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The designated hitter rule was consistently deemed preferable by the fans for years and ultimately adopted by the NL. Certainly, pitchers tend to have far lower

The designated hitter rule was consistently deemed preferable by the fans for years and ultimately adopted by the NL. Certainly, pitchers tend to have far lower batting averages, and the drama with a pitcher at the plate frequently just comes down to seeing if the can land a bunt to get a run in. So the rule won out. Unless your last name is Ohtani, you don't have to hit anymore. And I'm a little confused as to whether this is really what people wanted. Instead of 8 relatively good hitters and one who might be good or bad, and might be substituted midgame, there are just 9 good hitters, one who doesn't have to field. Frankly, I think it just makes the game more optimized and less dramatic. But, hey, the fans, the league and the players union have spoken...

jimnotgym 4y ago
That is one big difference to cricket, since cricket is mentioned as a comparison in other comments. In cricket you have 11 players. They bat in pairs. To get a side out you have to get 10 of them out. This means all 11 may have to bat. Therefore picking a side is a tradeoff between batters and bowlers. You will need at least 4 specialist bowlers, but that is risky. Some batters can bowl a bit, but world class all-rounders are extremely rare. This means a highly critical compromise must be struck.
nobody9999 4y ago
>The designated hitter rule was consistently deemed preferable by the fans for years and ultimately adopted by the NL. Certainly, pitchers tend to have far lower batting averages, and the drama with a pitcher at the plate frequently just comes down to seeing if the can land a bunt to get a run in. You speak for yourself, not me. I hate the designated hitter with a passion. It significantly reduces the amount of strategy employed, gets more bench players in the game, and creates moments like these[0][1]. And I just picked one pitcher as an example. Granted, he was much more amusing than most pitchers, but the fans (me included) love it! But I'm probably wrong. Look how much the fans hate Shohei Ohtani[2] /s But the team owners in the NL wanted the DH -- their calculation being more hitting = more viewers = more money. And the player's union wanted the DH as it brings more players (hitters) up to the big leagues. Another consideration was that pitchers (well, players generally), especially the elite ones are paid quite handsomely and batting/running the bases increases the risk of injury. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVFsq9FQBlc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVFsq9FQBlc [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfvCKA9RdH4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfvCKA9RdH4 [2] https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/ohtansh01.shtml https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/ohtansh01.shtml

jimnotgym 4y ago

That is one big difference to cricket, since cricket is mentioned as a comparison in other comments. In cricket you have 11 players. They bat in pairs. To get a side out you have to get 10 of them out. This means all 11 may have to bat. Therefore picking a side is a tradeoff between batters and bowlers. You will need at least 4 specialist bowlers, but that is risky. Some batters can bowl a bit, but world class all-rounders are extremely rare. This means a highly critical compromise must be struck.

nobody9999 4y ago

>The designated hitter rule was consistently deemed preferable by the fans for years and ultimately adopted by the NL. Certainly, pitchers tend to have far lower batting averages, and the drama with a pitcher at the plate frequently just comes down to seeing if the can land a bunt to get a run in. You speak for yourself, not me. I hate the designated hitter with a passion. It significantly reduces the amount of strategy employed, gets more bench players in the game, and creates moments like these[0][1]. And I just picked one pitcher as an example. Granted, he was much more amusing than most pitchers, but the fans (me included) love it! But I'm probably wrong. Look how much the fans hate Shohei Ohtani[2] /s But the team owners in the NL wanted the DH -- their calculation being more hitting = more viewers = more money. And the player's union wanted the DH as it brings more players (hitters) up to the big leagues. Another consideration was that pitchers (well, players generally), especially the elite ones are paid quite handsomely and batting/running the bases increases the risk of injury. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVFsq9FQBlc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVFsq9FQBlc [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfvCKA9RdH4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfvCKA9RdH4 [2] https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/ohtansh01.shtml https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/ohtansh01.shtml