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Baseball fans are ready for MLB expansion. |
The most recent round of Major League Baseball expansion occurred in 1998, when the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays began play. That was nearly 20 years ago. This is the longest stretch without a new team since the expansion era began in 1961.
Why Expansion?
For the love of the game. Who doesn't want to see our national pastime grow and flourish? Who doesn't want people in other cities to see our game played at its highest level, in person, and to become lifelong fans of their local team the way we have in New York, Chicago, and Boston? And to pass on that team loyalty from generation to generation, the way we have? And to participate in a rivalry, the way Yankees and Red Sox fans do? The way Cubs and Cardinals fans do?Where?
Charlotte, North Carolina is the most populous metro area in the US that doesn't already have a Major League Baseball team. Ranked 22nd in population, the Charlotte area has more residents than 5 regions that already have MLB franchises. Professional baseball has always been a popular in North Carolina. The state currently hosts 11 minor league teams, including 2 AAA clubs. Only California, Florida, New York, and Texas have more minor league teams than North Carolina.
Besides Charlotte, there are 10 other communities in the US and Canada with populations of over 2 million and no MLB team:
Austin
Columbus
Indianapolis
Las Vegas
Montreal
Orlando
Portland, Oregon
Sacramento
San Antonio
Vancouver, BC
There are 8 cities that boast an NFL team, but are without a MLB franchise:
Buffalo
Charlotte
Green Bay
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Las Vegas
Nashville
New Orleans
Buffalo, Charlotte, Nashville, Orlando, Portland, Sacramento, and Vancouver all attempted to win MLB franchises in the 1993 expansion, the 1998 expansion, or the 2004 Expos relocation process.
All of the aforementioned cities already have AAA teams except Montreal, Orlando, Portland, San Antonio,Vancouver, Green Bay, and Jacksonville.
Other AAA cities that could be ready for an upgrade include Louisville, Memphis, Albuquerque, and Salt Lake City.
That's a total of 20 potential homes for MLB teams: Albuquerque, Austin, Buffalo, Charlotte, Columbus, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Louisville, Memphis, Montreal, Nashville, New Orleans, Orlando, Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, and Vancouver.
I'm not saying that all of those cities are viable candidates. But many of them could be.
Charlotte is a no-brainer. Las Vegas, too. People love to travel to Vegas from all over for shows, concerts, and conventions. Why not for baseball?
Wouldn't you love to attend an All Star Game FanFest is Las Vegas? How about New Orleans?
MLB Expansion History
Team |
Joined |
1st Playoffs |
1st Pennant |
1st
Title |
Notes |
| Los Angeles Angels | 1961 | 1979 | 2002 | 2002 | Became the California Angels during the 1965 season, Anaheim Angels in 1997, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2005. |
| Washington Senators | 1961 | 1996 | 2010 | - | Became the Texas Rangers in 1972. |
| Houston Colt .45s | 1962 | 1980 | 2005 | - | Became the Houston Astros in 1965. |
| New York Mets | 1962 | 1969 | 1969 | 1969 | |
| Kansas City Royals | 1969 | 1976 | 1980 | 1985 | |
| Montreal Expos | 1969 | 1981 | - | - | Became the Washington Nationals in 2005. |
| San Diego Padres | 1969 | 1984 | 1984 | - | |
| Seattle Pilots | 1969 | 1982 | 1982 | - | Became the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970. |
| Seattle Mariners | 1977 | 1995 | - | - | |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 1977 | 1985 | 1992 | 1992 | |
| Colorado Rockies | 1993 | 1995 | 2007 | - | |
| Florida Marlins | 1993 | 1997 | 1997 | 1997 | Became the Miami Marlins in 2012. |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 1998 | 1999 | 2001 | 2001 | |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays | 1998 | 2008 | 2008 | - | Became the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008. |
Let's Add 6 New Teams
All at once. Add 1 new team to each division. As soon as possible.I'd also like to see a test market. After the list of potential MLB cities is pared down to around 10, have attendance-challenged franchises like the Athletics and Rays play a portion of their home games in those cities over the next few seasons. MLB tried this in 2003 and 2004 when the Expos played some home games in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I thought it was a great idea then, and I think it's a great idea now. Let's find out which cities have the biggest demand for Major League Baseball before awarding expansion franchises.
