Baseball is back, but the DH is everywhere, and that’s awful

The designated hitter is here.

It wasn't a good idea back in 1973, when Ron Blomberg was the first ever designated hitter for the New York Yankees. The National League officially joins the American League with a hitter added to the lineup to bat for the pitcher.

It was something the players union wanted. It was not about enhancing the game, delivering fans more excitement at the park or saving pitchers from themselves at the plate.

Nope.

This was a selfish move that was all about them. Another big-salary job is the idea. Teams will pay loot for a home run hitter.

The Baseball Hall of Fame has a designated hitter. He was the second full-time baseball player to be in the Hall of Fame.

Being just a dh was frowned upon in the past. They didn't want you to be a butcher in the field because you didn't have a good glove. It didn't make fans or HOF voting-writers think about the greatest players of all time.

The person who has been around for a long time in the AL is the dh. The league felt like a beer league with game scores like 12-10 on the regular.

When the game was invented, the NL was true in the Senior Circuit.

Nine players hit the field. It was very easy. It was pure.

There was always a new strategy added to the NL game. There are more moving parts. The manager was able to manage, not just rearrange his junk.

NL games were about bunting, hit-and-run, and deciding to pinch hit for the pitcher.

The A? Everyone swings. Earl Weaver waited for the three-run home run. It made the game boring.

That is what we have now. The players are either hitting home runs or striking out. That is not baseball. Guys wearing pen protectors have never picked up a bat.

The 2020 MLB season was shortened to 60 games. I don't remember how exciting this is.

The move to have a designated hitter in both leagues has been applauded by many. Those people can't see the brilliance of a 1-0 gem pitched by a great pitcher, aided with a few key plays made behind him.

We get it. The Arena Football League is where you throw on every down. Matthew Stafford has never been an All-Pro and only made the Pro Bowl once in 13 seasons, but fans think he is a Hall of Fame quarterback. Football is more than just statistics.

Everyone in the NBA is crazy. Everybody jacks up three-pointers because three is greater than two. The game has changed so much that we only see dunks at the rim or 3-pointers. The game is close to extinction.

Baseball should not return to the stone ages. The game should progress and stay relevant.

The designated hitter is the least of the game's worries. The loss of the game at its most natural state is hard to accept. Will Little League pitchers not hit anymore? Will we have a generation of kids who never take the field, but just expect to get four at-bats a game and go home?

Let's hope not.

Only nine players appeared in 1,000 or more games at designated hitter over the course of the season. Frank Thomas and Paul Molitor are in the Hall of Fame. It wasn't their full-time job. In the games he played, Thomas was the designated hitter in only 56.42 percent of them. He played in the designated hitter spot just 43.76 percent of the time.

We will have to accept it. It isn't going away. We don't have to like it.