The universal DH is coming to Major League Baseball eventually.
It’s lamentable for all those of us who enjoy watching pitchers hit and celebrate the differences between the National and American leagues. But hitting and pitching at the big-league level in this era are too hard to expect people to capably be able to do both, and it’s a rare issue on which the MLBPA and the league might actually find common ground: Adding 15 more DH positions means more jobs for veteran hitters, and removing pitchers of their hitting duties reduces the risk they injure themselves at the plate or on the basepaths.
Don’t tell that to Zack Greinke. Or do. He probably doesn’t care what you say one way or the other, and he’s just going to clobber dingers until someone tells him he can’t. The D-backs ace went deep twice in his win over the Padres on Tuesday:
Greinke has long been one of the Majors’ best hitting pitchers, but the first homer Tuesday marked his first in a D-backs uniform and his first since 2015. His teammates gave him the silent treatment upon his return to the dugout, but arguably no one in baseball more appreciates the silent treatment.
It’s… perfect. Zack Greinke didn’t really want to talk to you anyway. What a hero.
The homers were the seventh and eighth of Greinke’s big-league career, and it was his first ever multi-homer night. He also struck out 10 Padres over six innings in Arizona’s 8-5 victory.
