That could really happen, you know. President John F. Kennedy throws out the first ball at the 1962 All-Star Game in Washington, D.C.—the first All-Star game after MLB's expansion. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. South: Astros, Rangers, Rockies, RoyalsA.L. Baseball needs to think through this carefully. Since each league now has 15 teams, the new alignment requires additional interleague play. The Wild Card Game is too ingrained in the sport now to kick it aside and take only the four division winners to the postseason, even though that would be the easiest and perhaps most sensible solution. In professional sports, this occurs when a league decides to change which teams are in which divisions, usually by creating new divisions. UltimateMovieRankings from Virginia on November 03, 2011: First of all....great to see you back on hub pages. In 1977, the American League expanded again, going from 12 teams to 14 teams. So we’re likely not going to have any expansion for at least eight more years. 2) Equally intermix 4 AL & 4 NL teams in each division (to balance DH rule). And that's not beneficial for anybody.". Most geographic rival pairings are obvious. This all started as a thought about the future of the Rays given their current lease situation. That makes winning the division that much more valuable. Answer: I think Charlotte would be a great choice in terms of population and location, although I think it may be more of a football town than a baseball town. JasonCulley from Cheyenne, WY on November 01, 2011: I am working on some articles about football history but it is more centered around one team, the Oakland Raiders. The Arizona Diamondbacks were added to the NL West Division, giving the National League 5 teams in the East Division, 6 teams in the Central, and 5 in the West. The league championship series and World Series would remain best-of-seven affairs. MLB also created a new playoff structure, adding a wild-card playoff berth for the non-divisional winner with the best overall record, and a new playoff round, the Division Series, to determine the two teams that would advance to play for the league pennant. By Cecil Stoughton [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Tampa Bay closer to Houston than it is to Baltimore. Perhaps it's not feasible and the best solution is a single Wild Card Game, with the division winner with the worst record hosting the best non-division winning team. I don't see MLB eliminating interleague play or the unbalanced schedule if (when?) But it was once one of the most feared pitches in Major League Baseball. Rob Manfred says he wants to keep two 2020 rule changes you probably won’t like. Come with me, won't you? What happens after that? Not much more MLB could do. As noted earlier, there will be two rounds of collective bargaining between now and 2028. For now, let’s focus on expansion and Other sites I think would be good would be Las Vegas, Indianapolis and Charlotte. In North American sports, realignment refers to a major change in the competitive structure of one or more existing leagues. It’s primarily to help cut down on travel costs. The American League went from 154 to 162 games in 1961. Portland and maybe San Antonio for the AL vacancies. section: | slug: why-2028-could-be-the-year-that-reshapes-expands-and-completely-alters-major-league-baseball | sport: baseball | route: article_single.us | Each year divisions would play one other interleague division (once every 3 years) = 24gms. "I hope I'm around long enough to see us expand. It is as good a time as any to shorten the season from 162 games back to 154 games as well. In the end, the plan was too disruptive and failed, and instead, realignment only involved one team, the Milwaukee Brewers, who switched from the American League to the National League before the 1998 season, when the two latest expansion franchises - the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays - began play. Copyright © 2000-2020 Sports Reference LLC. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Orioles franchise that was a charter member of the American League moved to New York in 1903. Given recent failures at the major and minor league levels, Montreal and Portland will not make the cut. I've been lurking for a while but haven't had time to write anything new. Would any of these areas be strong candidates for a new MLB franchise? This alignment was maintained for 17 years, through the 1993 season. The MLBPA has been pushing for a 154-game season because it means less wear and tear on the players and because hey, who doesn't want to work fewer days? Colorado, St. Louis, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee. Also, you are more likely to see an eight-division format of four teams each like the NFL has to balance out and allow for Four division winners and Four wild-cards to make the playoffs in each league. In the Southern Division: Atlanta, Arizona, Charlotte (formerlyMiami), Houston, Texas, Colorado, Washington and Oklahoma City (new). Best, Brian. Brian Lokker (author) from Bethesda, Maryland on November 01, 2011: Thanks for reading, Jason. The American League made additional changes within a few years, but the National League alignments remained the same for 24 years, through the 1992 season. Some defensive statistics Copyright © Baseball Info Solutions, 2010-2020. For the 1993 season, the league retained its existing divisional structure, adding Florida to the East Division and Colorado to the West. Subscribe to our Free Newsletter, This Week in Sports ReferenceFind out when we add a feature or make a change. Both expansion teams — Montreal and Portland — would become A.L. The Milwaukee Brewers agreed to transfer. Geographically, the divisions aren’t ridiculous, unlike the NFL, which has the Indianapolis Colts playing in the AFC South. Each league