RESEARCH: Good AL hitters have more value than NL counterparts
Mar 1 2018
Giancarlo Stanton moving to the American League (AL) brings up an interesting question: Should we expect more plate appearances from him? He can be the designated hitter (DH) on the days he’s banged up. An average hitter isn’t going to be moved to DH if hurt, but an All-Star caliber bat might make a great DH option even if he's not 100% healthy.
While it would be best to go back and examine every at-bat to see who was moved to the DH and when hurt, I’m going to examine just the league-wide trends. While my focus is on hurt studs displacing the DH, the DH may not head to the bench, but onto the field. This positional flexibility can enable a team to keep their best bats in the lineup in as many games as possible.
To find out if the DH...
Almost!
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