Okay, so we have had numerous CBS Sportsline members argue for both sides. The perception has been for the last 6-8 years that the AL has the better teams, but are the teams really better as a unit? It's impossible for me to match up every scenario of division leaders vs division leaders in either league so I had to go for each league as a unit. All the NL teams together and all the AL teams together. Regretfully I must mention that the NL has 16 teams to average vs 14 AL teams, but I must also point out that if the NL has more teams with higher averages then, they will have the advantage by law of averages. Bah, blah, blah...
Let's get to the nitty gritty here. Let me preface that I am Yankees fan, but I have not manipulated any numbers for the AL. The numbers are as they are. Anyone can take the numbers as I did from CBS Sportsline for the date of 6/28/08am and compare for themselves team by team per league.
Without further ado...
AL BA averagd for 14 teams: 264
NL BA averaged for 16 Teams: 258
AL SLG%: 409.3
NL SLG%: 408.4
okay.....so we all say that the AL should have higher numbers AVG and SLG because they have a DH, but what about pitching? This is intriguing.........
AL ERA as a unit: 3.96
NL ERA as a unit: 4.03
WOW!! I kid you not!! I did the numbers twice. The AL has the DH and yet the teams as a unit have a lower ERA.
By these numbers alone so far, the AL seems to have the edge. At the end of the day, the true measure of supremacy is head-to-head league vs. league.
As of the close of last night's games, the AL teams have won 134 games and NL teams have won 87 games during Interleague play.
**I know fans of the NL believe that the National League are "closing the gap" on the American League on League superiority, but just isn't true for 2008. Neither by the stats not by the play on the field.
Viz
