Interleague Play: Classic or Dud

Though fan exposure to interleague opponent as deciding factor is nil due to media saturation.

xpost I'm saying BIG MARBLES, WHERE ARE YOU

the way mlb weighs the schedules now fucks up the schedule!

I think less of it would make the All-Star Game more interesting, too (although I already love the ASG).

Shouldn't KC be in the AL west and the Brewers in the AL central and then everything would be much more balenced with 15 teams in each league?

I think this is some screwball idea that is definitely from the commish hoping to sell more Brewers tickets, which seems to really have worked (yeah right).

They really need to buckle up and get rid of the DH, it isn't like baseball needs MORE offense. Then again, I like teams doing double switches and having to work around the pitchers spot. Carlton Fisk ruined watching AL baseball for me, as he made games unbearingly slow.

I'm REALLY over it now...

uh, yeah. pretty silly (said the fan of the team w/ the WORST colelctive interleague record!)

Finally the classic rivalry between the Padres and Mariners is renewed!

Related but not exactly interleague play, explain to me again why the Brewers went to the NL? I still can't figure that one out.
Shouldn't KC be in the AL west and the Brewers in the AL central and then everything would be much more balenced with 15 teams in each league?

So i just read something about how KC could have gone to the NL but chose not to, for what reason?

Dud of all duds. Selfishly it's fun to see weird NL teams, I hate hate hate the schedule and effect on competition.

an odd number of teams in each league would cause a huge sceduling problem (esp. w/o interleauge play). current 16/14 keeps each league playing each other.
-- gygax! (gygax!), Saturday, June 19, 2004 7:19 PM (3 years ago)

Funny that the two teams mentioned to leave the AL at the time both played St. Louis in the World Series in the 1980s.

The third team, Minnesota, is always the one threatened with baletion.

interleague is PIMP! i can't wait 2 see the braves play tha A's this weekend~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i am going to see the d-rays first series at Busch EVER tomorrow.

When they come to Wrigley I'm gonna LMAO at those fuccin Myliobatidae.

but will you cheer Jimmy Edmonds???

my parents are going to Maine on Sunday, because of the Wang

Greg (Long Island): Look, it's fine and dandy to have this debate, but you positively CANNOT use stats from this season to back up any argument. The NL has only been playing the NL, and the AL has only been playing the AL (save for 41 games which were summarily dismissed earlier in the chat). The only valid arguments one can make would have to be based on opinion.

Jayson Stark: (1:41 PM ET ) Let me say this again. Yes, it's early. And yes, except for one weekend, we've only had NL-versus-NL and AL-versus-AL. But the leaguewide offensive numbers are way out of whack compared with the rest of the DH era. So if we can't use stats from this year to talk about who's best right now, can't we at least compare them to 1973-2007 and make a valid point that something's different here?

but will you cheer Jimmy Edmonds???

-- bnw, Friday, May 16, 2008 5:36 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Link

Sure, why not. I would cheer Ozzie Smith in a Cubs uni if our third- and fourth-string pitchers keep throwing (and hitting) like this.

I would cheer Ozzie Smith in a Cubs uni

That's the most offensive image I've seen conjured up here all day.

Blame the St. Lunatic. He started it.

It's crazy that they play 162 games and yet that doesn't involve at least each team playing one game vs every other team. To a foreigner the League system seems to be purely an administrative process. Why are 18 games vs the Diamonbacks this season more fun or more worthwhile than giving a dozen of those games to AL teams?

mc its because of the way the postseason/playoffs is structured - one team from each division + one wild card team from each league makes the postseason, so the theory is a greater # of inter-divisional games = greater tension = more people watching

you are far from the only person to have a problem w/ this theory but i personally like it as it actually retains some of the penant-chasing drama of olden days

i have nothing against inerleague play, but what games are being "taken away" from teams so to speak? intraleague or intradivision? because i'd rather see marlins-twins (or whatever) marlins-pirates again

and in general i still think this is a pretty cool thing, at the worse completely harmless

marlins-twins than marlins-pirates again**

To a foreigner the League system seems to be purely an administrative process. Why are 18 games vs the Diamonbacks this season more fun or more worthwhile than giving a dozen of those games to AL teams?

the total area of the United Kingdom is about 250K sq km. the total area of the contiguous 48 United States is greater than 8 million sq km., distributed over three time zones.

