Editing Designated hitter (section)

=== Interleague play and exhibitions (until 2021) ===
{{See also|Home advantage#Causes}}
In Major League Baseball, during [[interleague play]] between 1997 and 2021, the DH rule was applied to a game based on the rules of the home team's league. If the game was played in an American League park, the designated hitter could be used; in a National League park, the pitcher must bat or else be replaced with a pinch-hitter. On June 12, 1997, [[San Francisco Giants]] outfielder [[Glenallen Hill]] became the first [[National League (baseball)|National League]] DH in a regular-season game, when the Giants met the American League [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] at [[Globe Life Park in Arlington|The Ballpark in Arlington]] in interleague play.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TEX/TEX199706120.shtml |title=June 12, 1997 San Francisco Giants at Texas Rangers Box Score and Play by Play |publisher=Baseball-Reference.com |date=June 12, 1997 |access-date=June 19, 2011}}</ref>

At first, the DH rule was not applied to the [[World Series]]. From 1973 to 1975, all World Series games were played under National League rules, with no DH and pitchers required to bat.<ref name="MLB DH glossary" /> For [[1976 World Series|1976]], it was decided the DH rule would apply to all games in the World Series, regardless of venue, but only in even-numbered years.<ref name="MLB DH glossary" /> [[Cincinnati Reds]] first baseman [[Dan Driessen]] became the first National League designated hitter in the regular season or postseason; he was the DH in all four Series games that year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wolf |first=Gregory H. |date=May 1, 2014 |title=Dan Driessen |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/c6981560 |access-date=May 15, 2019 |website=[[Society for American Baseball Research]]}}</ref> This practice lasted through [[1985 World Series|1985]]. Beginning in the [[1986 World Series]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/19/sports/world-series-86-sports-times-designated-hitter-rule-unfair-don-baylor.html|title=THE WORLD SERIES '86: SPORTS OF THE TIMES; The Designated Hitter Rule Is Unfair to Don Baylor|work=The New York Times|first= George|last= Vecsey|date=October 19, 1986|access-date=May 27, 2021}}</ref> the DH rule was used in games played in the stadium of the American League representative.<ref name="dh rule world series">{{Cite web |url=https://www.sportingnews.com/au/baseball/news/world-series-2016-dh-rule-rob-manfred-cubs-indians-kyle-schwarber/1fphzt7hsv2fj177ilp5wcn0to |title=World Series DH rule is not changing any time soon, MLB's Rob Manfred says |last=Dinotto |first=Marcus |date=October 29, 2016 |website=www.sportingnews.com |language=en |access-date=May 11, 2019}}</ref>

There was initially no DH in the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]]. Beginning in 1989, the rule was applied only to games played in American League stadiums.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ALS/ALS198907110.shtml |title=July 11, 1989 All-Star Game Play-By-Play and Box Score |publisher=Baseball-Reference.com |access-date=June 19, 2011}}</ref> During this era, if the All-Star Game was scheduled for an American League stadium, fans would vote for the DH for the American League's starting lineup, while the National League's manager decided that league's starting DH. Since 2010, the designated hitter has been used by both teams, regardless of where the game is played.<ref>{{cite web|author=John Schlegel |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100428&content_id=9645460&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb |title=Modifications in place for All-Star Game &#124; MLB.com: News |publisher=Mlb.mlb.com |access-date=June 19, 2011}}</ref>

For the [[2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|2021 All-Star Game]], MLB granted an exception to the DH rule because [[Los Angeles Angels]]' [[Shohei Ohtani]] was selected as both starting DH and starting pitcher. Ohtani started the game as both a pitcher and the DH and was replaced as pitcher after one inning but remained in the game as the DH without the American League having to forfeit the use of a DH. The American League would have lost the DH if either Ohtani, or a player replacing him at DH, had played a position in the field other than pitcher.<ref>{{cite web|author=Rhett Bollinger |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/ohtani-to-start-on-hill-bat-leadoff-in-2021-all-star-game |title=Ohtani to start as pitcher, bat leadoff in ASG &#124; MLB.com: News |publisher=Mlb.mlb.com |access-date=July 13, 2021}}</ref>