i think the AL has better quality teams
but a few friends of mine think the NL is better because they won the last 2 WS's and ASG's
i think that's ridiculous to base it on just that
Circle of Bosses
i think the AL has better quality teams
but a few friends of mine think the NL is better because they won the last 2 WS's and ASG's
i think that's ridiculous to base it on just that
Registered User
I think if price would have started it would have been a different story or even if sale would have gotten the nod.
2005 World Series Champs
Hopefully Sale didn't throw too many pitches, along with Peavy. I could care less who wins or who is better.
"(Shoeless Joe Jackson's fall from grace is one of the real tragedies of baseball. I always thought he was more sinned against than sinning." -- Connie Mack
"I have the ultimate respect for Whitesox fans. They were as miserable as the Cubs and Redsox fans ever were but always had the good decency to keep it to themselves. And when they finally won the World Series, they celebrated without annoying every other fan in the country."--Jim Caple, ESPN (Jan. 12, 2011)
Registered User
chicagowhitesox1173;2035195]Hopefully Sale didn't throw too many pitches, along with Peavy. I could care less who wins or who is better.
Agreed. Fans of a particular team think their league is better. The NL is better because the pitching is better and there is no DH, or the AL is better because the batters hit more home runs and there is a DH for bad fielders, good hitters. (This NL fan loves Robin Ventura though, the White Sox are lucky to have him)
Registered User
Two pitchers gave up the 8 runs scored in yesterday's game, the play of two players in two innings of a glorified exhibition game hardly tells you about the strength of either league. The NL may have won the last two championships, and the last three All-star games, but that's a total of what - 14 games? Meanwhile, the AL has dominated interleague for awhile now (and 142-110 this year is pretty dominant), which is hundreds of games per year. The AL is pretty clearly the superior league.
Registered User
Okay, but consider this. Since they started this whole "it counts" thing the AL had dominated the All-Star Game until the last three years. Obviously we don't know what will happen this year, but even though the AL has had home field advantage for so many years simply because of this game, they have only won 4 World Series Championships. (2002 would make it 5, but don't remember when "it counts" started...)Originally Posted by Thatguyoverthere
Really I don't see a 56%-44% split to be that "dominant."
Mike Hopper
Former Gateway Grizzlies Intern
Registered User
2010-2012 Batting
AL
AVG = .258
SLG = .408
Total Hits = 50565
Hits/Team/Year = 1445 = 3.89 more per slot in the lineup per year
Total HRs = 5788
HRs/Team/Year = 165 = 1.78 more per slot in the lineup per year
NL
AVG = .254
SLG = .397
Total Hits = 56418
Hits/Team/Year = 1410
Total HRs = 5969
HRs/Team/Year = 149
Considering DH vs. pitcher, is this really a meaningful difference in hitting?
Of course, this isn't the whole picture, but I don't have time to look into pitching, base running, or defense.
Registered User
The AL is obviously vastly superior. Over a much larger sample size called interleague play, the AL dominates the NL every single year.
A couple of AS games and WS games doesn't change that.
"There has always been a saying in baseball that you can't make a hitter, but I think you can improve a hitter. More than you can improve a fielder. More mistakes are made hitting than in any other part of the game."
- Ted Williams
"I know I'm the world's worst fielder, but who gets paid for fielding? There isn't a great fielder in baseball getting the kind of dough I get paid for hitting."
- Dick Stuart
Registered User
Yep, 12% difference in winning is a "vastly superior" group.
I love how the AL likes to tell the NL how "superior" it is but when the "best of the best" from each league match up it doesn't matter. Good call.
Mike Hopper
Former Gateway Grizzlies Intern
Registered User
1. Um, yeah. 12% is a big difference and the AL has a better record EVERY SINGLE YEAR. Coincidence?
2. We are talking about the leagues as a whole. AL vs. NL. That doesn't mean the best team can't be in the NL.
3. World Series is a very small sample size.
4. The NL has won the last two, that's not a streak. AL won 4 out of 6 before that. So what?
5. The "best team" doesn't always win the world series. In fact it usually doesn't.
6. Small sample size alert. You are really trying to disprove more than a decade of AL dominance, over 250+ games per year, by saying the NL won the last two WS and AS games? That doesn't make any sense at all.
"There has always been a saying in baseball that you can't make a hitter, but I think you can improve a hitter. More than you can improve a fielder. More mistakes are made hitting than in any other part of the game."
- Ted Williams
"I know I'm the world's worst fielder, but who gets paid for fielding? There isn't a great fielder in baseball getting the kind of dough I get paid for hitting."
- Dick Stuart
Registered User
What are the records recently, say they last 2-3 years?
Interleague play is in its 16 season.
The NL/AL from 1997... from 2002... from 2007.... is not the same NL/AL in 2012.
