Universal DH Coming Because Rob Manfred Is Clueless
It seems the only thing MLB and the MLBPA could agree upon is the universal DH. Of course the one thing they can agree upon is the one thing which does nothing to help baseball.
The DH will not increase fan interest. It will not correlate with higher ratings or ticket sales. We know that because the AL regularly trails the NL in ratings and attendance.
We will see no appreciable increase in offense. It was the case in 2019, and it was the case again in 2021. The NL averaged 4.46 runs/game, and the AL averaged 4.60. That’s 4-5 runs per game with or without a DH.
Pitchers also got injured pitching because that’s how pitchers get hurt. Sure, someone will bring up the extraordinarily rare example and make it out to be the case across every pitcher for every team.
In the end, the universal DH will not increase fan interest, runs/game, or limit pitcher injuries. However, it will anger and annoy a core of diehard fans who love baseball the way it should be played.
That makes this a typical Rob Manfred decision.
Pitchers don’t get any extra money for being good hitters, so few work on it. They can’t even bunt anymore. Good riddance!
I see it that this whole problem with the CBA lies at the feet of Rob Manfred decision-making. He has an Ego with power. For one thing I believe he has pushed the owners into the lock out plus putting of meeting between both sides for over a month.
The DH has it purkes but having pitchers hits also make manager strategy more.
Yeah pitching being automatic out and also getting hurt is great.
^ this
I, too, was a baseball purist, but the time has come. Well said.
Someone apologize to Zack Greinke and let’s move on from pitchers swinging a stick.