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Originally posted by Fuzzy Bear
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There is a legit question of valuation when it comes to the DH. Was a guy's DH time a product of maximizing team offense? This often happens when you have guys at the left end of the defensive spectrum sharing DH time, using the DH for giving guys rest, playing a guy who's recent injury hurt his defense but not his bat so much, or, in a case like David Ortiz, where a guy could play the field physically (however poorly), and would have been the regular if there had been no DH. Then, there are cases of guys who were so bad that their defense would never have allowed them to be regulars. Most importantly, we are talking about guys who, through injury, wearing down, or just being injury prone, would never have had the kind of longevity and/or durability at their defensive position to have racked up the kind of offensive numbers to merit HOF induction from the left end of the defensive spectrum (RF, LF, 1B).
It's the latter category that merits the examination. In this category, we have Paul Molitor (a HOFer), Harold Baines, Edgar Martinez, David Ortiz, and Frank Thomas. Molitor and Thomas have racked up HOF "automatics" (3,000 hits for Molitor, 500 HRs with a .300 BA for Thomas). We have Edgar Martinez, who would have been an instant HOFer if he had played the field his entire career, but who doesn't have an "automatic" and Harold Baines, who was a DH full-time from 1987 onward until 2001, when he was 42 and ran out of gas. Baines had knee injuries young, and this not only ended his fielding career, it diminished his speed. It is not likely that Baines would have played much past 1990 had he not had the DH; he may have been converted to 1B, but eventually, someone would have been upset with Baines's lack of real HR power.
Thomas is a guy whose career was somewhat lengthened by the DH, but not by a lot. He could have played 1B longer than he did; the Sox saw it wiser to install Konerko, but his career would not have slowed if there were no DH in the manner that Baines's would have. He may have fallen short of 500 HRs if there were no DH, but he would have kept his BA over .300, and the peak of his career in the 1990s, when he still played 1B, would still be a part of it. The "What if there were no DH?" would have been relevant for guys like Baines, but not for the Big Hurt.
It's the latter category that merits the examination. In this category, we have Paul Molitor (a HOFer), Harold Baines, Edgar Martinez, David Ortiz, and Frank Thomas. Molitor and Thomas have racked up HOF "automatics" (3,000 hits for Molitor, 500 HRs with a .300 BA for Thomas). We have Edgar Martinez, who would have been an instant HOFer if he had played the field his entire career, but who doesn't have an "automatic" and Harold Baines, who was a DH full-time from 1987 onward until 2001, when he was 42 and ran out of gas. Baines had knee injuries young, and this not only ended his fielding career, it diminished his speed. It is not likely that Baines would have played much past 1990 had he not had the DH; he may have been converted to 1B, but eventually, someone would have been upset with Baines's lack of real HR power.
Thomas is a guy whose career was somewhat lengthened by the DH, but not by a lot. He could have played 1B longer than he did; the Sox saw it wiser to install Konerko, but his career would not have slowed if there were no DH in the manner that Baines's would have. He may have fallen short of 500 HRs if there were no DH, but he would have kept his BA over .300, and the peak of his career in the 1990s, when he still played 1B, would still be a part of it. The "What if there were no DH?" would have been relevant for guys like Baines, but not for the Big Hurt.
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