Universal DH Drama

Hey all, We’ve had a relatively drama-free HBD world here for years and years, and I want to take some responsibility for letting this issue spiral a little more than it probably needed to. I originally conducted the vote simply hoping everyone would weigh in on whether Stickball should adopt the Universal DH. What became clear, though, is that not every owner voted, and not everyone who did vote felt equally strongly about the issue. The “No” voters, generally speaking, were pretty firm and vocal about their preference, while several of the “Yes” votes seemed a little more lukewarm or flexible. That made a very close vote difficult to interpret. The Universal DH would be a change to the way our world has traditionally operated, and it is completely optional. So when the vote came back this close, my feeling was that we probably should not make the change unless there was a clearer consensus—or at least some meaningful movement among the owners who strongly oppose it. For the record, as of this post, the tally has actually gotten even closer. Depending on how you count two owners who are essentially agnostic but lean slightly one way or the other, the vote is either 13–10 in favor or 12–11 in favor. Either way, that is extremely close. Because of that, I posted in World Chat that I would rather continue the discussion and make no change until at least the All-Star break next season. A one- to three-vote margin on something that changes a longstanding league rule just feels too narrow to rush through—especially when some of those votes are not particularly strong preferences. And I want to make one thing clear about my own position: I am personally FOR the Universal DH. So my hesitation here is not an attempt to steer the league toward the outcome I prefer. In fact, it is the opposite. I’m trying to respect the owners who strongly want to keep the current AL/NL distinction, even though that is not my own preference. My goal is simply to make sure that, whatever we eventually decide, people feel like the process was fair and that a significant change to Stickball wasn’t made hastily because of an unusually close vote. We’ve had a good world for a long time. I’d much rather take a little extra time, keep talking, and arrive at something most of us can live with than turn the DH into a bigger issue than it needs to be. -Stick