MLB might be looking into doing away with AL/NL

[Droford]

From Ben Maller's show right now via his website that had the link to the WSJ article (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704370704575228084131132148.html)

In the mid-1990s, after Major League Baseball had decided to experiment with games between teams in the National and American Leagues, then-Boston Red Sox Chief Executive John Harrington and a handful of colleagues started batting around some radical ideas.
What was the point of having American and National leagues anyway, they wondered. Wouldn't it be more fair to have all baseball teams compete against one another all season, without concern for geography or obsolete contrivances that date to the 19th century?

"We talked about if interleague play was successful we could do that," says Mr. Harrington, who led Commissioner Bud Selig's committee on realignment in the 1990s. "We could just meld 30 teams into one big blob of a league and have them go at it."
From a standpoint of fairness, Mr. Harrington's idea looks better all the time. The American League is clearly the stronger of the two, based on interleague records and the differences in performance of players who jump from one league to the other. Since interleague play began in 1997, AL teams have won eight of 13 World Series and 12 All-Star Games (there was a tie in 2002). They have compiled a .566 winning percentage against NL clubs over the past five years. Now that Mr. Selig has blurred the line between the two leagues—he's abolished their separate league offices and umpiring crews—the time may be ripe to go all the way.


I personally think it would be dumb to do away with the AL/NL divisions.

I definitely do see them moving towards having the DH in the NL though if the All Star Game rule change is any indication.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

No, fuck that. We don't want your faggoty DH rule.

[YOUR Hero]

No, fuck that. We don't want your faggoty DH rule.
:y:

[Stickman]

Other than the DH what are the differences?

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Nothing, but that one rule makes a huge difference in terms of strategy and the amount of runs scored per game.

[RoXer]

I still wish they would have moved Montreal to Las Vegas in the AL West and then move Pittsburgh to the NL East. They would be in the same division as Philidelphia. They're in the same state, why can't they be in the same division? Then there's 15 in each league, 5 in each division. And have one interleague series year round.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Everybody who tries to make the argument that the leagues are unfair because of the DH conveniently forgets the fact that the Yankees and Red Sox are 6 of the 8 AL World Champs. It has nothing to do with the DH. It's all about money. You want fair leagues? Salary cap that ish.

[Jeritron]

People who think the salary cap is the problem have never heard of The Mets, The Cubs, The Tigers, or even The Orioles until recently

[Jeritron]

Also, look at the Tampa Bay Rays compared to the Red Sox so far this year, and even in the past few years.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

People who think the salary cap is the problem have never heard of The Mets, The Cubs, The Tigers, or even The Orioles until recently

The fact that teams with money can fuck up is in no way an argument against a salary cap.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Also, look at the Tampa Bay Rays compared to the Red Sox so far this year, and even in the past few years.

ok let's look

2010: Tampa is 7.5 games better than Boston
2009: Boston +11
2008: Tampa +2
2007: Boston +30
2006: Boston +25
2005: Boston +28
2004: Boston +27.5
2003: Boston +32

How is this even debatable?

BTW, Tampa increased their payroll $28 million since 2008

[Jeritron]

The fact that teams with money can fuck up is in no way an argument against a salary cap.

What about teams without money that do well?

Obviously money helps. I don't think the salary cap solves everything though. It really comes down to general management.

Also, the NFL has a salary cap and you still see a handful of teams dominating their divisions/conferences.
Not as badly as baseball, but it will still happen.
Model organizations usually stay that way for a long period of time.
Some of the sorry teams in MLB will still be sorry teams if there is a salary cap. Poor GMs and ownership that doesn't give a flying fuck is a bigger problem.

[Jeritron]

Some of these teams don't want to win, they just want to scrape by. A team like the Pittsburgh Pirates is disgusting to me. They actively choose to suck. They likely focus on financial aspects and keep costs extremely low, and settling for whatever profit they can make.

No Pirates fan should buy a ticket to support that organization. Literally. I think there should be 0 people in the seats every night, and I'm completely serious about that. That's the only way ownership like that will ever change their ways.

[redoneja]

I'm a pretty new baseball fan. I've casually watched the playoffs and the World Series for years but this is the first year I'm following a team through the season and the season on general. So I guess I'm not really concerned with 'tradition' as more long time fans are. I'm not a fan of having the NL adopt the DH though. I just prefer the strategy involved in NL games due to a lack of DH.

