By: Stephen Rausa
Everyone loves a hit by the pitcher, but is it worth risking the million-dollar career? Players are fighting for Major League Baseball to ban pitchers hitting and instead, enforce a universal designated hitter. A designated hitter (DH) is a hitter who takes the place of the pitcher when it is the pitchers turn to bat. The DH rule is only applied in the American League and was voted by the players association in 1983 to only have the DH in the American League.
During 2020 the Major League Baseball season was cut short to only 60 games, due to COVID-19. the National League adopted the DH but only for that season due to risk of injury. Players and coaches around the league were upset when they found out that the DH was taken out of the 2021 season, since the schedule went back to the full 162 games. It is easy to hurt your batting when swinging a bat and that is what worries managers so much. There have been multiple reports of pitchers being hurt during batting practice and even in games due to an over swing or simply being hit by a pitch. One bad swing and a pitcher could have his million-dollar career stripped of him. Many players are questioning if the risk of injury is worth it for the sport.
While many are wanting the Universal DH rule applied, there are players and fans who believe the DH should only stay in the American league. Fans have enjoyed watching a pitcher vs pitcher matchup occasionally, putting the DH role in place of that could make many people upset. People enjoy the history of baseball and taking the pitcher out of the lineup would be against its past time and would be sweeping the history of baseball under the rug.
The Universal Designated Hitter will be a topic that will be circulating around baseball for years to come, but when will it be enforced? How many pitchers must get hurt before enough is enough? These are the questions that are being asked. With the 2020 season having great reviews on the Universal DH, the MLB Players Association could be making some rule changes in the upcoming seasons. If you enjoy pitcher’s getting a hit here and there, embrace it because the Universal DH could possibly eliminate that depending on the future votes and the future player actions.
