The National League & the DH

[41_Tom_Seaver_Fan]

1st thing I do (always!) is turn OFF the DH when starting a franchise, season, playoff or whatever it is I am starting.

Sorry, to get David Ortiz's bat, you should have to deal with him playing 1B. That's baseball, the way it SHOULD be played.

(Plus, I just heard Keith Hernandez saying he hopes it never happens in a broadcast...I think there are too may people who are STRONG fans of the "normal" game to ever have the DH in the NL....and this is from people IN the game, vets or managers, they just realize what a different game it is)

[SaltLakeBrave]

Quote: Originally Posted by tonybologna

I'm an avid baseball fan but why was the DH never allowed in the NL in the 1st place? How many years ago has this been? I'm used to it now after all of these years but is the NL a different sport than the AL? I mean c'mone. This game is the same game no matter which league you play the game. It would be like having no shot clock for NBA basketball for the Eastern Conference while keeping it for the Western Conference. 2 totally different rules for the same sport. I'm not saying I'm all for baseball changing the rules & giving the NL a DH. I am trying to make a comparison point though. Rules do change in all sports especially with all of these NFL additional rule changes lately but I don't get why it was ever this way between the AL & NL anyhow. Anyone care to enlighten me? Thanks!

Until the year 2000, the National League and the American League were to separate leagues that both played Major League ball. They each had their own ball, their own umpires, their own presidents, and for the most part different strike zones. Now all that remains from the two separate leagues is the DH, and according to Commissioner Manfred, he nor the National League owners want to see the DH come to the National League. With that in mind I wouldn't expect to see the DH anytime soon in the NL.

[JPCaveman13]

I remember a conversation that Leyland had with a reporter who asked which league he preferred to be a manager. Leyland said that he preferred the AL since he could "be an idiot and manage an AL team to success." All he would do would set his lineup and let it go, occasionally looking up to see how his pitcher was doing. Is he pitching well...let him go...oh, it's the 7th inning, get 7th inning guy in there, 8th inning guy should be warming up now. When he was in the NL, he said he had to actually think to do his job, trying to figure out if he should play it safe, risk a little for a potential return, or go all in on a risk that could backfire.

Personally, I am not a huge fan of the DH. To me, it seems that it's a cop out for some players to still play who wouldn't be out there on a regular basis. There's no weighing the good and bad of that player in regards to "he can drive in 100+ on the season but we could give up that many extra because of him in the field."

[ChavezAthletics]

Quote: Originally Posted by countryboy

To say there is no strategy when it comes to managing a NL team, is in itself a joke.

Of course there is strategy involved, my argument is that it is overated. Double switches, are they really that complicated? Not even close. Nothing in this game is complicated, any manager would tell you that. It's generally the fans who like to think they are more sophisticated than other sports fans. Every time I hear some yahoo comparing baseball to a chess match I fall out of my chair laughing. This is coming from a lifelong baseball fan who follows exactly ZERO other sports.

[countryboy]

Quote: Originally Posted by ChavezAthletics

Of course there is strategy involved, my argument is that it is overated. Double switches, are they really that complicated? Not even close. Nothing in this game is complicated, any manager would tell you that. It's generally the fans who like to think they are more sophisticated than other sports fans. Every time I hear some yahoo comparing baseball to a chess match I fall out of my chair laughing. This is coming from a lifelong baseball fan who follows exactly ZERO other sports.

Nothing in the game is complicated? As a guy who played from T-Ball through College I would highly disagree with you that nothing in the game is complicated. There are aspects of the game that are very much like a chess match, but I don't want you falling out of your chair and hurting yourself.

[SmooveMove]

Quote: Originally Posted by ChavezAthletics

Of course there is strategy involved, my argument is that it is overated. Double switches, are they really that complicated? Not even close. Nothing in this game is complicated, any manager would tell you that. It's generally the fans who like to think they are more sophisticated than other sports fans. Every time I hear some yahoo comparing baseball to a chess match I fall out of my chair laughing. This is coming from a lifelong baseball fan who follows exactly ZERO other sports.

Why does it have to be "complicated". Even if it isn't it still adds another layer to a game that effects multiple situations. Some people want their baseball to stay that way. It doesn't matter if its complicated or not.

[SCSU1994]

Completely off topic but does anyone know a way to make custom divisions? My buddy and I always do a franchise where I'm the Yankees and he's the Mets. Last year they had the subway series every season in the game but this year it's only 2016. I want to put us in the same division so after one season we don't just sit there playing the PC.

[countryboy]

Quote: Originally Posted by SCSU1994

Completely off topic but does anyone know a way to make custom divisions? My buddy and I always do a franchise where I'm the Yankees and he's the Mets. Last year they had the subway series every season in the game but this year it's only 2016. I want to put us in the same division so after one season we don't just sit there playing the PC.

There is no way of doing custom divisions unfortunately.