Registered User
2010: AL won 134-118
2011: AL won 131-121
2012: AL won 142-110
That's a .538 winning percentage, which translates to 87 wins over a 162 game season.
This year it was a .563 winning percentage, which translates to 91 wins over a full season
Go back to 2005 and it's been 1121-895 AL, which is a .556 winning percentage, or 90 wins over a full season.
The AL has dominated. And 2000 games is a fairly large sample size, especially compared to World Series and All-Star games.
Registered User
I'm glad you asked.
In 2012, the AL was 142-110 vs. the NL. This is a .563 winning %, equivalent to 91.2 wins over 162 games.
Over the last 3 years (2010-2012), the AL is 407-349 vs. the NL, a .538 winning %, equivalent to 87.2 wins over 162 games.
Over the last 5 years (2008-2012), the AL is 694-566 vs. the AL, a .551 winning %, equivalent to 89.2 wins over 162 games.
EDIT - LoL, thatguyoverthere beat me to it!
"There has always been a saying in baseball that you can't make a hitter, but I think you can improve a hitter. More than you can improve a fielder. More mistakes are made hitting than in any other part of the game."
- Ted Williams
"I know I'm the world's worst fielder, but who gets paid for fielding? There isn't a great fielder in baseball getting the kind of dough I get paid for hitting."
- Dick Stuart
Registered User
So it seems like it is starting to level out somewhat, or at least was, as 2012 is an upswing for the AL.
2005-2009 = .567 AL winning %
2010-2011 = .526 AL winning %
2010-2012 = .538 AL winning %
2012 = .563 AL winning %
Moderate Moderator
Well, it seems pretty obvious to me the AL is the stronger league, and it's been so for several years. At the risk of bringing up the decaying horse, I can't help but wonder if honing the use of the DH has had something to do with it.
Put it in the books.
Registered User
Interleague play is irrelevant. The goal is to win the World Series- you of all people know that. The NL has won the WS 3 of the last 4 years and the ASG 3 straight years. The new pattern for a new century is clear. The AL is in decline. My Yankee fan friends tell me over and over again- nothing counts until the playoffs.
Registered User
I'm not going to take the bait this time. Sorry.
See post #10. I'm moving on.
"There has always been a saying in baseball that you can't make a hitter, but I think you can improve a hitter. More than you can improve a fielder. More mistakes are made hitting than in any other part of the game."
- Ted Williams
"I know I'm the world's worst fielder, but who gets paid for fielding? There isn't a great fielder in baseball getting the kind of dough I get paid for hitting."
- Dick Stuart
091707 0657
The only World Series pattern I've seen in the 21st century is a bunch of lackluster Series's, that mainly show what a crapshoot the MLB post-season has devolved into.
Registered User
Sample size, sample size, sample size, sample size. What two teams do in one seven-game series tells you next to nothing about the strength of the leagues as a whole. It's not even an argument of "best vs. best" because the two best teams hardly ever even get to play each other in the World Series anymore because of how much of a crapshoot the playoffs have become.
Registered User
Well until there is balanced scheduling in interleague play, it won't tell us anything either. When the Yankees and Red Sox get weak NL teams year after year it can only help the AL.
Just remember, there's only a few big prizes given out each year. The World Series trophy means much more than a winning record against teams in the other league in May..
Mike Hopper
Former Gateway Grizzlies Intern
Moderate Moderator
Which leads us to a statement even more poignant to the thread...
Excellently said, imo.
Put it in the books.
OSHA-certified Moderator
But that goes against what LI METS FAN's Yankee fan friends have told him when the AL teams (Yankees) do well.
Tom Tresh George Kell Mark Fidrych Bob Feller
Ernie Harwell Soupy Sales Alex Chilton Sparky Anderson
Joe Nuxhall Gary Carter MCA Emanuel Steward
Sonny Elliot Dave Brubeck Earl Weaver Stan Musial
Jonathan Winters Neil Armstrong Roger Ebert Anthony Zahler
Ray Manzarek
no pepper games
As others have said, the AL is dominant by a pretty good margin. The World Series games may have a lot riding on them, but they don't tell you which league is dominant any more than an ordinary interleague game does. If you wanted to know which team weighs the most, would you just compare the weights of the heaviest player on each team? Of course not. You'd have to weigh all of the players.
Registered User
The scheduling can't account for all of the dominance, and things like that should even out over time (ie: the best NL teams facing the worst AL teams)
And it's also completely false. Take this year for example. The Yankees went 13-5 in interleague, but faced the Reds, Mets, Braves, and Nationals, who have a combined .555 winning percentage...
Moderate Moderator
I don't know why, but for some reason, and if it's not too difficult to look up, I'd be interested to know the home/road splits.
Put it in the books.
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