‘My biggest problem with interleague play is the advantage National League teams have in American League parks.’ (Paraphrased.)
Scott “Gator” Anderson, 97.1 – “The Ticket”
Back when the DSR Moronic Media Quote of the Day was a regular feature, we decided to do a tournament of the most moronic media quotes. It took some time before we could establish a field of 64. But at the rate the local sports media is operating since the new DSR began we are going to have no problem filling a full 64-quote field in the very near future.
With an assist from his radio partner Doug Karsch, Scott Anderson has provided us an early “1 seed” candidate. In a buildup to the compelling topic of “which National League team do you root for,” Karsch asked Anderson about his opinion of interleague play. After acknowledging that he likes seeing the NL teams play, Anderson addressed the issue of the format. Anderson’s biggest problem with interleague play is the advantage it gives NL teams when games are played at AL parks. If you are wondering how that makes any sense, consider yourself smarter than a 97.1 sports talk show host team.
Anderson’s rationale for his position, which he proudly provided, is that in comparison to their regular lineup when the designated hitter is not in effect, an NL team’s lineup drastically improves vis-à-vis the team’s lineup when a pitcher bats. In contrast, the American League team’s lineup does not have similar improvement since the DH is part of the team’s regular nine-man batting order.
The lack of logic in reaching his conclusion is mind-boggling. Anderson apparently fails to recognize the obvious fact that AL teams start with a better lineup due to the fact that a designated hitter bats rather than a pitcher. Adding a relatively weak hitter whose normal role is to serve as a pinch hitter or late inning defensive replacement, while improving the NL lineup, does not make the NL lineup better than an AL lineup. Gator’s argument that the NL lineup becomes superior merely because it improves more than an AL lineup, which already has the DH built into it, defies all logic.
In fact, the opposite is true. It is fairly common knowledge, and a major reason given for the American League’s dominance in interleague play, that AL teams have a huge advantage when the DH is in effect since AL teams are built around having a 9th hitter in the lineup. Obviously an NL general manager is not going to make a huge investment on a player that is only going to be in the starting lineup during the handful of games that his team is playing in an AL park.
Doug Karsch’s response to Gator’s brilliance: “I tend to agree with you.”
In case you are wondering. Going into this weekend the AL’s all time interleague won-lost record is 1970 and 1798. Scott “Gator” Anderson takes issue with interleague play because the format is a huge advantage for the NL. Doug Karsch agrees.
This is your local sports media.