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Interleague play has arrived in Major League Baseball
and it's time for my annual rant. This profane
exercise camouflaged as game promotion is essentially
baseball subtraction. MLB has conducted this circus of
interleague play for six seasons now and, as ESPN
announcer and hall-of-famer Joe Morgan has said, it has
become irrelevant.
I agree.
There are some misguided souls who believe that every
National League team should play every American League
team; they cite the fact that NFL, NHL and NBA teams do
this.
That's simple nonsense. Just because other leagues do
it doesn't mean MLB must do it (I'm reminded of that
remark all our mothers made about our friends jumping
off a cliff). If you are an NL fan, you generally pay
ancillary attention to AL standings and box scores.
Ditto if you are an AL fan regarding the NL.
Let's face it: interleague play only helps teams who
have some crosstown rivalries (I won't even venture to
say cross-state; I was at a Cardinals-Royals game in
2000 when the Cardinals were in first place and the game
was played before 25,000 empty seats). Interleague play
is viable in places like Chicago, where the Sox and Cubs
fans loathe each other, or New York, where there is
equal animosity between Yankees and Mets fans.
As for the remainder, the only teams helped by
interleague play are NL teams who play the Yankees or AL
teams who get to see Barry Bonds. Being a Cincinnati
fan, I'd rather see the Reds play a divisional foe or
the Dodgers than Cleveland. Similarly, Dodgers' fans
I've spoken to savor a matchup with the Giants rather
than neighboring Anaheim, despite the fact that the
Angels won the Series last year.
I think interleague baseball goes against tradition.
"Well what about playoffs? Night baseball? Artificial
turf? They go against tradition."
Sorry, playoffs have been around for a while. The
current structure has been in place since 1969. Night
baseball has been played in America since 1921 and the
first MLB game was played under the lights in 1935 at
Cincinnati's Crosley Field. It's been around a while.
And, sorry to burst your bubble, but fake grass is being
phased out. Only five teams have it and that's soon to
be pared to four when Philadelphia leaves Veterans
Stadium. Playoffs and lights have become part of
baseball lore.
"Well, what if I want to see Barry Bonds play?"
If he's healthy, he'll have an opportunity to play in
162 games at 16 different ballparks. You can see him 81
times in San Francisco; might I suggest you buy a
ticket?
"What about a great pitching matchup like Clemens v.
The Big Unit."
It's a roll of the dice; the Yankees and Diamondbacks
might play four times and the rotations may never mesh
like that. It's possible they could, but perhaps not.
More often, it's not...or the matchup is a bust.
"I want to see interleague play."
Go to spring training, the All-Star game or the World
Series. You'll get your fill.
You see folks, divisional games suffer, standings
suffer and scheduling suffers. I have a friend in
Chicago. If I want to see the Reds there, I could go in
April or I could go in September. More important
intraleague variety is stifled because of complications
set up by interleague play. Most educated baseball fans
see that. For example, Arizona made its LAST visit to
Philadelphia in May. Now that's just screwy.
Another thing is that it has split up good rivalries.
The Cardinals and Mets had an ongoing venom exchange to
the point that there is a chess tournament in St. Louis
called "The Mets Are Pond Scum Chess Open." I kid you
not. But divisional play has ruined that rivalry. Same
for the Reds-Dodgers and numerous other big clashes, all
because of divisional and interleague play.
I don't see how baseball can be helped by featuring a
matchup between Detroit or San Diego. How 'bout that
titanic series between Montreal and Kansas City, or
Cincinnati against Tampa Bay? Riveting stuff.
It's bad enough that we are poisoned by that Kansas
City-Tampa Bay matchup; don't make me watch a KC-Houston
one, too. We already have bad games built in, why
compound the problem by adding more senseless
interleague games. There is more to hate about
interleague play than there is to like about it, if you
are a true baseball fan.
It's time we end interleague play, allow Pete Rose
back into baseball and go back to two divisions in each
league, eliminating the silly wildcard bids. Sure, and
maybe the Cubs and Red Sox will play in the World
Series.
Wait, both have been in first place much of the
season. Perhaps there is hope! Or we are truly at the
precipice of Armegeddon. |
