[ssigman]

i might have it...let me check.....

"Major League Baseball needs a change. Okay, well maybe more than 'A' change, but lets focus on just one of the changes for now. Any logical person, scratch that, any person can tell you it makes no sense to have two seperate leagues have different rules. There is no reason for the American League to use a different line-up than the National League does. That change would directly affect the use of a designated hitter or not. I don't care which you prefer, a change is nessessary. To me, it makes the most sense to have a designated hitter in BOTH leagues. I know, I know, not a popular opinion... but maybe i can change your minds!

Let me ask you this, why does a pitcher need to have at-bats? Really, think about that for a minute. Why not have them stay focused on their task at hand, which oddly enough is pitching and getting opposing hitter out. Sure, some will argue their are some pitchers who can hit the ball pretty "well" (well compared to what? Certainly not compared to ANY of other positions). Most will agree that pitching is more important than hitting. Then let the pitchers pitch and let the other guys worry about the hitting. Pitchers don't hit in college or in the minor leagues, why suddenly change that because they are now professionals?

The classic argument for the DH has to do with letting the older players play alittle longer in their careers. These guys (Molitor, Thome, Thomas, Baines, etc) were/are major contributors to their teams on and off the field. Without the DH most of those players would have retired years before they did. If they had, many teams, players and fans would have missed out on what was a great ending years to their careers. Would we ever even have had the great Edgar Martinez in the biggs if not for the DH? That would have been a shame.

Now for my biggest problem with the National League not using the DH. Picture this... you are down 1-0 in the top of the seventh inning, the bases are loaded with two outs. Coming up next is your ace starter who is hitting .067 this season (i know, you are excited!). Well at this point you have to take your starter out who has been incredible, but hits like his eyes have been removed from his head. The game no longer is decided by your best players. But whats even more frustrating for fans? When its the third inning and your team works to get the bases loaded, and who steps to the plate? Yep, that same pitcher who has no eyes. The result is, inning over, no runs, momentum killed and team let down. Sure, I realize this can happen with a different number nine hitter, but the facts show its alot less likely to happen.

After really taking a look at the two leagues, I don't see how anyone would rather have the pitcher bat. Why would you want to make offense worse in any sport? You might as well reduce the size of the basket in the NBA, or make a first down 20 yards in the NFL, or make the net smaller in the NHL. Defensive players in the NFL don't have to play offense. Why is that? Because it would make the offense worse (ah, just like pitchers batting does). I say let the players do what they do best and not force teams to make decisions they shouldn't have to."