 Things change, especially 220-year-old games. So lets immediately dismiss the argument that there should be no DH in baseball because that’s not the way the game was “meant to be played”. Nothing is done the way it was conceived 220 years ago. Along with that, lets throw out the argument that having a DH is wrong because the position was added as a ploy to make more money. Every rule change made in the last 100+ years has been designed to entice more fans and, hence, bring in more money. This is the same with every professional sport, they are there to make money. Now that we’ve gotten the two most used and most ridiculous arguments out of the way, let’s look at how the DH makes the game as a whole better. Baseball is a completely unique and quirky sport. There are rules that always make me scratch my head and think “who came up with that one?” Like the fact that if the catcher drops strike three, the batter can attempt to advance to first base, and if he makes it, he’s safe; even though he just struck out. Weird. A huge part of the uniqueness and draw of baseball is that the two leagues play the game in completely different ways, and that’s because of the DH. As a Yankee fan, watching the occasional NL game is different and cool because there is different strategy and a different feel. Unlike conferences in football, basketball and hockey which only serve to designate what teams you play most often; the NL and AL are actually different leagues. It makes the game fun, it makes interleague play (which I hate, but we can go there another time) an event, and it makes the world series a battle between truly different entities. Having the same rule in both leagues, whichever rule that would be, would just make baseball more like everything else, who wants that? I think centering the argument around weather DH or no DH is better misses the point, they’re different, and that’s part of what makes baseball, baseball. But if we must argue relative merit - I say that in a game of specialists, the DH makes sense. Pitchers aren’t hitters just like catchers aren’t outfielders. HItters aren’t asked to step on the mound every fifth day, so why should fans have to endure watching Randy Johnson swing a bat looking like some kind of deformed ostrich stabbing at a flying fish. What’s wrong with one more intense battle between pitcher and batter as opposed to having the 9th spot in the order be a non factor?. What’s wrong with more home runs and more scoring in a baseball game? The double switch isn’t really that exciting, is it? So basically you’re saying the DH is great because…because it’s different? It provides the difference between the NL and the AL? I certainly don’t see where there was ever a huge need for there to be a difference in how the game is played in each league, and I definitely don’t think that there was any problem with how baseball was played in both leagues prior to the introduction of the DH in 1973. But hey – you can feel free to tell Babe Ruth he shouldn’t have been allowed to hit when you see him next. I will say this – I can’t argue that Randy Johnson was a great hitter, especially going against a 2009 version of Tim Lincecum. (Although not many people looked great trying to hit against Lincecum at that point.) I can’t even argue that there’s anything wrong with more home runs and higher scores in the game. I love the long ball just as much as the next fan, as long as it’s not coming off a Mets pitcher. Although, if that’s something you really think is valuable – would you argue for allowing steroids to be legal? (Hey, that’s what those things do for hitters, right?) I can, however, continue to argue that. |
 I’m not one who is completely against change in organized sports. I think it’s a great thing that football players don’t wear leather helmets any longer, Title IX is fantastic, and the shot clock was a gift from the Gods. The DH, however, is no gift from the Gods. The DH doesn’t exist to protect players from injuring themselves, save for Chien Ming Wang I suppose. It doesn’t exist to level the playing field. It isn’t there to help make sure the calls are being made correctly. It exists for one reason: To eschew tradition by taking the bat out of the pitcher’s hands. That’s it. And that right there is why the DH is a ridiculous addition to the game of baseball folks, because baseball is firmly rooted in tradition. What do you love most about baseball? I’ll tell you what I love. The team. Seeing the camaraderie. The smell of the grass on the field. Eating a ballpark hotdog. Putting my jersey on for the first game of the year. Watching the Mets play the Phillies and seeing all the same hatred there year after year, no matter who fill out the uniforms. Booing the opposing team’s pitcher when he checks over to 1st one too many times. Watching a pitcher step up with a .198 batting average and lace a “f@# you” RBI double into right field against the opposing pitcher, just when it matters most. Watching a hitter *just miss* a booming HR as the ball sails 4 inches on the wrong side of the foul pole, and then watching the pitcher throw a ball in high and tight on the next pitch, just to remind the batter whose plate it really is. The strike zone being slightly different every night, depending on the umpire. In other words, I love the tradition of it all. The DH kicks tradition in the nuts. When the American League implemented the DH it effectively said that pitchers are no longer baseball players. They’re throwers. That’s it. That’s what they’re good for - and the way the game was played for 100 years (give or take a few years) prior was wrong. I’m not arguing that it doesn’t beef up the offensive numbers or make a manager’s job easier, or that there’s even anything wrong with either of those things. What I am saying is that it doesn’t matter. I don’t care about those things, and neither should you. Some things are sacred in life, and when it comes to baseball – something so steeped in tradition – the pitcher hitting in that 9 hole is sacred. Let the pitchers pitch and let them swing the bat. Let the starters play the field and swing the bat. If a manager wants to work a big bat with crappy defense into his lineup, live with the crappy defense. Don’t desecrate the Church of Baseball because you don’t care about the tradition that it is built on.  Ah, the Church of Baseball. Where, before 2008, letting umpires get home run calls wrong was sacred. Where, before 1969, the sacred strike zone went all the way up to the top of the shoulders. Where, before 1953, players were allowed to leave their gloves on the field while they were at bat (how fucking crazy is that?!). As far as the tradition of pitchers hitting, well, they suck at it. Let’s look at your Mets pitching staff. In 2011, in 289 at-bats, the Met’s staff had 122 strikeouts, 13 walks and just 12 RBIs (mlb.com). Your “eff you” double by a pitcher in a critical situation almost never happens, and when it does, it’s dumb luck. All of this being said, I still don’t believe the NL should adopt the DH. What’s really important here, is that the leagues keep their primary (at this point only) difference intact. It is probably the most unique, and coolest thing about baseball. And, doesn't "Tradition" always mean old white dudes? |
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