My father, in anticipation of an upcoming battle between his beloved Phillies and the despised Bronx Bombers, reflects on the two religions within American Baseballdom: American and National Leagues.
The great spiritual divide between the two comes down to advent of the designated hitter. It is, in simplest terms, a heresy:
First, the DH is the beginning of a new covenant, breaking with the rules(Photo: Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera caught spitting suspiciously close to the ball)
and traditions of the 'old' covenant. A misguided attempt to fix something
that is not broken and which will both raise and dash hopes for redemption:
the hope that this one magical position, who floats above but doesn't
inhabit the field of play, will redeem everyone's destiny. A "position
player" who doesn't have a position. And it creates disparities and
turbulence throughout the rest of the line-up. Pitchers who don't hit,
hitters who don't field. The basic rules, the underlying infrastructure of
the universe is being tampered with
But this DH redeemer will come only if you believe. It's a position based on
faith, not action.
The previous (rejected) paradigm holds that the true redeemer will emerge
from among the populace; in every generation the redeemer will be revealed
as coming in the form of a different person, not someone "designated" ahead
of time. Could be a back-up catcher, a rookie second baseman, an
over-the-hill pitcher. The fundamental logic and structure, the basic weave
of the game is intact.
