Interleague play adds interesting and controversial twist

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The 1997 Major League Baseball season will have a new twist this year, starting June 12 when interleague play makes its debut.

The first game featuring interleague play will be the Giants vs. the Rangers, with three West Coast games later that night.

Recently, I visited Jack Russell Memorial Stadium, home of the Phillies' spring training complex. My mission on this overcast and breezy Friday afternoon was to find if the inception of interleague play will boast a positive role for baseball.

According to acting commissioner Bud Selig, interleague play is for the fans and is intended to create rivalries between American and National League teams.

Baseball is a business that has to sell the fans. Mike Howard, of California, says, to the average fan, baseball is a marketable item.

"Fans want excitement and enjoyment from the game," he said. "(Interleague play) does a number of things for the fans."

Most importantly, he added, it gives baseball "a cross-pollination between teams like the Mets and Yankees."

It is evident a subway series between the Mets and Yankees would be appropriate. However, the two teams are scheduled to meet for just one three-game series this season, June 16-18, and then won't play again until 2000.

Until then, Yankee fans have to suffer through games against the Marlins, Phillies and Expos this season, although they have a World Series rematch against the Braves.

The Windy City Classic takes place every year between the Cubs and White Sox, so why make it into a regular-season affair? It could make the Classic seem meaningless.

Not every city has the chance to create a rivalry with a team from the opposing league. Mets vs. Yankees, Dodgers vs. Angels, Giants vs. A's are instant rivalries. Teams like the Mariners, Brewers and Padres don't have this luxury. I don't think the Brewers vs. Padres is going to pack the stadium, and it shouldn't. It's a wasted game against a team they're not competing against for the playoffs.

Those games should be played against teams from their own league, or better yet, from their own division.

Baseball is a game of purity built on tradition and separation of leagues until the All-Star Game and World Series time. That's what distinguishes baseball from other professional sports. To implement a wildcard series for the playoffs is one thing because that is beneficial to both the teams and fans. It gives fans more of an opportunity to see their teams succeed.

Gary Miller, ESPN baseball analyst, had mixed emotions concerning interleague play.

"One positive is that you have great matchups," Miller said. "But for every Cubs-White Sox game there is a Pirates-Brewers game."

The separation of American and National Leagues is one of the oldest traditions in professional sports. Hockey, basketball and football do not carry this tradition anymore.

"Total separation is the one thing baseball had that other sports didn't," Miller said.

The purity of the game could be damaged as well. When baseball starts mixing leagues, it is mixing records. It wouldn't be fair to Roger Maris if an American League hitter broke his record of 61 home runs in a season if some of those home runs were hit in Coors Field, where a wiffle ball can carry 410 feet over the center field fence.

"American and National League records will no longer be applicable," Miller said. "What difference does it make if you break a record?"

Jack Wincey, of Palm Harbor, Fla., has a different view on this topic. He says it's time for baseball to make a change.

"There have been too many negative effects on baseball over the past couple of years," Wincey said. "It's time for something positive."

Interleague play could take away from the World Series and All-Star Game. Why match two potential World Series teams like the Orioles and Braves during the regular season when they could be one of the best series matchups?

You have arguably one of the best hitting teams in baseball (the Orioles) against the best pitching staff in baseball (the Braves). When Cal Ripken steps to plate against Greg Maddux, it's nice to see Ripken has no lifetime average against Maddux. That is one of the best things about the World Series. It leaves people guessing.

For die-hard fans, baseball is a love. Many everyday fans only see a pitcher throwing a ball to the catcher every 30 seconds, and occasionally the batter will hit the ball. These fans are saying they need something more, and interleague play may provide that.

Along with wildcard playoffs, interleague play is the latest revolution baseball has made to conquer more fans, make more money and add an interesting but controversial twist to the game.