from Amazon
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Skill to DH?
Not every pitcher can pitch in the 9th innings of close games and still be effective. And, as Steve quotes Andy from The Book, not everyone is cut out to be DH:
Players also lose effectiveness when being used as a designated hitter; the DH penalty is about half that of the PH penalty. This does vary significantly from player to player – some players hit as well as a DH as they do otherwise, while other perform as badly as they would as pinch hitters.
Can you only be an effective DH if you accept that DH is your best role for the team and/or that you will only be doing it on occasion? If you believe that you can still play a role as a fielder, does this then mean that your chance of being an effective DH will be greatly diminished? Basically, do you have to walk through that DH pearly gate yourself, rather than being pushed down the DH well into hell?