Interleague play

Interleague play logo

Interleague play is the term used to describe regular season Major League Baseball games played between teams in different leagues, introduced in 1997. Before the 1997 season, teams in the American League and National League did not meet during the regular season. AL/NL matchups only occurred during spring training, the All-Star Game, other exhibition games such as the Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown, New York, and the World Series. Unlike modern interleague play, none of these contests, except for the World Series, counted toward official team or league records.

History

Early discussions

Hank Greenberg, Hall of Famer and 2-time MVP

Interleague or interconference matchups have long been the norm in other professional sports leagues such as the NFL. Regular season interleague play was discussed for baseball's major leagues as early as the 1930s. In December 1956, Major League owners considered a proposal by Cleveland general manager and minority-owner Hank Greenberg to implement limited interleague play beginning in 1958. Under Greenberg's proposal, each team would continue to play a 154-game season, with 126 within that team's league, and 28 against the eight clubs in the other league. The interleague games would be played immediately following the All-Star Game. Notably, under Greenberg's proposal, all results would count in regular season game standings and league statistics. While this proposal was not adopted, the current system shares many elements. Bill Veeck predicted in 1963 that Major League Baseball would someday have interleague play. While the concept was again considered in the 1970s, it was not implemented until the 1990s. Interleague play was at least in part as an effort to renew the public's interest in MLB following the 1994 players' strike, but was also necessitated by the 1998 Major League Baseball expansion, which resulted in both leagues having 15 teams.

Interleague play introduced

MLB's first regular season interleague game took place on June 12, 1997, as the Texas Rangers hosted the San Francisco Giants at The Ballpark in Arlington. There were four interleague games on the schedule that night, but the other three were played on the West Coast, so the Giants–Rangers matchup started a few hours earlier than the others. Texas' Darren Oliver threw the game's first pitch and San Francisco outfielder Glenallen Hill was the first designated hitter used in a regular-season game by a National League team. San Francisco's Stan Javier hit the first home run in interleague play, and the Giants won the game, 4–3.

From 1997 to 2001, teams from the American League West played teams from the National League West, etc., typically scheduled to alternate between home and away in consecutive years. However, in 2002, the league began alternating which divisions played which divisions, and thus in 2002 the American League East played the National League West, the American League Central played the National League East, and the American League West played the National League Central. Matchups which had been of particular interest prior to this format — mainly geographic rivals — were preserved. This is expected to be the continuing format of the interleague schedule. Corresponding divisions however, were skipped once when this rotation began, but were put back in the rotation in 2006.

Since 2002, all interleague games have been played prior to the All-Star Game. Most games are played in June, though May games have been scheduled since 2005.

The designated hitter (DH) rule is applied in the same manner as in the World Series (and the All-Star Game prior to 2010). In an American League ballpark, both teams have the option to use a DH. In a National League ballpark, both teams' pitchers must bat. Some baseball observers feel it might be fairer to reverse this (in other words, always follow the DH rule of the visiting team instead of the home team), thereby offsetting the home-field advantage as well as exposing the fans of the home team to the other league's rules.

After the 2010 interleague play, the American League holds an all-time series advantage of 1,808–1,652 and has finished with the better record in interleague play for 7 straight seasons, dating back to 2004. 2006 was the most lopsided season in interleague history, with American League teams posting a 154–98 record against their National League counterparts. The team with the best all-time record in interleague play is the New York Yankees of the AL at 144–102 (.585), followed by the Chicago White Sox at 143–104 (.579). The Miami Marlins holds the NL's best interleague record at 127–107 (.543), followed by the St. Louis Cardinals at 109–96 (.532).

In 2007, two teams—the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Baltimore Orioles played 6 games with more than one interleague opponent. The former playing both the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim while the latter played both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Washington Nationals.

The first Civil Rights Game was an exhibition interleague game between the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals in AutoZone Park on March 31, 2007. The first regular season Civil Rights Game was an interleague game between the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds in Great American Ball Park on June 20, 2009.

