Latinos who took advantage of the designated hitter
But it also means extending the careers of players for whom it would have been more difficult to get jobs or be everyday lineup players.
Albert Pujols
The arrival of the full-time designated hitter in National League ballparks meant the return of Albert Pujols to his beloved St. Louis with the Cardinals, who in his first decade of his career will take him to the Hall of Fame.
Pujols will most likely be able to say goodbye to his career as an active player with the Cardinals, where he already lost the starting designated hitter role, but where he would never have reached if the rule had not been changed.
The Dominican is batting a poor .211 with 15 runs produced and four homers; two of which he hit on May 22 and the others in the first 10 days of a season as promising as a dream. His OPS is just .691 in 31 of the Cardinals’ 57 games this season.
Nelson Cruz
At 41 years of age, the situation would have been similar for Nelson Cruz, whom it was almost impossible to think could make it to the National League, where he incidentally began his major league career, as he has rarely played defense since 2016.
He had a complicated start with the Washington Nationals, in which he barely averaged .155 with the bat in the first month of the season, to then take off as he has been accustomed to all his life with averages of .318 in May and in his first six games of June, .389.
Cruz has a .255 average in 53 of the Nationals’ 58 games, meaning he has only missed five (important considering his age) with 29 runs batted in, five home runs and a .693 OPS.
In his 17 most recent games before Wednesday’s game, Cruz averaged .414/.493/.563 with six doubles, one homer, nine runs produced, one stolen base and nine runs scored. He’s hit in 14 of 17 games.
And in his previous four games, Cruz had eight hits in 16 innings with a double, home run, two hits, two walks and three homers.
Washington and its fans should be grateful for the all-purpose designated hitter.
Marcell Ozuna and Ronald Acuña Jr.
The Atlanta Braves have benefited from all angles of the universal designated hitter because even though Marcell Ozuna is supposed to be the starter, he has shared the position with Ronald Acuna Jr. to carry him gradually in his return after last season’s terrible injury.
Ozuna has opened 15 games as the designated hitter out of the 55 he has played with his Braves this 2022.
Acuna Jr. has lined out as the designated hitter in 12 of his 28 games since returning to action.
Between them, they have produced 38 runs for Atlanta and have combined for 15 homers.
In addition to the all-purpose designated hitter, the Braves have brought rookie William Contreras into the conversation and have also found room for him in bat-only lineups when All-Star Travis d’Arnaud is the starting catcher.
Contreras’ eight home runs and 16 runs batted in are no small feat.
