Bud Selig needs to go ahead and make this happen; the National League style of baseball is antiquated and does nothing to help a game that is struggling to grasp the attention of the younger generation, but I digress.
According to a story via Brett Logiurato of Sports Illustrated, the MLB commissioner was speaking at a press conference before Game 4 of the World Series, when the topic arose after the Boston Red Sox was faced with the difficult decision of leaving one of their most dangerous hitters on the bench because of the absence of a designated hitter in the NL.
Selig didn’t shoot down the notion of implementing the DH in the NL, but he didn’t make it sound like it would happen soon either.
“I’m the only one left who voted in 1972 for the designated hitter,” Selig said, according to MLB.com. “So here we are now, 41 years later. And I often worry about that. But my friend [Phillies chairman] Bill Giles once said to me, ‘You know, I like the controversy between the leagues. I think it’s good.’
“Having said that, I did say three or four years ago that I had strong feelings on [expanded] instant replay. And, like everything else in life, you make adjustments and I now have somewhat different feelings.
“So I’m never going to say never to anything. But at the moment is there anything going on? No. If somebody has something to say, I’m glad to listen.”
Not only does the NL style of play slow down a game that is slow enough already, but it also puts American League teams at a significant disadvantage when they have to adopt the rules of the older league.