Designated hitter

Designated Hitter (DH) in baseball and softball is a tenth player who is used only on offense in a game; one of the nine defensive players is then not used on offense. In baseball, the DH only bats and walks in place of the pitcher, but in softball, a team can use a DH in place of any defensive player.

The rule was introduced in some leagues in the 1960s because most pitchers are pretty bad at bat, since they have to concentrate on throwing. It was hoped that this would result in higher average scores and fewer strike outs. But at the same time, a strategic element of the game is lost as a result. A pitcher who has to strike out himself also throws a little more fairly, because if he were to intentionally and illegally throw the ball against a batter's body, he would be threatened with the same thing by the opposing pitcher if he were to strike out himself. Fans are thus divided on this rule - some feel it improves baseball, others that it destroys traditional baseball.

In principle, there is no obligation to use a Designated Hitter, it is always permitted to do without one.

The two American Major Leagues differ in terms of the designated hitter rule. While the American League has played with this rule since 1973, the National League does not (suspended in 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic). In games between two teams from leagues that regulate this differently, the rule of the respective home team applies. If an American League team plays away at a National League team (including during the World Series), the American League team must either sacrifice its Designated Hitter (use as a pinch hitter at most) or bring him in at a regular field position. For example, in the 2013 World Series, the American League representative Boston Red Sox fielded its Designated Hitter David Ortiz as a first baseman in the away games against the St. Louis Cardinals (National League). He filled his unfamiliar defensive duties without error and won the World Series MVP Award. Since it appears that the majority of fans in both leagues agree with the rule currently in place, this difference will likely remain for the foreseeable future.

Designated hitters are used in the German leagues, in international games, in almost all national leagues outside the USA and in the American school and college leagues as well as in most of the professional minor leagues. Only minor league teams in the stronger AAA and AA divisions play without a DH when both teams in a matchup are affiliated with a National League team. In Japanese professional baseball, one of the two leagues, the Central League, also waives the DH rule. In American amateur leagues of a recreational nature, some play with and some without DH.

In softball, the DH was replaced by the Designated Player (DP) in 2004. With this rule, some restrictions that applied to the DH were abolished.