

Was not Don Baylor a DH often latter in his career. Leader in HBP. Dramatically changed 86 ALCS against his old team, the Angels. Really liked Don Baylor. 

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27 minutes ago, Bobref said:

Where have you been? Everything’s in soccer’s rear view mirror worldwide, and has been for quite some time. I’m talking about the national pastime of the USA.

I love baseball too, but adding the dh isn't going to move the needle.

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The DH adds another element to the offense. Some can enjoy a great pitching duel, but more people want to see offense. The DH adds that. Other things to help offense are limits to shifting, timer between pitches (14 seconds, I believe), increased requirements for a reliever in a game. Games with a lot of offense are fun to watch. It does not matter if a team is playing small ball and moving runners, or if they are launching shots over the fence. I am not saying I am a fan of the DH, because as Bash pointed out, there is a LOT of strategy involved when pitchers have to hit. 

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