Manfred doesn't want DH rule change for World Series
Rob Manfred is fine with the status quo.
Major League Baseball's commissioner told reporters before Game 3 of the World Series that he doesn't like the idea of changing the designated hitter rule for the World Series - which would mean playing under the same rules for all seven games.
"I think the problem is picking what that one set of rules is," Manfred said, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN. "The National League plays without a DH all year. Their team is built to play without a DH. It's the opposite in the American League. And I think the competitive ramifications of picking a single set of rules would be significant."
The idea of using one set of rules was raised by Indians manager Terry Francona prior to Friday's game. With no DH for the middle three games of the World Series at Wrigley Field, Francona was forced to give Carlos Santana his first career start in left field to keep his bat in the lineup. Before Game 3, Francona expressed unhappiness at being handicapped by a rule change in the most important games of the season.
Related: Francona wants all World Series games to have DH
Manfred has often said he likes the two leagues having different rules, and it's in that spirit that he believes playing by the home league's rules for each game remains the most logical choice.
"Unless you're going to play by a single set of rules all year long, there's no way you can take the World Series and say we're going to use the American League rules or we're going to use the National League rules, because somebody is disadvantaged," Manfred explained. "Both teams - the National League team when they're in the American League park and the American League team when they're here in the National League park - have to make an adjustment."
The DH rule was first used in the 1976 World Series, three years after its implementation in the American League. From 1976-85 the rules were alternated in each World Series - the DH was used for all seven games in even-numbered years, while pitchers hit in the odd years, regardless of the home team - before reverting to the current rules in 1986.