Official Bring The DH To The NL Thread

[Cubswin11]

Just do it already, Wainwright done for the year, Scherzer is missing his next start because he bruised his thumb batting.

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/12769662/max-scherzer-injured-batting-advocates-designated-hitter-rule-national-league

[Sammy Sofa]

More dongs = more good.

 

Aramis could have ended his career as a Cub if we had this, you DH-hating monsters.

[SouthSideRyan]

More dongs = more good.

 

Aramis could have ended his career as a Cub if we had this, you DH-hating monsters.

 

The DH had nothing to do with Aramis heading elsewhere. He would've just cost us Kris Bryant.

 

You guys are acting like Wainwright got hit in the face with a pitch. It was a fluky injury that could've happened coming out of the dugout.

[Sammy Sofa]

More dongs = more good.

 

Aramis could have ended his career as a Cub if we had this, you DH-hating monsters.

 

The DH had nothing to do with Aramis heading elsewhere. He would've just cost us Kris Bryant.

 

Shut up and let me rant, you walking fart.

[Sammy Sofa]

But seriously, yes, I would like to have it as an option to keep a player like that who can still give you value with the bat and you don't have to risk breaking them down quicker by having them play the field. Obviously everyone is glad they got Bryant in hindsight, but at the time they let him go because of his age and the assumption his value would drop sharply, largely due to him having to man 3B as he got older. In the future, I'd like them to have the option to hold on to, say, Soler or Bryant a few years past what would be ideal if they had to keep playing defense but could still give you value with the bat.

[Guest]

the pitchers getting hurt at the plate thing is so silly compared to just lets have a competent hitter at the plate instead of some guy who hits like you or i flailing away at MLB pitching.

[Sammy Sofa]

the pitchers getting hurt at the plate thing is so silly compared to just lets have a competent hitter at the plate instead of some guy who hits like you or i flailing away at MLB pitching.

 

Plus the people complaining about the loss of "strategy" always ignoring that a game of Battleship with a hole in the middle has more strategy.

[Derwood]

the pitchers getting hurt at the plate thing is so silly compared to just lets have a competent hitter at the plate instead of some guy who hits like you or i flailing away at MLB pitching.

 

Plus the people complaining about the loss of "strategy" always ignoring that a game of Battleship with a hole in the middle has more strategy.

 

WIth the DH, your bench basically becomes your "give a guy a day off" group.

[Cubswin11]

the pitchers getting hurt at the plate thing is so silly compared to just lets have a competent hitter at the plate instead of some guy who hits like you or i flailing away at MLB pitching.

I agree, but the pitchers getting hurt thing (especially well known ones) is what will bring the discussion about actually doing it to the table.

[Sammy Sofa]

Things like 3 catchers actually becomes far less of a problem.

[XZero771679666304]

Wanting the DH in the NL has nothing to do with pitcher injuries. It has (at least for me) everything to do with making the game more fun to watch, and balancing the leagues. The "strategy" that the pitcher batting adds is a tedious formality, and anyone with half a brain watching these games can predict exactly what the managers are going to do in just about every scenario.

 

And more offense = more fun.

 

I think it's just a matter of time before the NL adopts it. You know the MLBPA would like it. Most viewers would like it, and that is good for MLB. I'm sure it will become an issue in negotiations in the very near future, and I hope people aren't obstinate about pretense and "tradition", delaying it for any longer than necessary.

[Sammy Sofa]

balancing the leagues

 

Bottom line, this is THE argument that's unavoidable; the DH is used in some way by almost every major baseball organization except for the NL and Japan's Central League. It's simply not realistic to think all of that is going to reverse and that it'll go away, and it's pointless to put the NL at a disadvantage because of what amounts to little more than emotional attachment. Something has to give to do away with the disparity, and the NL adopting the DH is what's by far the most realistic option.

[Guest]

the pitchers getting hurt at the plate thing is so silly compared to just lets have a competent hitter at the plate instead of some guy who hits like you or i flailing away at MLB pitching.

 

Plus the people complaining about the loss of "strategy" always ignoring that a game of Battleship with a hole in the middle has more strategy.

 

This is the worst part about the DH arguments, even moreso than normal arguments they gravitate to silly extremes("the strategy isn't any strategy at all!" "why not have DHs at all 9 positions!", etc). I'd rather not have the DH because I enjoy late innings roster management and the related decisions more than I dislike seeing pitchers take a combined 4 PA per game. I don't expect everyone to feel the same way but to pretend there isn't a difference is a non-starter.

