I must be doing something right, though I couldn't for the life of me tell you what it is. I got an email earlier today from a lady wanting to write a guest spot for me, and she would pay me forty dollars for the honor. I suppose you can't say you're really making on the internet until you get spammers, right? Anyway, have I mentioned how much I don't care for interleague? It's not to the same level as my hatred for a second wild card, and theoretically less than for the DH.* Still, it leaves me awfully cold. *Not in practice, though. I would so much rather see pitchers hit than watch two people split a position, but I do appreciate that it gives a real difference between the American and National Leagues. So, for that, I don't mind the DH being around. If we're going to have one blanket rule, though, it should be National League rules. As with so many other things, it comes down to an appreciation of history and where baseball has come from. I like that there is a distinction between the leagues, as they were fully separate leagues for the longest time. Legally, the leagues ceased to function independently in 2000. And, frankly, I think that was a step in the wrong direction. I guess I'm just not a very trendy guy, but it seems like mirroring the other professional sports and adopting their conference set-up just feels wrong in every sense. Real baseball fans, and probably even most casual fans, can appreciate the differences between the American and National Leagues and their different cultures. A lot of it goes back to how the DH impacts the game, which has me worried that baseball will soon adopt the DH in both leagues. And, frankly, I will probably stop following the sport at that point. The changes Bud has made lately already have me leaning that way. Baseball has always been geared towards the regular season. There was always so much pride in capturing the pennant, maybe even more so than winning the World Series. The World Series has been, in many ways, a glorified exhibition. And that was because both teams were already champions in a real sense. Not in a merchandising sense, the way conference champions are in football or basketball. But in a real, prideful way. And that was because the National League, other than the World Series,* had nothing to do with the American League. You could be a serious baseball fan, following your team, and know nothing about the other league, because it wasn't relevant to you. *And maybe an All-Star game or two. But the less said about the mess that game has turned into, the better. And by-God, that's how it should be. If you want to follow both leagues, that's great, and encouraged. But what happens in the American League should not affect what goes on in the National League. And vice versa. We will meet once in July to check up on things, and then see you again in October for a pissing match. I can tell this is starting to devolve into ranting, and I apologize for that. But having constant interleague play starting next year, and the addition of a wild card this year, I don't know what I'm watching any more. I used to defend Bug Selig pretty passionately, because I really thought he had great respect for the history of the game. But the moves he's made in the past year have shattered that perception. If I wanted a league set up like the NFL, I'd watch football. Quit ruining the game, Bud. Comments are closed.
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