Records

Wins by league

Year	Best Record	American League	National League
1997	National	97	117
1998	American	114	110
1999	National	116	135
2000	American	136	115
2001	American	132	120
2002	National	123	129
2003	National	115	137
2004	American	127	125
2005	American	136	116
2006	American	154	98
2007	American	137	115
2008	American	149	103
2009	American	138	114
2010	American	134	118
2011	American	131	121
Overall	American	1,939	1,773

Interleague statistics

The following is text of Major League Baseball's policy regarding the compilation of statistics as a result of Interleague Play:

"For the first time in the history of Major League Baseball, Interleague games are to be played during the regular season. Breaking tradition always brings about controversy and the matter of baseball records is no exception.

"It is the opinion of Major League Baseball that there is no justification for compiling a new volume of records based on Interleague Play. On the contrary, the sovereignty of each league's records will be retained, and if a player or a team breaks a record against an Interleague opponent it will be considered a record in that league. In cases where two teams – as Interleague opponents – break a league or Major League record, that record will be annotated with the phrase 'Interleague game.' Streaks by both teams and individual will continue (or be halted) when playing Interleague opponents in the same manner as if playing against an intraleague opponent. In essence, records will be defined by who made them rather than against whom they were made.

"The official statistics of both leagues will be kept separately as they have in the past. This means statistics for each team and their individual players will reflect their performance in games within the league and also in Interleague games without differentiation."

Interleague-play leaders

A list of leaders in the following categories is available on the MLB.com website.

• Batting Average (min. 300 at-bats)
• Hits
• Home Runs
• Runs Batted In
• Wins (by pitcher)
• ERA (min. 100 innings)
• Saves
• Year-by-year Stats

Geographical matchups / Natural Rivals

See also: Major League Baseball rivalries

Several interleague matchups are especially anticipated because of the relative proximity of the teams involved. In the case of each of these "rivalry" matchups, the two teams play six games (home-and-home series of three games each) every year:

• Chicago Cubs v. Chicago White Sox (Crosstown Classic, Windy City Series, BP Cup, or Red Line Series)
• Cincinnati Reds v. Cleveland Indians (Ohio Cup)
• Los Angeles Dodgers v. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Freeway Series)
• New York Yankees v. New York Mets (Subway Series)
• San Francisco Giants v. Oakland Athletics (Bay Bridge Series or Battle of the Bay)
• St. Louis Cardinals v. Kansas City Royals (I-70 Series or Show-Me Series)
• Minnesota Twins v. Milwaukee Brewers
  • The Twins and the Brewers were formerly regional rivals in the American League, dating from the Brewers' relocation from Seattle after the 1969 season until the team's realignment into the NL Central for the 1998 season. The two metro areas are connected by Interstate 94. However, the term "I-94 Series" is used almost exclusively to refer to the games played between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs, and interleague contests with the also-former rival Chicago White Sox.
• Houston Astros v. Texas Rangers (Lone Star Series)
  • 2012 will mark the last interleague games between the Astros and the Rangers. The move of the Astros to the American League West in 2013 will effectively turn the Lone Star Series into an intradivisional matchup, guaranteeing a maximum of 18 meetings played between them.
• Miami Marlins v. Tampa Bay Rays (Citrus Series) (also the "Marine Biologist" and "Sunshine" Series)
• Baltimore Orioles v. Washington Nationals (Beltway Series)
  • Because the 2005 MLB schedule was already set when the Montreal Expos were relocated to Washington, D.C., the Orioles did not play the Nationals during the 2005 regular season. The two teams began playing each other in 2006 and created a geographic rivalry. Prior to this, a geographical rivalry existed between the Expos and the Toronto Blue Jays, as well as the Orioles and the Philadelphia Phillies.

