Nothing more irritating than playing by one set of rules in one park and a different set in another

Bud Selig, the commissioner of Major League Baseball since 1992, likes to tinker with things.

He’s brought us interleague play, the World Baseball Classic, and made the All-Star Game an exhibition that awards home field advantage in the World Series to the winning league’s representative.

We know he wants more playoff teams in the postseason, and now we get word that MLB is considering realigning itself into two 15-team leagues with no divisions — but with the top five teams in each league advancing to the playoffs.

If the 15-team league plan happens, it means one team from the 16-club senior circuit would have to slide over to the AL.

No real problem there.

The consensus is that the Houston Astros would cross the bridge, creating a natural in-state rivalry with the Texas Rangers.

I doubt too many people would complain about that.

But…

If we do that, shouldn’t we just go ahead and standardize the rules?

I’m a longtime opponent of the designated hitter, but I’ve reached an age where I just don’t care anymore. If you want to remove strategy from the game, fine.

But do it in both leagues.

Why?

Because of this interleague nonsense.

I hated it when it started and I hate it now, and there are even players and managers who are saying it’s a gimmick whose time has come and gone.

But it makes money, so Bud and his buds are going to keep it forever. And if you keep it, you need to play by the same rules in Yankee Stadium as you do at Turner Field, i.e. either have the DH or don’t have it.

With the exception of reality television, nothing irritates me more than a game that plays by one set of rules in one park and a different set in another.

If all the rules were the same, interleague play would be a tad more palatable.

As for that 15-team, no division format, it’s a feeble attempt to combine old school tradition with the “modernization” of the game.

There are old-timers who remember when the team with the best record in the NL played the team with the best record in the AL in the Fall Classic and that was that.

And not terribly long ago we had two leagues with two divisions and just four playoff teams in all.

But most all American pro sports leagues feel compelled to pack as many teams into the postseason as possible, so it’s natural MLB does the same.

To me a perfect playoff format for a 15-team league is three five-team divisions with the division winners and one wildcard moving forward, but no one in the home office has asked me for my opinion.

And unless I come up with an opinion that can make lots of money for Major League Baseball, no one ever will.