Do you have DH in both leagues - interesting blog and points

[pgjocki]

Is it time to add the designated hitter to the National League?

I ran across this blog over on Yardbarker and while it is interesting I still personally play with no DH in my leagues at all. I like managing each game and getting to use my entire bench as pinch hitters instead of just letting the same 9 guys go up and hit everyday. Sure the pitchers bat in the first few innings but I usually bunt, try and take a walk or use hit and run when they are at the plate to spice things up.

To me an interesting stat from the blog was the batting lines for the AL and NL this year:

"This year, the American League has a .254/.317/.392 line with 1,958 home runs and a 99 wRC+. The National League is hitting just .249/.312/.384 with 1,835 home runs and a 93 wRC+"

That doesn't seem like an absolute earth shattering disparity between the two leagues that would call for changing the rules in my opinion.

What do you guys think? Should MLB put the DH in both leagues and do you use it for your own OOTP leagues?

[Orcin]

I have run leagues both ways. I prefer managing without the DH.

[Matt Arnold]

Prefer managing without the DH, but I much much much rather building a team with a DH.

For example, my current game I have a big, power hitting 1B. He's not the best player in the league, but a perennial 30-40 HR guy with good OBP. Bad defense, but whatever.

Then a few years ago, the top international prospect was like a 7/7/7 (out of 8) masher, also a 1B. I signed him (something like a 12M bonus), figuring that by the time he made the league, I would probably be done with my other 1B. Well, long story short, my old 1B is still hitting, and the new guy just dominated as ROY. All because I have a DH slot, so they are currently my 3-4 hitters. So while I enjoy playing games without the DH, I certainly appreciate having that spot as I build my team.

[ra7c7er]

I prefer to play without a DH. It makes the game better IMO. I like dealing with a weak spot in my lineup and surprisingly finding a .220 lifetime hitting pitcher. Hitting pitchers isn't a bad thing it make for great baseball with a TON more strategy to it. Plus think of all the highlights that wouldn't exist if pitchers didn't hit.

And without hitting pitchers we wouldn't have the great videos of Bartolo Colon trying to hit.

[Izz]

I play both ways, too, and i also think i prefer no DH. Adds an extra element to the game, imo.

[hfield007]

I never use the DH in my leagues. It destroys one of the most compelling strategies in the game. To pitch or to pinch.

[Trebro]

Once the DH has infected both leagues, my interest in watching games in person will go to zero.

There is no skill in "managing" a game with a DH. Just trot out nine guys, change the pitcher when he tires. Rince, repeat. Boring as **** to watch. Loses all excitement for me.

I turn DH off anytime I create a league.

[harrumph]

I've been an American League fan all my life, but I've always sort of sneered at the DH and looked wistfully over at all that pinching and double-switching going on in the NL. I've thought that the DH basically dumbed the game down to drive up offense and please the casual fans.

Playing OOTP has actually given me a new appreciation for the DH—my fictional league has gone fifty years without it (in both subleagues) and I'm starting to itch for them to implement it. Over a long, long stretch of time, you just see so many careers go down the drain when guys who can still hit just can't take the field anymore. You've got ex-catchers and ex-corner outfielders fighting with ex-third basemen for the first base slot. It's sad, and is pitchers hitting really worth it? You get great moments occasionally, but you also get lots of farcical ones, especially in extra-inning games.

It's awesome to see somebody like Jose Fernandez get a big hit once in a blue moon, but I'd rather see guys like Victor Martinez and David Ortiz do it every day.

[eborix]

Personally I wish they would get rid of the DH in the AL.

[glenmere14]

I use the DH in both leagues.

[JMDurron]

I want to see the best players play. The DH enables that, while pitchers hitting has highly specialized players who stink at something doing something that has nothing to do with their primary task, and encourages teams to carry redundant players with relatively weak skills compared to starting-caliber players in both leagues to allow for pinch-hitting and pinch-running. Managerial moves for the sake of having managerial moves to make doesn't necessarily make for a higher quality of play.

To me, the duel between the pitcher and the hitter is where the real beauty and strategy of baseball is. The DH rule keeps has better pitchers (not being pulled early for a PH) facing better hitters (Victor Martinez, David Ortiz, late career Frank Thomas) more often, so I like it. I hope to see the NL adopt it one day soon.

[TribeFanInNC]

Personally, I tend to use the DH in the leagues I create because it takes the sometimes wonky AI substitution patterns out of the equation. It bugs me to no end when I end up with a backup C playing 2B late in a close game (yes, that happened in my NL online league just last week).

[madJ]

Disregarding any preferences: that linked blog article felt like a rant against the lack of the DH in the NL. I didn't have the impression that the author wanted to spark a reasonable discussion rather than just trash the NL's decision to not adopt the DH rule (yet).

Personally I prefer to play without the DH. In my opinion everybody who wants to play in the starting lineup has to play the field. Nevertheless I get the arguments of the pro-DH guys. But most heated arguments come down to personal preference in the end.

[RchW]

I play two leagues; in one I manage an NL team, in the other an AL team. My enjoyment level is equivalent.

As for RL baseball NL games just seem boring to me. I get the impression NL pitchers get to take 3 batters off every turn of the lineup. Double switches are not rocket science so I don't buy this myth of the intellectually superior NL.

[rpriske]

I prefer the AL with the DH.

BUT

My VAST preference is to have the two leagues DIFFERENT and the DH is the way that happens.

With the proliferation of inter-league play, if the NL adds the DH (or the AL removes it) why have two leagues at all? And that would eliminate one of the best things about the unique structure of the MLB.

[BIG17EASY]

Originally Posted by rpriske

I prefer the AL with the DH.

BUT

My VAST preference is to have the two leagues DIFFERENT and the DH is the way that happens.

With the proliferation of inter-league play, if the NL adds the DH (or the AL removes it) why have two leagues at all? And that would eliminate one of the best things about the unique structure of the MLB.

This is kind of how I feel, as well. I like the lack of DH in the NL, not so much because I dislike the DH, but because I like the uniqueness that having it/not having it creates for the two leagues.

Also, my fear is that adding the DH to the NL will open the door to eventually having even more inter-league play. I know inter-league is unavoidable now because of the odd number of teams in the leagues, so inter-league play is not going away. But if the NL adopts the DH, then there are no rules discrepancies, which can open the door to an NFL-style schedule where only divisional matchups are guaranteed. I would loathe that.

[jpeters1734]

I vote for a DH compromise.

Tango: Four hybrid DH solutions (vote) - Stats & Info Blog - ESPN

I personally love Solution 3: My Bodyguard

"An offshoot to Solution 2: As long as the starting pitcher remains in the game, so does his DH. Once the starter comes out of the game, so does the DH. In short, the DH becomes a pitcher's personal batter. If the starter is pulled for a reliever, the manager can pair a new DH for that reliever. But since relievers rarely come to bat more than once, this DH would become a de facto pinch hitter."


Compromise on the Designated Hitter - Beyond the Box Score

[ThatSeventiesGuy]

Doing the current no-DH NL in my historicals, no DH at all in my fictional. Thinking of maybe adding it, but I figure even if I don't have it, just moving old power hitters to 1B or outfield corners doesn't hurt too much, usually, as long as my pitching's good.

[kingtut313]

im all for the DH in both leagues. national league lineups really get watered down with guys who hit .210 lifetime and arent particularly good fielders but they can play 5 positions decently.

[chucksabr]

Of course managers prefer managing without the DH. It gives them more to do than just letting players play. I mean, what fun is that?