The Complete Package

By Stefi Kaplan
Posted Monday, July 30, 2007

I hate the designated hitter. Hate it. I am an NL fan through and through, and the DH just seems like cheating. You call yourself a ballplayer when all you do is get up and swing a bat every few innings? Don't get me started… But as if I needed yet another reason to hate the DH, the Mets pitchers, and specifically Orlando Hernandez, have given me one more reason over the past few series. I love watching El Duque hit and run the bases. And I'm not the only one, it seems. Aside from being a gamer on the mound, the guy can spark the entire team with his offensive play.

To me, there is nothing quite as strangely satisfying as a pitcher contributing on both ends of a game. A pitcher hitting and running the bases can provide comic relief, energy and laughter, especially during a team-wide hitting slump. The pitcher getting on base sends a message to his teammates that every aspect of the game matters. And watching a pitcher like El Duque run the bases makes everyone on the team want to join in the fun. Says teammate Johnny Maine: "I'm going to have to try to get me one of those [stolen bases] some time soon…I mean, how hard can it be? All you have to do is run from Point A to Point B. Right?" (Johnny, you just stick to what you know – you are no Jose Reyes. You are, however, quite the power hitter.) Meanwhile, El Duque even encouraged Oliver Perez to attempt a steal in his next start. He was out, of course, but it took a should-be-balk-but-it’s-a-lefty-pitcher pickoff to get him.

But back to El Duque. El Duque is a big game pitcher who feeds off of his own energy and that of his teammates. And nothing gets him more pumped up than surprising the opposition. He loves finding new ways to help his team win. As Willie says, "He doesn't like to be ignored…He's saying, 'I'm El Duque. Don't you know who I am?'" You can't argue with that – El Duque likes to be a part of the game. And he doesn’t waste a single second of these opportunities, which is what makes him a gamer.

I never understood how an AL pitcher can just sit down every half inning and watch his teammates do all the work. You have to think they feel at least a little disconnected from the game. You see, the AL pitchers have absolutely no correlation to the run support they get (or don’t get). And it must feel that much worse when the offense fails to give you any support because you are helpless, at the mercy of your teammates. NL pitchers can take matters into their own hands, and on many occasions, they actually do. Usually it is a sacrifice to get a runner over, but given the chance, they are capable of doing more. And those are some of the most spontaneously thrilling moments in a baseball game, when it is your pitcher doing the hitting, I mean. Otherwise, it is flat out embarrassing. But pitchers are athletes, after all – why shouldn't they be able to swing a bat and run the bases?

Sure, there are risks involved, and the Mets are no strangers to those. Anyone remember Brian Bannister? Willie sure does, as you can visually see him holding his breath when any Mets pitcher gets on base. And can you blame him? We already lost Jorge Sosa briefly this year due to base-running. So, you don’t want your pitchers, most of whom run like turtles anyway, to risk an injury running out a ball or stealing a base.

And you don’t want the pitchers to get carried away, either. If the pitcher actually gets on base, you typically don’t want him risking an out with Jose Reyes at bat, especially if it is a key point in the game. Further, the art of pitching is so unique that there is legitimate concern that hitting and base-running can take your focus away from the task at hand. You always want a pitcher to know that what he does on the mound is what will define him. He is not paid to hit .300 (though I’m almost convinced Tommy Glavine is taking his hitting and bunting more seriously than his pitching lately).

But gone are the days when the pitchers were automatic outs. Just look at the pitchers on this team – all of the starting five can produce. (Maybe I don’t miss Pedro as much as I thought...) Tommy Glavine is one of the elite sac-bunters in the game. Johnny Maine has recently joined the elite Mets pitchers’ hitting club with his first long-ball of his career this past week. And awkward as they may be, the pitchers are not as slow on the basepaths as some of the other players (see Castro, Ramon). So, you can't baby these guys – let them hit and in certain limited situations, let them run. It could do more for the team than you think. Just make sure they’ve stretched properly first!

Especially someone like El Duque, because it gets him fired up, which in turn can get the whole team fired up. And it has the exact opposite effect on the opposing pitcher, who typically loses focus because he is so furious with himself for letting the pitcher hit/run/walk.

You see, unlike the AL teams, the Mets don’t need a designated hitter...our pitchers are simply talented enough to take care of business on their own. And how much fun is it when they do?