For years, Major League Baseball has dealt with having the designated hitter in
the American League and the pitchers hitting in the National League. There has been some talk of abolishing the
DH, some talk of enacting the DH in the National League, but nothing too
serious. Many people want a change, but
no one can agree on one.
My proposal (or compromise, if you want to call it) is to have the DH in the first 3-5 innings of a game. I'll go with 3, because the game of baseball likes to do things in multiples of 3. What this would mean is that any team, whether they be a National League or American League team, would have a DH for the first 3 innings of a game. Then, with the start of the 4th inning, the DH position becomes the pitcher's spot and the player who was the designated hitter gets sent to the bench, but can be used again, but only one more time, such as pinch-hitting for the pitcher when the pitcher's turn comes up in the order.
This would be good for multiple reasons.
1) It would keep the DH and allow hitting numbers to go up, which is good for baseball, having high-scoring games.
2) It would keep the chess game that the National League currently has. Managers would have to decide whether to use up their DH to pinch-hit for the pitcher, or to have their starting pitcher take one or two at-bats.
3) Players on the bench would appear in a lot more games. Some bench players I've seen can go weeks at a time without any playing time.
4) Players who become too old to field (Think Jason Giambi, Jim Thome, Frank Thomas) don't have to go to an American League team, they can DH on the team they're currently on. They also wouldn't have to play a full game ever, slightly prolonging the careers of some players.
I'm not completely set at the 3rd/4th inning as the time to make the switch from DH to pitcher, but I do believe the DH should be in the first part of the game and not the end. The DH being used early means that starting pitchers usually wouldn't have to worry about hitting, unless they're going the distance. No one really wants to see starting pitchers hit, and with this rule in place it would mean the average 6 inning starter would only get a plate appearance once every couple starts, on average.
I also think baseball rosters should expand to 27 players (keeping with the rule of 3) because of the rash of injuries happening, and if they enforce this DH rule I am proposing. There would be more possibilities for each manager, with a bench of 5, not counting the DH.
This is quite a radical change, but it's something to consider. Obviously, the time in which the designated hitter would stop being used is debatable. But if you let the DH come back into the game, then the switch-over can be made early. If you don't let the DH come back into the game, the switch-over should probably be made later, such as the 6th or 7th inning. I'm usually not a huge fan of rule changes when it comes to my favorite sports leagues, but this one I would certainly be in favor of.
My proposal (or compromise, if you want to call it) is to have the DH in the first 3-5 innings of a game. I'll go with 3, because the game of baseball likes to do things in multiples of 3. What this would mean is that any team, whether they be a National League or American League team, would have a DH for the first 3 innings of a game. Then, with the start of the 4th inning, the DH position becomes the pitcher's spot and the player who was the designated hitter gets sent to the bench, but can be used again, but only one more time, such as pinch-hitting for the pitcher when the pitcher's turn comes up in the order.
This would be good for multiple reasons.
1) It would keep the DH and allow hitting numbers to go up, which is good for baseball, having high-scoring games.
2) It would keep the chess game that the National League currently has. Managers would have to decide whether to use up their DH to pinch-hit for the pitcher, or to have their starting pitcher take one or two at-bats.
3) Players on the bench would appear in a lot more games. Some bench players I've seen can go weeks at a time without any playing time.
4) Players who become too old to field (Think Jason Giambi, Jim Thome, Frank Thomas) don't have to go to an American League team, they can DH on the team they're currently on. They also wouldn't have to play a full game ever, slightly prolonging the careers of some players.
I'm not completely set at the 3rd/4th inning as the time to make the switch from DH to pitcher, but I do believe the DH should be in the first part of the game and not the end. The DH being used early means that starting pitchers usually wouldn't have to worry about hitting, unless they're going the distance. No one really wants to see starting pitchers hit, and with this rule in place it would mean the average 6 inning starter would only get a plate appearance once every couple starts, on average.
I also think baseball rosters should expand to 27 players (keeping with the rule of 3) because of the rash of injuries happening, and if they enforce this DH rule I am proposing. There would be more possibilities for each manager, with a bench of 5, not counting the DH.
This is quite a radical change, but it's something to consider. Obviously, the time in which the designated hitter would stop being used is debatable. But if you let the DH come back into the game, then the switch-over can be made early. If you don't let the DH come back into the game, the switch-over should probably be made later, such as the 6th or 7th inning. I'm usually not a huge fan of rule changes when it comes to my favorite sports leagues, but this one I would certainly be in favor of.
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