Why was Kit batting at the end of movie?
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marvelass — 12 years ago(August 05, 2013 04:36 AM)
I'm not familiar with the rules of the AAGPBL, but, for what it's worth, in Major League Baseball, pitchers often bat during the World Series. The MLB is made up of two leagues the American League and the National League. The AL doesn't require its pitchers to bat during the regular season/play-offs, but the NL does. So when the team of each league meet up to play in the World Series, the rules of each respective league are bound to clash. They play a total of 7 games at most (or best 4 out of 7) and when they play at the field of the NL team, the AL team pitchers have to bat, too. Since the AL doesn't require their pitchers to bat during the regular season, they usually don't recruit pitchers who are also good hitters. But during the World Series they get around this by having a
designated hitter
, who bats for the pitcher. (God, I hope that wasn't too confusing.)
That said, it wasn't unusual that Kit or Ellen Sue batted in the world series. Actually, I think they all batted throughout the whole season, just like the NL teams do. However, I doubt the AAGPBL was divided into two leagues since they only had 4 teams that first year. The AL and NL each have 15 teams.
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Doc80 — 12 years ago(August 13, 2013 07:12 AM)
You are right but you made it more complicated than it has to be. It's simple, the AL has the DH Rule that allows them to have someone else hit for the pitcher. Since the pitcher is usually the worst hitter on a team, AL teams usually use them. In the World Series though, they use the rules from whatever league the home team is from to play that game. None of this is really pertinent to this discussion though because the DH didn't exist until the 70s.
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bossat2822 — 12 years ago(August 22, 2013 10:12 AM)
I doubt that the women's league was that specialized. Yes, in the major/minor leagues the pitcher is usually the weakest hitter, but that is due of years of foregoing batting to hone on the craft of pitching. In high school and below, the best players are pitchers, and they are usually the top hitter. When they're not pitching, they're playing another key defensive position. This theory is probably true here
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strntz — 12 years ago(August 23, 2013 07:08 PM)
In high school and below, the best players are pitchers, and they are usually the top hitter.
Bingo.
These girls came from amateur leagues including softball. In the MLB, most pitchers reach the majors after many years of playing minor league ball and honing their pitching skills to the detriment of hitting.
Kit was probably one of the best hitters on the team (when she laid off the high ones that is). -
JMRcurve17 — 9 years ago(May 14, 2016 12:12 PM)
I doubt that the women's league was that specialized. Yes, in the major/minor leagues the pitcher is usually the weakest hitter, but that is due of years of foregoing batting to hone on the craft of pitching. In high school and below, the best players are pitchers, and they are usually the top hitter. When they're not pitching, they're playing another key defensive position. This theory is probably true here
Agree with this. Kit was probably one of Racine's better hitters, if not the best. Ellen Sue was Rockford's pitcher for Game 7, and I believe she was batting cleanup (she lined out to deep left following Dottie's hit in the 9th) -
jmguichardo — 11 years ago(November 15, 2014 01:05 PM)
The real question is why did they pitch to Dottie in the last inning? With 1st base open and the best hitter up and 2 outs she would have been walked. Not sure how the writers (who did such a good job otherwise) missed that one.
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pepperdog61 — 10 years ago(May 28, 2015 06:43 PM)
This isn't modern day baseball where the pitcher either can't hit or there is a DH. Back then, the pitcher batted like everyone else and they were decent hitters.
No, in the major leagues of that era, pitchers were usually weak hitters just like today, though there were occasional exceptions like Schoolboy Rowe and Red Lucas and Wes Ferrell.
The best explanation is the one mentioned above, that it was like high school where the best athletes are often the top pitcher and the top hitter all rolled into one. The women hadn't spent years honing their pitching skills exclusively, to the detriment of hitting. They likely were mostly multi-positional players. -
montoblonde — 10 years ago(October 01, 2015 11:24 PM)
Everyone is foe getting that this is in 1943 and not present day. Back in those days pitchers in both leagues hit, NO IGNORANT DH RULE!!! Despite the fact that pitchers were not the best hitters by any stretch of the imagination. They did not like to be taken out of ball games, special the top pitchers. Unlike today when a pitcher is taken out of a game because his shoelace broke. It's the way the game was and should be now.
Besides, as shown in the MOVIE, Kit could actually hit so why take her out if she still has the arm to.
DW All Day -
Robbmonster — 9 years ago(April 27, 2016 09:04 PM)
Aside from all the (very valid) reasons given by other posters. I suspect the answer is a more practical one.
Dramatic effect.
Would people rather see Dottie and Kit facing off at home plate for the climax, or would people rather see Dottie and someone else?
We all know the answer, even though some of us might deny that we want to see the two adversaries facing off in the climax.
Never defend crap with 'It's just a movie'
http://www.youtube.com/user/BigGreenProds -
jzerba — 9 years ago(July 27, 2016 12:16 AM)
A pitcher hitting in the 9th would of been nothing unusual in that era, if you think it is you know nothing of baseball history. Warren Spain ( at 42 years old ) and Juan Marichal once started a game and each pitched into the 16th inning.