Why do managers bat pitchers in the 8 spot?

[habitualwinning]

There might be like 1-3 pitchers in the game that can even hit .200. Simply put, pitchers can't hit.

You realize there have been several pitchers who have hit over.300 for the entire season right? You realize there have been several pitchers who have hit multiple HRs in one season right? You realize there have been several pitchers with higher offensive WAR than other position players on their team right? Well if you didn't, now you know. Bumgarner has hit a HR off of Kershaw before. You know the Kershaw who most people think has been the best pitcher in MLB for the last several seasons. In 2013 Greinke had a higher BA than any other position player on the Dodgers team except HanRam who hit like .345 that season and that was a good team that almost went to the WS. I could go on and on but I don't really feel like debating something that the stats already affirm. I'm not saying I necessarily support the theory of hitting the pitcher 8th perpetually, but it makes sense for some teams in some situations. Should every team start doing it every game? Hell no. If I was a manager though, I'd utilize it periodically with the right lineup and pitcher combo for sure.

The dude that wrote the essay was way off base arguing that some pitchers are better hitters. That has nothing to do with it.

My response was to refute the above asinine comment by you at the top, not to defend the strategy of hitting the batter 8th. If you read my other responses you would know I even said that I generally disagree with hitting the pitcher 8th and that I'm only in favor of doing so with the right pitcher/lineup combo. I was just pointing out to you that there are indeed pitchers that can hit above .200 and even some who hit above .300 and have respectable offensive WAR. I don't understand how you draw the conclusion that since some pitchers can bat .300 that they all need to be hitting 8th now? Huh? I'm not a proponent of hitting the pitcher 8th, generally, as I've already stated. Simply put some pitchers can hit. Pointing this out doesn't mean I think that all pitchers should hit 8th or that any random pitcher is a better hitter than the rest of his team. Big difference.

[Jayvegas420]

tl;dr