Why increasing MLB interleague play is counterproductive

Previously the number of MLB interleague games was set at 20 games a season, with the majority of their games being played in division and in their respective leagues. However, beginning in 2023, there will be 46 interleague games, 56 in division games, and 60 games played against the other team in their league, whether it be AL or NL.

While this may not seem like a big deal, and may even seem exciting, this defeats the purpose of having different leagues and divisions in Major League Baseball.

The goal here is not to explain baseball to you, but breaking this down simply makes the most sense.

The purpose of a team winning their division is that Major League Baseball players and fans can objectively say that one team is the best team in that league due to its performance, and this is due to this team winning the most number of games.

Ideally, these games would be played against more teams in their division and league, as those are the teams they are competing against for these spots.

For example, if the New York Yankees are ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in playoff standings by four games in late August, and have one series against the Atlanta Braves and lose two out of three games, and they then play the Los Angeles Dodgers in mid-September and get swept. The Rays then sweep the Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates to jump ahead of the Yankees to move onto the playoffs. Are the Rays really the better team in the AL East?

It is a lot of fun to watch teams that you don’t usually get to see at your home park, but that’s what made interleague games so exciting before. They were hard to come by, making them more fun.

Now that each team is going to play every other team once a year, it takes away that glimmer of excitement. Instead of those matchups happening every three years, it’s a more frequent occurrence, which may end up unnecessarily affecting the outcome of the regular baseball season.