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Happy birthday, interleague play! These are some of the best highlights from past 23 years

Aria Gerson   | Paste BN
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Sure, some sports are back. But "sports" as we know them are largely still on pause due to the coronavirus pandemic. Today is Day 92 without sports. ⚾  

On June 12, 1997, interleague play formally began in Major League Baseball after it was ratified in the 1996 Collective Bargaining Agreement. The first-ever interleague game was between the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers at what was then called The Ballpark in Arlington. That day, Rangers starter Darren Oliver made the first interleague pitch and three pitches later, Giants outfielder Darryl Hamilton had the first interleague hit. The Giants won the game, 4-3.

Although some oppose the idea of interleague play, it also can generate World Series rematches and intracity rivalries. From pitchers who rake to bench-clearing brawls to milestone moments, interleague games have had their share of highlights.

Here are a few of the best:

July 18, 1999: David Cone's perfect game

Before the New York Yankees and Montreal Expos took the field on Yogi Berra Day at Yankee Stadium, Don Larsen and Berra, who had combined for a perfect game in 1956, teamed up for the first pitch.

That proved to be prescient, as Yankees starter David Cone was undeterred by a 33-minute rain delay ― in the middle of an at-bat, no less ― and threw a perfect game on just 88 pitches. It was the first no-hitter in interleague history, and still the only perfect game.

May 21, 2005: Dae-sung Koo has a day

Former New York Mets pitcher Dae-sung Koo played just one year in the majors after spending most of his career in the Korean and Japanese leagues. He's most remembered for what happened in a Subway Series game against the Yankees in May 2005.

Facing future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in the seventh inning, the Mets inexplicably let Koo bat.

"I'm just gonna go out on a limb and say that is thus far in this young season, this is the biggest give-up at-bat," Tim McCarver said on the broadcast. Seconds later, Koo ripped a double into center field as Joe Buck yelled, "Take your words back!"

As if that weren't enough, Jose Reyes laid down a sacrifice bunt on the next at-bat. After advancing to third, Koo caught the infielders napping and scored. It was the second, and last, plate appearance of Koo's career.

May 20, 2006: The Crosstown Brawl

For Cubs fans, the Crosstown Cup is sometimes forgotten amid the team's rivalry with the St. Louis Cardinals, but the 2006 edition of the series showed that the two Chicago teams have plenty of hate to go around.

In the second inning, White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski collided with Cubs catcher Michael Barrett at the plate as Pierzynski came home on a sacrifice fly.

Before Pierzynski could head back to the dugout, Barrett grabbed him and landed a punch on Pierzynski's jaw. Both benches cleared.

But Pierzynski got the last laugh, as the White Sox won the game 7-0.

May 11, 2016: Max Scherzer strikes out 20

Before the Detroit Tigers came to Nationals Park in May 2016, Scherzer ― who had signed a free-agent deal with the Nationals the year before ― heard a lot of trash talk from his old teammates in Detroit. Naturally, Scherzer responded by striking out 20 of them.

Twenty strikeouts in nine innings is still the major league record. Scherzer was just the fourth pitcher to accomplish the feat, and the first since Randy Johnson in 2001.

July 31, 2016: Jon Lester's walk-off squeeze

The Chicago Cubs erased a 6-0 deficit against the Seattle Mariners, tying the game in the bottom of the ninth on a wild pitch. But they ran out of position players and relief pitchers as extra innings loomed. In the bottom of the 12th inning, with a runner on third and one out, the pitcher's spot came up. The Cubs were left with no choice but to pinch-hit with a starting pitcher.

They chose Lester, who had spent his entire career in the American League before signing with the Cubs in 2015 and had a career OPS of .167.

He was a pretty good bunter, though, and the Cubs walked away with a 7-6 win.

Sports video of the day

Let's just take a second to appreciate that in the same game that Lester walked off the Cubs, multiple pitchers played the outfield. This wasn't even the first time manager Joe Maddon had done it that season, but we're pretty sure it was the first time a pitcher made a notoriously difficult Ivy catch, thanks to lefty reliever Travis Wood.

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Sports on TV

Golf (live): The PGA Tour is back! Golf Channel, 4 p.m. ET

Wrestling (live): The WWE, one of the few "sports" still going in the United States, will have its Friday Night SmackDown at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

NHL (classic): NBCSN has a tripleheader for L.A. Kings fans Friday night with the 2014 Stanley Cup Final against the New York Rangers. Game 2 will begin at 8 p.m. ET, then the clinching Game 5 at 9:30, followed by the championship documentary.

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