The N.L. needs the designated hitter! (1 Viewer)

[Clinton McClure]

I've always been an Oakland fan (even when they had Tony LaRussa as manager

) and always will. I'm in agreement with many here, as I also believe the DH should be eliminated. Of course, I also believe coffee tastes better if you stir it with your finger...
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http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mycollection.asp?alias=mport_drivr Casa del Clint
[Edited last by Clinton on October 17, 2001 at 05:44 PM]

 

[Calvin Cullen]

The AL game is pathetic, especially during the regular season. They should ditch the DH.

 

[Tommy G]

The DH is a scam! I really hate watching AL games and find myself a lot more interested in the NL Playoff games this year than AL. To have to decide in a one run game whether or not to pull a double switch or hit for the pitcher is great stuff and adds so much more excitement and strategy.

 

[Richard Kim]

As much as I hate the DH, the MLB Players Association will not let it disappear, as it will result in players who can no longer play on defense be out of a job.
[Edited last by Richard Kim on October 18, 2001 at 07:48 AM]

 

[Hugh Jackes]

Richard Kim nailed it. That is exactly why the DH is with us forever.

 

[Allen Hirsch]

David Oliver wrote:
"I am one who thinks the whole "strategizing" argument is pretty weak. It simply is not a factor as often as folks think."
You MUST be an AL fan to believe that, or not very familiar with the NL. There is far more strategy required of an NL manager than an AL manager. How often do you see a double switch in the AL? Almost never, whereas it's a common occurrence when making a pitching change in the NL. There's much more use of the sacrifice bunt to manufacture runs in the NL than the AL - again, a consequence indirectly of the DH.
I think there's plenty (maybe even too much) offense in today's game, so the DH has outlived its usefulness - but the players' union is more powerful than management, so we won't see it go away. Thank goodness the NL game remains "pure" - and it should stay that way.

 

[David Oliver]

Well then,how's this for "strategy":
Walk the eighth place batter to get to the pitcher...
Have the pitcher bunt to advance the runner...
These are not very strategic decision most of the time, they are no-brainers, and they effectively remove the most strategic part of baseball, the one-on-one pitcher/batter confrontation. Yeah, I know all about the double switch, how many games did that happen in last year. It is such a stroke of managerial brilliance though, isn't it? It usually requires the brain activity of a sloth to know when to do a double switch. I have never read in the paper "The Dodgers won yesterday with a brilliant, and unexpected double switch in the eigth inning." The toughest thing about having the pitcher hit is knowing when to take him out inrelation to when he is due up to hit. But I hardly think that makes up for all the garbage it brings to the game. Pitchers are specialists to the nth degree and are not like the other players, they play every four to five days, some only pitch an inning (or even a batter) at a time, it is just blindness that insists they be treated like all other players.
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Go Packers!!!

 

[John Thomas]

David-
You think that it's a no-brainer? Ask Bob Brenly. 8th inning of Game 1 of the NLDS vs St.Louis, D'Backs end of the inning - Curt Schilling pitching. The score is 1-0; does Brenly go with a switch? No; he figures that Schilling got him this far and will stick with him. End result: Arizona 1, St.Louis 0. Gutsy call and that's hy the NL is better than the AL. End of discussion.

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My Top 10 Movies http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/Forum9/HTML/005503-6.html#146

 

[Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm]

There were many, many double switches last year, and many of them contributed to a team's wins.
Baseball with the DH is like ET without guns. It just isn't the original.
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[Jeff_A]

Baseball with the DH is like ET without guns. It just isn't the original.

Long-time baseball (and American League) fan here. Why, oh why, must people continually FUCK with a good thing?
Also, it is truly impossible to argue that from a strategic standpoint, NL managers have MUCH more to concern themselves with during an average game.
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The Dark Tower

Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)?