MLB Schedule 2013: Yearlong Interleague Play Will Inspire Cross-League Rivalries

Major League Baseball's 2013 schedule is going to drive baseball purists insane. Interleague play is a taboo subject for some, and an expanded package of American League versus National League contests will cause old-school fans to cringe.

The new schedule features 20 interleague contests for each franchise. They will be spread across eight different series, four of which will be played at home.

Until MLB's front office attaches some added significance to these games, they don't really matter. It's just one way to break up the monotony of the regular schedule, whether certain fans enjoy it or not.

However, the expanded set of games will inspire more rivalries across the league. We are used to seeing the Red Sox and the Yankees square off throughout the season. The Phillies and the Mets are commonplace, as are the Phils and the Braves.

Those all occur within the schedule's natural parameters, but more variety within the new scheduling format will create more cross-league battles.

Now, the Yankees and the New York Mets won't just be a geographical conflict. The Mets will travel to Yankee Stadium for two games next season, and the Yankees will appear at Citi Field for two more. This gets both fanbases involved, and it keeps the rivalry fresh.

We will also see old rivalries revived. The Los Angeles Dodgers will return to Yankee Stadium for the first time since the franchise left Brooklyn in 1957. The expanded interleague format allowed that to happen, and that's only a good thing for the game of baseball.

Placing these rivalries across a four-day stretch, but in two different places, is one of the best ideas Bud Selig has had in a long time. Houston's move to the AL prompted this change, but it didn't prompt this specific layout.

If you want to stir up trouble in the opposing team's house, that's fine. But now you have to head to their place for two games, and their fans won't be as kind. It's not a major difference, but it will make things more interesting.

I've always been someone who thinks interleague play needs added incentive. Rather than having the All-Star Game determine home-field advantage in the playoffs, why not have the league with the most interleague wins host in the postseason?

This isn't the change that was needed, but it's not as bad as some may think. Even baseball purists should get behind it.

It's important to keep rivalries alive and well on the field and not just in tradition. Next year's schedule will send Albert Pujols back to Busch Stadium, and Ozzie Guillen will face his old fans in Chicago.

Little things like that are fun, and baseball's marathon season could always use some of that.

Interleague play sometimes ruins the mystery in a World Series matchup, but spicing up the regular season is worth that risk.