A vote on the DH (1 Viewer)

[weisguy0831]

Just got to thinking about this today. I'm tired of the rhetoric from the old schoolers who want to see the DH abolished. I doubt it will happen in my lifetime (probably 30-40 more years).

honestly, i'd just as soon see it added to the n.l.

I don't like the fact that two leagues that have interleague play have two sets of rules. I mean, imagine the NBA having a 3-point line in Western Conference stadiums, but not in the East.

Interested to hear thoughts on the future of the DH in baseball.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

I'd stop thinking and go back to screwing up your drafts.

 

[tmc94]

Call me old school but the DH is silly. A lot of AL homers have now grown up on it though so I see it unlikely to change. But things like the DH, interleague play, 3 divisions, lack of revenue sharing/cap etc, are hurting baseball IMO. I won't comment on the others as that is not the point of this thread, but the DH really adds nothing but a softball feel to baseball. When people ask, "who wants to see the pitcher hit?" I laugh. I do. I want to see a double switch. I want to see a well executed bunt. I want to see Roger Clemens take one up and in. I want the managers to have to make a decision whether to keep a pitcher in or pinch hit for him down 2-1 in the 7th. Take that away and you end up with a bunch of guys that swing for the fences, strikeout or walk.

I won't take away from the A's because they do what it takes to win in a small market, but they are boring to watch. I want to see a guy go from 1st to home on a double. I want to see a straight steal. I want to see a squeeze play or a pitch out. I want there to be actual strategy to the game. I want beisbol, not softball.

 

[Snotbubbles]

Call me old school but the DH is silly. A lot of AL homers have now grown up on it though so I see it unlikely to change. But things like the DH, interleague play, 3 divisions, lack of revenue sharing/cap etc, are hurting baseball IMO. I won't comment on the others as that is not the point of this thread, but the DH really adds nothing but a softball feel to baseball. When people ask, "who wants to see the pitcher hit?" I laugh. I do. I want to see a double switch. I want to see a well executed bunt. I want to see Roger Clemens take one up and in. I want the managers to have to make a decision whether to keep a pitcher in or pinch hit for him down 2-1 in the 7th. Take that away and you end up with a bunch of guys that swing for the fences, strikeout or walk. I won't take away from the A's because they do what it takes to win in a small market, but they are boring to watch. I want to see a guy go from 1st to home on a double. I want to see a straight steal. I want to see a squeeze play or a pitch out. I want there to be actual strategy to the game. I want beisbol, not softball.

What he said.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Call me old school but the DH is silly. A lot of AL homers have now grown up on it though so I see it unlikely to change. But things like the DH, interleague play, 3 divisions, lack of revenue sharing/cap etc, are hurting baseball IMO. I won't comment on the others as that is not the point of this thread, but the DH really adds nothing but a softball feel to baseball. When people ask, "who wants to see the pitcher hit?" I laugh. I do. I want to see a double switch. I want to see a well executed bunt. I want to see Roger Clemens take one up and in. I want the managers to have to make a decision whether to keep a pitcher in or pinch hit for him down 2-1 in the 7th. Take that away and you end up with a bunch of guys that swing for the fences, strikeout or walk. I won't take away from the A's because they do what it takes to win in a small market, but they are boring to watch. I want to see a guy go from 1st to home on a double. I want to see a straight steal. I want to see a squeeze play or a pitch out. I want there to be actual strategy to the game. I want beisbol, not softball.

What he said.

I don't see either league changing, but the DH is a total abomination.

 

[Funkley]

The players association will never let the DH go away. Average salary of a DH in the AL is somewhere near $9 million a season.

And btw, watching pitchers bunt is a real hoot.

 

[bialczabub]

The players association will never let the DH go away. Average salary of a DH in the AL is somewhere near $9 million a season.

