Does The Designated Hitter Warrant Hall Of Fame Consideration?

Before I get into the arguments for or against players getting into the Hall-of-Fame as designated hitters, I want to state up front that I never have been a big fan of the designated hitter.

In my dim view of the world, I see the designated hitter as taking something away from the game rather than adding to it. Since it's inception to the American League in 1973, it has been a topic of heated debate regarding it's validity.

As of right now, the only player recognized in the Hall-of-Fame for his accomplishments as a DH is Paul Molitor.  And before anyone states that's not true, go to the Hall-of-Fame Web page, look for the sort feature on the right hand side and click on DH. Only Molitor shows up.

The Top 10 Designated Hitters

The top 10 designated hitters of all time, according to The Baseball Page.com are:

Paul Molitor

Frank Thomas

Edgar Martinez

David Ortiz

Harold Baines

Don Baylor

Hal McRae

Brian Downing

Andre Thorton

Chili Davis

It's not that any of these players were horrible fielders in their time. And with the exception of Molitor, Thomas, and Martinez, none of them have a career average above .300 and only Thomas is near 500 home runs.

But what the designated hitter does allow is to extend the careers of players. 

Molitor may not have achieved 3,000 hits if it were not for the DH as injuries limited his time as a fielder.

Ortiz was a liability as a fielder at first base but if not for the DH, how else would you get that bat into the line-up? More than likely, you would have to put up with the poor play on the field and hope he makes up for it at the plate.

Martinez, for whom the award Best Designated Hitter was named for, was actually a fairly good fielding third baseman. But the Mariners, for some reason, didn't have a whole lot of faith in Martinez early in his career. But thanks to the DH, he was able carve out a pretty nice career as a purely offensive player.

Other players not listed may have not achieved the records they hold if not for the designated hitter. One prime example is the great Hank Aaron.

Aaron broke Babe Ruth's all-time Home Run record in 1973 while with the Atlanta Braves. After the 1974 season, in which Aaron hit 20 home runs for the Braves, he moved to Milwaukee where he was able to extend his career another two seasons and hit 22 more home runs to finish with 755 career home runs.

Would Aaron have made the Hall without those last two years with the Brewers? I would say yes as he would have ended up with 733 career dingers, just as an impressive of a number.

The designated hitter has been part of baseball for the past 36 years. It has allowed some players who lack fielding skills to play at the major league level and extended careers of others. It is the only position in baseball that is considered a purely offensive one as well as being a part-time one.

The other part-time position, as far as the American League, is the pitcher. But there has been no argument brokered for American League pitchers to be excluded from the Hall because they only pitch.

If anything, they have it a little easier than a full-time designated hitter. They work every fifth day, whereas a DH is in the line-up everyday. And lets not forget relievers, some who come in for only one inning a night.

Since I doubt the DH is going away anytime soon and despite not being a fan of it, it is a recognized position and players who have great success have just as much a right to be considered for the Hall-of-Fame as any other player.