The National League won't adopt the designated hitter rule for 2019, but the players union still favors that change.
Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, told the San Francisco Chronicle this week, “We do believe that there is value to it, particularly where our game is."
The Athletic first reported early last month that the MLBPA had included the universal DH rule among proposed 2019 rule changes it sent MLB. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has expressed his desire not to adopt the DH in the National League. For now, at least.
The American League, of course, adopted the DH in 1973, a move still decried by some purists almost a half-century later. Clark said the universal DH rule won't happen in 2019, but he says he doesn't see the differences between the two leagues that once made the DH such a taboo topic for many fans.
“The games themselves, the style of games (between AL and NL), were markedly different," said Clark, who played in both leagues. "They’re really not much (different) anymore. The things that folks often pointed to that have differentiated the National League from the American League aren’t as pronounced as they have been in the past.
“So you talk about balls in play and pace and offense, it is a value proposition we’re looking at.”