MLB’s lack of universal designated hitter rule leaves modern game out of tune

DETROIT -- Pitchers have been batting for as long as baseball has been around. Periodically, though, something fires up the debate over whether Major League Baseball should adopt the DH in the National League. But while St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright is the latest to suffer an injury during an at-bat, that shouldn’t be the primary reason behind reconsidering the rule.

The American League did away with the practice of requiring pitchers to bat in 1973, creating the designated hitter position. National League teams are at somewhat of an advantage for interleague play, but the requirement that pitchers must hit can also be a momentum killer. So, are they really at an advantage?

When NL teams come to the AL for a series, they lose what has become an almost sure-out from their pitcher, and gain a batter off the bench who will, in all likelihood, give the team some measure of added offense in the lineup. The same can’t be said for AL teams visiting the NL, but that’s the way it is, leaving managers with limited options: bench a power bat for the entire series or put them in the lineup as a position player on the field.

“I don’t get overly concerned about it because you can’t control it, you have to hit,” Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said of interleague play. “Pitchers have to hit, hopefully they’re in a situation where they’re just bunting. Often times we have them taking a strike, but there’s no reason to lose sleep over it. If it’s gonna happen it’s gonna happen.

“We prepare them, we hit with them ahead of time, they do rotational warmup exercises before they hit. We try to avoid injuries as much as possible, but sometimes you just can’t control it.”

If baseball never adopted the DH in the NL, everyone would survive. Heck, this has been going on since the game started and we even got the golden age of baseball out of it. Some would point out that there is more strategy in the NL, including Ausmus, who said he prefers the NL style for that reason. And some pitchers simply like to hit, or aren’t shabby at it, including San Francisco Giants starter Madison Bumgarner and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Zack Greinke.

“It seemed like it was organizational,” Ausmus said of his playing days in the NL. “The Braves always had pitchers that could hit, the Cardinals always had pitchers that could hit. I don’t know if certain organizations put more emphasis on it with their pitchers but it makes a difference.

“Pitchers in the National League who take pride in their bunting and their hitting can make a difference in how many wins they get, as an individual and as a team.”

Be that as it may, the NL could benefit more from a player whose only job is to hit, which would also offer protection for pitchers against injury. After Sunday’s announcement that Nationals starter Max Scherzer would likely miss his next start due to a right thumb sprain sustained during an at-bat, Scherzer advocated for the inception of the DH in the NL. The injury, while not the origin for the statement, served as a catalyst. Scherzer also raised the question of who fans would rather see at the plate -- him, or David Ortiz?

In today’s age of everything digital, fans want to see home runs, extra base hits, and walk-off celebrations -- often from the comfort of their own homes and cushy couches. What they don’t want to see is a pitcher striking out against another pitcher in a key moment, one that could turn the tide of not just a game but an entire series, and potentially a trip to the postseason later down the road.

For some AL teams, the loss of their DH isn’t as significant when their hitter is struggling, can play another position in a pinch, or doesn’t carry a decent amount of power in his bat. But even the first point is dependent on timing and a DH doesn’t necessarily have to hit for power in order to hit the ball well. For clubs with players who strictly DH for one reason or another, like the Tigers or the Boston Red Sox, their options are increasingly limited. Victor Martinez and David Ortiz, both designated hitters for their respective teams, are strictly hitters for specific reasons.

Martinez, who played first base and catcher in years past, had his second knee surgery in the 2014 offseason, forcing the Tigers to shut his position-playing days down for health reasons. In the case of Ortiz, his defense leaves much to be desired, keeping him permanently tied to his bat alone. It puts managers in a position of suddenly being without a large part of the team’s offense, but with the lack of a DH in the NL, there’s not much teams can do about it.

“Well that’s the rule,” Francona said. “Kinda hard not to hit when that’s the rule. ... I don’t think you can just change the rule because a guy got hurt in an instance. I’m not necessarily a fan of the difference. Because we play interleague (games) so often, I think the interleague (play) can be a little bit unfair for both teams. Probably more so for the American League because our pitchers never hit, and we’re built to have a DH and then you lose him.

“I’d like to see some of that changed but not necessarily because of (injuries). Things are going to happen all the time.”

What was one an absolute resistance to the idea of a universal DH in baseball is no longer a novel idea as it once was. With baseball attempting to reach out to a younger generation, one that MLB feels it’s been losing for some time, adding a DH to create more offense -- home runs, double, triples -- has the potential at solving more than one problem at once. At least, it’s one of the possible outcomes.

But for now, the AL is stuck adapting its own style of baseball to fit that of the NL during interleague play. And that makes team managers like Francona “nervous” when their clubs are required to play against teams from another league. Nervous because not only do teams lose an important part of their offense, but it puts their starters at risk for an injury that’s entirely preventable.

Whether MLB reviews and eventually adapts the DH in the NL shouldn’t come about as a result of two injuries, though. Much like pitchers who are injured by comebackers on the mound, things happen. Players understand and accept the risks that sports are inherently dangerous.

Baseball is intrinsically slow to alter course for a centuries-old game. Eliminating the requirement that pitchers take their turns at the plate is not a decision to be reached flippantly. Wainwright isn’t the first pitcher-hitter to be injured during an at-bat, and in all likelihood he won’t be the last, but it may have served as the ultimate spark.

The notion to keep a pitcher in the lineup isn’t just odd anymore, it paints the picture of a disjointed game lacking fluidity. Scherzer, for as much as he enjoys hitting, would rather do away with the NL rule to create symmetry throughout the game. MLB wants more offense and faster games to appeal to a younger generation, but on the topic of eliminating a position that prevents both, crickets had been chirping.