Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday that owners are more open to adding the designated hitter to the National League than ever before. The NL game as we know it could be gone as soon as 2017.
According to Newsday, Manfred said that the idea of adding the position to the NL is gaining steam. There could be a vote on it by Dec. 1, when the current collective bargaining agreement expires.
“Twenty years ago, when you talked to National League owners about the DH, you’d think you were talking some sort of heretical comment,” Manfred said at the owners meeting in Coral Gables, Florida. “But we have a newer group. There’s been turnover. And 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, always respecting the history and traditions of the sport.”
The move would finally mean that all 30 MLB teams will have the same set of rules, complete with a DH to hit for pitchers in the batting order. Instituting a league-wide DH rule will also protect more pitchers from injuries.
The league-wide DH rule has also gained steam as the MLB schedules more and more interleague games during the season. Interleague games are now played every day, meaning that there is always an AL pitcher who has to suddenly hit when he usually doesn’t.
But in the NL, this change will be huge, as managers will have to figure out how to play a whole new brand of baseball with more offense.
Manfred also announced that the trade deadline for the 2016 season will be moved back a day. It will be on Aug. 1 instead of July 31, notes Yahoo News.
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