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Post ID	Date & Time	Game Date	Function
#4966	10/17/2013 6:38:52 am		Ignore
Legends Joined: 06/14/2013 Posts: 13 Inactive	Rookie pitcher Randall Delgado was batting about .200 by the end of this season.
#4967	10/17/2013 7:34:38 am		Ignore
weaponx84 Joined: 10/02/2013 Posts: 16 Inactive	You can't really compare it with interleague because it is only about 10 games a year that a AL teams pitchers have to go bat, for the most part the AL managers don't even want there pitchers to run out ground ball outs let alone really practicing hitting. With few and rare exceptions the pitchers spot in the lineup is going to be a easy out with probably around a 3rd of the time those outs being by strikeout. NL managers have to come up with a way to give the pitcher a productive out which is kind of a oxymoron to me. Its like a winning defeat. The main thing is that the DH rule is pretty much everywhere except the NL, even their farm teams will use the DH much more because they are usually in divisions with AL teams as well and they play them regularly. It has been around for what 45 years or so? Just embrace it and move on. I bet if you gave all the NL managers the option of using a DH or a pitchers they would all want that extra bat in the lineup and let the pitcher focus on what he does best, PITCH. Also pretty neat stats in a somewhat related issue http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1654175-what-is-baseballs-superior-overall-league-the-al-or-the-nl
#4969	10/17/2013 9:21:48 am		Ignore
Mig2012 Joined: 09/26/2012 Posts: 547 Inactive	The number I posted for the AL is a league average, compiled from around 300 at bats. I’d say that is an acceptable sample size. You can’t take out of the equation the fact that AL managers don’t want their pitchers to take batting practice because that is the main reason why NL pitchers are more productive at bat. I agree NL managers have their everyday managing lives more complicated than the AL managers, but that doesn’t mean the DH rule favors AL teams over NL teams. It’s actually the other way around. The link you posted is about league comparison, not exactly the same as rule comparison, and the article gives a very clear explanation why AL comes out on top of NL: money. What I’m saying is a bit different. I’m saying all things equal (money wise) the DH rule favors the NL teams.
#4970	10/17/2013 11:03:40 am		Ignore
weaponx84 Joined: 10/02/2013 Posts: 16 Inactive	300 AB's is a little over half a season for one everyday player. Which means that the AL pitchers really suck at hitting and that the NL pitchers don't suck as bad at but are still pretty terrible. I guess what I said before was clear in my head but not on the post. The NL is at a disadvantage because they do not have a DH for 2 reasons it makes the managers job harder meaning it is more difficult to create offense when you have slot in your everyday lineup that is not going to do much more than be an unproductive out and that NL teams either completely pass or are less likely to sign an older/defensively challenged player but who can still hit and contribute to the team offensively due to the fact that they don't have a DH and cannot use that player at any position effectively. I also don't understand how if a NL team drafts a pitcher it can take that pitcher 3 years before he potentially gets a chance to actually get an at bat. Rookie ball, low and high class A all use the DH. And even AA and AAA barely use it. So its not like the a pitching prospect is getting a ton of practice in the batting cage to begin with. But then he gets called up to the majors and your asking him to do something he clearly cannot do. So why have it to begin with then?
#4977	10/18/2013 3:35:06 am		Ignore
Mig2012 Joined: 09/26/2012 Posts: 547 Inactive	True, NL teams restrain themselves from hiring veteran hitters with little defensive skills, but they always seem to find other hitters as good as those that they usually use as pinch hitters. You have a good example in your beloved Braves, Gattis. He pinched hit a lot this season, and I don’t see many AL DHs better than him. Then there’s the money situation. Those typical DHs don’t come cheap, and AL teams are able to hire them because they also have deeper pockets, and that has nothing to do with the DH rule. To me, the real difference in the DH rule is in the at bats of pitchers. The numbers I posted don’t even show the whole picture, because even when NL pitchers are put out, they are still more productive than AL pitchers as they are better at moving runners with sacrifice bunts and whatnot.
#4978	10/18/2013 8:49:22 am
admin Joined: 01/27/2010 Posts: 5023 Administrator	.224 for AL .341 for NL Wow...I'm surprised the spread is that big. However, both values are extremely low compared to regular hitters. Steve
#4979	10/18/2013 9:14:48 am		Ignore
weaponx84 Joined: 10/02/2013 Posts: 16 Inactive	It would take a mindset change for sure. But look at the 2 teams in the NLCS right now, if everyone was healthy on both teams you could see a outfield of Puig, Kemp and Crawford and have Ethier as a DH for the Dodgers. Then a combo of 1B, 2B and DH with Craig, Adams and Carpenter for the Cardinals. I think it would add to an already exciting series. And yes I would have loved for Evan Gattis to be just a full time hitter.
#4980	10/18/2013 9:19:00 am		Ignore
Mig2012 Joined: 09/26/2012 Posts: 547 Inactive	I agree with Steve, but that spread is bigger than the spread between DHs in the AL and PHs in the NL. Here's the league average OPS this regular season for those: .725 for AL DHs .621 for NL PHs These cold numbers don't show the whole picture though, as there are more players pinch hitting in the NL than designated hitters in the AL. For this comparison to be fair it would have to take in consideration only the best NL pinch hitters, and in that case the spread would be even smaller, if not on par. If we add to the equation the money muscle of the AL, it's clear to me the DH rule favors the NL teams over the AL ones. Sources: http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/seasontype/2/split/86 http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/seasontype/2/split/87 Updated Friday, October 18 2013 @ 9:19:48 am PDT
#4983	10/18/2013 10:01:03 am		Ignore
weaponx84 Joined: 10/02/2013 Posts: 16 Inactive	I don't think that the AL has all the money. Yes the Yankees and Red Sox are always going to be top 5 payrolls, but 7 of the top 15 payrolls are in the NL. And even with those huge payrolls look at teams like the White Sox, Blue Jays and Angels, none of those teams really looked like a playoff/championship team at all this year. Even last year the Red Sox had a huge payroll and look were it got them. I think the Yankees and Red Sox will always be able to buy teams but you can say that for the Dodgers and Phillies as well. I am sure the Mets will be a high payroll team again soon and the Nationals may rival the Yankees and Dodgers in a few years with Strasburg, Zimmerman, Gonzalez and Harper's contract.
#4990	10/18/2013 4:02:57 pm		Ignore
Mig2012 Joined: 09/26/2012 Posts: 547 Inactive	Well, it was your article that said the money was in the AL, and that makes sense to me too. The whole purpose of the DH rule was to bring more cash in because the average viewer prefers to watch games with more runs, so that probably made the AL richer.

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