Seriously, you could have a LB line up right behind the kicker on kickoff returns and after the kick the kicker has to beeline for a specific zone on the sideline and the linebacker can go wherever he wants. Or as you suggest, we can continue the entertainment of watching Garo Yepremian try to tackle somebody twice as fast as him and 30 lbs heaver. I'll go with the second choice and with letting pitchers hit.
John Hall says hello. Pitchers should have to hit. For the simple fact that inside baseball takes on a whole new meaning when the pitcher might get one thrown at his hands. Randy Johnson would not have dared to be an asshole, in the National League.
Head hunting was an accepted sport in baseball before the DH. Bob Gibson was one of the most accomplished shave artists and would regularly throw high and tight to back the hitter off the plate. He had 1,489 plate appearances in his career and was hit only 8 times. I think pitchers tended to give each other a break on that stuff unless one of their teammates got hurt by a pitch. Then it was gloves off so to speak. Gibson was a pretty good hitter with a career .206 average, 44 doubles, 5 triples (!) and 24 homeruns. He's a perfect example of why pitchers should be made to hit.
This is beautiful and what baseball is all about, and the DH totally negates anything you just said. Why would you want to forsake this aspect of the game? That is what makes it the game it is, not a barrage of home runs. Home runs should be special anyway, not a dime a dozen over the right field porch in Yankee stadium. (Sorry Yankee fans, but its the perfect example.)
Yeah, baseball games should be won by a tight medium to low score. 10-9 games may be entertaining in the few innings in which the runs are actually scored but they're three and a half to four hours long and most of that time is spent with the pitcher holding the ball in his hand on the mound. It's like watching golf except you have to stay on two golfers for the entire afternoon.
I think you hit a home run with that comment. It's called being a complete player. Baseball requires offense and defense. The best players can do both. I never liked the DH. It waters down the game.