Universal DH — Baseball Bench Coach

MLB has proposed a “Universal DH” once the season begins. For the first time ever, both American League and National League teams might have the ability to utilize a designated hitter in the lineup for all regular season and playoff games. When this proposed rule flashed at the bottom of the ESPN television screen, I didn’t think of it as earth-shattering. Then, last Sunday, I watched a series of MLB “World Series Game Sevens” and it struck me how much the DH rule has impacted the game over the last 50 years. In 1979, the Orioles hosted the Pirates in a Game 7 won by Pittsburgh. Trailing 2-1 in the sixth inning, Baltimore manager Earl Weaver summoned power hitter Lee May (aka the “Big Bopper”) to pinch hit, in what was only his second plate appearance of the entire Series! You see, May, one of the top designated hitters in the ’79 AL regular season, had lost his role in the Fall Classic because it was an odd-numbered year – what? Oh yes, for almost 50 years MLB has struggled with the inequities of having separate rules in its two leagues.

First, let’s explore some quick background. A designated hitter (DH) is a non-position player who replaces the pitcher in the batting order. Its origin dates back to the late 1960s when pitching dominated baseball with the likes of Gibson, McClain, Jenkins, and Marichal. Some ERAs were under 2.00 and only top batting averages neared .300. Trying to find ways to add more offense to the game, MLB in 1969 proposed a “designated pinch hitter” for spring training games. The AL teams embraced it, while the NL teams, their ownership often portrayed as traditionalists, refused. Finally, in 1973, Charlie Finley, owner of the Oakland A’s, spearheaded the American League‘s adoption of the DH rule for a 3-year trial period, a worthy experiment that has lasted now for 47 years. In 1980, the National League held a vote among its 12 teams to adopt the rule – 4 yes; 5 no; and 3 abstentions – the result being two leagues continuing to play under different rules. It’s the last time that the NL voted on whether to adopt the DH rule.

MLB has struggled with how to apply the DH rule when teams from the two leagues meet head to head. At first, with no interleague play, the only issue was the World Series. MLB opted for no DH in any of the World Series games from 1973-1975. Beginning in 1976, the DH rule applied in World Series played in even-numbered years (hence, the Lee May story). This practice lasted until 1986 when the DH rule was to be used in World Series games played in the AL ballparks only. AL teams built around the use of a DH gained an advantage when they hosted World Series games, while NL teams in games at their ballparks without a DH could take advantage of their pitchers having batted throughout the year. The home field DH advantage of course doesn’t always play out. Recall just seven months ago in Game 7 of the World Series when Howie Kendrick, a Nationals power hitter who had been shaky in the field during the Series, was inserted into the lineup as a DH in the Astros’ home ballpark. Kendrick delivered, a Series deciding HR!

With the advent in 1997 of interleague play during the regular season, MLB implemented the DH rule for interleague games played in the AL ballparks. More than anything it’s led to distinct styles of play in the two leagues and a never-ending dispute on the implementation of the DH rule in baseball. NL traditionalists contend that baseball should be played as a team game; all players must hit and field. It paves the way for managerial strategy, i.e., when to pinch hit for a pitcher, the double switch, and the sacrifice bunt. In their view, AL managers just have to roll out a lineup of sluggers trying to knock the ball out of the park. Supporters of the DH rule in the American League argue that its managers do have strategic considerations – whether to rotate the DH among bench players; employ a full-time DH; and/or give an everyday player a DH role from time to time, limiting his exposure to injury.

There are other considerations as well. Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes that the MLB is proposing the Universal DH rule for this season “in part to protect pitchers who will have to ramp up to pitch in a shortened second spring.” No doubt when play resumes managers will be careful about taxing their starting pitchers with long outings. With expanded rosters, we may see this season, more than ever, shortened starts with a barrage of relievers. With a limited number of top of the line pitchers available, why unnecessarily risk starters to injury while batting or running the bases? You might remember the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright tore his Achilles while running out a pop-up in 2015. And just last year, the Nationals received a scare when their ace, Max Scherzer, broke his nose while bunting in the batting cage.

Traditionalists have long contended that the DH rule takes away an important element in the game, the strategy of a sacrifice bunt. In March 2019 I watched the Seattle vs. Oakland series played in Tokyo. In the 12th inning of the opening game with runners on 1st and 2nd and no out, Jay Bruce of the Mariners stepped to the plate. When he fouled off the first pitch, there was a murmur of boos in the stands. On the next pitch he flied out to left field, never making an attempt to simply advance the runners. A cascade of boos could be heard; the Japanese fans couldn’t understand why a sacrifice bunt hadn’t been executed. Indeed, that is just not the type of baseball played in the MLB anymore. In 2019, NL teams averaged 35 sacrifice bunts for the season, while AL teams averaged just 16 per team, a reflection of pitchers at the plate in the NL. But think of those numbers in terms of overall games played, 162! Moving runners along with a sacrifice bunt has almost already become extinct. To put it in perspective, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, the active leader in career sacrifice bunts, had 108 at the end of 2019 placing him in a tie for 334th on the all-time list.

An interesting question is which teams and players this season might benefit from the Universal DH. A National League team, like the Reds, that didn’t have much offensive punch last season, will be able to insert one of their key off-season acquisitions, big hitting Nick Castellanos, into the lineup as the everyday DH without worrying about his outfield defense. Yet, the Arizona Diamondbacks, who signed Madison Bumgarner to anchor its pitching staff, probably won’t have that MadBum hitting advantage in his starts, but will turn to everyday hitters to DH. Since the MLB proposal includes regional scheduling (AL East and NL East teams facing off in the same division, etc.), perhaps American League teams that have been constructed to fill the DH slot on its rosters will have an advantage over their NL division counterparts. As such, you might see a late scramble by NL teams for players to fill the DH position. This would be welcome news to a player like Yasiel Puig, a big hitter who has yet to be signed.

Big boppers have filled the role of DH in the American League over the years. Players like Edgar Martinez, David Ortiz, and Jose Canseco, and a trio of White Sox stars, Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, and Harold Baines, have extended their careers due to their excellence at the plate. Many advocate the DH rule as a way to secure more jobs in the MLB for players whose fielding talents have eroded, yet the other side of it is perhaps the DH rule is taking jobs from younger players who can contribute in all phases of the game. Paul Molitor was an exception to the big hitter stereotype, a line drive, gap hitter who in 1993 became the first DH to win the World Series MVP. While Ortiz also captured the 2013 Series MVP as a DH, only Hideki Matsui of the Yankees in 2009 won a Series MVP while never playing the field during the season. Hall of Famers who have been a DH in 50% or more of their career games include Thomas, Martinez, and Baines. If the Universal DH is adopted going forward, that HOF DH list will certainly grow.

Over the last several Sundays, “Last Dance”, the story of Michael Jordan and the 1998 Chicago Bulls winning their sixth championship in eight years, captured the attention of sports fans. In the final episode you are left with the question “what if” the team didn’t break up after the ’98 season. Would there have been another one? My thoughts turned to the 1976 Reds, considered one of the greatest MLB teams ever, a team that recorded a perfect 7-0 playoff record and was crowned the MLB World Champions for the second consecutive season. In the ’76 World Series the Reds’ Danny Driessen became the first National League player to act as a DH in any game. He excelled, hitting .357 for the Series. The Reds, without the DH rule in place in the NL regular season, traded one of their foundation players and team leaders, first baseman Tony Perez, in the offseason, making room for Driessen as the everyday first baseman in 1977. The Big Red Machine of the ‘70s had been dismantled. What if?

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach