In the 2026 chapter of Major League Baseball's (MLB's) interleague rivalry, National League teams (NL) are schooling American League (AL) teams 108 wins to 82 (57%) as we near the 1/4 pole of the 2026 season. So far, the NL is on track for its best-ever interleague season surpassing the previous high of 55% in 2019.
Even the once-dominant AL East with a 44% record (28-35) is eating humble pie this year in matches against NL squads.
After 14 consecutive AL triumphs from 2004 through 2017, the NL won the inter-league contest for 5 of 7 seasons starting with 2018 through 2024. The AL got back on top in 2025. The AL owns a slight advantage with a 51% winning record over 30 years since interleague regular season play started in 1997.
The "brain gap" between AL and NL team managements shrank over the years thanks to:
- the brain drain of smarty-pants and smarty-skirt executives who started with AL squads before crossing over to manage NL teams;
- the effects of age on AL owners no longer content to hire the best baseball minds and stay out of the way -- e.g., sad decline of the Red Sox under John Henry.
The AL's remaining claim to superiority is winning 10 of the past 12 All-Star contests, 22 of the last 27 to reach a decision and 28 of 36.
After decades of AL superiority in the World Series, the NL has won 5 of the last 7 with Los Dodgers winning 3 of the last 5. Over the last 2 decades from 2006-2025, the NL is ahead 12-8. From 1983 through 2005, the AL won 15 of 22 World Series championships.
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