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128-516: Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season . Before that, matchups between AL teams and NL teams occurred only during spring training , the All-Star Game , other exhibition games (such as
256-399: A murder–suicide . Investigators said it appeared Hamilton had been shot more than once and Jordan died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Hamilton and Jordan's 14 month-old child was found alive by police in the home and taken into the custody of Texas Child Protective Services. According to Pearland police, there did not appear to have been a struggle and the incident "occurred just inside
384-518: A 2006–07 investigation produced the Mitchell Report , which found that many players had used steroids and other performance-enhancing substances , including at least one player from each team. Each team plays 162 games per season, with Opening Day traditionally held during the first week of April. Six teams in each league then advance to a four-round postseason tournament in October, culminating in
512-651: A batter could foul off any number of pitches with no strikes counted against him; this gave an enormous advantage to the batter. After the 1919 World Series between the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds, baseball was rocked by allegations of a game-fixing scheme known as the Black Sox Scandal . Eight players— "Shoeless" Joe Jackson , Eddie Cicotte , Claude "Lefty" Williams , George "Buck" Weaver , Arnold "Chick" Gandil , Fred McMullin , Charles "Swede" Risberg , and Oscar "Happy" Felsch —intentionally lost
640-406: A chance for recreation and for taking their minds off their work even more than before." With the approval of President Roosevelt, spring training began in 1942 with few repercussions. The war interrupted the careers of stars including Stan Musial , Bob Feller , Ted Williams , and Joe DiMaggio , but baseball clubs continued to field their teams. Branch Rickey, president and general manager of
768-474: A decade. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the originally scheduled matchups were adjusted in order to limit travel. Divisional pairings before 2023 were: Since 2023 with the 2022 collective bargaining agreement, every team will play every other team regardless of league. The current format has a total of 48 interleague games per season (46 in 2023 and 2024), consisting of a six-game home and home series against
896-508: A fifth team in the league to play a full slate. With the exception of the two NL teams playing each other, all teams were involved in interleague play at the same time (typically in June and July), playing only interleague opponents until the interleague schedule was complete for the year. The schedule was later changed to occur only in June; in 2005, it was changed again to allow for more weekend interleague games, with each team playing one series during
1024-514: A free agent. Hamilton filed a grievance against the Brewers, claiming he had been benched in the final weeks of the season in order to keep him from reaching 550 plate appearances which would have automatically picked up the option. The grievance was resolved in an undisclosed negotiated settlement. Hamilton signed with the Texas Rangers on a one-year, $ 1.3 million, contract on December 14, 1995, for
1152-500: A grand jury in Pittsburgh related to cocaine trafficking. The 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike from August 12, 1994, to April 25, 1995, caused the cancellation of over 900 games and the forfeit of the entire 1994 postseason. Routinely in the late 1990s and early 2000s, baseball players hit 40 or 50 home runs in a season, a feat that was considered rare even in the 1980s. It later became apparent that at least some of this power surge
1280-633: A little better in subsequent campaigns—but in their eighth season (1969) the Mets became the first of the 1960s expansion teams to play in the postseason, culminating in a World Series title over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles. In 1966, the major leagues moved to the "Deep South" when the Braves moved to Atlanta. In 1968, the Kansas City Athletics moved west to become the Oakland Athletics . In 1969,
1408-646: A man for many reasons. Color is not one of them." That year, Robinson won the inaugural Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award (separate NL and AL Rookie of the Year honors were not awarded until 1949). Less than three months later, Larry Doby became the first African-American to break the color barrier in the American League with the Cleveland Indians. The next year, a number of other black players entered
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#17328699841961536-520: A meeting with manager Bobby Valentine during spring training the following year to discuss his reduced playing time. Things did not improve for him and he asked for his release at the end of June, and it was granted on July 11, 2001. He signed a minor league contract with the Rockies a week later, but was released on July 25 after four games with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox . He retired at
1664-413: A new National Agreement which tied independent contracts to the reserve-clause contracts. The agreement also set up a formal classification system for minor leagues, the forerunner of today's system that was refined by Branch Rickey . Several other early defunct baseball leagues are considered major leagues, and their statistics and records are included with those of the two modern major leagues. In 1969,
1792-431: A one-armed outfielder, got the chance to advance to the major leagues. However, MLB rosters did not include any black players through the end of the war. Black players, many of whom served in the war, were still restricted to playing Negro league baseball . Wartime blackout restrictions , designed to keep outdoor lighting at low levels, caused another problem for baseball. These rules limited traveling and night games to
1920-399: A part-time color analyst on Brewers radio broadcasts, rotating with Craig Counsell and Jerry Augustine to call games with Joe Block when primary announcer Bob Uecker was absent. Hamilton was married in 1994 to Access Hollywood anchor Shaun Robinson ; they later divorced. Hamilton married fashion model Ursaline Steinke in 2000, with whom he had two sons, Donovan and Julian. At
2048-618: A player or a team breaks a record against an Interleague opponent it will be considered a record in that league. In cases where two teams – as Interleague opponents – break a league or Major League record, that record will be annotated with the phrase 'Interleague game.' Streaks by both teams and individual will continue (or be halted) when playing Interleague opponents in the same manner as if playing against an intraleague opponent. In essence, records will be defined by who made them rather than against whom they were made." "The official statistics of both leagues will be kept separately as they have in
2176-405: A proponent of interleague play), proposed an ambitious scheme in late 1904. Herrmann's plan would have seen the two leagues ending their seasons earlier, after approximately 116 games, "and then have every National League team play two games in every American League city, and have every American League team play two games in every National League city." Another interleague play idea was floated around
