Baseball History: Designated Hitter

As we prepare for the return of baseball, there will likely be a lot of strange happenings during the 2020 season.

One of the things that fans have been used to and debating since 1973 is the designated hitter rule in the American League.

However, when games resume in late July, the designated hitter will now be universal in the major leagues. Makes me wonder if one of my favorites, Michael Lorenzen of the Cincinnati Reds, will ever be listed in a lineup as P/DH? Should be interesting.

A passion of mine is reading about baseball history, so I thought that I would share some information that was discovered looking through a Baseball Digest from April of 1973.

New York Yankees designated hitter Ron Blomberg was about to become the first player used in the role when this edition of the magazine was on newsstands.

There were pro and con stories about the new rule, but the quotes from the players and managers that were with the articles made it fun to look back to the 1970s. Some of these could have been said by current players over the last few weeks. The debate continues.

“I think it’s great – it’s a change, and if there’s anything baseball needs, it’s change,” Joe DiMaggio.

“I’m not sure the rule will do what it’s intended to do, and that is produce more hits and runs. It gives the pitcher most rest and makes him twice as tough,” Mickey Mantle.

“It would benefit me. Most games are won in the late innings. I could concentrate on pitching and not worry about coming to bat,” Steve Carlton.

“It’s a joke. They’re taking away part of the game. Hitting is a challenge to me,” Clyde Wright.

“I don’t like it. It means taking another step against the pitchers – but I’m not sure it’s going to help the offense. It’ll help the most experienced clubs like Detroit and Oakland that have a lot of older guys sitting on their benches. A guy like Frank Howard might play forever,” Gaylord Perry.

“It’s legalized manslaughter. The only thing preventing pitchers from throwing at hitters now is that they must come to bat themselves,” Carl Yastrzemski.

“It will give jobs to a lot of men that are elderly and slow. They don’t hit .400 today and the pitchers even expectorate on the ball,” Casey Stengel.