The lockout has provided several new rules in the next couple of years. Maybe the biggest rule change is the advent of the universal DH.
When the dust settled on the lockout there were a few things that everyone saw happening with the future of baseball. Expanded playoffs were desired by ESPN after the success of 2020’s expanded COVID playoffs. MLBPA rightfully sought ways to capitalize a player’s years on the field. Be it shorter arbitration years, shorter service years to get to free agency or other means, we knew this too would happen. Most importantly, there was none more obvious event going to happen than that of a universal DH. Besides extending the playing days of aging veterans, let’s look at how the universal DH could impact MLB moving forward.
What Was For AL Managers
In years past, the NL had a distinct advantage in interleague games. The AL DH bats had to sit or play a position they hadn’t played all year. Seeing AL pitchers hit provided some comic relief for the fans. Or, watching someone like Nelson Cruz, a DH by trade, suddenly having to reacquaint himself with LF providing coaches near panic attacks with every fly ball. The scramble to have the guys with big bats in the lineup created more headache than anything.
1999 Designated Hitters
1. Rafael Palmeiro
2. Edgar Martinez
3. John Jaha
4. Harold Baines
5. Jose Canseco
6. Frank Thomas
7. Luis Polonia pic.twitter.com/q5G6b3JtkA— Ranking Some Guys (@RankingSomeGuys) April 1, 2022
What Was For NL Managers
For NL managers, the filling of an extra hitter in the lineup wasn’t a huge obstacle to overcome. Options for bench players to serve the role of DH were plenty. Any given day, any player and fewer double swap scenarios; these days provided a manager fewer doses of ibuprofen. Legitimate DH guys in the veign of Edgar Martinez or David Ortiz didn’t exist on rosters playing just 20 games against American League teams.
What Is Coming
With the dawn of the universal DH, business in the NL will become similar to the AL counterparts. How much closer to the AL model DH hitter will NL teams employ? The Pirates have Daniel Vogelbach (who will play the majority of his time at 1B) while the Cardinals have their reunion with Albert Pujols. Meanwhile, the list of possible DH guys for every other team appears to be all based on matchups/day-off needs and who has the hot bat.
What We Get In A DH
As we turn to the universal DH era and the transition of rosters with multiple utility players, don’t be surprised when guys like Albert Pujols are no longer your everyday DH. Guys like Jake Fraley, Luis Torrens and Michael Chavis will be the DH of choice for the day. They aren’t 40-45 HR/year guys, but they have the hot bat. Guys like J.P. Crawford, Jazz Chisholm and Brandon Crawford will see games as a DH simply so they get a day off and can keep their bats in the lineup. New era, new way of thinking.
Big Read: The Blue Jays don’t have a traditional designated hitter. Instead, they can use that spot to give their stars partial rest days when needed. As the grind of their first 162 games unfolds, it could shape what comes next. (@bnicholsonsmith)https://t.co/mWXeYDCxdK
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 6, 2022
What Happens Now
Could a universal DH have kept Buster Posey from retiring? Will it keep Freddie Freeman in the National League for life? Will it prevent us from seeing Madison Bumgarner and Mike Hampton type pitchers that can rake? Whatever happens moving forward, rest assured that some guys will be able to extend their playing careers.
No matter how the universal DH plays out, we are going to see new ways to incorporate the HR hitters, the hot hitters, and the guys with limited mobility into the lineup. We’ll still get to watch guys ending their careers and return to the team their career started for a farewell season. And, most importantly, there will be an Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award handed out at the end of the year.
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