2304-589: A rainout or other extended delay requires one or more games to be postponed. On April 1, 2013, an interleague game was played on Opening Day for the first time, between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park , with the Angels winning that game, 3–1, in 13 innings. Also, on September 29, 2013, for the first time in major league baseball history, an interleague game
2432-492: A rebellion by players against the hated "reserve clause", which restricted the free movement of players between clubs. Teams came and went; 1882 was the first season where the league's membership was the same as the preceding season's, and only four franchises survived to see 1900. Competitor leagues formed regularly and also disbanded regularly. The most successful was the American Association (1882–1891), sometimes called
2560-468: A single-game MLB attendance record in their first home appearance with 78,672 fans. In 1961, the first Washington Senators franchise moved to Minneapolis–St. Paul to become the Minnesota Twins . Two new teams were added to the American League at the same time: the Los Angeles Angels (who soon moved from downtown L.A. to nearby Anaheim ) and a new Washington Senators franchise. The NL added
2688-534: A successful Baltimore chop, the batter hits the ball forcefully into the ground, causing it to bounce so high that the batter reaches first base before the ball can be fielded and thrown to the first baseman. The adoption of the foul strike rule—in the NL in 1901, in the AL two years later—quickly sent baseball from a high-scoring game to one where scoring runs became a struggle. Before this rule, foul balls were not counted as strikes:
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#17328699841962816-681: A team that was rated one of the top farm teams in Brewers history. He began 1988 with the Denver Zephyrs of the Class AAA American Association , where he hit .325 in 72 games. Hamilton made his MLB debut on June 3, 1988, as a defensive replacement for Robin Yount in the top of the seventh inning against the California Angels . Then, in his first at-bat, in the bottom of the inning, he singled to center field off Stew Cliburn of
2944-413: A total of 720 interleague games per season. Most days, there will be either one, three, or five interleague games scheduled, as an average of around 3.8 interleague games are played per day. With 15 teams in each league, the number of interleague games is almost always odd, with exceptions based on when teams from each of the AL and NL have the same off day. Doubleheaders and make-up games also apply should
3072-509: The 1996 season . He was critical of the Brewers when he signed with the Rangers, saying they were not interested in building a winning team. Hamilton played in a career best 148 games with the Rangers and was their regular starting center fielder. He hit .293 with six homers and 51 RBI and also stole 15 bases. He described his experience with the Rangers as "great." Hamilton did not make an error all season and led all center fielders in putouts as
3200-515: The 2000 National League Championship Series . Hamilton was a part-time player in the series, with only five at-bats in the division series and two in the championship series. In the 2000 World Series against the New York Yankees was hitless in three at-bats with two strikeouts as the Yankees won the series in five games. Hamilton was disappointed with his playing time during the playoffs and had
3328-615: The All-Star Game (with the exception of games postponed by weather that were made up after the All-Star Game). Most games were played in June and early July, although beginning in 2005, interleague games were played during one weekend in mid-May. The designated hitter (DH) rule was originally applied in the same manner as in the World Series (and the All-Star Game prior to the 2010 edition). In an American League ballpark, both teams had
3456-846: The Boston Braves became the Milwaukee Braves , the St. Louis Browns became the Baltimore Orioles , and the Philadelphia Athletics became the Kansas City Athletics . The 1958 Major League Baseball season began to turn Major League Baseball into a nationwide league. Walter O'Malley , owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers and "perhaps the most influential owner of baseball's early expansion era," moved his team to Los Angeles, marking
3584-548: The COVID-19 pandemic the schedule was shortened from 162 games to 60 and interleague opponents were switched to the corresponding divisions. The teams played 20 interleague games using the same format that was in place in 2015 and 2018, when the same geographic divisions were aligned together for interleague play. In 2020 only, the Central's "natural rivals" were altered to include Cleveland v. Pittsburgh and Detroit v. Cincinnati instead of
3712-576: The Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on June 20, 2009. Since the introduction of interleague play, two teams have shifted leagues: the Milwaukee Brewers from the American League to the National League in 1998, and the Houston Astros from the National League to the American League in 2013. As a result, a 2013 interleague series between the two teams made it
3840-529: The Cincinnati Red Stockings , was founded in 1869. The first few decades of professional baseball saw rivalries between leagues, and players often jumped from one team or league to another. These practices were essentially ended by the National Agreement of 1903, in which AL and NL agreed to respect each other's player contracts, including the contentious reserve clause . The period before 1920
3968-692: The Cincinnati Reds . Once in, they defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 1999 National League Division Series before losing to the Atlanta Braves in six games in the National League Championship Series . Hamilton had six hits in 17 at-bats in that series. In 2000, the Mets defeated the San Francisco Giants in four games in the 2000 National League Division Series and the St. Louis Cardinals in five games in
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4096-588: The Great Depression , baseball's popularity had begun a downward turn in the early 1930s. By 1932, only two MLB teams turned a profit. Attendance had fallen, due at least in part to a 10% federal amusement tax added to baseball ticket prices. Baseball owners cut their rosters from 25 men to 23, and even the best players took pay cuts. Team executives were innovative in their attempts to survive, creating night games, broadcasting games live by radio, and rolling out promotions such as free admission for women. Throughout
4224-597: The Houston Astros and the New York Mets in 1962. The Astros (known as the "Colt .45s" during their first three seasons) became the first southern major league franchise since the Louisville Colonels folded in 1899 and the first franchise to be located along the Gulf Coast . The Mets established a reputation for futility by going 40–120 during their first season of play in the nation's media capital—and by playing only
