DH = Dumbest thing in baseball.
I am a baseball traditionalist and had opposed the DH for the National League since its inception,
mainly because it takes away strategy.
But I support it for the NL now because it puts the only baseball league I have ever rooted
for at a
disadvantage, such as when visiting AL parks for inter-league
games. They stock their
roster for 9 hitting positions plus pitchers. The NL stocks theirs for 8 hitters plus pitchers, so we
have to use a sub, not a regular in that case.
Even more because it puts the NL at odds, not just with the AL, but with college ball, minor
league ball and most international ball. The only other baseball league in the world which
has not adapted to the DH is in Japan.
Pitchers in the NL are at a great disadvantage because all of their previous training does not
include batting in a game and then they suddenly have to do it in the most Major of leagues.
I won't say "If you can't beat them, join them", but I will say "If you're the only one out of
step, you need to correct it, like it or not, in order to compete".
The DH may be the 'dumbest thing in baseball" (with which I agree), but it is nearly universal
and boycotting that is like sticking your hand in the sand.
When refrigerators became universal in the 1940's, the one house on the block which still
used an ice box would be in a world of hurt wondering why the ice man no longer showed
up and their food was spoiling, even if they didn't like paying the rise in their electric bill.