A Designated Hitter Can Be MVP
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by user LouGehrig
Harold Friend
6.10(b) The Designated Hitter Rule provides as follows:
A hitter may be designated to bat for the starting pitcher and all subsequent pitchers in any game without otherwise affecting the status of the pitcher(s) in the game.
A Designated Hitter for the pitcher must be selected prior to the game and must be included in the lineup cards presented to the Umpire in Chief.
The designated hitter named in the starting lineup must come to bat at least one time, unless the opposing club changes pitchers. It is not mandatory that a club designate a hitter for the pitcher, but failure to do so prior to the game precludes the use of a Designated Hitter for that game.
POSITION---condition with reference to place; location; situation.
The Designated Hitter is a position. It is not a defensive position. It is a position in a team's batting order. Since the Designated Hitter is an integral part of the team, he has value to his team. Why, he may even have more value than any other player on his team or than any other player on any other team in the league. Since all of the above is true, a Designated Hitter can be his league's Most Valuable Player.
What have I said? I don't believe it. I don't want to believe it. But it is true.
Wait a minute. How can a player who never plays a defensive position be his league's Most Valuable Player? In most years, it will not and should not happen, but there can be a time.
Mo Vaughn was a defensively challenged first baseman for the Red Sox. In 1995, Mo was the American League's Most Valuable Player. He had a fairly decent defensive season that year, based on his .992 fielding average compared the league's .993, but let us accept the premise that he was merely adequate in the field.
Jose Canseco was Boston's Designated Hitter in 1995. Jose batted .306 with 24 home runs and 81 RBIs, although he was the Designated hitter in only 101 games of the 144 game the Red Sox played during the strike-shorted season. In the other games, the Designated Hitter position was filled by Reggie Jefferson (32), Bill Haselman (11), Chris James (6), Wes Chamberlain (5), Dave Hollins (3), Mike McFarlane (3), and Troy O'Leary (3), among others.
Now, let us make one hypothetical change to illustrate when a Designated Hitter should be MVP. Take Canseco off the team and replace him with J.T. Snow, who was an outstanding defensive first baseman and a pretty decent hitter.
Mo Vaughn was the American League Most Valuable Player in 1995. He was far less effective defensively than J.T. Snow. Remember, Canseco is not with the team, so the Designated Hitter must either be one of the players who was the Designated Hitter when Canseco was not, or it could be Mo Vaughn.
Making Vaughn the Designated Hitter does not lessen his value to the team, since he didn't win the MVP based on his defense. Removing Vaughn from the field actually may be addition by subtraction. His offensive contributions are not affected, his positive defensive contributions are negligible, but if he not in the field, he cannot hurt his team defensively. Putting J.T. Snow at first base strengthens the team defensively and provides a stronger lineup than having Vaughn at first and one of the other players as the Designated Hitter.
The above is merely to illustrate a point or a potential situation. Entering the 2007 season, the Yankees are in search of a good first baseman so that Jason Giambi can be a full time Designated Hitter. Shea Hillenbrand, slightly more than adequate both offensively and defensively, but far superior to Giambi defensively, might be signed to be the Yankees' full time first baseman. The point is that the Yankees' brass feel that Jason Giambi is more valuable as the Designated Hitter than as a player who has a defensive position. It will happen eventually with respect to the league and a Designated Hitter will be the Most Valuable Player.
As William Bendix, who played Babe Ruth in a film and was Chester A. Riley on television used say, "What a revoltin' development this is!"
References:
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/official_info/official_rules/batter_6.jsp
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/position
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/L/htmlL/lifeofriley/lifeofriley.htm
