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By KEVIN KELLY
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 22, 2001
When the Rays won two of three against the Braves last week in their final interleague series of the season, it raised eyebrows. The worst team in the majors looked remarkably better against NL teams. How much better? They're actually over .500.
As the final tally below shows, it's not always a division's top team that excels when AL meets NL. In fact, of the five teams with the best interleague winning percentage in the majors this season, only the Mariners are leading their respective division. The Marlins have perfected this interleague thing. They have the best interleague record in the majors (51-33) since the format debuted in 1997:
AL vs. NL in 2001
(club, W-L,pct.)
1. White Sox,12-6,.667
Mariners,12-6,.667
Athletics,12-6,.667
4. Yankees,10-8,.556
Red Sox,10-8,.556
Rays,10-8,.556
Tigers,10-8,.556
Angels,10-8,.556
9. Twins,9-9,.500
10. Blue Jays,8-10,.445
Royals,8-10,.445
Rangers,8-10,.445
13. Indians,7-11,.389
14. Orioles,6-12,.333
TOTALS,132-120, .524
NL vs. AL in 2001
(CLUB, W-L, pct.)
1. Marlins,12-6,.667
Astros,9-6,.60
5. Mets,10-8,.556
6. Cardinals,8-7,.533
Pirates,8-7,.533
8. Braves,9-9,.500
9. D'backs,7-8,.467
10. Expos,8-10,.444
11. Dodgers,6-9,.400
Padres,6-9,.400
13. Phillies,7-11,.389
14. Brewers,5-10,.333
15. Reds,4-11,.267
16. Rockies,2-10,.167
TOTALS,120-132, .476
- Compiled by Kevin Kelly.