My designated fielder idea was first suggested in 1891. Who knew?

I certainly did not.

The Origins of the Designated Hitter
by John Thorn

On December 19, 1891, Sporting Life offered the following:
A POINT OF PLAY.
Messrs. Temple and Spalding; Agree that the Pitcher Should Be Exempt from Batting.

Temple favored the substitution of another man to take the pitcher’s place at the bat when it came his turn to go there. Mr. Spalding advocated a change in the present system and suggested that the pitcher be eliminated entirely from the batting order and that only the other eight men of the opposing clubs be allowed to go to bat. Both gentlemen saw the necessity of some change ...

Every patron of the game is conversant with the utter worthlessness of the average pitcher when he goes up to try and hit the ball.
________________________

Pittsburgh owner William Chase Temple is quoted in ambiguous language as suggesting that prior to the 1892 season the National League considered exempting the pitcher from having to bat but that the rule change was rejected by a vote of 7-5. Too bad.

Designated FIELDER, 8 batters! Now that's entertainment! Sunday, December 27, 2015

As opposed to:

Careers, From 1901 to 2015, Played 50% of games at P, (OPS+ >=75 and At least 500 plate appearances), sorted by greatest Adjusted OPS+

Rk	Player	OPS+	PA	From	To	Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos	Tm
1	Doc Crandall	120	1041	1908	1918	20-30	500	887	109	253	35	19	9	123	118		112	4	24			9	0	.285	.372	.398	.770	*1/H46983	STL-NYG-SLM-SLB-BSN
2	Reb Russell	105	1061	1913	1923	24-34	421	976	141	262	48	25	22	172	42		130	15	29			9	3	.268	.309	.436	.745	*19/H7	CHW-PIT
3	Wes Ferrell	100	1345	1927	1941	19-33	548	1176	175	329	57	12	38	208	129		185	0	40		0	2	0	.280	.351	.446	.797	*1H/7	CLE-WSH-BOS-NYY-BRO-BSN
4	George Mullin	100	1685	1902	1915	21-34	615	1531	163	401	70	23	3	137	122		227	7	25			18	0	.262	.319	.344	.663	*1/H98743	DET-WSH-IND-NEW
5	Jesse Tannehill	90	902	1901	1911	26-36	304	821	106	197	26	15	4	74	66		107	4	11			7		.240	.300	.323	.622	*1/978	PIT-NYY-BOS-WSH-CIN
6	Schoolboy Rowe	88	1023	1933	1949	23-39	492	909	114	239	36	9	18	153	86		157	2	25		12	3	2	.263	.328	.382	.710	*1H	DET-BRO-PHI
7	Al Orth	88	1166	1901	1909	28-36	413	1105	109	288	34	17	6	101	38		107	7	16			18		.261	.290	.338	.628	*1/789643	PHI-WSH-NYY
8	George Uhle	86	1511	1919	1936	20-37	723	1360	172	393	60	21	9	190	98		112	4	36		0	6	8	.289	.339	.384	.722	*1H	CLE-DET-NYG-NYY
9	Claude Hendrix	86	991	1911	1920	22-31	421	922	118	222	39	17	14	97	39		168	4	25			9	1	.241	.275	.366	.640	*1/H79	PIT-CHI-CHC
10	Don Newcombe	85	988	1949	1960	23-34	452	878	94	238	33	3	15	108	87	1	147	3	17	3	17	2	1	.271	.338	.367	.705	*1H	BRO-LAD-CIN-CLE
11	Jack Scott	84	736	1916	1929	24-37	408	680	67	187	31	4	5	73	39		76	5	12			1	2	.275	.319	.354	.673	*1/H9	PIT-BSN-NYG-CIN-PHI
12	Jim Tobin	83	885	1937	1945	24-32	396	796	81	183	35	3	17	102	80		162	3	5		22	1	0	.230	.303	.345	.648	*1H/3	PIT-BSN-DET
13	Bob Lemon	82	1326	1941	1958	20-37	615	1183	148	274	54	9	37	147	93	0	241	2	49	3	9	2	1	.232	.288	.386	.674	*1H/859	CLE
14	Carl Mays	82	1196	1915	1929	23-37	502	1085	113	291	32	21	5	111	66		116	4	44			1	1	.268	.313	.350	.663	*1/H	BOS-NYY-CIN-NYG
15	Don Larsen	81	652	1953	1967	23-37	480	596	65	144	25	5	14	72	43	0	138	0	11	3	15	0	3	.242	.291	.371	.662	*1/H7	SLB-NYY-KCA-CHW-SFG-HOU-BAL-CHC
16	Red Ruffing	81	2084	1924	1947	19-42	882	1937	207	521	98	13	36	273	97		266	6	43		13	1	1	.269	.306	.389	.695	*1H/79	BOS-NYY-CHW
17	Sloppy Thurston	79	699	1923	1933	24-34	343	648	65	175	38	10	5	79	24		91	3	23		1	1	1	.270	.299	.383	.682	*1/H9	SLB-CHW-WSH-BRO
18	Ray Caldwell	78	1269	1910	1921	22-33	593	1164	138	289	46	8	8	114	78		196	3	24			23	7	.248	.297	.322	.619	*1H/8973	NYY-CLE-BOS
19	Tommy Byrne	77	655	1943	1957	23-37	377	601	73	143	26	8	14	98	38	1	126	3	11	2	11	1	0	.238	.286	.378	.663	*1H	NYY-SLB-WSH-CHW
20	Frank Smith	77	879	1904	1915	24-35	369	766	81	156	41	9	2	85	64		217	13	36			3		.204	.276	.289	.565	*1/H7	CHW-CIN-BOS-BAL-BTT
21	Earl Wilson	76	837	1959	1970	24-35	405	740	95	144	12	6	35	111	67	0	271	5	22	4	7	0	0	.195	.265	.369	.634	*1/H	DET-BOS-SDP
22	Mickey McDermott	76	682	1948	1961	19-32	443	619	71	156	29	2	9	74	52	2	112	2	8	1	17	1	2	.252	.312	.349	.661	*1H/3	BOS-WSH-NYY-KCA-DET-STL
23	Walter Johnson	76	2525	1907	1927	19-39	936	2324	241	547	94	41	24	255	110		418	13	70			13	4	.235	.274	.342	.616	*1H/8974	WSH
24	Dutch Ruether	76	1071	1917	1927	23-33	488	969	83	250	30	12	7	111	77		129	2	22			3	1	.258	.314	.335	.649	*1H/3	CIN-CHC-BRO-WSH-NYY
25	Fred Hutchinson	75	734	1939	1953	19-33	354	650	71	171	23	3	4	83	66		30	3	15		19	6	1	.263	.334	.326	.660	*1H/3	DET
Rk	Player	OPS+	PA	From	To	Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos	Tm

