A few days ago, I watched a baseball game on TV and a batter went deep in that game. That batter spends most of his career in the America League because he is a designated hitter during most of the time in his career. But now, with the universal DH rule, we can see several full-time DHs in the National League. While watching this player’s great performance on TV, I was just wondering which teams truly like the universal DH rule.
The 2020 season was a shortened one and the main reason for implementing the universal DH rule was because of health and safety protocols during the covid-19 pandemic. In the 2020 season, the Braves’ designated hitters had done a great job with an OPS over .900. Back then, Marcell Ozuna spent most of the season as a DH, and he had an OPS over 1.000. At the same time, the Twins’ DHs had an OPS over .900 as well. In 2020, Nelson Cruz was the full-time DH for the Twins and he crushed 16 home runs in 52 games.
Moreover, the Indians’ DHs, the Phillies’ DHs and the Mets’ DHs each had an OPS over .800 in 2020. It’s worth indicating that the Mets and the Phillies didn’t have full-time DHs in that season. 4 Mets’ batters each had 30+ plate appearances as DH in 2020 and 5 Phillies’ batters each had 30+ plate appearances as DH.
In 2021, pitchers had to bat in the National League. But, from 2022 to 2026, the universal DH rule was adopted as part of the collective bargaining agreement. Last year, the Angels’ DHs had an OPS of .854, highest among 30 MLB teams. Of course, fans certainly know the reason why. Shohei Ohtani had 660 plate appearances as DH in 2022 and he crushed 34 home runs. Furthermore, the Phillies DHs had an OPS of .844 in 2022. Bryce Harper spent most of his time as DH last season and he blasted 17 home runs in this role.
In addition, the Reds’ DHs had an OPS of .829 in 2022. Donovan Solano and Mike Moustakas each had 100+ plate appearances as DH last year. Moreover, the Astros won the 2022 World Series title and their DHs had an OPS over .800 as well. Yordan Alvarez had 300+ plate appearances as DH for the Astros and his OPS was over 1.000. Furthermore, the Dodgers’ DHs had an OPS over .800 in 2022. Justin Turner had 200+ plate appearances as the Dodgers’ DH. In the meantime, Max Muncy and Will Smith each had 107 PAs as DH. However, last year, Muncy’s OPS was below .700 as DH. When we look back at the 2020 season and the 2022 season, each season, there were 5 teams, whose DHs had an OPS over .800. Interestingly, among those 5 teams, 3 teams were from the National League. And, it seems that the Phillies’ DHs did a great job these 2 seasons. In the 2023 season, let’s see whether things will change. By far this season, Shohei Ohtani is leading in hits among designated hitters, which isn’t a surprise. But, among the designated hitters, Byron Buxton is the home run leader at this moment. Buxton already crushed 8 home runs.
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