In the 25 years of interleague play (with the exception of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season), teams have faced off against one division in the other league, plus a designated “rival.”
In the 25 years of interleague play (with the exception of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season), teams have faced off against one division in the other league, plus a designated “rival.”
SAN DIEGO — In 2023, we’re going to see a Major League Baseball season like there’s never been before. Every team — in both leagues — is going to play every other team. At least three times.
Until 1997, teams in the American and National leagues didn’t meet until the World Series. In the 25 years of interleague play (with the exception of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season), teams have faced off against one division in the other league, plus a designated “rival.” The Blue Jays’ was originally Montreal. Since the Expos left for D.C., it has been either Atlanta or Philadelphia.
The massive change doesn’t completely balance the schedule, but it makes things a lot closer to fair.
In order to fit the extra opponents in, intradivision games have been radically reduced. Instead of three trips to each divisional rival per season, and a total of 19 meetings, teams will only visit their divisional foes twice each, playing 13 games.
Instead of spending nearly half their schedule inside the meat grinder that is the AL East, the Blue Jays, like everybody else, will now be playing 110 of the season’s 162 games outside the division.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Jays manager John Schneider said. “Playing the same teams over and over again, you get familiar with them. That’s a good thing, but I think at the same time when you’re talking about our division, it’s tough.”
The skipper of the National League champion Phillies agrees. “I think it’s the only way to do it,” said Rob Thomson, of Corunna, Ont. “A lot of times with interleague, one division would play a really weak division on the other side, and we’re in the NL East and beating each other up for (76) games and one team doesn’t get in because somebody in the NL Central, for example, is playing the weakest of the American League divisions.”
Thomson has seen interleague play from both sides, having spent a decade on the New York Yankees’ coaching staff. “When I was with the Yankees, everybody in that division was beating each other up and it’s the same thing in the NL East right now. It takes a lot out of you.”
Several other big-league managers cut their teeth on coaching staffs in the AL East, including Arizona’s Torey Lovullo and Rocco Baldelli of the Twins, who were bench coaches with the Jays and Tampa Bay Rays, respectively. They both also coached with the Red Sox.
“I think it could be an advantage to us,” said Lovullo. “The Dodgers’ and Padres’ success has been very well-documented. I know the Giants had a down year last year, but they’re still a very good baseball team. If you’re playing them less, you’re bound to have a little bit more of an opportunity.”
“I think it’s good for baseball,” echoed Baldelli. “Going out there and playing some other teams is helpful in a lot of ways. It can get maybe a tick stale playing the same teams almost 20 times.”
Maybe more than a tick. It feels as though there has always been at least a couple of three-week periods in the schedule when the Jays play nobody but the Yankees and Rays, or Red Sox and Orioles, or some combination. Next season, that will only happen over the final fortnight, when the Jays face the Yankees and Rays six times each over their last dozen games.
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Brandon Hyde, whose Orioles had been the sad sacks of the AL East until this past season, when they improved by 31 wins and finished ahead of the Red Sox, is excited about the change.
“I think it’s more fair for everybody and I’m looking forward to it,” said Hyde, and not just for competitive reasons. “It’s going to be fun, too, playing everybody. I think that’s going to be a fun part. I know it’s going to be more travel, but I think to be able to play every single team is going to be enjoyable for everybody, which means playing some of the (teams) we play against all the time a little bit less. I think we’re OK with that.”
One issue that could pop up is the weather. Each team only gets one three-game series against teams in the other league (with the exception of those designated rivals, against whom there are two games at home and two on the road), so if the elements get in the way in the only series in which two teams are meeting, it could be a mess trying to fit a game (or games) in later in the season.
“Hopefully the weather co-operates,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “But I like the idea of playing everyone a little more spread out, a little more evenly. Especially with the added teams in the post-season, I think it’s the smart thing to do.”
The schedule change also means that, for the first time in franchise history, the Jays will open the season in a National League ballpark — March 30 in St. Louis.
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“I’m excited for it,” Schneider said. “I think it’s good for the game. I think it’s good for the Jays.”
Mike Wilner
is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star and host of the
baseball podcast “Deep Left Field.” Follow him on Twitter: @wilnerness
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