Has Interleague play run its course?

This has been a big story in Detroit. Michigan since Detroit Tigers’ Manger Jim Leyland took to the airwaves to slam interleague play as unfair, and that it no longer held any interest for him. As a man who has skippered teams in both leagues it seems an extreme thing to say. I personally think Interleague play still holds some value, but at times it can be pretty unfair. That is not to say I would not make any changes to how Major League Baseball conducts play between the two leagues.

Interleague play is fundamentally unfair because the MLB schedule is made up so that each team in any given division plays an equal number of games against common opponents. That holds true save for the Interleague play season. Some teams in the same division wind up playing terrible teams for the other league and when divisional races are sometimes decided by just one game or less. Having an unbalanced Interleague schedule gives some teams a clear advantage.

Currently which ever league is the host city the game is played under the rules of that league. If the game is in a National League city there is no Designated Hitter, and pitchers must bat. In American League cities the pitchers do not bat and the DH rule is in effect. I think the opposite should be true. The game should be played by the road team’s league rules. That would expose fans to different versions of the game.

Of course we could do away with all of this and have one clear set of rules for both leagues of this one sport, but hey that may be too simple.