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Revisiting The Impact Of The Designated Hitter On Major League Baseball, Andrew Cooley

All Theses

In 1973, team owners in Major League Baseball's American League voted in favor of introducing the designated hitter into their offensive lineups. The National League owners voted against such a rule change that year and since on several different occurrences. Baseball fans, sportswriters, players, owners, economists and others have weighed in on the impact of the designated hitter rule change on Major League Baseball. Chapter One of this paper reviews recent published writings by economists on the impact of the designated hitter. Team owners gave several reasons for advocating the dramatic designated rule change in the American League. Chapter Two …