FORT WORTH — Maybe interleague play has run its course.
The American League probably doesn’t see it that way, but the 18 games each team plays against teams from the other league have become a bore. Interleague play still has merit, but only for rivalries that make geographic sense.
It’s always nice to see the Texas Rangers take on the Houston Astros, although the Silver Boot has seemed to make a permanent place in Arlington. The all-New York, all-Los Angeles and all-Chicago series are also a good thing.
You can also make the case for the Kansas City-St. Louis series, and maybe a couple of others.
But how many series between Washington and Kansas City or Oakland and Pittsburgh can one person take?
Playing 18 games has watered down interleague play. There’s really nothing special to it anymore, like there was when Nolan Ryan and Willie Mays threw out the firstpitches when the Rangers and San Francisco opened interleague play in 1997. Now it seems like it’s more of a travel hassle for clubs and a marketing problem for teams trying to sell tickets.
How is Oakland supposed to sell tickets for its series against Pittsburgh this weekend? Is there a hidden Pittsburgh Pirates fan base in Oakland that someone isn’t telling me about?
The only reason the Rangers drew for their three-game set against Pittsburgh was because the team was riding a hot streak. Dollarhot dogs on Wednesdays also help. But dollar hot dogs also draw fans to Arlington when the Royals are in town.
Another drawback to interleague play is the competitive imbalance. The AL has kicked the NL around the yard the past few years, and nothing’s changed this year.
Going into the final series of interleague play, the AL had a 110-100 lead over the NL. Those numbers are a little skewed because two of the worst teams in baseball - Cleveland and Baltimore - have accounted for 22 of the AL losses.
Teams like the Rangers (12-3), Chicago (13-2) and Boston (11-4) have used interleague play to their advantage, and have also benefited from playing weak NL opponents.
The schedules are already imbalanced enough, with the AL West teams spending nearly half of the season playing against each other. Wouldn’t it be better to guarantee the Rangers two series a year against Boston and New York than one against Arizona, Florida or Cincinnati?
Sports, Pages 28 on 06/27/2010