Posted Sunday October 17, 2010, About: dh or no dh
LOL ... you're never going to get this situation "settled". The DH is here to stay, like it or not.
You could say that the playing field is already level enough because both teams are at the same amount of advantage/disadvantage when playing in the opposite league's stadium.
Statistics should always be taken with a grain of salt. The current infatuation with OBP is misleading because a base on balls may or may not be such a good thing, depending on who the hitter is.
If it's your 8th-place hitter or even your leadoff man, a walk is usually a good thing. But if it's Ryan Howard, then walking him means he didn't pop one into the upper deck and therefore it's not necessarily a positive outcome for the Phils. In fact, it's a negative outcome.
Players like Howard aren't great hitters because they walk, they walk because they're great hitters. The object of the game is to produce runs, not just get on base. Give me a player who produces runs.
You could say that the playing field is already level enough because both teams are at the same amount of advantage/disadvantage when playing in the opposite league's stadium.
Personally, I don't think Rice and Dawson are HOF'ers either, but trying to compare other players to them is an exercise in futility.
If it's your 8th-place hitter or even your leadoff man, a walk is usually a good thing. But if it's Ryan Howard, then walking him means he didn't pop one into the upper deck and therefore it's not necessarily a positive outcome for the Phils. In fact, it's a negative outcome.
Players like Howard aren't great hitters because they walk, they walk because they're great hitters. The object of the game is to produce runs, not just get on base. Give me a player who produces runs.