Sounds like the DH is on its way...

[texasdave]

Major League Baseball has expanded its pool of postseason teams to 10 -- up from four just 19 years ago -- and next year will re-align into 15-team leagues that make for at least one interleague series all season long. But the biggest change of all may be around the next corner: the end of baseball as it was originally designed."I would be shocked if 10 years from now there's not a DH in both leagues," said one influential baseball source.

http://www.cnnsi.com/2012/writers/to...&sct=hp_t11_a2

[drowg14]

/quit

[Tadasimha]

Knew that it was coming within 5 to 10 years when MLB announced in 2010 that the All Star Game was going to have the DH from then on whether the game was in an NL park or AL park.

In 2013 all the interleague games will be played with the DH, then a few years after that all the playoff games in both leagues will have the DH and then a couple of years after that the NL will play with the DH for the regular season.

[[deleted]]

With Houston moving to the AL, it's inevitable, really. With season long interleague play, you simply can't be flipping between two sets of rules between each series. I love NL baseball and the intricacies therein, but it's worth remembering a few things: the DH has existed for, what, 30 years now? It's not exactly new-age, and basically every level of professional ball outside of the National League uses it. I think half of why people are opposed to it is tradition, but with the countless other ways the game has changed in the last hundred years I don't see it as too much of an issue.

Don't get me wrong, if I could choose between 'everyone has a DH' or 'no DH at all,' I would go with the latter. I get sentimental about it too, and fall into that "the NL is the last vanguard of baseball purity" mindset as well. But losing the designated hitter will never happen, and something has to be done to create a uniform set of rules moving forward.

[Larry Schuler]

In 2020, the AL will get rid of the 9 batter lineup and institute a 3 man masher crew, which will take turns attempting to hit painted targets in the field with varying points written on them. The first team to 1,200 masher points wins the inning and no one will ever have to field or run the bases ever again.

[texasdave]

The DH began in 1973. Baseball has survived just fine for nearly 40 years with two different sets of rules. My feeling is if you can't flip between two sets of rules between series, and honestly it doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine if the DH is going to be used or not, then simply do away with inter-league play. I will bet that if they just polled fans of cities with NL teams on this issue, that the majority would not favor adoption of the DH. I would think that would matter but in the end the DH is probably going to be shoved down our throats.

[DGullett35]

Personally i would like to see the DH removed from the A.L. so both leagues have the same set of rules. However if they want to use the DH in both leagues the sooner they enact it the better.

[nmculbreth]

Personally i would like to see the DH removed from the A.L. so both leagues have the same set of rules. However if they want to use the DH in both leagues the sooner they enact it the better.

Unfortunately it's one of those situations where the economics of baseball make abolishing the DH nearly impossible. I just can't see any scenario where the union would be okay with eliminating 14 starting positions, particularly when you've got a number of teams (Detroit comes to mind) that have made financial decisions based on the understanding that there would be a DH slot to put an aging slugger that can no longer play the field.

I prefer NL baseball but I can see the virtue of having a place to play the Yonder Alonso's of the world...

[Nathan]

I prefer NL baseball but I can see the virtue of having a place to play the Yonder Alonso's of the world...

And if the NL league had a DH, than there'd been no reason to trade Alonso.

[texasdave]

And if the NL league had a DH, than there'd been no reason to trade Alonso.

Of course if you don't trade Alonso you probably don't have Mat Latos.

[DirtyBaker]

DH just takes too much strategy out of the game, and for a sport as slow as baseball, playing armchair manager is what makes the game engaging. I can think of many other innovations that need addressed much sooner such as realignment or expansion of instant replay. Let the home team decide before we do away with it completely, but I'd much prefer to leave the entire NL alone or abandon the DH altogether.

[OGB]

DH just takes too much strategy out of the game, and for a sport as slow as baseball, playing armchair manager is what makes the game engaging. I can think of many other innovations that need addressed much sooner such as realignment or expansion of instant replay. Let the home team decide before we do away with it completely, but I'd much prefer to leave the entire NL alone or abandon the DH altogether.

I agree 100%. There is zero subtlety to American League baseball when yyou compare the two.

[joshua]

I hate the DH...but this will allow NL teams to bid as outrageously for their sluggers as AL teams do, since they can also park them on the bench when they get so old they can't move. AL teams don't take nearly the gamble NL teams do when they acquire big hitters.

[jwmann2]

I thought 15 teams meant more interleague play? That's what the Baseball Tonight crew was saying.

[brad1176]

I've got some wild speculation for you. MLB puts the DH in the NL, has interleague play all season. If/when it happens, would there be any reason to have an NL and AL? Couldn't there be just one league, top 10 records at the end of the season get playoff spots?