Okay, let’s talk about that whole MLB realignment thing back in 2013. I remember when the buzz started, maybe a year or two before it actually happened. Folks were talking about shaking things up, balancing the leagues.
My first thought was, “Why mess with it?” I mean, the National League and American League felt distinct, you know? Different rules, different vibes. Seemed like a tradition.
Hearing the Official Word
Then the news finally dropped solid. The Houston Astros were moving. Jumping from the NL Central all the way over to the AL West. That was the big one. Suddenly, both leagues had 15 teams. Perfectly balanced, mathematically speaking.
This meant a few big things right away:
- Interleague play wasn’t just a special occasion anymore. It had to happen pretty much every single day to make the schedule work with an odd number of teams in each league.
- The Astros, a team I kinda vaguely knew from the NL, were suddenly going to be duking it out with teams like the Angels, A’s, Mariners, and Rangers. Felt strange just thinking about it.
My Gut Reaction and Getting Used To It
Honestly? I wasn’t thrilled at first. Seemed forced. I liked the clear separation between the leagues. Daily interleague felt like it diluted the uniqueness of those matchups. Plus, poor Astros fans, right? Suddenly they’re in a totally different league, new rivals, gotta learn the DH rule full-time. Seemed rough.
But, you know, baseball seasons roll on. Spring Training 2013 arrived, and there they were, the Astros listed under the AL West. We started seeing those daily interleague scores pop up. At first, my buddies and I would joke about it, like “Oh look, the Pirates are playing the Mariners today, weird.”
It took that whole 2013 season, really, to kind of normalize it in my head. Watching the standings, seeing how the balanced schedule played out. You still had your main league rivalries, but there was this constant undercurrent of interleague action.
Looking Back Now
So, years down the road, what do I think? Well, I got used to it, like everyone else. The daily interleague doesn’t feel weird anymore, it’s just… baseball. Having 15 teams per league does make scheduling cleaner, I guess. No team gets an automatic off-day just because there’s an odd number.
Did it make the game massively better? Eh, debatable. Did it ruin it? Nah, not at all. It was just a significant structural change. The Astros moving leagues was definitely the biggest jolt. They went from NL Central contenders (sometimes) to AL West bottom-feeders for a few years before their big turnaround. That was a whole other story!
Ultimately, I just watched the games. Followed my team. Complained about bad calls and celebrated wins. The realignment changed the framework, but the game itself, the day-to-day fun of following baseball, that didn’t really change for me. It was just something new we all had to process and adapt to back in 2013.