The DH is entrenched because of the player's union. There are enough people who make the "no-DH" arguments that some here made, such that the NL will likely never adopt the DH.gridlock.I'd be a fan of abolishing the DH. The A's are boring? One of the basic tenets of Moneyball is the old Earl Weaver quote "wait for a three run homer." IMO, it's boring to watch Ozzie Guillen give away outs with sacrifice bunts in his poor attempt at small ball.

 

[Greco]

"Hate" is not a strong enough word for my feelings for the DH.

 

[TinHat]

Who wants to see guys like Hafner and Ortiz play the field?

 

[ooofffaaa]

AL small market teams are at a serious disadvantage when it comes to the DH.

There is no way a team like Tampa Bay can afford a Giambi or Thome at 10+ million per year.

I say get rid of it.

 

[Funkley]

AL small market teams are at a serious disadvantage when it comes to the DH.There is no way a team like Tampa Bay can afford a Giambi or Thome at 10+ million per year.I say get rid of it.

The White Sox got Thome for Aaron Rowand when the Phillies thought he was done. A team with good scouting and drafting can certainly find a guy who can hit but maybe isn't MLB quality in the field. The Royals have the proto-type DH in their minor leagues (Billy Butler) but they refuse to give him a chance yet. The list of impact DH's is really pretty small and one of those signed with Toronto, not NY/BOS/BALT......Just leave it the way it is.

 

[Bobcat10]

Who wants to see guys like Hafner and Ortiz play the field?

Hafner is not a bad 1B. He just suffered some elbow injuries and the Indians played it safe for about 2 years and DH'd him. It's something an AL team can afford to do. Now DH has become his role although there are talks that he'll be playing more 1B this year. If he gets to the point where he can go 80+ games at 1B it will only help the Indians as they have struggled filling that void over the past few years.For this reason, I don't have a huge problem with the DH.

 

[Snotbubbles]

The White Sox got Thome for Aaron Rowand when the Phillies thought he was done.

The Phillies didn't think Thome was done. That had this other guy playing first base when Thome was injured who did a pretty good job. What was his name? Oh yeah! Ryan Howard. They were actually considering trading Howard and keeping Thome at 1st. But when Thome got injured they put Howard into the lineup and he did a good job. The rest is history and so was Thome.Had the Phillies been in the American League. I'd be willing to bet that Thome would still be on the team as the DH.

 

[Funkley]

The White Sox got Thome for Aaron Rowand when the Phillies thought he was done.

The Phillies didn't think Thome was done. That had this other guy playing first base when Thome was injured who did a pretty good job. What was his name? Oh yeah! Ryan Howard. They were actually considering trading Howard and keeping Thome at 1st. But when Thome got injured they put Howard into the lineup and he did a good job. The rest is history and so was Thome.Had the Phillies been in the American League. I'd be willing to bet that Thome would still be on the team as the DH.

Don't try to tell me they knew Howard would be that good. Thome was falling off a cliff and the White Sox threw them a way to get out from under him. Simple. The fact that Thome came back so well last year is still a surprise.

 

[Snotbubbles]

Don't try to tell me they knew Howard would be that good. Thome was falling off a cliff and the White Sox threw them a way to get out from under him. Simple. The fact that Thome came back so well last year is still a surprise.

Do you have any clue? He set the Phillies minor league record for homers in a season. Then in 2005, in 88 games, he won Rookie of the year. NEWSFLASH: In 2005 the Phillies STILL HAD Thome. Could there be any better indication that Howard was good and that they needed to play him.

 

[tmc94]

The White Sox got Thome for Aaron Rowand when the Phillies thought he was done.

The Phillies didn't think Thome was done. That had this other guy playing first base when Thome was injured who did a pretty good job. What was his name? Oh yeah! Ryan Howard. They were actually considering trading Howard and keeping Thome at 1st. But when Thome got injured they put Howard into the lineup and he did a good job. The rest is history and so was Thome.Had the Phillies been in the American League. I'd be willing to bet that Thome would still be on the team as the DH.

