• Ever since a businessman by the name of Ban Johnson established the Western (American) League” in 1893 to challenge for baseball supremacy, there has been an ongoing rivalry between the National League vs. American League
• To make matters worse for the National League, the upstart American League Boston Americans won the first World Series in 1903
• The first 50 years of the Fall Classic saw the American League win the crown an overwhelming 33 times
• Even measuring All-Star Game wins to determine NL vs. AL supremacy gives us few answers as it is nearly a dead heat

We keep it real here at Electro-Mech, because we’re more than just an electronic scoreboards continue to light up, we’ll be there. Just read on and you’ll see what we mean.

NL vs. AL – World Series Wins

The National vs. American League rivalry began in 1893 when Ban Johnson formed the Western League in California. The National League, having a virtual monopoly on professional baseball, refused to acknowledge their rivals as equals. In 1900, the Western League transformed into the American League and the rivalry was on. The National League became known as the “Senior Circuit” while the AL was called the “Junior Circuit.”

There were claims of supremacy on both sides until 1903 when the first World Series was held. The Boston Americans took the series over the Pittsburgh Pirates 5 games to 3. Over the first 50 years of World Series baseball, the American League won 33 titles to the NL’s 17 wins. At this stage of the National vs. American League rivalry, it appears that the AL produced better teams.

Parity between the National League vs. American League became obvious over the next fifty-four World Series with the AL taking 28 titles to the NL’s 26 crowns. There were no real dynasties in either league with the title switching back and forth at least every couple of years. It seems that when the pressure is on and the World Series is at stake, the American League wins the battle in the NL vs. AL rivalry. To be objective, I believe we need to take a look at the All-Star game results to try to get a clearer picture.

All-Star Games – National League vs. American League

All-Star games in most sports are nothing more than a showcase for the games stars and are relatively meaningless. No one risks getting injured and players tend to go through the motions without exerting too much effort. This is true of baseball to a certain extent; however, the persistent NL vs. AL rivalry is hard to set aside and many games are quite competitive. Throw in the fact that the winner of the All-Star Game gets home field advantage for the World Series and you’ve got the makings of a hotly contested game.

When the 2008 NL All-Star team was defeated by the American League it became the sixth straight year that the AL secured home field advantage for the Fall Classic. In fact, since they introduced this format to the game, the NL has yet to take advantage of it. Of the 79 All-Star games that have been held by MLB, the National League has won 40 times to the American League’s 37 wins with two games ending in a tie.

So, who has the advantage between the National League vs. American League? Statistically speaking I have to give it to the American League. The purists of the National League may disagree but the results speak for themselves.