[Jeritron]

I would hate it if the NL adopted the DH, and I would REALLY hate it if they did away with the leagues

[Skippord]

I hate the DH so much

[Jeritron]

There are so many players that would have seen their careers extended (and numbers inflated) if the DH had existed in their time.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

There is only 1 team in baseball that consistently does well without money and that's the Twins, and even they bumped their salary into the top 10 this season. And how many pennants do they have to show for it?

And yeah general management is the key to building a good team. That's why they should make anyone who wants to be competitive have to play on an even field. There's no cunning GM strategy to throwing a crazy amount of money at the best free agents.

[Emperor Smeat]

I could see them having all the teams play each other instead of having 2-3 weeks of inter-league games to create a better balanced schedule for all the teams.

The whole one big standings would be stupid since you'd lose out on the specialness of division rivalries and history between teams. Every other sport uses divisions as the basis for a schedule since those are the games you play the most then fill out the rest with the rest of the league teams.

[Jeritron]

Theo Epstein perplexes me because he spends copious amounts of money, but it doesn't really seem that way. He finds a lot of "bargains" or takes risk on players that aren't exactly superstars.
They haven't signed the Sabbathias, Texieras, or Arods. They didn't go out and replace Manny's salary with another huge bat.
He general manages like the GM of a smaller team does, but does so with a lot of money and spends it in strange places.

Sometimes he's incredible, and other times I just scratch my head. The team is currently a mess.

[Jeritron]

The best players in their lineup are Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia. That's a very different dynamic than Mark Texiera and Alex Rodriguez

I'll take Youk and Pedroia, but it's just such a different approach. I have no idea why Epstein doesn't get the A-Gon deal done.

[Droford]

The thing with Pittsburgh that would piss me off is that they have had some good players go through there but they consistently trade them away for almost nothing to avoid paying them. The Twins were like that up until recently. Theres no way you are going to put out a consistently competitive team in baseball trying to grow your team up from the minors if you're going to trade them before they start to cost you big money, its almost like the team would be a perpetual rebuilding mode and a farm system for the richer teams like the Yankees.

And as far as the DH goes, I think it would be better if the NL went with it. Whenever I have to watch NL ball, I hate it when a team has a rally going late and they either have to PH for their pitcher who may have been pitching a decent game or leave him in and kill the chance at scoring. a #9 hitter in the AL at least gives the team a chance to keep it going and give the pitcher a chance to keep pitching in a close game.

[Jeritron]

The thing with Pittsburgh that would piss me off is that they have had some good players go through there but they consistently trade them away for almost nothing to avoid paying them. The Twins were like that up until recently. Theres no way you are going to put out a consistently competitive team in baseball trying to grow your team up from the minors if you're going to trade them before they start to cost you big money, its almost like the team would be a perpetual rebuilding mode and a farm system for the richer teams like the Yankees.

That's exactly why I criticize them. There are a handful of teams that don't want to be better.
A salary requirement would be just as effective as a salary cap, in many ways. Some teams are looking to constantly cut costs and keep things on a safe, even level. If they can turn a minor profit with a bad team, they will stay a bad team.

[Stickman]

I am not a baseball fan at all. I will casually watch the playoffs and that's it. But really, is the DH really that bad of an idea? Do you really want to be in game 7 of the world series, last at bat with your pitcher hitting?

I do think 1 league makes more sense. I think the divisions should be more geographically aligned like every other sport. I do think it's completely unfair for a team like the Blue Jays to be in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox because they just don't have the money. They could make a drastic change and align the divisions based on money. Top 5 spenders all in one division, next 5 and so on, that way you could have a team like the Pirates strive to actually succeed.

In sports, I am a traditionalist but I just don't think baseball makes much sense, but again, I'm not a fan so what do i know?

[Jeritron]

I am not a baseball fan at all. I will casually watch the playoffs and that's it. But really, is the DH really that bad of an idea? Do you really want to be in game 7 of the world series, last at bat with your pitcher hitting?

