Editor’s note: This column is written as part of a point-counterpoint. The other column, against the designated hitters, can be here.

For a sport called “America’s Pastime,” baseball fans are in constant dispute over how the game should be played.

Most recently, fans have debated whether the league should use designated hitters or if each team should have to send their pitcher to the plate. Growing up watching American League baseball, the designated hitter has always been a part of the game; so why change it?

Despite being a White Sox fan and having to watch Adam Dunn on a daily basis, I like the DH. A few years ago when the White Sox signed Dunn as a designated hitter, it looked like their focus was shifting from small ball to the long ball. For Dunn, it was a good fit to extend his career in spite of declining fielding abilities. 

The White Sox were looking for that one guy who could give them 35-plus home runs every season to bulk up their lineup. They finally had that with Dunn, or at least we hoped to hell they had that, considering they gave the “Big Donkey” $56 million over four years. 

In his debut wearing a White Sox uniform, he went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. We all thought — or at least I thought: “Yeah baby, we’ve got our guy, World Series here we come!” We would see Dunn hit home runs just 10 more times that season as he would go on to own a batting average of .159 and drive in 42 runs. I hate to even say “drive in” because that sounds cool, and nothing about Dunn’s 2011 season was cool. It was arguably the worst single season by a player in the history of the sport. By the way, he struck out 177 times, which we knew he was prone to do, but we also thought he would hit 40 home runs. 

While Dunn and the 2011 White Sox terribly underachieved in 2011, finishing third in the AL Central, I would still take Dunn at the DH instead of having the pitcher hit last and have no DH in the lineup. 

The 2011 Chicago Cubs had a starting rotation of Matt Garza, Carlos Zambrano, Randy Wells, Ryan Dempster and Andrew Cashner. In total that year, the entire Cubs pitching staff went to the plate 294 times. In those 294 at-bats, they struck out 120 times, totaled 39 hits and crushed a grand total of two home runs, both coming off the bat of Zambrano, thought to have been one of the better hitting pitchers in baseball. 

Compare that with Dunn’s historically bad 2011 season. He had more hits, home runs and RBIs than the Cubs pitching staff. The live-ball era has been around for 93 years, and in that time, almost no player had ever had as bad a season offensively as Dunn had in 2011, yet his numbers were still higher than the alternative. 

I realize that pitchers are not supposed to be good hitters, but that’s exactly where the problem lies. One of the most exciting things to happen in a baseball game is the home run, and with the DH position, you suddenly have a prototypical home run hitter added to your lineup. 

When the pitcher comes up in the National League, you are going to see either a sacrifice bunt, or a strikeout. I understand that many people enjoy seeing how managers’ game plan for situations like that, but let’s leave that for interleague play. 

Interleague play is in no way ideal, but since 1997 it is a part of the game that we have to accept. And to those who dislike interleague play: You do not have to like it, but as a baseball fan, you have to accept it because it is what it is, and it will never change. 

Baseball is one of the most unique sports that is in between two leagues. There is one rule that is different, however. It gives each league its own personality, so to speak, and when teams from different leagues do play each other, it forces managers and players to adapt to a different style of play. So for the sake of Adam Dunn, let’s keep things the way they have been for the last 40 years and not abolish the designated hitter position in the MLB.

Sam is a sophomore in Media. He can be reached at [email protected] and @Sam_Sherman5.

Editor’s note: This column is written as part of a point-counterpoint. The other column, is against the designated hitters.

F

or a sport called “America’s Pastime,” baseball fans are in constant dispute over how the game should be played.

Most recently, fans have debated whether the league should use designated hitters or if each team should have to send their pitcher to the plate. Growing up watching American League baseball, the designated hitter has always been a part of the game; so why change it?

Despite being a White Sox fan and having to watch Adam Dunn on a daily basis, I like the DH. A few years ago when the White Sox signed Dunn as a designated hitter, it looked like their focus was shifting from small ball to the long ball. For Dunn, it was a good fit to extend his career in spite of declining fielding abilities. 

The White Sox were looking for that one guy who could give them 35-plus home runs every season to bulk up their lineup. They finally had that with Dunn, or at least we hoped to hell they had that, considering they gave the “Big Donkey” $56 million over four years. 

In his debut wearing a White Sox uniform, he went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. We all thought — or at least I thought: “Yeah baby, we’ve got our guy, World Series here we come!” We would see Dunn hit home runs just 10 more times that season as he would go on to own a batting average of .159 and drive in 42 runs. I hate to even say “drive in” because that sounds cool, and nothing about Dunn’s 2011 season was cool. It was arguably the worst single season by a player in the history of the sport. By the way, he struck out 177 times, which we knew he was prone to do, but we also thought he would hit 40 home runs. 

While Dunn and the 2011 White Sox terribly underachieved in 2011, finishing third in the AL Central, I would still take Dunn at the DH instead of having the pitcher hit last and have no DH in the lineup. 

The 2011 Chicago Cubs had a starting rotation of Matt Garza, Carlos Zambrano, Randy Wells, Ryan Dempster and Andrew Cashner. In total that year, the entire Cubs pitching staff went to the plate 294 times. In those 294 at-bats, they struck out 120 times, totaled 39 hits and crushed a grand total of two home runs, both coming off the bat of Zambrano, thought to have been one of the better hitting pitchers in baseball. 

Compare that with Dunn’s historically bad 2011 season. He had more hits, home runs and RBIs than the Cubs pitching staff. The live-ball era has been around for 93 years, and in that time, almost no player had ever had as bad a season offensively as Dunn had in 2011, yet his numbers were still higher than the alternative. 

I realize that pitchers are not supposed to be good hitters, but that’s exactly where the problem lies. One of the most exciting things to happen in a baseball game is the home run, and with the DH position, you suddenly have a prototypical home run hitter added to your lineup. 

When the pitcher comes up in the National League, you are going to see either a sacrifice bunt, or a strikeout. I understand that many people enjoy seeing how managers’ game plan for situations like that, but let’s leave that for interleague play. 

Interleague play is in no way ideal, but since 1997 it is a part of the game that we have to accept. And to those who dislike interleague play: You do not have to like it, but as a baseball fan, you have to accept it because it is what it is, and it will never change. 

Baseball is one of the most unique sports that is in between two leagues. There is one rule that is different, however. It gives each league its own personality, so to speak, and when teams from different leagues do play each other, it forces managers and players to adapt to a different style of play. So for the sake of Adam Dunn, let’s keep things the way they have been for the last 40 years and not abolish the designated hitter position in the MLB.

Sam is a sophomore in Media. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @Sam_Sherman5.