I have to admit I find the idea of a high school coach DHing for one of his position players to be a real dick move. Let the kid hit. It’s high school baseball, not the goddamn World Series.
That, and them Dodgers. What a bunch of bums leaving Brooklyn like that.
Maybe one day we can get rid of both of them. A man can dream…
Nearly every team does it. It also helps keep parents happy, as it allows a team to play 10 starters instead of 9. Also, depending on how the game goes, you can get the kid being hit for an at bat and can even get him at an offensive appearance twice in one game, since each starting player can re-enter once.
NFHS 2017 Baseball Rules, rule 3-1-4:
“A hitter may be (not mandatory) designated for any one starting player (not just pitchers) and all subsequent substitutes for that player in the game.”
NCAA 2017 & 2018 Baseball Rules, rule 7-2(a):
“The designated hitter (DH) is a player designated to bat for the starting pitcher and all subsequent pitchers.”
So DH for the pitcher, who is involved in every pitch when his team is on defense.
No, because the ace pitcher is usually also the best hitter, and everyone who pitches is usually among the best nine hitters. This isn’t youth league. My job is to win games. It’s one of the things I am measured on. Using a good hitter in place of a weak hitter increases my chance of winning. I wouldn’t mind doing away with the DH, but I’m not about to go without it when my opponents are using it. You don’t see NL teams go without the DH when playing in an AL park.
It’s your job, and it’s how you’re measured? As in, if you team does poorly in a season, you can not just be replaced as coach, but fired altogether from the school system?
Are there professional high school baseball coaches, not just history/gym teachers who also coach in addition to teaching? I didn’t know that actually happened outside of Texas football.
My sophomore year in high school I would DH for our centerfielder if I wasn’t pitching. Best CF in the conference, but could not hit. It’s definitely legal in HS.
Well, it’s also not little league. High school sports are competitive. Hell, there were plenty of kids, even at my small high school, who try out and don’t even make the team. I have no problem with DHing for a position player in high school varsity baseball.
And a D1 HS baseball coach could make $5k - $10k easy in Ohio. Probably much more depending on exactly where.
It’s one of the things I am measured on. I am not a teacher, so my only activity in the school system is as coach. Yes, I can be fired if the team does poorly. There is no pressure to win the state title every year, but if I wallow in multiple winless or near winless seasons, I could be replaced. If I get fired, life goes on. I still have my day job. I like coaching, and I’d prefer to keep doing it. Others who are teachers and also coach can be fired from coaching, but that wouldn’t affect their teaching job. Yes, we get paid (but not a lot.) It might come out to 75 cents an hour after giving some cash to my volunteer assistants. My experience is in smaller towns of fewer than 25k population. The average pay for the baseball season around here for someone with 10 years of longevity is about 3K.