SAN DIEGO _ It didn't bother me, or thrill me, when the National League adopted the designated hitter this year.
Lately, things changed. I now love the DH in the NL, for one selfish reason: The DH is good for Fernando Tatis Jr., the most entertaining player in baseball, and what's good for Tatis makes Padres games more fun to watch.
In the team's recent stretch of 17 games in 17 days, the DH role allowed the highly active Padres shortstop _ who played barely half of his rookie season last year due to injuries _ to stay in the offensive lineup.
Getting a break from shortstop, if only now and again, should allow Tatis to maintain better concentration and health across the whole season.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Yes, it's only a 60-game sprint but Tatis is carrying a heavy load, both as a shortstop and the team's best offensive player. And with the Padres seemingly headed to the postseason for the first time in 10 years, having a healthy, fully charged Tatis would seem essential to the World Series bid.
Please don't allow Cal Ripken Jr.'s incomprehensible streak of consecutive games played to fool you.
Shortstop is an exhausting position. Even for Hall of Famers such as Alan Trammell, the mental strain of bearing down on some 150 pitches per game and directing the infield defense added up over a season and a career. Trammell, a product of Kearny High, said he was spent after every game.
"I'd sit on my locker stool for several minutes afterward, just to recover. I was gassed," Trammell said many years ago. "It was more mental than physical. It was the mental grind."
Utility infielders such as Tim Flannery have said that, in comparison to shortstop, other positions were a walk in the park.
Offensively, Tatis burns up energy like the fireworks exploding over San Diego Bay on the Fourth of July. His routine groundballs become close calls at first base because he's as eager as a Little Leaguer to beat the throw. Scoring from first base on a recent double, he looked like Secretariat.
Spot duty as a DH should keep his legs fresh, while also reducing his risk of injury.
We still get to watch him bat, the main attraction.
In his two games as a DH _ Aug. 15 against the Diamondbacks and Friday night against the Astros _ Tatis batted nine times. He hit a home run, a double and a single and drew two walks.
Afforded two semi-holidays by the DH, Tatis was that much more energetic in the finale of the 17-game stretch, the afternoon game Sunday.
He appeared turbocharged, such as when he zoomed into left field and kangaroo'd to snag a fly ball that perhaps no other shortstop would've gloved. The defensive gem was his second of the contest. As a hitter, Tatis recorded three good at-bats against ace Zack Greinke and began the winning surge with a leadoff single off a reliever.
