This Week in Baseball

By Wikipedia

A designated hitter (often shortened to "DH"), is an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allowed teams to boost sagging offensive performances by designating a player to bat in place of the pitcher. It should be noted that no team is required to use a DH.

See also: Blomberg Becomes First DH.

The designated hitter may not play a field position and he may only be replaced by another player not currently in the lineup. However, the designated hitter may change positions to become a position player at any point during the game. However, if he does so, his team forfeits the role of the designated hitter. Thus, the pitcher or a pinch hitter must bat in the newly-opened spot in the batting order.

The rationale was that, with a few exceptions, pitchers are weak hitters. Babe Ruth was an outstanding all-around player; a prolific hitter who had begun his career as an equally prolific pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, and soon began playing in the field on days he did not pitch. However, Ruth was eventually made a full-time outfielder during his first year as a member of the New York Yankees, 1920, and pitched very sporadically afterward.

On April 6, 1973, first baseman Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees became the first designated hitter in Major League Baseball history, facing Boston Red Sox right-handed pitcher Luis Tiant in his first plate appearance. "Boomer" Blomberg was walked.

Strategically, the designated hitter offers American League managers two primary options: they can either rotate the role among players, using left-handed hitting DHs against right-handed pitchers and vice-versa, or they can employ a full-time designated hitter. The adoption of the designated hitter rule has virtually eliminated the use of the double switch in the American League.

On June 12, 1997, San Francisco Giants outfielder Glenallen Hill became the first National League player to be the DH in a regular-season game against the Texas Rangers at the Ballpark in Arlington, Texas. When the Milwaukee Brewers moved from the AL to the NL in 1998, the Brewers no longer used the DH on a regular basis.

Controversy and Baseball Culture

The designated hitter remains a bone of contention, particularly among fans. Baseball purists complain that it destroys the symmetry of the game and removes the strategy element in late innings, while advocates point to the fact that it has extended many careers, and, in a few cases, created long, productive careers for players who are weak fielders or have a history of injuries. Edgar Martinez is such an example. Moreover, Hall of Fame members George Brett, Carl Yastrzemski, and Paul Molitor were able to extend their prolific careers by a few years as designated hitters. Fans of the American League style of play further argue that the designated hitter allows pitchers to play deeper into games than they otherwise might, by removing the manager's incentive to remove a pitcher from play in order to attain a short-term offensive advantage, and that since a pitcher's typical offensive "contribution" is at best to get out and at worst as a rally-killing double or triple play, it improves the play of the game to remove an "easy out" player from the batting order (AL fans also point out that the only baseball strategy removed by the addition of the designated hitter is the double switch; if anything, modern AL baseball with its dizzying array of specialist pitchers and batting styles is much more complex than baseball before 1973)

There is considerable debate over whether the designated hitter rule should be continued. Some have even argued that the National League should adopt it full time.

The role of the designated hitter in the controversial interleague play schedule, implemented in 1997, is used or not used depending on which league the home team is a member of. If the home team is a National League team, it is not used; if the home team is an American League team, it is. The same format is adhered to in the All-Star Game and World Series play. From 1976–1985, the designated hitter rule was used in all World Series games played only in even-numbered years.

Critics also allege that, with this rule, the quality of play suffers because the home teams automatically receive a significant unnatural advantage no matter what league's rules are in effect. To combat this, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has proposed that the road team's rules would be followed for interleague games. Like so many of his ideas, it has proven to be an unpopular proposal.

David Ortiz MVP Controversy

As of September, 2005, there was a debate raging as to whether David Ortiz, the full-time designated hitter for the Boston Red Sox, truly deserved the Most Valuable Player Award. Inarguably, David Ortiz had a tremendous 2005 season, hitting .300 with 47 home runs with 148 runs-batted-in. However, critics of his award claim that a DH's value as a player is seriously diminished by the fact that they do not regularly contribute in the field. His supporters concede that Ortiz contributed nothing defensively and point out that Barry Bonds has won the award several times despite limited defensive abilities (which is fairly ridiculous suggestion to make about a guy with 8 gold gloves, in his  late 30s or not). Ortiz' supporters also claim that, as a designated hitter, Ortiz actually faced a handicap: that it was actually harder to keep himself "warmed up" by not playing in the field (he only played 10 games at first base). The BBWAA had no trouble dispensing with these ludicrous suggestions and correctly awarded New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez - a gold glover with similar stats - the AL MVP.

No player in MLB history has won the MVP Award during a season in which their primary position was designated hitter.

Only three players have won the MVP Award in years they played a significant amount of games as a DH. The first was Boston Red Sox outfielder Jim Rice, who in 1978 played as a DH in 49 of his 163 games (including the one-game playoff against the Yankees). In 1979, California Angels outfielder Don Baylor played 65 of his 162 games as a DH, and in 1996, Texas Rangers outfielder Juan Gonzalez played 32 of his 134 games as a DH.

Facts

• Ron Blomberg became the first DH in major league history (1973)
• Tony Oliva became the first DH to hit a home run (1973)
• Dan Driessen became the first National League DH, and the first to hit a home run in a World Series (Games 1 and 3, 1976)
• Glenallen Hill became the first non-Series DH in NL history (interleague play, 1997)
• Rickey Henderson became the first non-World Series DH to hit a home run in NL history (interleague play, 1997)
• Tony Gwynn became the first National League DH in an All-Star game (1997)
• Minnie Minoso is the oldest player to have appeared as a DH (at age 53, 1976)
• Edgar Martinez is the only DH to win a batting title (1995)
• Al Kaline became the first player selected for the Baseball Hall of Fame to have ever played as a DH (1974)
• Rafael Palmeiro is the only DH to win a Gold Glove Award (despite playing only 28 games at first base, 1999)
• Frank Howard has been the tallest DH (at 6 ft 7 in, 280 pounds (127 kg), 1973)

First DH's by Team and Date

Baltimore Orioles: Terry Crowley, April 6, 1973
Boston Red Sox: Orlando Cepeda, April 6, 1973
California Angels: Tommy McCraw, April 6, 1973
Chicago White Sox: Mike Andrews, April 7, 1973
Cleveland Indians: John Ellis, April 7, 1973
Detroit Tigers: Gates Brown, April 7, 1973
Kansas City Royals: Ed Kirkpatrick, April 6, 1973
Milwaukee Brewers: Ollie Brown, April 6, 1973
Minnesota Twins: Tony Oliva, April 6, 1973
New York Yankees: Ron Blomberg, April 6, 1973
Oakland Athletics: Billy North, April 6, 1973
Seattle Mariners: Dave Collins, April 6, 1973
Texas Rangers: Rico Carty, April 7, 1973
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Paul Sorrento, March 31, 1998
Toronto Blue Jays: Otto Vélez, April 7, 1977