Bringing The World Home To You

© 2025 WUNC North Carolina Public Radio
120 Friday Center Dr
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
919.445.9150 | 800.962.9862

Donate

Play Live Radio

Next Up:

0:00

0:00 0:00

Available On Air Stations

Baseball's Designated Hitter Rule Turns 30

By Tom Goldman

Published January 11, 2003 at 12:00 AM EST

Today is the 30th anniversary of the American League's adoption of the designated hitter rule. NPR's Tom Goldman reports on how the rule has changed the game of baseball.

Tom Goldman

Tom Goldman is NPR's sports correspondent. His reports can be heard throughout NPR's news programming, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and on NPR.org.

See stories by Tom Goldman

Stories From This Author

Willie Mays, widely considered baseball's best all-around player, dies at 93

Tom Goldman

Known as the "Say Hey Kid," Mays' career spanned more than two decades, from the 1950s to 1970s. He spent nearly all of those years with the Giants – first in New York and then in San Francisco.
Willie Mays - the 'Say Hey Kid' considered baseball's best all-around player - dies at 93

Tom Goldman

Willie Mays is widely considered to be the greatest baseball player of all time. The 'Say Hey Kid' had incomparable skills and an infectious smile. He dazzled on the field and off.
Jim Brown, one of the NFL's all-time great running backs, has died at age 87

Tom Goldman

During his nine-year Hall of Fame career with the Cleveland Browns, Jim Brown averaged more than a hundred yards rushing in every regular season game. He's the only player in NFL history to do that.