DH??? I LOVE THE DH!
I hear the league may NOT keep the DH for next year...I hope that is not true - I saw it in action this year, and I have to say...
I LOVE THE DH!
I think all of us will admit that Pete Alonso didn't have the best year.
Even he, I'm sure, would readily admit he was well below his expectations of himself in 2020.
Pete DH'd a fair amount due to the emergence of a Dude Named Dom. As a DH, he hit .203, with 5 HRs and just 8 RBIs in 69 plate appearances.
In a good Pete year, the Mets' DH production would have been higher.
Well, how high was it actually, anyway?
Per Baseball Reference, the Mets' DH production for 60 games was:
.248/.310/.515, with 17 doubles, 15 HRs, and 32 RBIs.
Project that over 162 games and you get:
46 doubles, 41 HRs, and 87 RBIs. And that is what a sub-par Pete.
Compare to pitchers' hitting in 2019.
They were one of the top hitting squad of pitchers in 2019.
But Zack hit well - he's gone. Thor hit well - he's hurt. Matz hit well - who knows his role in 2021?
So their 2020 split, in 311 at bats as perhaps the top hitting pitching squad in all of baseball?
.167/.198/.241; 5 doubles, 6 HRs, 17 RBIs, 136 Ks. And, if the pitchers returned to hitting again in 2021, unlikely to hit that well for reasons noted above.
Of course, pinch hitters absorb a lot of pitcher ABs when there is no DH.
In 2019, the last year of the hitting pitcher, Mets pinch hitters did this:
.211. 9 HRs, 38 RBIs, .in 227 ABs.
In 2020, just 6 for 33 pinch hitting.
The days of Rusty Staub and Ed Kranepool bringing great pinch hitting to the Mets are gone.
So, if you ask me, the choices are as follows:
Dump the DH, and put up with sub-.200 combined pitcher and pinch hitter at bats, and anemic output.
Or keep the DH and add enough offense that you will rarely feel your team is out of games.
To me, the decision is obvious:
KEEP THE DARNED DH.
IT IS A STRATEGIC METS ADVANTAGE.
IT'LL GIVE CANO A BLOW, DON'T YOU KNOW?
AND IT IS EXCITING. OFFENSE IS EXCITING.
AND...AFTER ALL:
THE NEXT TIME A DH MAKES A FIELDING ERROR WILL BE THE FIRST.
THEY'RE ALL GOLD GLOVES WHEN THEY DON'T WEAR ONE.
IT IS A PURE OFFENSE ALTERNATIVE.
A SWEET ONE.
I've wanted NL to adopt the DH for some time now. I did not miss the lousy ABs from pitchers.
ReplyDeleteShort term, for now, it benefits the Mets, but that's not why I'm pro-DH.
Side Note: Saw that it's been 5 straight years that no Met has been even nominated for a Gold Glove, a ML record of futility. This is Sandy's legacy, the Jay Bruce Syndrome, his infatuation with power over all other attributes. This has to be turned around.
Jimmy
Yesterday a report came down that the NL is going to approve use of DH only when clubs are visiting in AL parks, but when the current collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of 2021 then you can expect the issue to be brought to a vote for 2022.
ReplyDeleteOne theory is that Rob Manfred pulled it back from the NL next year as a negotiation plow with the Union. When the new bargaining agreement kicks in 2022, it is expected that Manfred will give the Union the full DH in exchange for the lovely expanded playoffs.
ReplyDeleteJohn, you probably are right as that being the logic. It is Manfred's version of "election year positioning", except his election is the upcoming union agreement negotiation. That negotiation environment leads to illogical decisions short term. Unfortunately, the Mets have never been better positioned to have a DH, as the roster now stands, than it will be in 2021.
ReplyDeleteReese, ditto on what I just wrote about in my reply to John.
ReplyDeleteJimmy, this team needs to upgrade its defense. But I am very wary of trading away offense that might be more beneficial than the defense I get back in.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, the Mets' 2020 top 2 offensive draftees, and Mauricio and Alvarez, can be groomed and arrive sooner rather than later as above average defenders - and hitters.