The DH position is a very controversial part of baseball. I myself am not a fan but there is no denying that it is a very intriguing position. In 2014 DH had the largest range in OPS in the AL of any position ranging from the Tiger's .952 to the Mariner's .577. It is no coincidence that the two worst teams at DH the Athletics and Mariners only used the same DH 23% and 35% of the time. It is also no coincidence that they had the best fielding in terms of defensive efficiency ratio (DER). These two stats come from the mistaken thought that anyone who can hit well will be very successful at DH. This is not true. When you platoon the DH spot among players who can field well they do not perform because of three factors. 1) They are not used to sitting on the bench between innings. 2) They take pride in their fielding and want to be playing on the field. 3) They lose both focus and looseness on the bench and are not ready to hit.
Both David Ortiz and Victor Martinez exemplify the DH position but at 39 and 35 how much longer do they have in their careers. Visit my projections page to see.
Victor Martinez had a great season with the Tigers this year finishing second in MVP voting and first in OPS. He also got the Edgar Martinez award for the best DH, but does he deserve the expensive extension he just got? | David Ortiz has been the Red Sox DH for years and symbolizes DH (I wouldn't be surprised if they rename the Edgar Martinez award the David Ortiz award) but at his old age people have to be wondering, how much longer will he play in the majors? |