Designated Hitter Rule

What is the Designated Hitter Rule?

The Designated Hitter rule allows a baseball team to replace the pitcher slot in the batting order with an extra hitter. The player, called the Designated Hitter or DH, only hits, with no fielding position.

The position is optional. Teams may elect to forgo a DH and have their pitcher hit in the batting order, as usually happens when Shohei Ohtani takes the mound (more on him in a minute).

As mentioned above, the DH does not play the field, however the player may be switched into a defensive position at any point in the game. If the manager chooses to do that, the team loses the DH slot and the pitcher hits in that spot in the lineup for the rest of the game.

In 2022, as a result of Shohei Ohtani’s success, MLB tweaked the rule. The change allows teams to keep their starting pitcher in the DH rule, even after the player is substituted as a pitcher. This allowed Ohtani to continue playing as a hitter, even after he was relieved of his pitching duties.

How is the Designated Hitter Rule used?

The Designated Hitter rule was introduced to the major leagues in 1973, when the American League adopted it. For close to 50 years, that remained the status quo, with the AL having a DH and the NL remaining with the traditional lineup where the pitcher hit for himself. In games where an NL team faced an AL team, the home ballpark rules were utilized and applied to both teams.

In 2020, as a part of the special rules implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic, the NL adde a DH for the first time. After returning to the old way in 2021, MLB decided in 2022 to officially institute the universal DH. Now, the Designated Hitter rule applies to all teams in MLB.

Designated Hitter Rule Examples

Here is an example of a box score with a DH

In addition to the rules listed above, there was an interesting change in 1980, as a result of a loophole. That year, Orioles manager Earl Weaver would write his lineup with an inactive starting pitcher in the DH slot. Then, when the DH’s turn in the order came up, Weaver could decide which player he wanted to use in the slot, based on the situation.

As a result, MLB created a rule that the player listed as DH in the lineup must take the first plate appearance.

Interesting Designated Hitter Rule Stats

There are four players in the Baseball Hall of Fame who played at least 50% of their games at the DH position.