45-41

When you consider the entire timeline of Major League Baseball, you’d figure interleague play is a relatively recent development. The rivalry between the National and American Leagues goes back to 1901, so if you do the math, it took 96 years before the two leagues played against each other in games that counted.

While interleague play itself may be a new practice, the idea has been around just about as long as the two leagues existed.

In 1903, the two rival leagues joined forces and formed the National Commission as a governing body. The first proposals for interleague play followed just a year later when Reds president August Herrmann and Boston Americans owner John Taylor proposed ideas on limited interleague play. Obviously, neither came to fruition.

In 1933, a new proposal by Cubs president William Veeck—Bill’s father—gained some momentum. He wanted an interleague period in the middle of the seasons where the teams from the National League and American League played four games against each other. That didn’t pass either.

Another effort was made by legendary Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg in 1956 when he was serving as the GM of the Indians. Greenberg’s plan called for a more expansive 28-game interleague schedule to be played immediately following the All-Star Game. Although the plan fell through again, it is credited as the first inspiration for modern interleague play.

Interleague play was again considered in the 1960s and ‘70s but started to gain some real momentum in the ‘90s when it was finally implemented.

The first year of interleague play saw 214 games played between the two leagues and that number jumped to 252 by 2001. In 2013, the number of interleague games jumped up to 300 and it stayed that way until 2023, when the current extensive interleague schedule was implemented. As it stands now, there are 690 interleague games played per season.

Through 2024, there have been 8,342 interleague games played over 27 seasons. The American League owns a slight advantage over the NL, having won 4,283 of those contests for a .513 winning percentage.

Interleague play brought about a change to the schedule that hadn’t been seen before and as you can see by its history, it’s always been a moving target. You can bet that sometime in the future, things will change once again.

Before we move on to this week’s edition of The Stud 400, here’s a look at the last five entries as we count down the 400 greatest moments in Major League Baseball history:

50: Wally Pipp sits out (1925)

49: Barry Bonds hits #756 (2007)

48 :1969 MLB expansion and realignment (1969)

47: Nolan Ryan’s 7^th no-hitter (1991)

46: Pirates “All-Black” starting lineup (1971)

And now, here’s Episode LXXVIII of The Stud 400.

45. Interleague play begins (1997)

After nearly a century of discussion, Major League Baseball finally took the plunge on interleague play at the start of the 1997 schedule on a limited basis.

In today’s game with interleague play so prevalent, it’s hard to comprehend just how huge of a development it was at that time. For generations, a fantastic rivalry existed between the two leagues and the only ammunition for fans to argue about their league’s supremacy came in the form of who won the World Series or All-Star Game. If you think this year’s Mets-Yankees series had juice, you should have seen the coverage the first time they played in games that counted. It was such an alien experience to see for fans who had spent generations watching their teams play games only within their leagues.

The first interleague game featured the Giants and Rangers and happened on June 12, 1997. Darren Oliver threw the first interleague pitch, Darryl Hamilton had the first interleague hit and Stan Javier hit the first interleague home run. The format of interleague play has changed over the years, but the concept is here to stay. Many think it will eventually push the sport into one league, but that is yet to be determined.

44. Mike Piazza 9/11 home run (2001)

In an interview with Sports Illustrated in 2016, Chipper Jones said, “When he hit [that home run] that night, I was happy for the fans. They needed it.” Chipper wasn’t referring to some Andruw Jones blast that sent Braves fans home happy. He was talking about Mike Piazza hitting a home run that sent his Braves to a loss.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably familiar with why the competitive Jones was happy for the fans of the Braves biggest rival; the same group of fans that taunted him with “Larry” chants throughout his career. This was the first game in New York since the attacks on 9/11 and Piazza’s home run carried the Mets to a dramatic victory as the city began to heal from those horrific events.

There was a palpable tension at Shea Stadium that night as this was the first large-scale event to take place in the city after the attacks. It had been ten days since the towers were struck and folks were quite nervous about such a large, contained gathering. Security was as tight as can be and both teams were a little sluggish in getting their offense going. The Mets and Braves traded runs in the fourth and the game went to the eighth tied 1-1. The Braves took a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth on a two-out double by Brian Jordan and although Shea Stadium grew quiet at the time, it wouldn’t be long before Piazza gave them something to erupt about. With one out, Edgardo Alfonzo worked a nine-pitch walk to bring up Piazza. Chipper Jones claimed he had a premonition about a Piazza home run while playing left field that night.

Honestly, it was a thought on the minds of almost anyone watching.

After falling behind 0-1, Piazza absolutely blasted one of his trademark titanic home runs to send Shea Stadium into a frenzy, leaving many fans in tears at the dramatic symbolism of the round-tripper. It may just be the most dramatic home run in baseball history that didn’t have post-season implications.

43. 1969 Cubs break the curse (2016)

Even without the intrigue that two championship-starved franchises were facing off for a title, the 2016 World Series was a true seven-game classic.

The Indians, who hadn’t won a World Series since 1948, faced off against the Cubs and their famous 108-year drought. The teams split their first two games in Cleveland, which was a good sign for the Cubs as the series headed back to Chicago for three game at Wrigley. However, the Indians were up to the task and took Game 3 and 4 to build a 3-1 series lead. Facing elimination in Game 5, the Cubs fell behind 1-0 but scored three runs in the fourth off known scumbag Trevor Bauer and held on for a 3-2 win. The Cubs trounced the Indians in Game 6, setting up a dramatic Game 7. It ended up being such a bananas game that it is in the conversation as the greatest Game 7 in baseball history.

