As the baseball season further develops, fans have voiced their displeasurement with certain changes. Salvatore Scappaticci, a San Pasqual High School student and longtime supporter of the San Diego Padres shares mixed opinions about changes proposed by commissioner Rob Manfred. 

Regarding the Houston Astro’s Cheating Scandal, Scappaticci was with the public and disappointed with their punishment. 

Although it has been a couple of years since the Astros cheating scandal, it has changed the way many people view Major League Baseball because of their subpar punishment. Many feel that  amends cannot be made.

“I believe that they needed a harsher punishment. You can’t just cheat in the world series and lose little to nothing. They should’ve lost more picks, suspended the players for about a month of play and also some money” says Scappaticci on the topic. 

Like most MLB fans, Scappaticci wasn’t very happy with how Manfred handled the scandal. The decided punishment was the banishment of the coaching staff, loss of money, and draft picks. The majority of fans expected relinquishment of the World Series Title they won in the process but there was no such luck. 

Another controversial topic Scappaticci commented on was the idea of a universal designated hitter. The reason for the controversy is some point towards the lack of safety there is for a pitcher hitting when they aren’t suited for it while others would point to two-way batters such as Shohei Ontani, who happily pitches and hits in games willingly with no complaints. 

With the MLB slowly pointing towards the universal DH, I asked Scappaticci how he liked the rule idea as a fan?

“In my opinion, I like the idea of a universal DH as the belief that a pitcher goes up to bat with one goal most of the time. Don’t swing and don’t get injured. It is extremely boring to watch and it isn’t an untraditional change as the American League already uses a DH and it doesn’t affect the game” responds Scappaticci.

Scappaticci brings up great points. And he isn’t the only fan who is interested in this healthy change. Universal DH Poll It’s not too far fetched to pave away from the old history as the game changes for what seems to be a youthful intake. Let’s face it, the only people who don’t want changes to benefit new viewers and safety are the fans who are trapped in the past and aren’t ready to watch the beautiful game of baseball move on from the ugly rules that harm more than help.