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used

Generated 3/9/2016.

Careers, From 1959 to 2015, Played 50% of games at P, (OPS+ >=50 and At least 500 plate appearances), sorted by greatest Adjusted OPS+

Rk	Player	OPS+	PA	From	To	Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos	Tm
1	Earl Wilson	76	837	1959	1970	24-35	405	740	95	144	12	6	35	111	67	0	271	5	22	4	7	0	0	.195	.265	.369	.634	*1/H	BOS-DET-SDP
2	Gary Peters	70	875	1959	1972	22-35	450	807	86	179	31	7	19	102	29	3	172	7	25	7	17	0	1	.222	.253	.348	.601	*1/H	CHW-BOS
3	Mike Hampton	67	845	1993	2010	20-37	448	725	97	178	22	5	16	79	47	0	195	5	63	5	12	3	4	.246	.294	.356	.650	*1/H	SEA-HOU-NYM-COL-ATL-ARI
4	Carlos Zambrano	62	744	2001	2012	20-31	384	693	75	165	26	3	24	71	10	0	240	0	37	4	14	1	0	.238	.248	.388	.636	*1/H	CHC-MIA
5	Don Robinson	62	665	1978	1992	21-35	551	631	47	146	23	0	13	69	16	1	168	2	15	1	6	0	1	.231	.252	.330	.582	*1/H7	PIT-SFG-PHI-CAL
6	Rick Rhoden	60	830	1974	1989	21-36	427	761	58	181	38	0	9	75	17	0	114	0	47	5	20	0	1	.238	.253	.323	.576	*1/HD	LAD-PIT-NYY-HOU
7	Bob Forsch	53	1041	1974	1989	24-39	509	893	77	190	45	8	12	84	27	0	249	1	115	5	14	3	1	.213	.235	.321	.557	*1/H	STL-HOU
8	Catfish Hunter	52	710	1965	1979	19-33	515	658	60	149	16	3	6	51	8	0	160	0	39	5	10	2	0	.226	.234	.287	.521	*1/H3	KCA-OAK-NYY
9	Rick Wise	51	741	1964	1982	18-36	511	668	60	130	21	5	15	66	27	0	240	3	40	3	7	0	0	.195	.228	.308	.537	*1/H	PHI-STL-BOS-CLE-SDP
10	Camilo Pascual	51	820	1959	1971	25-37	345	740	57	163	28	2	5	71	39	0	101	2	37	2	24	0	0	.220	.261	.284	.544	*1/H	WSH-MIN-CIN-WSA-LAD-CLE
11	Vern Law	51	573	1959	1967	29-37	258	513	56	115	20	3	5	38	14	0	98	2	38	4	14	0	0	.224	.246	.304	.550	*1/H	PIT
12	Bob Gibson	50	1489	1959	1975	23-39	597	1328	132	274	44	5	24	144	63	0	415	8	72	18	13	13	10	.206	.243	.301	.545	*1/H	STL

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/9/2016.