4352-631: The Milwaukee Brewers in the 11th round of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft and signed a contract with them on June 12, 1986. He made his professional debut that season with the Helena Gold Sox of the Rookie-level Pioneer League , hitting .391 in 65 games. In 1987 with the Stockton Ports of the Class A California League , he hit .328 in 125 games with eight homers and 61 RBI, on
4480-591: The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP). The NABBP existed as an amateur league for 12 years. By 1867, more than 400 clubs were members. Most of the strongest clubs remained those based in the Northeastern United States. For professional baseball 's founding year, MLB uses the year 1869—when the first professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings , was established. A schism developed between professional and amateur ballplayers after
4608-474: The National Basketball Association (NBA). Baseball games are broadcast on television, radio, and the internet throughout North America and in several other countries. MLB has the highest total season attendance of any sports league in the world; in 2023, it drew more than 70.75 million spectators. MLB also oversees Minor League Baseball , which comprises lower-tier teams affiliated with
4736-635: The National League Central (which had six teams at the time, while the American League West only had four). For the 2020 season, all interleague games featured the DH, as the National League used the rule as an experiment due to health and safety measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic . The DH became permanent in the NL for the 2022 season. Interleague play has largely favored the American League in terms of win–loss records. In 27 years of play,
4864-586: The New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves for six games. The Miami Marlins also did this, playing both the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox for six games each. The first Civil Rights Game was an exhibition interleague game between the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals at AutoZone Park in Memphis on March 31, 2007. The first regular season Civil Rights Game was an interleague game between
4992-511: The San Francisco Giants played away interleague games due to his poor fielding. Conversely, Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz , who spent his entire career in the American League and was the Red Sox's regular DH, was assigned to play first base when the Red Sox had away interleague games, with the Sox choosing to give up good fielding in favor of retaining Ortiz's power hitting. With the introduction of
5120-543: The Texas Rangers . In 1977, baseball expanded again , adding a second Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays , as well as the Seattle Mariners . Subsequently, no new teams were added until the 1990s and no teams moved until 2005. By the late 1960s, the balance between pitching and hitting had swung in favor of the pitchers. In 1968—later nicknamed "the year of the pitcher" —Boston Red Sox player Carl Yastrzemski won
5248-603: The World Series , a best-of-seven championship series between the two league champions first played in 1903. The New York Yankees have the most championships with 27. The reigning champions are the Los Angeles Dodgers , who defeated the New York Yankees in the 2024 World Series . MLB is the third-wealthiest professional sports league by revenue in the world after the National Football League (NFL) and
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5376-780: The first and second Negro National Leagues (1920–1931 and 1933–1948), the Eastern Colored League (1923–1928), the American Negro League (1929), the East–West League (1932), the Negro Southern League (1932), and the Negro American League (1937–1948). In 2021, baseball reference website Baseball-Reference.com began to include statistics from those seven leagues into their major-league statistics. In May 2024, Major League Baseball announced that it
5504-499: The "beer and whiskey league" for its tolerance of the sale of alcoholic beverages to spectators. For several years, the NL and American Association champions met in a postseason championship series—the first attempt at a World Series . The two leagues merged in 1892 as a single 12-team NL, but the NL dropped four teams after the 1899 season. This led to the formation of the American League in 1901 under AL president Ban Johnson , and
5632-588: The "odd man out" and have to play an interleague game to fill out the schedule, meaning as few as 1 in 15 games could be interleague (14 AL teams in 7 AL games, 14 NL teams in 7 NL games and 1 AL and 1 NL team in an interleague game). Despite this, there have been proposals to increase interleague play to 30 games or beyond. A smaller increase took place immediately, having every team play 20 interleague games starting 2013. From 2013 to 2022, each team played 20 interleague games across eight series. Each team played one three-game series against four teams from one division in
5760-530: The 1870s. In 1876, the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs (later known as the National League or NL) was established after the NA proved ineffective. The league placed its emphasis on clubs rather than on players. Clubs could now enforce player contracts, preventing players from jumping to higher-paying clubs. Clubs were required to play the full schedule of games instead of forfeiting scheduled games when
5888-557: The 1960s and 1970s, as baseball expanded, NFL football had been surging in popularity, making it economical for many of these cities to build multi-purpose stadiums instead of single-purpose baseball fields. Because of climate and economic issues, many of these facilities had playing surfaces made from artificial turf , as well as the oval designs characteristic of stadiums designed to house both baseball and football. This often resulted in baseball fields with relatively more foul territory than older stadiums. These characteristics changed
6016-458: The 1990s. During the 1980s, baseball experienced a number of significant changes the game had not seen in years. Home runs were on the decline throughout the decade, with players hitting 40 home runs just 13 times and no one hitting more than 50 home runs in a season for the first time since the Dead-ball era (1900–1919). The 1981 Major League Baseball strike from June 12 until July 31 forced
6144-455: The 1993 season, Hamilton became more important to the Brewers offense. He had some more injuries this season, but Hamilton still led his team in batting average (.310), hits (161), singles (130) and stolen bases (21) and was awarded with the team's " Harvey Kuenn Award." The Brewers decision to move Hamilton from right field into center field for the 1994 season contributed to Hall of Famer Robin Yount 's decision to retire after
6272-526: The 1993 season. In 1994, Hamilton played in only 36 games (hitting .262) before he was shut down for the season and underwent reconstructive elbow surgery. Despite missing most of the season, the Milwaukee chapter of the Baseball Writers Association voted him the recipient of the "Michael Harrison Award" for community service. Hamilton was also one of the Brewers player representatives during
