20 highlights from 20 years of interleague baseball

Before we get too far into looking back over modern interleague play’s highlights have been, it wouldn’t be Major League Baseball if we did not look to the past some (and by some, a lot). And this brings us back to 1903, when the Boston Americans (the now Red Sox) took on the Pittsburgh Pirates in the very first World Series. It was a nine-game affair that was won five games to three by the Red Sox, who were led by no less than Cy Young himself. The game set the tone and intrigue into regular cross-league play that put the modern World Series into motion and later spurred the interest in regular interleague play, that regularly takes place today.

Of games that have occurred in modern days, the first regular season interleague crossover pitted the San Francisco Giants versus the Texas Rangers on June 12, 1997. The Giants won the game 4-3, with Stan Javier connecting for a third inning home run and an RBI double in seventh inning to clinch the win for San Francisco. The manifestation of the then bold idea came true, and changed the way baseball has been viewed ever since. 

It should come as no surprise that the Yankees hold a victories record, right? Baseball’s all-time most decorated overall interleague winter in October is also its winningest in the regular season manifestation. The Bombers are 211-151 in Interleague play, leading the American League dominance in the event (they have outscored the National League by over 1,700 runs thus far).

Highlighting the National League’s struggles versus their AL contemporaries are the Padres and Reds, who each are tied with a .422 win percentage in cross league play. This compounds the fact that the Reds have not reached the Fall Classic since 1990, before Interleague play began. Meanwhile, the Padres were swept by the Yankees in the 1998 World Series.

A select few pitchers have saved their top performances for interleague play, as five no-hitters have been thrown during league vs. league warfare. Mike Fiers Edwin Jackson, Justin Verlander and David Cone have all tossed no-no’s in interleague play, with Cone being the first in 1999.

The most unique no-hitter was authored by not one, but six different Astros in 2003. After Roy Oswalt was pulled due to a groin injury in the first inning, five more Astros followed him to the mound, and combined to throw the first no-no against the Yankees in the Bronx since 1952.

In 1999 as a member of the Yankees, Cone accomplished the first no-hitter in interleague history, when he shut down the Vladimir Guerrero-lead Montreal Expos. 27 up and 27 down for Cone, as he made the first interleague no-hitter into baseball’s 16th perfect game all-time. Poetically, it came on the heels of Don Larsen throwing out the first pitch in the game, celebrating his World Series perfecto from 1956.

Lawton was a solid contributor over his 12-year career, which was mostly spent in the American League. However, there is a chance that he left some opportunity on the table, as he truly shined against National League pitching. Over a three-year span as a Twin, Lawton built up a 37-game interleague hitting streak, which still endures as the longest of all-time, followed by Ichiro’s 31-game run.

Despite having an MVP and a Cy Young in his trophy case already, perhaps Justin Verlander could have been even greater if he got to deploy his nasty arsenal full-time in the National League. The long-time Tigers ace won 14 straight interleague outings in his career, including his first career no-hitter against the Brewers in 2007. He has essentially had a Cy Young-worthy season in his play against NL opponents: he has won over 20 games, while running up 200 strikeouts lifetime against NL opponents.

While no team has ever matched Verlander’s individual excellence in interleague play, a few have gotten close. The Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees and Miami Marlins have all run interleague win streaks up to 13 games.

Conversely, the Padres dubious interleague efforts are highlighted by having the longest losing drought as well. The team dropped 13 consecutive interleague contests across 2008 and 2009.

The precursor to one of baseball’s most unforgettably bizarre brawls – Roger Clemens hurling Mike Piazza’s broken bat at him in the 2000 World Series – took place during a matchup between the Yankees and Mets earlier in the year. Clemens hit Piazza in the helmet during an at-bat, causing a concussion for the Mets’ All-Star catcher. The tensions between the two players and teams carried over into October.

One of the obvious intrigues that interleague play brought on was the opportunity for historic franchises that rarely see each other to face off. Such was the case in 2003, when the Cardinals and Yankees faced off for the first time in Interleague play. It was a pairing of the winningest possible matchup in MLB history, with the Yankees then owners of 26 championships, and the Cardinals nine.

It was also in 2003 that Roger Clemens once again had a significant interleague moment, albeit of a much less dubious fashion than in the past. Clemens reached the 4,000 strikeout mark on the night, as he set down 10 Cardinals over 6.2 innings. The Yankees emerged victorious on the evening, which became The Rocket’s 300th victory as well, as he became the only player to ever reach both exclusive clubs on the same day.

Interleague play also granted a chance to pit the north and south sides of Chicago against each other, and never was that more intense than in 2006, when White Sox catcher (and legendary antagonist) A.J. Pierzynski got into a shouting match with Cubs catcher Michael Barrett after the White Sox backstop ran over the latter on a play at the plate. Barrett responded with a right cross that ignited baseball’s most famous same city rivalry like a powder keg for the rest of the summer.

It had to be a bit of sweet irony for Sammy Sosa when he approached 600 home runs and a series with the Chicago Cubs at the same time. After his historic power surge in the late-90s as a member of the team, Sosa had an unceremonious exit from the club in 2004, but had resurfaced with the Rangers in 2007. And it was that season that he got the chance to connect for his 600th career round tripper, which came against pitcher Jason Marquis, whom the Cubs had issued Sosa’s former number 21, no less.

Interleague play has also offered a chance for former stars to return to the lands where they first made their impact on the game and be received by their still adoring fanbases. And there has been no greater of an instance of this occurring than when the two greatest players in Mariners history came back home.

First was Ken Griffey Jr’s 2007 return to Seattle as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, a weekend where instantly recaptured the magic that made him a legend as a Mariner, clubbing a pair of home runs. Then in 2016, Ichiro made his return as a member of the Miami Marlins, where he too had a notable long-ball in what could be his final at-bat in Safeco Field.

Although interleague play has opened avenues for many fans to see players that they never would have seen visit their stadiums a generation ago, it can still be a rare occurrence due to division vs. division schedule rotation. That is why it was especially fortunate for National League fans to get the opportunity to show their appreciation for Derek Jeter in 2015, followed by David Ortiz a year later.

While interleague play does afford the opportunity for some rare matchups, it is even more rare for the previous year’s World Series participants to get an immediate chance to square off the following year. Yet in 2016, the two clubs that played the final out of the previous season got to square off immediately after the first pitch of the next season. The Kansas City Royals first opponent as defending World Series champs? None other than the New York Mets, whom they had beaten in seven games in the previous year’s Series –  a game that Royals won as well.

Some teams must wait awhile longer before getting their shot to avenge a World Series loss. Such a case was for the Kansas City Royals in taking on Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, who defeated KC twice in route the Giants 2014 championship. Earlier this year, the Giants made their return to western Missouri, and the previously un-hittable Mad Bum finally got his, as the Royals beat the indomitable lefty 3-0.

Not all great interleague moments are celebratory ones, as Carl Everett’s blowup in the year 2000 highlights. After a heated argument with stemmed from home plate umpire Ron Kulpa instructing Everett to back off the plate, the Red Sox outfielder berated and ultimately headbutted Kulpa during a game against the Mets. He ultimately was tagged with a 10-game suspension as a result.

No pitcher in history has left a more resounding imprint in his game against his former club than Scherzer did last season. The former Tiger struck out his ex-teammates 20 times in his first time facing the club since moving over to the Washington Nationals last season. Subsequently, he went on to win his second career Cy Young later in the year, matching the accomplishment he first reached as a Tiger in 2013.