Houston Astros’ manager Bo Porter looks at a Designated Hitter as a luxury - MLB News
The Houston Astros have moved to the American League from the National League and will be facing stiff competition in a highly competitive AL West. With the switch in league, the Astros will have to make certain adjustments and the designated hitter is one
of them.
They had the occasional use of the DH as they played against teams in the American League. However, there was no one to play this role on a regular basis. That has now obviously changed and even though Bo Porter, the manager of the Houston ballclub feels
that a DH is a luxury, it is pretty much a necessity for the team.
Carlos Pena has the position in the team for now even though there was much talk of Lance Berkman possibly making a return to his old ballclub. The manager and the general manager Jeff Luhnow want the designated hitter to be someone who can play at a position
as well.
"I think the DH is a luxury," Bo Porter said. "That's what [general manager] Jeff [Luhnow] and I, when we set out to talk about the designated hitter, we wanted to have a designated hitter that could actually go in and play a position, and that's one of
the reasons we targeted Carlos Pena."
Bo believes that the DH is a position for someone who understands it and it may not be for everyone, especially the younger players.
"If you're young and really don't understand the situation, it's tough," the manager said.
He believes that it is a craft and most people overlook that fact, thus are incapable of performing this role.
The designated hitter is a role that primarily exists in the American League and the pitchers themselves have to bat in the National League. This can obviously hurt a team’s productivity in the offence.
The team also intends to utilise someone such as Jose Altuve in the role, though he had trouble with fitness last season. He can make use of the guidance provided by Carlos and can lighten his work load at the same time.
"Altuve can go over to Carlos and say, 'OK, what's your routine when you're DHing?'" Porter said.
Pena himself is keen on remaining active and takes part in the drills as he just does not want to sit around. Continuing the routine in his opinion is important, there is just no reason to continue sitting on the bench.
It will be interesting to see how the Astros manage the designated hitter’s position. It is quite likely that we will see guys other than Carlos Pena taking the role on occasions and possibly be seeing Pena taking a spot in the field every now and again
for the Houston ballclub.
Tags: