Designated hitter

David Ortiz standing in the batter's box as a designated hitter in a 2006 game.

A designated hitter (often shortened to DH) is an official position adopted by Major League Baseball's American League in 1973 that allowed teams to boost sagging offensive performances by designating a player to bat in place of the pitcher. Since then, most amateur and minor leagues have adopted the same or a similar rule, but the National and Central Leagues have not. During interleague play, the rules of the home team's league apply to both teams.

The rule

The designated hitter cannot be used for any other player but the pitcher (however, see below regarding different rules in amateur play). Use of the DH is optional. The manager must designate a DH prior to the start of the game; failure to do so forfeits the right to use the DH, and the pitcher must then take his turn at bat. The designated hitter may not play a field position and he may only be replaced by another player not currently in the lineup. However, the designated hitter may change positions to become a position player at any point during the game; if he does so, his team forfeits the role of the designated hitter and the pitcher, another player, or a pinch hitter must bat in the newly-opened spot in the batting order. The designated hitter could also become the pitcher, in which case the pitcher or a pinch hitter must hit when that spot in the batting order comes up again. Likewise, if a pinch-hitter bats for some other player (such as, hypothetically, the first baseman) and then remains in the game as the pitcher, the team would forfeit the use of the DH for the remainder of the game.

In addition, unlike other positions, the DH is "locked into" the batting order and no multiple substitution may be made to alter the batting rotation of the DH. In other words, a double switch involving the DH and a position player is not possible. For example, if the DH is batting fourth and the catcher is batting eighth, the manager cannot replace both players so as to have the new catcher bat fourth and the new DH bat eighth. Once a team loses its DH under any of the scenarios discussed in the previous paragraph, however, the double switch becomes fully available, and may well be used via necessity, should the former DH be replaced in the lineup.

In practice, it is very rare for a team to forfeit its right to a DH, even by substitution. During the 21st century, only one American League team has lost the right to use the DH during a normal American League game (not counting interleague play) and was forced to send the starting pitcher to have at least one plate appearance. In the second game of a doubleheader between the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox on July 6, 2007, the Twins initially used their starting catcher, Joe Mauer, as the DH because Mauer had started the first game at catcher. The starting catcher for the second game, Mike Redmond, however, was forced to leave the game in the first inning due to injury after accidentally being struck in the head by the bat of Jim Thome, and Mauer had to take the field as the replacement catcher. Twins starting pitcher Matt Garza thus was forced into the batting order and became the first American League pitcher to bat in a regular-season American League game since Hipolito Pichardo on July 31, 2000. The Twins' batting order appeared as follows in the box score as to order and position (ignoring the standard format for statistics given that the purpose here is to illustrate the operation of the DH rule). The highlighting illustrates departures from customary American League play.

Order	Player	Position	Notes
1	L. Castillo	2B
	M. Guerrier	P	Replaced Castillo via a double switch, not normally seen in American League games
	J. Tyner	PH	Struck out looking for Guerrier in 9th inning
	J. Nathan	P	Took Tyner's spot in the batting order
2	J. Bartlett	SS
3	J. Mauer	DH-C	Mauer entering game as catcher caused Minnesota to forfeit the DH for the rest of the game
4	M. Cuddyer	RF
5	J. Morneau	1B
6	T. Hunter	CF
	L. Ford	CF	Replaced Hunter
7	J. Kubel	LF
8	M. Redmond	C	Left game due to injury before batting
	M. Garza	P	Forced to bat in place of Redmond when Mauer took the field
	J. Cirillo	PH-3B	Homered to left for Garza in 7th inning; stayed in the game at third base
9	N. Punto	3B-2B	Started the game at third base; moved to second via a double switch

There have been times when a manager may willingly surrender the DH position late in a game. During the 2005 American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York had Bernie Williams slated as the designated hitter. Late in the game, manager Joe Torre took Williams out of the DH and put him in center field because of Williams' superior defensive play. Since the Yankees already had the lead, not giving up any more runs was more important to Torre than having a better hitter hit for the pitcher in the game at the time, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. Because a double switch was used, it was not necessarily a negative situation to have Rivera bat. Rivera's place in the order would only come up if the Yankees had batted around, which would have automatically increased their lead very late in the game, giving more cushion for the Yankees' best relief pitcher to close out the game.

Background and history

The rationale is that, with a few exceptions, pitchers are usually weak hitters. Babe Ruth was an outstanding all-around player; a prolific hitter who had begun his career as an equally successful pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, and soon began playing in the field on days he did not pitch (to prevent arm injury, a starting pitcher will ordinarily perform once every four or five games). However, Ruth was eventually made a full-time outfielder during his first year as a member of the New York Yankees, 1920, and pitched very sporadically afterward. Generally, Ruth's post-1920 starts for the Yankees were at home, for the main purpose of boosting attendance.

