Dodgers: Andrew Friedman Does Not Expect the DH to Return in 2021
The funny part about the rule changes instituted in 2020 is that they might not be a part of the plans for the future. The Dodgers certainly understand the frustrations of that being a National League team.
The universal designated hitter was one of the biggest changes coming to the NL, along with a few of those other quirky rules. Planning for 2020 was on incredibly short notice though, and only those teams who happened to have a slugger in their organization were at an advantage with the new rule. The Dodgers were sort of one of those teams, though it didn’t show in the stat line.
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As it turns out, no one really knows what’s going to happen in 2021 either. That includes Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman. Speaking with MLB Network Radio, he admitted that there was too much uncertainty to know how to prepare. But as he sees it, the plan is to assume that there will not be a universal DH next season.
I think it’s hard to prepare for that. I think it’s going to make roster construction a little trickier for National League teams because I think as of now, we have to assume that there will not be[a universal DH]. But obviously, things can change, and there’s so much kind of up in the air right now.
American League teams have a little bit of an advantage in terms of the uncertainty. The AL will have the DH no matter what, so they can prepare their rosters accordingly. Teams from the NL adding a big bat that cannot play the field could prove to be detrimental should the rule revert back to pre-2020 rules. That being said, the Dodgers probably weren’t going to add a bat that can’t play the field anyway.
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Having $20M pitchers bat against 100 MPH pitchers is ridiculous. Maybe they should put in a new rule where each team has to play a random fan from the stands. Let the players do what they do best, I’d go a step further, and allow the defensive team be different than the offensive team like football.
I hope Friedman’s right. Get rid of the DH. Get back to real baseball. Manfred wants to appease the players union by expanding the number of players in the game. There should be 9 players actively playing on a baseball team. Period. Have 7 and 8 hitters who can actually hit and let pitchers bunt to advance them. If the need for runs is critical in tight game, yank the pitcher, bring in a pinch hitter, and go to the bullpen. Pinch hitters and releivers deserve to play too. Too many games are home run derbies. Balls are still flying out of parks at historic rates. Pitchers are at enough of a disadvantage. At least let them pitch to each other. One out of nine easy outs doesn’t seem excessive to me. Besides, I kind of like to see Bumgarner take those massive swings. He may not connect often, but he gets his money’s worth. I’d rather see the occasional hit from a pitcher than the endless parade of strikeouts by the other 8 guys all trying to jack the ball out of the park.
DH is about the only manfred idea I like but Murphy’s law says that’ll be the one he doesn’t stick with somehow
That’s just crazy talk. You’re not a real baseball player without both offense AND defense. With the exception of pitchers of course. But hell, I think the game’s more competitive without the DH. Making all pitchers bat adds a challenging and entertaining element in my opinion.
Having to watch Pitchers bat is BORING! The DH speeds up the game and increases OFFENSE!!!
Keep the DH. Can the Commissioner.
When this year’s pandemic hit, everyone’s thinking went wild including MLB. Rob and his mob found a way to wiggle the DH into effect hoping to again change the game. But next season we go back to ‘normal’ and that means No DH in the senior circuit.