Bye-bye NL Baseball

[IABucFan]

Per Jim Bowden’s Twitter...if MLB returns this year, they will propose a universal DH. I hate this. Said as much on his feed, and the response I got...you’d have thought I praised Hitler or something. I hate the DH. Don’t want to see it anywhere near the NL. I hate the three batter minimum rule which we thankfully haven’t seen yet. It messes with the fabric of the game. You may think managers over-manage. I do, too. But L/R matchups are part of the game. You may not like double switches. But they’re part of the game. I REALLY hope baseball doesn’t come back this year. There is just no word strong enough to describe how much I don’t want the DH to infect the NL game.

[2drfischer@gmail.c]

0B0300372104232C420 wrote: Per Jim Bowden’s Twitter...if MLB returns this year, they will propose a universal DH. I hate this. Said as much on his feed, and the response I got...you’d have thought I praised Hitler or something. I hate the DH. Don’t want to see it anywhere near the NL. I hate the three batter minimum rule which we thankfully haven’t seen yet. It messes with the fabric of the game. You may think managers over-manage. I do, too. But L/R matchups are part of the game. You may not like double switches. But they’re part of the game. I REALLY hope baseball doesn’t come back this year. There is just no word strong enough to describe how much I don’t want the DH to infect the NL game.


I'm with you. The DH, Interleague play, and replay have altered the game too much for my tastes. I feel the same way about the three batter minimum. I'll still continue to love baseball when the DH is adopted, but that love, and my interest, will diminish a bit more as a result.

[IABucFan]

Ditto. But it’s clear they are trying to appeal to “casual” fans, not diehards like you and me. And casual fans want the entertainment value. That’s every response I’ve gotten on this...”Who wants to watch a pitcher hit?” It’s not about watching the pitcher hit. It’s about the decisions that inherently must be made because he does hit.

[ArnoldRothstein]

I prefer a game with pitchers hitting, but it's over. In 1970 NL pitchers went to the plate around 450 times per season per team, now it's down to around 300. Pitchers don't hit as well, fewer than one pitcher per team gets as many as 10 hits in a year. And there's no way out - Mitch Keller went to the plate 43 times in his whole minor league career. The "argument" over the DH is theoretical now. It's the standard form of baseball now and there's no pressure to change that.

[GreenWeenie]

If it's somebody else who pays for my ticket, I don't care who's hitting or pitching.



If I'm buying my ticket, I want to see the best. I remember paying because I wanted to see Nolan Ryan pitch, not some nobody who might be in his home town's HOF.



This "double switch" argument sells to others, but not to me. How often are double switches even MADE? I know that answer, and it isn't enough to sway me.



The AL pitchers face a lineup that can hit. NL pitchers have it easy more than 10% of the time.



Be a man. Face guys who hit. Should've been done > 30 years ago.



The times they are a changin', and I'd rather swim than sink like a stone.



Double switch my hind end. Bring on the DH.

[2drfischer@gmail.c]

151D1E293F1A3D325C0 wrote: Ditto. But it’s clear they are trying to appeal to “casual” fans, not diehards like you and me. And casual fans want the entertainment value. That’s every response I’ve gotten on this...”Who wants to watch a pitcher hit?” [highlight]It’s not about watching the pitcher hit. It’s about the decisions that inherently must be made because he does hit.[/highlight]


Precisely. Well stated. In addition, for me one of the game's great appeals is that all the players must both hit and play defense. I would much rather watch a National League game, regardless of who's playing, than an AL game every time.

[GreenWeenie]

Goodbye NL baseball.



Hello, major league baseball!

[Bobster21]

I follow NL baseball with the Bucs and to a lesser degree AL baseball with the Orioles. Without question, the NL game is far more interesting. But like everything else, people want to dumb things down. Why should we enjoy the strategy of the game when we can watch an extra thumper in the middle of the lineup who might hit a HR? That's the theory. We might as well have offensive and defensive units like football. Let's get the best fielders at every position. They don't have to hit. Someone else can do that.

[IABucFan]

I don’t love baseball because of the watchability factor. On its face, baseball isn’t “watchable.” It’s actually rather boring with not a lot of action. I don’t care. I love it anyway, the same as I like watching golf. Yeah, it’s fun seeing guys boom 350 yard drives, but every tour player will tell you they make their money from 150 yards and in. I like small ball. I like sacrifice bunts. I like managers needing to decide if they want to pull a good pitcher in the bottom of the sixth inning in a 1-1 game, or try and get a run across with guys on second and third, two outs, and the pitcher’s spot up.



I like the opposing manager knowing the pitcher is in the hole, and playing a game of risk/reward to potentially IBB the bases full and make his counterpart make a decision.



This is to say nothing of the advantage teams have when their pitcher can actually hit. Think if Ohtani played in the NL. His team would have a HUGE advantage every five days. I realize Ohtani isn’t the best example, but you get the idea.



Here’s AL baseball summed up...sit around and wait for a three run jack. That’s it. It’s boring as hell. I have MLB.tv, and I can count on one hand the number of AL games I watch every year. This universal DH is the next step in the Yankees/Red Sox protection plan.



This idea won’t ruin baseball, but it won’t be good for the game. Sad reality is they THINK this will be good for the game because it “attracts younger fans,” “is more exciting,” and all that. Baseball is fine just as it is. The old adage still applies...if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

[2drfischer@gmail.c]

476A67767160773734050 wrote: I follow NL baseball with the Bucs and to a lesser degree AL baseball with the Orioles. Without question, the NL game is far more interesting. But like everything else, people want to dumb things down. Why should we enjoy the strategy of the game when we can watch an extra thumper in the middle of the lineup who might hit a HR? That's the theory. We might as well have offensive and defensive units like football. Let's get the best fielders at every position. They don't have to hit. Someone else can do that.


I've made this point before.  If the best thing is to get rid of the worst hitter in the line-up, why stop there?  Bat the nine best hitters, regardless of whether they can play adequate defense or not, and find nine other guys who can play the best defense.  Defenders of the DH say that goes too far.  Why, if it's nonstop excitement they want?