Baseball question about the DH

[Weirddave]

I’ve always wondered: Does the DH have to bat for the pitcher? What I mean is this. Suppose you have a good pitcher who was also a good batter, say Babe Ruth. ( Unlikely, I know, but go with me on this one ) On the days that he pitched, would it be legal for him to bat for himself and have the DH bat for someone else- say a SS who was dynomite in the field but weak with the stick?

It’ll never come up, I know, but I’ve wondered this for a while now. Does anyone know the answer and the apropriate rule covering this?

[Blunt]

Yes, the DH has to hit for the starting pitcher. Rule 6.10 says that:

(b) The Rule provides as follows: A hitter may be designated to bat for the starting pitcher and all subsequent pitchers in any game without otherwise affecting the status of the pitcher(s) in the game.

I know at some lower levels of baseball (the HS I went to for example) you can DH for any player though.

[Colibri]

Basically, yes, the DH must substitute for the pitcher and no one else:

Rule 6.10:

(b) The Rule provides as follows: A hitter may be designated to bat for the starting pitcher and all subsequent pitchers in any game without otherwise affecting the status of the pitcher(s) in the game. . . .The Designated Hitter may be used defensively, continuing to bat in the same position in the batting order, but the pitcher must then bat in the place of the substituted defensive player, unless more than one substitution is made, and the manager then must designate their spots in the batting order.

An interesting aside: In 1988, Billy Martin used the good-hitting pitcher Rick Rhoden as his DH. I’m not sure who pitched the game.

[pasunejen]

This is probably a dumb question, but I’ll ask anyway in case the answer’s not as obvious as I think: AL pitchers have the option not to take advantage of the DH, right? I mean, I don’t know why they wouldn’t, but.

[RealityChuck]

The DH is not mandatory, so pitchers can bat for themselves if the team desires.

[Freddy_the_Pig]

Indeed, a quick visit to Project Retrosheet confirms that Rick Rhoden served as the DH for Yankee pitcher John Candelaria on June 11, 1988. He had a ground-out and a sacrifice fly in two plate appearances before being taken down for a pinch-hitter.

The last occasion of which I am aware when an American League team opted not to use a DH occurred when Ken Brett, a lifetime .262 hitter, was pitching for the White Sox. He batted for himself on July 6 and September 23, 1976.

[Marley23]

There’s another exception here as well: if the DH is moved into the field, then the pitcher must bat for himself for the rest of the game. This happens every so often in extra-inning affairs.

[Colibri]

*Originally posted by jklann *
Indeed, a quick visit to Project Retrosheet confirms that Rick Rhoden served as the DH for Yankee pitcher John Candelaria on June 11, 1988. He had a ground-out and a sacrifice fly in two plate appearances before being taken down for a pinch-hitter.

Rhoden, who spent all but his two years as a Yankee in the NL, had a career batting average of .238. However, it was .278 in 1986, the year before he joined the Yankees.

But I think Billy had him DH mainly for the publicity.

[Weirddave]

Thanks for the answer!

[Susanann]

*Originally posted by Colibri *
**
An interesting aside: In 1988, Billy Martin used the good-hitting pitcher Rick Rhoden as his DH. I’m not sure who pitched the game. **

According to my “the baseball encylopedia”, RickRhoden played for LA from 1974-1978 and had a carreer batting average of .213, 1 home run. It also shows that billy martin never managed LA, and never even managed in the NL, billy martin managed from 1969-1977. Is my encylopedia wrong?

[Susanann]

opps, my encylopedia was published in 1979. I havent watched much baseball since then. Sorry.

[doctordoowop]

PS-Rhoden,who was traded to Pittsburgh for Jerry Reuss, is a scratch golfer. Good for a guy who had a congenitally deformed leg.

[Colibri]

*Originally posted by Susanann *
**According to my “the baseball encylopedia”, RickRhoden played for LA from 1974-1978 and had a carreer batting average of .213, 1 home run. It also shows that billy martin never managed LA, and never even managed in the NL, billy martin managed from 1969-1977. Is my encylopedia wrong? **

Rick Rhoden

Note that in 1988 he had one at-bat and a batting average of .000 for the Yankees.

[BobT]

I believe Rhoden was the DH not as much for publicity, but more that the Yankees had some injuries and were short of right-handed hitters that day.

[Colibri]

*Originally posted by BobT *
**I believe Rhoden was the DH not as much for publicity, but more that the Yankees had some injuries and were short of right-handed hitters that day. **

However, as I recall (and I was following the Yankees closely that year), Martin suggested he might use Rhoden as a DH weeks if not months before it actually happened, and there was considerable press coverage at the time. It wasn’t a spur of the moment thing. On the other hand, Martin never repeated it, even though Rhoden had some success (sacrifice fly), which leads me to think a big part of it was the PR.