Embarrassing questions

Question
Hi,
I was a baseball fan as a kid, but now I want to get back into
watching the game. Since I am in Boston, it's hard to ask Red
Sox fans these questions with out getting laughed at.  Can you
help me with the following?

It seems there are players always being traded, is there one time
of the season for buying a trading new team members?

When are relief pitchers used and why are there so many?

Why have a DH (designated hitter?) and why does he not have to
field?

On game score boards, what are the other numbers for each
innings besides runs, and why are they important?  I see them
on TV too?

Thank you - this is a great website.

Answer
Jake,

It's always the right time to get back into baseball.  Welcome back!

Players can be traded at any time without any restrictions except for after July 31 until the season is over.  Trades after this date are limited by several complicated major league rules.

Relief pitchers are used when the manager determines the current pitcher is either tired, not effective, or not the right man for the job.  The use of relief pitchers has been increasing ever since the start of major league baseball (back in 1871!)

The DH was a rule put into place in the American League to boost offense.  Pitchers as a rule are poor hitters, so having a player who can hit helps make the game more interesting (or so goes the people who like the DH rule).

Scoreboards usually lists runs, hits, errors.  It takes hits and errors to score runs, so that's why they are shown.  But the key number is runs.  Who ever has the most runs wins.

Hope this helps!

Brian