While adding the designated hitter rule to National League has always been a big topic of discussion for years, it wasn’t until the unfortunate Achilles injury to St. Louis Cardinals star pitcher Adam Wainwright being placed on the disabled list for the rest of the season, that it started to make headlines yet again.
With all of the recent changes being made around the league and other major rules and things being implemented as the years go by, such as play challenges. One of the biggest changes would be the addition of the designated hitter rule being added to the National League. Not everyone might be for it but when it comes down to it, having a franchise pitcher on your team it is a must that you keep him safe at all costs.
Bad enough they face their own types of major injuries while on the mound, they don’t need to be worried about facing that of the same when in the batters box or even running around the bases. Nothing is better than controlling both sides of the field as a pitcher and a hitter, but if the situation doesn’t call for the pitcher to be swinging a bat, then he shouldn’t be.
There’s a certain passion to being an all around baseball player, we’ve all learned it all while growing up and playing the game but if your job is to be the pitcher of a ball club, then there’s no reason for you to have a bat in your hands and getting ready to step inside the batter’s box. Unless, of course, those late extra inning games call for it.
With it being slightly possible that the league may make this big change, we decided to come up with these five reasons why implementing the designated hitter rule to the National League isn’t such a bad idea.