Why do pitchers not have speed attributes?

[countryboy]

Quote: Originally Posted by KnightTemplar

Hope there’s an option to turn it off, if so. Having the DH takes away some strategy. For me.....don’t like it.

I would imagine the option would remain as it is currently in the game.

[DonkeyJote]

Quote: Originally Posted by tessl

The DH from little league through high school, college and the minor leagues have caused this. The Cardinals have had two pitchers injured swinging the bat this season. You never used to see that. Pitcher have become to baseball what field goal kickers are to football - one dimensional. MLB should have said no to Charlie Finley's idea of the DH. They only reason he did it was because he relocated the A's from Kansas City to Oakland thinking attendance would improve and when it didn't he cooked up some gimmicks designed to improve attendance. Oh, and pitchers to have a speed rating. Turn on runner window and you will see it.

Little League doesn't use the DH, High School it can be (and often is) used for a position other than Pitcher, and the upper minors don't have a DH if both teams are NL.

But even so, pitchers have always sucked at hitting, hence the change being proposed over 100 years ago. The DH has widened the gap a bit, sure, but in the last year before the DH in the AL, hitters league wide hit .146. Compare that to, say, 1996 when the DH has been in place in a variety of leagues for a generation, and NL pitchers hit .147. Even 10 years ago, pitchers hit .142. NL pitchers even hit .131 in 2019. This has been a weird season for pitchers hitting. The AL actually has a higher pitcher batting average than the NL (thanks Ohtani).

Players in general also get hurt swinging more than they did before because swings are more violent. Though I think it's actually calmed down in recent years compared to how often it happened 10 or so years ago as more guys work on flexibility as opposed to just strength, and build their swings to be sustainable. But pitchers, who are focused on pitching on their off days and in the offseason, aren't really working on their swings.

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[DarthRambo]

Quote: Originally Posted by KnightTemplar

Hope there’s an option to turn it off, if so. Having the DH takes away some strategy. For me.....don’t like it.

My personal opinion, but I do not think by having a DH you lose any more strategy than the NL has. Sac bunt opportunities are rare these days. A good handful of AL teams do bunt over runners still as well. Sure you pinch hit for your pitcher after 5 or 6ip but big deal. AL pitchers are only going 5 or 6ip too. And they pinch hit just as much, if not more than the NL teams do.

Maybe 15-20 years ago there was a loss of strategy when small ball was more prevelant around the entire MLB not just NL. But anymore it's homeruns or strikeouts. If these guys could bunt we wouldn't see all the crazy shifts.

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[DonkeyJote]

Quote: Originally Posted by IrishSalsa

My personal opinion, but I do not think by having a DH you lose any more strategy than the NL has. Sac bunt opportunities are rare these days. A good handful of AL teams do bunt over runners still as well. Sure you pinch hit for your pitcher after 5 or 6ip but big deal. AL pitchers are only going 5 or 6ip too. And they pinch hit just as much, if not more than the NL teams do. Maybe 15-20 years ago there was a loss of strategy when small ball was more prevelant around the entire MLB not just NL. But anymore it's homeruns or strikeouts. If these guys could bunt we wouldn't see all the crazy shifts. Sent from my SM-G996U using Operation Sports mobile app

I agree. I think there's different strategy, but not less.

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[Karle]

The addition of the DH in the American League in 1973 eliminated the advantages enjoyed by good hitting pitchers like Earl Wilson who was on the 1968 Detroit Tigers. That year he had 7 home runs in only 88 at bats. He was even used a few times as a pinch hitter.

Regardless of what happens with the DH and the National League going forward, I hope we will keep the ability to turn the DH off in franchise.

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[kinsmen7]

Quote: Originally Posted by Karle

The addition of the DH in the American League in 1973 eliminated the advantages enjoyed by good hitting pitchers like Earl Wilson who was on the 1968 Detroit Tigers. That year he had 7 home runs in only 88 at bats. He was even used a few times as a pinch hitter. Regardless of what happens with the DH and the National League going forward, I hope we will keep the ability to turn the DH off in franchise. Sent from my SM-G950U using Operation Sports mobile app

DH vs. no DH is always an entertaining conversation. Not an argument here, just a few points regarding the player referenced, as well as his team.

-Sure, he hit 7 HR's that season, but is being able to hit .227 with a .253 OBP really an advantage? He was also a career .195/.265/.369 hitter. I guess, if you consider that the pitching staff as a whole that year (Including Earl) managed to hit .146 over the span of 438 plate appearances, with a combined 7 HR's/30 RBI.
-If we're going for the strategy argument, based on bunting runners over, over those 438 plate appearances, the Tigers combined for a total of 29(!!!) sacrifice bunts, meaning that only 6% of plate appearances by pitchers for the Tigers that season actually resulted in a successful bunt moving runners over.

[canes21]

The whole point of the DH is to make the offense better, right? For the fans? We have enough stats that show the DH basically adds no extra run output per game. You have to play close to 10 games for the DH teams to score 1 extra run over the non-DH teams.

I'll never understand this push for the DH when the data is right in our faces and shows there is no significant difference when a lineup replaces the pitcher with a DH.

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[DarthRambo]

Quote: Originally Posted by canes21

The whole point of the DH is to make the offense better, right? For the fans? We have enough stats that show the DH basically adds no extra run output per game. You have to play close to 10 games for the DH teams to score 1 extra run over the non-DH teams. I'll never understand this push for the DH when the data is right in our faces and shows there is no significant difference when a lineup replaces the pitcher with a DH. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Not the whole point. Mainly it is about avoiding injuries to pitchers swinging the bat and running bases unnecessarily. Pitchers are like the QB of football. NFL does their job to protect them. It's about time the MLB does the same thing to protect unnecessary injuries to pitchers. At least this is my biggest argument for DH. And yes, the added chance of more offense is appealing.

I will never understand those who really want pitchers to hit. Like why? What's the benefit of it?

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