I can't think of a single example in sports where the home team has any say in choosing what the rules of the game will be. Not to say I don't like the idea in theory, but there's virtually no precedent for a rule like this.
Um, no.
8 person lineup, no DH, no pitcher hitting, 8 inning game, hitting stats stay the same and the Manny Delcarmens of the world are out of luck.
How on earth is giving one team in a supposedly fair contest a structural advantage (an option has value whether you use it or not) the "logical" thing to do?
Not to mention if you have a pitcher that actually can hit (rare, but does happen,) you still have the option of batting them in the DH slot, no?
Well, Buster Olney says he loves to see the pitcher hit, that (and the "strategery") is why he's against the DH in the NL.
I'll be shocked if it doesn't happen in the next decade, and possibly as soon as the next CBA.
I'm pretty sure that if a pitcher hits, the team surrenders the right to have a DH. When the day comes that both leagues get on the same page, I would support changing that portion of the rule to your understanding. It would rarely, if ever, be used, but it would be fun in a "dropkicks are still allowed in the NFL" sort of way.
Essentially the same thing. You don't get a Micah Owings coming around often, but they are out there.
Well, the difference is that when Micah Owings is pulled from the mound in the fifth inning, under current rules, he's not allowed to continue batting as the DH.
Bill James addressed this some 30 years ago, in the original Historical Baseball Abstract (I'm quoting someone else's quotation of James here, so errors are possible):
I've never seen a satisfactory answer to this.
AL managers also have to decide when to pull pitchers based on how tired they are more often. NL managers frequently get to just pull the pitcher without a thought because he's due to bat in the 7th or 8th inning.
There would also be a little bit of strategy if the infield were randomly seeded with land mines. Wouldn't make it a good idea.
This "strategy" this would lead to would be pretty unexciting and unfairly penalize certain teams and certain players. David Ortiz, for example, might never play another away game. I mean, is there a single team in the league that would actually choose to face him?
Teams with established DHs, like NY, Toronto, Detroit, or Texas, would probably choose to use a DH. But otherwise, yeah it's a pretty silly idea. They need to play under uniform rules throughout the league and since there's almost zero chance of eliminating the DH in the AL the only option is to add it to the NL. While I understand why some fans are against the idea I don't see why NL teams wouldn't prefer to have the DH option.
I brought him up simply as an example and everyone else could clearly see that, but hey, continue.
Yeah, that wasn't a shot at you, it was a shot at the fact that people think it's exciting to watch pitchers hit and especially that Micah Owings dude, but hey, continue.