6400-559: The AL has won the season series 19 times, and holds the longest streak of 14 straight seasons, from 2004 through 2017. The National League has won 7 and one season ended in a tie. With the Pirates beating the Royals on September 19, 2018, the National League guaranteed a season series win for the first time since 2003. As of the end of the 2023 MLB season , the American League holds an all-time series advantage of 3,962–3,690. The American League holds
6528-410: The All-Star Game. Notably, under Greenberg's proposal, all results would count in regular season game standings and league statistics. While this proposal was not adopted, the current system shares many elements. Bill Veeck predicted in 1963 that Major League Baseball would someday have interleague play, and in 1968 included it in a proposal for a dramatic realignment of the major league structure. While
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#17328699841966656-855: The American League East played the National League West, the American League Central played the National League East, and the American League West played the National League Central. Matchups which had been of particular interest prior to this format — mainly geographic rivals — were preserved. Corresponding divisions were skipped once when this rotation began, but were put back in the rotation in 2006. From 2002 to 2012, all interleague games were played prior to
6784-486: The American League batting title with an average of just .301, the lowest in the history of Major League Baseball. Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain won 31 games, making him the only pitcher to win 30 games in a season since Dizzy Dean in 1934. St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Bob Gibson achieved an equally remarkable feat by allowing an ERA of just 1.12. Following these pitching performances, in December 1968
6912-507: The American League, giving each league 15 teams and thereby necessitating that interleague games be played throughout the season, including on Opening Day and during key division races all the way to the end of the season. This did not require expanding the total number of interleague games, because the probability of an interleague game during the era in which the Astros played in the NL was 252/2430 or about 1 in 9.6 games. With an odd number of teams in each league, one team in each league would be
7040-420: The American and National Leagues both added two expansion franchises . The American League added the Seattle Pilots (who became the Milwaukee Brewers after one disastrous season in Seattle) and the Kansas City Royals . The NL added the first Canadian franchise, the Montreal Expos , as well as the San Diego Padres . In 1972, the second Washington Senators moved to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to become
7168-484: The Angels for his first major league hit. He hit his first home run off Bret Saberhagen of the Kansas City Royals on July 19, 1988. In 44 games with the Brewers during the second half of the 1988 season , Hamilton hit .184. His most notable moment that season was during his first start in left field, on September 3, he collided with shortstop Dale Sveum while chasing a blooper over third base. They collided with such force that Sveum's leg snapped, causing him to miss
7296-486: The Brewers in 1992, while hitting .298 in 128 games. The Brewers as a team stole 256 bases, which was almost 100 more than the second place American League (AL) team. In a game on August 28, 1992, at SkyDome, in Toronto, before a crowd of 50,408, the Brewers set an AL record by recording 31 hits in a single game in a 22–2 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays . Hamilton had four hits and five RBI in that game. When long-time Brewer star Paul Molitor left via free agency before
7424-409: The Brooklyn Dodgers, began making efforts to introduce a black baseball player to the previously all-white professional baseball leagues in the mid-1940s. He selected Jackie Robinson from a list of promising Negro league players. After obtaining a commitment from Robinson to "turn the other cheek" to any racial antagonism directed at him, Rickey agreed to sign him to a contract for $ 600 a month. In what
7552-433: The Cardinals got their first win at the current Yankee Stadium. From 1997 to 2001, the divisions were paired with their geographical counterpart (AL East vs. NL East, AL Central vs. NL Central, AL West vs. NL West). Beginning in 2002, the divisional pairings rotated. The geographical counterparts were initially skipped in 2004, but returned to the schedule in 2006, creating a three-year rotation that remained in use for over
7680-431: The DH to the National League in 2022, this no longer applies. In 2007, two teams – the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Baltimore Orioles – played six games with more than one interleague opponent. The Dodgers played both the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Angels while the Orioles played both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Washington Nationals . This happened again in 2012 as the New York Yankees played both
7808-711: The Dodgers when they came to town, abandoning the Negro league teams that they had followed exclusively. Robinson's promotion met a generally positive, although mixed, reception among newspaper writers and white major league players. Manager Leo Durocher informed his team, "I don't care if he is yellow or black or has stripes like a fucking zebra. I'm his manager and I say he plays." After a strike threat by some players, NL President Ford C. Frick and Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler let it be known that any striking players would be suspended. Robinson received significant encouragement from several major-league players, including Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese who said, "You can hate
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#17328699841967936-470: The East divisions see rivalry pairings mostly alternate from year to year, the West divisions have so far seen four different variations of pairings between the six teams that are largely erratic. Starting in 2023, pairings of these teams formed permanent rivals. In the East: In the West: 1997 was the first year of regular season interleague play. The 20 teams in the East and Central divisions played 15 games each in five three-game series. The eight teams in
8064-430: The Giants in 1998 and hitting .294. The Giants traded Hamilton and Jim Stoops to the Colorado Rockies for Ellis Burks on July 31, 1998. Hamilton was surprised by the trade, wanting to complete his contract in San Francisco. In 51 games he hit .335. He re-signed with the Rockies after the 1998 season for one year and $ 3.6 million and played in 91 games in the 1999 season with an OBP of .374 for them. Hamilton
8192-513: The Great Depression, no MLB teams moved or folded. The onset of World War II created a shortage of professional baseball players, as more than 500 men left MLB teams to serve in the military. Many of them played on service baseball teams that entertained military personnel in the US or in the Pacific. MLB teams of this time largely consisted of young men, older players, and those with a military classification of 4F , indicating mental, physical, or moral unsuitability for service. Men like Pete Gray ,
