jeff@dciem.UUCP (Jeff Richardson) (11/08/84)
I've just heard that Peter Uberroth (sp?), baseball's new commisioner,
is going to ask us, the fans, whether to keep the AL's designated hitter
rule. I'd like to know what you netters, both AL and NL fans, think of
his idea.
I like the idea of asking fans to decide what they would like to see,
but there's one important problem in this case. Most AL teams have
one, and in some cases even two players who are there strictly as DH's
and incapable of playing any other position at the major league level.
Because of the DH rule, AL teams have made acquiring or developing these
players a very high priority, and their short and long range player
development and acquisition philosophies would be completely different
if there was no DH rule. Eliminating the rule suddenly (I'm not sure
if that's what Uberroth plans if the fans vote against the DH) would put
several years of work down the drain and teams would be forced to scramble
to pick up different types of players. It's okay to let the fans
decide whether to keep the DH provided, if the fans vote to get
rid of it, the current rule stays in effect for at least three more
years so that the team managements can adjust for the change before it
takes place.
I'd also like to know if there are any other leagues that use the DH
rule. I am violently opposed to having a DH rule in little league,
because young pitchers should be taught to hit because they won't always
be playing in leagues that have DH's and a lot of them may not even be
pitchers all their baseball lives. Similarly, young hitters should not be
encouraged to give up fielding. At the little league level, the pitcher
is often one of the best hitters on the team anyway. The same argument
could be applied to minor pro leagues, because the more versatile a
player is, the more chances he has to make it to the majors, regardless
of which league the team that owns his rights is in. The only possible
exception would be the American League teams' AAA farm clubs, because
the AL teams may want to develop their pitchers without burdening them
with having to hit too, or they may want to develop a player as a DH
whose fielding isn't good enough to play at the AAA level. However,
I believe each AAA league has both AL and NL sponsored teams, so as
long as there are NL sponsored teams in the league, there should be no DH.
--
Jeff Richardson, DCIEM, Toronto (416) 635-2073
{linus,ihnp4,uw-beaver,floyd}!utcsrgv!dciem!jeff
{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!dciem!jeffrick@ucla-cs.UUCP (11/15/84)
<==== yum yum ====>
Designated hitters? Dump them! Either that or field two completely separate
offensive and defensive teams (a la football). Why make an exception for
the pitcher/designated hitter?
Rick Gillespie
rick@ucla-cs
...!{cepu|ihnp4|sdcrdcf|ucbvax}!ucla-cs!rick
"I came here for a good argument!"
"No you came here for an argument"
ps - go Jays!matthew@ucla-cs.UUCP (11/16/84)
The designated hitter exists in minor league baseball in North Carolina.
I remember the Durham Bulls having a DH, and they are a farm team for the
Braves! Of course the league they play in has teams from both major
leagues, so at it sort of makes sense for some of the teams.
Matthew Merzbacher
UCLA Computer Science Dept.
ARPA: matthew@ucla-locus.arpa
UUCP: ...!{sdcrdcf,ihnp4,trwspp,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!matthewrossiter@cornell.UUCP (David Rossiter) (11/19/84)
I believe that the only professional league in North America that DOESN'T use the DH is the National League. All minor leagues use it. The colleges in the northeast use it, and I think all NCAA teams use it. This is a really sad state of affairs. Part of baseball's unique character is that all players must contribute on offense and defense, and once substituted for, they can't return. If the DH is retained, we might as well go all the way -- allow platooning and free substitution (except that a batter would have to wait for the 9th place to bat again). Obviously I don't favor this. The DH is an abomination. Does Ueberroth read the net? I'd like to hear from non-USA netters. Do they use the DH in Latin America or Japan?
plh@ukma.UUCP (Paul L. Hightower) (11/19/84)
...I seem to recall reading a while back that the National League in the U.S. and the Central League in Japan were the only two leagues in the world not using the DH. This may be an exageration, but I believe all minor leagues, most colleges and high schools use it (although the schools allow a DH for any one player, not just the pitcher. Pitchers are frequently the best hitters in school.) I think this is too bad; high schools in particular should not lock someone into a "good field, no hit" or "good hit, no field" role. Players should be learning skills at this level, not just demonstrating them. If it makes a difference, I think the DH is an unnecessary gimmick. I hope the NL doesn't adopt it. Paul Hightower, University of Kentucky
david@fisher.UUCP (David Rubin) (11/20/84)
All minor leagues use the DH, though the NL sent out a directive forbidding their farm clubs from using it against one another. Thus, when Richmond plays Tidewater, the pitchers ARE the DH's. As for the DH itself, it was supposed to create more offense (as if offense is the goal), but AL games average on the order of a tenth of a run more scored than NL games. The creators of the DH neglected many of the second order effects which favor the DEFENSE, such as enabling a team down one or two runs to stay with their present (and usually more effective) pitcher in a situation where he would normally be pulled for a pinch hitter. Thus, the AL gained little offense, but did take a giant step towards specialization. In the name of "better" defense and "better" offense, where can we stop short of free substitution? Baseball was never broke, so why did the AL have to "fix" it? David Rubin