ST. LOUIS _ I recently received a predictable email from a frustrated Cardinals fan.
"I bet you're just ecstatic now that the greedy agents and players' association has used the pandemic to blackmail the National League into accepting the designated hitter," it read. "Who cares if it's just another step in destroying the purest game ever invented by mankind?"
I get it.
As one of the few pro-DH voices in a National League city, I'm used to the debate popping up in my email inbox, my Twitter mentions and online chats at STLtoday.com.
A dissenter hasn't dropped by my doorstep yet, but I figure it's just a matter of time, just like it was just a matter of time before the NL welcomed the DH.
It appears there is a good chance that time is now, if baseball finds a way to return for a shortened 2020 season. Of all the things players and owners have to sort out for the 2020 season to happen _ salaries, coronavirus testing procedures, etc. _ there is a general consensus that the adoption of the universal DH will not be a significant speedbump.
NL players, including some pitchers, are in favor of adding the DH to the NL. And remember, it was the MLB owners who proposed the idea in its first pitch to players about what the 2020 season could look like. "Universal DH proposed by MLB is expected to be easily approved by players, who long favored the idea," MLB Network insider Jon Heyman posted to Twitter on Wednesday as discussions between owners and players continued. And don't forget what Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said at Winter Warm-Up.
"My answer keeps evolving every year," Mozeliak told Cardinals fans during his annual January Q&A. "To the point I start to get booed. But, I would imagine, in the future, that it has the potential to happen. As the game is starting to see more balance in the sense of where, we are already seeing the 26-man roster, I think you are trying to look at what interleague play might look like in the future, it would not shock me to see the DH in the National League."
An increased willingness to test out new ideas in what will surely be a wacky, short season if it indeed gets off the ground opened the window for the arrival of the DH even before the next collective bargaining agreement is negotiated after the 2021 season. It's going to be labeled a safety issue, but that's mostly bogus. It's because players want it, and because National League front offices want it more than they let on. And once it arrives, don't bet on it going away. Not every rule adopted for 2020 will return for 2021 and beyond, but this one will.
This isn't about taking a victory lap. Predicting the arrival of the DH was not a bold idea. It was simply reading the room. Personally, I think it's overdue. But you knew that. So, if you are a critic, or find yourself on the fence, here are some positives frustrated Cardinals fans should consider.
