In today’s Washington Post, Tom Boswell takes a look at the dominance of the American League in this season’s round of Interleague play.
With interleague play mercifully ending on Sunday, the AL entered yesterday’s games with a stupendous 127-75 advantage, the kind of .629 winning percentage that we associate with a 102-win champion. This season, a typical interleague game has been a travesty of a mismatch — the equivalent of a World Series contender playing a cellar-dweller. Or — and this is a painful thought for baseball — a big league team playing a bush league bunch. Is the NL now the new Class AAA?
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What is at work, under the surface, is complete hegemony by the AL. The NL hasn’t won an all-star game since 1996, and has lost the past eight World Series games. In interleague play, the Red Sox (13-1), Tigers (13-2), Twins (13-2), White Sox (13-2) and Mariners (12-2) are a ridiculous combined 64-9. Meanwhile, Arizona (1-10), Pittsburgh (1-10), Philadelphia (3-11), Atlanta (3-9), the Cubs (3-9) and Cards (4-8) get clubbed night after night — 15-57 in all.
This dominance, Boswell reports, is a fairly recent phenomenon:
Since interleague play began in ‘97, the two leagues have been nearly identical with the NL holding a slim 1,104-1,095 lead. Neither league has ever had truly dramatic superiority, even for one season — until now, unless the NL does a dazzling turnabout by Sunday to restore some of its dignity. Day after day, the lopsided results roll in. Even Pedro Martinez returned to Fenway Park this week as a Met and was crushed for eight runs in three innings.
The reason for this development, Boswell argues, is fairly simple; the American League has better pitching:
Within the last few years, the AL has unveiled a whole generation of young pitchers, most of them still under 25 and many of them physically imposing. Inspect every starter and important reliever in the two leagues. The conclusion is inescapable. The huge preponderance of gifted 25-and-under pitchers call the American League home.
The proof is in the numbers. The American League, despite having the DH, almost has as low an ERA as the NL — 4.56 to 4.51. That never happens. Take the pathetic Royals (5.87) out of the AL and its ERA would be 4.47.
“The American League is full of big arms,” said Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel, who spent years in the AL Central watching big-body power pitchers developed by the White Sox, Tigers and Indians.
And the different style of play in the American League also has something to do with it:
“Veteran pitchers like to pitch in the National League where they don’t have to face the designated hitter, so they migrate over there,” Baltimore Manager Sam Perlozzo said.
“Where did Roger Clemens go when he left the Yankees?” Hall of Famer Jim Palmer said. “To the National League and, his first year, his ERA was 1.87. Old pitchers aren’t dumb.”
The National League is called the Senior Circuit because its been around longer than the American League. For a long time, it was also believed to be the superior league with the better players. That no longer appears to be the case.
Similar thoughts from John Donovan at Sports Illustrated
We’re entering this season’s final weekend of interleague non-intrigue, and if we’ve learned anything, it’s that the NL pitchers, as a whole, simply aren’t as good as their AL counterparts. It’s not even close.
That may not be breaking news anymore, but it’s never been more apparent.
Fortunately, after this weekend and the All-Star game on July 11th, the NL won’t have to worry about playing the AL again until October.
