It’s becoming widely accepted that the National League’s adoption of the designated hitter rule is inevitable, but one NL manager thinks that the American League should be taking a page out of their book.
St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt thinks the AL should let pitchers hit, as he feels it’s a “better game” that way.
Mike Shildt on whether he’s looking forward to the universal DH: “I’m looking forward to the American League adopting the National League rules. That would be so fun. I’m going to start a petition for that…Just a better game — plus our pitchers can hit.” pic.twitter.com/8IqODjwGoh
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) March 4, 2019
Unfortunately for Shildt, his talk is going to fall on deaf ears. Reporting continues to indicate that the universal DH is probably going to happen someday, and beyond that, the designated hitter rule has extended or enhanced the careers of the likes of David Ortiz, who would have had a harder time without it. Plus, Cardinal pitchers may be able to hit, but they still hit just .148 in 2018, and some people aren’t really into that.
