quote:Originally posted by Emanski's Heroes:
Actually, everything I've seen or read says the DH was initially proposed in the early 1900's for just that reason. It wasn't implemented until the 70's, and even then was put in place because of the dominance of the pitchers (which is a roundabout way of saying "hmmm, how can we create more offense? I know...take that guy who really sucks at hitting and replace him with a real hitter").
According to Charles O. Finley, the primary advocate and leader of the group of owners who pushed for the DH, the primary purpose of the DH was to increase revenue by selling more tickets to fans would pay to see aging stars extend their career and and to see "an explosion" in offense.
At the time interest in night games, also instituted to increase revenue, was waning and Finely brought back the concept of the DH that was proposed and properly discarded years earlier. He also tried to get a designated runner instituted, but fortunately the owners weren't greedy enough to buy that one.
Now, according to the American League and MLB, none of their studies indicate that the rule met it lofty goal.