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In practice, it is very rare for a team to forfeit its right to a DH, even by substitution. The following are known instances in regular season games (not counting interleague play) of an American League pitcher coming to bat:

* There were four occasions where a team elected not to start a designated hitter in an American League ballgame. The pitchers for those games were Ferguson Jenkins on October 2, 1974 for the Texas Rangers at Minnesota,[3] Ken Holtzman for the Oakland A's against the California Angels on September 27, 1975,[4] Ken Brett for the Chicago White Sox on July 6, 1976 at the Boston Red Sox,[5] and Brett again on September 23, 1976 for Chicago against the Twins.[6]

* On June 27, 1976, the Detroit Tigers lost their DH in a game at the Boston Red Sox in the first inning when DH Rusty Staub went to right field instead of Alex Johnson. The pitcher, Frank MacCormack, took Johnson's place in the lineup, went 0 for 3, and pitched six innings before being relieved by John Hiller. The Tigers won 4-2 in 11 innings at Boston.[7]

* On September 5, 1976, New York Yankees starting pitcher Catfish Hunter pinch-hit for second baseman Sandy Alomar, Sr. in top of the 6th inning and stayed in the lineup as the pitcher for the Yankees in the bottom half of the inning. Cesar Tovar, the one-time designated hitter in the game, then took over at second base.[8] (Note: There is now a section of the rule that states that the game pitcher may only pinch-hit for the designated hitter; therefore, this move would have been allowed then, but now it would be prohibited.)

* In his first of three major league pitching appearances for the Toronto Blue Jays, Bob Bailor, normally a position player, was moved from shortstop to pitcher in the 7th inning in a game on August 4, 1980. Bailor finished out the game at pitcher. The DH position was lost, and pitcher Bailor came to bat in the ninth and popped out.[9]

* During the month of September, 1980, Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver inserted a pitcher into the DH slot but would use a hitting specialist (such as Benny Ayala or Terry Crowley) to pinch-hit when the designated hitter's first turn came up. There was a game on September 17, 1980, during which the Orioles and the Detroit Tigers both used the short-lived strategy.[10] (Note: Due to the loophole of which Earl Weaver took advantage, there was a rule change shortly thereafter that states the DH must come to bat at least once, unless the opposing team changes pitchers.)

* On September 26, 1987, Detroit Tigers designated hitter Darrell Evans moved to first base in the bottom of the seventh inning in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, causing pitcher Mike Henneman to be inserted into the first baseman's spot in the batting order. Henneman batted for himself in the ninth, but struck out attempting to bunt. The Blue Jays scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to win the game 10-9, with Henneman taking the loss.[11]

* In the first game in Chicago's New Comiskey Park, the Detroit Tigers' designated hitter, Tony Phillips replaced starting shortstop Alan Trammell in the field during a 16-0 Tigers' win, causing starting pitcher Frank Tanana to hit. Tanana struck out swinging to Donn Pall in his only plate appearance of his complete game shutout of the White Sox.[12]

* In the bottom of the 8th on July 15, 1993, the Seattle Mariners' Jeff Nelson was moved from the pitcher position to left field. The strategy allowed Nelson to stay in the game while left-handed pitcher Dennis Powell came in to pitch to Mike Greenwell in a game at Boston. By moving the pitcher into a defensive position, Nelson was put into the designated hitter's spot in the batting order while the new pitcher (Powell) was placed into the left fielder's place in the batting order. (It is very uncommon to see this particular move in an American League ballgame due to the DH.) Powell's turn in the batting order came up in the top of the ninth: Pete O'Brien pinch hit for him. Left fielder Nelson was then moved back to pitcher, and pitched in the bottom of the ninth.[13]

* An unusual instance of an American League team forfeiting its right to the DH happened on July 22, 1999 to the Cleveland Indians in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Manny Ramirez, the designated hitter, accidentally went into right field instead of Alex Ramirez causing some confusion. The Indians lost their DH, and Charles Nagy was forced to hit in Alex Ramirez's place going 0 for 2. John McDonald later pinch-hit for Nagy in the 6th inning.[14]

* On August 10, 1999, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays brought in third baseman Wade Boggs to pitch against the Baltimore Orioles in a blowout in favor of Baltimore. Boggs, peculiarly, was put into the DH's place in the lineup at the same time he was being brought into the game to pitch. Pitcher Boggs grounded out in his only at bat.[15]

