Generally speaking, I don’t mind interleague play.

It’s kind of fun to see teams that you otherwise might not, and it’s a welcome break from playing the Red Sox and the Orioles and the Rays and the…wait, we haven’t played the Jays yet? Huh?

That said, I have one big issue–the fact that AL pitchers have to bat in NL parks notwithstanding.

My issue is this: interleague games have the feel of exhibition games, even though they are very real and do count in the standings.

However, since they don’t have the luster of divisional or even wild card play, the non-premium, non Yankees-Mets/White Sox-Cubs/Giants-A’s matchups can seem, well, meh. I mean, I can get up for the Dodgers just fine, but the Astros only provoke memories of Chien Ming Wang’s destructed career.

So, what should be done?

Well, I have a solution, and this solution will also take care of another well documented issue.

You know how we like to complain that the All Star Game should be an exhibition and not actually mean anything? So like, when it goes fourteen innings we don’t have to stay up till two AM wondering who won?

How about this:

Don’t use the All Star Game to decide home field advantage for the World Series; use interleague play.

Look, I realize that right now the American League is a stronger league, and thus would likely (continue to) reap a benefit, but such things cycle, and in some time the National League will again be better. Maybe.

Anyway, the point is, you’d make interleague play actually worth something directly relating to itself. You could argue whether or not the schedule should then be constructed so decent teams play decent teams and poorer teams ones on their level, although I don’t think that’s entirely necessary.

Thus, the All Star game can go back to being a pure exhibition, as it’s meant to be, and there can be an actual benefit (besides monetary gains) to interleague play itself, as opposed to it merely serving as a distraction from the same old opponents.

Just a thought.