The designated hitter, like other experimental baseball rule changes, was in part the brainchild of A's owner Charlie Finley, though National League president John Heydler had informally proposed the rule in the 1920s. It was used first in spring training games in 1969, and was later adopted by the American League beginning in 1973.

On April 6, 1973, Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees became the first designated hitter in Major League Baseball history, facing Boston Red Sox right-handed pitcher Luis Tiant in his first plate appearance. "Boomer" Blomberg was walked.

Naturally, the result of the first season of the DH was that the American League posted a higher batting average than the National League, something which has remained consistent to this day.

Strategically, the designated hitter offers American League managers two primary options: they can either rotate the role among players, using left-handed hitting DHs against right-handed pitchers and vice-versa, or they can employ a full-time designated hitter. It also allows them to give a player a partial day off. The adoption of the designated hitter rule has virtually eliminated the use of the double switch in the American League.

At first, the DH rule was not applied to the World Series. In 1976, it was decided the rule would apply to all games, regardless of venue, but only in even-numbered years. This practice lasted until 1985. The next year, the rule was adapted to its current format of only applying in games played in the American League team's stadium.

Similarly, there was initially no DH in the All-Star Game. Beginning in 1989, the rule was applied only to games played in American League stadiums. When this occurs, fans are allowed to select an AL player to start at that position, while the NL's manager decides that league's starting DH. When regular season interleague play was introduced in 1997, the rule was, and continues to be, applied in the same fashion. On June 12, 1997, San Francisco Giants outfielder Glenallen Hill became the first National League player to be the DH in a regular-season game against the American League's Texas Rangers at The Ballpark in Arlington, when they met in interleague play. When the Milwaukee Brewers moved from the AL to the NL in 1998, the Brewers no longer used the DH on a regular basis; thus, as also usually happens when a minor-league pitcher joins an NL team, their pitchers needed to take batting practice.

Occasionally National League teams utilize the designated hitter during spring training games, usually when a player is recovering from an injury.

In recent years, full-time DHs have become less common, and the position has been used to give players a partial off-day, allowing them to bat but rest while the other team is batting. Only a handful of players compile over 400 at-bats as a DH each year.

Criticism

Baseball purists, and fans of the no-DH National League, argue that use of the designated hitter destroys the symmetry of the game. When the pitcher bats, all nine players take turns at the plate and in the field. With the DH, there are, effectively, three different classes of players, distinctly separating pitchers from other fielders and designated hitters. The use of the DH introduces an element of offensive and defensive specialization more akin to American football.

While the DH is batting in what would be the lineup spot for the pitcher, the pitcher may be inserted into another spot in the lineup when the DH role is terminated, inconsistent with the principle that a player's position in the lineup is fixed for the entire game.

The designated hitter rule also changes manager strategy in late innings. Traditionally, a manager must decide when to let a pitcher bat or remove him, as well as who to pinch-hit with and where or if that player should take the field afterward. When the decision to remove a pitcher is made, the manager may also elect to double switch, delaying the new pitcher's turn at bat.

On the opposite side, a manager in a close game may have to choose whether or not to pitch around a DH in the late innings, possibly granting an intentional base on balls to avoid a potentially hard-hitting slugger in place of a relatively weak pitcher, while an NL manager will not have to choose whether or not to give up a baserunner (and the associated wear and tear on his pitcher's arm) to avoid a DH. (Critics of the DH reply that creating or extending the careers of poor fielders is not necessarily a good thing, as it merely promotes 'batting cage' players whose only real skill is their ability to swing the bat.)

Advocates of the DH point to the fact that it has extended many careers, and, in a few cases, created long, productive careers for players who are weak fielders or have a history of injuries, such as Edgar Martinez. Moreover, Hall of Fame members George Brett, Carl Yastrzemski, and Paul Molitor were able to extend their prolific careers by a few years as designated hitters. Dick Stuart, a notoriously poor fielder, played before there was a DH rule.

Fans of the DH rule argue that pitchers are able to play deeper into games than they otherwise might, by removing the manager's incentive to remove a pitcher from play in order to attain a short-term offensive advantage, and that since a pitcher's typical offensive "contribution" is at best to get out and at worst as a rally-killing double or triple play, it improves the play of the game to remove an "easy out" player from the batting order (AL fans also point out that the only baseball strategy removed by the addition of the designated hitter is the double switch; if anything, modern AL baseball with its dizzying array of specialist pitchers and batting styles is much more complex than baseball before 1973). Some National League baseball fans also claim that the designated hitter encourages beanball wars by removing the pitcher from the batting order, where he might be subject to retaliation.

