[Dr. Sivana]

In 1971, switch-hitting AL MVP Blue hit a whopping .118 with 12 hits, 2 doubles and 2 RBIs.

What people who rag on bad hitting pitchers (and they go down to .025) don't appreciate is that the few good hitting pitchers make the game more interesting. The Dodgers used Don Drysdale to pinch-hit in the 1965 World Series. In later years, Terry Forster and Rick Rhoden had also been used as pinch hitters by the Dodgers.

George Brett's brother Ken was a pitcher, mostly in the AL. He batted .262 with 11 home runs in 373 plate appearances nonetheless.

Heck, Babe Ruth might never have been discovered as a batter if the DH was used in his era.

The game is weaker without make all the players bat.

[Dr. Franklin]

The game is weaker without make all the players bat.

Richie Ashburn used to say, all a pitcher needs to do is pitch a shut out and hit a home run and he should win every game...The DH destroys the symmetry of the game. Why stop at batting for the pitcher? Why not just have the best four hitters do all of the hitting on offense, and the best nine fielders play defense? There always were good hitting pitchers, who weren't easy outs, and who could pinch hit. The DH makes the top and bottom of the lineup less pronounced, and has taken sacrifice butting largely out of the game. Pitcher who couldn't hit much could help them selves by simply learning how to bunt well, but no more.

Don't get me started about ghost runners and wild card games...

[Verginius Rufus]

The Padres finally got their first no-hitter a year or two ago, more than 50 years after they became a MLB club. In one of their early years as a team, they had a pitcher with a no-hitter late in the game, maybe the 8th inning, but the manager took him out for a pinch-hitter (who failed to get a hit).