* There have been times when a manager may willingly surrender the DH position late in a game. During the 2005 American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York had Bernie Williams slated as the designated hitter.[16] Late in the game, manager Joe Torre took Williams out of the DH and put him in center field because of Williams' superior defensive play. Since the Yankees already had the lead, not giving up any more runs was more important to Torre than having a better hitter hit for the pitcher in the game at the time, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. Because a double switch was used, it was not necessarily a negative situation to have Rivera bat. Rivera's place in the order would have only come up if the Yankees batted around, which would have inherently meant their lead would have been further increased at that late point in the game anyway, giving more cushion for the Yankees' best relief pitcher to close out the game.

* In the second game of a doubleheader between the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox on July 6, 2007, the Twins initially used their starting catcher, Joe Mauer, as the DH because Mauer had started the first game at catcher. The starting catcher for the second game, Mike Redmond, however, was forced to leave the game in the first inning due to injury after accidentally being struck in the head by the bat of Jim Thome, and Mauer had to take the field as the replacement catcher. Twins starting pitcher Matt Garza thus was forced into the batting order and became the first American League pitcher to bat in a regular-season American League game since Hipolito Pichardo on July 31, 2000.[17][18]

* On May 19, 2008, the Minnesota Twins surrendered their DH position in a game vs. the Texas Rangers in Minneapolis. Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire had to use rookie pitcher Bobby Korecky as a hitter in the 11th inning of the game; Korecky had only pitched in five major league games prior to this and had never had a major league at-bat. Nevertheless, Korecky hit the first pitch he saw into right field for a single, becoming the first Twins pitcher to get a hit in an American League game since the implementation of the DH rule. The inning ended with Korecky stranded at 3rd base with the bases loaded. Korecky ended up getting his first major league win in this game as the Twins won 7-6 in 12 innings.[19]

* On May 17, 2009, Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon incorrectly listed both Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria as third basemen in the starting lineup against the Cleveland Indians. Maddon's intent was for Zobrist to play at third and Longoria to be the DH. In the middle of the first inning, Cleveland manager Eric Wedge brought Maddon's error to the umpires' attention, and the Rays were forced to forfeit their DH, remove Longoria from the lineup since Zobrist played the top half of the first inning at third base (Longoria was available as a substitute since he never appeared in the game before that point), and bat starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine at Longoria's place in the order—third. This was the first time a pitcher was in the initial batting order in a game between two American League teams since the aforementioned Ken Brett. Sonnanstine went 1 for 3 with an RBI double.[20]

* On May 28, 2009, Minnesota Twins catcher Mike Redmond was ejected from a game in Minneapolis against the Boston Red Sox after disputing umpire Todd Tichenor's call on a close play at home plate. Because Minnesota's normal starting catcher Joe Mauer was in the game as the DH and no other catcher was available, Minnesota was forced to forfeit the DH position for the remainder of the game. The pitcher was replaced with a pinch hitter both times it came up in Boston's 3-1 victory.[21]

* On August 19, 2009, Oakland Athletics catcher Landon Powell was pinch-run for by Nomar Garciaparra in a game against the New York Yankees. Garciaparra stayed in the game at first base and designated hitter Kurt Suzuki ended up replacing Powell at catcher. The A's ended up forfeiting their designated hitter because of the switch.[22]

* On October 19, 2009, in the ALCS Game 3 New York Yankees designated hitter Jerry Hairston replaced left fielder Johnny Damon in the outfield in the 10th inning. This move forfeited their designated hitter and made the pitcher spot come up third in the 11th inning.

* On September 13, 2010, Tampa Bay Rays catcher Kelly Shoppach was replaced by pinch-runner Desmond Jennings after Shoppach was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the 8th in a tight pitchers duel between the Rays' David Price and the Yankees' CC Sabathia. Dioner Navarro moved from designated hitter to catcher to start the 9th inning, thereby sacrificing Tampa Bay's designated hitter. By the time the DH spot was due up to bat in the 10th inning, pitcher Joaquin Benoit was pinch-hit for by Dan Johnson, who singled to right field.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnoSLDmxjXc&feature=related#t=486Forfeiting the right to a DH