SB Nation reacts: Just say NO to the designated hitter?

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Each week, we send out questions to the most plugged in Diamondbacks fans, and fans across the country. Sign up here to join Reacts.

Talks of the return of Major League Baseball have been nonstop over the last few weeks. While discussions have been contentious between owners and players, there are some topics that will absolutely need to be addressed.

In the latest SB Nation Reacts survey, some of those issues were put to fans of the game.

With the game likely returning to a severely truncated 2020 season, there has been a renewed call to unify both leagues with the addition of a designated hitter in the National League. As a whole, baseball fans are ready for the DH to be universal.

The numbers are slightly skewed by the breakdown between leagues. Adding the DH was almost unanimous among AL voters. NL voters, on the other hand, had a slight majority against the change.

The fans of four NL teams voted in favor of the DH: the Reds, Cubs, Brewers and Braves, with the Cubs and Brewers tied for top at 59%, conclusive proof of their idiocy. :) I will be starting a petition to have them moved to the American League, effective immediately. Only 29% of Diamondbacks fans voted for the DH. It’s interesting that the five teams with the most opposition were all in the NL West, with none of them reaching even 30% support. The lowest outside of the division were the Phillies at 38%.

A change to the DH rule isn’t the only potential hurdle facing MLB rosters when they return. There has also been discussions of changing the roster size for teams – either increasing it to allow teams more flexibility around the unknown, or decreasing to give more control over the risks.

The active roster was already set to expand this year from 25 to 26.

Least important to actual game play, although potentially most restrictive, there also could be limits on what players can and can’t do on the field. This would include spitting, one of the favorite recreations for ball players of all ages.

For some, spitting is just part of the game, others see it as an ugly habit. However, in this time of increased germ awareness, a majority of fans aren’t ready to stop spitting.

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