Does this start earlier every year?
I kind of glaze over when the National League teams start playing the American. It throws the pitcher's listings and box scores all out of whack. Plus, I have no interest in the Yankees vs. Mets, which is all anyone hears about when interleague play begins.
This is the 11th year for regular-season NL vs. AL, which means that teenage baseball fans (if, indeed there are any) won't remember the regular order of things, when the only time the leagues met was in the All-Star Game and World Series.
When interleague play started, I remember the hype in places like Pittsburgh to the effect that, "Now you'll get to see the Yankees come to town!" Well, guess what. Steinbrenner's boys have yet to visit Western Pennsylvania. And the one trip the Pirates made to the Bronx, they got creamed three straight, starting a long downward spiral that ruined a semi-promising '05 season.
The next few days are being touted as "rivalry weekend," with matchups like the Cubs vs. White Sox, Red Sox vs. Braves (who once were in Boston) and even Baltimore vs. Washinton and Florida vs. Tampa Bay set up as "natural rivalries."
Speaking of which, I remember when Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were natural rivals, in the same state and same division of the National League. Those made for some great series back in the '70s and into the early '80s. But they ruined that by putting the Pennsylvania teams in different divisions when they went to a Central.
I'll yawn this "rivalry weekend" and sort of hope the Mets sweep the Yankees, although I'm none too fond of the guys who play at Shea these days, either. But it would be nice to see New York's American League entry behind by double digits a week before Memorial Day.
Wouldn't it?
You cringe when you hear it: "Baseball ... it's so boring." Don't tell that to the people who help set new records each year attending games in the majors and minors. There's something about baseball that keeps folks coming back for more, even if football is harder-hitting, basketball is faster-paced, and you might see a wreck at a NASCAR race. Join me for various observations and history lessons about America's pastime. -- Harry Funk
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- Harry Funk
- • Online editor, The Observer-Reporter, Washington, Pa. • Member, Society for American Baseball Research • Guitar & bass player
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Trivia answers
- 56. Dallas and Chicago
- 55. On Oct. 1, 1933, Babe Ruth pitched a complete game for the Yankees against the Red Sox. According to Boston Post writer Paul Shannon, "though hit hard at times, and seemingly very tired toward the end, [Ruth] was able to steer his hard-hitting teammates to a 6-5 win in the season's final contest."
- 54. Gaylord Perry, San Francisco Giants, April 27, 1971
- 53. Rolando Arrojo went 14-12 for the Devil Rays in 1998, the team's first season. That represented 22.2 percent of the Rays' total victories.
- 52. Chester "Red" Hoff (1891-1998), who pitched for the New York Highlanders from 1911-13 and St. Louis Browns in 1915
- 51. George Steinbrenner, New York Yankees, 1974
- 50. Barry Lamar Bonds, 2002, age 38, breaking the previous record held by another ex-Pirate, Al Oliver
- 49. Manny Trillo, George Vukovich, Jay Baller and Jerry Willard
- 48. Dean Stone. In the eighth inning of the 1954 All-Star Game, the Washington rookie came in to pitch with two outs and runners on first and third. As Stone wound up, Red Schoendienst raced toward home. Stone threw to the plate to catch Schoendienst stealing. The American League scored three times in the bottom of the eighth to take an 11-9 lead, and Stone got the win in his only All-Star appearance.
- 47. Carlton Fisk, 1972
2 comments:
You're right. It does seem like interleague play starts earlier every year. Even though I'm pretty much a traditionalist (ban the DH!), I do enjoy interleague play. Getting to see the Bucs against some AL teams can be fun, although you'd think MLB could have found a way to have the Yankees here just once over an 11 year period. The year 2000 would've been perfect (40 year anniversary of the 60 Series). Oh well, maybe Yanks at Bucs in 2010 for the 50 year anniversary.
That sounds like a good idea, but after Saturday's games, I don't know about the quality of baseball in a Yankees-at-Pittsburgh series. I watched the Yankees play a sloppy game against the Mets (three errors by Robinson Cano), the the Pirates blew a six-run lead later that night!
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