Many fans look forward to interleague play because the matchups are not traditional, and they get to see new teams in their ballparks. Rangers vs. Phillies and Cubs vs. Red Sox are two headlining matchups currently being played. For the first time since the 1918 World Series, the Cubs are playing in Fenway Park.
But interleague play does have a glaring problem, which is the scheduling conflict. In order to have large market and rivalry matchups, the interleague schedule is unfair to many of the teams. As ESPN's Jayson Stark writes, for example, the Tigers do not have a true NL rival. They get six games against the lowly Astros and Pirates. But division foe Cleveland has an interstate rival in the Cincinnati Reds, a quality ballclub, and has to face them six times. The Reds have tough going also, playing fifteen interleague games against opponents over .500. Division rival St. Louis only has six.
Interleague play is an adventurous time of the season; teams are unfamiliar with one another almost as much as AL pitcher are unfamiliar with the hitting they have to do in NL ballparks. But until the scheduling issues are figured out, the scrutiny will remain.
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