Change is a-Comin’

Word has come out that there are going to be a couple of major changes in Major League Baseball. I’ll address one today, and the other sometime next week.

Realignment

It’s not a major realignment like we saw when baseball moved to three divisions in each league, but the Houston Astros will be moving from the NL Central to the AL West starting in the 2013 season.  It seems like a minor move; however, it has some significant ramifications.

In making the move, each league has 15 teams.  So, yes, the leagues are now balanced in terms of number of teams; however, do the math.  That means there will always be at least one interleague series going on.  Having an even number of teams in each league meant that NL-NL and AL-AL match-ups were even: 8 NL games and 7 AL games.  But now, the best you can do is 7 same league games and one interleague game, unless two teams get multiple days off in a row, which isn’t going to happen.

I don’t hate this new development.  The rules are not going to be any different than they are now regarding interleague play.  AL-hosted games will feature the DH, while NL-hosted games will not.  Though, it does make the move to league-wide DH a next inevitable step.  I know the baseball purists don’t like the idea of more interleague match-ups, but, let’s be honest here, in today’s game with so much movement due to free agency, the AL-NL rivalries are getting better, not worse.

I’m sure the old Yankees-Dodgers or Yankees-Giants rivalries were great, but there hasn’t been that kind of rivalry that has develop in the World Series in a very long time.  Any ideas on what the most recent World Series rematch?  In 1999, the Yankees played the Braves, just as they did in 1996.  Before that: ’77, ’78, ’81 – Yankees and Dodgers.  Before that: ’72 & ’90 – A’s and Reds.  Going to the next rematches: ’67 & ’04 – Cardinals and Red Sox, and ’68 & ’06 – Cardinals and Tigers.  It’s just not like it was back in the ’50’s when it seemed like the Dodgers and Giants were always playing the Yankees.  And, I’m sorry, but if you’re still stuck in the ’50’s, then it’s about time you caught up with the rest of the world.  At lot has happened since then.

Now, I will say that I do not like the idea of both leagues going to the DH.  It’s entrenched in the American League, and that’s fine, but there’s no reason why each league can’t have it’s own distinct flavors.  I know that some people would complain that no other sport has different rules for different leagues, and that’s a legitimate complaint.  However, if you want to have the same rules for each league, then we need to start talking about making the stadiums the same in each league as well.  No other sport has such a wide variety of stadiums as baseball does either.

Sure, the outside and the facilities are different, but a football field is a football field, and a basketball court is a basketball court, no matter where you go.  One of the great things about baseball is the fact that the field are so vastly different and unique.  Sure, there are some minimum requirements, but the fences are different depths and heights.  The geometry is different.  And, in some places, there are obstacles that are a pain in the rear, but still have to be dealt with by the player (like the hill in CF at the Juicebox, errr…. Minute Maid Park).

So, the Astros are moving to the AL, and we’re getting a few more interleague games (I can’t verify this right now, but I think I heard an estimate of about 30/team).  Cool.  You still want AL-NL rivalries?  They’ll develop as the teams begin to play each other more often.  You still want AL-NL league rivalries?  That’s what the World Series and All Star Game encourage.

I think this will be a good thing for baseball.  It doesn’t address all the issues that people are crying about, but it’s a start.