Baseball needs to decide one way or the other. To DH or not DH, that is the question. MLB should have every team president vote on keeping or eliminating the DH. If 20 teams vote one way, then they should agree to both play with those rules. I listed 10 reasons why the DH is wrong, but Bill James gives a more logical answer in favor of using it.
Mr James wrote: Well, if that’s your argument, shouldn’t you be arguing that the National League should adopt the DH rule? People present this as if the American League was the outlier, that nobody used the rule except the American League. The reality is that virtually every baseball league in the world, except the National League, has long since adopted the DH rule. Every or virtually every college league, amateur league at a high level, the Japanese, the Australians. . .they have all long since adopted the DH rule. The entire baseball world uses the DH rule, except the National League. If you really think it is important to standardize this. . .which it isn’t, but that’s your argument. . .the obvious way to do it is to tell the National League to pull their head out of the 19th century.
10 reasons to dump the DH
1. The game was meant to be played, nine against nine.
2. Managers should have to decide to pinch hit or let the pitcher bat.
3. Double switches are good for the game.
4. It is good to see
Ortiz play the entire game, on offense and defense.
5. More players would get to play daily.
6.
Wily Mo would get at least one at bat almost every game.
7. Pitchers would less likely throw at someone, if they had to face the same music themselves leading off the next inning.
8. The media would get to critique more “manager’s decisions,” because there would be more decisions they would have to make.
9. The game would move quicker, because there would be more pitching changes at the beginning of innings, because of the times they are pinch hit for. Some statman must have that number.
10. The most important. If everyone played by the same rules, then the
World Series would always be on a level playing ground.
I think baseball should make everyone in baseball vote. Ask every player, manager, coach, owner, and fan at the All-Star Game.
Do you think, it would be better, “for the good of the game,” if the AL dumped the DH? Or should the NL adopt it?
This entry was posted
on Monday, July 3rd, 2006 at 3:36 am and is filed under The Good of the Game.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.