Make the universal DH less universal
Let's create more offense by taking away some of the designated hitters. Plus, the new schedule format gives MLB a chance to make history -- and not in a good way.
TOP OF THE FIRST
Central question: Will we have a division champ with a losing record?
The Minnesota Twins entered play on June 9 at the top of the AL Central standings — and below .500.
There is a real chance we will have a division champion in MLB this season with a losing record — a first. This would also give us the first losing team to make the playoffs in a full season.
Because every team is playing three games against every team from the other league this season, teams will play only 42 games (26 percent) within their division. That is down from 76 games (47 percent) within the division in previous seasons.
The fewer games played within the division, the greater likelihood of a division champ with a losing record.
I see it as a flaw, but I think the powers that be at MLB see it as a feature.
To me, a team with a losing record earning a playoff spot devalues MLB’s marathon regular season — twice as long as any other major sport in North America.
How important can these games be if you don’t even have to win half of them to be eligible to play for the World Series title?
HEART OF THE ORDER
Tweaking the designated hitter rule
(All statistics through June 12)
In many ways, Nelson Cruz was exactly the type of player that proponents of the designated hitter rule had in mind when it was adopted for the American League 50 years ago.
Almost 43, Cruz has never been anyone’s ideal as a fielder. His most memorable moment with the glove was misplaying a fly ball into a triple in the 2011 World Series that helped the Cardinals come back and beat the Rangers.
And that was the idea. Instead of having the pitcher bat, generally an automatic out, you could use a good hitter, likely a player who had aged into becoming a defensive liability or was always one.
For a long time, Cruz could really rake. From 2008 through 2021, he compiled an OPS-plus over 100 every season. He is a .274 career hitter with 449 homers and an OPS-plus of 130.
But those days, it seems, are behind him. This season he is hitting .238/.270/.381, which is in line with his 2022 slash of .234/.313/.337.
It is also in line with what the Padres designated hitters — he shares the duties primarily with Matt Carpenter — as a group are doing — .235/.304./417. with an OPS of .721.
Weak numbers
And lest you think the Padres are an outlier when it comes to weak DHs, they are not.
There are 11 teams with DH OPSs below .700 (the league average for all hitters this season is .728)
The Mariners’ DHs are hitting a robust .150. They are one of four teams whose DHs are hitting below the so-called Mendoza line — .200.
Certainly, the second coming of Mario Mendoza was not what AL owners wanted when they decided to give the DH rule a shot all those years ago.
Moving on
I am a traditionalist, so I did not want the National League to adopt the DH. Yeah, I know the argument about you had different rules in the two leagues. It couldn't continue — except it did for nearly a half-century.
I liked the strategy brought about by having the pitcher bat — or rather the strategy brought about by the pitcher’s spot in the order coming up because pitchers seldom batted after the fifth inning.
DH proponents always derided this aspect: Oh, it’s so exciting. Will the pitcher strike out or hit a weak grounder?
But there was much more to it. Do we leave our starting pitcher for a while longer or do we try to get some runs now? Is this the right time to use my best pinch hitter?
Then there were the double switches to give your top hitters off the bench more chances to hit and keep the pitcher’s spot as far from coming up as possible.
Without that, the strategy goes from driving a stick shift to almost autopilot. It’s not chess to checkers, it’s chess to tic, tac, toe.
I remember Tom Kelly, the Twins manager, was asked about handling the double switches before Game 3 of the World Series at Atlanta in 1991. He laughed off the question and said it was "right up there with rocket science." While Kelly handled all the double switches all right, managing under NL rules proved to be a challenge. In the 12th inning, Kelly was out of bench players, allowing the Braves to intentionally walked the Twins’ best hitter, Kirby Puckett, and loaded the bases.
That forced Kelly to use pitcher Rich Aguilera, a .203 lifetime hitter who hadn’t batted in the majors in more the two years, as a pinch hitter for fellow pitcher Mark Gutherie. Aguilera actually hit the ball decently, lining out to Ron Gant in center. The Braves scored in bottom of the inning to win, though Kelly and Twins wound winning the World Series in seven games.
Anyway, I’ve moved on. The NL pitchers helped usher in the change by hitting a record-low .103 in 2021, the last year the NL was without a DH.
Technically the change is only through 2026, but I know the DH in the NL is staying.
Possible solution
How about if you don’t have someone you want to use as a DH, such as Shohei Ohtani or Bryce Harper or J.D. Martinez, you can just go with an eight-player batting order.
That would probably give you an extra plate appearance for each hitter in the top half of your order.
Also, if you have a nine-player batting order, you can use a DH instead of having any position player hit.
Say your starting Germán Márquez on the mound. Instead of having your weak-hitting shortstop bat, you have a DH bat for him and let Márquez, who hit .264 in 55 at-bats in 2021, bat.