Major League Baseball introduced interleague play in 1997. Since the NFL merger and conference formation, the NFL has had a workable system so that teams face teams in the opposite conference at a set interval. The NBA and NHL have similar situations. Baseball sought to do the same. The notion that cross town rivalries could be huge successes such as New York Yankees versus Mets, Chicago Cubs versus White Sox, and the Los Angeles Dodgers versus the Angels. Other matchups were created since as supposed state rivalries for Ohio, Florida, Texas, and Missouri teams, likewise the Orioles and Washington Nationals, a battle of Beltways less than 40 miles apart. Interleague games would give fans the chance to see players they’d never have the opportunity to see play otherwise.
From a workability standpoint and more and more, a fan interest position, Interleague play is becoming a colossal failure. It also could create some competitive imbalances when one considers the impact on the pennant race could be a travesty. Imagine a schedule that would have division contenders playing some of the AL East; one team gets the Red Sox and Yankees while another team gets more of the Orioles.
Looking at this year’s schedule, we’ve covered the AL East versus NL matchups, there is no rhyme or reason or any evidence of a controlling principal to how the schedule is determined. On the surface, it would appear the plan was to face off mainly against the NL West, but with the synthetic rivalries created for New York, Florida, and Baltimore/Washington, that starts to unravel the scheme, but additionally the Blue Jays, Rays and Yankees play one series against an NL Central team. Team by team matchups are given below:
Orioles (NL East: 3 home, 1 away; NL West: 2 away)
@Washington
New York Mets
@San Francisco
@San Diego
Florida Marlins
Washington
Blue Jays (NL East: 1 home; NL Central: 1 home; NL West: 1 home, 3 away)
@Arizona
@Colorado
@San Diego
San Francisco
St. Louis
Philadelphia
Rays (NL East: 1 home, 2 away; NL Central: 1 away; NL West: 2 home)
@Houston
Florida
@Atlanta
@Florida
San Diego
Arizona
Red Sox (NL East: 1 home; 1 away; NL West: 2 home, 2 away)
@Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Arizona
Los Angeles Dodgers
@Colorado
@San Francisco
Yankees (NL East: 2 home, 1 away; NL Central: 1 home; NL West: 2 away)
@New York Mets
Houston
Philadelphia
New York Mets
@Arizona
@Los Angeles Dodgers
Can anyone make sense of this? It’s the kind of disaster only major league baseball could dream up. Since the last round of expansion, a totally unnecessary move given how many teams struggle to fill the stands, the powers that be deemed it a good idea, or financially prudent for the Bud Selig family to have sixteen teams in the National League and fourteen teams in the American League; otherwise, there would have to be one interleague game every day spreading it out through the season rather than clumping it all together for a late May weekend series and mid-June as is currently the practice.
To accomplish this, Phoenix and Tampa/St. Petersburg were awarded teams, the National League team, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the American League team, the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays. The Milwaukee Brewers moved from the American League to the National League creating a clunky six team NL Central but only four teams in the American League West. For Interleague play then, that meant each series would have to include one game against National League teams. Of course, no team would want to be the fifth team in the American League West, be in a further east time zone and have to deal with so many late night games. Of course, there have been whispers of baseball realignment, and God only knows what that would accomplish.
The current state of Interleague play has become such a mess and has lost any compelling reason for its continuation aside from the purely obvious rivalries, it might just as well be scrapped.
Partly related to making room for the Interleague games but more because the scheduling authorities in baseball are simply boobs, the schedule for non-divisional games within the league have become an absolute mess too. Looking the Orioles, Red Sox, and Yankees, this situation is also an inexplicable thorny mess.
The Orioles play the AL Central six series on the road, four 4 game series and two 3 game series. They only play the Indians three times on the road but the Tigers seven games. The home schedule is even crazier, five series consisting of four game series against the Twins, White Sox, and Tigers, a two game series for the Royals, and three games for the Indians. The games against the West, breaks down with five series against four teams: One four game series against the A’s, One three game series against the Mariners and Angels, and two series one two game and one three game against the Rangers. The home schedule for the West is six three game series facing the Mariners and A’s twice and Angels and Rangers once.
The Yankees:
AL Central (away): 5 series, 4 games vs. Tigers, Indians, Royals, 3 against the rest.
AL Central (home): 5 series: 4 games vs. three teams, 3 games vs. White Sox, Twins.
AL West (away): 6 series: 4 three game series*, 1 four game series, 1 two game series.
AL West (home): 6 series: 5 three game series,** 1 two game series.**
*Four games vs. Mariners, additional 2 games vs. Rangers
**Mariners – 2 three game series, Angels –additional 2 game series.
The Red Sox:
AL Central (away): 5 series, 3 three game series; 4 games vs. Indians and White Sox
AL Central (home): 2 three game series; 2 four game series; 1 two game series.
