When interleague play started in 1997, I was a big fan. I liked the idea of getting to see some of the big AL stars in person playing at the Vet. But, I've done that now, and I can do without it as a fan of the game.
With interleague play starting tonight for 2007, the Phillies-related question is whether this is good or bad for the team. Well, it's pretty obvious that, based on history, it's a bad thing for the Phillies.
Doing a little bit of sorting of the historical interleague play record chart available at MLB.com, we see the Phils have not benefitted from the institution:
Club | G | W | L | Win Pct |
Florida Marlins | 168 | 96 | 72 | 0.571 |
Atlanta Braves | 166 | 91 | 75 | 0.548 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 145 | 78 | 67 | 0.538 |
San Francisco Giants | 161 | 86 | 75 | 0.534 |
Houston Astros | 149 | 78 | 71 | 0.523 |
Washington Nationals | 175 | 88 | 87 | 0.503 |
New York Mets | 168 | 83 | 83 | 0.500 |
Los Angeles Dodgers | 161 | 80 | 81 | 0.497 |
Chicago Cubs | 145 | 70 | 75 | 0.483 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 169 | 78 | 91 | 0.462 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 139 | 64 | 75 | 0.460 |
San Diego Padres | 161 | 74 | 87 | 0.460 |
Arizona Diamondbacks | 142 | 65 | 77 | 0.458 |
Colorado Rockies | 145 | 66 | 79 | 0.455 |
Cincinnati Reds | 139 | 61 | 78 | 0.439 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 136 | 52 | 84 | 0.382 |
Focusing the microscope a little closer is even uglier, as the rest of the NL East has done much better than the Phils in interleague play:
Club | G | W | L | Win Pct |
Florida Marlins | 168 | 96 | 72 | 0.571 |
Atlanta Braves | 166 | 91 | 75 | 0.548 |
Washington Nationals | 175 | 88 | 87 | 0.503 |
New York Mets | 168 | 83 | 83 | 0.500 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 169 | 78 | 91 | 0.462 |
The Phils have played the second-most interleague games of any NL team (thanks to the unbalanced schedule). Thus, even though they have only the 7th worst winning percentage in interleague games, they have the highest number of losses (91), almost 20 more than the Marlins.
Let's hope the trend reverses itself this year. The Phils can't afford otherwise.