6 New Teams? Won't that Water Down the Product?
Not at all. MLB increased its number of teams by 50% between 1961 and 1969. The league expanded from 16 teams to 24, all in less than a decade. There was no letdown. Quite the contrary. Baseball's popularity exploded, attendance soared, and the game experienced an overall renaissance.Here's a bit of what happened on the field during the first 20 years of the expansion era, from 1961-1980:
- 17 of the 24 teams won the division or pennant at least once
- 14 of the 24 teams won the pennant at least once
- 10 of the 24 teams won the World Series at least once
- The long suffering
A's won 5 straight division titles and
3 straight World Series
- The O's (formerly the long suffering Browns of St. Louis) won 6 division titles,
5 pennants, and
2 World Series
- The Red Sox won their
first pennant in 1967 following a 20 year drought and
won another one in 1975
- The Cardinals won 3 pennants and
2 World Series in 5 years beginning in 1964 following a 17 year drought
- The Twins shed the Washington Senators penchant for finishing last and
won the pennant in 1965, with back-to-back division titles coming in
1969 and
1970
- The Reds won
5 pennants and 2 World Series beginning in
1961 following a 21 year drought
- The Mets won the
World Series in 1969, their eighth year of existence
- The Royals won
3 straight division titles beginning in
1976 (their eighth year of existence) and won their
first pennant in 1980
- The
Phillies won their first pennant in 30 years and their
first World Series ever in 1980
- The Angels won their
first division in 1979
- The Astros won their
first division in 1980
Of the four expansion teams that didn't win between 1961 and 1980, three of them got off the deck shortly thereafter. The Expos won their first division in 1981, the Brewers made the playoffs for the first time in 1981 and won their first pennant in 1982, and the Padres won their first pennant in 1984. Who didn't win? The Cubs, White Sox, Rangers and Indians? Chalk that up to poor management, not expansion. Besides, the White Sox won the division in 1983, breaking a 23 year postseason drought. The Cubs won the division in 1984, breaking a 38 year drought. The expansion era's first 25 years was great for baseball.
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In a matchup that featured 6 future Hall of Famers, the expansion Milwaukee Brewers made their first ever playoff appearance in the 1981 American League Division Series. They were defeated by the New York Yankees 3 games to 2. Reggie Jackson
went 3-4 with a home run and Goose Gossage retired Robin Yount and Paul
Molitor in the 9th to earn his third save of the series in the clincher.
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Expansion teams continue to do well at the box office. In 2016, every expansion team except Miami and Tampa Bay drew over 2 million fans. In the AL, every expansion team except Tampa Bay outdrew five of the pre-expansion AL teams. In the NL, every expansion team except Miami outdrew three of the pre-expansion NL teams. Over 33 million people attended Major League Baseball games in the 14 expansion cities during the 2016 season.
Adding 6 new teams and expanding the roster of MLB players by 20% will not water down the product. It won't result in droves of players who "don't belong in the show" ruining the game by playing bad baseball. People who believe that simply don't know the history.
There is a deep well of talent to draw from. That talent pool has been growing steadily, while the number of MLB clubs has remained static for 19 years. Look at the all star teams that were fielded during the World Baseball Classic. Even the Dutch and Israeli teams were loaded with talented players.
Expansion is good for the game. It always has been. The time is right for the next round.
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Mr. Expansion? Nolan Ryan saved Game 3 of the '69 World Series to help the expansion Mets win it all in only their eighth year of existence.
He won 16 games to help the expansion Angels win their first division title in 1979.
He pitched 2 complete game shutouts to help the expansion Astros win their first division title in 1980,
and led the NL in ERA to help them reach the playoffs again the
following year.
As team president, he led the expansion Rangers to their first AL pennants in 2010
and 2011.
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6 Divisions, 6 Teams per Division
The National League had 6 teams per division from 1969 through 1992. The American League had 6 teams per division from 1969 through 1976.Of all the different divisional configurations that MLB has had, I liked the 6 teams per division format best.
The 162 game schedule is actually better suited for the 6 teams per division structure than it is for any other.
Here's one schedule that each team could play:
- 18 games per year versus each of its 5 divisional opponents. 6 series (3 home and 3 away). 3 games per series.
5 teams x 18 games = 90 games
- 6 games per year versus each of the 6 teams in 1 division from its own league. 2 series (1 home and 1 away). 3 games per series.
6 teams x 6 games = 36 games
- 3 games per year versus each of the 6 teams in the other division from its own league. 1 series.
3 games. 6 teams x 3 games = 18 games
- 3 games per year versus each of the 6 teams in one of the divisions from the other league. 1 series. 3 games.
6 teams x 3 games = 18 games
90 + 36 + 18 + 18 = 162
See how symmetrical that looks?
Bonus Baby
With 6 divisions and 6 teams per division, there will no longer need to be interleague games every day. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against interleague. It just seemed to be more of an event when interleague play started in June and only ran for a short time.Plus, who wants to see interleague games in the final weeks of the season when teams are battling for playoff spots? Wouldn't we all rather see only divisional rivals face off in the final days of the season, with playoff spots on the line? That can happen, every year, with 6 divisions and 6 teams per division.
