National League Designated Hitter History

First National League Designated Hitters

Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a comprehensive look at every National League team and their first designated hitter, the date of the game, links to box scores and more.

"I'll have another paragraph in all the baseball books. I'm already in the books three or four times." - Rickey Henderson (The San Diego Padres First Designated Hitter)

Designated Hitter Famous Firsts National League
Team	Name of Designated Hitter	Date / Box Score
Atlanta Braves	Keith Lockhart	06-16-1997
Arizona Diamondbacks	Kelly Stinnett	06-05-1998
Chicago Cubs	Dave Clark	06-16-1997
Cincinnati Reds	Eddie Taubensee	06-16-1997
Colorado Rockies	Dante Bichette	06-12-1997
Florida Marlins	Jim Eisenreich	06-16-1997
Houston Astros	Sean Berry	06-16-1997
Los Angeles Dodgers	Mike Piazza	06-12-1997
Montreal Expos	Jose Vidro	06-16-1997
New York Mets	Butch Huskey	06-16-1997
Philadelphia Phillies	Darren Daulton	06-16-1997
Pittsburgh Pirates	Mark Smith	06-16-1997
St. Louis Cardinals	Dmitri Young	06-16-1997
San Diego Padres	Rickey Henderson	06-12-1997
San Francisco Giants	Glenallen Hill	06-12-1997
Team	Name of Designated Hitter	Date / Box Score
The First National League Designated Hitters

Ron Blomberg was the first designated hitter in American League history and Glenallen Hill was the first non-Series designated history in National League history.

Tony Oliva was the first designated hitter to hit a home run in American League history and Rickey Henderson was the first designated hitter to hit a home run in National League history.

Will the designated hitter survive? Should it become a permanent part of BOTH leagues? Will interleague play continue? Voice your opinion on our baseball message board.

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