The universal DH rule is back in 2022. Previously, pitchers in the National League games were required to bat and in a game, we frequently saw managers use pinch hitters to replace pitchers. After implementing the universal DH rule, I was wondering whether this rule would dramatically decrease the use of pinch hitters.
Looking back at the 2021 season, we can see that the Giants had 400+ plate appearances at using pinch hitters. Last season, the Giants crushed 18 pinch-hit home runs, most among 30 MLB teams. At the same time, the D-backs, the Cubs and the Padres each had 300+ plate appearances at pinch-hitting. Meanwhile, the Reds had nearly 300 plate appearances.
When we look at the chart, 3 teams from the NL West are in the top 5 and all these 5 teams are from the National League. It’s not a surprise because it’s very common to see a manager from an NL team send a position player to pinch hit at the pitcher’s spot.
However, after implementing the universal DH rule, things might have changed.
In 2022, the Giants had 256 plate appearances at pinch-hitting. It’s the only team with 200+ pinch-hit plate appearances. In the meantime, the Oakland Athletics had 163 plate appearances at using pinch hitters and the Arizona Diamondbacks had 147 plate appearances at pinch-hitting. Furthermore, the Rangers and the Cubs each had 130+ plate appearances at pinch-hitting.
It’s quite clear that there are fewer opportunities to see a pinch hitter during a game after implementing the universal DH rule. The number of plate appearances at pinch-hitting significantly dropped this season. But, interestingly, the Giants led in plate appearances at pinch-hitting in 2021 and 2022. It would be interesting to see whether they will do the same in 2023.
In addition, let’s take a quick look to see which players did hit well as a pinch hitter in 2022.
Ryan O’Hearn collected 11 hits as a pinch-hitter in 2022. Additionally, he crushed a pinch-hit home run. O’Hearn only had 1 home run this season. Meanwhile, Austin Slater had 10 hits as a pinch-hitter and he blasted a pinch-hit home run. Moreover, Mike Brosseau smashed 3 pinch-hit home runs in 2022 and as a pinch hitter, he had 9 hits. Harold Ramirez collected 9 hits as a pinch-hitter as well.
Finally, Mike Brosseau crushed 3 pinch-hit home runs for the Brewers. At the same time, Albert Pujols, in the final season of his great career, returned to the Cardinals. He smashed 24 home runs in 2022 and among those 24 home runs, 3 were pinch-hit home runs. Furthermore, 5 other players each had 2 pinch-hit home runs this season.
Previously, I listened to a podcast show and the host interviewed Dave Hansen, who is known as a good pinch-hitter. He described some of his experience of pinch-hitting. After listening to the show, I’m just wondering whether we will see a player like Dave Hansen again. With the universal DH rule, MLB managers might not have to think too much about pinch-hitting, in particular, managers from the NL teams don’t have to use a pinch-hitter to hit for a pitcher.
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