Question:
Should MLB add the DH to the National league...?
2007-05-25 22:13:48 UTC
This way you allow the studs(starting pitchers) pitch til" the 8th Inn. or complete game. Many times Managers will pull a pitcher,and sub him for a PH.I,think a Blue-Collar relief pitcher belongs in the minors. What do U Yahoo freaks think?..ha ha..=)
Eighteen answers:
james t
2007-05-25 23:55:59 UTC
YES... Nobody ever goes to a game to see David Wells or Randy Johnson hit. Another bat in the lineup means more runs, which means more exciting and dynamic games.
VFBundy
2007-05-26 07:47:41 UTC
The only chance the leagues have of being uniform is if the NL goes to the DH. It's simply impossible the DH will ever be removed from the AL. There are a number of reasons, most having to do with the players' union, which is more powerful than the commissioner or baseball itself. (That's why there is not and will never be a salary cap.)



Taking away the DH would mean one less starting job per team in the AL. This would result in one player per team losing his starting job, meaning less value, thus less salary for this "ninth" starting player. (Admittedly, this wouldn't happen right away because the player would already have a contract in place, but 5-10 years down the road after the non-DH rule was in effect, AL teams would only have to pay eight "starters" instead of nine.) The players' union would realize this and never allow this to happen.



Also, the DH rule lengthens players' careers. That is why older guys like Mike Piazza go over to the AL. If it weren't for the DH rule, his career might be over. His value would certainly be much less if he had to play the field; there may not even be a position he could play, at least with any consistancy. This is the #1 reason why the players' union would never allow the DH to be taken away.



Whether you agree with the players' union's motives or not, or think that it's bad for baseball, the facts are the facts. They have the power, they won't allow it, and it will never happen.



But, speaking in strictly baseball terms, why is having the pitcher bat preferred by some people? I don't really see the strategy of seeing the pitcher bunt every 2-3 innings. Okay, I understand there is strategy involved in whether you remove the pitcher and use a pinch hitter, etc., but don't tell me the pitcher contributes to the offense (as I've read some of you say here). I can (sort of) buy the strategy aspect of the non-DH argument, but the act of watching the pitcher bunt over a runner in the 2nd inning...well, that part of it sucks.



Some will say I'm not a purist, but it's my belief that when the game was originally invented, the pitcher was an "equal" batter to the other batters on the team. (Think of a Little League game, where the pitcher might also be the best hitter on a team. In THAT case, of course there's no need for a DH.) However, over time, in professional baseball, the pitcher became more of a "defensive specialist" to the point where his offensive abilities no longer mattered. I just don't believe the forefathers of the game realized to what extent this would happen.



In other words, I don't think the inventors of baseball had the pitcher bat to create these supposed "strategic" moments in the game; they had him bat because he was as good of a batter as any other player on the team.
?
2016-05-18 04:42:49 UTC
I'm an A.L. guy, but not because of the rules because I am an A's fan. I enjoy the National league style of play, but look at my team. They can't hit with a DH. Imagine if they had no DH then they really could not hit. Ya, I would prefer a pitchers duel, it is usually just a higher quality style of baseball when they play deffense and pitch well, but make no mistake about it. A.L. has better players who can play N.L. ball just as well if not better the the NL.
2007-05-25 22:44:39 UTC
I'm sure the MLB would love to but they cant. That decision is made by the owners of the NL teams, so the MLB cant force the NL to use the DH. I personally think the DH should not be used. It allows pitchers in the AL to not have to work at all in batting, and it allows players who are not true athletes become stars. Baseball is a sport. People who play sports are athletes. But with the DH rule, anybody who can hit the ball can be a star. It doesnt matter if they are dead slow and fields like a 3rd grader, they still can be a star.
Mayday
2007-05-25 22:16:16 UTC
Never!!!! If the pitcher is pitching well and is a "stud" then he should be allowed to stay in and hit. The managers who pull a stud starting pitcher in the 6th for an average pinch hitter are making a huge mistake.



The DH has been one of the most controversial additions in baseball history. If you make all Major League teams use the DH you not only lose a significant part of history but you also lose some of the mystique of interleague games. Plus you lose one of the greatest bar arguments of all time, ranking up there with "is artificial turf ruining baseball?"



Keep the DH in the American league, and keep the leagues separate!!
2007-05-25 23:15:42 UTC
Inventing the DH position was as stupid as going to war with Iraq...all the guys playing defense on the field deserve a chance to contribute on offense too, not some guy who is too lazy or too horrible to use a glove and throw a baseball to help the team when they are not batting...even though the NL teams are generally weaker than the AL teams due to this rule, I still believe that the NL is the only league still playing real baseball, and guys like Frank Thomas and Mike Sweeney need to learn to do what kids in high school can do better than them...so rather than move the DH to the NL, I think it should be eliminated altogether
jennerz22
2007-05-26 00:31:41 UTC
Absolutely not! This is what makes the NL superior to the AL. Pitchers contribute at the plate as well as on the field. A great athlete such as Jason Marquis can change a game with his arm as well as his bat.
Chipmaker Authentic
2007-05-25 22:40:04 UTC
Not unless the NL teams want it, which doesn't appear to be the case.



I really don't consider the DH/no-DH question important, but by now it remains the only significant difference between the AL and the NL; the last remnant of true league identity, which Seligula has been systematically destroying throughout his tenure, whether or not he realizes it (or cares).



I prefer things how they are. Hamburgers, cheeseburgers....
2007-05-25 23:38:30 UTC
No, and they should subtract it from the American League.

The DH sucks ***, and is an amateur, bush league, bullsh*t idea made up to add more runs to the game. Makes as much sense as having no shortstop to add more runs. It's stupid, and gives one-trick ponies more time in baseball than they deserve. If you can't play defense, get the f*ck out of the league!
robert d
2007-05-25 22:19:57 UTC
Absolutely not. This is what makes the NL game superior to the AL game. Strategy!!!
morrow8454
2007-05-26 00:16:26 UTC
i'm not gonna go either way.....but i do think the mlb should either make them both use the DH or both have the pitchers bat.!
SW1
2007-05-25 22:52:00 UTC
I don't think so. If anything, they should take the DH out of the American League.
jh361
2007-05-25 22:18:38 UTC
I think they should...to make both the leagues equal. But the baseball purists would never allow it. I'd guess that most people would rather that AL get rid of the DH.
Dodgerblue
2007-05-25 23:53:16 UTC
NO, IT made the A.L. Boring and unwatchable
2007-05-25 22:52:10 UTC
It's not up to MLB but to the NL.
2007-05-25 22:39:25 UTC
Yes. Its time.
2007-05-26 00:30:58 UTC
no
joelinn1974
2007-05-25 22:42:39 UTC
no way............


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
Loading...