Is The Universal DH Good For Baseball?
Well, well, well…this is a conversation that I had a very good feeling was going to pop up. With the COVID shortened season we saw the MLB amend the designated hitter rule to allow both the National League and the America League use the DH to hit for the pitcher. In 1973 the American League instituted the rule and from then on there has been a discussion around all baseball circles as to whether this is good for baseball or not. However, in this baseball atmosphere in 2022 I had a feeling this was going to happen sooner rather than later.
Since 1973 we have seen a lot of aging players take on amazing rolls as a DH where otherwise their career might have ended. We have seen a ton of hitters extend their careers because of this added position. Edgar Martinez, Paul Molitor, Frank Thomas, David Ortiz, just to make a few. Without this rule change we might have not been able to witness these great players come up in critical situations and flourish. This move was very controversial to baseball purists that think that pitchers are athletes just like the position players and should be able to swing a bat. They should be able to help their team offensively as well as defensively. This rule change is just another one added to the slew of other rule changes that a lot, myself included, of fans think are diluting the and trying to make it appeal to another generation. But that leaves the question, what about the game that the current fans grew up with and love currently? Well the other rule changes we will get into in another article. When it comes to the COVID season I think as baseball fans we were just happy to see the game we love and understood the changes just to have a season but going forward I think I can speak for most fans and say we didn’t like most of them but the DH rule I thought it was going to be an easy transition into a fully instituted rule.
Speaking of changes, it isn’t a secret that MLB has been wanting more offense in the game. We saw last season the rule come down midseason regarding the sticky stuff pitchers were using to create more spin on the baseball. Well this rule change is very much pro-offense. Most pitchers these days are horrible hitters with the exception of a select few. Add to that the influx of extremely good young talent there are more aging superstars that would benefit from this change so I had a feeling that the writing was on the wall. Teams in the National League having the ability to add another bat to their lineup is not only going to increase their run production as well as opening the door to more free agents that before this season were limited to only American League teams because they had the DH. For the purists that say that having the universal DH is going to dilute the difference between the American and National League is a rather poor argument. With the birth of interleague play the luster of two teams meeting in the World Series for the first time all season has become null and void. I hate to say it, this rule is here and isn’t going away.
Do I think this is a good thing? Yes and no. I consider myself a purest. I love the game I grew up watching. But I do love to see good players to good things. If there is someone in the line-up that can hit better than the current pitcher, then get him in the box. I also enjoy the fact that I can get to watch players extend their careers that I had become a huge fan of. I also think that with this change it will draw more attention and fandom to National League teams. Some folks would say that the more eyes on baseball the better and I would agree to a certain extent. I want the same game that I grew up watching and playing. But I do know that people change and to stay relevant the game must change but let’s work as a sports community let’s hope they don’t change it too much more.