Why baseball's National League should adopt the DH

Designated hitters don't ruin America's pastime — they make it more fun to watch

David Ortiz
(Image credit: Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Pitchers are terrible hitters. We all know it. Of course, it's completely understandable. Aspiring young pitchers are so busy perfecting their curveball, their grip, their form — and more, or course — that they just don't have much time to take cuts during batting practice. It's an understandably low priority. Nonetheless, for fans, having to dread at bats from the number-nine slot in the lineup only to suffer through watching pitchers crouch in an awkward stance, bat dangling somewhat askew, and then feebly swinging through fastballs that they stand no chance of hitting — well, it's really one of the worst things about National League baseball.

It doesn't have to be this way. It's time for the National League to yank pitchers out of the batter's box by adopting the designated hitter rule, just as the American League did all the way back in 1973.

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