The DH Argument

What would you say if David Stern held a press conference stating that starting in the 2006-07 season the Western Conference was going to abolish the 3 point line. It was started as an experiment and he feels that it has run its due course. So now when two teams from different conferences meet, the home team’s league rules take precedence. What would you have if he did this? Anger? Confusion? Major League Baseball?

Playing with two different sets of rules for one league is ridiculous. Baseball was able to get away with it in the 70’s and 80’s because there was no interleague play and the only time the DH came into the equation was the World Series (not like its that important to have a uniform set of rules for your championship series or anything). Now that each team plays 16 games a year against the opposing league this rule difference comes into play an astounding amount. There was a time in which Major League pitchers were some of the most athletic people on the field. Babe Ruth started as a pitcher, and many other pitchers would hit in the middle of their respective orders. Alas, these days have been replaced with a league based around specialization in roles. Pitchers are now looked upon as almost an automatic out. The old guard mentality needs to be changed so that the game can progress with a higher level of play. That high level can be reached by forcing the National League to adopt the designated hitter.
In 1973, in an effort to combat both declining attendance and offense, the AL adopted a rule stating that a team could designate a hitter to bat for the pitcher. When they did this most people thought it was just a stunt which would be used for a few years and then let things go back to the way they had always been. Maybe that was the plan of the owners and commissioner, but you know what happened? It worked. Simply put the DH has been an unquestionable success. It has worked on so many levels that it is now firmly entrenched in the AL and baseball in general.

First, and most obviously it makes for the higher scoring games that fans enjoy. It gives managers more roster flexibility, both during games and in selecting their team. It has been in use for 33 years, there is an entire generation of fans who grew up with nothing but the DH, it has permeated every level of baseball front the Majors, minors, college, high school, and most youth leagues. The most important reason, however, is that the game is just better with a DH. You remove your worse offensive player for someone who is most likely one of your best. It also allows you to put a great hitter in the lineup without sacrificing defense (a la David Ortiz and Frank Thomas) so in turn it improves the quality of the offense, and your defense. Why don’t we want to see the best players play when we watch a Major League game? We go there expecting to see the best hitters and pitchers in the world, and then we are subjected to watching Pedro Martinez fail miserably trying to hit mediocre pitching.
As for the dissidents? They say that the NL is a more exciting game to watch because runs are so hard to come by and there is more strategy. Well the runs are hard to come by because you have a gaping hole as 1/9th of your offense. As for strategy, and the double switch being exciting? You tell me what you’d rather see, Willie Randolph pinch hitting Julio Franco for Chad Bradford and then substituting Billy Wagner into Carlos Delgado’s spot in the order so he can pitch the ninth, or David Ortiz hitting his 5th walk off home run of the season.
Yes, baseball is a game of tradition, and the National League will never willingly institute the DH. But they should, it is a better game with the DH. And with the NFL taking over as America’s most popular spectator sport maybe now is the time to raise the level of play in the MLB.


Brian Corley is a co-host of Boxscore Banter and one of the web page editors. If you have any comments on the article drop him an e-mail at boxscorebanter@gmail.com