Universal DH

[baconbits11]

Quote: Originally Posted by soxfanbs91

Essentially, yes. An NL pitcher is half a player really.

Hmm, An AL DH is half a player too..

[TheDarkKnightRises]

Quote: Originally Posted by Houston

Not sure if this has been posted are if anyone here aware , but you can setup a custom league with DH on for both AL and NL teams. We have been using this route since the game came out. You only have 1 division in custom leagues and theres no NL or AL but can play with friends etc using the universal DH your own sliders etc.

Yeah you can turn on the DH in franchise and online custom leagues but not in exhibition mode. It honestly makes no sense they don't let us turn that on or off for exhibition mode. MVP Baseball had the option to do this 15 years ago and yet we don't have it today on a much superior game.

I'm holding out hope that they fix this mistake by the time the abbreviated season starts with the DH in both leagues. I'm definitely not holding my breath though knowing Sony.

[Juzbee]

I think this is a great topic, one that has been debated since the DH was implemented. I was only 4 years old when the DH started, and I live in an American League city, so I grew up liking the DH. However, through the magic of the old "Superstation TBS" carrying nearly all the Atlanta Braves games each year, I watched a lot of NL baseball and I enjoyed the contrast between the two leagues. Watching NL games was like seeing a different brand of my favorite sport.

What bothers me now is that MLB has been pretending since 1995 that there are two separate leagues. There are not. They were combined into a single entity known as "Major League Baseball," and major changes happened. Each league previously had had it's own president and office, and operated as an independent unit, each with their own umpires and rules. Despite what MLB would have us think, there are NOT two leagues. There is one league with two conferences, much like when the NFL and AFL combined in football. Keeping the lack of DH in the NL was purely a way to placate fans, and nothing else.

Next thing that bothers me is that the rules for 2020 baseball, including the DH and playoff format are really just ways for MLB to sneak their agenda in through the back door. My opinion is that if things are back to the "Old normal" in 2021, the changes will stick. That's just a hunch. But I have been sour on the consolidated "MLB" since Bud Selig managed to pull it off, and then went forth and ruined a lot of parts of the game into crap, such as interleague games (tired concept) and his nearly unilateral demand for all new stadiums, when some of the classics (Tiger Stadium, Old Yankee Stadium) would have been good to keep with renovations and maintenance. Thankfully we still have Wrigley and Fenway.

Sorry for the long rant, but my summation is that MLB has been purely money driven and not fan-centric for 2 decades plus now, and we are forced to eat what we are fed because we love the sport of baseball, between the lines, as much as we do.