(relevant more to divisions than leagues, of course)

three time zones?

lol

Eastern, Flyover and Pacific

Gabbneb, I did think about that, and sure, the (relatively) local divisions thing makes some sense. But since the AL and NL both cover the whole country you've got the Mets playing the Dodgers and the Yankees playing the Angels however many times the season anyway - Yankees vs Mets REDUCES the travel (and is however many times more fun for fans of both teams).

That leads to another question - when interleague matches do occur, are the match-ups random or do they engineer them so that derby games like Mets vs Yankees happen every year? That would be quite cool though as a Rockies fans the thought of MORE games vs the overachieving D'backs doesn't appeal much. Where else is close to Denver? Oh, nowhere, I forgot :(

someone more knowledgeable may have a better contribution re history and such, but i'll note that the mets play the dodgers 7 times this year and the yankees 6 times (but also the angels 3 times). the last year for both ny stadia may have something to do with that. the LA games could have something to do with the number of former new yorkers out there and/or the fact that the dodgers came from ny.

almost everyone who can remember the Dodgers in Brooklyn is over 60.

I grew up thinking I should root for the Chavezers because my now-over-60 parents rooted for the Dodgers as kids

mets vs yankees is a 'rivalry' game so they play 6 times every year; there are several other rivalry series such as SF/OAK & STL/KC

the rest of interleague scheduling is mostly a mystery to me & i think many concede its largely idiotic

it involves rotating opponents by division, zzzzzzzz

the Cubs come to play the Mets in NY once (late Sept), as does Seattle. Truly idiotic.

Here's my challop: DUD

There is too much interleague play in baseball now.

The unevenly distributed interleague matchups in any given year add too many variables to the components of winning a League pennant. The teams are built specifically around NL or AL style of play.

While we're at it, I think the rule of giving home field advantage in the World Series to the winning league is bad, too. Having the best record over a long season makes every game meaningful.

HFA should obviously be settled via drinking contest, Teamster-style.

Having the best record over a long season makes every game meaningful.

Except one!

Zuh? Which one?

AJ Pierzynski Wrestlemania Bobblehead Night

as long as I can see the Mets crush the Yankees all good with me

http://images.usatoday.com/sports/_photos/2004/11/04/inside1-randolph.jpghttp://images.usatoday.com/sports/_photos/2004/11/04/inside1-randolph.jpghttp://images.usatoday.com/sports/_photos/2004/11/04/inside1-randolph.jpg

the rest of interleague scheduling is mostly a mystery to me & i think many concede its largely idiotic

The schedule is constructed to privledge matchups that people actually want to watch. Which is classic. So NYY vs. Dodgers is considered a rivalry/historical matchup and they play more often than NYY and the Padres or whomever. As you say the interleague schedule is biased in favour of certain geographical match-ups so that e.g. the Orioles play the Nationals 6 times regardless of which NL division they are currently supposed to play against and only play the Pirates or whomever 3 times.

It's a stupid idea, really, and the math doesn't make much sense and most of the games are throaways (okay I'm an Orioles fan) but I still like it.

uh, yeah. pretty silly (said the fan of the team w/ the WORST colelctive interleague record!)

You'll be thankful come mid-June, I think. lol NL Central

http://sneakers.pair.com/g/chukpat1.gif

Is that what the thread on the main board is about?

One of my favourite baseball souvenirs is a "limited edition" commemorative interleague play baseball for the Diamondbacks-Royals series June 10-12th, 2003. It has the multicolored team logos on it, as well as the fighting american/national league logo and a colorful 'interleague' set against the scripted team names. It was so ridiculous I had to purchase one. Ah the memories ...

LOL NL Central = real talk.

It always seems so scrappy and up for grabs, like in the olden days.

http://i26.tinypic.com/vhulo3.jpg

triple crowns in both leagues this year 4 sure!

btw i have no idea who this josh guy is

ex-junkie feelgood comeback outfielder, that's who.

yes, I just not-voted for him as All-Star cuz, y'know, 50 games.

wow just read his wiki - crazy

lol yeah, josh hamilton's a crackhead~

One of my favourite baseball souvenirs is a "limited edition" commemorative interleague play baseball for the Diamondbacks-Royals series June 10-12th, 2003. It has the multicolored team logos on it, as well as the fighting american/national league logo and a colorful 'interleague' set against the scripted team names. It was so ridiculous I had to purchase one. Ah the memories ...

― zaxxon25, Thursday, May 22, 2008 5:04 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

<3 this

still h8 you interleague

^^

red sox are playing the phillies more times than the twins this year which is kind of silly

AL is only up 52-49 this year, got over .500 thx to a good night last night.

