Pontotoc Middle School

[The Former DMiller]

The pitcher-batter matchup is the heart of baseball, you've got to pay a lot of attention to it in either league... in the AL you don't have that 9-slot pitcher you can ignore so you've got to pay more attention to ALL the batters... can't just do anything with #8 because you know #9's a definite out. It might wear out pitchers faster, though... in the NL pitchers can last longer into games because of how much easier the lineups are, with that pitcher on the end.

The pitcher-batter matchup is the heart of baseball, but the nearly infinite strategic decisions that can be made at any given point in a game are what make the game even better. There are some pretty crappy 9 hitters in the AL and some pretty decent hitting pitchers in the NL so the rule that you can pitch around the #8 hitter in the NL doesn't always apply, nor the rule that you always have to worry about the #9 hitter in the NL. NL pitchers actually don't last as long as AL pitchers because of the fact that they don't sit on the bench the entire time they aren't pitching because they may have to pick up a bat. Pitchers know they can't just ignore the opposing pitcher as a batter because even a poor major league hitter is a someone who can get on base if you aren't careful. NL pitchers also might not last as long as AL pitchers because managers may want to use a pinch hitter for their spot in the order. It's all the strategy, plus the fact that pitchers are expected to pick up a bat once in a while, that makes me like the NL so much more than the AL.