Replies

The other night Charlie Manual (Phillies) had to have a pitcher (Herndon) bat in the bottom of the tenth with the bases loaded and 2 outs because he ran out of pitchers. One game Cole Hamels had more hits batting than he gave up pitching. In a 19 inning game the shortstop (Valdez) had to pitch because the last pitcher was pulled for a PH in the 18th and he won. Pitcher Roy Halladay leads the National League in sacs this year. This from one team, the Phillies.

Having the pitcher bat adds a strategy to the game, weak spot in the line-up, conservation of pitchers for pinch hitters, tiring of pitchers that get on base, response to bean balls and it's darn fun when your pitcher hits a home run in the World Series (Blanton).

I get the point but my suggestion was “ reluctantly offered” as a way to align the two leagues. Since the hated DH came into the AL we been watching two different games. My suggestion does the minimum violence to the greatest game on earth and gets both leagues playing by the same rules.

I would be in favor of eliminating the DH, but not under the circumstances we see now in the National League. Unless the expectations of big-league pitchers (at least starters) change so that pitchers are expected to hit at least .220 or so, with an occasional .250 to .270 hitter in the bunch, then the National League will always be considered something of a joke. With most big-league teams having at least 2-3 weak-hitting position players, adding a pitcher to the mix who is lucky to hit .150 in a good year only serves to kill rallies and diminish offensive numbers for a lot of other players in the lineup.

I like the way the National League game involves more strategy and requires more hands-on managing, but not if all of these late-inning considerations revolve around the basic premise that the pitchers are automatic outs in the lineup if they swing away.

There's another important difference between AL and NL rules that doesn't get a lot of attention. The AL has a curfew rule, under which an inning is not permitted to start after 1:00 AM. The NL has no such rule, which is another small reason why you're more likely to see position players pitch late in a game in the National League.