ArticleOrthopaedic journal of sports medicine2024
Association of the Universal Designated Hitter Rule With Changes to Injuries in Major League Baseball Pitchers.
Article in Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Statistical analysis of winning percentages in Japanese professional baseball using the Wins above Replacement indicator.PloS one · 2026Article
- Association of the Universal Designated Hitter Rule With Changes to Injuries in Major League Baseball Pitchers.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: In 2022, Major League Baseball (MLB) implemented the universal designated hitter (DH) rule, thus allowing the pitcher to focus solely on defense while the DH, who bats for the pitcher, focuses solely on offense. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of our study was to determine if implementation of the universal DH rule affected the incidence of injuries in MLB pitchers when compared with before implementation. It was hypothesized that the shift to the universal DH rule would be associated with a decrease in the rate of offense-related pitcher injuries. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Using publicly available data, we identified injuries sustained by MLB pitchers during the 2021 (before the DH rule change) and 2022 (after the rule change) regular seasons. Pitchers placed on the injured list for non-gameplay related reasons were excluded. Statistical analysis was performed with the chi-square and independent Results: The injury incidence rate decreased significantly from before to after the rule change for MLB pitchers overall (from 6.58 to 5.60 injuries/1000 athlete game-exposures [AGE]; Conclusion: Implementation of the universal DH rule was associated with a decrease in pitcher injuries overall and within the National League. Injuries to the thigh and hand/finger/wrist also decreased overall and within the National League. Furthermore, total days lost decreased from before to after the rule change. These findings may be due to the elimination of offensive gameplay requirements for pitchers, which highlights a positive consequence of the universal DH rule, but further studies are needed.
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