Luckily, the Red Sox aren’t stuck playing nine games in a row at National League ballparks, like they were last season, robbing them of their designated hitter and forcing Ortiz to play the field.
All American League teams have to deal with the inconvenience of playing without a DH when they travel to NL ballparks this year, which is a little complicated, when you think about it. Next year, however, it will become even more complicated when the Houston Astros move to the AL to balance out the leagues. Because both leagues will have 15 teams — instead of 16 in one and 14 in the other as it is now — there will be interleague play on an almost-daily basis to.
That means, what is now a small headache for managers looking to shoehorn an extra slugger into their lineup will soon become a full-blown migraine. Unless, the leagues decide to iron out their differences and agree to both adopt the DH — or abolish it entirely.
How should the designated hitter be used during interleague games?