Don't try to tell me they knew Howard would be that good. Thome was falling off a cliff and the White Sox threw them a way to get out from under him. Simple. The fact that Thome came back so well last year is still a surprise.

Wow. Falling off a cliff? In 2004, Thome hit .274-42-105. In 2005 he got hurt. In 2006 he hit .288-42-109. Ryan Howard played part of the year in 05 and hit .288-22-63. Thome was traded because he was expensive and expendable. There was some talk about trying to figure out if Howard could play outfield but it really came down to the fact that one or the other had to go. Howard's 2005 season made that a fairly easy choice. Due to his salary, there were not a ton of bidders. Doesn't mean the Phils thought he was falling off a cliff. Thome is going to make $16MM. There just aren't that many teams that are willing to bid on a 1b/DH that makes $16MM.

 

[Funkley]

The White Sox got Thome for Aaron Rowand when the Phillies thought he was done.

The Phillies didn't think Thome was done. That had this other guy playing first base when Thome was injured who did a pretty good job. What was his name? Oh yeah! Ryan Howard. They were actually considering trading Howard and keeping Thome at 1st. But when Thome got injured they put Howard into the lineup and he did a good job. The rest is history and so was Thome.Had the Phillies been in the American League. I'd be willing to bet that Thome would still be on the team as the DH.

Don't try to tell me they knew Howard would be that good. Thome was falling off a cliff and the White Sox threw them a way to get out from under him. Simple. The fact that Thome came back so well last year is still a surprise.

Wow. Falling off a cliff? In 2004, Thome hit .274-42-105. In 2005 he got hurt. In 2006 he hit .288-42-109. Ryan Howard played part of the year in 05 and hit .288-22-63. Thome was traded because he was expensive and expendable. There was some talk about trying to figure out if Howard could play outfield but it really came down to the fact that one or the other had to go. Howard's 2005 season made that a fairly easy choice. Due to his salary, there were not a ton of bidders. Doesn't mean the Phils thought he was falling off a cliff. Thome is going to make $16MM. There just aren't that many teams that are willing to bid on a 1b/DH that makes $16MM.

Sorry to break the news to you but when a 34 year old player posts career lows in BA, SLG, and OB in 59 games for any reason, that's going off a cliff and there's never any given that a player of that age gets it back. The point to all of this is that the White Sox got him for Aaron f'ing Rowand. Not exactly an endorsement on anyone's part that Thome would be anything again especially at that price. Going into last spring it was a question of whether or not his elbow would hold up and will he be able to hit even if it does. It has nothing to do with small vs big market and the costs of DH. No one can afford $16 million dollar mistakes. Terry Ryan of Minnesota had been quoted as saying that it was the elbow that scared teams away from him, not the price tag.And as great as Howard was in 2005 he also struck out 100 times in 312 at bat's. A player struggling to make contact that bad can go any direction the year after.

 

[The Commish]

Call me old school but the DH is silly. A lot of AL homers have now grown up on it though so I see it unlikely to change. But things like the DH, interleague play, 3 divisions, lack of revenue sharing/cap etc, are hurting baseball IMO. I won't comment on the others as that is not the point of this thread, but the DH really adds nothing but a softball feel to baseball. When people ask, "who wants to see the pitcher hit?" I laugh. I do. I want to see a double switch. I want to see a well executed bunt. I want to see Roger Clemens take one up and in. I want the managers to have to make a decision whether to keep a pitcher in or pinch hit for him down 2-1 in the 7th. Take that away and you end up with a bunch of guys that swing for the fences, strikeout or walk. I won't take away from the A's because they do what it takes to win in a small market, but they are boring to watch. I want to see a guy go from 1st to home on a double. I want to see a straight steal. I want to see a squeeze play or a pitch out. I want there to be actual strategy to the game. I want beisbol, not softball.

What he said.

I don't see either league changing, but the DH is a total abomination.