Interleague play turns 19 today, and we're giving thanks with 8 classic moments

Imagine, if you will, a world hopelessly divided in two. A world in which half of baseball fans would never get to watch Mike Trout take on their favorite team during the regular season ... and the other half would never see Bryce Harper. For decades, that was the reality -- the American League played the American League, the National League played the National League. Until Nov. 26, 1996, when a new CBA was ratified instituting Interleague Play.  

On its 19th birthday, we're giving thanks to interleague play for all the wacky and wonderful things it's given us over the years. Things like ...

The very first game

Of course, Interleague Play wouldn't really begin until the following year, when the Giants traveled to Texas to take on the Rangers on June 12, 1997. And San Francisco wasted no time making some big league history -- Darryl Hamilton led off the game by slapping a Darren Oliver (!) pitch through the hole on the right side for the first-ever Interleague hit:

The Rangers would take a 3-1 lead into the seventh, but the Giants promptly put up three runs in their half and held on for a 4-3 win. 

Roger Clemens notches his 4,000th strikeout and 300th win

Only four pitchers in MLB history have recorded at least 4,000 K's. Only 23 have won 300 games. They're two landmark achievements, the kinds of career milestones people dream about -- and Roger Clemens accomplished them both on the same day.

The Rocket had been sitting on 299 wins for weeks, but on June 13, 2003, against the Cardinals in the Bronx, he wasn't messing around. He struck out the side in the first two innings, including fanning Edgar Renteria for whiff No. 4,000:

Clemens gave up two runs in 6 2/3 innings, before handing the ball off to the Yankees' bullpen to seal his spot in the record books:

David Cone spins a perfect game

Speaking of Yankees starters, Cone dominated an Expos lineup featuring Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Vidro for the first and only perfecto thrown In an interleague game. Oh, and he did it with Don Larsen and Yogi Berra looking on:

Ken Griffey Jr. comes back to Seattle

The numbers that The Kid put up in his 11 years as a Mariner don't sum up just how transcendent he was. Not that they aren't mind-blowing -- he made 10 All-Star appearances, won the 1997 AL MVP and hit 398 dingers in Seattle. But that doesn't capture the home run off the warehouse, the catch over the wall, the sprint home and all the things that made Griffey, well, Griffey.

And in June 2007, when Interleague Play allowed him to finally come back to Seattle for the first time since being traded to the Reds, the fans let him know that they hadn't forgotten:

Six Astros combine to no-hit the Yankees

Roy Oswalt was cruising early in his start against the Yankees in June 2003 -- he sat down the side in order in the first, with two strikeouts. But on his second pitch of the second inning, he strained his groin and had to leave the game. Houston's response? Pick a reliever, any reliever: Five Astros came out of the bullpen, and not one of them gave up a hit.

In order, that was Pete Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner, and it's still the most pitchers to ever combine for a no-hitter. 

Justin Verlander announces his arrival with a no-hitter

Technically speaking, Justin Verlander has always been awesome -- he won Rookie of the Year honors in 2006 and hasn't looked back. But if there's a date when Justin Verlander became Justin Verlander, it's probably June 12, 2007, when he blew away the Brewers. His line: 9 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 12 K, throwing 100 mph in the ninth inning.

Little did we know he'd make a habit of that sort of thing in the years to come.  

The Subway Series gets very, very weird

The Mets and Yankees have packed the Subway Series with so many memories, it's hard to believe they only started playing each other less than 20 years ago. But in the annals of this great yet brief rivalry, arguably no star has shone brighter than ... Dae-Sung Koo.  

Remember Dae-Sung Koo? No? He was the Mets' starter on May 21, 2005, and unbeknownst to the Shea Stadium crowd, he was about to blow their minds. When he stepped up for his first at-bat against Yankees starter Randy Johnson, even the broadcast booth was skeptical -- Tim McCarver's exact words were "I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that, so far in this young season, this is the biggest give-up at-bat."

And then this happened:

BUT WAIT, there is oh so much more. Jose Reyes laid down a sacrifice bunt, and Jorge Posada threw to first for the out -- leaving home plate unattended and ripe for the taking:

Alas, it hasn't all been glorious pitcher slides for the Amazins. A few years later, on June 12, 2009, the Mets were one out away from a win at Yankee Stadium. And when Francisco Rodriguez got Alex Rodriguez to pop one up to shallow right, that seemed to be that. Luis Castillo's glove, however, had other plans:

Edwin Jackson walks eight in one of the craziest no-hitters in history

Traditionally, we think of no-hitters as displays of utter dominance, a pitcher so locked in that no one can touch him. None of the Rays batters could touch Edwin Jackson on June 25, 2010, although that might have had something to do with the fact that he couldn't throw them a strike.

Jackson threw a no-no at Tropicana Field, sure, but it was one of the downright weirdest performances in history -- 149 pitches (no, seriously, 149 pitches) and eight walks. But hey, as the old saying goes: They're all no-hitters in the box score.