The two remaining West Coast teams (who share a spring training base in Peoria, Arizona) play annual home-and-home series as well:

• San Diego Padres v. Seattle Mariners

The following eight teams are not paired up as of 2009:

• Arizona Diamondbacks
  • The Diamondbacks have recently developed an unofficial rivalry with the Detroit Tigers. This may be due to the fact that much of the Diamondbacks organization has ties to the Detroit area.
• Atlanta Braves
  • In recent years, the Braves have developed an unofficial rivalry with the Boston Red Sox. This is possibly attributable to the fact that the Braves franchise was originally located in Boston, or due to common opponents in the Yankees and Mets.
• Boston Red Sox
  • See above notes for Atlanta. In 2010 and 2011, the Red Sox played a home-and-home interleague series with the Philadelphia Phillies.
• Colorado Rockies
• Detroit Tigers
  • See above notes for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• Philadelphia Phillies
  • The Phillies were matched with the Baltimore Orioles prior to 2005.
• Pittsburgh Pirates
  • In recent years the Pirates have played an annual series against the Chicago White Sox, which could count as an unofficial rivalry. There have also been calls for the Pirates and Cleveland Indians to meet annually, due to the cities' relative proximity and the historic rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns in the NFL. These two teams have played a three-game series every year since 2009.
• Toronto Blue Jays
  • Since the Montreal Expos were relocated to Washington D.C. and renamed the Washington Nationals, the Blue Jays do not have an annual rival.

Scheduling

Interleague play used to be scheduled in June and July. (though as it was today if any teams were involved in interleague play, all teams were, except for the two NL teams that play each other). Later it was changed to occur only in June. In 2005, the format was changed again. Now, each team plays one series during the third weekend in May and plays the rest of their games in June and occasionally early July, usually starting in the second weekend of June, only playing interleague opponents until the interleague schedule is complete for the year. This new format allows for maximized weekend interleague games. In the American League, each team plays 18 games; in the National League, five teams play 18 games, ten teams play 15 games, and one team plays 12 games, or with four teams playing 18 games, and 12 teams playing 15 games for a total of 252 interleague games. They used the latter method in 2011, with the Marlins, Mets, Reds, and Diamondbacks being the four teams to play in 18 games. The reason for the difference is that during interleague play, all teams play interleague games at the same time, except for two NL teams that play each other. This is required because the NL has two more teams than the AL.

As of 2010, every Major League team has had interleague series with each team in the opposing league. Some clubs have not hosted every team at their home ballpark. The New York Mets have never hosted the Chicago White Sox. The 2 teams have only played once in Chicago in 2002. The Atlanta Braves have not hosted the Minnesota Twins since the 1991 World Series, although the teams have met in Minnesota. The Los Angeles Dodgers have never hosted the Tampa Bay Rays. This makes the Rays the only American League team to have never visited Dodger Stadium. The Yankees have also not hosted the Dodgers in an interleague series, although they have played in Los Angeles twice since 2004. This makes the Dodgers the only current Major League franchise to have never played a regular season game in the original Yankee Stadium. The Kansas City Royals have never hosted the Atlanta Braves. The Toronto Blue Jays have never hosted the San Diego Padres. The Oakland Athletics have never hosted the Chicago Cubs. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have never hosted the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals have never hosted the Texas Rangers during the regular season, however they hosted the Rangers during the 2011 World Series.

Starting in 2013, the Houston Astros will join the American League, giving each league 15 teams. This will force interleague play throughout the season. For the first time ever, teams will play interleague games even on opening day and during key division races all the way to the end of the season. There will likely be 30 interleague games for each team, but it has not yet been announced how the matchups will be rotated.

Arguments

Since its introduction, regular-season interleague play has continued to be a source of controversy among baseball fans and others both inside and outside the sport. Among the arguments used in favor of (and opposition to) interleague play are the following:

