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The history of Royals pitchers at the plate

Over the years baseball fans have been programmed to accept pitchers who can’t hit a lick. Baseball executives will trot out the tired old cliché “were paying him to pitch, not to hit”. And while that’s true, you’re also paying someone to catch, and he’s expected to hit. Same for the shortstop, the centerfielder and all the other position players. You never hear a baseball manager say, “were paying him to play catcher, not to hit”.

I understand that hitting major league (and even most minor league) pitching is one of the hardest things to do in sports.