At one point, it was so embarrassing to be in the a.l., that when guys were traded there, they changed their names, probably so people wouldn’t think they were the same guy that used to be in the majors. For example, Bernie Carbo became Bernardo, Richie Allen became Dick, and I think one shortstop changed his first and last name completely.
No wonder the a.l. experimented with the designated runner. I was concerned at one point that instead of just the DH, a.l. guys were so one-dimensional, that they might have pushed for a rule that one guy hits the ball, another guy runs out of the box, and a third guy runs the bases. Perhaps they could have 3 pitchers on the mound–one guy who throws fastballs, one who throws curves, and one who throws other offspeed pitches. The argument of who wants to see a pitcher bat could be taken to who wants to see a pitcher with a horrible fastball throw a fastball? Why not just go to a two-platoon system?