Why 2012 Is the Last Year Interleague Play Will Mean Anything to Baseball Fans

When interleague play was introduced in 1997, it was a cool idea. It had its critics, to be sure, but a lot of people saw it as a fun, little novelty that was, at the very least, something new.

Nowadays, the coming of interleague play is met with a collective groan from baseball fans. The novelty has long since worn off.

Well, there's news to discuss. With the Houston Astros moving over to the American League to create two 15-team leagues in 2013, interleague play is going to get a shake-up.

Please note that I did not say there's "good" news to discuss. Alas, this is bad news.

Hal Bodley of MLB.com was kind enough to break down the changes that interleague play will be getting next season and ESPN.com's Jayson Stark wrote a comprehensive breakdown of his own.

Here are the key bullet points to know:

• Every team in a given division will play virtually the same interleague schedule as the other teams in the division.
• Each division will play against a specific division in the other league, just like in the NFL (i.e. AFC West vs. NFC West).
• All teams will most likely play 20 interleague games apiece.
• Rivalry series will still exist, but will most likely be reduced. Instead of the Yankees and Mets playing six times a year, they'll maybe play four times a year.
• At least one interleague game will take place on days in which all 30 MLB teams play.

Obviously, the big picture is significantly more complicated than this and nothing is set in stone. However, just from that brief list of bullet points, you can tell that things are going to change.

And not necessarily for the better.

Carbon-copy interleague schedules for each team in a division? I can live with that.

Specific divisions vs. specific divisions? I can live with that, too.

As many as 20 interleague games a year? That's a bit much.

Reduced rivalry series? Not ideal.

Interleague play all season long? Freaking disaster.

If there's one thing interleague play has going for it now, it's that it still has the feeling that something unusual is going on. By limiting it to certain time frames (this weekend and June 8-24 in 2012), Major League Baseball is at least able to drive home the notion that interleague play is a temporary thing that represents a slight departure from the norm. 

For lack of a better term, I'd say that interleague play is baseball's very own freak show. It's something weird and out of the ordinary, and in town for a limited time only.

What MLB is moving towards is having interleague play potentially every day all season long.

If so, well, there goes the "in town for a limited time only" dynamic of interleague play and as the season goes along, interleague play will gradually become significantly less "weird and out of the ordinary."

Interleague play will become just another aspect of baseball's six-month grind. It will go from being a novelty to being part of the routine.

That's something for the fans to be outraged with. Daily interleague play presents an entirely different problem for the guys out on the field.

Since they know that another interleague series is just around the corner, American League pitchers will have to spend more and more time in the batting cages. Designated hitters who can play the field (i.e. David Ortiz) will have to spend more time working on their fielding. National League teams will have to worry about actually carrying a guy who can DH, which is something they don't really have to worry about now.

As Stark was quick to point out, the timing of an interleague series (or multiple interleague series) could have dire implications:

"

Imagine the Red Sox, for instance, being scheduled to finish their season on the road in two National League cities, with no DH allowed. Think David Ortiz might have a few thoughts on that nightmare?

"

Uh, yeah he would. My guess is that he'd probably drop a few F-bombs, as is his custom.

It stands to reason MLB won't be foolish enough to create scenarios like that with its scheduling, but it's going to be exceedingly difficult for the league to avoid it on a year-to-year basis. On a long enough timeline, the new interleague format is going to screw some teams over.

Right now, it's merely a nuisance for a lot of teams, but things are pointing towards interleague play being a major issue for unlucky teams.

So, if you don't like interleague play, odds are you're going to like it even less in the years to come.

At first, interleague play was cool. Now, it's something that a lot of fans are largely indifferent towards. In the future, the indifference will remain, except interleague play is bound to be treated as a moderate annoyance, like a bit of loose carpeting or a door that never stays shut.

So here's an idea: Instead of fixing interleague play, maybe everyone would be better off if it just went away for good.

I'll speak for myself and say that I wouldn't miss it.

For the time being, I shall embrace this year's interleague slate, and try to enjoy it with a sense of nostalgia. A few years from now, 2012 will be the year the good old days died.