Up until a few years ago, the best way to figure out whether a person is a National League fan or an American League fan is by asking their opinion on a universal designated hitter. However, there are now fans of both leagues that want there to be a universal DH, because they feel it would be better for offensive production. Take the Mets for example: a team who has one of the worst offenses in all of baseball…how could they not benefit from a DH in the batting order? The answer to that is simple: the Mets would be worse off with a DH in 2015 then they would by letting their pitchers hit.
Despite a struggling offense, the Mets have one of the better hitting pitching staffs in baseball. Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom are both batting over .200, which is something that no bench player on the Mets has been able to maintain this season. The batting averages for the Mets bench players and starting rotation are listed below:
Bench
Danny Muno: .120
Johnny Monell: .195
Eric Campbell: .174
Kirk Nieuwenhuis: .146
John Mayberry Jr.: .188
Starting Rotation
Matt Harvey: .118
Jacob deGrom: .205
Noah Syndergaard: .238
Bartolo Colon: .125
Jon Niese: .194
If just seeing these numbers does not mean anything to you, it may help to see the combined averages for both groups. In total, the bench is hitting .164 on the season, while the starting rotation is hitting .176. Yes…the starting rotation has a combined average that is 12 points higher than the Mets’ bench!
Should be All-Star Juan Lagares has the highest batting average on the ballclub. However, he is hitting just .256, which is only 18 points higher than Syndergaard. Of course, Lagares has just about 15 times more plate appearances than Syndergaard…but the point still stands. The Mets offensive situation is practically laughable, because to have a pitcher so close to having the best average on the team this late in the season is something that should never happen.
There are thousands of reasons for not initializing a universal DH into the game of baseball, and the Mets are one of them. Not only has Commissioner Rob Manfred called out Colon’s at bats as one of the sole reasons he does not want to discontinue pitcher’s plate appearances in the National League, but the numbers for the Mets alone show that not every team would be better with a designated hitter. The bench players should not feel the need each be hitting .270 or greater, but they should not have a batting average lower than that of the Mets’ pitchers. The Mets are currently just two games out of first place, but if the ballclub used a DH, they would probably be further out. Therefore, it is vital that there is not a DH placed into the National League’s rules, because it could hurt some teams instead of help them.
I myself can’t say long term if the mets or offence in general would be that improved with a universal DH but I can guarantee baseball in general and the mets in particular would have one fewer fan. for the record I’m 33 not some dinosaur but I hate AL baseball its slower innings take forever and there is so much less strategy to “play along with” I love trying to decide when the pitching change should happen when to pinch hit when to double switch, you get the idea.
To me all these perponents of the DH are missing the obvious, you already have it. Baseball is poisitond best with the split leauge for fans who want a DH you have the AL and for people like me who love the stratagy of the game and want to see this type of game we have the NL. You get rid of that and you drive those fans away. I know they want new fans but can you afford to alienate fans like me?
I hope the owners won’t take the game I love from me but I guess that’s their right. Now I hear you saying but you watch interleague and the DH in ST doesn’t bother you. Thats because in ST and at the All star game it does not count and in spring training we are just trying to get everyone ready. AS for interleague play home teams play under their rules remember I’m ok with them coexisting so I’ve made my peace but if you go to the universal DH the game I love becomes extinct that which I’ve always called real baseball becomes no more and if the billionaires and millionaires who run the game no longer have respect for my fandom then they don’t need my money and attention. I’ll find something ells to take my time and interest.
In writing this article, you’ve made some assumptions, which frankly are stupid and ridiculous.
First is that you assumed that if the Mets had a DH, they would just choose from their bench scrap instead of actually getting another hitter.
Which means instead of dismissing someone like Nelson Cruz as a potential target because he is a horrendous fielder, he’d be on the radar as an option to DH.
Secondly, the vast majorities of teams these days use the DH as a rotating half day off for the older guys on the team.
Which means that if the Mets had a DH this year, guys like Cuddyer/Wright/Granny would probably see significant time that spot. TDA would probably be in there too on day games after night games.
And then there’s also the fact that the bench guys would have better numbers because they don’t have to PH. If you take a look at some of the splits of the bench this year, they have horrific PH numbers but somewhat adequate numbers when they start.
If you eliminated your first paragraph your comment has some merit. However, Dan’s thrust, I believe, is that the Mets have made a strong argument against the introduction of the DH to the NL. The hitting by their pitchers has been a nice highlight of the season.
How about the 8 we have now start hitting before we try for someone else.
good God. Please no DH talk. Also, Lagares is not a “should-be all star” this season. He’s playing hurt and his on-base numbers are dreadful.