In most professional sports, interleague play happens through out the year, big matchups are usually hyped and are often circled on the fans calendar of when an important team is scheduled to come. The rules in each conference are generally the same and are sometimes divided geographically.
Baseball is different. The thirty-team league is divided into two leagues. American League and National League. In the American League there are 14 teams, while in the National League there are 16 teams. In the American League there is a Designated Hitter, however in the National League the pitcher will bat often in the 9th spot.
Those are just some of the differences that separate Baseball from the other three professional leagues (NHL, NBA and NFL). In addition, in baseball interleague is only 11% of the 162-baseball season. In other sports, it can be go up to 25% of a team’s schedule.
Every year since 1997 around June, interleague play has taken center stage. Now a days; what broadcasters talk about is how baseball can make interleague play better. Personally, I think a lot of that stuff is cliché. Nothing in life is perfect and there are always cons to adjustments with anything that is made in life or in sports. In fact, I have my own opinion on adjustments interleague play that I could share at a later date.
For me, since I was born in 1993, it’s hard imagining a season without interleague play. It always seemed to be a staple in the Mariners schedule. Every year, the Mariners would play the Padres six times and an alternating division another ten or so times. I thought that it was cool that the Mariners pitchers had a chance to step up to the plate a handful of times. I never questioned it. I just accepted it.
Being a Mariner fan also meant something a bit more when the Mariners played on the road in interleague play. That question was where would DH Edgar Martinez hit? Edgar was a converted DH when he had a horrible hamstring injury in an exhibition game at B.C. Place in 1993. Therefore, he was forced to play an unusual position or come off the bench late in the game to pinch-hit on the road in interleague play.
Now, interleague play is something I look forward too. After all, the Mariners lack of wins should bring some smiles to the fans. Since interleague play begun the American League has won the majority of games against the National League.
Next year, interleague play will be thrown a curve ball. The Houston Astros will be making the switch from the NL Central to the AL West. This will even up the two leagues so that each league has 15 teams. As a result, there will be interleague play every day next year. The move can only help baseball, as I believe this interleague play idea that was started in 1997 is going in the right direction.
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