Specialized
Okay, let’s go deeper with this Designated Hitter debate.
The people for switching to the DH in the National League contend:
• There is more risk of pitchers getting hit while batting. This is true.
• Pitchers suck at hitting. This is generally true, with a few individual exceptions.
• It’s not as much fun to watch pitchers hit, because they suck. This is a matter of opinion.
• The difference of rules between leagues gives one team an advantage over the other. This is true, though evenly so. Who has the advantage depends on the home team.
• Pitchers don’t get to develop their hitting skills, even in an NL squad. This is also true. In the minors, Single-A and lower leagues all use the DH. In AA and AAA, they only let pitchers hit if both teams are NL affiliated, which could be as low as a quarter of games. This leads to issue #1.
• Specialists exist in other areas of baseball already. This is also true.
• The existence of the DH makes it more difficult to properly evaluate pitchers in one league versus the other. This is absolutely true.
• Offense is better. This is also a matter of opinion.
Opponents of the NL DH say:
• The difference between the leagues adds to the uniqueness of the sport. This is true.
• There’s no need to change something that is working just fine. Relatively true, though this breaks down in the face of the injury argument.
That’s pretty much it. That’s the breakdown.
But it doesn’t matter.
Pretty much every media mind on the planet thinks it’s inevitable. Player health will be the main argument. The Players Union will like the idea because it’s another 30 hitters with a regular job and salary. The hitters will like it because it could extend their careers. The owners generally would like to see more offense, because it does generally bring in more fans.
Fans and ex-players will hate it because it changes the game they grew up with. It further pushes the illusion that the game is played the same way now as it always was. That is an illusion. The game has changed much, and it changes often. But it doesn’t stop them from complaining, nor will it in the future. They’ll complain, the complaining will change nothing, people will get used to it.
The DH will happen, we won’t be able to stop it. And the media’s preparing us for it.
But then, that’s what this comic is for…complaining for complaining’s sake.