Dexter Fowler led off the game with a homer to give the Cubs and early 1-0 lead. The Indians tied it up in the third, but the Cubs bounced right back to take a 3-1 lead in the fourth. The teams traded two runs apiece in the fifth and a solo David Ross home run in the sixth gave the Cubs in a 6-3 lead they would carry into the eighth. It was the final at bat of the popular Ross’ career.

With their backs against the wall and just four outs remaining in the game, the Indians mounted a rally. After Jon Lester allowed an infield single to Jose Ramirez, Joe Maddon pulled the lefty in favor of his closer, Aroldis Chapman. Wrong move. Chapman promptly gave up a double to Brandon Guyer and a two-run homer to Rajai Davis and just like that, the game was tied. Neither team scored in the ninth, sending the game to extra innings with a side dish of controversy. A sudden rainstorm resulted in a brief 17-minute rain delay. During the delay, Jason Heyward rallied his team in the clubhouse and afterwards many teammates called that as a turning point. Anthony Rizzo even called the rain delay the most important thing to happen to the Cubs in the last century, saying they wouldn’t have won the game without the chance to regroup during it.

When play resumed, Ben Zobrist drove home the go-ahead run with a double and Miguel Montero added an insurance run on a single. That run was much needed as the Indians rallied against Carl Edwards. Davis singled home a run to make the score 8-7, knocking Edwards out of the game. Mike Montgomery came on from the tired Cubs bullpen though and needed just two pitches to end the Cubs World Series drought, clinching a truly dramatic and historical World Series. The Cubs were the first team since the 1985 Royals to come back from a 3-1 World Series deficit and the first since the 1979 Pirates to do so winning the final two games on the road. It was just the fifth extra inning World Series Game 7 and the first to be won by the road team. It also made the Indians the new owners of the longest World Series drought, which is now on year 77.

42. Sammy Sosa vs. Mark McGwire (1998)

Going into the 1998 season, there was a significant buzz that this could be the season that one of the game’s most hallowed records would fall. The year before, Mark McGwire belted 58 home runs while Ken Griffey Jr., checked in with 56. The fact that they were two of the most popular players in sports only added to the intrigue as fans were bound to cheer any potential run at Roger Maris’ sacred records.

The specter of steroids around McGwire was there, but it did nothing to dampen the media coverage or rooting interest. It was a different time. While Griffey incredibly hit 56 homers for a second straight season, he turned into somewhat of an afterthought as an epic race developed between McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Their at bats were must-watch TV and fans who had to go to bed early scoured the morning newspapers to see if—or how many—homers Sosa and McGwire hit the night before. Cars were driving around with the flag of Sosa’s native Dominican Republic waving with his current home run total written in soap on the back window while fans gasped at the shear majesty of McGwire’s blasts. It was a glorious summer to be a baseball fan.

Ultimately, McGwire ended with 70 home runs and was the first to pass Maris. His line drive home run off Steve Trachsel on September 8 was home run number 62. Cubs first baseman Mark Grace hugged McGwire in congratulations and Sosa came in from right field and hugged McGwire at home plate. Sosa eventually tied McGwire at 62 homers, but over the final two weeks of the season, McGwire out-homered Sosa 8-4. The hulking first baseman ended the season with a preposterous 70 home runs while Sosa landed on 66. The steroid controversy around McGwire and Sosa has tarnished what was once among the most prestigious records in all of sports, but for that one magical summer, that didn’t matter. Every single night was pure theatre and the aura around McGwire and Sosa as they chased the ghosts of Maris and Ruth was captivating.

41. Ichiro sets single season hits record (2004)

When it comes to unbreakable MLB records, people like to jump right to Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, Cy Young’s 511 career wins and Rickey Henderson’s career (1,406) and single-season (130) stolen base records, and rightly so.

It’s time we add Ichiro’s single-season hits record into the conversation though. People don’t really seem to talk about just how bonkers it is that Ichiro slashed 262 hits in 2004, besting George Sisler’s record of 257, which had stood for 84 years. Let’s get some perspective on this. There have only been seven instances of players who have had at least 250 hits in a season and besides Ichiro and they all came prior to 1931. Even if you drop the threshold to 240 hits, that’s still a number that only 15 people have reached. Ichiro, Wade Boggs and Darin Erstad are the only players since 1930 who have gotten to 240 hits in a season. With more batters ever focusing on power over contact, it would take a dramatic shift in the way the game is played for anyone to even threaten Ichiro, which nobody has done recently. In the 21 years since he set the record, Jose Altuve has come the closest, and we use that term lightly. Altuve’s 225 hits in 2014 was the most by any player since 2004 and that falls 37 hits shy of Ichiro.

Yeah, I’m confident that nobody is knocking Ichiro off that pedestal in my lifetime.

Stay tuned for next week’s episode of The Stud 400 when we’re duplicating feats of two of the all-time legends of the game. We’re striking thrice for perhaps the greatest offensive performance in postseason history and making history in the perfect way with the perfect pitcher. We’re also celebrating perhaps the most famous defense play in baseball history, a play that is the defining highlight of arguably the greatest all-around player who ever played. We’re on strike again and getting low next week on The Stud 400, be sure to be there for it!