For the first time since 1976, a major-league team will intentionally give up the designated hitter option and choose to let the pitcher bat for himself.
San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy told reporters after the Giants’ 7-1 loss to the A’s on Wednesday that pitcher Madison Bumgarner will hit for himself when the teams meet again on Thursday in Oakland:
Bumgarner will hit tomorrow. First time a manager intentionally gives up the DH since 1976
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) June 30, 2016
Bumgarner is probably the best hitting pitcher in the game. He has two homers on the season and 13 homers in his career. His career slash line of .182/.226/.305, and season slash line of .175/.261/.350 are fantastic for pitchers.
.@SFGiants to forgo DH Thursday in Oakland, allow Madison Bumgarner to hit. https://t.co/1IesCQuMs6 #PitchersWhoRakehttps://t.co/Hrm0oqcof4 — MLB (@MLB) June 30, 2016
But that’s for pitchers. Do the Giants really not have a better option available on the bench to make this a smart percentage move and not just an “Ah, what the heck, let’s have some fun” move? Actually (and incredibly), they may not.
First thought was I can’t believe they’re not DHing for Bumgarner. Then I looked at the San Francisco bench. — Christopher Crawford (@CVCrawfordBP) June 30, 2016
Jarrett Parker has had a great season off the bench (.280/.393/.480), but the Giants seem to like him to stay in his bench role, and he’s struggled vs lefties (3-for-22 with 10 strikeouts). The A’s will have a lefty on the mound in Dillon Overton. The Giants have been hit hard by injuries lately and the right-handed bats off the bench are pretty brutal.
But there’s also this great point that Andrew Baggarly makes: Since Bumgarner is in the lineup as a pitcher and not as a designated hitter, he can’t be replaced by a designated hitter later in the game.
Because he’s in the lineup as the pitcher, the Giants cannot replace him with a DH later in the game. That could prove troublesome, and provide a significant disadvantage to Bochy, if Bumgarner gets knocked out early.
While this is certainly a debatable move by Bochy, it’s at least a fun move, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon would surely approve of the wackiness.