What is a DH in Baseball?

A DH in baseball is the designated hitter, a player who bats in place of the pitcher without taking a position in the field. Used primarily in American League and interleague games, the DH aims to boost offensive performance.

Key Points

• The designated hitter rule allows a batter to take the pitcher’s place in the offensive lineup without penalty.
• The designated hitter must be chosen before the game has started and indicated as such on the lineup card.
• The designated hitter is used in most professional baseball leagues in North America however it is completely optional for teams to use one.

The Designated Hitter Rule

The designated hitter rule allows a batter to take the pitcher’s place in the offensive lineup without penalty. Typically in baseball, if a player bats for someone who is in the game defensively, that defensive player has to be removed from the game entirely. This action is a pinch hitter.

Comparatively, the designated hitter allows for the pitcher to remain in the game without having to bat. With that being said, the designated hitter must be chosen before the game has started and indicated as such on the lineup card. Whichever player is selected as the designated hitter before the game begins will occupy only that one spot in the lineup throughout the game’s entirety. 

When can you use a Designated Hitter?

You can use the designated hitter in most professional baseball leagues in North America. With that being said you must indicate prior to the beginning of the game that you are going to be using a designated hitter on your lineup card. If you are in amateur baseball, the rules will vary on when and if you can use a designated hitter. 

The NCAA rule is very similar to the designated hitter rule in professional baseball however it gives you the option to have your starting pitcher stay in the game to be the designated hitter after he is removed from the game as the pitcher.

The high school rule on the designated hitter differs in the fact that it allows the designated hitter to bat for any defensive player in the game and not solely the pitcher. Additionally, the high school rule has recently been amended to allow the DH to play in the field without losing the DH spot in the lineup. This is typically used very similarly to the college DH rule. 

Finally, the designated hitter is completely optional. Managers and coaches do not have to use the designated hitter if they do not wish to. With that being said,  the statistics indicate better offensive production overall when a team does use a designated hitter. 

Why Is there a Designated Hitter in Baseball?

The reason for the designated hitter rule in baseball is quite simply because it increases offense. The designated hitter overall leads to increased offensive statistics. This is because the rule allows teams to replace weak-hitting players from their lineup and replace them with a more productive offensive player, while still allowing the original position player to remain on defense without penalty. 

The Importance of a DH

The DH is important because it increases a team’s chances of scoring runs. If you use the designated hitter your overall production as offense increases. This has been proven with statistics for over 100 years now. Pitching is such a specialized position that their offensive numbers are not very good.

Additionally, it allows you to improve your lineup by batting the designated hitter in any spot of the lineup as long as you indicate that before the game on the lineup card. Perhaps your designated hitter has a great deal of power. In that case, it would make sense to bat your designated hitter in the middle of the order when the majority of runners are on base. This will help your team produce more runs because your designated hitter has great potential to drive the runs in. 

Can a Designated Hitter Play the Field?

In Major League Baseball and other professional leagues, the designated hitter cannot play the field. The designated hitter can only bat for the pitcher in these leagues. The NCAA and high school designated hitter rule is slightly more complicated and does allow in certain situations for the designated hitter to play in the field. 

The NCAA rule is very similar to the designated hitter rule in professional baseball however it gives you the option to have your starting pitcher stay in the game to be the designated hitter after he is removed from the game as the pitcher.

The high school rule on the designated hitter differs in the fact that it allows the designated hitter to bat for any defensive player in the game and not solely the pitcher. Additionally, the high school rule has recently been amended to allow the DH to play in the field without losing the DH spot in the lineup. This is typically used very similarly to the college DH rule. 

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