Interleague play

Fail.

I'm not a big fan of interleague play, aside from already established rivalries like A's-Giants, Yankees-Mets, Angels-Dodgers, etc. Diamondbacks-Royals? Not so much. Orioles-Pirates? Pretty sure that one wasn't a sellout. I'd say stick to the rivalry games and let the other teams play their own league for that time. Then again, bitter rivals like the Padres and Mariners can't be separated that easily. It just seems like such a pointless innovation.

Which leads me to the vital difference between the leagues — the designated hitter. Adopted in 1973, this allows a position player to bat for a pitcher, but only in the American League. I realized the idiocy of this after two instances: a colleague/teacher joked with me about the AL not requiring 2nd base to be touched on double plays (on the premise that if they allow the DH, they'll allow anything), and "Now batting, the designated hitter, Jason Tyner."

DH apologists point to Chien-Ming Wang injuring himself on the basepaths, I give you Jason Tyner, all one home run of him, occupying the DH spot for the Minnesota Twins at one point. It's like they just needed a warm body to put there.

It's just stupid. There's not a designated fielder who doesn't hit. Trust me, the Giants would've done this with Omar Vizquel a while ago. Basketball doesn't have a designated shooter who comes off the court when his team's on defense. Why should baseball, a sport rooted in its pastoral history, not only create an unnecessary position, but only put it in one league? Abolishment would never happen, since David Ortiz hits home runs (which means more ticket sales) and pretty much any pitcher other than Matt Cain or Micah Owings does not.

Plus, the National League style of play requires more strategy. Say the score is tied 0-0 in the 6th inning, with two runners on and one out. You've got your ace on the mound and he's doing pretty well, but the 9th spot is coming up. Do you pinch-hit and try to put a run on the board and go to the bullpen in the next half-inning, or let your pitcher lay down a bunt and keep him in the game?

But, I suppose, you'd rather just see some dingers, instead of real baseball action.