Do you remember Bartolo Colon\u2019s miracle home run in 2016, which led Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen to proclaim, \u201cThis is one of the great moments in the history of baseball!\u201d Do you remember Archie Bradley\u2019s stunning two-run triple in the 2017 NL Wild Card Game, which provided crucial insurance runs for the Diamondbacks? If you\u2019re old enough, you may remember Dae-Sung Koo of the 2005 Mets, who gave us a hitting and baserunning adventure for the ages, ripping a double off Randy Johnson just as announcer Tim McCarver was writing off his at-bat. What do these iconic baseball moments all have in common? They were the result of pitchers stepping up to the plate to hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The designated hitter rule is quite the enigma in the world of baseball, with everyone thinking you have to take one side or the other. Most modern fans agree that the concept of pitchers hitting is outdated and the NL should permanently adopt the DH, while some old-school purists want pitchers to once again hit in both leagues. I, for one, believe the rules need to stay exactly how they are now. Sure, pitchers hitting is goofy. There\u2019s no other situation in sports where a player is consistently forced to do something completely out of their skill set multiple times a game. It typically results in embarrassing (albeit expected) failure, unless your name is Shohei Ohtani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 However, in the rare moments where non-Ohtani pitchers come through at the plate, it can create some absolute magic.These types of moments are part of what makes baseball so beautifully weird, and taking away this element of the bizarre would remove some of the game\u2019s unique flavor. Although this may make me sound old-school, another element of pitchers hitting that I enjoy is the managerial strategy. The one simple rule difference necessitates different forms of managerial hijinks, including pinch-hitting decisions, double switches, and even cat-and-mouse battles between managers. A prime example of the latter occurred in the iconic Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, a moment vastly overshadowed by David Freese\u2019s later heroics. In the top of the fifth inning, the Rangers led the Cardinals 4-3 and had runners on first and third with two outs. David Murphy was at the plate with pitcher Colby Lewis scheduled to hit next, but Rangers manager Ron Washington sent possible pinch-hitter Yorvit Torrealba to the on-deck circle and warmed up possible reliever Derek Holland in the bullpen. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, however, did not take the bait and knew that Lewis would hit, correctly assuming Torrealba and Holland were simply decoys. La Russa had pitcher Fernando Salas pitch around Murphy and walk him to load the bases, leading to a strikeout of Lewis that ended the inning. This managerial chess battle never would have happened in an AL park, but it was a crucial forgotten moment that likely helped the Cardinals win the World Series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I enjoy the novelty and additional managerial strategizing that comes from having pitchers hit, I certainly am not advocating for the DH to be abolished altogether. It would be — or would have been — much harder for guys like Edgar Martinez, David Ortiz, and Nelson Cruz to find homes as their careers progressed, and that would be unfortunate and sad. The DH in the American League should remain, while pitchers hitting in the NL should also be there to stay. It\u2019s good for the game to have two different styles of baseball; it keeps things fresh and keeps players\u2019 options open when choosing a team. Pitchers who enjoy swinging the bat have plenty of viable destinations for free agency, while defensively limited sluggers typically also have little issue finding homes. It also allows for a bizarre, but unique, tradition each year in the World Series, with pitchers hitting in NL parks and DHs hitting in AL parks. What other sport would use two different sets of rules during one series depending on the team hosting each game? This oddity forces managers to make some interesting types of decisions, such as which hot hitter to bench in an NL park, whether to start their usual DH defensively to get their bats in the lineup, and who to use as DH for an NL lineup that normally goes without one. These quandaries can add extra storylines and intrigue to each World Series matchup, which enhances the viewer experience. For fans who only watch games from one league, it\u2019s a chance to see the novelty of a different side of baseball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Change in baseball should be embraced and is necessary to keep the game moving forward, but contrary to popular opinion, the DH rule should be left exactly the way it is. Sure, we could have a couple more big hulking dudes slamming dingers in each NL game, but why can\u2019t one of those hulking dudes be Bartolo Colon?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you remember Bartolo Colon\u2019s miracle home run in 2016, which led Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen to proclaim, \u201cThis is one of the great moments in the history of baseball!\u201d Do you remember Archie Bradley\u2019s stunning two-run triple in the 2017 NL Wild Card Game, which provided crucial insurance runs for the Diamondbacks? If you\u2019re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-baseball","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n