 

balancing the leagues

 

Bottom line, this is THE argument that's unavoidable; the DH is used in some way by almost every major baseball organization except for the NL and Japan's Central League. It's simply not realistic to think all of that is going to reverse and that it'll go away, and it's pointless to put the NL at a disadvantage because of what amounts to little more than emotional attachment. Something has to give to do away with the disparity, and the NL adopting the DH is what's by far the most realistic option.

 

All other leagues are basically feeder leagues, there's only one other that matters. It's unlikely that the DH disappears from MLB, but calling it an inevitability because the Sally League and California Leagues have a DH is more extreme silliness. This is the most important aspect of the argument though, regardless of your opinion it does need to be equal across the AL and NL. I'd rather have no DH, but I'd rather have a DH than continue to have the leagues be different.

[Sammy Sofa]

This is the worst part about the DH arguments, even moreso than normal arguments they gravitate to silly extremes("the strategy isn't any strategy at all!" "why not have DHs at all 9 positions!", etc). I'd rather not have the DH because I enjoy late innings roster management and the related decisions more than I dislike seeing pitchers take a combined 4 PA per game. I don't expect everyone to feel the same way but to pretend there isn't a difference is a non-starter.

 

The difference, to me, strategy-wise is negligible. There IS a difference; one league has a clear advantage over the other and they have to play each other.

 

All other leagues are basically feeder leagues, there's only one other that matters. It's unlikely that the DH disappears from MLB, but calling it an inevitability because the Sally League and California Leagues have a DH is more extreme silliness. This is the most important aspect of the argument though, regardless of your opinion it does need to be equal across the AL and NL. I'd rather have no DH, but I'd rather have a DH than continue to have the leagues be different.

 

It's just a point in terms of the scope of the game; it's not like we're only talking about the MLB and minors and amateurs. Almost all collegiate and international leagues use it in some fashion, too. It's simply not just an NL vs. AL issue. It's the NL vs. almost everyone else.

[XZero771679666304]

It's unlikely that the DH disappears from MLB

 

It's not just unlikely, it's simply never going to happen. If the situation is balanced out, it will be when the NL adopts the DH.

[ctcf]

When would this be most likely to happen in the near future? Possibly the next CBA negotiations after it expires in 2016?

[imb]

[expletive] strategy I want dongs

[Sammys Boombox]

I like baseball without the DH, but it needs to be even and I think major market teams (like the Cubs) benefit from a DH, so I vote for DH in both leagues.

 

Also, we have good hitting fat guys in the minors that may not be good defenders/play the same position as current MLB studs we have.

[Geech]

I prefer no DH, although I don't feel strongly about it. There's the sliver of strategy, the insignificant purity of the players on the field batting, and the genuine intrigue of the better-hitting pitchers distinguishing themselves with the bat.

 

However, I would gladly give that up for uniformity across leagues.

[Sammy Sofa]

[expletive] strategy I want dongs

[CubColtPacer]

The crazy idea I had if things were to change (which I am not in favor of) would be to go the other way. 9 men field, but only 7 of them bat. You can watch the best hitters in the game come up many more times. Great fielders in the minors who can't hit can still have a career and try to compete to be that 8th spot in the lineup. With less pinch hitters needed, bench strategy becomes even more complex to decide if teams want specialist fielders/baserunners on the bench or players that can replace their starters because of injury. You would have a more offensive game, keep most of the cohesion of the same players deciding the game, and yet allow the very best of hitting/defense/baserunning/pitching to all show their skills.

 

I would rather keep the current system though because I do like the strategy. I wouldn't mind a partial DH, but I wouldn't want a full DH.

[Sammy Sofa]

Opponents of the DH often throw out things like "why not just have 9 DH's and 9 designated fielders?!?" and in all honestly I'd probably enjoy that a lot for the reasons you laid out. You could end up with some really entertaining specialized talents. Think of it like how teams are broken up in the NFL.

[Derwood]

Isn't the reality that most #9 hitters in the AL kinda suck ass?

[Sammy Sofa]

Isn't the reality that most #9 hitters in the AL kinda suck ass?

 

The DH doesn't magically get rid of bad hitters on the team. There's never going to be enough good hitters to fill the starting lineups of all the teams.

[KaiserCesar]

If there were a 2nd DH added to the AL, would overall offense go up, down or stay the same? I'd think there may be more lackluster defenders that would be moved to DH than bench bats who would replace the worst hitting position player.