would maintain its own separate playoff series. South” here only has two truly “southern” teams — the terminology is simply to be consistent with the N.L. This page was last edited on 5 January 2015, at 16:10. This was when a plan for Radical Realignment, which would have seen a number of teams switch leagues in order to reorganize them on a more logical geographic basis, began to circulate. All 8 franchises are still in the league, with 5 of the 8 in their original locations. I will look for your stadiums article on Suite 101. No way for Nashville. National League President Harry C. Pulliam surrounded by portraits of the 8 NL teams (1907). Because each team wanted one of … Washington Senators (through 1971) / Milwaukee Brewers (from 1972), Seattle Pilots (1969) / Milwaukee Brewers (1970–1971) / Texas Rangers (from 1972). The Rays are locked into their Tropicana Field lease through 2027. Total 162 games. “The Yankees and the Red Sox, the two behemoths of the American League East, have so cornered the market on playoff spots that something must be done, some suggest. But I definitely think you make a good point about team names and nicknames. The first form of realignment was the 1969 splitting of the two major leagues into two divisions each, with the division winners playing each other in a League Championship Series. I'm going with Portland and San Antonio. I'm a weirdo who can't stop thinking about baseball, and recently I caught myself thinking about the long-term future of the game, as in what will it look like 10 years from now? If you’re going make an argument against Seattle, remember, The Emerald City is located closer to Alaska than any other MLB team. Southeastern team Tampa Bay is a little closer to/less remote with Houston, Texas & Kansas City than it was in previous East Division w/ northeastern teams N.Y. Yankees, Toronto & Boston, respectively. The last realignment took place in 2013, with the Astros switching leagues and both circuits adopting five-team divisions with constant interleague play.eval(ez_write_tag([[580,400],'overtimeheroics_net-medrectangle-3','ezslot_3',156,'0','0'])); With recent news that MLB is a ten-billion dollar business and the need to grow a potentially dwindling fan base, it is time to explore a new round of structural change. The league also awarded a franchise to Minneapolis-St. Paul, but Calvin Griffith, the owner of the Washington Senators, asked for and received approval to move the Senators there instead, giving the new expansion slot to Washington. Browns Move to Baltimore: Despite usually mediocre on-field results, the St. Louis Browns were for 20 years considerably more popular than the National League’s Cardinals, with whom they shared their stadium, Sportsman’s Park. Where do they go from here? And two, it gives division winners an incentive to win as many games as possible. The Wild Card Games have been highly entertaining overall and it's a great marketing tool for the sport. How other owners haven’t taken issue about the AL West having better playoff odds is baffling. The mechanics differ somewhat between amateur and professional sports. Because each team doesn’t have a sky-high budget, the Royals belong with this group of franchises. Willson Contreras and Kyle Hendricks are among 7 Cubs Gold Glove finalists. Realign teams & Divisions: AL West: Sea/Por/SJ/LAA; AL SW: Hou/TXR/ASA/Col; AL N: CWS/Clev/Det/KC; AL E:NYY/Bos/Mtl/Tor - NL W: LAD/SF/SD/AZ; NL N: CHC/Minn/Mil/StL; NL E: NYM/Phil/Was/Bal; NL S: Atl/Pit/Cin/Mia. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. The move does leave a geographical void, as you've pointed out. Answer: That's a very interesting question, and a good guess. With Portland and San Antonio joining the league, and the Rays moving to Montreal in our hypothetical, the eight new four-team divisions could be laid out like this come 2028: Realigning the divisions isn't easy! You need one of the three best records among division winners to avoid that win or go home Wild Card Game. the new digs have resulted in a doubling of attendance, top tier of minor league baseball attendance, A strong local movement for MLB expansion, partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Competitive balance can be addressed only so much through economics, so addressing it structurally by rearranging baseball's six divisions somehow is necessary, some say.”. I would put a new team in the Carolinas for one, and Vancouver for another. Those sorts of rivalries, as well as other current divisional rivalries such as White Sox/Twins, Dodgers/Padres, Nationals/Phillies, Cardinals/Brewers, Cubs/Brewers and Rangers/Astros, have meaning to fans. Meaning, Rangers-Astros, Orioles-Nationals, Rays-Marlins, and Dodgers-Angels need to start hating each other. Only 11 pitchers have won the AL pitching Triple Crown, leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. It's good for baseball overall -- pitchers have never been worse at hitting than they are right now -- and owners want to protect their investments. I did see a Blue Jays game in Toronto, but that's my only experience with baseball in Canada. Tampa Bay reminded us in Game 2 it is here for a reason and won't roll over to Dodgers , See if your favorite player made the list. Hope your husband enjoys it. No one wants something like that to happen again. For MLB, its works well because each season, at least one California team will make the playoffs. Keeping those rules is simple enough, though the NHL modified its expansion draft rules to help their most recent expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights, be competitive right away, and it was a smashing success. Breaking: MLB Places Penalties on Astros. In the North Division: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minnesota, and St. Louis.

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