Should Baseball Ban the Dh?

Should Baseball Ban the DH?

The designated hitter rule has positively influenced Major League Baseball since the American League adopted it in 1973. Not only should it be upheld in the American League, but should also be adopted in the National League. The DH rule allows a designated hitter to bat for pitchers in the batting order.

One of the biggest reasons that the DH should be used is that pitchers can't hit. Who would you rather see, Manny Ramirez, who had a batting average of .327 last season, or Randy Johnson, who only batted .127. The majority of baseball fans would rather see a batter that can hit the ball instead of a pitcher swinging and missing.

The commissioner is in favor of abolishing the DH, but there is one problem. "The problem is that the all-mighty players' union loves the DH because it creates an extra roster spot and enables good hitters to hang on for several years after their prime." If the players want the DH rule then we should keep it. Why get rid of something that the players don't want to get rid of. Japan and the National League are the only two places not using the DH.

Another reason to keep the DH is that it does allow good hitters to keep playing baseball. Without the DH position, the careers of many great players would have been cut short. Hall-of-famer Eddie Murray and future hall-of-famers Harold Baines and Paul Molitor finished their careers as designated hitters. Eddie Murray and Paul Molitor were able to reach 3,000 hit plateau thanks to the DH rule, and as a result fans were able to watch them in action for years after they otherwise would have had to retire.

It's almost certain that the Seattle Mariners' Edgar Martinez, who is 40 and still hitting .331 this past season, would no longer be playing in the Major Leagues if the designated hitter rule did not exist. According to a 2002 Sports Illustrated article, "This man is an athlete, as pure a hitter as they come, and he still contributes to his team." It is unfair to players like Martinez to abolish the DH rule.

Critics say that it takes away from the way the game is supposed to be played. The rule, actually brings out the pureness of the game. It lets the hitters concentrate on hitting and the pitchers on pitching. The game is still played the same, there are still three outs an inning and nine innings per game.

The opposition might argue that it's not baseball, it's hitting. They say that there is too much hitting. They argue this because "hitting is at an all-time high right now. In the American League, ERA's were huge this past season. After Pedro Martinez's