In recent years the differences and separation that have historically divided Major League Baseball (MLB) into the American League (AL) and National League (NL) have ceased to exist. The questions I pose then are: do the leagues still matter, are they still relevant? And, if not, what does that mean for baseball?

AL and NL as Separate Leagues

Historically teams in each league have stayed separate from one another (playing only teams within their own league) during the regular season with two exceptions: the All-Star game (since 1933), and, of course, the World Series where the winners of the two leagues played each other to determine an overall champion beginning in 1903.

During much of that hundred-and-twenty years the leagues have had similar, but not always identical rules, such as slightly different strike zones. Beginning in 1973 a significant change occurred when the American League adopted the Designated Hitter (DH) so that traditionally weak hitting pitchers would no longer be required to bat. This began a period of two-dozen years where the leagues were not only separate but also played with a significantly different rule, varying game strategy, and roster construction.

In 1997, the separation began to diminish when the first interleague games were played during the regular baseball season. At first this was limited to a modest number of games against one division from the other league. Gradually, the number of interleague games increased from a total of 214 (in 1997) to 300 (in 2022). The year 2022 also marked the adoption of the DH rule by the National League. And beginning with the 2023 season, interleague play will be expanded so that every team plays games against every other team in baseball.

Separate No More

Now that both leagues play by the same rules (both using the DH) and play each other regardless of which league they are in (interleague play) there is no longer any difference between the leagues nor any true separation.

Are the Leagues Still Relevant?

Well, yes and no. The American and National Leagues are certainly relevant on a historical basis; all of the awards (batting champions, gold gloves, Cy Young, and MVP winners), and all of the baseball statistics we love have been separated since the beginning. So we need that to compare our teams and heroes historically. But moving forward the leagues feel more like arbitrary groups that, without any separation or rule differences, do not have any real meaning for the future.

What does this mean for the Game of Baseball?

It’s an evolution of the game, an inevitable, healthy change for baseball to have blurred the lines between what it means to be an AL or NL team. And, it means that more changes are called for in regards to: how awards are determined, how the playoffs are structured, and even who plays in the World Series (See: MLB Playoffs and World Series Reimagined).

Photo Credit

Photo by Bill Stephan on Unsplash