Chad Walters of Augusta-based Lean Blitz Consulting will analyze the history and deployment of the designated hitter in baseball for the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Central Savannah River Section dinner meeting on Tuesday, February 17th, 2015 at 5:45 p.m. at the Red Lobster at 440 Walton Way in Augusta. The event is open to the public. 

Walters, a business performance improvement consultant, will review the history of the designated hitter, use quality tools to analyze whether the deployment was a good idea, and evaluate the ramifications of its implementation. 

“The Designated Hitter is a controversial concept that split the rules of baseball between the National League and American League, and in no other major sports league does such an arbitrary rule division exist,” says Walters. “We’ll use modern quality tools to review the problem Major League Baseball was trying to solve with the DH and if it was successful in that pursuit.” 

Walters, a former consultant for the Atlanta Braves, has been writing about Lean and continuous improvement principles in small businesses and sports organizations for nearly two years on his Lean Blitz Consulting blog, covering topics such as Major League Baseball pace of play, the Ryan Braun steroid scandal, fan experiences at sports stadiums, sports equipment manufacturing, Augusta National Golf Club, and the designated hitter. Walters’s work has also been featured on ESPN.com, Deadspin, SBNation, and CNBC.com’s Sports Biz. Walters is the Chair of ASQ’s Quality in Athletics special interest group. 

The dinner meeting is free to members of ASQ and $10 for non-members. RSVP by email to Jerry Nations at [email protected] by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 16th to attend. Arrive by 5:45 p.m. on February 17th to place a dinner order, and ask the host for the ASQ meeting. Seating is limited for the event. 

To read Walters’s writing and learn about his work visit http://leanblitzconsulting.com.