Intertwined in Controversey

Every team sport has different conferences, and two teams from different conferences play each other all the time. In football, a team from the AFC conference can play a team from the NFC conference at any given week in the season. For basketball and hockey, teams from the eastern conference play teams out west frequently without it being a big deal. However, the same cannot be said for our national pastime. Baseball used to have teams from the American League only play teams from the American League, but that changed in 1997 when Interleague play was introduced. Out of the 162 regular season games in Major League Baseball, each team from the American League plays only 18 games against National League teams; while teams from the National League can play as few as 12 interleague games and as many as 18. A team's interleague schedule makes up roughly eleven percent of a team's regular season schedule, yet this season there seems to be several complaints about the necessity of interleague play.

Most of the complaints stem from the fact that when an American League pitchers have to bat whenever they go to National League parks; and that National League teams have to use a designated hitter when playing in American League parks. The other big complaint is that certain teams play opponents of differing skill level. While the New York Yankees play a NL division leader, the Tampa Bay Rays get to play a bottom feeder team. However, interleage play is so controversial this year is because MLB's collective bargaining agreement expires in December. And everyone who wants the American League and National League to stop playing each other has made sure to say so. Red Sox manager Terry Francona said this on WEEI's 'The Big Show', "I don’t like the fact that we lose our designated hitter because we have built our team for the designated hitter, and we have pitchers that aren’t used to hitting. So we’re at a disadvantage. I don’t like that part.”   

But those who are complaining about interleague play do not really have solid ground to stand on. As far as the scheduling aspect goes, yes it is not perfect, but schedules are always made based on a team's performance in the prior season. If a team like the Yankees, Red Sox or Rays win their division, they are going to get the division winner's schedule next season. And if they do not win those games while another team gets some cheap wins against lower quality opponents, tough darts. Good teams are supposed to be able to beat everybody, and those who cannot beat everybody are not championship contenders.

And to Terry Francona and other American League managers who have issues with loosing the DH when visiting National League teams, get over it. American League managers are spoiled by having  guys who are capable of hitting 30 home runs and having 100 runs batted in not having to risk injury by playing in the field. And because there is no designated hitter in the National League, NL managers have to utilize their benches, which likely do not have those 30 homer-100 RBI guys, when they go to American League ballparks. Plus, pitchers in the National League have to bat about three times a game every time they start, while a pitcher in the American League has to hit maybe nine times a year in the regular season. Also, 99.99 percent of pitchers could not hit water if they fell out of a boat, so American League pitchers having to bat is not much of a disadvantage in the lineup. So complain all you want Francona and friends, all you are doing is strengthening the argument that the DH is an unfair advantage for AL teams.

Baseball's attendance is down 50% this season, and getting rid of interleague rivalries such as the New York Yankees- New York Mets, Chicago Cubs-Chicago White Sox, and San Fransisco Giants-Oakland Athletics  will not help. There may be some problems with the sport of baseball, but interleague play is not one of them.