# The Designated Hitter: Abomination in the eyes of God? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 31, 2012, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247 "2012-01-31T00:57:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/121 "2012-02-02T15:50:49Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Is there anyone that thinks interleague play (that counts towards win/loss) is a good idea? Sure. I’m not against it. I kind of like having the opportunity to see another team that I almost never get to see in person because of interleague play. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/122 "2012-02-02T16:24:58Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Is there anyone that thinks interleague play (that counts towards win/loss) is a good idea? I hate it. You know wdhy? Because I hate watching MY AL team and seeing the damned pitcher hit! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/123 "2012-02-02T16:30:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Is there anyone that thinks interleague play (that counts towards win/loss) is a good idea? I think it’s a great idea. Why should fans in most cities be deprived of seeing half of the stars in the major leagues? Sure, you’ll end up with some Royals-Pirates games (though I remain hopeful that the Royals will soon no longer be that kind of team), but most teams have stars that any baseball fan would be thrilled to watch. And if you don’t let it count toward win/loss, you get the All-Star Game situation, where the real stars sit out for injury fears (real or imagined) or fatigue or disrupt the rotation of the star pitchers so as not to waste them on meaningless games. It’s good for the fans. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/124 "2012-02-02T16:42:42Z")
I would say it’s “OK” for the fans and bad for competitive integrity. If they are going to keep it, which obviously with the Astros shift they are, it probably needs to be expanded and, especially, balanced. It’s just not fair to decide the division winner based on schedules where the teams didn’t play the same opponents (or even close to the same opponents). ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/125 "2012-02-02T16:49:57Z")
Interleague play, so far, has led to a completely unbalanced schedule. For example, the Yankees interleague rival is the Mets, so they play them a home-and-home series every year. The Red Sox’s “rival?” The Phillies. Yeah, that’s fair. I don’t completely hate interleague play, but I probably will when it becomes a full time thing with the Astros in the AL. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/126 "2012-02-02T16:59:02Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Is there anyone that thinks interleague play (that counts towards win/loss) is a good idea? Yeah, I do. I want to see the White Sox play the Cubs in games that count. And I’m an AL fan that thinks the DH blows dead animals. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/127 "2012-02-02T17:25:00Z")
Since some posters are mentioning pitchers that can hit, I’ll just reference [Micah Owings](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/owingmi01-bat.shtml). Since someone should. However, I’m pro-DH. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/128 "2012-02-02T17:33:14Z")
I don’t mind some interleague exhibition games that don’t count for a teams win/loss record. But the match ups aren’t distributed well. The teams are playing nearby teams or some really odd matchups for a few games. One team could get stuck playing only division leaders from the other league, while some other AL team only has to play the Nationals. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/129 "2012-02-02T19:05:15Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > I think it’s a great idea. Why should fans in most cities be deprived of seeing half of the stars in the major leagues? Sure, you’ll end up with some Royals-Pirates games (though I remain hopeful that the Royals will soon no longer be that kind of team), but most teams have stars that any baseball fan would be thrilled to watch. It’s bad because it undermines another virtue that we are responsible for instilling into our youth: You EARN Great Rewards (in this instance The Opportunity To Play A Baseball Game Against A Team From The Other League). > [@](#): > > And if you don’t let it count toward win/loss, you get the All-Star Game situation, where the real stars sit out for injury fears (real or imagined) or fatigue or disrupt the rotation of the star pitchers so as not to waste them on meaningless games. All-Star Games aren’t even important enough for me to remember if they’re supposed to be played in July or August. > [@](#): > > It’s good for the fans. “Fans” be damned. Any “fan” who puts sugar on his porridge yadayada, doesn’t deserve the title. It’s bad for the moral fiber of our nation. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/130 "2012-02-02T19:06:32Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Interleague play, so far, has led to a completely unbalanced schedule. For example, the Yankees interleague rival is the Mets, so they play them a home-and-home series every year. The Red Sox’s “rival?” The Phillies. Yeah, that’s fair. Any system that doesn’t simply have all 30 teams in one division must necessarily include temporary advantages and disadvantages of this sort. You can’t create any divisional system of any kind, nor any practical schedule of any kind, where some teams don’t have a tougher schedule of some kind. And those advantages are never permanent. I mean, really, you’re holding up the Phillies, the losingest team in the history of professional sports, as a tough rival? Sure, maybe over the last five years. But surely that’s just a temporary thing, not a systemic problem. [QUOTE=kaylasdad] It’s bad because it undermines another virtue that we are responsible for instilling into our youth: You EARN Great Rewards (in this instance The Opportunity To Play A Baseball Game Against A Team From The Other League). [/QUOTE] That’s ridiculous. The reward isn’t “playing a baseball game against a team from the other league.” Nobody on the Cardinals ever gave a crap about the amazing opportunity to play a game against the team from Arlington, before or after interleague play. They do that all Spring Training, after all. The reward is a chance to win the World Series, which remains the same. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/131 "2012-02-02T19:07:54Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Is there anyone that thinks interleague play (that counts towards win/loss) is a good idea? > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Well, it’s going to be a permanent, and full-time, feature once the Astros move to the American League, as there’ll be an odd number of teams in both leagues, and interleague play will be necessary to keep all teams playing on a more-or-less daily basis. ARE YOU SHITTING ME???!!!??? Fuck it. Now I know how Jesus felt when He got a load of Christianity being an organized religion. Somebody please link me to a site where I can learn the rules to cricket. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/132 "2012-02-02T19:42:07Z")
