The designated hitter will be used by both leagues. That’s one of the changes during baseball’s 60-game 2020 season. The American League began using the DH in 1973, Major League Rule 5:11. Ron Blomberg of the Yankees was the first ever.

From 1973 to 1975, all World Series games were played under National League rules, no DH. From 1976-1985, the DH would be used in all World Series games but only in even-numbered years. MLB change the rules again in 1986, when the DH would be used only in American League ballparks.

So, the Phillies first DH usage came in the 1980 World Series against the Kansas City Royals. Greg Luzinski was the Phillies DH in Game 1. Keith Moreland and Lonnie Smith were also used in that role during the series. Other Phillies DHs in World Series included Ricky Jordan and Mariano Duncan (1993); Chris Coste and Greg Dobbs (2008); and Raul Ibanez and Matt Stairs (2009).

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Interleague Play
When Interleague Play began in 1967, the DH was used in American League parks only. For the Phillies, the first series was June 16-17-18 against the Red Sox in Fenway Park. Darren Daulton was the first DH, June 16; an eighth-inning ground-rule double was his first hit. Daulton also hit the first home run by a Phillies DH two days later.

Ryan Howard is the Phillies all-time DH leader in games (29), at-bats (119), hits (24), home runs (6) and RBIs (15). Potentially those numbers could be replaced this summer.

On a historical note, Howard was the first designated hitter in an NL ballpark during a regular-season game when the Phillies played the Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park on June 25, 2010. MLB moved the Interleague series to Philadelphia over concerns about civil unrest during the June 26-27 G-20 Summit in Toronto. As the home team, the Phils batted first. The DH was used by both teams.