It was the venerable catcher from the film “Bull Durham” who once told Annie Savoy: “I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter.”
It didn’t take a legislative initiative to get rid of the former, but now, it appears, Major League Baseball might be doubling down on the latter, as reports say the DH could become universal. And soon. It’s just one of several alterations to the old ballgame that were suggested in talks between baseball and the players’ union. These suggestions included a lone trade deadline, a pitch clock and draft penalties for losing teams to deter tanking — but the two biggies were the DH and a three-batter minimum for pitchers.