A National Treasure
Baseball Needs to Keep the Tradition
I am a longtime Yankees fan, who for my entire 20 year life has watched the team play game after game under the American League's 1973 rule 5.11.
A hitter may be designated to bat for the starting pitcher
and all subsequent pitchers in any game without otherwise
affecting the status of the pitcher(s) in the game. A
Designated Hitter for the pitcher, if any, must be selected
prior to the game and must be included in the lineup cards
presented to the Umpire-in-Chief. If a manager lists 10
players in his team’s lineup card, but fails to indicate one
as the Designated Hitter, and an umpire or either manager
(or designee of either manager who presents his team’s
lineup card) notices the error before the umpire-in-chief
calls “Play” to start the game, the umpire-in-chief shall
direct the manager who had made the omission to designate
which of the nine players, other than the pitcher, will
be the Designated Hitter.
Year after year, CBA after CBA, the debate rages on: Should the National League adopt the designated hitter? Should the American League drop it? Fans of both styles of play have very strong opinions about it. As a fan myself, so do I.
We need National League Baseball.
Pure baseball.
Please understand that I am not suggesting that the American League should eliminate the DH. I enjoy the extra offense and the chance to see power hitters and offense in the lineup. But National League Baseball is real baseball. The game the way Babe Ruth played it. The way Don Larsen played it. The way Walter Johnson played it. The way it was meant to be played.
Why is it that pitchers, whom some people consider the best athletes on the field, can't hit their way out of a paper bag? Or successfully bunt their way on base? These people are obviously amazing athletes or they wouldn't be playing in the major leagues, so why can't they compensate? Managers have to make tough decisions on whether to leave them in the game and for how long? Bench players get more playing time as pinch hitters for pitchers. The game is overall better with National League baseball staying the way it is.
Yes, pitchers will get hurt. Yes, pitchers will continue to strike out. Yes, fans, owners, and others may complain.
But in the end, Bartolo Colon, Carlos Zambrano, and Madison Bumgarner should be allowed to continue to hit. There is an option for pitchers to go to the American League as free agents if they so dread wielding the bat, but for those pitchers above, as well as countless others who at least enjoy trying to get that elusive hit or occasional home run, why ruin the game?
Critics argue there are two leagues, playing by two sets of rules. And they are right.
That's what makes the MLB the best sports league. The NFL, NBA, and NHL have a unified set of rules, making their conferences and leagues identical, and therefore just for show. Don't turn the MLB into that as well. Don't cater to the "casual fan", who would probably be watching or doing anything else besides baseball were the option open. Don't cater to the generation of people too spoiled by an era of steroids and cheating, desperately begging for more offense.
Cater to the tradition and strategy that actually makes the game different, and makes the game interesting. Eight other players go up ready to clobber home runs over the fence, Make it so one actually has to bunt, has to swing the bat and barely get that blooper over the second baseman's head. Make Inter-League play more entertaining by letting the fans see pitchers hit, like we do now. Because in the end, baseball made a great decision in 1973 to adopt the designated hitter.
And the National League countered with an even better decision to stay out of it.