8320-415: The MLB Playing Rules Committee voted to reduce the strike zone from knees to shoulders to top of knees to armpits and lower the pitcher's mound from 15 to 10 inches, beginning in the 1969 season. In 1973, the American League, which had been suffering from much lower attendance than the National League, sought to increase scoring even further by initiating the designated hitter (DH) rule. Throughout
8448-432: The Pirates. Every team has also hosted and visited every other team at least once. This distinction was completed in July 2016 when the San Diego Padres made their first trip to Toronto. The two teams had previously played in San Diego in 2004, 2010, and 2013. Every team has won a game in every active ballpark (as of August 31, 2024). The last distinctions occurred in 2024 when the Rockies got their first win in Toronto and
8576-436: The Rangers put a premium on defense that season. The Rangers won the American League West division and the first playoff berth in franchise history. In the 1996 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees , Hamilton had three hits in 19 at-bats as the Rangers dropped the series three games to one . Hamilton signed a two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants on January 10, 1997. On June 12, he got
8704-607: The Special Baseball Records Committee of Major League Baseball officially recognized six major leagues: the National League, American League, American Association, Union Association (1884), Players' League (1890), and Federal League (1914–1915). The status of the National Association as a major league has been a point of dispute among baseball researchers; while its statistics are not recognized by Major League Baseball, its statistics are included with those of other major leagues by some baseball reference websites, such as Retrosheet . Some researchers, including Nate Silver , dispute
8832-448: The United States and 1 in Canada. Formed in 1876 and 1901, respectively, the NL and AL cemented their cooperation with the National Agreement in 1903, making MLB the oldest major professional sports league in the world. They remained legally separate entities until 2000, when they merged into a single organization led by the commissioner of baseball . MLB is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan . Baseball's first all-professional team,
8960-427: The West divisions played 16 games each in eight two-game series, playing home and away two-game series against each team. 1998 saw the addition of two expansion teams; with the Milwaukee Brewers' move to the National League, the leagues were now unequal in size. All the teams in the American League played 16 interleague games, playing one four-game series (split into two home, two away) and four three-game series, except
9088-486: The World Series in exchange for a ring worth $ 100,000 ($ 1,712,780.35 in 2022 dollars). Despite being acquitted, all were permanently banned from Major League Baseball. Baseball's popularity increased in the 1920s and 1930s. The 1920 season was notable for the death of Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians . Chapman, who was struck in the head by a pitch and died a few hours later, became the only MLB player to die of an on-field injury. Both leagues quickly began to require
9216-526: The cancellation of 713 total games and resulted in a split-season format. In 1985, Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb 's all-time hits record with his 4,192nd hit, and in 1989 Rose received a lifetime ban from baseball as a result of betting on baseball games while manager of the Cincinnati Reds . Rose was the first person to receive a lifetime ban from baseball since 1943. 1985 also saw the Pittsburgh drug trials which involved players who were called to testify before
9344-577: The center field fence, and the Huntington Avenue Grounds of the Boston Red Sox , which was 635 feet (194 m) to the center field fence, thus home runs were rare, and "small ball" tactics such as singles , bunts , stolen bases , and the hit-and-run play dominated the strategies of the time. Hitting methods like the Baltimore chop were used to increase the number of infield singles. On
9472-554: The club was no longer in the running for the league championship, which happened frequently under the NA. A concerted effort was made to curb gambling on games, which was leaving the validity of results in doubt. The first game in the NL—on Saturday, April 22, 1876 (at Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia )—is often pointed to as the beginning of MLB. The early years of the NL were tumultuous, with threats from rival leagues and
9600-521: The concept was again considered in the 1970s, it was not formally approved until 1996, at least in part as an effort to renew the public's interest in MLB following the 1994 players' strike . MLB's first regular-season interleague game took place on June 12, 1997, as the Texas Rangers hosted the San Francisco Giants at The Ballpark in Arlington . There were four interleague games on the schedule that night, but
9728-583: The conclusion of the 2006 baseball postseason, Hamilton began working in the Major League Baseball Commissioner 's Office of On-Field Operations, reporting to Vice President Bob Watson . In 2012, Hamilton was named as a color analyst for a limited series of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim games to be broadcast nationally by Compass Media Networks radio. In 2013, he joined the MLB Network as an on-air analyst. In 2014, Hamilton served as
9856-573: The condition of the baseball itself. The baseball used American rather than the modern Australian wool yarn and was not wound as tightly, affecting the distance that it would travel. More significantly, balls were kept in play until they were mangled, soft and sometimes lopsided. During this era, a baseball cost three dollars, equal to $ 52.72 today (in inflation-adjusted USD ), and owners were reluctant to purchase new balls. Fans were expected to throw back fouls and (rare) home runs. Baseballs also became stained with tobacco juice, grass, and mud, and sometimes
9984-524: The decade following the Black Sox Scandal, and unlike major leagues in other sports it endured the Great Depression and World War II without any of its teams folding. Shortly after the war, Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier . Some teams moved to different cities in the 1950s and 1960s. The AL and NL added eight clubs in the 1960s: two in 1961, two in 1962, and four in 1969. Player discontent with established labor practices, especially
10112-587: The end of the 2001 season. Over his 13-year career, Hamilton batted .291, with 51 home runs and 454 RBI in 1328 games. As an outfielder, he collected 2711 putouts and 45 assists , committing only 14 errors in 2770 total chances , for a .995 fielding percentage . Hamilton worked for MLB Advanced Media from 2003 to 2006 and also worked for NBC Sports Network 's Sports Talk and KPRC-TV in Houston . Also in Texas, Hamilton lent his voice to KFNC and KGOW . At
