Anyone who got their hopes up last week about the designated hitter coming to the National League can let those hopes come right back down.
It's not happening anytime soon, commissioner Rob Manfred said in an interview with ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
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"The most likely result on the designated hitter for the foreseeable future is the status quo," Manfred said in an interview to coincide with his first anniversary as commissioner. "I think the vast majority of clubs in the National League want to stay where they are."
SPECTOR: Stop resisting the DH, National League
Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said last week that there is “momentum” for bringing the DH to the National League. Manfred later agreed and said it could happen as soon as 2017 when the next collective bargaining agreement goes into effect. Well, so much for that. In his interview with Crasnick, Manfred said he regrets the way his comments on the DH were perceived and joked that he should've been "way more negative" on the NL adopting the DH.
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He said he was merely weighing the pros and cons of the issue.
"(The DH) is the single most important feature that defines the differences between the two leagues," he said, according to ESPN. "I let myself get into the back and forth and the pros and cons, and that's always a mistake with the press."