It's called pinch hitting. Also, the situation you're proposing would more than likely be one in which the 9th batter is up to the plate.
If the pitcher was stepping to the plate, he would be in the 9 spot (8 with Larussa)
The DH would most likely not be batting 9th in the AL. He'd already have batted. In this case, you'd be dealing with a 9th batter. You'd still be looking at a pinch hit situation anyways, or if he was sent to the plate it wouldn't be any better than a pinch hitter in the NL.

[Jeritron]

I do think 1 league makes more sense. I think the divisions should be more geographically aligned like every other sport. I do think it's completely unfair for a team like the Blue Jays to be in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox because they just don't have the money. They could make a drastic change and align the divisions based on money. Top 5 spenders all in one division, next 5 and so on, that way you could have a team like the Pirates strive to actually succeed.



With the exception of the Rangers in the West, and maybe one or two other instances, the MLB is very geographically aligned.
Much more so than the other leagues, especially the NFL.

[Stickman]

My point was based on an assumption that the pitcher is generally the worst batter.

Let's say in this scenario you take your pitcher for a better batter. This batter saves the day only for it to go to the 10th inning. Now you have to put a new pitcher in right?

[Jeritron]

My point was based on an assumption that the pitcher is generally the worst batter.

So was mine... Actually, I'm not sures your's was. Your's likened the DH and pitcher stepping to the plate in the exact same situation, which would never be the case in batting rotation.
It's also irrelevant because of pinch hitting.


Let's say in this scenario you take your pitcher for a better batter. This batter saves the day only for it to go to the 10th inning. Now you have to put a new pitcher in right?

Yes you do. Are you under the assumption that the starting pitcher would be headed into the 10th inning?

[Jeritron]

If the relief pitcher was doing well, he would be switched out. This happens all the time anyways. That's how playoff managing usually works. These guys are groomed for short distances.
Also, inconvenience isn't always a bad thing. It's part of the challenge. It requires strategy, good managing, and depth of roster. These are the things that should be going on in a good sports contest, and attributes of a chamion team.

[Stickman]

No, but if the picture who was to be up to bat was really hot, why would you risk taking him out? If you have a Dh you don't have to worry about taking your picher out. The pitcher is the most important player on the field, like a quarter back, why risk taking him out late in a game? That's why I'm for the DH.

However, if they said screw it to the DH I'm all for that too, just make it consistent. That's what bugs me the most. You have "2" leagues with 1 different rule. It's MLB not ALB and NLB.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

The only way that pitcher batting scenario is unfair is if one team gets to use a DH and the other doesn't, which will never happen. One team might have that issue with the pitcher batting but then the other team might have the same problem the next inning.

[Stickman]

If the relief pitcher was doing well, he would be switched out. This happens all the time anyways. That's how playoff managing usually works. These guys are groomed for short distances.
Also, inconvenience isn't always a bad thing. It's part of the challenge. It requires strategy, good managing, and depth of roster. These are the things that should be going on in a good sports contest, and attributes of a chamion team.

well said

[Stickman]

I am trying to understand the baseball mentality that's why I'm asking.

[Jeritron]

You just asked me how the rules worked when it came to pinch hitting, and you're now telling me how the sport should work, and who is the most important player on the team?

But anyways, what is this whole crusade of convenience? What's the concern here, that the coaches have to worry about something, or take risks? That's really the point of sports.

[Triple Naitch]

If they were to do away with the AL/NL then they should just have 4 divisions (North, South, East, West) and have the 2 best teams from each division play in a 8-team tournament.

[Jeritron]

The goalie is very important, but you take the risk of pulling him in the final minutes to try and tie the game up. It would be more convenient if the team was allowed to put another player on the ice without having to take the goalie out, but that's the way the cookie crumbles isn't it?

[Stickman]

You just asked me how the rules worked when it came to pinch hitting, and you're now telling me how the sport should work, and who is the most important player on the team?

But anyways, what is this whole crusade of convenience? What's the concern here, that the coaches have to worry about something, or take risks? That's really the point of sports.

The point of sports is for the players to play and us to watch. I'm not a big fan of over coaching in any sport, even the ones I play.

[Jeritron]

That's the point of pee wee sports. It's fun to just play. Pro sports is played and watched the way it is because of how challenging and competitive it is. That's what drives the play and viewership. If everything is convenient and simple, it will not be as good. All that matters is that it's fair and evenly matched.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

The only realignment I would be ok with is adding two more franchises and doing a North, South, East, West split for both leagues.

