Tom Brennan - For All the Talk About Whether to Have a DH, How About Eliminating Non-Pitchers Who Pitch?

Far too many position players who pitch in a game throw like Anthony Fauci - and no, this isn't me taking a shot at Dr. Shot.

I'll come right out and say it:

I want the DH.

Why? It is boring to see non-hitters trying to hit.

Heck, most of the hitters in the minor leagues don't make it to the big leagues because even they can't hit enough.

So why ask pitchers to try to hit?

Obviously, too, pitchers up there hitting can get hit by pitches or hurt themselves running the bases.  Who knows, after all, if fine-hitting Jacob deGrom's arm issues may have started from him swinging the bat.

To me, it's obvious - institute the universal DH.

But my real topic of this article is this:

Forget about pitchers hitting.  What about hitters pitching?

About 60 position players PITCHED in 2021 (excluding Ohtani, who is in a league all his own). 909 guys took the mound in 2021 in the majors - and 60 of them were pitchers.

Most of the 60 did so poorly.

Of course, there were some interesting points of observation:

Eric Sagard seemed to have been the non-Ohtani leader in innings with 4.1 IP. (I did not scour the entire list to see if someone was higher in innings, but it appears not).

Willians Astudillo of the the Twins threw 4 innings and allowed just one hit!

Alex Blandino of Cincinnati threw 3.2 innings and fanned 4!

Baseball's two "NOGO" dudes - 1B Nogowski and Mets pitcher Steve Nogosek - both threw exactly 3 MLB innings in 2021!

Harold Castro of Detroit threw 2.2 hitless innings.

And Max Shrock of Cincy threw 1.2 perfect innings, which a number of actual Mets pitchers in 2021 would have been more than happy to have accomplished in their limited 2021 appearances, instead of their rougher outings.

All that said, most of these 60 non-pitchers got smacked around pretty good.

Now, watching a non-pitcher pitch usually happens in blow outs, and can be interesting in an odd sort of way.

But I would like to see pitching by hitters be limited to Ohtani and, if any, future true two-way players like Shohei-san.

How to do that?

I'd propose having a single designated pitcher guy on a taxi squad all season at 1/3 of regular MLB pay.  Some AAA type who is at least 30 years old and never pitched in the majors, perhaps - and who would be glad to make $180,000 for a season. He could have no more than 5 outings and 10 innings in that season, and his use would be reserved for only 2 scenarios:

1) A blow out of 10 runs or more.  Down 13-4?  Just 9 runs down, so he can't be summoned.  Down 18-2? Bring him in.

2) An extra inning game of 14 innings or more, where a team has essentially used all its regular pitchers (excluding, of course, guys a team would never bring into a game in relief like a Jacob deGrom due to start within a few days).

Why not try this?  As I see it, it is simple - other than Ohtani:

Pitchers shouldn't hit, and hitters shouldn't pitch.  

The guys who train their whole lives to hit - THEY should hit.

The guys who train their whole lives to pitch - THEY should pitch.

Hey, the janitor at the hospital is here, and the doctor got sick, so let's have the janitor do the heart surgery today.  I...don't think so.

60 non-pitchers pitched vs. 850 pitchers who pitched.  SIXTY is 7% of 850. That is crazy high.   Too high, if you ask me.  I prefer 0%.

How many decent, long-time minor league pitchers never get that precious chance to pitch in the regular season from a big league mound?  How many would covet such a chance in this new sort of role?

Let it be some of them pitching instead of Luis Guillermo.

That's my pitch for today. 

Was it a hit with you?

Hey it's my first February article.

Go with it, will ya?