Editing Designated hitter (section)

==Debate==
The designated hitter rule has been the subject of debate both before and after its implementation. Supporters of the rule have cited its original intent, to replace weak-hitting pitchers in the batting order,<ref name="SI Wulf"/><ref name="Merron">{{cite web|first=Jeff|last=Merron|title=Blomberg first permanent pinch-hitter|website=ESPN|date=April 4, 2003|url=http://static.espn.go.com/mlb/s/2003/0327/1530427.html|access-date=June 19, 2011}}</ref> and the potential for added excitement due to the associated increase in offense.<ref name="SI Wulf"/><ref name="USAToday">{{cite news|title=Renewing the DH debate|work=USA Today|date=September 7, 2004|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2004-09-06-dh-pros-and-cons_x.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 19, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060319223845/https://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2004-09-06-dh-pros-and-cons_x.htm| access-date=May 1, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Bevevino">{{cite web|first=Andrew|last=Bevevino|title=#DIAMONDDEBATES: THE DH|publisher=National Baseball Hall of Fame|url=https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/whole-new-ballgame/dh-or-no-dh|access-date=March 23, 2025}}</ref> Critics have cited the asymmetry of creating a position that is not required to hit and field.<ref name="Bevevino"/><ref name="Dougherty">{{cite web|first=Michael Brendan |last=Dougherty|title=Don't bring the designated hitter to the National League|magazine=The Week|date=April 30, 2015|url=https://theweek.com/articles/552430/dont-bring-designated-hitter-national-league|access-date=May 12, 2019}}</ref> Writing for ''[[The Week]]'' in 2015, Michael Brendan Dougherty argued that the designated hitter disrupts the tradition of the game, saying "it isn't what my generation and several previous ones knew as baseball."<ref name="Dougherty"/>

Older players who are weak fielders or have a history of injuries have been able to extend their careers by becoming designated hitters, as the position is less physically demanding than those that involve playing the field.<ref name="Merron"/><ref name="USAToday"/><ref name="Stone">{{cite web |last=Stone |first=Larry |date=June 8, 1997 |title=Debatable History -- In Its 24-Year History, The Dh Has Remained A Designated Lightning Rod For Controversy |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19970608/2543626/debatable-history----in-its-24-year-history-the-dh-has-remained-a-designated-lightning-rod-for-controversy |access-date=March 23, 2025 |website=The Seattle Times}}</ref> In 1997, at a time when the DH was only used in the [[American League]], [[Tony Gwynn]], then 37, said that "for a guy in my position, at my age, if they do put it in the [[National League (baseball)|National League]], boy, would that be huge."<ref name="Stone"/> However, opponents of the designated hitter have argued that it has allowed subpar and aging players to take up space on rosters longer than would otherwise be acceptable.<ref name="Stone"/><ref name="ESPNquestion">{{cite web|title=The question: What should baseball do about the DH?|website=ESPN|date=April 6, 2003|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/question/dh.html|access-date=March 23, 2025}}</ref>

The designated hitter rule also changes managerial strategy, particularly in late innings.<ref name="Merron"/><ref name="USAToday"/><ref name="Bevevino"/><ref name="ESPNquestion"/> Without the DH, a manager must decide whether to let a pitcher bat or to substitute a [[pinch hitter]]. If a pinch hitter is used, then the manager must decide whether that hitter will stay in the game after batting, and if so, at what position. When the decision to remove a pitcher is made, the manager may also use the [[Double switch (baseball)|double switch]], a substitution mechanism in which the new pitcher adopts a different position in the batting order than the previous pitcher. The double switch is typically employed to delay the new pitcher's first plate appearance. The designated hitter reduces the need for late-inning [[pinch hitter]]s<ref>{{cite book |last=Votano |first=Paul |year=2013 |title=Stand and Deliver: A History of Pinch-Hitting |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-1588-5 |oclc=52047315 |pages=172–73}}</ref> and eliminates the principal utility of the double switch entirely.<ref>{{cite news |last=Chass |first=Murray |author-link=Murray Chass |date=June 14, 1997 |title=Look Closely, It's N.L. Magic: A Double Switch |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/14/sports/look-closely-it-s-nl-magic-a-double-switch.html |access-date=April 24, 2009 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

