Interleague Play - Scheduling

Scheduling

Interleague play used to be scheduled in June and July (though as it was today if any teams were involved in interleague play, all teams were, except for the two NL teams that play each other). Later it was changed to occur only in June. In 2005, the format was changed again. Now, each team plays one series during the third weekend in May and plays the rest of their games in June and occasionally early July, usually starting in the second weekend of June, only playing interleague opponents until the interleague schedule is complete for the year. This new format allows for more weekend interleague games than as opposed to playing all 18 games consecutively. In the American League, each team plays 18 games; in the National League, five teams play 18 games, ten teams play 15 games, and one team plays 12 games, or four teams play 18 games, and 12 teams play 15 games for a total of 252 interleague games. They used the latter method in 2011, with the Marlins, Mets, Reds, and Diamondbacks being the four teams to play in 18 games. The reason for the difference is that during interleague play, all teams play interleague games at the same time, except for two NL teams that play each other. This is required because the NL has two more teams than the AL.

As of 2012, every Major League team has had interleague series with each team in the opposing league. Some clubs have not hosted every team at their home ballpark. The New York Mets have never hosted the Chicago White Sox. The two teams have only played one series, in Chicago in 2002. The Atlanta Braves have not hosted the Minnesota Twins since the 1991 World Series, although the teams have met 3 times in Minnesota. The Seattle Mariners have not hosted the Milwaukee Brewers since the Brewers' move into the National League in 1998. Over the same timespan, the Brewers have never hosted the Oakland Athletics. The Los Angeles Dodgers have never hosted the Tampa Bay Rays. This makes the Rays the only MLB team to have never visited Dodger Stadium. The Yankees have also not hosted the Dodgers in an interleague series, although they have played in Los Angeles twice since 2004. This makes the Dodgers the only current Major League franchise to have never played a regular season game in the original Yankee Stadium. The Kansas City Royals have never hosted the Atlanta Braves. This means that Chipper Jones, who has played his entire MLB career with the Braves, did not get to play in Kauffman Stadium until the 2012 MLB All-Star Game. The Toronto Blue Jays have never hosted the San Diego Padres. The Oakland Athletics have never hosted the Chicago Cubs. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have never hosted the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals have never hosted the Texas Rangers during the regular season, however they hosted the Rangers during the 2011 World Series. Of these matchups, San Diego-Toronto will be the last to occur; the other ten have been confirmed to occur with the release of the 2013 MLB schedule.