The Tigers are 34-6 since 2006

Would someone please remind Jim Leyland of that record?

Jim Leyland blasts interleague play: 'It has run its course'
Tom Gage / / The Detroit News

Detroit — Interleague play in baseball has a vocal opponent.

On Tuesday, Tigers manager Jim Leyland blasted it.

The appeal of interleague play, Leyland said, "has worn off for me. It was a brilliant idea to start with, but it has run its course."

He knows that higher-ups, such as his good friend Commissioner Bud Selig, won't want to hear it, but Leyland spoke his mind all the same.

"I'll probably get chewed out for (saying) it," he said, "but I think a lot of people feel the same way."

What prompted Leyland to rail against interleague play before it begins this season isn't the three-game series the Tigers will play in Pittsburgh this coming weekend. That's harmless enough.

"For three games, that's OK," he said.

But he takes issue with the back-to-back road series the Tigers will play in Colorado, then against the Los Angeles Dodgers next month.

Leyland said it's "ridiculous" and "totally unfair" for an American League club to have to play consecutive series in National League ballparks.

"And that you can quote me on," he said. "They ought to look into it."

The bigger picture is that he thinks it's unfair for A.L. clubs to have to change their style of play for that long — meaning no designated hitter.

It means teams with productive DHs, such as the Tigers with Victor Martinez, have to scramble their lineups for six games.

"I'm on the (Commissioner's) committee, and I'll probably get a phone call," said Leyland, "but I don't really care. That's totally ridiculous."

At the same time, Leyland doesn't foresee it ending.

"I don't think so," he said. "And let me emphasize this, it originally was a tremendous idea. But it's not really doing what it's supposed to do.

"There are no rivalries for most of the teams. I'm sure it helps the White Sox a little bit when they host the Cubs, but it doesn't help at Wrigley Field. The Cubs pack it most of the time anyway. The Yankees also pack their place most of the time."

Leyland added: "It has run its course. I just don't like it. First of all, at some point we have to get baseball back to the same set of rules. I don't know why more people don't talk about it. No other sport plays different rules (regarding the DH).

"I don't care what they do. Whatever way they go is fine with me, but the rules should be the same."

When it was mentioned that he could voice his opinion at the next committee meeting, Leyland said, in recognition of how his comments might not be well received: "I was on the committee. I don't know if I still am."

If by "it's run its course" he means "most the games have lost their luster" then he's right. If you look at interleague games as some kind of special attraction then you can overlook the screwy rules, but when they're just ordinary games on the schedule (which is pretty much what they are with the exception of stuff like Cubs-White Sox) then it's illogical. The Tigers' interleague record is irrelevant to what he's saying, I think.

The price is fewer intradivision games, which is what the schedule should be tilted toward. (I also don't like some inerdivision league season series being over in May.)

Is average per-game attendance (still?) higher for interleague games?

I kinda go back and forth on it. This year's not so bad -- Tigers play at PNC, Diamondbacks (with Gibson and Trammell) visit. The away series versus the Giants a couple years back was real fun. Thames hit two HRs off Lincecum.

That too. I get that it's a business and you want to generate interest and sell tickets, so if it means you add interleague games at the expense of intradivision games in May-June, then I'm OK with it. But nobody cares about seeing Detroit vs Pittsburgh.

xpost

The different sets of opponents for teams in the same division just irks me from a fairness perspective, no matter who benefits in a given season.

I think the average Detroit fan would prefer three away games at Pittsburgh over three additional games at Kansas City.

i read this as "Intergalactic Play..." at first somehow.

xpost sure, it might be a more interesting matchup for a lot of reasons, but as far as the integrity of the regular season goes, it's a bad idea to remove games from the schedule against teams you're supposed to be competing with for playoff spots. And Morbs is right about the different sets of opponents thing, that bugs the hell out of me too.

i'm not sure what you guys mean by different sets of opponents.

well, the Mets always have 6 games against the Yankees, and I think there's one NL East team a year that doesn't play the Yanks at all. Or if it's a year where the NLE plays the ALW, one NLE team might miss the Rangers, or the Angels.

I think the average Detroit fan would prefer three away games at Pittsburgh over three additional games at Kansas City.

― A Chuck Person's Guide to Mark Aguirre (Andy K), Wednesday, May 18, 2011 11:25 AM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark

true, but i'd rather the sox play more games against the al central and west than against random national league teams, for example.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7874251/mlb-mulls-altering-interleague-rivalry-series-including-mets-yankees-sources-say