NFT: Universal Designated Hitter being discussed for 2019 Season

In comment 14289750 Greg from LI said:

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That's the point I've been making. Chris Davis had a monumentally bad season last year, historically bad. Yet, were he a pitcher, he'd be the 5th best hitting pitcher in baseball with at least 40 PAs. Even with only 10 PAs,he only drops to #10.

I am not debating this point I agree with you, but then why don't fans say "who wants to to go the ballpark and watch Chris Davis hit 4 times a game?" when he's as bad as a pitcher. And he wasn't even the worst in the tweet, I thought Pujols was worse and many others. Over their last 1000 plus at-bats.

My point, again, is I think the leagues should be consistent.

I think the fans who say "who wants to see pitchers bat, they could get hurt"

or the fans who say

"who wants to watch a softball game"

are both using their opinions to shape the game they want to see and neither really has more merit than the other.

but the leagues should be the same for fairness and consistency.

I definitely think AL teams have an advantage when competing interleague because they build their rosters with a DH in mind, not using one ten games per year or so and just throwing someone in that spot.

Two question marks. Odd.

But yeah, sure seems like a fat lazy move designed to keep players like David Ortiz active well passed their ability to do anything other than hit.

seasons in baseball history this year, going
.168/.243/.296.

It was horrifically bad. He kept playing because he had a huge contract and the Orioles were tanking, and because he at one point was a good hitter.

Pitchers on AVERAGE hit
.115/.144/.149

That's not even in the same universe of ineptitude as Chris Davis.

Comparing the average pitcher to an all-time bad season by one player doesn't make any sense.

It would make more sense to say "imagine making Chris Davis significantly worse than he was last season and putting him on every team playing in every game."

again, to avoid further confusion, is not comparing Chris Davis'one season to pitchers (or any seasons really).

It was mentioning a tweet (I wish I could find it) that showed a list of players and their OPS over 1000 at-bats (+) so two seasons or more in some cases, of the worst position players.

and they were unquestionably awful, Davis was one of them, Pujols was another.

And it was really questioning the people who say "no one goes to the stadium to see pitchers hit" crowd.

when no one also goes to the stadium to see guys who bat regularly OPS .300 or whatever it is (not to be compared with a pitcher, but evaluated as awful in its own right)

In fact, if you're being honest and not biased it's probably worse seeing a position player be awful for two years than a pitcher 2 to 3 times a game, who you expect to be bad, be awful.

In comment 14289672 Metnut said:

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they'll stop watching baseball if the NL adds the DH don't watch a lot of baseball right now.

And you would be wrong. I watch close to all 162 Mets games each season, have for years (been a fan since the 1960's). If the NL gets the DH I'm guessing I'll go to just catching an occasional game each year. At least it will save me some money from buying MLB extra inning each season.

In comment 14289962 steve in ky said:

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In comment 14289672 Metnut said: Quote: they'll stop watching baseball if the NL adds the DH don't watch a lot of baseball right now. And you would be wrong. I watch close to all 162 Mets games each season, have for years (been a fan since the 1960's). If the NL gets the DH I'm guessing I'll go to just catching an occasional game each year. At least it will save me some money from buying MLB extra inning each season.

Then I think you're being ridiculous but hey, we all have limited time so do what you like.

the pitchers who are so, so, so bad-- so much worse than even the worst seasons by position players-- are expected to be as bad as they are. So what is that accomplishing? It's a charade.

The global talent pool and better training methods have made pitchers far more specialized than ever before. They are throwing harder than ever before with more relievers available to throw harder than ever before. Hitting is really damn hard, and that is for guys who play every day where hitting is the top priority.

It's even harder for pitchers to hit who only get up once every five games. It has also made it harder for a pitcher to make the majors. As such, the priority for pitchers who want to make MLB is to focus exclusively on pitching. Unless you have freaks like Shohei Otani, pitchers aren't advancing and getting shots because they are semi-competent at the plate.

I'm still not following the tweet you reference. Pujols's worst season at the plate was .241/.286/.386 for an OPS of .672. Comparing that to an OPS of .293 for the average pitcher doesn't make sense.

When a position player is having an incomprehensibly bad stretch, there's still the hope that he will break out it-- that perhaps it was a fluky slump, or perhaps an injury that the player is working through.

Of course it's frustrating to see a position player struggle at the plate. But the hope is that the player can find their way out of the aberration that is the horrific streak at the plate.

Having pitchers go up there is just a total waste of time.

In comment 14289966 Metnut said:

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In comment 14289962 steve in ky said: Quote: In comment 14289672 Metnut said: Quote: they'll stop watching baseball if the NL adds the DH don't watch a lot of baseball right now. And you would be wrong. I watch close to all 162 Mets games each season, have for years (been a fan since the 1960's). If the NL gets the DH I'm guessing I'll go to just catching an occasional game each year. At least it will save me some money from buying MLB extra inning each season. Then I think you're being ridiculous but hey, we all have limited time so do what you like.

LOL, ridiculous would be continue to watch something as often that I wouldn't enjoy the same as before.

I posted earlier that I can appreciate why some fans prefer the DH, but for some reason too many of those same fans can't comprehend why others might feel differently. Obviously you don't appreciate the same things about the game as I do. To each his own.

to have pitchers bat. a lot of times pitchers just bunt.

again, my point is not like I'm some pro pitcher batting advocate, I'm not.

I don't really care if pitchers never bat again.

I just find the reasons many AL fans make are hypocritical and mostly because Chien Ming Wang got hurt (not even hitting, but running the bases - so in your world pitchers should not be allowed to be pinch runners either).

If pitchers shouldn't bat it's because it represents inconsistency and unfairness between the leagues from everything from roster building to in-game strategy requirements. Not because they're bad at it or because they might get hurt.

I read one advocate for removal of the hitting pitchers say baseball pitchers are not baseball players, they're pitchers.

but I don't care for the DH. I enjoy the double-switches and overall depth of strategy that is available in the current NL only because they don't have a DH. It effects when pitchers can pulled and teams have to actually carry players on their bench.