National League needs to adopt the DH
Adam Wainwright gingerly left the field at Miller Park Saturday night after getting hurt while running to first base during a St. Louis Cardinals win over the Milwaukee Brewers. It is likely the last time baseball fans will be able to see Wainwright in uniform during the 2015 season, after multiple reports have stated the Cy Young award winner will be sidelined with an Achilles/ankle injury.
Wainwright, 33, may never be the same pitcher again if he tore his Achilles. That specific injury is brutal to return from, and when he does come back, Wainwright will be 34 years old and waging a battle with Father Time on a different front. In the final analysis, this injury could have happened to anybody. But it didn’t. It happened to one of the best pitchers in baseball, and it could only happen in a National League ballpark.
This devastating injury crushes the Cardinals and begs the question, what is taking the NL so long in adopting the Designated Hitter?
The American League took on the new position in 1973, with the New York Yankees’ Ron Blomberg being the first man to ever take an at-bat in the role. Since then, there have been countless terrific hitters who have thrived in the space, whether for the majority of their careers or at the tail end. David Ortiz and Edgar Martinez are the first two who come to mind, both who should be in the Hall of Fame one day. Then there are men like Harold Baines, Frank Thomas, Jason Giambi and Eddie Murray, who all added to career totals as hitters only.
Adding the DH would make sense on multiple levels. For the Major League Baseball Players Association, it would mean keeping high-priced players in the game for longer periods of time, helping to boost financial averages. The move would also cut down on injuries to pitchers, another benefit for all parties involved.
Lastly, and most obviously, the two leagues would finally be playing under the same set of rules. Imagine if the National Football League proposed having two set of rules for the AFC and NFC. People and pundits would justifiably go insane. The Super Bowl? Let’s see where the game is being held, then determine our rules. Sounds like a great plan.
Commissioner Rob Manfred is in his first year and has some clout to make sweeping changes. Manfred needs to act in the best interest of not only his players, but of the fans. Who wants to watch a pitcher come up with the bases loaded and two outs? Wouldn’t you rather see someone who can actually hit? Baseball already has a rap for being old and boring, inflexible to change. Show those people they are wrong, and give the NL fans some more excitement.
Baseball is always behind the times, with the incredible exception of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. It’s high time baseball gets a clue, makes the rules standard and the game more fun.