10240-482: The first hit in the first-ever regular-season interleague game, when the Giants defeated the Rangers 4–3. In 125 games, Hamilton had a .270 batting average, five homers, 43 RBI and 15 stolen bases. In the 1997 National League Division Series , Hamilton was hitless in five at-bats as the Giants were swept in three games by the eventual World Series champion Florida Marlins . He followed that up by playing in 97 games for
10368-419: The first home run, leading the Giants to a 4–3 victory over the Rangers. From 1997 to 2001, teams played against the same division from the other league; for example, the American League West played teams from the National League West, typically scheduled to alternate between home and away in consecutive years. In 2002, however, the league began alternating which divisions played which divisions, and thus in 2002
10496-571: The first major league franchise on the West Coast. O'Malley also helped persuade the rival New York Giants to move west to become the San Francisco Giants. Giants owner Horace Stoneham had been contemplating a move to Minnesota amid slumping attendance at the aging Polo Grounds ballpark when O'Malley invited him to meet San Francisco Mayor George Christopher in New York. After Stoneham
10624-492: The first time in MLB history, the previous year's World Series participants faced off on Opening Day the following year. The Kansas City Royals hosted the New York Mets at Kauffman Stadium in a nationally televised game and won, 4–3. With the Pittsburgh Pirates ' victory over the Oakland Athletics on July 10, 2013, every team has beaten every other team at least once; the A's had previously been 11–0 all time against
10752-445: The first time in the history of Major League Baseball, Interleague games are to be played during the regular season. Breaking tradition always brings about controversy and the matter of baseball records is no exception. "It is the opinion of Major League Baseball that there is no justification for compiling a new volume of records based on Interleague Play. On the contrary, the sovereignty of each league's records will be retained, and if
10880-626: The first time that two teams faced each other in an interleague series after both teams previously faced each other in an interleague series representing opposite leagues: the two teams met from September 1–3, 1997 (Houston in NL, Milwaukee in AL), then again from June 18–20, 2013 (Houston in AL, Milwaukee in NL). In both instances, the series took place in Houston, with the team representing the American League winning 2–1. From 1998 to 2012, both teams were division opponents in
11008-609: The five teams in the AL Central who played two two-game series and four three-game series. National League teams played between 12 and 16 interleague games. From 1999 through 2012, each team in the American League played 18 interleague games a year, but because the National League had two more teams than the American, only four NL teams would play a full 18-game interleague schedule, with the remaining twelve teams playing only 15; occasionally an NL team played only 12 interleague games, allowing
11136-467: The following: Major League Baseball Major League Baseball ( MLB ) is a professional baseball league and the highest level of organized baseball in the United States and Canada . One of the "Big Four" major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada , MLB comprises 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in
11264-570: The founding of the Cincinnati club. The NABBP split into an amateur organization and a professional organization. The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players , often known as the National Association (NA), was formed in 1871. Its amateur counterpart disappeared after only a few years. The modern Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves franchises trace their histories back to the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in
11392-401: The geographic rival (four games in 2023 and 2024) and a single three-game series against the other 14 interleague opponents, with location to alternate every year. Since its introduction, regular-season interleague play has continued to be a source of controversy among baseball fans and others involved with the sport. Among the arguments used in favor of and in opposition to interleague play are
11520-429: The hole " between the corner and middle infielders. Starting pitchers were no longer expected to throw complete games ; it was enough for a starter to pitch 6–7 innings and turn the game over to the team's closer , a position which grew in importance over these decades. As stolen bases increased, home run totals dropped. After Willie Mays hit 52 home runs in 1965, only one player ( George Foster ) reached that mark until
11648-515: The juice of licorice, which some players would chew for the purpose of discoloring the ball. Also, pitchers could manipulate the ball through the use of the spitball (In 1921, use of this pitch was restricted to a few pitchers with a grandfather clause ). Additionally, many ballparks had large dimensions, such as the West Side Grounds of the Chicago Cubs, which was 560 feet (170 m) to
11776-428: The leadup to the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike . In his final season as a member of the Brewers, in 1995, Hamilton played in 112 games and hit .271 with 11 stolen bases. In his seven seasons with the team, he had an overall .290 batting average in 666 games and hit 23 home runs, drove in 253 RBI and stole 109 bases. After the 1995 season , the Brewers declined Hamilton's $ 2.5 million contract option, making him
11904-431: The longest streak for finishing with the better record in interleague play, at 14 straight seasons, dating back from 2004 through 2017. 2006 was the most lopsided season in interleague history, with American League teams posting a 154–98 record against their National League counterparts. The following is the text of Major League Baseball's policy regarding the compilation of statistics as a result of interleague play: "For
12032-592: The major league clubs, and the MLB Draft League , a hybrid amateur-professional showcase league. MLB and the World Baseball Softball Confederation jointly manage the international World Baseball Classic tournament. In the 1860s, aided by soldiers playing the game in camp during the Civil War , "New York"-style baseball expanded into a national game and spawned baseball's first governing body,
12160-641: The major leagues. Satchel Paige was signed by the Indians and the Dodgers added star catcher Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe , who was later the first winner of the Cy Young Award for his outstanding pitching. MLB banned the signing of women to contracts in 1952, but that ban was lifted in 1992. There have been no female MLB players since then. From 1903 to 1952, the major leagues consisted of two eight-team leagues whose 16 teams were located in ten cities, all in
12288-557: The major-league status of the Union Association by pointing out that franchises came and went and that the St. Louis club was deliberately "stacked"; the St. Louis club was owned by the league's president and it was the only club that was close to major-league caliber. In December 2020, Major League Baseball announced its recognition of seven leagues within Negro league baseball as major leagues:
