It’s impossible to not hear the chatter. There’s more than a decent chance that one day, we won’t be able to use the #PitchersWhoRake hashtag whenever we see a hurler provide some unexpected offense.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said over the winter that the National League isn’t making any big moves toward adding the designated hitter yet. However, it makes sense as to why some team owners are warming to the idea. Sure, having a DH means adding more payroll, but it also means more offense, which could in turn lead to more revenue.
Since I grew up watching NL baseball, I’m very much against changing something that’s been the same since what feels like the beginning of time. Instead of listing a bunch of reasons why – that we’ve probably all heard a million times already – I’m going to illustrate one really good reason with five different examples to make my point.
How so? Well, let’s look at the play we all love so much when it happens, but would never get to enjoy again if the DH invades the NL: the pitcher home run.
Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants
"And there's your bunt sign." –Duane Kuiper #PitchersWhoRake pic.twitter.com/m5l2m3oZKY
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 2, 2016
Is there anything MadBum can’t do on a baseball field? His latest bomb came on Thursday afternoon against the Atlanta Braves, and he didn’t get cheated – it traveled 411 feet for his second bomb of the year.
Bumgarner has had plenty of opportunities to perfect his bat flip and jog around the bases since this was his 13th career homer, most among active pitchers. Plus, you know he’s on a good pace when both Mike Trout and Bryce Harper have the same amount as him over their last 190 plate appearances.
Striking out 11 over 7.2 shutout innings also doesn’t hurt.
Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs
https://vine.co/v/iT1Kgeh2nzF
The reigning NL Cy Young award winner is also a threat at the plate…as if it wasn’t already hard enough to face him every fifth day. This 440-foot bomb was an absolute moonshot, and while he’s been far from a sure out during his career, Arrieta is on track for some personal-bests with a .200/.286/.320 triple slash through 25 at-bats.
My favorite stat of all includes his work on the mound, though. As you can see above, the right-hander is the proud owner of a .200 batting average, all while holding opponents to just a .161 batting average so far in 2016.
When you’re getting a hit more often than allowing one, you’re doing something right.
Noah Syndergaard, New York Mets
If 1 is good 2 is better. Watch @NoahSyndergaard crush two home runs in last night’s win >> https://t.co/XKrlXP4xX0https://t.co/IuUQVwLW6N
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 12, 2016
You didn’t think we’d leave off the man who is tied for the league lead in pitcher home runs, did you? In his 16 at-bats this season, Syndergaard has been the definition of an all-or-nothing hitter. His only two hits have been homers, but they came in the same game, which was the first time that happened since Micah Owings accomplished it in 2007.
Better yet, the four RBI he collected with those two bombs was all he needed to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’s been in the majors for just over a year now and has already launched three homers. At just 23 years old, something tells me the 6’6”, 240-pound specimen of a pitcher will connect on a few more before it’s all said and done, along with racking up a few wins on the mound.
Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
“Big Mac Land” at Busch Stadium is a place where pitchers hate seeing balls end up because it usually comes at their expense, but not Wainwright. He’s no stranger to hitting homers – the above blast was the seventh of his career, first since 2012 – but he’s one of the more complete hitting pitchers currently in the game.
He’s leading the pack when it comes to batting average (.263), on-base percentage (.263) and slugging percentage (.684). Four of his five hits have gone for extra bases (three doubles, one homer) and he holds a commanding lead with eight RBI, while doing this all in just 19 at-bats.
His pitching has been uncharacteristically iffy this season, but he’s at least doing his best to make up for it at the plate.
Bartolo Colon, New York Mets
You knew this one was coming, as it’s easily one of the greatest things I’ve ever watched. Watching Colon take James Shields deep would’ve only been better if it happened in front of the home crowd at Citi Field.
When people say “anything is possible,” they should now just hold up a picture of Bartolo. This is the same player that went a full 10 years between recording RBI and owns a .090/.097/.111 triple slash in 234 career at-bats. Even though it’s a joke for everyone watching, Colon takes it more seriously than it seems.
And on one sunny evening in San Diego, all that hard work finally paid off as he became the oldest player ever to hit his first career big-league homer.
I know the numbers say they’re basically automatic outs, but it’s impossible to hide the joy they bring to teammates and fans everywhere when they contribute with the bat, like hit a home run. If the National League institutes the designated hitter, we’ll never have the opportunity to see something as awesome as Bartolo Colon going deep again.
Do you really want to live in a world where something that brings so much joy is impossible because pitchers aren’t allowed to hit anymore? I sure don’t.
Thanks for reading! If you’d like to jumpstart your sportswriting career and aren’t sure how, check out my eBook. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter so we can chat about baseball: @mmusico8.
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