Wainwright: 'I like the game a lot better with no DH'

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright isn't a fan of pitchers potentially not getting to hit beyond the 2021 season.

"... I like the game a lot better with no DH," Wainwright told The Athletic's Jayson Stark.

Major League Baseball successfully experimented with a universal DH throughout the truncated 2020 season, and the league is expected to discuss switching to it permanently during collective bargaining talks with the players' union this year.

Each team using a DH added offense and bought a new level of excitement to the game in 2020, but Wainwright believes it's still fun to see a pitcher get a hit or take someone deep.

"... I want us as pitchers to be so good that they rethink the rule change," Wainwright said.

The veteran is one of the few hurlers around the big leagues who holds his own in the batter's box. He owns a .199 batting average with 10 homers and 71 RBIs over 772 career plate appearances.

Right-hander Madison Bumgarner of the Arizona Diamondbacks might be even better than Wainwright.

MadBum has accumulated 19 homers, 18 doubles, 62 RBIs, and 40 walks throughout his career. He was even deployed as a pinch hitter while with the San Francisco Giants.

Wainwright thinks their combined success at the dish could make people change their minds about introducing the full-time DH, saying the two need to "step our game up."