12416-464: The middle of the season, beginning in 1934. In December 1956, Major League owners considered a proposal by Cleveland Indians general manager and minority-owner Hank Greenberg to implement limited interleague play beginning in 1958. Under Greenberg's proposal, each team would continue to play a 154-game season, with 126 within that team's league, and 28 against the eight clubs in the other league. The interleague games would be played immediately following
12544-471: The nature of professional baseball, putting a higher premium on speed and defense over home-run hitting power since the fields were often too big for teams to expect to hit many home runs and foul balls hit in the air could more easily be caught for outs. Teams began to be built around pitching—particularly their bullpens—and speed on the basepaths. Artificial surfaces meant balls traveled quicker and bounced higher, so it became easier to hit ground balls " in
12672-527: The northeastern and mid-western United States: New York City had three teams and Boston , Chicago, Philadelphia , and St. Louis each had two teams. St. Louis was the southernmost and westernmost city with a major league team. The longest possible road trip, from Boston to St. Louis, took about 24 hours by railroad. After a half-century of stability, starting in the 1950s, teams began to move out of cities with multiple teams into cities that had not had them before. From 1953 to 1955, three teams moved to new cities:
12800-511: The now defunct Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown, New York ), and the World Series . Unlike modern interleague play, none of these contests, except for the World Series, counted toward official team or league records. From 1997 to 2001, regular season interleague play occurred only on a geographical basis, with divisions in each league (the West, Central, and East) assigned to play their counterpart in
12928-600: The opposite league. In 2002, MLB introduced a system of rotating matchups, allowing interleague, cross-country games to occur in the regular season for the first time. In 2023, MLB began scheduling all 30 teams to play each other every year. Regular season interleague play was discussed for baseball's major leagues as early as 1903, when the two major leagues made peace and formed the National Commission as governing body. The first National Commission Chairman, Cincinnati Reds president August Herrmann (who had already been
13056-420: The option to use a DH, while in a National League ballpark, both teams' pitchers were required to bat. Teams from both leagues have both benefited and have been at a disadvantage when it comes to the DH rule in interleague play. For instance, Barry Bonds , who spent his entire career in the National League and actually won eight Gold Gloves earlier in his career, was used strictly as a DH later in his career when
13184-402: The other 14 interleague opponents, with the venue alternating every year. Teams that were part of the “split rivalry” rotation from 2013 to 2022 had permanent rivalry matchups assigned to them. In 2025, this will expanded further to 48 games per team as interleague rivals will revert to the six game matchups between rivals that were played from 1999 to 2012, and in 2015, 2018, 2020, and 2021, for
13312-421: The other league, and two two-game series (one home, one away) against the remaining team in that division. Divisions had been rotated since 2002 but teams did not necessarily play everyone in that division prior to 2013. The remaining four games were played against a team's "natural rival" in home and home two-game series. From 2013 to 2017, these two series were back-to-back at one venue on Monday and Tuesday and at
13440-430: The other team's venue that Wednesday and Thursday. Should a team's natural rival be a member of the division they are scheduled to play as part of the yearly rotation (this first occurred for all teams in 2015), the team would play home-and-home three-game series against the natural rival, home-and-home two-game series against two other opponents, and single three-game series against the last two (one home, one away). Because
13568-472: The other three were played on the West Coast, so the Giants–Rangers matchup started a few hours earlier than the others. Texas's Darren Oliver threw the game's first pitch and San Francisco outfielder Glenallen Hill was the first designated hitter used in a regular-season game by a National League team. San Francisco's Darryl Hamilton got the first base hit in interleague play, while Stan Javier hit
13696-490: The past. This means statistics for each team and their individual players will reflect their performance in games within the league and also in Interleague games without differentiation." 1997–2001, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2020, and 2021 saw teams from corresponding leagues (AL East vs NL East, AL Central vs NL Central, and AL West vs NL West) face each other in a series of 2 or 3 games each, although from 1998 to 2012, this
13824-515: The point that the 1942 season was nearly canceled. On January 14, 1942, MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis wrote to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt , pleading for the continuation of baseball during the war. Roosevelt responded, "I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going. There will be fewer people unemployed and everybody will work longer hours and harder than ever before. And that means that they ought to have
13952-424: The requirement for nearly daily interleague play (the only exception being if not all teams are playing) spreads out interleague play throughout the year, not every team will be in interleague play on the same day. Due to the 2016 CBA lengthening the schedule by four days, 2018 was the first year during which no team was required to play back-to-back home-and-home two-game series against any other team. In 2020 due to
14080-526: The reserve clause, led to the organization of the Major League Baseball Players Association to collectively bargain with the owners, which in turn led to the introduction of free agency in baseball. Modern stadiums with artificial turf surfaces began to change the game in the 1970s and 1980s. Home runs dominated the game during the 1990s. In the mid-2000s, media reports disclosed the use of anabolic steroids among MLB players;
14208-552: The rest of the season and all of the 1989 season and derailing his career. Hamilton avoided injury but spent the entire 1989 season back in the minors with the Zephyrs, where he hit .286 in 129 games. In 1990, despite missing time with injuries, Hamilton played in 89 games and hit .295. He was awarded with the Brewers "Unsung Hero Award" in 1990 and the "Good Guy Award" in 1991 when he hit .311 in 122 games while still dealing with an assortment of injuries. Hamilton stole 41 bases for
14336-522: The resulting bidding war for players led to widespread contract-breaking and legal disputes. The war between the AL and NL caused shock waves throughout the baseball world. At a meeting at the Leland Hotel in Chicago in 1901, the other baseball leagues negotiated a plan to maintain their independence. A new National Association was formed to oversee these minor leagues. After 1902, the NL, AL, and NA signed
