A.L. vs N.L.: is there a new leader?

   The point of this headline is, as most baseball fans know, that the American League has been the dominant of the two leagues.  In fact, the American League team has won 8 of the last 13 World Series championships and 10 of the last 11 All-Star games.  Obviously, the American League has won more often when it came to matchups between the two leagues.  However, even though it is only one-fourth of the way through the season, the stats show that the National League might be the more dominant league in the 2008 season.

   Now, I know that stats are not the only thing to look at, but they are very telling of the strength that the hitters and pitchers possess.  I want to go through all of the major stats and team records.

  Start with comparing batting averages:

1. Victor Martinez (.333)                          Chipper Jones (.418)
2. Joe Mauer (.328)                                 Lance Berkman (.388)
3. Mark Grudzielanek (.319)                     Rafael Furcal (.366)
4. Kevin Youkilis (.318)                            Albert Pujols (.355)
5. Hideki Matsui (.317)                             Miguel Tejada (.345)

   Basically, the highest batting average of the American League is not even as high as the fifth place batter in the National League.  In fact, not until you reach the eighth spot does it match Martinez's batting average.  Added to that, Matsui's AL fifth-place batting average is comparable to the 18th spot in the NL

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