AL West (away): 6 series: 5 three game series;* 1 four game series
AL West (home): 5 series: 4 three game series**, 2 four game series.
*Athletics – 2 three game series; Mariners: 1 three, 1 four game series.
**Rangers – two series, one 3 game, one 4 game; Angels – one 4 game series.
From a workability standpoint and more and more, a fan interest position, Interleague play is becoming a colossal failure. It also could create some competitive imbalances when one considers the impact on the pennant race could be a travesty. Imagine a schedule that would have division contenders playing some of the AL East; one team gets the Red Sox and Yankees while another team gets more of the Orioles.
Looking at this year’s schedule, we’ve covered the AL East versus NL matchups, there is no rhyme or reason or any evidence of a controlling principal to how the schedule is determined. On the surface, it would appear the plan was to face off mainly against the NL West, but with the synthetic rivalries created for New York, Florida, and Baltimore/Washington, that starts to unravel the scheme, but additionally the Blue Jays, Rays and Yankees play one series against an NL Central team. Team by team matchups are given below:
Orioles (NL East: 3 home, 1 away; NL West: 2 away)
@Washington
New York Mets
@San Francisco
@San Diego
Florida Marlins
Washington
Blue Jays (NL East: 1 home; NL Central: 1 home; NL West: 1 home, 3 away)
@Arizona
@Colorado
@San Diego
San Francisco
St. Louis
Philadelphia
Rays (NL East: 1 home, 2 away; NL Central: 1 away; NL West: 2 home)
@Houston
Florida
@Atlanta
@Florida
San Diego
Arizona
Red Sox (NL East: 1 home; 1 away; NL West: 2 home, 2 away)
@Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Arizona
Los Angeles Dodgers
@Colorado
@San Francisco
Yankees (NL East: 2 home, 1 away; NL Central: 1 home; NL West: 2 away)
@New York Mets
Houston
Philadelphia
New York Mets
@Arizona
@Los Angeles Dodgers
Can anyone make sense of this? It’s the kind of disaster only major league baseball could dream up. Since the last round of expansion, a totally unnecessary move given how many teams struggle to fill the stands, the powers that be deemed it a good idea, or financially prudent for the Bud Selig family to have sixteen teams in the National League and fourteen teams in the American League; otherwise, there would have to be one interleague game every day spreading it out through the season rather than clumping it all together for a late May weekend series and mid-June as is currently the practice.
To accomplish this, Phoenix and Tampa/St. Petersburg were awarded teams, the National League team, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the American League team, the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays. The Milwaukee Brewers moved from the American League to the National League creating a clunky six team NL Central but only four teams in the American League West. For Interleague play then, that meant each series would have to include one game against National League teams. Of course, no team would want to be the fifth team in the American League West, be in a further east time zone and have to deal with so many late night games. Of course, there have been whispers of baseball realignment, and God only knows what that would accomplish.
The current state of Interleague play has become such a mess and has lost any compelling reason for its continuation aside from the purely obvious rivalries, it might just as well be scrapped.
Partly related to making room for the Interleague games but more because the scheduling authorities in baseball are simply boobs, the schedule for non-divisional games within the league have become an absolute mess too. Looking the Orioles, Red Sox, and Yankees, this situation is also an inexplicable thorny mess.
The Orioles play the AL Central six series on the road, four 4 game series and two 3 game series. They only play the Indians three times on the road but the Tigers seven games. The home schedule is even crazier, five series consisting of four game series against the Twins, White Sox, and Tigers, a two game series for the Royals, and three games for the Indians. The games against the West, breaks down with five series against four teams: One four game series against the A’s, One three game series against the Mariners and Angels, and two series one two game and one three game against the Rangers. The home schedule for the West is six three game series facing the Mariners and A’s twice and Angels and Rangers once.
The Yankees:
AL Central (away): 5 series, 4 games vs. Tigers, Indians, Royals, 3 against the rest.
AL Central (home): 5 series: 4 games vs. three teams, 3 games vs. White Sox, Twins.
AL West (away): 6 series: 4 three game series*, 1 four game series, 1 two game series.
AL West (home): 6 series: 5 three game series,** 1 two game series.**
*Four games vs. Mariners, additional 2 games vs. Rangers
**Mariners – 2 three game series, Angels –additional 2 game series.
The Red Sox:
AL Central (away): 5 series, 3 three game series; 4 games vs. Indians and White Sox
AL Central (home): 2 three game series; 2 four game series; 1 two game series.
AL West (away): 6 series: 5 three game series;* 1 four game series
AL West (home): 5 series: 4 three game series**, 2 four game series.
*Athletics – 2 three game series; Mariners: 1 three, 1 four game series.
**Rangers – two series, one 3 game, one 4 game; Angels – one 4 game series.
NEED WE SAY MORE???
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