14464-483: The same time by Boston Americans owner John Taylor , whose plan was for each league to play its full 154-game schedule, to be followed by not just a championship series between the two league winners, but also by series between the two second-place finishers, the two third-place teams, and all other corresponding finishers. In August 1933, several owners reacted favorably to a proposal by Chicago Cubs president William Veeck to have teams play four interleague games in
14592-441: The six-game series format each season. In 2014, the ten teams that qualified for the postseason were five pairs of geographical rivals: the Angels, Athletics, Orioles, Royals, and Tigers from the AL; and Dodgers, Giants, Nationals, Cardinals, and Pirates from the NL. From 2013 to 2022, five teams in each league, two in each East division and three in each West division that had no formal rivalries formed "split rivalries." While
14720-556: The third weekend in May and the rest in mid-to-late June (occasionally stretching into early July). Because of the existence of "natural rivals", not every matchup was played within each matched pair of divisions; for instance, the Milwaukee Brewers faced only Baltimore and Boston from the AL East in 2003, then met New York, Tampa Bay, and Toronto in 2005. In 2013, the Houston Astros joined
14848-524: The time of his death, Hamilton was living in an affluent neighborhood in suburban Houston, Texas , in a house belonging to his girlfriend, Monica Jordan. Jordan, a graduate of Florida State University and University of Houston Law Center , was an attorney who had been employed by Enron and Halliburton . The couple had a son together in 2014. Around 4:45 p.m. on June 21, 2015, Hamilton, 50, and his ex-girlfriend, Monica Jordan, 44, were found dead in their Pearland, Texas , house, in what appeared to be
14976-498: The two teams annually, three per ballpark. In 2013–2014, 2016–2017, 2019, and 2022, there were four games between the two teams, two per ballpark, as their respective divisions did not meet. With the beginning of league-wide interleague play in 2023, all yearly matchups saw the continuation of the four-game series format for 2023 and 2024 and one three-game series against the other 14 interleague opponents, with location to alternate every year. Starting in 2025, these matchups reverted to
15104-454: The use of new, white baseballs whenever a ball became scuffed or dirty, helping bring the "dead-ball" era to an end. The following year, the New York Yankees made their first World Series appearance. By the end of the 1930s, the team had appeared in 11 World Series, winning eight of them. Yankees slugger Babe Ruth had set the single-season home run record in 1927, hitting 60 home runs; breaking his own record of 29 home runs. Afflicted by
15232-498: The usual Cleveland v. Cincinnati and Detroit v. Pittsburgh. As part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement signed in 2022, interleague play was expanded from 20 to 46 games per team per season, starting in 2023, for a total of 690 interleague games per season. Each team will play a four-game series in a home-and-home format (2 games at each team's park), against its natural rival and a single three-game series against
15360-399: Was "absorbing the available Negro Leagues numbers into the official historical record." The period between 1900 and 1919 is commonly referred to as the "dead-ball era". Games of this era tended to be low-scoring and were often dominated by pitchers, such as Walter Johnson , Cy Young , Christy Mathewson , Mordecai Brown , and Grover Cleveland Alexander . The term also accurately describes
15488-811: Was a result of players using steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs . In 1993, the National League added the Florida Marlins in Miami and the Colorado Rockies in Denver . In 1998, the Brewers switched leagues by joining the National League, and two new teams were added: the National League's Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix and the American League's Tampa Bay Devil Rays in Tampa Bay . Darryl Hamilton Darryl Quinn Hamilton (December 3, 1964 – June 21, 2015)
15616-516: Was an American professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1988 and 2001 for the Milwaukee Brewers , Texas Rangers , San Francisco Giants , Colorado Rockies , and New York Mets . Hamilton prepped at Louisiana State University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge and then attended Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana . Hamilton was drafted by
15744-603: Was later referred to as "The Noble Experiment", Robinson was the first black baseball player in the International League since the 1880s, joining the Dodgers' farm club, the Montreal Royals , for the 1946 season. The following year, the Dodgers called up Robinson to the major leagues. On April 15, 1947, Robinson made his major league debut at Ebbets Field before a crowd of 26,623 spectators, including more than 14,000 black patrons. Black baseball fans began flocking to see
15872-574: Was not strictly followed due to unbalanced leagues. Not all matchups were considered interleague rivals, by playing a series of only two or three games, not the four or six-game series exclusive between one NL and one AL team. Since 1999, certain interleague matchups have been highly anticipated each year, due to the geographic proximity of the teams involved. Many cities, metropolitan areas, and states contain at least one team in each league. From 1999 to 2012, and in 2015, 2018, 2020, and 2021 in which their respective divisions met, there were six games between
16000-449: Was persuaded to move to California, Time magazine put O'Malley on its cover. MLB Commissioner Ford C. Frick had opposed the meeting, but the dual moves proved successful for both franchises—and for MLB. Had the Dodgers moved out west alone, the St. Louis Cardinals —1,600 mi (2,575 km) away —would have been the closest NL team. Instead, the joint move made West Coast road trips economical for visiting teams. The Dodgers set
16128-550: Was played on the last day of the regular season, between the Miami Marlins and the Detroit Tigers at Marlins Park . The Marlins not only claimed the distinction of winning that game, 1–0, in walk-off fashion, but also saw their pitcher Henderson Álvarez (who was in the on-deck circle when the walk-off happened) pitch a no-hitter, marking just the 7th time a no-hitter was tossed in an interleague contest. On April 3, 2016, for
16256-412: Was the dead-ball era , when home runs were rarely hit. Professional baseball was rocked by the Black Sox Scandal , a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series . Baseball survived the scandal, albeit with major changes in its governance as the relatively weak National Commission was replaced with a powerful commissioner of baseball with near-unlimited authority over the sport. MLB rose in popularity in
16384-402: Was traded to the New York Mets with Chuck McElroy for Rigo Beltrán , Brian McRae , and Thomas Johns on July 31, 1999. He played with the Mets through the 2001 season. In his three seasons with them he played in 150 games and hit .283. Hamilton and the Mets played in the post-season in both 1999 and 2000. In 1999, the Mets made the playoffs as a result of winning a one game playoff against
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