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Any news on expansion nowadays? And is there any chance for expansion in the next 2-3 years? Or is it a completely dead issue now?
r/Esteemed Rat
gscottar
Manfred says it won’t happen until Oakland and Tampa get their stadium extortion resolved.
Fixed it for you.
On the note of expansion, it just makes too much sense. Then you have even balances of leagues and east/west if the right places get a team each.
LasVegas Nashville SanJose Vancouver Jacksonville Indianapolis OklahomaCity SaltLakeCity Memphis NewOrleans SanAntonio…. one should be able to find two out of those. I think Vegas would be a no brainer but the cities with the most interest, a viable stadium and financial backing would have a leg up. There’s also the matter of satisfying each owner who may feel there would be encroachment.
How about four divisions of four teams in each league. And if the DH is adopted into the NL, There could be an enormous possibilities to insure rivalries and cut back on travel to save $$. (Ex.) NYY v NYM or CHC v CHW or LAA v LAD. A division of STL-KC-and the two Chicago teams would be very interesting. And no need for Wild Card teams.
I was with you until the end, NY…
“And no need for Wild Card teams.”
No way will Wild Cards ever go away.
Some fans like the “win your division or go home”… it makes the season play more interesting and meaningful. Some fans like the wild cards…. adds interest and drama for the wild card chasers. The “one and done” bothers me. So much effort and too many tears. Adversely, extends the play-off season especially with ties.
The owners like the wild card game$$$. Case closed…. you right Brian….. but it would be an option for the future, but don’t ask me why. Extend the season cut the wild card schedule…. maybe??? We can’t be playing games on Thanksgiving.
Back to expansion…. has any body put together their ideal 32-team divisions?? Perhaps something to play with this winter.
I am just guessing here. I listed Montreal and Portland as the expansion teams and then switched Houston back to the NL and Arizona to the AL.
NL East- New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Montreal
NL North- St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati
NL South- Atlanta, Miami, Washington, Houston
NL West- Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, ColoradoAL East- New York, Boston, Toronto, Baltimore
AL North- Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota
AL South- Tampa, Arizona, Texas, Kansas City
AL West- Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle, PortlandIf you are gonna expand why go half assed. Here’s my League. A lower hard cap for all teams.
NL East—– New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Washington
NL Central—St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Indianapolis
NL -South – -Tampa Bay, Miami, Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte
NL West—– Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Colorado, Las VegasAL East—– New York, Boston, Toronto, Baltimore, Buffalo
AL Central– Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota, Kansas City
AL South— Arizona, San Antonio, Texas, Houston, New Orleans
AL West——Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake CityNo Wild Card
I’d go another route…drop some divisions and the teams go in the East:
AL East: New York, Boston, Toronto, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Detroit
AL West: Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle, Texas, Houston, Chicago, Minnesota, Kansas City
NL East: Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Atlanta, Miami, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Nashville
NL West: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Arizona, Colorado, St Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee
Division winners get a bye through the best of 3 wild card round that starts the day after the regular season ends (higher seeds get three home games). Division winners then get 5 home games (3H-2A-2H) in the division series, #1 seed gets the same in the championship series and World Series. The draft becomes an NBA style lottery so tanking guarantees nothing. Incentivize winning, please.
I am certain in this scenario that Dewitt would be forced to open dewallet more often in a division with three big spenders.
There is also the possibility that Oakland moves to Las Vegas and Tampa moves to Montreal permanently (that proposal of Tampa and Montreal sharing a team seems ridiculous). If so, I think the two expansion teams would be Nashville and Portland. I don’t think Indy, Charlotte, Buffalo, Vancouver, San Antonio, or Jacksonville will make the cut. MLB wants to get to 32 teams. They are just waiting on the Oakland and Tampa stadium fiascos to be resolved.
No comment on division or expansion yet. However, I would emphasize overall W-L record more in post season. A team like the Dodgers this year would get a higher seed than Atlanta in my set-up.
I like the thought of going back to 2 divisions. A two-division, 154 game regular season with expanded playoffs sounds almost ideal. Will see if I can come up with a scenario.
Fascinating topic. While it’s clear Oakland and Tampa situations have to be resolved we can speculate on the best options for the final two spots. Assuming Oakland resolves their situation in the San Jose or Oakland area that leaves Tampa. It was always an odd fit in Tampa/St. Pete to place a full time MLB team. I don’t think Montreal is the answer. Maybe an outside of the box solution for them. I’ll come back to it in a moment.
For expansion I propose two up and coming cities. One east and one west, Charlotte (15th largest city in US) and Las Vegas. For Tampa, move them to the most populous city in the country and one that had three teams at one time NYC (Brooklyn).
NL East
NYM, PHI, PITT, BKN (formerly Tampa; league change)NL South
WAS, CHA (expansion), ATL, MIANL Central
CIN, CHC, STL, MILNL WEST
LAD, SDP, SFG, ARZAL EAST
NYY, BOS, TOR, BALAL NORTH
DET, CLE, CHW, MINAL CENTRAL
KCR, TEX, HOU, COL (league change)AL WEST
OAK (SJ), LAA, LVG (expansion), SEA8 pods, 4 per league, mostly geographically aligned and good for travel for opposing division fans. Charlotte would be a natural rival for Washington and Atlanta. Miami becomes Florida’s team so maybe rename then their original name Florida Marlins. Las Vegas fits in with Oakland and Los Angeles. Texas and Houston get better time zone games and closer rivals.
Many ways to go but that’s my shot in the dark.
Texas:
Looks good except for one thing. Tampa must move to St. Louis and be the Browns. Stay in the American League of course with a natural rivalry with the Royals and White Sox.
The A’s will be in either Oakland or Las Vegas. A revised stadium proposal was recently provided to the city of Oakland. It sounds as if the decision by the city will determine where the A’s end up.
Isn’t San Jose was off the table. The Giants control that territory and have had long standing objection to the A’s moving there.
I cannot see a team in Indy. The potential is there for five teams to lose a portion of their fan base (Cardinals, Cubs, White Sox, Tigers and Reds).
I think it is a bad idea to have the Rays being shared by two cities … especially so far apart. Would like to know how the economics make sense for such an agreement. I believe the Rays stadium lease in Tampa expires in 2027.
Why does baseball need to expand? There are plenty of teams now, if not too many. Expansion would only dilute the overall quality of the player pool and not enhance our enjoyment of the game in any way. The principal effect of expansion would be to rake in more millions of our dollars for some already super-rich rich guys. Goodness! Perhaps that’s the answer to my opening question.
If we are going to fool around with baseball’s organization – and if considering actually reducing the number of teams would shrivel the gonads of those in charge – I suggest cutting the number of divisions to four and doing away with one level of playoffs. That way we could avoid the danger of one day playing in the snow.
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