Photo Courtesy of Marc Topkin's Heater Blog.
A thought ocurred to me during this interleague stretch.
Why don’t pitchers hit?
The best argument for the DH seems to be that no one wants to watch a lineup with an automatic out. But, I never actually questioned why pitchers are presumed to be terrible hitters. There is no specific quality about a pitcher that makes them an obviously bad hitter. Aren’t these guys really good athletes? Can you be a Major League pitcher and not be athletic? Also, they probably played a position as an amateur. Didn’t they hit then?
I remember when we drafted Josh Hamilton in 1999. The consensus among all scouts was that Hamilton was absolutely the #1 pick whether he wanted to pitch or play outfield in the big leagues. (Remembers, Josh Beckett was the #2 pick that year. That’s how much of a stud Hamilton is. He was a better pitching prospect than Josh Beckett.) So, if Hamilton chose to be a pitcher, does that mean he would have been a bad big league hitter?
Seems to me the only logical answer to this question comes in the minor-league player development system. All minor league teams, including those affiliated with a National League parent club, use a DH. I suppose this is to make sure the position-player prospects get as many at bats as possible. So, professional pitchers don’t hit unless they start a game in the National League. That means they aren’t good Major League hitters beacuse they are inexperienced, not because they are incapable.
Look at our starting rotation. These guys are stud athletes. And, based on their interleague BP sessions, they obviously love to hit. Are you telling me that David Price couldn’t be a better pinch-hit option late in a game than Will Rhymes? Are you telling me Jeremy Hellickson wouldn’t make more sense against a lefty out of the bullpen than Molina?
If we teach our pitchers to hit, we automatically make our team that much deeper than every other team in baseball. We have the athletes to do it. In fact, we have the athletes in the minor leagues to start developing right now. Isn’t that right in Joe Maddon’s wheelhouse? Lets break the mold on this stupid notion that pitchers are incompetent at the plate.
What am I missing?
There are only 24 hours in a day. Pitchers spend their time working on being a better pitcher, hitters work on hitting. There are probably lots of pitchers who could be good hitters if they gave up pitching and focused on hitting- Rick Ankiel is the obvious recent example, Babe Ruth the old one. Micah Owings could easily be an above average major league hitter and maybe a great one if he used his time to work at it. But there are just not enough hours in the day to put the time in necessary to do both well at the major league level consistently.
Pitchers don’t spend a lot of time working on being a better pitcher. In fact, pitchers spend almost all of their non-game time doing nothing at all. A starting pitcher spends three out of every five days doing nothing but shagging balls in BP and eating sunflower seeds. Aside from their start and their side-session, starters do nothing. Relief pitchers have even less to do. They don’t do any pre-game work (to stay fresh). There is a TON of time to workout in the cages/at BP.
I love it, but the truth of the matter is you know deep down they would never actually consider this on a regular basis strictly for the opportunity that they could get hurt. The Rays overvalue pitching like no other team, I just can’t imagine how they would let it happen that one of them could strain/pull something running the bases, or get plunked on the elbow/wrist/knee.
Also, I’m curious as to what you would do with this pitcher now that he’s in the line-up? Unless you PH’d him for the DH (least likely place to PH, I think?) he has to take up position somewhere, or your DH would have to be a utility guy that can be plunked in a defensive position for the person the pitcher replaced.
First, I am sure injury is the reason they’ll offer but that seems like a myth. Why is hitting any more dangerous than any other baseball activities? I think injury risk is a constant for all baseball activity outside of catching.
As for your second question, I am thinking of pitchers as offensive options on days when they aren’t pitching. That leaves you the ability to move the DH to the field (adding another glove late without burning a sub).