Last week Alex Rodriguez finally hit his 600th home run, making him only the seventh player in MLB history to do so. This incredible feat got me thinking, who will be the next 600 home run hitter? According to baseball-reference.com's list of active home run leaders, there are a number of players who are close to hitting home run number 600 or on track to do so in the next five years. At the top of this list is the 39 (soon to be 40) year old Jim Thome with 577 homers, 38 year olds Manny Ramirez and Chipper Jones with 554 and 434 home runs respectively, 35 year old Vladimir Guerrero with 428 home runs, and 30 year old Albert Pujols with 392 home runs. If you ask me, Albert Pujols is a shoo-in for the 600 home run club (barring major injury) due to his almost 400 home runs at the young age of 30. On the other hand, players like Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and Chipper Jones are close, but age is a huge limiting factor now that steroids are seemingly out of the picture. For a player like the injury-plagued Thome, who is only 23 home runs away from the big 6-0-0, the DH position is the only plausible way to reach the 600 club. This got me thinking even further, what would happen to home run numbers if the DH position was eliminated? Players like Thome, Guerrero and possibly Manny Ramirez will not reach 600 home runs without the designated hitter option, yet I am for the elimination of the DH and here are the reasons why:
Strike 1) Baseball is a game of offense and defense. It is not a game of I am too old, injured, or slow to make a catch in the outfield, but I can still swing a bat and trot around the bases. I think that once you reach the point where you cannot play the whole game, you should retire. Yes, that means the average retirement age in baseball may drop, but if I wanted to watch people over 40 play a sport, I would watch Brett Favre or the World Series of Bingo.
Strike 2) NL managing actually requires some managerial skills. Let's face it, National League managers have a much more difficult job than American League managers. NL skippers have to come up with creative ways to score runs and have to consider what to do in a 1-1 game with a man on second and the pitcher coming to bat.
- What inning is it?
- Is my pitcher throwing well?
- What are the odds that he will be able to drive in this run?
- What are the odds that a pinch hitter will be able to drive in this run?
- How tired are the arms in my bullpen?
An AL skipper does not have to manage his game around when and in what situation his pitcher is hitting. All an AL manager has to worry about is taking a pitcher out of the game if he gets into trouble or has thrown too many pitches. Basically, winning a National League game takes more thought, planning, and strategy than winning an American League game. I say its time to give the AL manager a job again.
Strike 3) Game length. While I have no problem watching 4 hour baseball games, long games cannot hold the attention of the casual baseball fan. The average game time has increased drastically over the past decade and the DH has a lot to do with that increase. A typical at bat for a pitcher consists of swinging and missing at three straight pitches, or grounding out to second base. That takes all of 20 seconds. An at bat for a DH can include stepping out of the box after every pitch to do some idiosyncratic movement, fouling off 5 pitches in a row, and working a count to 3-2. This at bat can take up to a minute, maybe more. While a minute does not seem like a huge amount of time, the minutes add up over the course of a game. Another problem causing longer games is run production. According to baseball-reference.com, more runs are scored in AL games than NL games, and unless you have a 0-0 tie that goes 14 innings, higher scoring games take longer to complete than lower scoring games. One explanation for the run production in the AL is the DH, whose main purpose is to drive in runs. Time wise, baseball games have gotten out of control and it is causing people to stop tuning in. While the DH is only one factor contributing to the problem, it is the one that is the easiest to fix. The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) would not stand for having a time limit between pitches and no one would stand for having a time limit between innings as less commercials would mean a loss in revenue.
For these reasons and more, the DH has got to go. We need to return to pre-1973 and the way baseball was meant to be played; not with 300lb linebackers smacking home runs, but with 180lb gymnasts making diving plays and stealing bases.
To DH or not to DH, that is the question? The answer? Three strikes and you're out. Its time to see pitchers in the batter's box again.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Mike Lowell's Home Run and A-Rod's Lack Thereof
Hi, I'm the Baseball Girl, or Lori as some people like to call me. Tonight, as I was watching the Red Sox / Indians game and yelling at my TV, I realized I have no one to talk to and no outlet to express my frustration, jubilation or any of the other myriad feelings I encounter on a daily basis while watching baseball. So, I decided to start a blog. Let's see what happens...
The subjects of this blog entry are Mike Lowell and Alex Rodriguez. First, Mike Lowell made his return to the Red Sox lineup today, which made me a very happy camper. Lowell is my favorite player in all of Major League Baseball (with Tim Lincecum a close second), if not for his playing ability, for his great personality and sportsmanship. An injury to Kevin Youkilis, as well as injuries to the Sox entire Major League starting lineup (who are they, the 2009 Mets?), left Terry Francona with no choice but to start Lowell at first base only 2 days after Lowell's future with the Red Sox organization seemed unlikely (again). As Mike approached home plate for his first at bat, the crowd gave him a standing ovation and what did Mikey do? He hit the first pitch he saw over the Green Monster for a home run.
This is what frustrates me. Why is Lowell constantly on the chopping block? Yes, I understand he has been injured and cannot really be an every day player, but he is still an above average hitter and not too bad in the field, so platoon him. The Red Sox have so many injuries that they need someone like Lowell right now, and yet, they are still trying to get rid of him. Hopefully that changed tonight. He not only drove in what would turn out to be the game winning RBI, but he made some great defensive plays at first base. Theo Epstein needs to keep this guy. This is the last season of his contract and he already said he will most likely retire this year, so just let him play where he loves to play and where the fans clearly love to watch him play.
