Interleague play

Regular-season interleague matchplay in Major League Baseball was introduced in 1997. Prior to that year, teams in the American League and National League did not meet during the regular season (they only met in the World Series, with the leagues being represented by the teams that had won their respective league's pennant). Outside the postseason, the AL and the NL only met during the All-Star Game and in spring training and exhibition contests.

Contents

1 History

2 Interesting match-ups

3 Pros

4 Cons

5 External links

History

Interleague or interconference matchups have long been the norm in other professional sports leagues such as the NFL. But while regular-season interleague play was discussed for baseball's major leagues as early as the 1930s, the concept didn't take hold until the 1990s (at least in part as an effort to renew the public's interest in MLB following the controversial 1994 players' strike). Interleague play was not, and is still not, a universally endorsed innovation. However, it has added a new dimension to the major-league game, creating some match-ups that had not been seen before, and some which held special significance for geographical and historical reasons.

The first interleague match took place on June 12, 1997 as the Texas Rangers hosted the San Francisco Giants at The Ballpark in Arlington (now Ameriquest Field in Arlington).

From 1997 to 2001, teams from the American League West played teams from the National League West, etc., typically scheduled to alternate between home and away in consecutive years. However, in 2002, the league began alternating which divisions would play which divisions, and thus in 2002 the American League East played the National League West, the American League Central played the National League East, and the American League West played the National League Central. Match-ups which had been of particular interest prior to this format (e.g. New York Yankees v. New York Mets) were preserved. This is expected to be the continuing format of interleague matchplay.

The designated hitter rule is applied in the same manner as in the World Series. In an American League ballpark, both teams use a Designated Hitter to hit for the pitcher. In a National League ballpark, both team's pitchers must hit.

Overall, the National League holds a 988:959 advantage over the American League as of 2004.

For historical stats [1] (http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/interleague/records.jsp), see the external link below.

Interesting match-ups

There are several match-ups that are the result of interleague matchplay which are highly anticipated and well-attended for a number of reasons:

Geographical Derbies (series played by teams in close proximity to one another, used more as a term in European soccer):
- New York Yankees v. New York Mets (Subway Series)
  - The Yankees and Mets played their first interleague match against one another on June 16, 1997, at Yankee Stadium. The Mets won the game 6-0 courtesy of a three RBI performance from John Olerud.
- Tampa Bay Devil Rays v. Florida Marlins (Citrus Derby)
- Cleveland Indians v. Cincinnati Reds (Battle of Ohio, or Ohio Derby)
- Chicago White Sox v. Chicago Cubs (Crosstown Classic, Windy City Series, Red Line Series, or ChiTown Classic)
- Kansas City Royals v. St. Louis Cardinals (I-70 Series, or Show Me Series)
  - Surprisingly, Major League Baseball has not made this matchup a regular interleague derby, despite the obvious geographic rivalry and the history between the teams, especially the 1985 World Series, won by the Royals with the aid of a blown call in Game 6.
- Minnesota Twins v. Milwaukee Brewers
  - Though not named, the Twins and Brewers were formerly fierce rivals in the American League Western and Central Divisions until the 1997 realignment of the Brewers from the American to the National League.
- Texas Rangers v. Houston Astros (Lone Star Series)
- Oakland Athletics v. San Francisco Giants (Bay Bridge Series or Battle of the Bay)
- Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim v. Los Angeles Dodgers (Freeway Series)
- Baltimore Orioles v. Washington Nationals (Battle for the Baltimore-Washington Area or Beltway Series)
  - This is surprisingly NOT a rivalry derby set up to be played every year. The DC team will continue to play against the Toronto Blue Jays for a rival - a holdover from the previous Toronto v. Montreal Expos rivalry in the Battle for Canada (or Pan-American Derby)- and the Orioles will continue playing the Phillies. It is expected though that this may be changed in time for the 2006 season.
Historical:
- Boston Red Sox v. New York Mets
  - This matchup is remembered mainly because of the 1986 World Series. In the 10th inning of Match 6 of this Series, the Red Sox came within one strike of their first World Series win since 1918 before losing the lead. Later in the inning, the winning run scored after a ground ball went between the legs of first baseman Bill Buckner. The Mets went on to win Match 7 and the Series.
- Toronto Blue Jays v. Atlanta Braves
  - The Braves were the Jays' victim when they became the first Canadian team to win the World Series, in 1992.
- New York Yankees v. Atlanta Braves
  - These teams have met four times in the World Series. In 1957 and 1958, when the Braves played in Milwaukee, the teams went to seven matches both times, with the Braves winning the first time and the Yankees winning the second. In 1996 and 1999, the Yankees and Braves renewed their old rivalry from the late 1950s; the Yankees won both times, sweeping the Braves in 1999.
- New York Yankees v. Los Angeles Dodgers
  - This rivalry goes back to the days when both teams played in New York. Between 1941 and 1956, the two teams played in seven World Series; Brooklyn won only once (1955). After the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, the teams played four more times in the World Series, with each team winning twice (Dodgers in 1963 and 1981, Yankees in 1977 and 1978).
- Boston Red Sox v. Chicago Cubs
  - These two teams last went against each other in the World Series, in 1918. The Cubs fell victim as the Red Sox took their last World Series title before taking it again 86 years later.

Pros

Interleague matchplay increases attendance.
Fans can see historic players (like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Greg Maddux, etc.) they might not otherwise get to see.
Interleague matchplay allows certain geographic rivalries to be played out during a season, such as New York Yankees v. New York Mets, that otherwise might not be.
It creates matchups that might not have been seen in generations. For example, during the 2004 season, the Giants and Red Sox played each other for the first time since meeting in the 1912 World Series.

Cons

There are many series that are not considered compelling..
American League pitchers generally don't like taking batting practice for the opportunity to bat in one or two matches. These pitchers are also unaccustomed to running the bases, which can lead to injury and premature fatigue.
Some of the mystique of the World Series dies when teams have a regular season record against one another.
With the two leagues not having the same number of teams, and with one division (the National League Central) containing six teams while another (the American League West) has only four (the other two divisions in both leagues consisting of five teams each), various irregularities in scheduling result, most notably the fact that teams in the same division no longer play all of their games against the same opponents; this can lead to "strength of schedule" disparities like those the NFL has to deal with on a yearly basis (e.g., one NL team might play every AL East team except the New York Yankees, while another NL team in the same division does not play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays instead).