Rule changes are always a little bit of a pain in their first season of implementation. The Dodgers are certainly finding that to be true with Major League Baseball’s 3-batter minimum rule in place for relief pitchers in 2020.
Adam Kolarek made a name for himself for his work against lefties as a Dodger last year.
He weighs in on the new three-batter minimum rule, how he’s preparing for it, why he’s looking forward to it, its pros and cons and what he’s curious to see. https://t.co/03Y4FNCrS8
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) February 21, 2020
There used to be a name for left-handed pitchers like Adam Kolarek. They called them LOOGY’s before the rule change, short for left-handed one-out guy. Basically, their only purpose before this rule change was to come in and get one guy out, usually a left-handed hitter. All of that is quickly going away.
Kolarek was acquired in 2019 for the purpose of neutralizing a few power-hitting left-handed hitters that the Dodgers could face in the playoffs. Guys like Bryce Harper, Freddie Freeman, Matt Carpenter, Anthony Rizzo, and Kyle Scwarber all represented a threat to the National League pennant, and Kolarek was a solution.