[Jeritron]

The only realignment I would be for is moving one team from the NL Central to the AL West.
All of the divisions in both leagues have 5 teams, except for the NL Central with 6, and the AL West with 4. What the fuck is that?
The Astros should be moved to the AL and placed in the Western Division

[RoXer]

The only realignment I would be ok with is adding two more franchises and doing a North, South, East, West split for both leagues.

nah mines better

[Jeritron]

They cannot and will not have a professional sports team based out of Las Vegas. There are various reasons for it, which is why it hasn't happened yet and never will

[RoXer]

Yeah I understand. But they should have moved somewhere in the Wwest. Portland? New Mexico? VANCOUVER? IDAHO!?!?

[Jeritron]

Since I hate the Pirates, the ownership should sell them to someone who gives a flying fuck and they should move them to the AL West. How's that?

[Jeritron]

Nah, I like the franchise and wouldn't want to see it moved.

I'd really just rather see the Astros go to the AL.

[Evil Vito]

The only realignment I would be for is moving one team from the NL Central to the AL West.
All of the divisions in both leagues have 5 teams, except for the NL Central with 6, and the AL West with 4. What the fuck is that?
The Astros should be moved to the AL and placed in the Western Division

<font color=goldenrod>At least one Interleague series would be going on at any time all year then. Otherwise there would always be one NL and one AL team with nothing to do for days at a time.</font>

[RoXer]

I guess that works. :meh:

What a waste of a good stadium though. )-:

As if it was getting used during the season :rofl:

[Jeritron]

Hold on, what? It would even the leagues out

[Supreme Olajuwon]

So just off the top of my head:


American League:

East:
Yankees
Red Sox
Tigers
Blue Jays

South:
Rays
Rangers
Orioles
Tennessee/New Orleans/Charlotte franchise

North:
Indians
Twins
White Sox
Royals

West:
A's
Mariners
Angels
Las Vegas


National League:

East:
Mets
Phillies
Pirates
Reds

South:
Braves
Nationals
Marlins
Astros

West:
Dodgers
Padres
Giants
D Backs

North:
Cubs
Cardinals
Brewers
Rockies

[RoXer]

<font color=goldenrod>At least one Interleague series would be going on at any time all year then. Otherwise there would always be one NL and one AL team with nothing to do for days at a time.</font>

My way would have 15 each with one interleague series.

Jeri's way would have 16 each with presumably 4 teams per division.

[Jeritron]

No, my way would have 5 teams per division and 15 teams in each league. What the fuck is going on right now?

[Jeritron]

Also, how would switching one team and making the leagues/divisions even effect the interleague schedule?
It would simplify it.

[Evil Vito]

No, my way would have 5 teams per division and 15 teams in each league. What the fuck is going on right now?

<font color=goldenrod>Exactly. And if you use 15 teams per league you have to stretch out interleague play all year.</font>

[Jeritron]

How about abolishing interleague play and making the allstar game and world series do the trick?

[Evil Vito]

Also, how would switching one team and making the leagues/divisions even effect the interleague schedule?
It would simplify it.

<font color=goldenrod>Let's take a look at a 3-game weekend series or something.

All 30 teams play during the weekends, always. It's the biggest money making time.

You'd have 7 NL series going on, and 7 AL series. But that still leaves one team per league with nobody in their league to play...so they'd have to play each other.

Therefore, at least one interleague game must go on all season. That's all I'm saying.</font>

[Evil Vito]

How about abolishing interleague play and making the allstar game and world series do the trick?

<font color=goldenrod>I would be all for that because I think interleague play sucks. Even the "marquee" series (Subway Series, Chicago, LA) are pretty boring at this point.</font>

[RoXer]

No, my way would have 5 teams per division and 15 teams in each league. What the fuck is going on right now?

The only realignment I would be ok with is adding two more franchises and doing a North, South, East, West split for both leagues.



My B. Mistook you for Supreme.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

My idea is better than everybody's. Fuck you

[RoXer]

Your idea sucks donkey dick just like the Oakland A's.

