Owners Want to Drop DH

Major league baseball owners, preparing for a possible vote on realignment, told the players’ union Friday that they would like to eliminate the designated hitter in several years, but did not set an exact time, saying it was a subject for negotiation.

Union leader Donald Fehr said it was unlikely that the players’ association would agree.

“Our position on the DH has been clear for some time and I see no reason to change it,” Fehr said.

“The DH has provided fans with a chance to see many outstanding hitters like Paul Molitor continue to perform. I don’t see why we’d want to eliminate that opportunity.”

Besides giving veteran players opportunities to extend careers after their fielding skills have declined, the designated hitter position in the American League last year was the second-highest paid, next to first base. The average designated hitter’s salary of $2.7 was more than double the overall average of $1.119 million.

In return for elimination of the designated hitter, which has been used in the American League since 1973, the owners proposed phasing it out over a period of time that would be negotiated to protect the job status of current designated hitters. Before, during or after that period, rosters in both leagues would be expanded from 25 to 26 players, creating twice the number of jobs that the designated hitter position creates.

However, a union lawyer said that the 26th player probably would be a low-salaried rookie or fringe veteran and would hardly compensate for the economic loss of the designated hitter.

A management source said the union was told that the proposal was linked to the possibility that the owners would approve a realignment plan next month in which many teams would switch leagues, but that there is no firm plan on the table.

National League clubs remain adamantly opposed to the designated hitter. American League clubs are considered ambivalent.