Major League Baseball considers change to DH rule
Nicole Kelly
Issue date: 3/4/10 Section: Sports
Whether your favorite team plays in the National League, such as the Cubs or Cardinals, or in the American League, like the White Sox and the Twins, most baseball fans are aware of the role of the designated hitter.
Since 1973, when the DH was first instated to combat the great pitchers of the era such as Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson, there has been a divide among fans. Those rooting for teams in the National League, which didn't adopt the DH, thought that it was a cop out for pitchers who couldn't swing the bat. American League fans believed the DH was a great idea giving their pitchers time to rest their arm and letting their older team favorites stay in the game a bit longer. And fans aren't the only ones with an opinion.
"There are a lot of parts of the game that are really beautiful that you don't see that often in the AL. A lot of the offensive and defensive things you use to make or stop a single run," Tony LaRussa, the long time manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, said in an interview with ESPN. "You're forced to involve your overall roster. In the AL, you kind of get lost there for a while."
"I love the rule, not because it helped me out but because it's just part of baseball," six-time All-Star and White Sox legend Harold Baines who holds the record for most games, at-bats, and hits as a designated hitter, said in an interview with USA Today. "It has prolonged a lot of great players' careers and allowed some generations [of fans] to see them play that probably wouldn't have seen them if the DH wasn't here."
No matter what side of the fence fans are on, the issue of the designated hitter in MLB has not died in the last 37 years. There are coaches, players, and analysts on both sides of the debate and it looks like soon there may be some actual discussion between league leaders on the issue.
Baseball's commissioner Bud Selig has recently created a 14-member Special Committee for On-Field Matters to discuss pressing issues in the game, including the use of instant replay and most definitely the designated hitter rule. Selig has said there will be "no sacred cows," meaning nothing will be off limits for discussion in the committee.
Committee member Mike Scioscia, says he's "never been a fan" of the DH, even though he manages the American League's Angels. While Indians general manager Mark Shapiro, also on the panel, says "there should be uniformity" in using the DH, though he wouldn't say if he wanted to eliminate it or use it in the NL. Also, getting rid of the DH would have to be negotiated as part of the next collective-bargaining agreement and it would have to be voted on by the Players Union.
With spring training beginning in Florida and Arizona, baseball fans are already getting pumped for another season, no doubt continuing this debate on the DH. And whether the committee makes any kind of decision in the next few months or even years, it is clear that the issue of the designated hitter is a heated one among baseball fans and the flames don't seem to be dying down any time soon.
Since 1973, when the DH was first instated to combat the great pitchers of the era such as Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson, there has been a divide among fans. Those rooting for teams in the National League, which didn't adopt the DH, thought that it was a cop out for pitchers who couldn't swing the bat. American League fans believed the DH was a great idea giving their pitchers time to rest their arm and letting their older team favorites stay in the game a bit longer. And fans aren't the only ones with an opinion.
"There are a lot of parts of the game that are really beautiful that you don't see that often in the AL. A lot of the offensive and defensive things you use to make or stop a single run," Tony LaRussa, the long time manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, said in an interview with ESPN. "You're forced to involve your overall roster. In the AL, you kind of get lost there for a while."
"I love the rule, not because it helped me out but because it's just part of baseball," six-time All-Star and White Sox legend Harold Baines who holds the record for most games, at-bats, and hits as a designated hitter, said in an interview with USA Today. "It has prolonged a lot of great players' careers and allowed some generations [of fans] to see them play that probably wouldn't have seen them if the DH wasn't here."
No matter what side of the fence fans are on, the issue of the designated hitter in MLB has not died in the last 37 years. There are coaches, players, and analysts on both sides of the debate and it looks like soon there may be some actual discussion between league leaders on the issue.
Baseball's commissioner Bud Selig has recently created a 14-member Special Committee for On-Field Matters to discuss pressing issues in the game, including the use of instant replay and most definitely the designated hitter rule. Selig has said there will be "no sacred cows," meaning nothing will be off limits for discussion in the committee.
Committee member Mike Scioscia, says he's "never been a fan" of the DH, even though he manages the American League's Angels. While Indians general manager Mark Shapiro, also on the panel, says "there should be uniformity" in using the DH, though he wouldn't say if he wanted to eliminate it or use it in the NL. Also, getting rid of the DH would have to be negotiated as part of the next collective-bargaining agreement and it would have to be voted on by the Players Union.
With spring training beginning in Florida and Arizona, baseball fans are already getting pumped for another season, no doubt continuing this debate on the DH. And whether the committee makes any kind of decision in the next few months or even years, it is clear that the issue of the designated hitter is a heated one among baseball fans and the flames don't seem to be dying down any time soon.
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