Ruth today...

Ok assuming (I know dangerious territory there) that ruth would be dominant now like he was when he played (pitching and hitting)...

Does an AL team sign him and have him pitch AND hit?

You dont HAVE to use the DH
mlb rules

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The Designated Hitter rule:
A hitter may be designated to bat for the starting pitcher and all subsequent pitchers in any game without otherwise affecting the status of the pitcher(s) in the game. A Designated Hitter for the pitcher must be selected prior to the game and must be included in the lineup cards presented to the Umpire-in-Chief.

The Designated Hitter named in the starting lineup must come to bat at least one time, unless the opposing club changes pitchers. It is not mandatory that a club designate a hitter for the pitcher, but failure to do so prior to the game precludes the use of a Designated Hitter for that game.

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On days he pitches, no DH is used so he can hit.
The day after he pitches gets the day off?
All other days he hits as DH?

He bat lefty and threw lefty so his back arm in the box is the left theirfore protecting it from being beaned.

You would only lose him approx 30-35 games a year if you gave him the day off after he pitched. You also could use him in relief if needed (tho you would then lose the DH spot if he was in it.

Thoughts???

keep in mind the very 1st line of this post. If you are going to say he cant hack it in the bigs dont post, that is not the point

he can't hack it in the pro's f today :p just kidding

seriously though I would think that he would be more valuable as a hitter today than as pitcher because of the way hitters have evolved. I would rather have his high OBP everyday and maybe use him for relief appearances here and there. Although I am intrigued by your idea of using him to DH for himself on days he pitched. I am assuming that you are using him as your day to day DH anyway so you wouldn't need to worry about his arm strength in the field after he pitches either. Intriguing idea, perhaps run a sim just for kicks to see how it plays out?

I would say "yes". If an AL team had all those abilities and keeping in mind that Ruth is that good to perform those moves, I would say why not. I think it would be amazing to see. I would like to see a player of that potential hopefully someday perform as a hitter and pitcher in the AL, but I am not sure how likely it would happen, especially how major league teams handle their development in the minors. The Red Sox this past year were testing out Casey Kelly as a pitcher and a shortstop, but want him to choose one or the other. He succeeded as a pitcher this past year and not so hot at hitting.

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Originally Posted by Wassit3

he can't hack it in the pro's f today :p just kidding

seriously though I would think that he would be more valuable as a hitter today than as pitcher because of the way hitters have evolved. I would rather have his high OBP everyday and maybe use him for relief appearances here and there. Although I am intrigued by your idea of using him to DH for himself on days he pitched. I am assuming that you are using him as your day to day DH anyway so you wouldn't need to worry about his arm strength in the field after he pitches either. Intriguing idea, perhaps run a sim just for kicks to see how it plays out?

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this is where I disagree, I think he would be better as a pitcher. Because as a hitter he can be in the lineup more days but can only hit, not limit the other team to how much they score.
And yes the DH idea was to keep him from hurting himself throwing all the time, every game.
Keep in mind he WOULD still be in nearly every game and truth be told the day after pitching... he probably could hit as well. so lets say you have him in the lineup 150 out of 162 games... he then IS basicly a DH, but he can pitch every 5th day for you.

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Originally Posted by rschusta24

I would say "yes". If an AL team had all those abilities and keeping in mind that Ruth is that good to perform those moves, I would say why not. I think it would be amazing to see. I would like to see a player of that potential hopefully someday perform as a hitter and pitcher in the AL, but I am not sure how likely it would happen, especially how major league teams handle their development in the minors. The Red Sox this past year were testing out Casey Kelly as a pitcher and a shortstop, but want him to choose one or the other. He succeeded as a pitcher this past year and not so hot at hitting.

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interesting about Kelly I had not heard anything about that.

"assuming" he'd be as dominant now as he was then.....i'd have to say yes. as much as teams would prefer to protect their pitchers, he's SUCH a dominant hitter that you'd have to let him bat. and i can't see a team in todays game, where pitching is so valuable, NOT pitching someone who can be a dominant starter. So yes, i'd agree he'd pitch and hit if he were as dominant today as he was then.

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Originally Posted by TheNamelessPoet

interesting about Kelly I had not heard anything about that.

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Yeah, he actually was selected to the allstar team and pitched up until then and then switched over to shortstop for the rest of the season.

No, because even in his own time, once they realized that his power hitting wasn't a fluke, they didn't keep him doing both.

Though I suspect that if he had been traded to the Giants instead of the Yankees, John McGraw would have kept pitching him, and using him in the field on the days he didn't pitch.