Fullmer & Gamble
Posted by Steve Lombardi on April 6, 2010
As mentioned earlier, it was 37 years ago today that the Designated Hitter first appeared in a game. And, this got me thinking as to "Who was the youngest full-time D.H. in baseball history, to date?"
Using Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index Batting Season Finder, and setting the filters for "For single seasons, From 1973 to 2010, Younger than 25, Played 75% of games at DH, and requiring Qualified for league batting title, sorted by youngest" - found the following list:
| Rk | Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | SH | SF | GDP | SB | CS | Pos | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oscar Gamble | 1974 | 24 | CLE | AL | 135 | 509 | 454 | 74 | 132 | 16 | 4 | 19 | 59 | 48 | 10 | 51 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 6 | .291 | .363 | .469 | .833 | *D7/9 | |
| 2 | Brad Fullmer | 2000 | 25 | TOR | AL | 133 | 524 | 482 | 76 | 142 | 29 | 1 | 32 | 104 | 30 | 3 | 68 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 3 | 1 | .295 | .340 | .558 | .898 | *D/3 |
.
So, there's never been a "full-time" D.H. under the age of 24 in the history of major league baseball. Also, there has not been a "full-time" D.H. under the age of 26 in the big leagues in the last 9 years. Further, there's only been two instances in baseball history where a player was a "full-time" D.H. and he was under the age of 26. Clearly, designated hitting is not a young man's game.