Another perspective is that there is a significant difference in the preparation required between hitting and pitching. A pitcher is quickly worn down by his position and can only start every 4-5 days or pitch 1-2 innings of relief for 2-3 consecutive days. Sports like basketball, football, hockey, and soccer offer no equivalent where one position is much more physically taxing than all others. A hitter hits better when he is able to play regularly and fine tune his swing, judgment of the strike zone, and comfort with different pitchers and pitches. This is especially important early in hitters careers and hitters who could be valuable to their major league club as reserves are often kept in the minors so they can play every day and develop their skills. Pitchers need rest, hitters need reps. Occasionally a pitcher can be effective on short rest in the playoffs or an NL pitcher or pinch hitter who only appears once every five games can post good statistics with limited at bats, but those are the exceptions to the rule. Even most full time pinch hitters or utility players are former major or minor league regulars who had years to develop their hitting skills. The DH rule does not just extend the careers of aging sluggers, it also saves pitchers from the overwhelming difficulty of being asked to perform the task of batting with 8 batters who bat about 5 times as often.

There is considerable debate over whether the designated hitter rule should be continued. Some have even argued that the National League should adopt it full time. There are also fans who enjoy the fact that the different leagues use different rules, arguing that there should be some differences between the American and National Leagues and the Designated hitter is a fine example of that. Two generations of fans of American League teams have grown up with the Designated Hitter rule being in place, and for them, the DH is as much a traditional part of baseball as the pitcher batting is for fans of National League teams.

Critics also allege that, with this rule, the quality of play suffers because the home teams automatically receive a significant unnatural advantage no matter what league's rules are in effect. To combat this, Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan H. "Bud" Selig has proposed that the road team's rules would be followed for interleague games. It has proven to be an unpopular proposal.

The designated hitter outside Major League Baseball

Amateur baseball

The use of the designated hitter rule in amateur baseball is nearly universal. The primary difference between the DH in the professional and amateur games is that the DH may bat in place of one player in any position in most amateur baseball leagues such as those that use National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) rules. Most high school coaches use a designated hitter in place of the weakest hitter in the lineup, if they use one at all. In amateur baseball, pitchers are often better hitters than non-pitchers and will often play another position when not pitching. Professional pitchers usually focus exclusively on improving their pitching, thus their batting skills often deteriorate compared to their teammates. However, in Canada, the DH must bat for the pitcher still.

One notable exception to the NFHS designated hitter rule in youth baseball is American Legion baseball. Legion rules exactly follow those prescribed in the Official Baseball Rules, which allow the DH only to bat for the pitcher. Prior to 1995, the use of the DH was not allowed in Legion baseball.

In college baseball, NCAA rules state that the designated hitter must hit for the pitcher, but in many instances the pitcher is also a good hitter, and the coach may elect to let the pitcher bat in the lineup. If the pitcher opts to bat for himself, he is treated as two separate positions — a pitcher and a designated hitter (abbreviated P/DH on the lineup card) — and may be substituted for as such (i.e. if he is removed as the pitcher, he may remain as the designated hitter and vice versa). However, if a player who starts a game as a P/DH is relieved as the starting pitcher, he may not return to the mound even if he remains in the game as the DH, and he may not play any other defensive position after being relieved as the pitcher. Conversely, a player who begins the game as the DH, but not as the pitcher, may come into the game as a reliever and remain as the DH (in effect becoming a P/DH), be relieved on the mound later in the game but continue to bat as the DH.

International baseball leagues

The DH is used in most professional baseball leagues around the world. One notable exception is the Central League of Japan, where pitchers bat as they do in the National League. Japan's Pacific League adopted the designated hitter in 1975.

Minor leagues

Most, if not all, of the minor leagues have adopted the designated hitter rule for use in their games. Generally, the only exceptions are at the triple-A and double-A levels, and then only in games where two National League affiliates play each other. As players move up and get closer to reaching the majors, teams prefer to have the rules mimic (as closely as possible) those of the Major Leagues. A significant difference from the majors is that, in minor-league play, if either team is affiliated with an American League club, the DH is used regardless of the game site. Single-A and Rookie leagues use the DH in all games.

The designated hitter in popular culture

In the movie Bull Durham, Crash Davis (played by Kevin Costner) says he believes (among other things) that "there should be a constitutional amendment outlawing astroturf and the designated hitter".

In the movie, Loaded Weapon 1, Destiny Demeanor (played by Kathy Ireland) is asked about the DH rule in a parody of the famous interrogation scene of Basic Instinct by Sgt. Jack Colt (played by Emilio Estevez). Destiny replies, "I hate it. It takes away the purity of the game."

See also

• MLB designated hitter statistics
• List of notable designated hitters

External links

• Rule 6.10, the Designated Hitter Rule, from MLB's Official Rules
• Abolish the Designated Hitter (anti-designated hitter website)
• The Etiology of Public Support for the Designated Hitter Rule, by Christopher Zorn and Jeff Gill, June 1, 2006
• The Designated Hitter as Moral Hazard, by Daniel H. Pink, December 12, 2004
• [1] Bill "The Spaceman" Lee, Red Sox Lefthander, discusses the DH on The Chris & Rob Show April 4, 2006