Pros

• Interleague matchplay increases attendance. (It should be noted that this point is debated, as most interleague games are scheduled on weekends, when attendance is normally higher than on weekdays), and in June (attendance is also generally higher during the summer months, when school is out).
• Fans can see players they might not otherwise get to see, especially those who have only ever played in one league, such as Chipper Jones, Alex Rodriguez, and Johnny Damon.
• Certain geographic rivalries are played out during the regular season that otherwise might not happen for years at a time. The Yankees now play 6 games against the Mets each season every year whereas they would only have gone head to head in the 2000 World Series if not for interleague play. From 1962 until interleague play, the Mets and the Yankees played each other in a single game, the annual Mayor's Trophy Game, which was an exhibition game even though it was played during the regular season.
• It creates matchups that might not have been seen in generations. For example:
  • During the 2004 season, the Giants and Red Sox played each other for the first time since meeting in the 1912 World Series.
  • The Red Sox had never played at Wrigley Field (an NL park since 1916) until 2005.
  • In 2004, the Yankees and Dodgers met for the first time since the 1981 World Series at Dodger Stadium.
  • In 2007, the San Francisco Giants hosted the New York Yankees for the first time in the regular season at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
  • In 2008, the New York Yankees visited the Pittsburgh Pirates for the first time since the 1960 World Series.
  • In 2011, the Chicago Cubs traveled to Fenway Park for a series with the Boston Red Sox in what was the Cubs' first visit to the stadium since the 1918 World Series.
• It allows for a rematch of the previous World Series. This has occurred in nine of the sixteen seasons of interleague play: 1997 (Atlanta Braves at New York Yankees), 2000 (New York Yankees at Atlanta Braves), 2001 (New York Mets vs. New York Yankees), 2002 (Arizona Diamondbacks at New York Yankees), 2005 (Boston Red Sox at St. Louis Cardinals), 2006 (Houston Astros at Chicago White Sox), 2007 (St. Louis Cardinals at Detroit Tigers), 2009 (Philadelphia Phillies at Tampa Bay Rays), and 2010 (Philadelphia Phillies at New York Yankees).
• It allows the relative strength of the two leagues to be measured against each other over 252 games per year, rather than just in the World Series once per year.

Cons

• There are many series that are not considered compelling; for example, series between currently poor-performing teams or teams with no historical or geographic connections.
• American League pitchers generally don't like taking batting practice for the opportunity to bat in one or two games. These pitchers are also unaccustomed to running the bases, which can lead to injury and premature fatigue. (For example, Chien-Ming Wang suffered a season-ending lisfranc sprain on his right foot when running the bases during a Yankees-Astros game at Minute Maid Park on June 15, 2008.)
• With the two leagues not having the same number of teams, and with one division (the National League Central) containing six teams while another (the American League West) has only four (the other two divisions in both leagues consisting of five teams each), various irregularities in scheduling result. Most notably, teams no longer play identical opponents as their divisional rivals, and even where they do, they don't always play them an identical number of times. This can lead to "strength of schedule" disparities like those the NFL has to deal with on a yearly basis. For example, in any given season, one NL Central team might play every AL East team except the (strong) first place team, while another NL Central team plays all but the (weak) last place team. Another scheduling problem is that because the leagues are not equal in size, there always has to be one NL game on interleague days (interleague is done with block scheduling, so all the teams play interleague games on the same day, and all the interleague games are played in one part of the schedule (third weekend of May and much of June)
• The "rivalry" series that consist of six games a year for some teams leads to further scheduling inequities. For example, the Chicago Cubs play the recently good Chicago White Sox six times a year, while their division rival St. Louis Cardinals play the recently poor Kansas City Royals six times a year.
• The World Series and All-Star Game are robbed of the mystique that used to result from the two leagues playing completely exclusive schedules during the regular season: in the case of the World Series, the "best in the American League" playing the "best in the National League" for the only time that whole year.
• Some teams play a certain opposite-league team more than a certain same-league team. For example, the San Diego Padres are scheduled to play the Seattle Mariners (an American League team) six times during the 2012 season. However, the Padres only play the Washington Nationals (a National League team) 5 times in the 2012 season.
• More games against interleague opponents means fewer games against intra-league and intra-division rivals – the latter of which may be more compelling. However, the leagues currently play an unbalanced schedule that favors divisional opponents rather than teams from other divisions (which is important due to the postseason qualifying structure - only the best team from a given division is guaranteed a berth in the postseason).

See also

• Major League Baseball rivalries
• Baseball awards
• List of Major League Baseball awards

External links

• Proposals for interleague play prior to 1997
• For head to head listings, choose team and the time period to get full list and results