[Jeritron]

In Supreme's plan the Reds are curiously paired with the likes of the Mets and Pirates

[Stickman]

They play 160 regular season games, why can't they play everybody?

[Supreme Olajuwon]

In Supreme's plan the Reds are curiously paired with the likes of the Mets and Pirates

Don't worry the salary cap will solve any competition issues

[Jeritron]

Not when the Pirates continue to spend as little as possible, and the Mets keep being the Mets

[parkmania]

Since I hate the Pirates, the ownership should sell them to someone who gives a flying fuck and they should move them to the AL West. How's that?

Before the season started, Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux (the two main people in Lemieux Group LP) made public an interest in buying the Pirates. The current owners made public that they have no interest in selling the team.

And why would they? They make $9 million each year for fielding a (at best) AAA team. I have not gone to a game in 3 years, and do not intend to do so for at least the near future. My son is 2 and I want him to be able to experience professional baseball, so I'm sure in a couple years I'll have to take him to a few games - but for now I don't give the Pirates any money.

I do love the team and don't want them to leave town but the only way they are going to get better is for MLB to step in and say that through blatant mismanagement the current ownership has shown no interest in growing the game so if they don't sell, their status as a major league franchise will be rescinded.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Since I doubt there will be any consensus anytime soon about DH or no DH, I was wondering if there was a way to actually accommodate both.

Disclaimer: I don't think this is actually a good or practical idea...but...

how about you keep the DH AND the pitcher hitting? You then add a designated fielder spot. The DF cannot hit during the game, only play the field (unless they added some complex injury rule, but let's not get into that). But basically every lineup would have the DH, the pitcher, and then 7 out of the 8 fielders.

but anyway, some people argue that the DH spot creates jobs for sluggers who are otherwise not good enough to play the field...well, this idea would keep that and also allow guys who can't hit worth a shit but are amazing defenders to get regular playing time as well. It'd also eliminate complaints that one league has an advantage over the other due to the pitcher, since the pitcher would hit in both leagues.

Dunno. The reason I don't like it is because it'd just feel mad gimmicky</font>

[Jeritron]

Before the season started, Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux (the two main people in Lemieux Group LP) made public an interest in buying the Pirates. The current owners made public that they have no interest in selling the team.

And why would they? They make $9 million each year for fielding a (at best) AAA team. I have not gone to a game in 3 years, and do not intend to do so for at least the near future. My son is 2 and I want him to be able to experience professional baseball, so I'm sure in a couple years I'll have to take him to a few games - but for now I don't give the Pirates any money.

I do love the team and don't want them to leave town but the only way they are going to get better is for MLB to step in and say that through blatant mismanagement the current ownership has shown no interest in growing the game so if they don't sell, their status as a major league franchise will be rescinded.

I should clarify. I don't hate the Pirates team or franchise. I actually love their history, park, uniforms, etc. I just hate the organization and their approach to running the team. I'm not even a Pirates fan and I shake my head everytime I see them let a great player get away, or the management make choices that are purposely made to cut costs and stunt growth.
That's what I meant.

[Droford]

Bsseball isn't going to add 2 teams any time in the near future, hell they were thinking about contracting 2 teams but I doubt it unless the A's/Rays dont get new stadiums (Those would be the two most likely contractable teams, history aside for the A's)

Realignment is a given, its going to happen. I hope its not that hokey rotating realignment that they want to do where teams change leagues every year or some crap, This isn't Soccer. They will definitely balance out the AL West and the NL Central so each division has 5 teams. I think what I would do is move Colorado to the AL West and slide Houston to the NL West. Colorado in the AL kinda makes sense if you think about it and having Houston in the NL West would be equal to the Rangers being in the AL West.

[Jeritron]

I don't think Skippord will approve of that

[Jeritron]

Rays and A's really need to get new ballparks if they stay put, which they should. Although I wouldn't mind seeing the Rays transformed into a New Orleans or Tenn franchise.

A's are the A's, so I'd like them to stay put.

Still, those parks are eyesores. The league has come a long way in the past 15 years with ballparks. All of the domes and toilet bowls full of astroturf are all but extinct. There's really no place for ugly stadiums doubling as football fields anymore.
All of the parks in the entire league are now either great looking new ballparks, or classic parks (Fenway, Wrigley).
Minnesota is finally up to speed, and I believe the Marlins are opening a new park next year?

