NL Designated Hitter Might Soon Be at an Atlanta Braves Game Near You

Why?  And Why Now?

The safe answer – and most likely the answer that you will hear a lot as this train gathers steam to roll on down the tracks toward its almost inevitable date with destiny – is that “the time has come.”

Organized baseball all over has adopted the DH.  It’s a simple fact of life in high schools, colleges, independent leagues, prospect leagues, Caribbean leagues, baseball academies, showcase events, all of the minor leagues, and (of course) in the American League.

In fact, the only games in which pitchers still hit are played in the National League and in minor leagues where the opponents consist of a pair of National League affiliates.  Frankly, it has gotten to the point that new pitchers coming into the league have hardly held a bat since high school, and thus it’s not even a matter of simple skills:  there is a real chance of injury simply due to lack of experience at the plate… that’s whether we’re talking about practice facing live pitching, swinging the bat, or just getting out of the way of a close pitch.

It was one thing when pitchers got regular ABs.  Back in 1972 – the year before the Ron Blomberg stepped in as the first designated hitter – pitching rotations were 4-man units.  The Age of Pitching Specialization hadn’t taken hold, either, so pitchers would actually get 3-4 plate appearances per start.

• 1972:  92 pitchers got 50+ PAs (averaging 80 among them).  Wilbur Wood of the White Sox led the majors with 144.  They collectively hit .148… right at what Don Sutton always said was a solid batting average for a pitcher (he hit .144 lifetime in 1559 total PAs).
• 1980:  Only 47 pitchers got 50 PAs… yep:  half, because the NL still play by the “real” rules.
• By 2000, baseball is now into the 5-man rotation, and pitcher PAs are starting downward:  averaging 69 each for the 52 pitchers with at least 50 PAs.  At least they were still hitting… averaging .155 among them.

By 2015, only 41 pitchers carried a bat at least 50 times.  The PA’s were down to 65 on average as their innings have been reduced over the 1970’s and 80’s.  Those hitting were averaging .141 total… bolstered perhaps by hitters named Madison Bumgarner, Tyson Ross, and Zack Greinke… but also dragged down by the likes of Shelby Miller, Jon Lester, and Julio Teheran.

Hitters Gotta Hit

So the National League is pulling its starters earlier now.  Instead of maybe just a single pinch hitting chance in a game, a pitcher might come out whenever his turn in the batting order comes around – any time from the 6th inning onward.  That’s why Shelby Miller, with his 33 starts, only batted 71 times… just over twice per game.  Ditto for Jon Lester (32 games, 71 PAs) and John Lackey (33/70), James Shields (36/74).  Only the best of the best – Jake Arrieta last year – seem to buck this kind of trend (33 starts, 83 PAs).

Thus the NL is already doing everything it can to employ a “pseudo-DH” system by having their pitchers grab bats only twice per game in the hope of bettering their offense.  Like it or not, they are already halfway implementing the AL’s system.  Given that, you could argue that NL teams could be better off if their best pitchers – the starters – simply stayed in the game longer… if they didn’t have to hit.

Certainly, a team that historically thrives on pitching – the Atlanta Braves – might therefore wish for a DH system full time.

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