February 17th, 2022 at 9:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka Last week, I posted a photograph on Twitter of future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw laying down a perfect sacrifice bunt – something he is (was) exceptionality good at. The text in my tweet was: “Man, I’m gonna miss this. #sigh,” and its intent was – I thought – rather obvious: that with the Designated Hitter rule (presumably) coming to the National League, we would no longer get to see the soon-to-be (on March 19) 34-year-old Dallas. TX native and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2006 out of Highland Park High School in University Park, TX dropping down absolutely perfect sacrifice bunts.
Here is that tweet:
But as often happens on the popular social media site, there was a comment to my tweet that was, quite frankly, complete nonsense:
…or was it?
Now, I will be the first to admit that I cannot fathom even current MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred ever offering such a ludicrous proposal, let alone the MLB Players Association ever agreeing to it (or vice versa). Then again, it is Rob Manfred we’re talking about here – the guy who wants to reduce the Minor League Domestic Reserve List from 180 to 150 after the 2022 season.
All of this said, I do not believe that we will ever see a DH for anyone other than the pitcher.
…at least not if they want to keep this lowly blogger a loyal fan of the greatest game on the planet.
Play Ball!
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Posted in 
It will not be surprising to see the current rule modified to allow the DH to be used for other position players. Teams with very good hitting pitchers (Angels Ohtani, Braves Max Fried, Mets Jacob DeGrom) could elect to use the DH for another position when a good hitting pitcher is in the game. When another pitcher enters the game the team would then have the flexibility to use a pinch hitter.
I guess it could happen, but I hope it doesn’t … at least not in my lifetime.
it’s ludicrous. being able to pull the pitcher without regard to the batting order is checkers v chess.
i have often argued against the droll “removes the weakest hitter” claim. if that were truly the intent then the pitcher would not always be the correct answer and it should be left to the manager to decide which player would be removed from the line up. if our CF has an OPS+ of 45 (CB35), maybe that would be the better choice. the angels would have been better off sitting Fletcher while batting Otani.
furthering that argument, if it’s all about generating offense, why not have an O line and D line like they do in football? fill the field up with guys like Kevin Newman, & Michael Tucker, while building an O line of guys like Soler, & Osuna. of course guys like Machado and T Turner can play both ways but if you want Trout’s legs and Betts’ back to last the length of the contract, maybe less days in the field would do them good?
ya, it’s silly but it’s a slippery slope for an witless argument.
Fundamentally, I am a baseball purist — I have loved the game the way it had been played for generations and saw no benefit to changing the character of a beautiful game. But from the time the AL permanently added the DH it was only a matter of time before it would become a universal rule — the Union would never go backwards, and younger fans seem to love the added offense, not appreciating the strategic nuances of the original game.
Jesse
I too am a purist.
Having grown up with the DH in the AL only, I grew to tolerate it. The best thing being the leagues were two separate entities.
With all the rule changes coming, and that insanely ridiculous playoff proposal, I won’t be a fan of this great game much longer.
My advice (for what it is worth), do not allow any one to separate you from the love of the game. I try not to allow my frustrations with the business of baseball to take away from the fundamental beauty of the game. Where many are focused only with the outcome of the World Series, I enjoy every game I watch. Having played the amateur game for so many years, I am blown away by the talent of those who play at the highest level. How major leaguers make turning a 6-4-3, or 5-4-3 double plays into a ballet of timing and athleticism, or a centerfielder sprinting at full speed then a perfectly timed jump to rob an opposing player of a home run puts aside all frustrations with the business. And, on top of every thing else, there is the almost magical quality of being a Dodgers fan — there is nothing else like it in sports.
Perhaps not in our lifetimes, but someday I can envision baseball will have teams run out both an offense and a defense.
Wow! Never thought of that. It would be just like the NFL.