Interleague Play Coming Baseball Owners Could Start It As Early As 1997

Interleague play is coming to major league baseball, perhaps as early as 1997.

Baseball owners haven’t decided precisely how and when an interleague schedule will be implemented, but, more than likely, it will be the principal topic as the annual three-day winter meetings begin today.

Nobody seems to know whether interleague play will come up for a vote. If it does, and the owners approve the concept, it could begin even before 1998, when the expansion Arizona and Tampa Bay franchises begin playing.

If approved for ‘97, there would be a limited number of interleague games, probably 12 for each club, all confined to their geographical counterparts. In other words, the Cubs and White Sox would meet, not because it would be a natural rivalry but because both are in the Central Division.

The new clubs offer many possibilities.

For example, both could go into the American League. This would give the American League 16 teams, two more than the National. Such an imbalance would not be new. There was a similar situation in 1961 and again from 1977-92.

Some of the N.L. owners apparently want Tampa Bay for their league because of the potential outstanding rivalry it would create with the Florida Marlins. But there is an additional consideration: It would give the N.L. all three clubs in the Southeast - Atlanta, Florida and Tampa Bay. Some A.L. owners oppose this idea.

However, it could eliminate a thorny problem down the line - in the year 2000 or 2001, when two more expansion clubs will join the lodge. When this happens, one of the new teams is certain to be located in northern Virginia.

Owner Peter Angelos definitely would oppose any plan to put Virginia in the A.L. because of its proximity to his Baltimore franchise. Because approval must be unanimous, Angelos could block this move.

This problem would be eliminated if Tampa Bay and Arizona go into the A.L.

There is also speculation each of the two leagues may take one of the new franchises. In this event, each league would have 15 teams. If this happened, interleague play would be an absolute necessity. Otherwise, one club in each league would be idle every day of the championship season.