The National League is getting closer to adding DHs, maybe in 2017

(AP) If you love to watch MLB pitchers bat, take it in while you can, because 2016 may be the final season it happens.

At an MLB owners’ meeting on Thursday in Coral Gables, Fla., Commissioner Rob Manfred said the idea of the designed hitter coming to the National League is “gaining momentum.” What’s more: Deciding whether to implement a unified DH rule could happen this year and then get rolled out for the 2017 season.

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MLB is set to work on a new collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union this year. The current CBA expires on Dec. 31, 2016 and it sounds as if the DH could be a big part of the new agreement. Here’s what Manfred had to say Thursday, as relayed by David Lennon of Newsday:

Manfred also said NL adopting DH is gaining momentum. Expect it to be addressed in upcoming CBA, so could be for ’17 season. #mlb

— David Lennon (@DPLennon) January 21, 2016

As for DH, eventually MLB was going to go DH route, with more interleague play & concern over pitchers health. Sure union will be on board.

— David Lennon (@DPLennon) January 21, 2016

This would shake baseball like an earthquake. The entire brand and style of NL ball is built upon pitchers batting. It affects how teams construct their lineups and use their pitching staffs. Bringing the DH to the NL would not only start to make extinct a specific style of baseball but rattle long-time fans who swear by NL rules.

The designated hitter was adopted in the American League in 1973 and ever since has been a divisive issue among fans. Opinion is spread out in a number of factions: People who want DHs in both leagues, people who want the DH gone altogether and people who would be happy to keep things the way they are, even if they are imbalanced.

Adding the DH to NL would bring a number of benefits to the game, though: It would increase offense, since many pitchers are looked as easy outs (the Zack Greinkes and Madison Bumgarners of the world notwithstanding) and that’s something that would benefit baseball overall, since fans like offense.

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The universal DH would also unify the rules at a time when interleague play is being featured more prominently. A third plus would be pitchers not hurting themselves when they’re out of their element at the plate. Adam Wainwright, for instance, tore his Achilles last season when he was running out a pop-up.

Just last week Wainwright’s boss, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak, said the idea of a DH in NL was gaining favor among owners and GMs. But to hear that notion come from the commissioner’s mouth is another thing entirely.

Baseball, in recent years, has proven it’s not afraid to mess with tradition — even if that means upsetting fans who don’t like change. The addition of video replay and the home-plate collision rule are two examples. Making the DH universal, though, would be a much bigger and impactful change. It would essentially introduce a new era of the game.

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