Pitchers Who Didn't Bat Ninth and Bill Mazeroski

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa has batted the pitcher eighth most of this season.

When he first started doing it, many younger fans were surprised, and some were confused, but not having the pitcher bat ninth is not a recent concept.

Don Newcombe, Don Larsen, Tommy Byrne, Don Drysdale, Ferguson Jenkins, Ken Holtzman, Ken Brett, Steve Renko, Dontrelle Willis, and of course, Babe Ruth were good enough hitters to bat seventh or eighth.

Many years ago, Bobby Bragan, who was a catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers and later managed the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians, and Milwaukee Braves, said that if he managed the New York Yankees, Joe DiMaggio would be his lead off hitter.

"If I had the St. Louis Cardinals, I'd put Stan Musial at the top of the batting order. And if I managed the Boston Red Sox, my first swinger would have to be Ted Williams."

Bragan asked reporters if they would rather have DiMaggio or Phil Rizzuto, Musial or Red Schoendienst, or Williams or Bobby Doerr bat five times a game rather than four.

Now, some individuals who write about baseball do know a little about the game.

It was pointed out that if a team's best hitter batted first, he would hit with the bases empty leading off the game, and would follow the seventh, eighth, and ninth batters the rest of the game. 

Bragan was nonplussed.

"The logical follow-through is to have your normal first and second batters hitting eighth and ninth—after the pitcher, who either bats sixth or seventh."

A significant problem with Bragan's theory is that the first and second batters are almost always more effective hitters than the seventh and eighth hitters. Batting them at the bottom of the order means that they will bat many fewer times during the season.

But let us not fret. Almost all managers, with the exception of those who manage National League teams, can have their best power hitter bat first and not have to worry about juggling the rest of the batting order too much.

The rule that has resulted in the National League becoming the only league that plays baseball the way it was meant to be played, the Designated Hitter Rule, allows a manager to have Albert Pujols lead off and not have to be concerned about where the pitcher hits because he doesn't hit.

A complex situation that is different for each team is based on a simple concept.

Let us assume that the team's best hitter bats third, but he is now leading off.

The clean-up hitter bats second, the eighth and ninth batters should have high on base averages and good speed, and the rest of the lineup would be fairly traditional.

The problem, of course, is that the manager must create his lineup based upon his team's talent.

One more fascinating item about how Bragan applied his idea with respect to batting the pitcher seventh or eighth when he managed.

The 1957 Pirates finished seventh, winning only 62 games.

Vern Law (.190) and Bob Friend (.184) were their best hitting pitchers, but that didn't stop Bobby Bragan. Law and Friend occasionally batted eighth. Who batted ninth?

None other than Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski.

Maz had a good offensive season in 1957, hitting .283 with eight home runs, but he hit only .243 in limited service in 1956.

Bragan knew that Mazeroski was not a good hitter, which Mazeroski proved his entire career, with one memorable exception.

It is quite likely that Bill Mazeroski is the only position player in the Hall of Fame who batted ninth in on a team that didn't have a designated hitter.

References:

Abrams, Al. "Slugger As Lead Off Man?" Baseball Digest , July 1956.

Pitchers Who Batted Other Than Ninth