When it comes to MLB and the universal designated hitter, the question is not "if" but "when."
Go ahead, purists. We'll give you a minute.
It's the direction the game is headed in, plain and simple. Pitchers pitch, hitters hit and never the twain shall meet.
That's the take of Major League Baseball Players Association head Tony Clark, who told reporters recently the notion of a DH in both the National and American Leagues is "gaining momentum."
The change also appears to have the tacit backing of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, who had this to say in 2016:
"Twenty years ago, when you talked to National League owners about the DH, you'd think you were talking some sort of heretical comment.