Prior to the introduction of the universal DH, [[interleague play]] caused teams to adjust their usual strategies for lineup and roster construction. In 1993, [[John Olerud]], who had won that year's American League batting title, was benched in the third game of the [[1993 World Series|World Series]], played in a National League stadium, when designated hitter [[Paul Molitor]] took Olerud's typical position at [[First baseman|first base]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Nightengale |first=Bob |author-link=Bob Nightengale |date=October 19, 1993 |title=Olerud Benched By Jays -- Molitor To Replace .363 Hitter |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19931019/1726791/olerud-benched-by-jays----molitor-to-replace-363-hitter |access-date=March 23, 2025 |newspaper=The Seattle Times |agency=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> In 2003, ESPN writer [[Jayson Stark]] claimed that the [[San Francisco Giants]] may have lost the previous year's [[2002 World Series|World Series]] because their roster was not optimized for the use of a DH in the home stadium of their American League opponents.<ref name="ESPNquestion"/> When regular season interleague play was introduced, multiple proposals were made to remove the DH from the American League in order to maintain consistency across both leagues.<ref>{{cite news|title=Owners Want Interleague Play, No DH|newspaper=The Chicago Tribune|date=January 17, 1996|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/01/17/owners-want-interleague-play-no-dh/|access-date=March 23, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Mark|last=Maske|title=Owners' Plan: Drop DH, Add a Roster Spot|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 29, 1997|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1997/08/29/owners-plan-drop-dh-add-a-roster-spot/16d79edb-1d95-46a1-ab1c-1da6d7d333e6/|access-date=March 23, 2025}}</ref> Until the introduction of the universal DH, the American League held a distinct advantage over the National League during interleague play in most seasons. The ability of American League teams to increase the depth of their lineups with designated hitters contributed to this trend.<ref>{{cite web |last=Verducci |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Verducci |date=March 6, 2012 |title=Is the designated hitter coming to a National League park near you? |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/tom_verducci/03/06/designated.hitter.national.league/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309022128/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/tom_verducci/03/06/designated.hitter.national.league/index.html |archive-date=March 9, 2012 |access-date=March 29, 2025 |website=Sports Illustrated}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Russell A.|last=Carleton|title=Baseball Therapy: Is The American League Just Better?|website=Baseball Prospectus|date=September 20, 2016|url=https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/30411/baseball-therapy-is-the-american-league-just-better/|access-date=March 29, 2025}}</ref>

Occasionally, injuries sustained by pitchers were cited to support the expansion of the DH to the National League.<ref name="Bevevino"/><ref name="Rhoden">{{Cite web |last=Rhoden |first=William C. |author-link=William C. Rhoden |date=April 27, 2015 |title=Adam Wainwright Injury Should Reignite Designated Hitter Debate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/28/sports/baseball/adam-wainwright-injury-should-reignite-designated-hitter-debate.html |access-date=May 11, 2019 |website=The New York Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="DiMauro">{{cite web |url=https://www.theday.com/article/20180609/SPORT01/180609366 |title=Baseball must unify DH rule before more pitchers get hurt |last=DiMauro |first=Mike |date=June 9, 2018 |website=The Day |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511201218/https://www.theday.com/article/20180609/SPORT01/180609366 |access-date=May 11, 2019}}</ref> In 2008, [[New York Yankees]] pitcher [[Chien-Ming Wang]] was injured while running the bases in an interleague game against the [[Houston Astros]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kepner |first=Tyler |author-link=Tyler Kepner |date=June 16, 2008 |title=Yanks Lose Their Ace and Eye Another |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/16/sports/baseball/16yankees.html |access-date=May 11, 2019 |website=The New York Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Wang was diagnosed with a torn [[Lisfranc ligament]] and a partial tear of the [[peroneus longus]] of the right foot. Wang's subsequent extensive rehabilitation prevented him from being an effective major league pitcher after the injury.<ref name="Rhoden"/><ref name="DiMauro"/> Yankees part owner [[Hank Steinbrenner]] expressed frustration with pitchers having to bat in National League parks, saying, "I just think it's time the NL joined the 21st century."<ref>{{cite news|first=Anthony|last=McCarron|title=Irate Hank Steinbrenner blames Chien-Ming Wang's injury on NL rules|newspaper=The Daily News|date=June 16, 2008|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/06/16/2008-06-16_irate_hank_steinbrenner_blames_chienming.html|archive-date=June 25, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625070427/https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/06/16/2008-06-16_irate_hank_steinbrenner_blames_chienming.html|access-date=March 23, 2025}}</ref> In 2015, after sustaining an injury while batting, [[Max Scherzer]], who had switched from the American League to the National League during the previous offseason, said that while he enjoyed hitting,<ref>{{cite news|title=Max Scherzer clarifies comments on National League DH|website=Sports Illustrated|date=April 28, 2015|url=https://www.si.com/mlb/2015/04/28/national-league-dh-max-scherzer-clarifies-comments|access-date=March 23, 2025}}</ref> he favored consistency between the leagues, remarking, "Who would people rather see, a real hitter hitting home runs or a pitcher swinging a wet newspaper? Both leagues need to be on the same set of rules."<ref>{{cite news|title=Max Scherzer: No one wants to see pitchers bat|website=ESPN|date=April 26, 2015|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/12769662/max-scherzer-injured-batting-advocates-designated-hitter-rule-national-league|access-date=March 23, 2025}}</ref>