Steve Chapman on Why Pro-Ball Pitchers Shouldn't Bat
Highly paid professional athletes occasionally get hurt doing things they should not be doing—riding motorcycles, zipping down mountains on snowboards, falling asleep in tanning beds. San Francisco Giants pitcher Ryan Vogelsong is one of these. What was he doing? Batting. Requiring pitchers to bat, argues Steve Chapman, is like telling Bob Dylan to smile. It misuses their talent, lowers the quality of play, subjects them to pointless risk, and probably causes irreparable loss of self-esteem.