RICHMOND — It's time to drag the National Baseball League - kicking and screaming — into the 20th century — let alone the 21st.

A designated hitter is included in the batting order of baseball teams at the high school level, the college level, and in every American professional league — except the National League.

Now is the ideal time for the National League to adopt the designated hitter rule. There are currently 16 teams in the National League and 14 in the American League, but there will be 15 teams in each league next season as the Houston Astros are moving to the American League.

Because there will be an odd number of teams in each league, there will have to be at least one interleague game on each day's schedule. The current rules provide that a designated hitter is used in interleague games played in American League parks, but not in games played in National League parks. Adding a designated hitter to National League teams would eliminate this disparity in the rules.

While fans attending an American League game see lineups which include nine major league batters, spectators at National League games are short-changed as NL lineups include eight major league batters and one "automatic out" - the pitcher. Pitchers occasionally get a base hit, but the fact that a pitcher with a batting average over .100 is described as a "good-hitting" pitcher is evidence that it does not happen often.

I am sure last season's Cincinnati Reds baseball team would have been more interesting to watch if Yonder Alonso had been in the batting order each day as a designated hitter.

It is also interesting to note that former Reds player Adam Dunn currently leads the major leagues in home runs and walks as the designated hitter for the Chicago White Sox.

The astute fan at a National League game knows it is a good time to go to the concession stand or rest room when the home team has runners on second and third with two outs in the middle of a score-less game if the eighth batter in the batting order is coming to the plate with the pitcher on deck.

The number eight hitter will be given an intentional walk and the pitcher will strike out or hit an easy pop fly to the infield for the third out.

Some argue that NL managers should be paid more than AL managers because they have to decide if and when to remove a pitcher for a pinch hitter. AL managers do not have to be concerned with this since the pitcher does not bat.

The NL manager can further demonstrate his acumen by effecting the "double switch" in which a fielder is replaced in the lineup at the same time a pitcher is removed. The purpose of the double switch is to delay as long as possible the pitcher's turn to bat and the resulting "automatic out".

The concept of a designated hitter has a long history. As far back as 1906, Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack expressed a desire for a "permanent pinch hitter" to bat for the pitcher.

The use of a designated hitter was finally adopted by the American League in January 1973.

Charles Finley, the colorful owner of the Oakland A's, was a major advocate for using a designated hitter as a means of increasing scoring and attendance in the American League.

The DH rule was originally approved as an American League experiment for three years, but it has proved to be so popular that it is now in its 40th year.

Ron Bloomberg of the New York Yankees was the first designated hitter to come to the plate on April 6, 1973. He was walked by Luis Tiant of the Boston Red Sox. Seven other designated hitters batted for the first time later that day, while the other four American League teams used a DH the next day.

The DH is only permitted to bat in place of the pitcher in the

American League, but he may bat any place in the batting order. This limitation does not apply to amateur teams. The pitcher on a high school team is often one of the better hitters, so he takes his turn at bat and the DH bats in place of a player who is a good fielder, but a weak hitter.

When the subject of using a designated hitter is brought before the National League owners, their reaction is akin to that of Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof" when his daughters want to know why they can't choose their husbands rather than being forced into arranged marriages.

Unable to come up with a better reason, Tevye responses with another chorus of "Tradition."

Tradition has its place, but tradition alone is not a sufficient reason to deny changes.

Many players have had successful major league careers as designated hitters. An award for the outstanding designated hitter has been presented each year since 1973. Hall of Fame member Orlando Cepeda of the Boston Red Sox was the first person to receive this award.

This award was named the Edgar Martinez award in 2004 to honor Martinez who had won the award five times between 1995 and 2001 as the DH for the Seattle Mariners.

David "Big Papi" Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox won the award for the sixth time last year.

The National League is already 40 years behind the times in adding the designated hitter to the line up. It is time for the NL to abandon obstinate behavior in the name of tradition and move into the modern world.