Column: With DH shelved, another year of hapless NL swings

ATLANTA (AP) — Get ready for another season — hopefully, the last — of the most hapless act in sports.

Pitchers trying to pass themselves off as hitters.

Pity those like Atlanta phenom Ian Anderson, who's not exactly looking forward to stepping into the batter's box for the first time since the 2019 Double-A season, when he went 0-for-15 with 11 strikeouts.

“I think my first at-bat was my hardest hit and it kind of went downhill from that," Anderson recalled. ”I haven’t hit in quite some time. So don’t expect too much.”

It didn't have to be this way. Major League Baseball and the players union could have come to a reasonable compromise that allowed the designated hitter in both leagues, as they did during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

But, of course, the two sides managed to botch the talks. Now, the DH isn't expected to come up again until next winter, when it will be part of the knock-down, drag-out brawl over a new labor agreement.

For National League pitchers, that means it's back to the batting cage to work on their feeble swings.

“Hitting a round ball with a round bat is already hard enough," said NL MVP Freddie Freeman. “To give guys a whole year and a half off from doing that — and they're not good hitters anyway — is going to make it even worse.”

His advice?

“Just try to hit the ball,” he said, chuckling, “and if there's a guy on first, bunt him over. That's all I've got.”

There's still a slight chance to avoid this farce before opening day, but MLB has no plans to make another offer to the union, so it looks like the DH will be used only in the American League this season.

Leave it to baseball to go back to a dual, unnecessary system that is totally out of touch with the times and only favored by the handful of...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Column-With-DH-shelved-another-year-of-hapless-16004225.php