Blame It on the Yankees

Though I am a National League fan, even I have to recognize that the American League is more talented overall. 12 years of All Star Game wins, though impressive, is not as meaningful as the fact that the AL consistently outperforms the NL in interleague play.

I blame it on the Yankees. Beginning in the 1990s, the George Steinbrenner-owned team really began to ramp up its changing of the face of baseball. Always big spenders, the increased revenue from their cable network really upped the amount they had to spend. So they did. If there was a free agent they wanted, they were never outbid. If they could make a trade for a player, they could then afford to give him a new contract.

Other people have pointed this out. Overlooked, however, was the improvement in the Yankee farm system. Many of the key players in their World Series run came from that system. And when they wanted a player on another team, they had the prospects to get him in a trade.

The formula worked. The Yankees made the playoffs every year fro 1995 until 2008 except for 1997. They won six AL pennants and four World Series.

When John Henry became owner of the Boston Red Sox, he called the Yankees "the evil empire," but quickly went over to the dark side himself. Boston now has two WS titles this decade and they did by pretty much the same formula used by the Yankees.

In my opinion, these two teams have forced the rest of the teams in the AL to work harder and spend more money. Obviously Tampa Bay spent only a fraction of what the Yankees did to win the pennant last year, so it's not only money. But when the big dogs are as good as they are, you must do something to compete. Therefore, I think that AL teams in general have been more aggressive in pursuing players than the NL teams. Eventually, the entire league has better talent.

Why don't the teams in the big NL markets do what the Yankees have done? Well, the Mets have tried, but I think their organization--from the owner on down--is basically incompetent. The Cubs have been owned by a media corporation who looked at the team as a money-maker, not something to invest in (and they are still the Cubs). The Dodgers changed ownership twice and has just recently reached a level of stability, which is paying off in having the best record in the NL.

I hope the playing field eventually levels, but for now, the AL has better talent and we have the Yankees to blame for that.