kaylasdad: > [@](#): > > It’s bad because it undermines another virtue that we are responsible for instilling into our youth: You EARN Great Rewards (in this instance The Opportunity To Play A Baseball Game Against A Team From The Other League). So a fan who happened to live in Detroit or Boston or Dallas “failed to earn” the right to see Willie Mays or Warren Spahn or Mike Schmidt or Johnny Bench or Barry Bonds play? A fan who happened to live in Pittsburgh or Cincinnati or San Diego “failed to earn” the right to see Bob Feller or Ted Williams or Reggie Jackson or George Brett? Professional Baseball is entertainment, pure and simple. The best way to sell entertainment is to have as many stars as possible playing for as many spectators as possible. Would the NBA have been better off if only Eastern fans could have ever seen Michael Jordan, or only Western fans Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/133 "2012-02-02T19:50:33Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > It’s bad because it undermines another virtue that we are responsible for instilling into our youth: You EARN Great Rewards (in this instance The Opportunity To Play A Baseball Game Against A Team From The Other League). > “Fans” be damned. Any “fan” who puts sugar on his porridge yadayada, doesn’t deserve the title. It’s bad for the moral fiber of our nation. Can we add Baseball Fundamentalism to Poe’s Law? I can’t tell if this is real or a put-on. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/134 "2012-02-02T20:07:45Z")
If they had moved Colorado or Arizona to the AL I’d love interleague, as it is, Texans are deprived of an NL team to root for. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/135 "2012-02-02T20:30:25Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I mean, really, you’re holding up the Phillies, the losingest team in the history of professional sports, as a tough rival? Sure, maybe over the last five years. But surely that’s just a temporary thing, not a systemic problem. Um, yes I am holding up the Phillies as a tough rival. I realize it may only apply short term, but let’s just take a look at the 2011 season. The Red Sox infamously missed the playoffs by a game. They played the Phillies 6 times while the Rays played the Marlins 6 times. I’m not saying there is a perfect system out there, but games against teams outside the league should at least be even if they’re going to count towards your final record. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/136 "2012-02-02T20:34:56Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Interleague play, so far, has led to a completely unbalanced schedule. For example, the Yankees interleague rival is the Mets, so they play them a home-and-home series every year. The Red Sox’s “rival?” The Phillies. Yeah, that’s fair. > > I don’t completely hate interleague play, but I probably will when it becomes a full time thing with the Astros in the AL. IIRC, they are rebalancing IL play to (mostly) eliminate these issues, tho “rival” teams will remain. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/137 "2012-02-02T23:57:28Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Um, yes I am holding up the Phillies as a tough rival. I realize it may only apply short term, but let’s just take a look at the 2011 season. The Red Sox infamously missed the playoffs by a game. They played the Phillies 6 times while the Rays played the Marlins 6 times. I’m not saying there is a perfect system out there, but games against teams outside the league should at least be even if they’re going to count towards your final record. But there’s no difference between that and having an in-league divisional system where you play teams in your own division more often, or are stuck in a division with stronger opponents. How fair was it that the 1993 Giants had the Braves (inexplicably) in their division? Surely the Phillies got a break that year? The only way to make the schedule “balanced” is to have no divisions and no playoffs, as it was prior to 1969. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/138 "2012-02-03T00:18:55Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > kaylasdad: > > So a fan who happened to live in Detroit or Boston or Dallas “failed to earn” the right to see Willie Mays or Warren Spahn or Mike Schmidt or Johnny Bench or Barry Bonds play? A fan who happened to live in Pittsburgh or Cincinnati or San Diego “failed to earn” the right to see Bob Feller or Ted Williams or Reggie Jackson or George Brett? No. The TEAMS failed to earn the privileges. Baseball isn’t “for” the fans; it’s “for” the people who go out on the field and play it. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/139 "2012-02-03T00:26:08Z")
The only league where thirty year old men can play a sport and not do it “for” the fans, is a softball league, and softball, doesn’t pay very well. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247/140 "2012-02-03T00:34:13Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > No. The TEAMS failed to earn the privileges. Baseball isn’t “for” the fans… Well, I guess you’re so far from my thinking we’re speaking different languages. If it’s not “for” me, why am I paying them to go see it? I’m the customer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-designated-hitter-abomination-in-the-eyes-of-god/611247.md?page=8)