
You wouldn’t have to imagine Hunter Pence as a designated hitter. He already played that role during his time with the Texas Rangers last season and even earned an All-Star selection.
But what about Pence as the DH … with the Giants?
Another idea that has been laid on the table for the future of MLB is to implement the universal DH, according to The Athletic's Jim Bowden. While we wait to see if the 2020 season will be played, all 30 clubs and the Major League Baseball Players Association have said the shortened season could be the perfect time to experiment with such things.
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The AL had its first DH on April 6, 1973, when Ron Blomberg stepped up to the plate for the New York Yankees. A revolution to platoon positions in baseball was born.
This notion of implementing this across the league isn’t about whether or not it’s a good idea. If it happens, there’s nothing we could do about it but embrace the chaos. For the Giants, this means many options that could come to fruition -- and good ones at that.
For starters, we mentioned Pence. He could get plenty of action there and wouldn’t have to worry about any type of transition. He’s ready.
Yasiel Puig was in talks to become a member of the Giants. This could place him in the outfield or he could be a DH candidate, freeing up space, making less competition for Mike Yastrzemski to have a well-deserved spot out there.
There are also plenty of defensive gloves to handle the responsibilities with Steven Duggar and Billy Hamilton.
It could create a positive for Alex Dickerson, who missed a chunk of last season following a hot July where he couldn’t stop hitting the ball. He would be less of a target for those injuries if he didn’t have to deal with the wear and tear of the outfield. When he was gone, he was missed.
Posey has been on a slight decline at the plate, but if he were to be able to have a break from squatting behind it, it could take the edge off for him to play a role to concentrate more on hitting.
Maybe even Pablo Sandoval. Why not? Let’s get weird.
Giants fans aren’t ready to say goodbye to any of the veterans yet, and this is a special way to keep them around for longer than we’re used to.
After taking a small poll on Twitter, however, most orange and black fans aren’t ready for the change quite yet.
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Not every team is blessed with a Madison Bumgarner who could shove on the mound and lift a ball over the fence. The Giants also don’t have to worry about that now that he’s with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Sorry, too soon.
With all that, it appears the Giants could be one of the teams who could benefit most from this.