Orioles wrote:AL guys always think the pitcher's spot is an automatic out... There have been plenty of pitchers that handled the bat fairly well, and getting down a bunt isn't the easiest thing either (and many pitchers struggle with it). From a Cardinals perspective alone: Woody Williams was my favorite hitting pitcher. The dude hit a 400+ foot RBI double off Randy Johnson in the 2001 playoffs. That was amazing. Andy Benes was a solid hitter, leading active pitchers in home runs for a while until Mike Hampton passed him (who was a very good hitter). Jason Marquis was good enough that he was even used as a pinch hitter occasionally. Adam Wainwright even has improved a lot as a hitter and can hold his own at the plate. Wanna guess who the first Cardinal is to hit a home run in the new Busch Stadium? Mark Mulder. Bob Gibson was worth 7.8 wins over the course of his career... from his offensive value alone. He hit 24 home runs and slashed .206/.243/.301 (though the one advantage he had over his peers is that he never had to face Bob Gibson).
Pitchers coming through doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's pretty awesome. This is a simple game. 9 innings, 9 players, 27 outs. But for some reason it seems acceptable to have 2 guys share one of the jobs. It would be like giving PGA tour guys a designated putter because we just want to see them drive the hell out of the ball anyway. Maybe we should give Andrelton Simmons a designated hitter too, because we don't really care about what he does at the plate, we just want to watch him make amazing plays all game long.
Couple countpoints here........
1) Pitchers that can hit are clearly the exception, not the rule. Is it really worth watching pitchers flail away all season just for that one chance that one of them is going to come through and get a meaningful hit? I would personally rather watch David Ortiz, Edgar Martinez and Frank Thomas types provide meaningful hits all season long.
2) A Pitchers job is to pitch. It is a very unique and taxing position on the field. That is where they provide their greatest value and impact on a game. Watching a manager yank a starting pitcher in the 6th or 7th innning, when he's rolling along with a low pitch count, because the manager needs to get a real bat in the lineup in order to score a run is a waste.
3) Bad analogy, golf isn't baseball and it is a single player sport. Football may be a little closer. A better analogy may be we could suggest that they do away with field goal kickers and just make someone from the 11 starters on offense kick the extra points and field goals. That would be entertaining. "Hey, Payton! Go kick that extra point now, but don't pull your hammy!".
4) Andrelton Simmons doesn't pitch. He doesn't touch the ball every single time a pitch is thrown. Comparing the other position players on the field to the pitchers role is a pretty big reach, IMO. That's just my opinion though, and I recognize you probably threw that in there more for entertainment value than to really support your position. At least I would hope so.
Anyways, there will always be disagreement between people that want to keep the old ways of the NL, and those that like the more challenging nature of the AL. There is nothing wrong with either way really, they are just different and fans seem to enjoy them both.
Why you gotta pick on the elderly???
