DH Tirades

[TLAK]

I heard the Buehrle incident during lunch on the radio and Rooney was livid. He was teed about the ejection but said if you got rid of the DH you would get rid of these shenanigans. I was just watching the game on replay and Hawk went off on the DH too. This got me to thinking, if the DH causes more hit batters because the pitcher never comes to the plate, you would think the number of hit batters would be a lot higher in the AL than the NL. You would also expect to see this change to occur with the introduction of the DH in 1975.

 

So I dug out my RetroSheet database and queried the number of hit by pitch by year. I divided by AB’s because there are different number of teams in each league and compare the number of at bats per hit batter each year.

 

I find very little difference between the leagues since the DH was created. But there is a huge shift in the number of hit batters starting in the 1990’s. Before the 90’s a batter would get his about every 190 AB’s on average. In the 1990’s it fell about 120 ABs and in this decade is in the 90’s!

 

It’s not the DH; the increase is in both leagues. Body armor and improved helmets? I know umps are calling HBP if it as much as brushes a baggy shirt, did they only call when they could hear the sound of meat before? The advent of the ‘warn both benches’ system (open season until you get a warning)? Ideas?

[nitetrain8601]

I thought they overreacted on that too.

[Whitesoxfan56]

I thought they overreacted on that too.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Hawk?? overreact?? No not him...LOL wow did he go off today or what. But I cant blame him that was as hawk would say "Complete BS"

[soxhawks]

i think out of every al team the dh has benefited us just about the most out of any team, so i see no problem with it

[Big Hurtin]

People who say that pitchers wouldn't throw at guys if they had to come up to bat are way off. The National league pitchers still hit, and the DH in the American league is relatively new (considering how long the game has been around). Retaliation has always been to hit one of their better hitters.

 

How many pitchers in the national league have been HBP? As someone already said, it's due to players wearing all that equipment and practically standing on top of the plate.

[Wanne]

So I dug out my RetroSheet database and queried the number of hit by pitch by year.

 

Sorry dude...but I had to friggin laugh at that and bite my lip for not say.....GEEK! I'm just s***tin ya though! Here would be an interesting stat...how many batters has Roger Clemens plunked since he went to the NL and has to bat now...puss!

[WHarris1]

Sorry dude...but I had to friggin laugh at that and bite my lip for not say.....GEEK! I'm just s***tin ya though!  Here would be an interesting stat...how many batters has Roger Clemens plunked since he went to the NL and has to bat now...puss!

Nearly 8 hit batters/year in the AL

4 hit batters/yeah in the NL

[Pods70Rowand33]

I would rather not have the DH but that is just me.

[Kyyle23]

People would rather blame the DH for the problem rather than the real culprit, the Umpires trying to take over the game. Carmen and Silvy touched on this subject this morning, and mentioned that the umpires will do whatever they can to stop confrontation, except when it comes to the batter waving his hand at a pitcher for merely coming inside on him. Batters are now dictating the strike zone, not the umpires, and for some reason the pitchers are getting the brunt of the punishment.

 

Warnings are arbitrary at best, and when they are given, then pitchers can be ejected for barely brushing a batters jersey on an inside pitch. Yet a batter can stand there and talk smack to a pitcher for coming inside on him no matter what.

 

The umpires need to realize that their job is not policing the game, and let the players police themselves. Of course, if an umpire sees an escalating situation, he should do what he can to diffuse it, but yesterday was a disgrace. Iguchi and Pierzinski were drilled, and Surhoff got off easy, Yet buehrle was ejected. No warnings, just a split second decision.

 

If Buehrle gets any sort of fine, Im gonna be really pissed.

[illinilaw08]

If Buehrle gets any sort of fine, Im gonna be really pissed.

 

If anyone gets fined in that instance, it should be the umpire. In a 2-1 game, ejecting a team's ace in a situation where a warning would have ended everything was a joke.

[nvxplorer]

The stat that you need to pull up is pitchers hit by pitch. I can't see a team intentionally putting the pitcher on base.

[Steff]

So I dug out my RetroSheet database...

 

 

Nerd..

 

 

[TLAK]

Bruce Levine mentioned today that in the mid '90s many batters started diving over the plate. I know there was a period when you couldn't hit, against a Greg Maddox say, without diving because they were calling strikes 6" outside. From the games I watch I don't think this is so true any more, but many guys do still set up right on top of the plate and lunge. So part of huge increase in HBP might be from the way they teach hitting now.

 

I could probably create a table of hitting coaches, teams, start and stop dates and calculate the frequency of HBP by player by coach rather than league or team, but that would be too nerdy.

[Hatchetman]

hitters stand on top of the plate more than they used to. part of the emphasis on homers and pulling the ball more.

[Yossarian]

I heard the Buehrle incident during lunch on the radio and Rooney was livid. He was teed about the ejection but said if you got rid of the DH you would get rid of these shenanigans.  I was just watching the game on replay and Hawk went off on the DH too.  This got me to thinking, if the DH causes more hit batters because the pitcher never comes to the plate, you would think the number of hit batters would be a lot higher in the AL than the NL.  You would also expect to see this change to occur with the introduction of the DH in 1975.

 

So I dug out my RetroSheet database and queried the number of hit by pitch by year.  I divided by AB’s because there are different number of teams in each league and compare the number of at bats per hit batter each year.

 

I find very little difference between the leagues since the DH was created.  But there is a huge shift in the number of hit batters starting in the 1990’s.  Before the 90’s a batter would get his about every 190 AB’s on average.  In the 1990’s it fell about 120 ABs and in this decade is in the 90’s! 

 

It’s not the DH; the increase is in both leagues.  Body armor and improved helmets?  I know umps are calling HBP if it as much as brushes a baggy shirt, did they only call when they could hear the sound of meat before? The advent of the ‘warn both benches’ system (open season until you get a warning)?  Ideas?

Excellent work. I think it's more than just body armor and guys standing on top of the plate. Pitchers for whatever reason are just more willing to plunk a hitter when things don't go their way.

[RockRaines]

These "experts" also said that when Clemens moved to the national league, he would stop throwing inside. Didnt happen. If you plunk a pitcher, something will go down.