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Three suggestions for improving interleague play
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Willingham savors a rare victory.
Historically, the Orioles hold one of MLB's worst interleague records. Yet, in the last two seasons the O's have outdueled their NL foes by a considerable margin. The team went 11-7 against the NL in each of the last two seasons.
This year, during a season in which the team is playing .450 baseball and manager Dave Trembley is willing to state publicly during a game that the O's are not going to win this year, they were still able to handle the NL with relative ease.
In fact, the only NL series the team lost was the sweep at the hands of the Marlins. They are 11-4 against the rest of the NL East, winning two series against the Nats, one each against the Mets and Braves, and sweeping the World Champion Phillies in Philadelphia.
It would be overly optimistic to claim that the Orioles would be able to enjoy a playoff run or even guarantee a winning season were they in the NL. The sample size of the interleague mini-season is simply too small to make that determination, and the Orioles record is inflated because of the 6 games they play against the woeful Nats each year under the false pretense of a “geographic rivalry.”
During the Nats series, announcers always like to play up the fact that the O's and Nats parks are only 38 miles apart from one another, but there's a world of difference between these two clubs. The Nats, formerly the Montreal Expos, are an organization in disarray. They have no brand name and no real fan base.
At 34-41, the Orioles are in the basement of the AL East. But at 22-51, the Nats are downright embarrassing. They seem destined to join the ranks of the '62 Mets as one of the worst teams in modern MLB history.
Were I the commissioner of baseball, I would be a very rich man and probably not writing for Examiner.com, but let's just play along and say that for some odd reason I was both the MLB commish and an Examiner. Here's what I would do to improve interleague play.
1. Eliminate faux “natural” rivalries like the Nats vs. O's:
This weekend's series drew well, but I am frankly sick of the Nats vs. O's “rivalry” and I'm sure many people agree. There are plenty of geographical rivalries that make sense and should continue to be played 6x a year. The Yankees v. the Mets, the Angels v. Dodgers. Clearly, those are matchups people want to see. But I'd settle for only having to see the Nats one series every few years. The Padres v. Mariners seems to be a similarly artificial “rivalry.”
Would you rather see the Nationals for one series every year, or a rotating schedules that features series against teams like the Brewers, Dodgers, or Cardinals?
2. Put the DH in NL parks and allow pitchers to bat in AL parks during interleague games
I sort of enjoy the spectacle of watching AL pitchers go to the plate. Whether it's guys like Danys Baez and Rich Hill surprisingly looking respectable, or goof balls like Daniel Cabrera flailing away, there is a novelty to watching the AL adapt to NL rules. This extends beyond simply watching pitchers hit. In late innings, watching pinch hit and double switch situations becomes intriguing from a strategy standpoint.
So why not allow AL fans a chance to see the NL game up close and personal in their home ballparks?
3. Spread the interleague series over the course of the season
I don't think interleague games should play a part in pennant races come September, but why not spread the interleague contests out during the months of May, June, and July? The novelty of the rule changes and unfamiliar clubs make interleague games interesting. Why not spread that novelty over the course of the middle of the season, when 18 contests against teams like the Blue Jays grows tedious relatively quickly?
The last two suggestions will certainly not jibe with baseball purists. What's your take on interleague play?
