Sports Radio Service


		MLB feature: Interleague play By Jerry Feitelberg May 21, 2010

	Tonight marks the start of the 14th year of Interleague play.. For many years teams in the National League never played teams in the American League during the regular season. Teams did play against each other in Spring Training and the World Series. Hank Greenberg proposed interleague play years ago back in the 60’s but the owners never adopted the idea. Change comes slow to baseball. However, in the 90’s, under the leadership of Commissioner Bud Selig, the owners decided to give the concept a try. Starting in 1997 teams from the National League would play against the teams of the American League. At first, teams from the Western division of the American League would play teams from the Western Division of the National League. That format was changed and now all divisions engage in play. The first game played was between the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers at the Ballpark in Arlington, Texas. Has it worked? Some will say no but most people like it. The fans obviously do as they get a chance to see the stars of teams in the other league. The owners certainly do, as the average attendance for a game is 33,145. That’s a lot of people at the park. So far, over 3200 games have been played and more than 160 million people have gone through the turnstiles. Fans get to see rivalries such as the A’s-Giants as well as Yankees-Mets, Cubs-White Sox and the Dodgers-Angels. The American League has been more successful as they lead with 1673 wins against 1534 losses. Of course, the New York Yankees have been the most successful team against the National League but the Twins, Athletics, White Sox and Red Sox are not to far behind. The most successful team in the National League is the Florida Marlins. This year the A’s fans will get to see the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates here in Oakland. The A’s go on the road to play the Cubs and the Cardinals. The A’s also go to San Francisco. For a 3 game set with the Giants. Major League Baseball did it right.