Evolution Solution

In this day and age of CD's and DVD's we need to add another entertainment advancement to the vocabulary of baseball's National League. DH, which stands for Designated Hitter, which would solve a problem for National League pitchers who d.h. (don't hit), or rather, c.h. (can't hit).

In 2001, it's all about flash. Flashy movies, flashy music videos, and flashy sports highlights. Slam dunks, long touchdown passes, and grand slams can capture the attention of even the most casual sports fan. Watching NL pitchers (with the exception of super slugger Mike Hampton) flail away at pitch after pitch can turn-off anyone with a pulse.

Pitchers can't hit; they pitch. They spend about as much time in the batting cages as David Wells spends in church. They are valuable to their teams by repetitively practicing pitching, and batting practice is merely an after-thought for NL pitchers.

Baseball purists will hate me for saying this, but the sacred act of NL pitchers having to hit is outdated. The only people who truly enjoy watching pitchers hit are pitchers when they are on the mound facing them (and people who still use their 8-track players probably enjoy it as well). Here's a question: Who would you rather see hit, Edgar Martinez or Randy Johnson? Aside from the circus-quality comedic value of watching Johnson try to hit, there is absolutely no comparison. DH's bring a level of excitement to the AL that is sorely lacking in the NL. Try and tell Paul Molitor and Dave Winfield that DH's are bad for baseball. Neither player would've attained 3000 career hits if it wasn't for the DH position. The DH spot prolongs careers and adds exciting offense to the AL style of baseball.

Supporters of pitchers hitting point out that DH's take away some of the strategy involved in the game of baseball. NL managers have to worry about when to bunt, when to pitch around the number eight hitter, and when to pull pitchers in favor of a pinch hitter. Yes, a degree of stategy would be lost if the NL instituted the DH rule, but gone would be the guaranteed out. I would actually have to wait until commercials came on to grab a snack instead of leaving the living room as soon as a pitcher came up to bat with two outs in an inning.

Sport, like society, is all about evolution. The NBA improved it's game by introducing the 24-second shot clock and the 3-point line. It's time for baseball to improve their product. I'm tired of yawning at pitchers swinging through three straight pitches. I want to see more players like Edgar Martinez, Frank Thomas, and up-and-comer Brad Fullmer hit moonshots. I want to see NL pitchers have to bear down on every single hitter in the line-up. Most of all, I want to see people throw away their 8-track players.

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