25 Years of Interleague Play

When I was a kid watching baseball, I once asked my dad, "Why is it that the Dodgers and Angels don't face each other?," and I was told that it was because they're in different leagues. That was the norm back then. American League teams faced American League teams. National League teams faced National League teams. The only AL vs NL action was preseason, the All-Star Game, and the World Series.

That all changed in 1997, as Major League Baseball decided to have AL teams face NL teams during the regular season. Knowing that it was an experiment, Interleague Play began in a two-game set format, and was localized; American League East vs National League East, American League Central vs National League Central, and American League West vs National League West. Interleague Play officially debuted on June 12, 1997, with the Texas Rangers facing off against the San Francisco Giants.

The regional format gave us some awesome crosstown rivalries, such as the Subway Series (Yankees/Mets), the Windy City Series (White Sox/Cubs), and the Freeway Series (Angels/Dodgers). Other crosstown rivalries included Athletics/Giants, Royals/Cardinals, (Devil) Rays/Marlins (beginning in 1998), Indians/Reds, and Blue Jays/Expos until 2005, when the Expos moved to Washington, DC and became the Nationals, who had the Baltimore Orioles as their rivals. The Rangers and the Houston Astros were interleague rivals until 2013, when the Astros moved to the American League.

In 2002, MLB decided to mix up the Interleague matchups, allowing teams to play other teams in the opposite league. The result was a number of classic World Series rematches, the biggest one being Yankees vs Dodgers, as the two teams faced off in 11 Fall Classics. One big matchup was Red Sox vs Cubs, due to both teams (at that time) being the most cursed when it came to the World Series. Another classic was Yankees vs Giants, as both teams co-existed in New York, along with the Dodgers, until the Giants and Dodgers moved to California in 1958. Usually, Interleague Play took place in the middle of the season, relatively close to All-Star Break. When the Astros moved to the American League in 2013, that gave each league 15 teams, but because of that odd number, Interleague Play became season long, as at least one Interleague series would take place during the schedule.

In Interleague Play, different rules applied based on home field. In games played in an American League ballpark, the designated hitter (DH) is instilled, which would give the road National League team a ninth batter in the lineup. In games played in a National League ballpark, there is no DH, meaning the pitcher has to bat in the ninth position, meaning that road American League teams could be forced to make major adjustments to the lineup with no DH in those games. Some interesting things have happened in those games, as we have seen American League pitchers get hits, drive in runs, and even hit home runs. The most improbable moment came in 2009, when Mariano Rivera recorded his only career RBI in a game against the Mets, as he was walked with the bases loaded.

This season is MLB's 25th with Interleague Play; 25 years. However, it has been historically lopsided in favor of the American League, as the "Junior Circuit" has beaten the "Senior Circuit" so many times during Interleague Play. I myself love Interleague Play because of the rivalries and classic World Series references, and as a Yankees fan, I always get a kick out of the Subway Series. Though with Interleague Play being season-long since 2013, I do wonder if it takes some of the flair out of the World Series, but after thinking about it, I don't think it changes things as far as the prestige of the Fall Classic.

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