Most of America 's predominant sports are split into two conferences. These conferences eventually collide in a world championship in which each presents the team deemed best to represent their side. Baseball's conferences (called “leagues”, just like their referees are called “umpires”) experience a division no other sport bears as the rules are not identical. Though it may only be one rule there is no mistaking the drastic difference in the way the game is played between the two leagues.
So the National League was swept by the American League in the World Series two years in a row. All this really means is that the best team in the National League was a few steps behind the American League's. If you're only concerned about which league is more likely to have the world champion then sure the American League seems to be in complete control. The only two National League teams to win the World Series in the past 10 years (The Arizona Diamondbacks and The Florida Marlins) have no hope of making it to the playoffs this year. Well, I shouldn't say that; any team in the NL West could make it to the playoffs. I guess I'm better off saying neither team has a legitimate shot at being good.
The average payroll in the American League is $75,276,000 while the average National League payroll is $70,928,000. The National League has two more teams than the American League, which is also a clear advantage. So say that the slightly greater payroll and the two extra teams push. What is allowing for one league to produce dominant success over the other? It is certainly not a case where one is simply better than the other. It all comes down to the individual elements of the game.
All of the statistics I am listing in this article are from the 2005 season. Of course the argument is going to be made that since each league plays the majority of their games against their own the statistics produced cannot be compared. A plethora of talented hitters in one league might make the pitchers look worse than pitchers in a league loaded with gold glove nine-holers. This argument is gay and I will be ignoring it for the remainder of the article.
Pitching
Statistics
National League ERA: 4.22
American League ERA: 4.35
National League strikeouts: 16830
American League strikeouts: 13814
National League hits per game: 9.0
American League hits per game: 9.3
National League walks per game: 3.3
American League walks per game: 3.0
National League homeruns: 2616
American League homeruns: 2401
The absence of the Designated Hitter (DH) in the National League tilts these stats heavily. A number 9 hitter is going to see at least 3 at bats in a regulation game, though usually not more than 4. Assuming all pitchers suck at hitting and are batting in the nine-hole this means that three-to-four batters a team faces are terrible at hitting and can be considered easy outs. Now replace the worst hitter on the team (the pitcher) with who now becomes the best hitter on the team. The three-to-four easy outs you once saw literally turned into three-to-four of the hardest outs you're facing all day. With this in mind the statistics shown above that once favored the National League could tilt in favor of the American League.
What really catches my eye is the walks/game. Although a National League team is guaranteed to have three-to-four at bats a game where the pitcher is trying to stay in the thick of the strike zone in place of an American League team's three-to-four at bats in which they are likely to be polishing the strike zone they still manage to lose the category.
When you factor in the difference in the amount of teams in each league the homerun category swings in favor or the NL, although when put to a “per game” scale the difference is minimal.
Winner: National League
Star Players
National League Starting Pitchers: Pedro Martinez, Roy Oswalt.
American League Starting Pitchers: Johan Santana, Curt Schilling
Picking out those four names took me a good half an hour. Pedro Martinez in his prime was the most dominant pitcher I've ever seen. Today he is still showing glimpses of that side of him, although his fastball is definitely lacking the “Holy shit” gear it once had. Roy Oswalt's name should really be showing up on magazine covers more often. Recent trends predict strikeouts nearing 200 with an ERA just above 3. He's posted 19 or more wins in two of his last three seasons.
Johan Santana is the best pitcher in the game today. The best part is that it's not a 100 MPH fastball or 12 to 6 curveball that he relied on to rack up 503 strikeouts in two years, but a mere changeup. Though it is anything but flashy it is damn effective when used properly, which Johan has done and others struggle to do. Curt Schilling experienced the worst season of his prolific career in 2005, but has started strong in 2006 by collecting 50 strikeouts in his first 52.2 innings of work. When he is finding the corners with his fastball it allows him to get ahead in the count, which then sets the table for his splitter. With the count 0-2/1-2 batters find it hard to lay off even when the pitch ends up in the dirt.
Both leagues' picks presented a seasoned veteran and a young up and comer. As far as the veterans are concerned Petey trumps Schill. Though I all but forgot about Schilling's 2005 seasons it still serves to level the ground set aside for the injury debate. Strikeouts go to Pedro as well as ERA. It's a no-brainer. The young guns definitely favor the American League, as Johan Santana is making a very respectable argument to rename the Cy Young award. If he continues at this rate he'll be able to retire dozens of times.
Winner: Push
National League Closers: Derrick Turnbow, Eric Gagne/Billy Wagner
American League Closers: Mariano Rivera, Joe Nathan
I split the second NL closer because I couldn't decide which was more deserving of the slot: the best closer in the league who has been injured for a year and counting who may never recover or a mediocre closer who can throw 100 MPH. Turnbow may as well get “CLOSER” tattooed across his back, because that's what role he's going to be filling for a while. I tried to stay away from closers with only a single season under their closer belts, but the NL is lacking. Turnbow had 39 saves last year and is 12 for 13 this year. Good enough.
Mariano Rivera is the best closer of my lifetime. His personal downfalls are limited (the 2004 ALCS is pretty much it), and pretty much everybody is aware of how much he has accomplished. He is a shoe-in for best postseason closer. Joe Nathan has piled on 40+ saves in each of his first two seasons as a closer and is 5 for 5 this season thus far. I dismiss Papelbon because he is surely going to be given a starting position in the future. Francisco Rodriguez and BJ Ryan are both noobs and I'm not convinced their stats will hold up. Had either of them been pitching in the NL they would have made my list.
