It came like a comet, a giant ball of hype followed by a glowing tail of intrigue. And now it’s gone again, its second pass set to occur June 30.
Eighty-four games into interleague play there are still as many questions as conclusions, but at least now we have a few facts:
Who won? The American League, 48-36.
Who watched? A lot of people, almost as many as baseball’s deep-thinkers could have dreamed. Attendance was up nearly 40 percent overall.
As for the players’ response, perhaps a pair of Indians best captured the mood after Cleveland opened play against the Cardinals.
“This is like the feeling I had in the World Series,” first baseman Jim Thome said. “It’s weird. It was like it was October.”
Countered catcher Sandy Alomar, “To be honest, it felt like a spring training game to me.”