Is the "Designated Hitter" Rule Tearing Our County in Two?

I think it is.

For those who are unfamiliar with the DH rule, it simply means that in the American League pitchers don't have to play offense, seeing as the vast majority of them couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat. Instead, a designated hitter, who would sit on the bench while the other team was at bat, would come up and hit for the pitcher. This rule was imposed so pitchers could concentrate on pitching, and great hitters could still bat even if they weren't particularly strong on the defensive side.

Lets take a look at exactly what the DH rule has stirred up in Major League Baseball. Before the 1973 season (the first year that employed the use of a designated hitter), everyone played both offense and defense. Everyone was on common ground, everyone was in agreement. However, after 1973, one half of the league decided it didn't like how things were going, so they broke off and created their own separate rules, although they still remained part of the whole. Basically they wanted to recreate America (American league) if you will. The other half held constant. They stuck with the rules that had been used for ages. In essence, they wanted to remain loyal to their Nation (National league).

...... Look me in the eye and tell me this doesn't sound exactly like the civil war.

The DH rule has irked me for years. Maybe its because I am a National League fan, maybe because I always felt that pitchers should have to bat. I can't tell you exactly what I find wrong about it. But due to the shocking revelation addressed above, I'm going to take a Lincoln-esque stance on the issue. We don't necessarily have to eradicate the practice of designating hitting from the game, we just need to make a universal decision. We all use it, or no one does.

Lets face it National Leaguers, since the DH rule was instated, the AL has seen an extremely frightening increase in many offensive categories (I do NOT want to hear the steroid argument here, this is about me and my ideas). Every year they hit more homeruns, they have higher averages, they score more runs. Its because there is no weak spot in the lineup. How often do you find yourself cursing the heavens when you have a 2 out rally going, and you see your pitcher slowly approaching the plate? It seems like it happens to me daily. Because you know 90% of the time he is going to go up there, flail the bat around like an old woman a few times, and strikeout.

However, we do, on occasion, see flashes of brilliance from our hurlers. When you look at pitchers like Carlos Zambrano (a.k.a. "holy crap that can't be their pitcher"), Micah Owings, and Dontrelle Willis, you could make the argument that all pitchers should have to bat. Even Jake Peavy and ex-Padre Woody Williams have left the yard a fair number of times in their careers, anyone with a bat in their hands is dangerous.

So we have now heard both sides of the debate, but since the baseball Gods were so kind to place Andy Sonnanstine on the Earth, we have a story that incorporates elements of both.

Just a quick note: Andy Sonnanstine, in one day, made an astonishing jump from my "Who dat?" list to my "Man, I wish I was as cool as that guy" list.

On Sunday, May 17, 2009, due to a clerical error by the Tampa Bay Rays' coaching staff, pitcher Andy Sonnanstine batted 3rd in the lineup. The first cool thing about this situation is that he just went with it. He was actually excited to get a chance to hit. Evan Longoria, the man who was supposed to bat 3rd, looked like Eva Longoria after a particularly terryfying twist on "Desperate Housewives" (I have been saving that bullet for years), but he was just being a baby.

The most awesome part of the story is when Sonnanstine came up in the 5th inning and shot an rbi double into left field. The Rays went on to score 5 runs in the innings. And Sonnanstine got the win, as the pitcher that is.

So who is to say that pitchers can't fend for themselves at the plate? How would we feel if the NL instated a rule allowing "designated fielders"? Players who can flash the leather particularly well, but are not accomplished hitters, could come in just to play defense every half-inning. How is that any different?

Any way you slice it, it irks me that the two leagues have become so drastically different. We can all learn a lesson from the mistakes of our forefathers. A divided house cannot stand. We need to meet somewhere in the middle here. Is the Appomattox Courthouse still standing?