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Post ID	Date & Time	Game Date	Function

#3277	05/07/2013 8:44:40 am
Krakonico Joined: 01/04/2013 Posts: 312 Inactive	http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9158659/mlb-designated-hitter-spread-nl

#3278	05/07/2013 10:07:41 am
admin Joined: 01/27/2010 Posts: 5042 Administrator	One of the issues with pitcher OPS is that traditionally you couldn’t compute it from the most common pitcher statistics. In order to compute the slugging portion, you’d need to know how many of each type of extra bases hits a pitcher has surrendered. Traditionally, doubles and triples and sometimes home runs given up by a pitcher have not been tracked. In terms of the DH, I sort of agree that it violates the symmetry of the game (everybody hits, everybody plays the field). However, I don’t see it going away and the majority of competitive baseball uses the DH now (AL, NCAA, most minor league games, Pacific League in Japan, Mexican League, World Baseball Classic). Steve

#3854	07/04/2013 7:40:13 am
ianheath653 Joined: 07/18/2012 Posts: 35 Inactive	I've always wondered how many people typically against the DH rule grew up rooting for NL teams, and how many people who don't have a problem with it grew up rooting for AL teams. Where I lived, there's a pretty even split between Phillies and Orioles fans, and it seemed like those on the Philadelphia side usually didn't like it, and those on the Baltimore side were fine with it.

#4951	10/15/2013 2:12:48 pm
weaponx84 Joined: 10/02/2013 Posts: 16 Inactive	I am a NL guy, born in raised in the Atlanta area and a huge Braves fan. And this year especially I really wish there was a DH in the NL. For selfish reason of course. Chris Johnson could have gotten more AB's and same for Evan Gattis and he wouldn't have been in the outfield were he doesn't belong. Or could have had Dan Uggla, etc...I have come to the conclusion that it is only a matter of time before the NL adopts the DH, it is used really everywhere but the NL.I would agree that these guys are getting paid crazy amounts of money and should know how to hit. But for the most part a pitcher in high school or college is only focusing on pitching and being told to forget about hitting all together because there is a DH. It actually puts the AL at an unfair advantage in a way so why not make the playing field even?

#4952	10/15/2013 2:49:34 pm
Mig2012 Joined: 09/26/2012 Posts: 547 Inactive	Actually, the DH rule benefits the NL teams more, as it's easier for them to adapt to the DH when they play Al teams away. It's harder for AL teams to find a pitcher who can be productive at bat when they play away against NL teams.

#4954	10/15/2013 5:05:37 pm
Solana_Steve Joined: 03/10/2010 Posts: 123 Inactive	I grew up in the Bay Area watching both the A’s and Giants – so I guess I had exposure to both. I’m not a big fan of the DH – I’m not against a little more offense, but it kind of ruins the symmetry of the game: every player must bat and every player must play the field. It kind of reminds me of what they’ve done with indoor volleyball by adding the Libero. Suddenly you have this short player who doesn’t have to play up at the net and kind just hangs back and can be a specialized defensive player. In volleyball, everyone on the court or sand should have to do it all or be so great in one thing that it makes up for their deficiencies in the other area. Steve Updated Tuesday, October 15 2013 @ 5:06:03 pm PDT

#4960	10/16/2013 10:03:13 am
weaponx84 Joined: 10/02/2013 Posts: 16 Inactive	I meant an unfair advantage in the fact that there can be a guy Paul Molitor, David Ortiz, Edgar Martinez, Frank Thomas etc... all who were/are great hitters but not so good to down right terrible in the field and in the NL you have live with it but in the AL you just put him in the DH spot and go on with your lineup card. It makes the managers job easier for what like 142 out of 162 regular season games. Even further you can sign a vetern guy who just can't do anything defensively anymore but can still hit like a Eddie Murray or Jim Thome type that could be a leader in the clubhouse and still be a good hitter for your team. Were as a NL team is less likely to sign a guy like that because he of his defense.

#4961	10/16/2013 3:38:57 pm
Mig2012 Joined: 09/26/2012 Posts: 547 Inactive	Ok, but in those 142 games, all the other NL teams play by the same rules, so they can't put a David Ortiz in the DH spot either. If you're going to compare the rules from both leagues you've got to do it with interleague matches, even if there aren't many of those throughout the season. Sure, an AL team is stronger with a David Ortiz in the DH spot, but a NL team, playing with the DH rule, can put a pinch hitter in that spot, and he will be competent enough. On the other hand, without the DH rule, you have NL pitchers who are very competent in keeping the inning alive with bunting and whatnot, they even have guys like Kershaw who can drive Home Runs, while the AL pitchers are just easy outs. Updated Wednesday, October 16 2013 @ 4:30:40 pm PDT

#4962	10/16/2013 5:44:08 pm
admin Joined: 01/27/2010 Posts: 5042 Administrator	I don't know if there are really that many great hitting NL pitchers. And there have been some good hitting AL pitchers (you just never see them hit). Yankees used to have Rick Rhoden who actually DH'ed a few games. I think most of the advantage is that AL teams have built their lineups around having a DH. He's usually batting in a high impact spot in the order and removing him is often like removing the keystone from an arch. Steve

#4963	10/17/2013 3:48:42 am
Mig2012 Joined: 09/26/2012 Posts: 547 Inactive	Yeah, that goes to show how much trouble an AL team is in when they can’t use a DH. Regarding pitching, some AL pitchers may be the exception to the norm, but I find it very hard to believe they can be as competent at bat as NL pitchers. They don’t even get batting practice most of the time. I looked up some stats about this, and according to ESPN, the average OPS for pitchers in this year’s regular season was: .224 for AL .341 for NL Source: http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/seasontype/2/split/77