Among the spate of rules being discussed recently, it was broadly assumed that making the designated hitter universal across both leagues was one of the most likely to gain quick approval. The players were for it and it seems like an easy fix to baseball’s flagging offensive stats.
But all you purists can stop clutching those pearls, as Commissioner Rob Manfred said Friday that the National League will continue letting pitchers embarrass themselves at the plate for at least three more seasons. Manfred has tabled the discussion until the next collective bargaining agreement is negotiated at the conclusion of the 2021 season, choosing instead to focus on pace-of-play measures.