Fans Still Like Interleague Games

You might have heard derogatory comments recently from Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland and Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones about Interleague play, but their opinions are not shared by most baseball fans. Most people like Interleague play because it matches up teams that rarely play each other, like the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox, who are meeting at Fenway Park this weekend for the first time since 1918. And not only do fans like Interleague play, most team owners like it. Interleague play began in 1997 and according to Major League Baseball, attendance in those games is up almost 12 percent. 

Historic Matchups

You might think that most of the Interleague matchups have already occurred since Interleague play has been going on for more than a decade, but there are still a lot of fans in one city that haven’t seen a particular team. The spotlight this weekend is in Boston as the Red Sox host the Chicago Cubs for the first time since the 1918 World Series. There are other historic series this year will not get as much hype. Houston is at Toronto for the first time ever. Later in the season it will be Toronto at Cincinnati for the first time, Tampa Bay at Milwaukee, Cincinnati at Baltimore, Seattle at Florida, St. Louis at Baltimore and Milwaukee at the New York Yankees. And there are still 12 more matchups that haven’t occurred in particular cities in Interleague play that will take place in future years like the Los Angeles Dodgers at the New York Yankees; these two teams have not met in New York since the 1981 World Series.

Subway Series

One of the highlights of Interleague play is the Subway series as the Mets and Yankees get together.  The Yankees have won 45 of the 78 Interleague meetings all-time. There could be a lot of runs scored this weekend at Yankee Stadium as both teams send struggling starting pitchers for most of the three-game series.

Rangers at Phillies

The best Interleague matchup this weekend is in Philadelphia and it could be a World Series preview. Friday’s pitching matchup had C.J. Wilson going up against Roy Halladay. This will be the first time that Cliff Lee has faced the Rangers since snubbing them in the off-season. Lee is scheduled to pitch on Saturday for the Phillies. Other interesting matchups this weekend have the Reds at the Indians and the Rays at the Marlins.