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What's the difference? The traditional lines separating the leagues are blurring, but when players swap sides they still need to make adjustments

Sporting News, The, April 1, 2005 by Stan McNeal

Back in the day, the American and National leagues had different strike zones, separate offices and players who typically stuck in one league long enough to care about winning the All-Star Game. But free-agent movement, interleague play and a unified umpiring corps have eliminated the most obvious distinctions and most of the competitive spirit between the leagues. Now MLB is one big, happy family with Papa Bud and Uncle Don presiding over all. Or something like that.

For new Mariners first baseman Richie Sexson, the thought of changing leagues influenced his decision to leave the Diamondbacks about as much as uniform colors and types of pasta at the postgame spread. "I thought about it," Sexson says, "but just barely."

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This is not to say the leagues have totally homogenized. Differences still exist, especially after an offseason in which the majority of star players who changed teams also changed leagues. Just check this list: major league home run champ Adrian Beltre, postseason hero Derek Lowe, stud starters Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder, shortstops Omar Vizquel and Edgar Renteria, catcher Jason Kendall and slugger Carlos Delgado. And those are just some of the players who are jumping leagues for the first time.

Want to know what the changes will mean for the two leagues? Well, you've come to the right place.

The A.L. will be superior

Besides arguably having the game's four best teams--Yankees, Red Sox, Angels and Twins--the A.L. also has cleaned up its bottom-feeders. The Rangers, benefiting from a healthy dose of homegrown talent, and the Tigers, who have shown they're willing to spend on free agents, have reached respectability two years after losing 210 games combined. The Mariners threw $114 million at Beltre and Sexson with the hope that the club's stay at the bottom of the West was for last year only. Even the Devil Rays and Blue Jays aren't as bad as their 90-some losses last season suggest; they just have the misfortune of playing 38 games against the Yankees and Red Sox. The Rays, in fact, were 15-3 in interleague games and would have finished only one game under .500 if they could have subtracted their 9-29 mark against the big boys.

The N.L. not only lacks a great team, it also has a handful of clubs--most notably the rebuilding (again) Rockies--capable of challenging the Royals for the No. 30 spot in the power polls. Though there remains plenty of optimism among the Pirates, Brewers, Reds and Nationals, we know how quickly that fades away when spring actually begins to feel like spring and the reality of another 90-loss season comes into focus.

The N.L. will have the best division

With Billy Beane's latest experiment under way in Oakland and the Mariners' pitching about as iffy as the Rangers', the A.L. West isn't what is used to be. The N.L. East, on the other hand, added more star power than any division and now appears to be both strong and balanced. The Braves have two new starters, Hudson and John Smoltz. The Marlins, with a talented core close to hitting its prime, signed Carlos Delgado. The Mets added a pair of last October's biggest stars, Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran. The Phillies, a trendy pick last year to make the World Series, didn't do much with their personnel but figure getting rid of manager Larry Bowa will be addition by subtraction. Still, the happiest players in all of baseball will be Nationals, if for no other reason than they now have a single home. As a bonus, they'll have real, live fans, too.

N.L. pitchers throw more fastballs

Well, to hitters at the top and bottom of the lineup anyway. New Red Sox shortstop Edgar Renteria, who will hit second, says he has been told to expect more breaking balls in the A.L. Delgado, however, says he's "getting mixed signals" about the tendencies of N.L. pitchers. And Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez, who struggled in two seasons with the Cardinals, admits, "I fell into that trap when I first got there, but pitchers aren't stupid. They're not going to throw you a fastball on a 2-0 count just because it's the National League. When I was over there, there were just a lot of big guys who could throw 95, 97."

Still, hitters lacking home run power are more likely to be challenged with fastballs in the N.L. In the A.L, lineups typically have more home run hitters, and pitchers must be careful with everyone. In the N.L., pitchers can save their tricks for the middle of the lineup. As Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds says, "I sure don't see too many fastballs on a full count."

There has been a power shift at first base

Not so long ago, the A.L. featured an All-Star cast of sluggers at the position. Jason Giambi had not yet broken down, Rafael Palmeiro's bat speed was not in decline, Jim Thome still was mashing in Cleveland, and Delgado was settled into the middle of the Blue Jays' order.

Now it's the N.L. with a gang of first basemen capable of hitting 35 home runs. Besides Thome in Philadelphia and Delgado in Florida, Albert Pujols has found a home at first base, and Derrek Lee is showing more power. Todd Helton and Jeff Bagwell have been showing power for a while.

What's the difference? The traditional lines separating the leagues are blurring, but when players swap sides they still need to make adjustments

Sporting News, The, April 1, 2005 by Stan McNeal

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