The thing about closers is that the game is becoming increasingly aware of how far less valuable they are than starters. The misconception that your best pitcher is best used when the game “counts” is childish and, thankfully, dying quickly. The only reason to have a great pitcher closing should be due to endurance issues. Regardless, closing is a real issue despite how teams choose to deal with it. The closers in the American League are far superior to the National League, which helped close the ERA gap between the leagues. Even the rookies getting their first shots this year look better than most of the vets over in the NL. Papelbon, Bobby Jenks, and Chris Ray showcase the newest closer blood in the AL and can easily trump any three NL closers right now.
Winner: American League
Batting
Statistics
National League Batting Average: 0.262
American League Batting Average: 0.268
National League On-Base Percentage: 0.330
American League On-Base Percentage: 0.330
National League Slugging Percentage: 0.414
American League Slugging Percentage: 0.424
National League Stolen Bases: 1349
American League Stolen Bases: 1216
Two very alarming stats pop out here. The two leagues shared the same on-base percentage, despite the NL lacking the DH we already covered. This can be explained by the larger number of walks allowed by the National League pitchers. Should this be credited to the batter or the pitcher? Although the pitcher is most commonly blamed for a walk it is the batter who shows control of the strike zone by laying off bad pitches. Since it is a very complicated issue and I already blamed pitchers for walking batters I'll stick to my guns and make another careless assumption.
The other big stat is the stolen bases. This is the most visible difference between the leagues. The National League plays a game of speed as opposed to the American League's power hitter based lineups, defying the almighty Bill James in the process. I predict that this gap will soon close (and the stat itself will practically die). According to math I didn't bother to lookup a runner needs between a 70 and 75 percent chance to make a steal attempt profitable. This would permit only to the fastest players in the game to make steal attempts. Ivan Rodriguez's struggling pickoff percentage is offering its full support of the adaptation.
Winner: American League
Star Players
National League Power Hitters: Albert Pujols, Adam Dunn
American League Power Hitters: Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez
Albert Pujols is quickly becoming the most amazing athlete of my lifetime. If you're not aware of his presence in the game today and have managed to make it this far through my article too bad I'm not explaining. My only hope is that he breaks the single season homerun record. Soon. Adam Dunn is continuing to quietly put up 40+ homerun seasons. It was a tough decision between Dunn, Andruw Jones, and Carlos Lee, though I take satisfaction in the prediction that Dunn will finish with the most homeruns.
Alex Rodriguez is hitting homeruns at a record-setting pace. God knows how many homeruns he would have hit over The Green Monster. 47+ homeruns in 4 of his last 5 years have him as an easy favorite to take the homerun crown again. Manny Ramirez is a streaky hitter throughout the season, but is anything but streaky over the course of his career. He's only hit under 100 RBIs once as a starter and is currently sitting atop of 442 homeruns.
Albert Pujols is the best hitter in baseball right now, no doubt, but it is far from enough to declare the NL the better power hitting league. Manny and ARod are two of the most powerful and most proven hitters in the game today. I'd say the stars of the AL are definitely the power hitters, while the NL most obviously relies less on the long ball and more on the sac bunt.
Winner: American League
National League On-Base Hitters: Todd Helton, Albert Pujols
American League On-Base Hitters: Jason Giambi, Travis Hafner
Just the on-base percentages I'm looking at over the past few years. The fact that Albert Pujols has made an appearance on both these lists should be reason enough to get a little nervous. He's proficient at both getting on base and clearing them, which is pretty much all you're trying to do as a hitter. It's becoming more and more apparent that he's the best player in the game right now and, barring injury, is going to be something special. Todd Helton has sort of fizzled to the back of the shadows as of late. His power numbers recently have fallen off the table, but his OBP is still way up.
Jason Giambi is in complete control of the strike zone. He displays one of the most educated bats in the game at this point. Seeing him chase strike three is rare enough to warrant a “Whoa”. Travis Hafner is gaining attention for his power numbers, but his ability to get on base is what makes him so valuable to the Indians. If they're going to make the playoffs this year it is going to have a lot to do with Pronk making some long innings even longer.
The National League's stars hit their fair share of homeruns, but you're more likely to see them scrounging through foul ball after foul ball to earn a walk or knock a base hit up the middle. This plays into the philosophy of Bunts n' Steals, as getting into scoring position doesn't have to be achieved at the plate.
Winner: National League
Defense
National League Fielding Percentage Average: 0.98337
American League Fielding Percentage Average: 0.98314
What I mean by “Percentage Average” is the average of all the individual team percentages. Sue me for not adding up all the plays and errors manually.
Right on the money, again. All the teams seem to be right around this area, as well. There really isn't much variance when it comes to defense. I've always been an advocate of the notion that spectacular defense cannot be documented. An outfielder gets a late jump on a ball and ends up laying out for a dazzling catch. The crowd goes crazy, but would half of them have even clapped had he settled under the ball comfortably like a good outfielder would have? Probably not. And the announcers probably eat the former's nads until gold gloves pour from the sky.
Phht. BY WAY OF TECHNICALITY
Winner: National League
So after a brief overview it seems like the two leagues are a lot more even matched than the World Series has dictated. This is reinforced by the almost even record seen by both sides during interleague play. But we've forgotten to mention probably the biggest difference between the two leagues. In fact you might say it's the biggest asshole difference in the world. |
