pitching...

So speaking of baseball, I’ve been noticing that several pitchers are wearing number 44 these days. What’s up with that? This large number used to be used mostly by the big sluggers, Hank Aaron wore number 44, so did Reggie Jackson. But now pitchers for the Astros and the Padres are both wearing number 44. Pitchers used to take the lower numbers: 10, 12, 15. But now they’re up in the stratosphere with their numbers and I wonder if it means that they’re planning to become big hitters.

I’m definitely a fan of the National League rules of having everyone hit. The designated hitter rule of the American League is for sissies. Everyone plays – that what I say. Anyone playing on the field should hit. Managers need to figure out how to negotiate around other good fielders who cannot hit. Pitchers should take batting practice and they should do what everyone else does.

Pretty much the only thing the DH does is allow old baseball players who’ve passed their prime on the field and are losing speed to continue playing. It emphasizes power over strategy and steamrollers over any subtlety that might be summoned by having to negotiate around the problem of a low-hitting pitcher. Bob Costas says that “anyone who has so short an attention span and so little appreciation for baseball that he can't bear to watch a pitcher bat is probably beyond hope, anyway” and I agree with him.