Where is Bud Selig when you need him.
At the end of January, Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred flip-flopped twice in one week about a decision to allow National League teams to add a designated hitter to their rosters.
As reported by the New York Post on January 22nd, Manfred said that fans may see the National League adopt the designated hitter beginning in the 2017 season. Manfred said of MLB team owners, “We have a newer group. There’s been turnover. I think our owners in general have demonstrated a willingness to change the game in ways that we think would be good for the fans.”
A week later, a second New York Post article published on January 30th, Manfred recanted his initial position. After discussion of the pros and cons of adopting the National League adopting designated hitters, he conceded that the ”status quo was a heavy favorite to prevail.” In addition, owners’ payroll concerns could prohibit this change for the National League.
So which is it? C, none of the above?
Manfred weighed in about something which really is not his decision. The owners will renegotiate the collective bargaining agreement in December of 2016.
If a change is to be made, it will most likely happen at the end of this year.
Adding a DH to a team would not necessarily benefit the team. Furthermore, the key to winning in today’s game is pitching. Yes, a team must hit the ball to score runs or get on base. Defensive shifts and strategies are more often have a bigger impact on games. Paying a player to sit on the bench and only hit to counteract these defensive tactics would not be worth the money.
If the DH has a down year, then the team wasted its money. Teams want to get a big return on their investments. Changing for the sake of change, or to the level the playing field across the MLB is not worth it.
After all, the DH position makes each league unique, keeps interleague play and ultimately, the World Series, interesting,
Manfred and team owners should be more concerned with pace of game issues to win over younger fans. The best way to keep baseball the national pastime is to make it more palatable for today’s instant gratification generation.
The commissioner should focus on how to grow the popularity of the game. Find ways to gain new fans and maintain its current fan base. Burdening owners and operations staff with another position to fill is not the way to do it.
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