Designated hitter

[Q Classic]

'tis a shame, isn't it? the first few games, to be blown away like that? man, that stings.

have no fear, though, tuberski. i'm sure our braves will do good this season again.

it's the postseason that i'm saddened by.

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by Q Cubed
'tis a shame, isn't it? the first few games, to be blown away like that? man, that stings.

have no fear, though, tuberski. i'm sure our braves will do good this season again.

it's the postseason that i'm saddened by.

Yes, it was. Maddux getting clobbered 2 straight, no runs being scored.

Getting tired of seeing 1's in the Braves runs column.

ACK!

[Zero]

Originally posted by Q Cubed
better a braves fan than a bloody yankees fan.

GO BRAVES!

THAT I can agree on

[Rex Little]

Originally posted by Kontiki
I'm curious: Were pitchers, on the norm, always useless batters? In my lifetime, there are only a few decent hitters that stick out, while the vast majority probably couldn't get a base hit off a t-ball stand. What about back in the good ol' days of the 40's, 50's and 60's? Or even before

Pitchers have always, at least since the start of the 20th century, been selected for their ability to pitch; any batting ability they have is and was incidental. As a group, therefore, they've always batted about as well as any randomly selected group of young men with some athletic ability. That is, not nearly as well as professional hitters whose talent is at the top of the scale. Pitchers' hitting statistics have probably declined somewhat, as the quality of pitching is much better than it was in the early days.

[Tuberski]

Walter Johnson of the Washington Nationals has the highest batting average by a pitcher in a season(1925).

He was 42 of 97 for a.433 BA.

He hit 2 homers scored 12 runs and had 20 RBI.

His career average was .235


ACK!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Pitchers have always, at least since the start of the 20th century, been selected for their ability to pitch

Yes, they are the ultimate Rey Ordonez, ie picked overwhelmingly for the defensive value than their offensive value. Of course, our friend, Rey, isn't that great at defense as once thought either, but that's neither here nor there.

[MRT144]

omar visquel then?

[Zero]

I say if we're gonna allow pitchers to avoid facing the plate, might as well as make the entire field player have the same kind of options.


Now think about that for second and ask if thats what you might really want.

[Ming]

It's just part of the game... if you have a real good fielder who can't hit worth a damn come to the plate in a key situation, you have to make a decision... Why should it be different for the pitcher.

[Rex Little]

Originally posted by Calc II
I say if we're gonna allow pitchers to avoid facing the plate, might as well as make the entire field player have the same kind of options.

Like I said before, the difference between pitchers and other players is that for non-pitchers, there is already a tradeoff being made--offense vs. defense--when deciding who will be on the roster. Rey Ordonez, pathetic as he is, is a better hitter than the average pitcher by at least 50 points; if that weren't true, he'd be gone even if his glove was really as good as its inflated reputation. A full offense-defense "platoon" system would make that tradeoff unnecessary, and would therefore be a much more radical change than the DH.

The DH does affect game strategy in obvious ways, but it does nothing to the selection process for pitchers. Teams have been choosing pitchers with absolutely no regard to how they can hit for at least a hundred years.

[Kirnwaffen]

Give the DH a banana to make him about as useful as a pitcher at the plate.

Seriously, tho, hitting is a part of th game. If you can't at least stand at the plate, don't play. If coaches can't deal with having a weak hitter in the lineup, they need to reconsider their career.

[Guynemer]

I'm only 25 years old, spent my entire life in a American League market, one that until recently made quite good use of the DH.

I HATE the DH. Can't believe the two leagues play by different rules... it is idiotic, and ruins the credibility of the game.

[Tuberski]

There are a lot of things that ruin the credibility of ML Baseball. I'd much rather watch minor league games, they at least play the game as it's supposed to be played.

ACK!

[Kirnwaffen]

Minor league rocks!!!!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Rey Ordonez, pathetic as he is, is a better hitter than the average pitcher by at least 50 points

Perhaps, but look at Ozzie Smith! Early in his career, he had an average that was not much better than most pitchers (in 1979 he batted .211 in 587 at bats). He was chosen only on the basis of his defense. He could have hit .180 and it wouldn't have mattered. He was a player picked for his defense and defense alone.