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Designated Hitter Rule Debate: A Search for Mr. Hyde in Pitchers

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  • Akihiko Kawaura

    (Graduate School of Policy & Management, Doshisha University, Karasuma-Imadegawa, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan, akawaura@mail.doshisha.ac.jp)

Abstract

This article investigates the effect of baseball’s designated hitter rule on the number of hit batsmen, with a focus on individual pitchers. Researchers have debated the rule’s incentives for pitchers and its impact on hit batsmen based on aggregate and cross-section statistics: They treat pitchers as a group. This article argues that individual pitchers are concerned with their reputation in the baseball community, and that they do not necessarily respond to the rule change by throwing at batters. Analyses of performance data of individual pitchers in a Japanese baseball league indicate that the rule did not prompt their behavioral change.

Suggested Citation

  • Akihiko Kawaura, 2010. "Designated Hitter Rule Debate: A Search for Mr. Hyde in Pitchers," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(3), pages 349-357, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:11:y:2010:i:3:p:349-357
    DOI: 10.1177/1527002509352299
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Trandel, Gregory A & White, Lawrence H & Klein, Peter G, 1998. "The Effect of the Designated Hitter Rule on Hit Batsmen: Pitcher's Moral Hazard or the Team's Cost-Benefit Calculation? A Comment," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(4), pages 679-684, October.
    2. Goff, Brian L & Shughart, William F, II & Tollison, Robert D, 1997. "Batter Up! Moral Hazard and the Effects of the Designated Hitter Rule on Hit Batsmen," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 35(3), pages 555-561, July.
    3. Levitt, Steven D, 1998. "The Hazards of Moral Hazard: Comment on Goff, Shughart, and Tollison," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(4), pages 685-687, October.
    4. John Charles Bradbury & Douglas J. Drinen, 2007. "Crime And Punishment In Major League Baseball: The Case Of The Designated Hitter And Hit Batters," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 45(1), pages 131-144, January.
    5. Demsetz, Harold & Lehn, Kenneth, 1985. "The Structure of Corporate Ownership: Causes and Consequences," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 93(6), pages 1155-1177, December.
    6. Gregory A. Trandel, 2004. "Hit by Pitches," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 5(1), pages 87-92, February.
    7. Akihiko Kawaura & Sumner J. La Croix, 2007. "The Designated Hitter Rule and Team Defensive Strategy in Japan's Professional Baseball Leagues," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 8(5), pages 491-504, October.
    8. John Charles Bradbury & Douglas Drinen, 2006. "Research Notes: The Designated Hitter, Moral Hazard, and Hit Batters," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 7(3), pages 319-329, August.
    9. Goff, Brian L & Shughart, William F, II & Tollison, Robert D, 1998. "Moral Hazard and the Effects of the Designated Hitter Rule Revisited," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(4), pages 688-692, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kevin Baldini & Mark T. Gillis & Matt E. Ryan, 2011. "Do Relief Pitching and Remaining Games Create Moral Hazard Problems in Major League Baseball?," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 12(6), pages 647-659, December.
    2. Akihiko Kawaura & Sumner La Croix, 2010. "The Designated Hitter Rule in Baseball as a Natural Experiment," Working Papers 201005, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.

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