HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW? Today: Ron Blomberg

Claim to fame: Universally known as major league baseball’s first designated hitter, Ron Blomberg also was a product of Atlanta. He was born here in 1948, graduated from Druid Hills High School and became first pick of the 1967 draft.

Vital stats

Age: 60

Family: Wife, Beth (26 years); son, Adam, and daughter, Chesley

Resides: Roswell

Occupation: Does fantasy camps and charity work for the Yankees

Q. Years from now —- and may they be many —- your obituary is sure to include the phrase “baseball’s first designated hitter.” What’s it like to go through life known as that?

A. It’s the greatest thing in the whole world. I thought it was a gimmick. But I screwed up the game of baseball. And I’m proud of it. Once most players have been retired 20 or 25 years, even if you’re good, people forget about you. But when I make reservations to fly or hotel reservations, there’s one of two things people say to me. “Oh, you’re the first DH,” or “Ron Blomberg, are you related to Mayor Bloomberg in New York?”

Q. Of course, I speak of your obituary, but this DH thing has given you a certain baseball immortality, hasn’t it?

A. I will never die. It was April 6, 1973, when I batted against Luis Tiant [as a designated hitter for the first time.] Every April 6, 90 percent of the papers will run a piece about it. Why? Not because of me, but because it brought a new era to the game. I had a wonderful time with it. Not to brag, but it’s fun to stay involved with the game.

Q. You jokingly refer to the DH in your case referring to “designated Hebrew” and I know you wrote a book of the same title. Did you feel you were defined as a Jewish ballplayer in the way Sandy Koufax or Hank Greenberg were?

A. Absolutely. Especially playing baseball in New York. If I were in a secondary city, maybe not. But I was in a city with 8 million Jews up there. For a Jewish athlete, playing in New York magnifies the person, who you are. There’s a place that named a sandwich after me, “The Ron Blomberg.” A 5-inch corned beef, pastrami, chopped liver and onion. I’m more about the pastrami and corned beef, so I leave off the chopped liver.

Q. Let me guess —- somebody else has to eat it in place of the person who orders it. Should the DH be in both leagues, in neither, or what?

A. Thirty-six years ago, I never thought we’d still have it. Now, it’s an everyday player. The National League will never adopt the DH —- never. But the American League wins the World Series. They win the All-Star games. … I must’ve done something right. The game of baseball has totally changed. A DH can make $20 million a year. It’s going to be in the American League forever.

Q. Guys can make a lot of money. But when you played, was that the case?

A. The only thing I miss about the days I played —- and those were the greatest days, with the greatest teams and players —- was financially. Unfortunately, when I played, we didn’t make money at all. In 1973, when I hit .329, I got a $500 raise the next year. Then, I hit .311 the next year and they took back the $500.