Editor’s note: This column is written as part of a point-counterpoint. The other column, in favor of designated hitters, can be found here.

Here we are at the end of April. At this point in the MLB season, fans have already had interleague matchups, usually reserved for mid-May at the earliest. The American League pennant-favorite, the Los Angeles Angels, have already played the Cincinnati Reds of the National League. My Chicago Cubs have faced the Texas Rangers at Wrigley Field for the first time since 2002. Due to the Houston Astros switching leagues and making their AL debut this spring, MLB has adopted a more balanced interleague-play schedule, rather than cramming interleague play into May and June. This balanced schedule has left the Majors with a very unbalanced set of rules regarding the designated hitter. As a National League fan, I believe the time has come to do away with the DH. 

The DH was introduced in the American League in 1973, long before the 1997 season, when AL and NL teams began meeting in the regular season. So yes, big league managers have had to deal with these interleague headaches for 16 full seasons now. We’ve all seen DHs forced to play the field with dusty gloves and pitchers forced to fend for themselves at the plate that haven’t stepped in the box since the dead-ball era. Lineups can also get dicey in the NL, where managers have to scan their benches for an extra slugger that usually isn’t there. Until now, these early season nuisances have often been brushed off as quirks of the game. Now, with the Astros’ move to the AL forcing this even schedule, say it with me: Houston, we have a problem. 

It’s not difficult to point out the hypocrisy in the current DH situation. Imagine if NBA commissioner David Stern decided he is sick of watching Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin brick free throws night after night. After all, it’s bad for the game, right? Fans want to see points. He would choose to institute a new rule in the NBA: For any Western Conference game, each team can choose one player to shoot free throws or a “designated shooter” the come into play when a weak shooter goes to the line. Then we would have players like Steve Nash shooting for Howard, or Chris Paul relieving Griffin. But it’s okay. Western Conference house, Western Conference rules, right? No one would ever stand for an change like this, which highlights the flaws of the DH rule.

Designated hitters also give the American League the advantage of claiming high-value players, as they will have longer use for big sluggers late in their careers, being able to pay them more money as a result. When 33-year-old first baseman Albert Pujols signed a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels in late 2011, they topped the St. Louis Cardinals’ offer by roughly $40 million. 

Why could they do that? Because theoretically, they could still have him suitingup as a DH when his contract expires in 2021. It would take a super-human effort for Pujols to stay efficient at first base in the National League for the same amount of time, so it’s only natural for big sluggers like him and Prince Fielder to seek safety with American League teams. This slugger migration to the AL undoubtedly takes even more run production away from a National League that features pitchers hitting several times a game.

Like many midwestern kids, I played baseball growing up. Throughout long summer stretches, my traveling team would visit a different tournament every weekend. Some of these tournaments featured a designated hitter rule, showing the trickle-down from the pros. Now, I’m not saying I’m against the rule because someone stood in for me. Actually, I was a DH myself a couple times. But this rule reduces the opportunity for younger players to develop their batting skills, never letting the inexperienced get better. Taking the bat out of a kid’s hands is discouraging and unnecessary at such a low level of competition, and it does more harm than good.

The bottom line is Major League Baseball is gradually becoming one unified league. The significance of the separate leagues continues to be watered down, and with these changes comes the need for the DH rule to be addressed. 

Hall of Fame broadcaster and baseball historian Bob Costas said it best: “Baseball is simply a better game without the DH.”

Alex is a freshman in DGS. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aroux94.