Universal designated hitter coming to MLB, meaning pitcher Joe Ross will go down in history
Whenever baseball starts up again, the universal designated hitter is here to stay.
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The American League adopted the designated hitter in 1973 and ever since then there has been a different style of baseball between the Junior Circuit and National League. It's still not clear if there will be a 2020 Major League Baseball season, but the one thing the owners and MLB Players' Association do agree on is that there will be a universal DH both this year and in 2021. Thus, it's all but a lock that it is here to stay and that makes Washington Nationals pitcher Joe Ross a historic footnote.
Technically, the last pitcher who was in the starting lineup to bat in a game was the Houston Astros' Gerrit Cole – the 2020 AL Cy Young favorite now with the Yankees on the moneyline odds at William Hill sportsbook – in Game 5 of the 2019 World Series in Washington (final two games were in Houston). In the top of the seventh inning, Cole struck out against Nats reliever Sean Doolittle.
Of course, pitchers on AL teams only hit for themselves in interleague games in National League parks. In addition, there are a pair of two-way players in the American League who could hit for themselves in 2020 and going forward when they also are pitching: The Angels' Shohei Ohtani and Rays' Brendan McKay.
Obviously, NL pitchers have been hitting for themselves forever – except for interleague games in AL parks. Thus, it's a little more notable that the final NL pitcher in a starting lineup to hit for himself would be the Nationals' Joe Ross, also in Game 5 of the World Series. In the bottom of the third inning, Ross struck out against Cole. Ross would be relieved before coming up again, and the Nats would use pinch-hitters/double-switches the rest of the way when the pitcher's spot was due up.
It's certainly possible that NL teams will use pitchers as pinch-hitters in extra-inning games, etc. For example, Arizona's Madison Bumgarner is a very good hitter. But no NL manager is going to just give up the DH and allow his pitcher to hit from the get-go. Thus, Ross' final at-bat is more historic than Cole's because Ross will be the last pitcher from the Senior Circuit to hit from the starting lineup.
The MLBPA wants the addition of the DH in the NL because that means one more high-paid player per roster. For example, the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera was due $30 million this season, the Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton $26 million and the Red Sox's JD Martinez nearly $24 million. Having the DH also allows some older players the chance to extend their careers by not having to play the field.
The current collective bargaining agreement between the owners and players is up after 2021 and since both sides agree on the universal DH until then (but not much else), it's essentially a done deal that it will be part of the new CBA as well.
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