Is DH a skill set?

[Erstad Grit]

I'm not talking about hitting, but is specially the role of DH a quantifiable skill? With Ohtani as our permanent DH, we haven't had the option of rotating guys in to get them rest. 

The plan right now seems to be Drury at DH with Trout, Rendon, and maybe Hicks getting some time there. I have concerns with just assuming those guys can DH now and then and be successful. 

Personally I view DH as a unique skill set and would rather have JD locked in at DH and let the rest figure itself out. 

Edited January 31 by Erstad Grit

[Sully151]

There has to be some mental skill involved to sit on the bench when the rest of the team is in the field. Knowing you only get 4 or 5 chances to actually contribute to the game night after night. There must be some discipline involved to stay engaged. 
 

Probably not a position that some players can handle.

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

Bring Reggie back. He can still swing it. 

[happybat4]

9 hours ago, The Ghost of Bob Starr said:

Bring Reggie back. He can still swing it. 

Willits? I believe he is coaching now.

[Taylor]

Was Jesus an assbirth?

[Erstad Grit]

1 hour ago, Taylor said:

Was Jesus an assbirth?

You are someone who goes to great lengths here constantly presenting the importance of acceptance and inclusion and how you model that for your kids. 

How ironic you then see no contradiction insulation a faith very important to a few billion people. 

[Tank]

1 minute ago, Erstad Grit said:

You are someone who goes to great lengths here constantly presenting the importance of acceptance and inclusion and how you model that for your kids. 

How ironic you then see no contradiction insulation a faith very important to a few billion people. 

he usually goes for the cheap laugh.

he usually misses by a country mile.

[Taylor]

34 minutes ago, Erstad Grit said:

You are someone who goes to great lengths here constantly presenting the importance of acceptance and inclusion and how you model that for your kids. 

How ironic you then see no contradiction insulation a faith very important to a few billion people. 

What? I was referring to a long-running AW joke.

Tank should remember.

[Erstad Grit]

6 minutes ago, Taylor said:

What? I was referring to a long-running AW joke.

Tank should remember.

I believe you. 

I'll maintain that's it's an unnecessary comment in a thread about DH

[Taylor]

Just now, Erstad Grit said:

I believe you. 

I'll maintain that's it's an unnecessary comment in a thread about DH

The cadence and syllables are the same as the thread title. It popped into my brain so I posted it.

I should have more discernment about what I post out of context.

Edge: Lowell

[Rollinghard]

TAYLOR, I will pray for your very lost soul. 

[Jason]

It takes a lot of skill to hit a baseball at the major league level so it is a skill set. 

[Tank]

4 hours ago, Taylor said:

What? I was referring to a long-running AW joke.

Tank should remember.

yes, i remember.

never found it to be funny, tbh, and it certainly lends itself to being pretty offensive.

[Erstad Grit]

3 hours ago, Jason said:

It takes a lot of skill to hit a baseball at the major league level so it is a skill set. 

Of course,

However I'm asking if specifically DH requires an additional skill set. Can a good hitting outfielder automatically transfer into a good DH, or does it require something more?

[EDinTUSTIN]

36 minutes ago, Erstad Grit said:

Of course,

However I'm asking if specifically DH requires an additional skill set. Can a good hitting outfielder automatically transfer into a good DH, or does it require something more?

I guess patience and a love of watching your teammates catch balls and pitch. Erstad, also like the idea of JD at DH. He still can hit at 36 years old. Last season he clobbered the ball.

[Skram]

I would go with no. I can't imagine a good hitter not being a good hitter because he is on a bench in between innings instead of on the field. If you don't have the metal fortitude to stay focused as a DH, you probably would have been exposed long before you made it to the big leagues.

[EDinTUSTIN]

On 1/31/2024 at 9:59 AM, Erstad Grit said:

I'm not talking about hitting, but is specially the role of DH a quantifiable skill? With Ohtani as our permanent DH, we haven't had the option of rotating guys in to get them rest. 

The plan right now seems to be Drury at DH with Trout, Rendon, and maybe Hicks getting some time there. I have concerns with just assuming those guys can DH now and then and be successful. 

Personally I view DH as a unique skill set and would rather have JD locked in at DH and let the rest figure itself out. 

It is indeed a skill set. Actually, very few do it well. I am in complete word-for-word agreement on your assessment, EG. If guys need a rest, well, they need a rest, don't just plop them in the DH slot. 

[Stradling]

If you are going to sign someone as a primary DH then sign Brandon Belt. We need another left handed hitter. He can play some 1st base. He can sit against some lefties which frees up Rendon/Trout to DH. 

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

Not a skill set. But, a mindset...

[HanfordGuy]

I believe it has to be a bit isolating to be an everyday DH. Trying to keep your head in the game while the Halos are taking the field. Taking swings to stay loose every now and then. Other than that one guy that used to play for us, JD Martinez and David Ortiz there aren’t that many players that have great offensive years as a pure DH. This has to be a skill set. What is considered Replacement Level for a DH in 2024?

https://kslsports.com/507522/the-designated-hitter-hasnt-always-lived-up-to-title-after-2-full-mlb-seasons/

The next generation of big-bopping DHs like David Ortiz, Edgar Martinez and Frank Thomas hasn’t materialized, with just three players logging at least 110 games at designated hitter during the 2023 season. That trio includes Angels two-way star

Spoiler

Shohei Ohtani

, Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna and the Nationals’ Joey Meneses.

“Most hitters that you encounter don’t like to DH,” Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said. “It’s an acquired taste. Most would prefer to play a position and not just wait to hit every two or three innings. And I get why — you want to stay active, you want to move around, feel like you’re part of the game.”…

 

Instead of having one dedicated DH for the majority of the season, most MLB teams seem content to have several, cycling players through who might need rest or are nursing an injury.

A whopping 13 of MLB’s 30 teams received production at DH that was below replacement level. The DH is unique for the widely used WAR (wins above replacement) formula because it starts with a deficit for a player providing no value in the field.

The NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks were one of the teams that struggled at DH, with a minus-1.4 WAR total, according to FanGraphs. The spot produced just a .676 OPS during the 162-game regular season, which was well below the team’s overall mark of .730…

San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said he would love to have an Ortiz-type player in the DH slot, but it’s hard to find that sort of hitter. Ortiz is considered the gold standard, making the Hall of Fame in 2022 after clubbing 541 homers, including 485 as a DH.

The Giants used 10 designated hitters in 2023.

“I think when you get elite, elite hitters that don’t have a home defensively, you’re willing to pay the price of not having that spot to rotate guys through,” Zaidi said. “But that’s a relatively small group of players.”

Zaidi’s point about roster construction is also important, because teams usually carry just 13 or 14 position players. That doesn’t leave much room for a player who’s not useful in the field.

 

“I know for us in development, no matter how good a player is offensively, you’re always going to look for a home for them defensively,” Zaidi said. “We don’t want a player anchored to that spot, certainly early in their career.”

There are a few hitters in this year’s free-agent class who could be candidates for a full-time DH role. Rhys Hoskins has a homer-hitting track record and is returning from ACL surgery. J.D. Martinez, Jorge Soler and Teoscar Hernández are other examples of power bats with middling defensive value who are looking for a home…