Should Major League Baseball Keep the Designated Hitter Position?

The designated hitter was first used by the American League during spring training in 1969. Four years later, it was used for the first time in the regular season when the Yankees' Ron Blomberg did so against the Red Sox. The original idea for the DH role came from A's owner, Charlie Finley. This immediately helped the league boost the offensive game. Pitchers were seen for the most part as weak offensive hitters, and thus the DH was put in place in the American League. The National League still does not use the DH, unless it is in an American League park during interleague play or the World Series.

Many people have questioned whether or not the DH has been good for the game. National League advocates point to the lack of strategy that the DH position brings to the game. In the American League, the double switch really doesn't exist any longer. In the National League, the manager often times has to make a tough decision on a double switch when the pitcher's spot is do up to bat. Or if he goes to pull a pitcher, then he has to decide whom to replace on the field if he wanted to avoid having to waste the pitcher batting in the next half-inning. The National League pitchers don't have to strategize as much when wanting to not face a stronger hitter before the pitcher's spot is due up. Many times, the pitcher will walk the eighth-place hitter in the lineup as he would rather face the hitting pitcher. This forces the manager most of the time to pinch-hit for the pitcher, or leave him in the game to sacrifice bunt a runner over or to hit away. In the American League, pitchers are not so fortunate to where they can pitch around the eight-place hitter to face the pitcher batting.

Also, many believe that the DH has given the pitchers in the American League more freedom to pitch a bit aggressively to hitters. Because of the fact that the American League pitchers don't bat(unless they are in a National League park), this allows the pitcher to not step into the batter's box and take a chance on getting beaned from the opposing team. So they can pitch more aggressively and not have to worry about retaliation from the opposing pitcher. The National League style of play makes the pitchers bat and that gives them a possibility to get hurt for it. However, the number of players getting hit by a pitch in the American League has dropped since the DH rule was put in.

The DH, according to fans who don't approve of the position, says the quality of the game suffers because it gives the American League teams a significant advantage when playing home games. However, the National League teams seem to have an big advantage at home because of the fact that many American League pitchers rarely if ever bat unless they previously played in the NL. Some fans do not like the advantages that each league gets in their home ballpark, and that the playing field should be level on both sides.

On the flipside, the DH has extended the careers of many great players of the game. Players like Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, George Brett, and many others saw their caeers extended because of the DH. This gives the players who are good hitters, but weak in the field a chance to bat without worrying about playing a position. Fans of the DH argue that it makes the game more strategic because of the fact that the pitcher batting would not be seen as an easy out.

The DH position also boosts offensive production and that is many fans approve of. The American League has consistently been a better overall batting league since the inception of the DH. Though many will say it has to do with the smaller ballparks that the league has for the most part over the NL. The AL does see many high-scoring affairs than does the National League on average.

Attendance in American League ballparks have increased over time with the DH in place. Offense is what many fans like to see, and the majority of the time the DH has a homerun potential. What has become a trend in recent years is the lack of a full-time DH in the AL. Many managers in the AL will platoon the position depending on whether the opposing pitcher is right or left-handed.

The DH position is also very important to most fans of it because of how difficult it is to hit a baseball. Fans of the DH argue that it does have value because if one player can bat very well, he can have a job for a substantial amount of time in the league. In a sense, they feel the league created more jobs for big league players whose main strength as a hitter should be taken advantage of if they are not good anywhere else in the game.

Over the years, a debate has ensued over whether or not the DH should be kept. But, many have also said that the NL should adopt the same rule. Some fans to like the fact that both leagues are different, which gives them a choice of kind of a game they prefer to see. But some do see it as having too much differences between them, and thus they feel the need to change it.

In my own personal opinion, I like the National League-style of baseball. But, I think the styles of play and the obvious advantages that the home teams have with or without the position is too much for either side. I think that either both leagues should adopt the DH, or get rid of it altogether. I do not dislike the DH position as it does give some of the best hitter a chance to make a nice career in the big leagues. Hitting is one of the hardest skills to learn in any sport, so keeping it would be justified. To me, National League-style of baseball is harder to manage, but the DH gives fans more offense to be put on display as many tend to like runs being scored more frequently than not at all. It will likely be debated for years as to whether or not it should be done away with. It is a difficult debate to defend on either side, but I do think the DH position has some value to the game even though my preference of style is not to have it.