Wait, It’s Called Hitter & Not Batter, Right?
Posted by Steve Lombardi on April 6, 2010
It was 37 years ago today that the Designated Hitter first appeared in a game - back on Opening Day at Fenway in 1973.
So, how many D.H.'s have had 3+ hits on Opening Day - coming into this season? Not as many as you would expect. Here's the list via Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index Batting Game Finder -
| Rk | Player | #Matching | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SH | SF | IBB | HBP | GDP | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Ortiz | 2 | Ind. Games | 10 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | .667 | .700 | 1.556 | 2.256 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Dmitri Young | 1 | Ind. Games | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 3.250 | 4.250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Carl Yastrzemski | 1 | Ind. Games | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .750 | .750 | 1.500 | 2.250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Dave Winfield | 1 | Ind. Games | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .750 | .750 | .750 | 1.500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Jim Thome | 1 | Ind. Games | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .750 | .750 | 1.500 | 2.250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | David Segui | 1 | Ind. Games | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .600 | .600 | .600 | 1.200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Jose Offerman | 1 | Ind. Games | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .800 | .800 | 1.400 | 2.200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Hal McRae | 1 | Ind. Games | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .600 | .600 | .600 | 1.200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Edgar Martinez | 1 | Ind. Games | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Adam Lind | 1 | Ind. Games | 5 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .800 | .800 | 1.400 | 2.200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Willie Horton | 1 | Ind. Games | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .750 | .750 | 1.500 | 2.250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Sam Horn | 1 | Ind. Games | 5 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .800 | .800 | 2.000 | 2.800 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Travis Hafner | 1 | Ind. Games | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .600 | .600 | 2.000 | 2.600 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Carlos Delgado | 1 | Ind. Games | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .750 | .800 | 1.500 | 2.300 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Chili Davis | 1 | Ind. Games | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .600 | .600 | 1.200 | 1.800 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | Steve Cox | 1 | Ind. Games | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .600 | .600 | .600 | 1.200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Bernie Carbo | 1 | Ind. Games | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .750 | .800 | 1.750 | 2.550 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | George Bell | 1 | Ind. Games | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .750 | .750 | 3.000 | 3.750 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Don Baylor | 1 | Ind. Games | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .750 | .750 | 1.500 | 2.250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Brady Anderson | 1 | Ind. Games | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .750 | .800 | .750 | 1.550 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
.
That's probably less than 5% of the time on Opening Day that you see a D.H. get 3+ hits in a game. If they were great "hitters," you'd think it would happen more often...
April 6th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Hey, add Adam Lind to the list! He made it yesterday:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TEX/TEX201004050.shtml
April 6th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
By my quick calculations, the normal I'm pegging them for is between 5.5 and 6.
April 6th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
That's probably less than 5% of the time on Opening Day that you see a D.H. get 3+ hits in a game.
Yes, just a bit less – 22 times in 522 AL Opening Day games, or 4.2%. The Orioles and Rays will get the chance to edge the rate upward when they open their seasons today.
April 6th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
If these "great hitters" were getting three hits a game, they would all be hitting over .600. You may be setting your expectations too high. That being said, I would love to see the DH retired.