Season-long Interleague: A New Baseball Landscape

With the sale of the Houston Astros and their 2013 move to the AL, baseball is totally different. The two big things that are easy to point to are the addition of 2 more playoff teams each season and the new format of interleague play. The latter is the one I’m going to focus on.

There are a wide range of opinion surrounding interleague play, even as it’s presently constituted. Some people think that it gives the AL an unfair advantage due to the DH, some think it corrupts the purity of the game. Other people think it adds flair and interest to the middle of what could otherwise be a rather monotonous summer long season and lets us see interesting rivalry games like Yankees-Mets, A’s-Giants, and White Sox-Cubs that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to watch.  I’m inclined to agree but not exactly for the same reason, and it’s a reason that makes me like the idea of season long interleague play.

For me, the attraction of interleague games and the great potential of AL-NL contests is the idea of seeing the sort of random midweek but interesting matchups. I think there’s greater appeal in watching the Yankees play the Reds on a Tuesday night than seeing them take on the Blue Jays, again. It’s just new and different and we get to see some of the more storied franchises (Cubs, Red Sox, Yankees, Reds etc.) interact with one another more. Also, as fans, we’re exposed to a greater variety of players. It would be cool, as a fan in a place like Kansas City, Texas, San Diego, Colorado, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia etc to get to see some guys in another league that they wouldn’t ordinarily see. Plus, when the games are spread out and not packed into one or two weekends, it’ll be easier to get tickets to games.

Bottom line, I think full season interleague will spice things up, provide a good change of pace for both players and fans, and be good for baseball.

Stat of the Day: There are really hot girls in Houston.

Question of the Day: Why is the lead story on the  New York Times website about cat agility competitions?

-Max Frankel