Also, speaking of Epstein...really Theo? Jarrod Saltalamacchia is the best you could do at the trade deadline? The Red Sox needed a bullpen pitcher, not an injury plagued catcher...the team already has enough of those. But I digress...
On to Alex Rodriguez. He hit home run number 599 twelve days ago and now holds the record for the most time between home runs 599 and 600 (although the fact that he is even qualified to hold that record is impressive as only 6 other players in baseball history have hit more than 600 home runs). So you know what I say? Leave A-Rod alone. Stop with this whole "Road to 600" BS and just let the guy play baseball. Switching out balls before his at-bats and bringing up home run 599 over and over again is just distracting, not only for A-Rod, but for the entire Yankee team. Now I am no Yankee fan, but I do like A-Rod and I have liked him since his days with Seattle. I even have a theory about him that involves Star Wars, Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, redemption, Scott Boras, and the Evil Emperor, but that's for another blog entry. The point is, we have to let the guy play baseball. He will eventually hit home run number 600. Whether he does it tomorrow, 20 days from now or Sunday night when I am at the Yankees / Red Sox game (hint, hint...A-Rod, if you're reading this, hit it Sunday) he will hit number 600, so everyone should just back off.
Last, but not least, I was reading Bill Simmons' article on ESPN.com's Page 2 today and he was explaining why the New England Sports Network's (NESN) ratings for Red Sox games have gone down this season. One reason he gave was the large number of injured Red Sox, which goes without saying. Unless you are a really die-hard fan, you are not going to watch a bunch of minor leaguers lose to the Kansas City Royals when you could be watching some other fabulous TV show like, oh, I don't know, America's Got Talent (that was sarcasm by the way. I feel like I need to explain sarcasm for a while, until we get to know each other better). Two other reasons Simmons listed for the decline were:
1) games have grown way too long over the past few years (almost every game is over 3 hours)
and 2) you never see a good old-fashioned fight anymore.
Well, I think Simmon's should list the reasons why there is world hunger, violence in the Middle East, and global warming, because tonight, the night after I read his column, the Red Sox won a game in under 3 hours (it was 2:31 or so) and had a benches clearing brawl...so exciting!
Until next time,
The Baseball Girl
The subjects of this blog entry are Mike Lowell and Alex Rodriguez. First, Mike Lowell made his return to the Red Sox lineup today, which made me a very happy camper. Lowell is my favorite player in all of Major League Baseball (with Tim Lincecum a close second), if not for his playing ability, for his great personality and sportsmanship. An injury to Kevin Youkilis, as well as injuries to the Sox entire Major League starting lineup (who are they, the 2009 Mets?), left Terry Francona with no choice but to start Lowell at first base only 2 days after Lowell's future with the Red Sox organization seemed unlikely (again). As Mike approached home plate for his first at bat, the crowd gave him a standing ovation and what did Mikey do? He hit the first pitch he saw over the Green Monster for a home run.
This is what frustrates me. Why is Lowell constantly on the chopping block? Yes, I understand he has been injured and cannot really be an every day player, but he is still an above average hitter and not too bad in the field, so platoon him. The Red Sox have so many injuries that they need someone like Lowell right now, and yet, they are still trying to get rid of him. Hopefully that changed tonight. He not only drove in what would turn out to be the game winning RBI, but he made some great defensive plays at first base. Theo Epstein needs to keep this guy. This is the last season of his contract and he already said he will most likely retire this year, so just let him play where he loves to play and where the fans clearly love to watch him play.
Also, speaking of Epstein...really Theo? Jarrod Saltalamacchia is the best you could do at the trade deadline? The Red Sox needed a bullpen pitcher, not an injury plagued catcher...the team already has enough of those. But I digress...
On to Alex Rodriguez. He hit home run number 599 twelve days ago and now holds the record for the most time between home runs 599 and 600 (although the fact that he is even qualified to hold that record is impressive as only 6 other players in baseball history have hit more than 600 home runs). So you know what I say? Leave A-Rod alone. Stop with this whole "Road to 600" BS and just let the guy play baseball. Switching out balls before his at-bats and bringing up home run 599 over and over again is just distracting, not only for A-Rod, but for the entire Yankee team. Now I am no Yankee fan, but I do like A-Rod and I have liked him since his days with Seattle. I even have a theory about him that involves Star Wars, Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, redemption, Scott Boras, and the Evil Emperor, but that's for another blog entry. The point is, we have to let the guy play baseball. He will eventually hit home run number 600. Whether he does it tomorrow, 20 days from now or Sunday night when I am at the Yankees / Red Sox game (hint, hint...A-Rod, if you're reading this, hit it Sunday) he will hit number 600, so everyone should just back off.
Last, but not least, I was reading Bill Simmons' article on ESPN.com's Page 2 today and he was explaining why the New England Sports Network's (NESN) ratings for Red Sox games have gone down this season. One reason he gave was the large number of injured Red Sox, which goes without saying. Unless you are a really die-hard fan, you are not going to watch a bunch of minor leaguers lose to the Kansas City Royals when you could be watching some other fabulous TV show like, oh, I don't know, America's Got Talent (that was sarcasm by the way. I feel like I need to explain sarcasm for a while, until we get to know each other better). Two other reasons Simmons listed for the decline were:
1) games have grown way too long over the past few years (almost every game is over 3 hours)
and 2) you never see a good old-fashioned fight anymore.
Well, I think Simmon's should list the reasons why there is world hunger, violence in the Middle East, and global warming, because tonight, the night after I read his column, the Red Sox won a game in under 3 hours (it was 2:31 or so) and had a benches clearing brawl...so exciting!
Until next time,
The Baseball Girl
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)