29 November 2012

Is it wrong of me to prefer having, in the Baseball Hall of Fame...


...some of the players on the 2013 ballot, like Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, who (admittedly or not) lengthened their careers and padded their stats through steroid use, than 2004 inductee Paul Molitor, who, as a designated hitter, got the hitting numbers he did by sitting on the bench for most of his career?  (And, no, the DH isn't the same as a relief pitcher because, when a reliever is pitching well and then due up to bat, the manager has to decide, "Is his (probably) making an out at this point in the game worth my still having him pitch in the next inning?"  That's called "strategy."
    I truly believe if players are THAT good at some aspect of the game, then their teams should have to gamble that their strengths outweigh their weaknesses.  In the final years, Bonds was nothing close to the defensive player that he was earlier in his career, but his hitting made him worth the risk.  Ditto with McGwire, and Sosa.
     Please, Commissioner Selig, get rid of the DH!

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