A tale of three designated hitters

Frank Thomas - Blue Jays
Age 38
2006 season: .270/.381/.545, OPS+ of 141, 41.3 VORP (with Oakland)
2007 Salary: $1 million (+$4.56 million from signing bonus)

Jason Giambi - Yankees
Age 35
2006 season: .253/.413/.558, OPS+ of 154, 47.4 VORP
2007 salary: $21 million (+ $500k bonus)

David Ortiz - Red Sox
Age 30
2006 season: .287/.414/.636, OPS+ of 164, 76.8 VORP
2007 season: $13 million

Well the Jays obviously get the biggest 2007 bargain as Thomas’ contract will only count for about $5.5 million, his 2008 figure will be near Ortiz’s $13 million. All three are slow SLOW players and shouldn’t be counted on to steal any bases. It seems that all three AL East teams have decided that to win the division you’re going to need one heck of a good bat at DH which is smart. Why have a DH when he can barely hit better than an average player (like Hillenbrand)? The importance of the designated hitter comes in him being one of your best hitters because that is the only thing he needs to worry about. These three men will have a huge impact on the division race and as we saw in the division battle, it's important to have one steady DH.