It is meaningless to pay two guys to play one postion and to pay one guy to sit on the bench @100 games a year? The opportunity costs: The platoon player is taking a roster spot that could otherwise be filled by someone better You have one less player to use on your bench How do you propose to get "people on board"? Assuming the guy is good enough to be worth platooning, odds are you aren't going to be finding many better bench players. With people like Nixon, who hasn't been a full-time player in several years, it should be pretty easy to convince him to participate in such a situation. Guys like Jones, who play most games but stink against one type of pitcher would probably put up a fight. But that's what managers are for, to do what's best for the team. You don't have one less player to use on your bench. It's not like the guy who is not starting that day is ineligible to play. The first couple times through the lineup he's going to be facing the same pitcher, and you don't even have to think about pinch hitting. In many games I wouldn't even sub-in the platoon if they bring in a new pitcher. It doesn't have to be, and really, it can never be, a 100% strict platoon. But it doesn't have to be much of a problem either.