“Who would people rather see, a real hitter hitting home runs or a pitcher swinging a wet newspaper?”
As Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer aptly described the experience of a pitcher whiffing at pitch after pitch in most at-bats, the immortal debate over the use of a designated hitter in the National League is resurrected after an abysmal 2-for-27 (.074) performance by NL pitchers across the league on Father’s Day. Only three runs were batted in by these same pitchers, one of which was a sacrifice fly.
On a day when 14 teams played in National League ballparks, using a total of 50 pitchers, the grand total of 27 at-bats should stand out to the most inattentive of fans. Mounds were trampled by countless hurlers, only to be lifted a half-inning later by pinch hitters.
So, why won’t the National League just adopt Rule 6.10, the designated hitter rule?
One can only guess wildly at the radical reasons behind the indecision. The legacy of the Senior Circuit as the world’s oldest professional team sports league has often been the excuse to refuse the adoption of the rule. Established in 1876, the National League argues that a batting pitcher resembles the purity of baseball at the start of the sport.
What?
“At the start of the sport,” there were eight teams in the league, no World Series for which to compete, stadium tickets for 50 cents, and ballparks that were 635 feet to the fence in center field (Huntington Avenue Grounds). There was the infamous dead-ball era, where being in attendance for a home run was nearly the equivalent of watching the Chicago Cubs win the World Series. Pitchers threw the same baseball for at least 100 pitches back then, and the balls could be manipulated in many ways by the pitcher. Whenever preferred, the ball could even be camouflaged using tobacco juice.
If the purity of baseball is concerned, perhaps baseball would be more enjoyable if the primitive conventions were brought back.
Converting to the designated hitter rule would allow teams to gain an extra capable batter, and remove the need to substitute starting and relief pitchers almost every at-bat to make way for pinch hitters. Starters will be allowed to pitch deeper into ballgames, while bullpens would have less stress when fewer members are summoned every game.
And the cherry on top? National League managers can still have the freedom to stubbornly forfeit the DH rule on a game-to-game basis by placing the pitcher in the DH spot.
On the opposing side of Max Scherzer’s argument, Giants pitcher and 2014 World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner famously fired back in defense of comical at-bats by pitchers. His comments came on the heels of a career batting year in which he slugged four home runs, drove in fifteen runs, and accumulated a .258 batting average.
Would MadBum be singing the same tunes if his hitting slump continued this season, showcased by his .179 batting average, and the Giants miss the playoffs?
Of all pitchers with at least 20 plate appearances this season, not a single player has a batting average above .250. The top of the leaderboard is highlighted by Jason Hammel of the Cubs, at an even .250, and ironically, Max Scherzer, at .242.
A glance at the American League statistics for designated hitters, however, reveals that, of all hitters with at least 100 at-bats, only 5 players are swinging below .250, but all players have at least 2 home runs. Three of those five DHs are named Evan Gattis, David Ortiz, and Adam LaRoche, who have combined for 31 home runs and 97 RBIs.
While all statistics point to higher productivity by the American League, detractors may attempt to point at the commercial aspect of the sport, as Major League Baseball is a business after all. However, like the pitchers on Father’s Day, such critics would swing and miss as well.
Just take a look at the All-Star voting this year. It may be an abominable method to choose the best of the best to play at the Midsummer Classic every year, but even if it is good for nothing else, the fan voting is the perfect indication of the involvement by the backbones of the league.
In the National League, tallying up all the votes collected by the top 5 players at each position (excluding DH in the American League), and the top 15 outfielders, the voting leaders have amassed 87,678,772 votes. That’s nearly 25.2 million fewer votes than the 112,861,637 votes tabbed by the AL leaders. People simply care more when their team’s games are more exciting to watch, and it begins with a designated hitter.
When the rulemakers of baseball finally come to their senses and adopt a universal designated hitter rule, the sport can only benefit in every aspect – except comedy.
In place of pitchers at the plate serving as the laughingstock of the day’s baseball entertainment, the fans will be forced to watch a highly competitive game at all spots in the lineup, and punished by power hitters driving balls into the stands.
Instead of higher risks of pitchers injuring themselves on awkward swings, viewers will be obligated to watch as sluggers perform swings that they have practiced for a lifetime.
Rather than the thrilling experience of watching the number eight hitter receive an intentional walk to load the bases, either bringing the pitcher to the plate or witnessing the replacement by a pinch hitter to end an epic pitchers’ duel on the mound, the audience will groan and whine as the pitcher has to actually pitch his way out of a game.
So, never mind. Baseball with drama and without unnecessary injuries doesn’t sound fun to watch at all.