Designated hitter
Due to their specialized offensive-only role, the designated hitter is generally expected to produce above average offensive stats and production compared to other players who play defense.
It has been widely nicknamed the "Ohtani rule" as a nod to Shohei Ohtani, at the time a two-way star pitcher and hitter for the Los Angeles Angels who had sometimes batted for himself in the past, but had to leave games as hitter or move to another position on the field when relieved as pitcher due to the limitations of the old rule.
From 1973 to 1975, all World Series games were played under National League rules, with no DH and the pitchers required to bat.
Beginning in the 1986 World Series,[11] the DH rule was used in games played in the stadium of the American League representative.
During the 1880s, an increased emphasis on improving the specialized skill of pitching contributed to a decline in pitcher batting averages.
[17] In 1891, during negotiations surrounding the merger of the American Association and National League, team executives J. Walter Spalding of New York and William Chase Temple of Pittsburgh proposed competing ideas to eliminate the pitcher from the batting order.
[17] The idea of a designated hitter was raised by Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack in 1906,[4] however, his proposal received little support.
In 1910, Addie Joss stated, "if there is one thing that a pitcher would rather do than make the opposing batsmen look foolish, it is to step to the plate, especially in a pinch, and deliver the much-needed hit.
"[17][18] Nevertheless, in the late 1920s, National League president John Heydler made several attempts to introduce a 10th-man designated hitter as a way to add more offense to the game.
[17] However, Heydler's proposal was not adopted as an official rule change, and he advised teams to have pitchers bat during spring training in order for them to prepare for the regular season.
[21] After the season, in order to increase offensive output, the height of the pitcher's mound was reduced from 15 to 10 inches (38 to 25 cm), and the upper limit of the strike zone was lowered from the top of a batter's shoulders to his armpits.
[17] Like other experimental baseball rule changes of the 1960s and 1970s, the DH was embraced by Oakland Athletics owner Charlie O. Finley.
On January 11, 1973, Finley and the other American League owners voted 8–4 to approve the designated hitter for a three-year trial run.
[17] On April 6, 1973, Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees became the first designated hitter in MLB history, facing Boston Red Sox right-hander Luis Tiant in his first plate appearance.
[31] Prior to the meeting, Harding Peterson, general manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was told to side with the Phillies however they voted.
The final tally was four teams voting for the DH (the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Diego Padres), five votes against (the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, and San Francisco Giants), and three abstentions (the Phillies, Pirates, and Houston Astros).
[32] Five days after that meeting, the Cardinals fired their general manager, John Claiborne, who was the leading proponent for the adoption of the DH rule, and the National League never held another vote on the issue.
[17] In 1986, the rule was changed to implement designated hitters only in World Series games in which the home team was from the American League.
[17] As time passed, the designated hitter rule enabled American League managers to employ diverse strategies in setting their teams' lineups.
[35] In January 2016, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred indicated that consideration was given to the National League adopting the DH for the 2017 season, when a new collective bargaining agreement would take effect.
[20] At least one of the proposals released during negotiations between MLB and the Major League Baseball Players' Association (MLBPA) regarding the 2021 season's rules included the so-called "universal DH," but an impasse led to a temporary return to National League pitchers hitting in that year.
[45] The rule was ratified as part of a new collective bargaining agreement with the MLBPA on March 10, 2022,[46][47] after which both leagues have continuously employed the designated hitter.
Hideki Matsui (2009),[53] David Ortiz (2013),[54][55][56] and Jorge Soler (2021)[57] were the only other designated hitters to win World Series MVP.
Soler was also the only DH to win the award while a member of a National League team, having played for the Atlanta Braves in their World Series-winning season.
[4] Critics have argued that use of the designated hitter causes asymmetry by separating players into offensive and defensive specialties akin to American football.
In the National League, a manager had to decide when to let a pitcher bat or remove him, as well as whom to pinch-hit and where or if that player should take the field afterward.
Hall of Fame members George Brett, Carl Yastrzemski, Paul Molitor, Harold Baines and Edgar Martínez continued their careers longer than they ordinarily would have without the rule.
Prior to the introduction of the universal DH, interleague play added a new wrinkle to the controversy, as the AL team always had the advantage.
[76] The decline of pitcher Chien-Ming Wang due to an interleague game injury has been cited in support of the designated hitter.
The cast was removed on July 29, but the extensive rehabilitation process prevented Wang from being an effective pitcher afterwards at the major league level.
