Exciting addition or unnecessary waste?

I hate the DH in baseball the AL and wish it would go away!

Although I am a fan of the American League, I do not think that the Designated Hitter adds any excitement to the game. I feel it is just an artificial attempt to increase offense. Further, I feel that true baseball fans are fans of the strategy of the game, which is deminished by the designated hitter. I do not feel that the addition of one batter to the line-up really adds fans or puts tails in the seats for casual fans. It does serve to extend the life of hitters who are no longer able to field because of physical reasons. However this is only for one league, and also serves to skew the historical record by artificially extending careers. EX: Mickey Mantle would have played much longer if all he had to do was bat. Mark McGuire would probably be playing more if he was in the AL and could relax on the bench when his team was on defense.

Bill, great take. It would seem the one bit of strategy in the AL game is the "double switch", and how hard is that for a manager? Yes, Mantle would thrive under the dl rule, and it does extend careers, but it still should be discontinued. Every since Ron Bloomberg of the NY Yankees was announced as the first dh to hit in the AL, the league has lost touch with the NL. I would like to see it abolished! Charlie