This day in baseball: Rhoden starts as DH

On June 11, 1988, New York Yankees manager Billy Martin decided to use starting pitcher Rick Rhoden as the Yankees’ starting designated hitter. Rhoden went 0–1 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly in his lone plate appearance, batting seventh in the lineup. He was the first pitcher to start a game at DH since the American League’s adoption of the DH rule in 1973. José Cruz would later pinch hit for Rhoden as the Yankees went on to an 8–6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Rick_Rhoden_New_York_Yankees
Public domain


2 thoughts on “This day in baseball: Rhoden starts as DH

  1. I read somewhere that in the new Covid rule book, both leagues will use the DH or was that what the owners proposed and the players rejected?

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