[Jeritron]

http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/FutureBallparks.htm

Nice

[RoXer]

I remember whn the new A's stadium had a motel in the bleachers where the rooms had a viw of the field.

I hope they put it near the water. There was talk they would put it near the naval base which could be beautiful.

[Jeritron]

a motel?

[RoXer]

Hotel I mean.

Which would be in downtown Oakland though so yeah, motel.

[Jeritron]

It would be great if they had a rundown Motel 6 in center field

[Triple Naitch]

That new Rays ballpark looks amazing.

[Jeritron]

It looks like a nice concept but it's the kind of thing I get the feeling could get dated, and begin to go to shit.
Think Olympic Stadium in Montreal

[YOUR Hero]

The canopy reminded me of MTL

[parkmania]

Does Skydome still rent out rooms that overlook the field? I think I remember some stories back in the day about some couples having sex in front of the windows, and then there was something about not selling enough of the rooms to stay open.

[Rev. Hallowell]

Screw the DH. If pitchers don't want to play baseball (or, for that matter, risk paypack for beanballs), then screw them.

And Pittsburgh will never be successful as long as that sorry excuse for ownership cares more about making money than winning championships. Mario Lemeux and Mark Cuban have both tried to buy the team, but Bob Nutting cares more about getting richer by selling players than actually winning.

They should keep the AL and NL though. I hate the NBA and NHL's East vs West. I like the AL-NL and AFC-NFC format used by MLB and the NFL.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>The fact that the ASG will use a DH even if its in a National League park just feels like a sign of things to come for me...which SUCKS. What I love about the NL is that the entire roster gets utilized. In the AL a bench guy can appear in a game like once a month.</font>

[Jeritron]

Well, their reasoning is that it's to prevent pitchers from being hurt/being switched too much. Team's complaining about having their pitchers used and the fear of running out of players are the biggest obstacles they face every year.
I don't think you're wrong though.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Yeah, I have no problems with it being used in the ASG, I just fear it could spill over further.

I'm also hoping that by having the ASG use rules that aren't used during the regular season, they finally take away that fucking stupid home field advantage rule. I remember Keith Hernandez ranting about that in the booth one day - back in the '70s and '80s the players were genuinely prideful of their league without having some gay stipulation attached to the game.</font>

[Rev. Hallowell]

<font color=goldenrod>The fact that the ASG will use a DH even if its in a National League park just feels like a sign of things to come for me...which SUCKS. What I love about the NL is that the entire roster gets utilized. In the AL a bench guy can appear in a game like once a month.</font>

I don't mind it so much in the ASG. Even if MLB eliminated the DH altogether, which I'd love, I still think it should be there. It allows room for another all-star.

[YOUR Hero]

Does Skydome still rent out rooms that overlook the field? I think I remember some stories back in the day about some couples having sex in front of the windows, and then there was something about not selling enough of the rooms to stay open.
Yes they do... best of my knowledge.

[YOUR Hero]

Well, their reasoning is that it's to prevent pitchers from being hurt/being switched too much. Team's complaining about having their pitchers used and the fear of running out of players are the biggest obstacles they face every year.
I don't think you're wrong though.
That's called sport.

Why not have players that only bat and players that only hit. 8 fielders and then 8 batters.

See how dumb that sounds.

[McLegend]

It's stipid how one league doesn't have a DH while the other does.

That makes no fucking sense.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Yeah, I have no problems with it being used in the ASG, I just fear it could spill over further.

I'm also hoping that by having the ASG use rules that aren't used during the regular season, they finally take away that fucking stupid home field advantage rule. I remember Keith Hernandez ranting about that in the booth one day - back in the '70s and '80s the players were genuinely prideful of their league without having some gay stipulation attached to the game.

What's wrong with the winning league's eventual WS representative have home-field advantage for that 1 series? It's not like it affects the entire MLB playoff schedule.

The only issue I have with the All-Star Games is when they allowed it to end in a tie back in '02, which goes totally against the fact that the sport of baseball should only EVER be decided with one side winning and one side losing.

But yeah, it would be really ridiculous if they took away the AL/NL. Would destroy a lot of great rivalries/history between teams with long-standing "feuds".