’HIRO RUNS INTO
Hurts both hammys, ignites NL-DH debate
It appears as if Masahiro Tanaka has been Chien-Ming Wanged. Quick, someone get Hank Steinbrenner on the phone. It’s been practically 10 years to the day since Wang suffered a season-ending foot injury running the bases in Houston in June 2008, prompting a public tirade from the Baby Boss about the risks of pitchers hitting and running the bases during interleague play — that was far more reminiscent of his outspoken father George than anything we’ve heard from his more reserved brother and the current managing general partner of the Yankees, Hal Steinbrenner.
And now, Tanaka was pulled from the opening game of this year’s Subway Series against the Mets after reaching on an error and scoring the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Aaron Judge in the fifth inning of Friday’s 4-1 victory for the Yankees in Queens. The Yanks later announced that the $155 million righty left the game with stiffness in BOTH hamstrings, adding he will be reevaluated on Saturday.
So perhaps it’s not solely the Mets’ fault with all of these injuries, after all. Maybe it’s Citi Field! But maybe, just maybe, once again, the folly of the National League still not adopting the designated hitter — which the American League has employed since 1973 — finally needs to come to an end.
“As I sit here now, yeah, I’d love the DH everywhere,” Yanks manager Aaron Boone admitted after his team improved to 41-18 on late homers by Brett Gardner and Giancarlo Stanton. “I’d be in on that, especially with our team, and just how our roster’s built and how our team is built. I’d love it all the time.”
I offered the same opinion on this topic last month, soon after the Mets largely had dodged a bullet with Jacob deGrom, who fortunately missed just one start after suffering a hyperextension of his pitching shoulder on a swingand-miss against the Braves on May 2.
But Hank Steinbrenner embarked on this crusade a decade ago, when Wang — a 19-game winner for the Yanks each of the previous two seasons — suffered a partially torn tendon and a sprain in his right foot while rounding third base and hobbling home on an RBI single by Derek Jeter during an interleague game in Houston.
“My only message is simple. The National League needs to join the 21st century,” Steinbrenner said the day after Wang was injured. “They need to grow up and join the 21st century.
“Am I (mad) about it? Yes. I’ve got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. He’s going to be out. I don’t like that, and it’s about time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s.”
On Friday night, Tanaka had held the Mets to no runs after Brandon Nimmo’s leadoff homer in the first inning, striking out eight through five. He still trailed, 1-0, when the Yanks’ starter reached on a bobble by first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Two batters later, the bases were loaded when Judge lifted a sac fly to right, with Tanaka scampering home and scoring without a slide just ahead of Jay Bruce’s throw with the tying run.
Still, he appeared to be moving gingerly after crossing the plate and immediately disappeared down the visitors’ dugout tunnel, before being replaced by Jonathan Holder to open the sixth.
Boone contended he “wouldn’t be surprised either way” when asked if he expected Tanaka to make his next start, saying “if it’s cramping and that kind of thing, maybe you dodge a bullet there. But you could look at it (Saturday) and it could be more severe.”
Tanaka’s assessment after undergoing intravenous fluid treatment still sounded more ominous. “I feel it right now,” he said through a translator. “It’s pretty tight. Right now I think they’re pretty much the same.”
Sure, these are professional athletes and they should be able to run 90 feet once in a while without injuring themselves. But why take the chance anymore? Why is MLB still putting players of such importance at any unnecessary risk if it’s at all avoidable?
The Players’ Association for years has been in favor of an expanded implementation of the DH to both leagues because it would translate into several more high-paying jobs, but there hasn’t been much indication recently from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred towards the NL finally making the switch.
Please spare me the baseball purists’ argumentthatsuch a move would eliminate too much of the strategy from the game, or that Bartolo Colon once leaned into one and ripped a home run for the Mets. Entering the weekend, pitchers also were hitting a collective .113 this season. How exciting.
Ask any Yankees fan if they’d rather see Boone execute a double-switch or have Tanaka available for every start the rest of the season, especially with Jordan Montgomery already undergoing Tommy John surgery this week.
It’s a simple answer. And it’s a commonsense change that’s long overdue.