It's been this writer's observation that the Designated Hitter in the American League isn't what it used to be. It seemed like in the early days, sluggers like Orlando Cepeda, older guys with bad wheels would man the position. Vladamir Guerrero reminds the observer of Cepeda in those old days, but it seems the DH is less of a threat as in the old days. But do the numbers match the observation? What the Fan will attempt to do is to look at the numbers for this year, last year, five years ago and ten years ago. First let's look at teams:
Baltimore Orioles:
2010 - .859 OPS; 2009 - .777; 2005 - .640; 2000 - .729
Notes: 2010's OPS by DHs is higher than any of their other positions.
Boston Red Sox:
2010 - .856 OPS; 2009 - .777: 2005 - .980; 2000 - .904
Notes: Amazing how similar Luke Scott and company for Baltimore have been to David Ortiz and company the last two years.
Chicago White Sox:
2010 - .663 OPS; 2009 - .809; 2005 - .769; 2000 - .938
Notes: Frank Thomas was one of the best ever.
Cleveland Indians:
2010 - .764 OPS; 2009 - .772; 2005 - .946; 2000 - .907
Notes: Travis Hafner was such a force. Not now.
Detroit Tigers:
2010 - .761 OPS; 2009 - .704; 2005 - .805; 2000 - .811
Notes: 1990 was Dave Bergman. Ouch.
Kansas City Royals:
2010 - .855 OPS; 2009 - .655; 2005 - .790; 2000 - .784
Notes: Mike Sweeney was very good for a long time.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in California in the Western Part of the United States:
2010 - .639 OPS; 2009 - .817; 2005 - .694; 2000 - .830
Notes: Remember Brain Downing?
Minnesota Twins:
2010 - .774 OPS; 2009 - .829; 2005 - .710; 2000 - .728
Notes: David Ortiz in 2000!
New York Yankees:
2010 - .758 OPS; 2009 - .858; 2005 - .818; 2000 - .810
Notes: A month of Nick Johnson didn't help these year's numbers.
Oakland Athletics:
2010 - .651 OPS; 2009 - .770; 2005 - .665; 2000 - .745
Notes: DH is a money position and the A's haven't been able to spend the money.
Seattle Mariners:
2010 - .513 OPS; 2009 - .747; 2005 - .723; 2000 - 1.002
Notes: This year is soooo bad for the Mariners.
Tampa Bay Rays:
2010 - .656 OPS; 2009 - .741; 2005 - .809; 2000 - .821
Notes: 2000 = Jose Canseco. Imagine that.
Texas Rangers:
2010 - .868 OPS; 2009 - .802; 2005 - .753; 2000 - .803
Notes: Vlad is having a great season.
Toronto Blue Jays:
2010 - .610 OPS; 2009 - .849; 2005 - .778; 2000 - .867
Notes: Hard to figure out Lind this season. Remember Brad Fullmer?
Okay, we have our figures. Next, we'll list the four years surveyed and compare them to the league OPS (in parentheses)
2010 - .730 (.740)
2009 - .779 (.764)
2005 - .777 (.755)
2000 - .834 (.792)
The year 2000 was still in the offensive (read PED) era. That meant that older stars stayed in the game longer giving a larger pool of DHs. But even 2005 and 2009, the DH out-performed the league OPS. This season, the overall league OPS is down, but the DH is down further and is below the league OPS. Without going year by year in the history of the DH, the Fan would go out on a limb and state that hasn't happened often. It did happen in 1990 where the DH accumulated an OPS of .666 or something close to that and the league OPS was .715.
So what should be made of this? It is early in the season and there is a lot of season to go and things could change. But here are a couple of theories:
1. Older players aren't staying around or are not being signed by teams as free agents.
2. Teams are more cash strapped and are not spending for DH talent.
3. More teams are using young, home grown players as DHs
4. More teams are using the DH as a rest stop for regulars.
Whatever the cause, the DH isn't what it used to be and teams like Boston and Texas that have excellent DHs have a huge advantage. Where is Edgar Martinez when you need him?
2 comments:
I definitely think #4 is more of the case, which is unfortunate. I think the Red Sox have the best approach - The DH is an opportunity to essentially carry a second baseman, a guy who can flat out mash. That consistent source of offense in your lineup is much, much more valuable tactically than the ability to rest an older guy while still retaining his bat. A great DH and 1B combo means more wins, which means more rest days for your older guys anyway.
yeah, good note about that topic.. really enjoy the reading of your page, fu**ing great yankees game yesterday, i was so cause i got them on pick, and i turned on the lap, and wow 6-6 on bottom in 9th, and what a hoom, cano take it out of the park.... i really spend a good night, we should know cano is a man without problems at batting, as few mlb has ;)
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