Say goodbye to sacrifice bunts (NL adopting the DH rule in 2022)

truebluela ^ | Feb 11, 2022 | Blake Harris

[MinorityRepublican]

On Thursday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the designated hitter is expected to be coming to the National League in 2022.

Whether or not you’re a fan of the move, it’s certainly the end of an era. Personally, I will welcome it with open arms as it will certainly benefit the Dodgers. They’ll be able to shuffle guys in the lineup and get guys off their feet.

With that being said, there is one thing in particular I’ll miss more than anything. Clayton Kershaw’s sacrifice bunts. Not only was Kershaw the best pitcher of the last decade, but he was arguably the best bunter.

Seriously, nobody did it better.

[MinorityRepublican]

Central League in Japan still forces their ptichers to hit.

[Fiji Hill]

No interleague play other than the World Series ***What would that get us?

A World Series that pits two distinct leagues, each with its own traditions and culture, against one another--the way the Super Bowl used to be when it featured the American Football League against the National Football League.

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No playoffs. The winningest team in each league goes to the World Series
***The only time I pay attention to baseball and basketball is during playoffs. AFA I’m Concerned, the SFBay area Giants vs. A’s was the best World Series EVER, because it got interrupted by the Loma Prieta earthquake.

Eliminating playoffs would insure that the best team would go to the World Series. No "wild card" team with a mediocre record would get there by suddenly getting lucky in the playoffs. By the way, I disagree on the best world series EVER. That would be the 1963 World Series in which the Dodgers beat the Yankees four straight--which no team has done since.

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No baseball after Halloween ***Why?

All sports seasons are too long. Baseball is a spring and summer sport that should conclude at the end of Indian Summer. In addition, there should be no football after New Years Day, no basketball after May Day, and most certainly, no ice hockey after the summer solstice.

[Kevmo]

Good enough for me, if it helps revive baseball as a watchable sport.

When I was a kid, we would argue all the time about stupid rules. We couldn’t play real baseball, we had to give the guy 3 swings at pitches to strike out. Then one day I put up a garbage can and the rule was if it makes it inside the garbage can, it’s a strike.

We called it Garbage Ball. It was amazing how many times after we implemented the new rule that I got on base.

[Night Hides Not]

Baseball remains a "major sport", only because they have no competition during the season, and too many of us baby boomers who grew up with Mantle, Mays, Koufax, et al have not held MLB accountable, by not attending games.

I've got an 11 YO grandson who loves baseball, drives his mom crazy thanks to playing select baseball. He'll start his second season in the spring. I'll take him to a Rangers game this year, and he's got his parents and uncles to take him, too.

O/T, I was thrilled when I learned he chose 24 as his uniform number. I thought all of my stories about Willie Mays had an impact. LOL, he shut that down quick! "Opa, that's Corey's number!!!" Referring to Corey Kispert, now with the Washington Wizards. Five minutes after he was drafted, my grandson ditched his Luka/Mavericks gear for Wizards gear...lol.

[lurk]

The DH corrupts the game. Yes, pitchers are notoriously poor hitters, but the NL game brought about all kinds of creative ways to live with it.

[libertylover]

Why not? I guess because I’m a traditionalist.

[Alberta's Child]

In addition to the fewer games on the schedule before the 1960s (154 vs. 162), one of the big reasons MLB seasons were much shorter in those days is that teams played a lot of doubleheaders. During the 1940s it wasn't unusual for a team to play in 30 or more doubleheaders in a season, which means a 154-game season was effectively played on only 124 calendar dates.

The heavy scheduling of the doubleheaders wasn't exactly a good thing for baseball, though. For the most part, the teams that scheduled the most doubleheaders at home were the ones that were terrible or had difficulty drawing fans for other reasons.

[Alberta's Child]

I've got an 11 YO grandson who loves baseball, drives his mom crazy thanks to playing select baseball. He'll start his second season in the spring. I'll take him to a Rangers game this year, and he's got his parents and uncles to take him, too.

You're kind of making my point. I'll bet that kid won't be sitting down on a political website when he's your age, complaining about the sacrilege of the DH rule in MLB. LOL.

[MinorityRepublican]

For the most part, the teams that scheduled the most doubleheaders at home were the ones that were terrible or had difficulty drawing fans for other reasons.

If you have to schedule a doubleheader or two, it might make sense to do it so you have a game at 12, then the second game at 6 pm. So you could have two gates. Ideally, you would do it on a Sunday. Then you have Monday off so you can use that as a travel day, if you are on the road.

[minnesota_bound]

Get rid of the cgi animation showing the strike zone, line of the ball when hit.
Same for football. Stop with the video games and speed up the play.

[dainbramaged]

I remember Tommy John hitting a grand slam home run many years ago.

[MinorityRepublican]

that kid won't be sitting down on a political website when he's your age, complaining about the sacrilege of the DH rule in MLB.

Not at all. But he's more likely to be a casual fan. He'll go to the ballpark a couple games a year. Maybe watch the World Series.

Back then, you would listen to the games on the radio. Then if you were a Braves fan, you would catch all the games on TBS. I bet their ratings are not what it used to be. Different era then. More entertainment options nowadays.

[Jacquerie]

You’re right.

Homosexuality and regular season interleague play are equally unnatural and abhorrent acts.

I was a lifelong Braves fan but dumped it all when MLB introduced politics and went woke a few years ago.

[muir_redwoods]

The DH is a crisp rule. Align the two leagues by simply taking the pitcher out of the hitting line-up. An 8 man line-up is more than adequate.

Or go back to the original rule and stop screwing around with a great game.

[scrabblehack]

Wpw - he was close to the Mendoza line than Mendoza was.