Houston Astros face new challenges as they move to the American League West- MLB News
American League West will be welcoming a fifth team almost after two decades. This would be after 51 years stay in the National League for the Houston ball club. They will be facing new opponents and a new challenge altogether.
One of the main differences between the two leagues with in the Major league is the designated hitter rule that was adopted by the American League back in 1973. In the Nation al League, the pitchers too have to hit.
It is commonly believed that the designated hitter’s main purpose is to increase higher runs production by having a strong hitter added to the lineup. Some also suggest that the National League hitters have to be more strategic in their approach.
Mike Scioscia, the current manager of the Los Angeles Angels dispels such notions that a designated hitters’ lone purpose is to go long. He sees the role as a more strategic one. He believes that the designated hitter can be used for a wide array of purposes.
"The one thing I've found is there are many more things you can do on the offensive end with a DH in your lineup," Scioscia said.
He believes that more depth is created in the hitting lineup by the DH. Since the hitter is often a proper batter, there is a lot more he can do to benefit the team. He believes that a DH can be instrumental in just playing a normal ball game. These are
things that are not relevant in the National League.
"There are so many things that are opened up to your team to do with the DH that don't include the home run, includes a lot more of just playing baseball” he said.” ... to do some things with the bottom of your lineup from the first inning on that just really
doesn't make a lot of sense to do in the National League," Scioscia said.
The American League West is not known for its run production. It’s a tough group with some very strong pitching units.
"The pitching in the West is pretty tough, that's why the division is so tough," according to Ron Washington, the manager of the Texas Rangers.
Ron believes that it is a difficult group to play in at the start as teams have to adjust to the good pitching on offer from all the teams.
Astros manager Bo Porter is aware that his team will have to perform particularly well in the very competitive AL West for better results. The team has already struggled in the last two years, posting over a hundred loses in each and finishing at the bottom
in all of Major League.
It would be crucial that the team makes a strong entry into the new league and their hitter as well as pitchers will have to be at their best for the team to post a better result than what it has done in the last two seasons.
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