The American League is Still Much Better than the National League
Written by: O
It is funny to listen to baseball purists talk about how the National League is the “real” baseball in the major leagues. They talk about how managers have more of an effect on a game with double switches or pinch-hitting for the pitcher or how players have to play in the field. They say the designated hitter in the American League ruins the complexity of the game and adds a hitter who does nothing but hit. All of this may indeed be true to the fans of just the National League who say that they are not able to watch the American League game, but there is no doubt that the best league for a while now has been the American League.
The American League has pretty much dominated the National League on basically every category. The American League has dominated the National League in the All-Star Game, winning 16 of the last 19 games and that includes the tied game in Milwaukee. The National League has been unable to win back-to-back World Series since 1982 and the only National League team that has won more than one World Series since 1982 are the Florida Marlins (1997, 2003) and they were not even a franchise until 1993. The American League has had multiple World Series champions since 1982 such as the Minnesota Twins (1987, 1991), Toronto Blue Jays (1992, 1993), the Boston Red Sox (2004, 2007), and the New York Yankees (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000). Whether it is head to head in the all-star game or World Series, the American League has had the upper hand for a while now.
Today, the American League looks as strong as they ever have. First, by far the two most popular franchises in major league baseball are the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. It does not hurt that they are two of the winningest teams as well with recognizable superstars such as Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Manny Ramirez, and David Ortiz. Despite having the designated hitter in the American League, the pitching in the American League (4.08) has a better earning run average than the National League (4.24) as well. There is also the myth going around that the National League has better young pitching than the American League, but the American League has young pitchers such as Felix Hernandez, Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, Jon Lester, and Andy Sonnanstine. It does not help the National League when the National League West only has one team with a record over .500, especially when that team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, is 42-41.
The National League and their fans can deny it all they want, but the best baseball in the major leagues is in the American League. They have the best teams, the best pitching, the best hitting, the most recognizable players, and they are flat-out a much better product. While the National League has all of the baseball purists that still love the National League, the “real” baseball is indeed played in the American League and has been for a while now.
July 7th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
I have recently started to “care” a little bit about baseball again as of late. I have seen this over and over. AL is superior to NL. For my 2 cents, this is false. I have really noticed that pitching and a great pitching bullpen is the winning piece. With that being said, with some many pitchers being moved every year and all the young talent that is comes in daily from the minor leagues, you can not just say that the AL is better due to big name hitters. Now with the same thing with the AFC in football, the AL have the more competitive in conference games, but doesn’t really seem to be the better conference. Just my thoughts.