The Designated Hitter Rule is to Baseball as [Hypothetical Rule Change] is to [this Sport]
Watching the World Series last week, I was reminded of the utter stupidity of the DH rule and how it fundamentally changes the game. Seriously, it’s as if they’re playing two different sports in the AL and the NL.
What would be a [hypothetical] rule change for another sport that would change that sport as much as the DH changes baseball? An example that comes to my mind would be if the AFC outlawed tackling the quarterback and instead you had to tear flags off of him, as in flag football.
Your hypothetical is not as game-changing as the DH. It also might not be so far-fetched.
I think a better comparison would be if the NFC mandated quarterbacks to handle all kicking. However, quarterbacks are probably better at kicking than pitchers are at hitting.
The clogging up of the batting order by a guy who can’t hit, and who often must be removed from the game in favor of a pinch-hitter even when he’s mowing 'em down.
Only one organized pro league still requires the farce of forcing pitchers to (pretend to) hit. It’s way overdue for them to get in line and join the 21st century.
The 3-point line in basketball was a pretty big change. Imagine if home games for Eastern Conference teams had the line, but games at Western Conference teams didn’t.
Someone on ESPN radio (Cowherd?) recently made the comparison that it would be like if the NBA Eastern Conference played 4 on 4. They would construct their teams completely different from how they do now.
I think that’s a terrible example. 4-on-4 is a completely different game, just like 3-on-3 is completely different. It’d be more like letting teams send in replacement players hockey style, on the fly. The actual game play remains identical, but the pace and freshness of the players is heightened.
Well, the placekicker is more part of the offensive unit, I’d think, so I’d say it’s more like making him play safety or something. Which, if the entire unit played offense and defense would make perfect sense. Kickers in rugby have to play the rest of the game too, right?
Another relevant comparison would be cricket, where every fielder/bowler must bat. Has there ever been a push for a “designated batsman” even in the more hitter-oriented variations of cricket?
Martin Crowe’s bizarre 'Cricket Max’ variation had separate batsmen and bowlers. Fortunatley it never got much traction or we’d be deprived of batting like this…
Australian domestic one day competition did have a bowler didn’t have to bat 12 man system for a while, i think they got rid of it, and cricket doesn’t require them to bat anyway unless your team loses a lot of wickets.
A number of the junior cricket competitions allow squads of up to 14 to play where any 11 can bat and any 11 can bowl, but that’s principally designed to increase participation.
I am really disappointed at how many people here support the DH. I thought SDMBers were a higher class of people
Football is supposed to have different people on different phases. Part of baseball is that everyone has to play offense and defense. They’re different sports with different rules
If Abner Doubleday were alive today he’d be rolling in his grave
Making the shortstop hit is like making a wide receiver play safety.
Making the catcher hit is like making the placekicker play left tackle.
Making the pitcher hit is like making the punter play wide receiver.
Making baseball players play offense and defense instead of having separate teams for each is like playing baseball instead of football.
I like baseball more than football, and the DH is an abomination.
To answer the question, the Designated Hitter Rule is like if you had “forward” and “back” players on each basketball team, each never leaving their half of the court.
Maybe basketball could have a guy they just brought in for all the free throw attempts. He’d be a big fat guy at the end of his career who would come in, toss the free throw(s), then get high fives and ride the pines until the next time someone needed to be spared the indignity of stepping up to the free throw line.
“I really wish I could spend more of my life watching pitchers helplessly flail as the baseball flies past them.” - No fans of any AL team that has employed a competent DH in the last decade.
They are playing two different versions of the sport in the AL and the NL, and the NL version kind of sucks in this particular way. But to each his (or her) own. Just don’t try to impose your backwards ways on us!