Craig Biggio - Hall of Famer?

[melack]

I'm pretty lenient on the Designated Hitters in the Hall of Fame debate. It helps that I was born well after the rule went into effect and grew up a fan of not only an AL team, but a team that contained the greatest DH of all time.

[littlefallsmets]

I guess that I just am the type that deals in "should" and "shouldn't" instead of "is" and "is not".

The designated hitter shouldn't exist and if you're so incomplete a player that you had to spend a significant portion of your career, you're not a Hall of Famer. And, indeed, even you had a position for the majority of your career, time as a DH should be one of the factors going against you. Not an automatic out but one of your negatives.

We're talking about The Hall of Fame, here. The best players ever.

If you couldn't play a defensive position for most of your career, how could you possibly belong with the best players ever?

[melack]

I understand your point. But at the same time, having a DH means we get the double satisfaction of seeing guys like David Ortiz be able to hit while also avoiding the terror of half the league's pitchers going up to the plate.

[littlefallsmets]

I... I LOVE watching a pitcher hit.

Love it.

There's nothing more awesome than a pitcher lacing a single outta nowhere and rattling the opposing team.

There's nothing more awesome than an "automatic out" turning into a well-placed sac bunt.

Or the humiliation of walking the opposing pitcher! That is an awesome humiliation!

And the game-changing ability of the handful of pitchers who can hit .240 or better, man, I love that shit.

It make the game all the more like chess to me.

The DH sucks so much of the strategy out of the game.

[AlohaDawg]

I... I LOVE watching a pitcher hit.

Love it.

There's nothing more awesome than a pitcher lacing a single outta nowhere and rattling the opposing team.

There's nothing more awesome than an "automatic out" turning into a well-placed sac bunt.

Or the humiliation of walking the opposing pitcher! That is an awesome humiliation!

And the game-changing ability of the handful of pitchers who can hit .240 or better, man, I love that shit.

It make the game all the more like chess to me.

The DH sucks so much of the strategy out of the game.

I'm an AL team fan but I agree totally with this post.

[Carlos del Vaca]

Agreed.  The ability to hit well for a pitcher is half of what makes Livan Hernandez so awesome.  And how about that Micah Owings dude?

[melack]

Agreed.  The ability to hit well for a pitcher is half of what makes Livan Hernandez so awesome.  And how about that Micah Owings dude?

I wonder what the other half is, because I certainly know it isn't his pitching ability.

[Carlos del Vaca]

Well, his pitching ability has been rather mediocre this year, yes.  But in 2005 when he was with the Nats, damned if he wasn't my favorite player.  Changed speeds as well as anyone in the game, ate up innings, and you just felt like the team was going to win every time out.  I was at the game where he threw 150 (yes one hundred fifty) pitches.  Plus, he's a big fat guy, and I like the big fat guys, being one myself.  (See also Daryle Ward and Dmitri Young.)

[JorgeFabregas]

Travis Hafner will never make the hall of fame because he didn't really get into the swing of things until he was 27--the prime of his career, basically. He's 30 and only has 142 home runs.

[Turbo Ninja]

Travis Hafner will never make the hall of fame because he didn't really get into the swing of things until he was 27--the prime of his career, basically. He's 30 and only has 142 home runs.

True enough, but this morning I'm feeling no Indians-related pain.  They have a shot at the Series and ARod has to wait at least another year.  Shit be good this fine day.