LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 15: Madison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants returns to the dugout after scoring in the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on April 15, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
MLBBy Matt Clapp on

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 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.

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.

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.

[San Jose Mercury News]

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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