LOS ANGELES — Help, I’m waffling!
I’ve always been a National League guy and a traditionalist, at least when it comes to baseball. My dad was born in Denver, but he raised me as a Cardinals fan. I loved ace Bob Gibson’s tenacity and athleticism. With a bat in his hand, he always strode to the plate with purpose, looking to do some damage. “Gibby” was good a hitter — for a pitcher — with a .career average of .206 and 24 homers. He even swatted two homers in World Series play.
But these days, it’s tough to find pitchers who can swing a bat with that much skill, let alone put down an effective bunt to move runners along. The Madison Bumgarners of the baseball world are few and far between.
So I’m starting to lean — gasp! — toward the National League adopting the designated hitter. Like a lot of fans, I’m getting tired of seeing empty at-bats from the No. 9 spot in the order; this from a guy who covers a lot of 3-hour, 40-minute games at Coors Field.
In the past, when defending the NL’s lack of a DH, I would fall back on two basic arguments.
One, with interleague baseball so commonplace, the DH is one of the few remaining things that still separates the NL from the AL.
Two, I’ve always maintained that the National League is the more strategic of the two leagues, with managers forced to look ahead at pitching changes, double switches and matchups.
“I love the National League game,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said at baseball’s winter meetings. “To me, it’s a more pure form of the game. It’s much more cerebral. I would hate for us to take away all that strategy and nuance and replace it with a DH. For a manager, there’s a lot more to think about in the National League.”
Yet the NL is the only place the designated hitter is not used. High school, college, the minor leagues and the American League almost always use the DH.
Two years ago, for their thoughts about the DH. They talked about concerns for injuries at the plate and on the basepaths for high-priced pitchers and the differences between building a team with a DH vs. without. One of the most telling quotes came from Oakland manager Bob Melvin, who managed the Diamondbacks from 2005-09.
“When I was managing in Arizona, I would have told you the National League style was better. I don’t know that I believe that anymore,” he said. “In the National League, a lot of times your pitching changes are made for you. If you’re down in the game, you have to hit. In the American League, you’ve got to know when your guy is done and when he’s not. Period.”
It’s hard to imagine Rockies manager Bud Black agreeing with that sentiment, because, like Maddon, he craves the late-game chess match. Although, considering how the Rockies’ bullpen has performed this season, that chess match has blown up in his face far too often.
I sense that there is a growing trend toward having a DH in both leagues.
“Twenty years ago, when you talked to National League owners about the DH, you’d think you were talking some sort of heretical comment,” commissioner Rob Manfred said during spring training. “But we have a new group (of owners). There’s been turnover.
“I think our owners, in general, have demonstrated a willingness to change the game in ways we think would be good for the fans — always respecting the history and tradition of the sport.”
It sounded as if Manfred was hedging a bit. Me? I’m starting to think the DH would be good for fans in Colorado and around the NL. Someone please tell me if I’m wrong.
