I am obviously biased since I grew up in an American League city, but after having lived in the last 2 cities which have both had an NL team; my opinion of the Designated Hitter stays the same.  I just don’t think it’s fair to say the National League is the “smarter” league because they have to work their lineup around pitchers batting.  It truly is a fallacy to say it’s harder to manage in the National League.  If anything, managers in the AL have a different strategy since it’s not as simple as simply getting to the bottom of the order to end an inning.

Let’s use an analogy.  Maybe back in the olden days of professional football, they had guys who not only kicked field goals but also played “normal” positions.  I don’t know if this is factual or not, but chances are there were some guys who handled both duties.  Eventually kicking became a specialized position and nowadays you wouldn’t imagine letting your wide receiver attempt a 45-yarder.  Why does the NL insist on maintaining a tactical flaw in their offensive strategy?

So why is the Designated Hitter so maligned by National League fans?  As a fan, I want to see the best possible option at each position out there.  Why does the NL insist on putting a player in their batting order that will create an out 8 to 9 times out of 10?  With the NL, when you get to your 8^th and 9^th hitters, you’re hoping they either get lucky or get walked in order to get to the top of the lineup.  In the AL, there usually isn’t a soft spot in the order, especially nowadays when light-hitting shortstops and catchers are rarer than an 80 year old at a Mudvayne concert.  Yet NL fans insist that juggling a pitcher’s spot in the order during the course of a game is somehow smarter than the AL way of pitching to 9 solid hitters.  Lineup substitution isn’t like figuring out fusion.

Designated hitters don’t get the credit they deserve.  It takes mental stamina like a pro golfer to have nothing else to do but hit the ball 4-5 times a game.  Should they be deserving of an MVP?  Depending on the amount of Game Winning RBIs, the answer is absolutely yes.  Plus the DH position extends the careers of some guys who just can’t field anymore but still have a lot to offer offensively – see Frank Thomas and Jim Thome, and, if he’s smart, Barry Bonds next year.

The question remains as to when do pitchers stop becoming good hitters?  Where does the drop off happen?  Most successful pitchers in high school are also very good batters.  Then they go to college and/or the minors and become specialized and all of a sudden hitting becomes secondary.  But this then leads to an inherent flaw in the National League style of play.  Either let pitchers also concentrate on batting if you’re going to continue to insist on this time honored tradition that does nothing but lead to rally-ending at bats by pitchers at the plate.  The Mike Hamptons and Rick Ankiels of the world are very rare and don’t portend to not making the National League adopt the DH. 

We don’t have different balls for each league anymore and we share the same umpires now.  We play interleague games like all the other leagues.  In the NFL, the AFC doesn't limit itself to one wide receiver at the line of scrimmage.  In the NHL, when everyone is at full strength, the same type of players are out there - 1 center, 2 wings, 2 defensemen, and 1 goalie.  Yet the National League insists on handicapping themselves offensively and claim it's a purer version of the game.

You’ll never convince me that I would prefer to see guys who bat under .200 in the 9^th spot of my lineup over someone who is a professional hitter.  Fans want to see the best product on the field.  Well, at least those who live in American League cities anyway.