I
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work; that involvesfirst-class travel andaper diem; that at-
tractscheers, albeitwith some jeers; and that featuresabout
three to fourmonthsoayear.Oh, and it evencomeswitha
uniform.
In 1973,RonBlombergcouldn’t imagine it at all. “Nobody
hadany ideawhat itwas,”herecalls.
He’s referring to the roleof thedesignatedhitter, which
turns40 thisyear.Yes, it’sbeen40yearssince theAmerican
League cameupwith the then-cockamamynotionof taking
the bat out of thehands of pitchers—who arenotoriously
feeblehitters, generallyspeaking—andgiving it instead toa
playerwhosespecialtyisswingingit.TheNationalLeaguewas
aghastatthe ideaandremainsso, treatingtheDH likeacrazy
uncleithastotolerateonspecialoccasions,suchastheAll-Star
GameandtheWorldSeries,aswellasduring interleagueplay.
But thedesignatedhitterhas turnedout tobemore than
anattraction intheAmericanLeague— it’salsoaneconomic
wonder forveteranbattersseekingtoprolongtheircareers.
DavidOrtiz, thedesignatedhitter for theBostonRedSox,
earneda$14.5millionsalary in2012.TravisHafnerpocketed
$13million lastseasonasaDHfortheClevelandIndians;he’ll
fillthesamerolefortheNewYorkYankeesthisseasonformil-
lionsmore.AdamDunnoftheChicagoWhiteSoxbanked$14
million. Across theAmericanLeague, thedesignatedhitter
today isnotagimmicktocover forplayerswhocan’thit— it’s
anotheropportunity forplayerswhocan.
Becausemost of today’s topdesignatedhittersbat in the
heart of the lineup, they command salaries that keepwith
theirvalueasproducersofhitsandrunsbattedin.Anystigma
ofbeingconsideredone-dimensionalhasbeenobscuredover
theyearsby largestacksofgreenbacks.
“GenerallyaDH isapowerhitter,”explainsDennisGilbert,
once one of the topplayer agents inbaseball who counted
formerdesignatedhitterJoseCansecoamonghisclients. “In
theNationalLeague,youhaveyoureighthhitter inthe lineup
followedby thepitcherbehindhim. In theAmericanLeague,
theDHmaybebattingthird, fourth,fifthinthe lineup.Sothat
personwillnaturallymakemoremoneythananeighth-place
hitter inthe lineup.
DESIGNATED HITTER
TheHitsKeepComin’
While thecontroversial introductionof the
DESIGNATEDHITTER
40yearsagocontinues todividebaseball, it’sgivenAmericanLeague supporters
something tocheer about.
± ² ³ ´
µ ¶
34
APRIL 01, 2013
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
