Talk:Designated hitter

Legitimacy of the Quotes section
I'm kinda new here, but should the quotes section be there? It doesn't seem like something that's normally allowed...Altairantares (talk) 13:27, 28 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Please read this Baseball Bugs, another user that views the Quotes section as unnecessary SF Gyros (talk) 04:24, 22 October 2009 (UTC)
 * The quotes section is very out of place. Not Wikipedia material at all. That kind of thing is what Wikiquote exists for. Random assortments of quotes on a subject don't belong in that subject's Wikipedia article. If anybody's dead set on keeping the quotes, work them into the main article. 75.76.213.106 (talk) 05:15, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

Felix Hernandez's grand slam
Felix Hernandez's grand slam came in an Interleague game at Shea Stadium, not in an American League ballgame between 2 AL teams. --Bjrbbhaw81 (talk) 00:49, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

DH in NL park
"April 10, 2007 was the first time the designated hitter was used at a National League park during a regular-season game."

Pretty sure that's not true. Off the top of my head, the Yankees played their home games at Shea Stadium in '74 and '75. Also, the Yankees played another home game there in '98. 67.161.188.134 (talk) 23:04, 18 June 2011 (UTC)

I thought the same thing when I read this article. I looked up the box score from 1975 on Baseball reference (which I think is quite reputable) and it clearly shows a DH at Shea Stadium: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=197505010NYA

I would take a stab at correcting this, but there are a lot of references to the number of times. Hope this helps... --2001:4898:0:FFF:0:5EFE:A54:194E (talk) 20:28, 19 June 2013 (UTC)

Another case of lost DH in AL game, Seattle April 20, 1990
This game is interesting because SEA pitcher Brian Holman was one out from a perfect game in OAK. The SEA DH went to play 1B in bottom of 8th inning and Holman came up to the plate in top of the 9th and actually reached base on an error. He lost the perfect game (and shut-out) in bottom of the ninth when A's pinch-hitter Ken Phelps hit a 2-out homerun. Holman retired the next batter to end the game. (I was at this game and bummed to miss out on seeing a perfect game.)

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK199004200.shtml — Preceding unsigned comment added by Roybears (talk • contribs) 18:17, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

More Forfeited DH games
Sept. 4, 2012, White Sox v. Twins http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA201209040.shtml

Sept. 13, Rays v. Orioles http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012_09_13_tbamlb_balmlb_1&mode=wrap#gid=2012_09_13_tbamlb_balmlb_1&mode=box

Dom316 (talk) 01:45, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

Excess examples
The section on examples of a team forfeiting the DH is way too long. It seems like its trying to list every game where that ever happened. I don't think that's a good idea, as it is very trivial to get into that level of detail for a single thing. oknazevad (talk) 16:23, 3 December 2013 (UTC)


 * It probably is about time to resort to categorizing and summarizing the cases, keeping just a few as examples. WHPratt (talk) 17:33, 3 December 2013 (UTC)

Two plus months later, and it's only gotten worse. I am sorely tempted to torpedo the whole section; it cannot be said to fall with Wikipedia guidelines. oknazevad (talk) 21:34, 16 February 2014 (UTC)


 * The whole deal was somewhat more interesting in the pre-interleague years, as some pitchers hadn't held a bat in many years. I'd suggest moving the complete list to a supplementary page. The article should be trimmed to one example (first, latest or most interesting) of each type of no-DH situation (e.g. (1) Pitcher starts the game in the batting order; (2) DH goes in on defense -- include mistakes; (3) pitcher pinch hits; (4) pitcher switch requires pitcher to enter the battiong order; (5, etc.) other really odd cases. WHPratt (talk) 14:56, 17 February 2014 (UTC)
 * I agree with the new page suggestion. That mile long list is irrelevant to this article, but is still in many ways encyclopedic.  I doubt any examples, even who played DH first, really belong here. Huw Powell (talk) 04:46, 8 November 2014 (UTC)

I finally pulled the trigger and deleted the whole section. Totally trivial and unneeded. Same with the "oddities" section, which is the very definition of pointless trivia. oknazevad (talk) 19:20, 29 March 2016 (UTC)

Was there a new page created for the examples? I don't see one. I think it is quite encyclopedic to talk about so people are aware of examples of how the rule applies or does not apply. I came to edit this page when I found out today that the Giants would be forgoing the DH rule in Oakland because they believe him to be a good hitter as is. 161.185.151.51 (talk) 15:50, 30 June 2016 (UTC)

"Criticism" or "Debate"?
I propose to rename the "Criticism" section "Debate". This would more accurately reflect the content of the section, since it consists of arguments both for and against the rule, without a heavy preponderance of arguments against it. Another option would be to name the section "Controversy", but even that implies a preponderance of negativity. Another argument for "debate" is that the word is used in the first sentence of the section and in the titles of two of the references, while "criticism" is used nowhere in the article other than in the current section heading, and "controversy" is used only once in the fifth paragraph of the section. I'd be bold and just go ahead and do it, but it's been around for six years, so I figured I'd ask first. Jbening (talk) 22:43, 24 July 2016 (UTC)
 * I like it. (The proposal, that is. Well reasoned and very much NPOV.) oknazevad (talk) 22:56, 24 July 2016 (UTC)

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Edgar Martinez
2019 inductee into the HOF in the last year of his eligibility. Needs to be updated. -- S l i m J i m  Talk 06:26, 23 January 2019 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done. Best to keep it straightforward. oknazevad (talk) 16:38, 23 January 2019 (UTC)


 * added reference to his election that was missing. Yousou (Complain) 21:27, 11 May 2019 (UTC)

Clarification about the Designated Hitter Rule
In some spots in the text of the entry before I just edited it, there was a lack of distinction between the terms use of the DH and use of the DH rule. ("The DH is used in most professional baseball leagues around the world.")

Just to be clear, the fact that the DH rule is in effect in a specific game does not mean that a team is obliged to use a DH. In addition to those occasions when teams had to give up the DH after putting him in he field, at least once a team (the SF Giants) elected to have its pitcher (Madison Bumgarner) bat for himself (at Oakland). https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jun/30/madison-bumgarner-hitting-san-francisco-giants-dh It is within the DH rule for either team to opt out by putting its pitcher into its batting order. The high school rules are more complicated in that they permit teams to opt back in after the game begins, whereas that is not permitted in American pro baseball.

It is more precise to say "The DH rule is used in most professional baseball leagues around the world" as actually using a DH is only subset of the time when the rule is employed.

TY

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An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect 🈯. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. Certes (talk) 09:39, 26 December 2019 (UTC)

DH in spring training games is incorrect
In MLB spring training games, either team may use a DH in any game. If an AL team is playing at an NL spring training park, both teams may opt to use or not use the DH. Even in NL vs NL spring training matchups, one or both teams may elect to use a DH.

(I’m a former professional umpire who worked MLB spring training games. ) Scott88 (talk) 00:43, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

Exactly how did the DH improve health and safety in a pandemic situation?
The article has no explanation of this argument. I mean not a pro and con but a basic statement on how the DH was intended to improve health and safety in 2020. -- 2003:C0:973F:5700:97E:B644:464E:5986 (talk) 01:41, 1 October 2023 (UTC)


 * From the cited source: "...to avoid overtaxing pitchers by having them hit." No comment there on whether that makes any sense. BilCat (talk) 02:56, 1 October 2023 (UTC)