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[EdReedFan20]

So, a few months ago, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, said he would like to see MLB expand to 32 teams (from the current 30). With that, he said he wanted to see each league made up of into 4 divisions, with 4 teams per division instead of the current set-up of 3 divisions, with 5 teams per division. If this happened MLB would have the same structure of the NFL. My concept of how this could work out would not require any team to relocate (but some could face different teams than they typically would face).

My concept of an expanded MLB using Manfred's plan:

American League North:
Cleveland Indians
Chicago White Sox
Detroit Tigers
Minnesota Twins

American League East:
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays

American League South:
Houston Astros
Kansas City Royals
Tampa Bay Rays
Texas Rangers

American League West:
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Angels
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners

National League North
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Saint Louis Cardinals

National League East
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
Montreal (Expos?)- Expansion Team

National League South
Atlanta Braves
Miami Marlins
Nashville (?)- Expansion Team
Washington Nationals

National League West
Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants

As you can see, for the most part, the teams in each division are in close proximity to each other (Colorado is the exception). Also, some alternate expansion cities I thought of were Las Vegas (instead of Vancouver) for the AL West and New Orleans (instead of Vancouver) for the AL South (which would require the Texas Rangers to return to the AL West). MLB fans, would you be pleased or displeased if this was the route Major League Baseball took?

Edit- I moved COL to the AL West and moved the expansion team to the NL South (giving the team to New Orleans).
Edit 2- After many people mentioned that New Orleans would be a bad option, I replaced it with Nashville.

 

[lupinko]

There are definitely baseball fans in Vancouver but not enough to support a team at this point. Also both the Jays and Mariners claim the region together.

So I'd say Vegas instead.

 

[Mortemis]

I don't think they'd put both expansion teams in Canada tbh, at least one would be in the US. I've always heard that Vegas would be a headache to have a professional team in, New Orleans sounds like a better guess.

Anyways I'm cool with that list, doesn't seem bad to me at all.

 

[Marz]

I want an MLB team in Utah. I think the state could sustain it, the Jazz do very well here.

 

[richiek]

I've heard studies that the New York metropolitan area could support a third MLB team, and that it could be located in New Jersey.

And Montreal does deserve a second chance.

 

[unholyrevenger72]

I've heard studies that the New York metropolitan area could support a third MLB team, and that it could be located in New Jersey.

It wouldn't be the first time New York Supported 3 team, Yankees, Dodgers and Giants at one point.

My idea, bring back one of the Negro League Teams.

 

[EdReedFan20]

There are definitely baseball fans in Vancouver but not enough to support a team at this point. Also both the Jays and Mariners claim the region together.

So I'd say Vegas instead.

Especially if that NHL team takes off. They'd show they are capable of supporting a major sports team.

 

[richiek]

It wouldn't be the first time New York Supported 3 team, Yankees, Dodgers and Giants at one point.

Plus you have the Rangers, Islanders and Devils in the NHL.

 

[zswordsman]

The way Seattle is playing they should just burn it down and make a new team XD

Vegas might get the raiders though so who knows if it could also support a baseball team. Or maybe it depends on how it handles a football team first if they do get one.

 

[mreddie]

The bigger Canada city and...Vegas?

 

[maruchan]

Return to two conference league again, with a east and west, and division winners get a first round bye in the playoffs..

 

[EdReedFan20]

Plus you have the Rangers, Islanders and Devils in the NHL.

And Knicks and Nets. And even two MLS teams. Lots of options for people!

 

[JetBlackPanda]

Scans list for Salt Lake City....

Damn

 

[EdReedFan20]

Scans list for Salt Lake City....

Damn

Just because I didn't list it, doesn't mean it's not a good idea. A SLC team could easily be slotted into that Vancouver spot.

 

[timetokill]

I like the OP's vision of renaming the Giants the Padres. very nice.

 

[EdReedFan20]

I like the OP's vision of renaming the Giants the Padres. very nice.

HAHAHA! Whoops!

 

[jwhit28]

I think a major league team would do great in either Charlotte or Raleigh, but that would mean the Braves or O's/Nats giving up TV coverage. Either way I think expansion right now is a good idea. Attendance is up, TV contracts are getting even more insane, and the new division alignment would add an extra playoff team to each league, if they follow the NFL's playoff system.

 

[timetokill]

HAHAHA! Whoops!

aw, no keep it!

 

[EdReedFan20]

Another move that could be made, which would remove the Colorado issue, is move Colorado to the AL West, and move the AL West expansion team to the NL South, which could be New Orleans.

Edit- In fact, I will edit that in.

 

[whitemex88]

I would swap Colorado and Arizona, otherwise everything looks like how I would do it.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Move Tampa to what is the NL South, Colorado to what is the AL South, rename the AL South to AL Middle Earth, and I think you have solid geographical divisions.

Edit: This was based on the original proposal, that has since been revised.

 

[TheShocker]

I like this. More baseball the better imo. I'd like to see a pro team in Nebraska or Oklahoma. I think Omaha or OKC could support a team.

 

[Teggy]

Probably better to put Colorado in the North and St. Louis in the South. Then get rid of Montreal and put Atlanta back with the Mets where they need to be. And then add New Orleans to the South.

 

[User 479360]

I like this

They should shrink the season schedule, though.

 

[EdReedFan20]

I like this. More baseball the better imo. I'd like to see a pro team in Nebraska or Oklahoma. I think Omaha or OKC could support a team.

OKC could be a good fit if I were to swap out the New Orleans team.

I like this

They should shrink the season schedule, though.

Mmm hmm. At least 20 fewer games. Funny thing is, whenever I play Out of the Park Baseball, I always want to set up an NFL-esque schedule (16 games, one game a week) as an experiment to see how the teams react and develop. If that happened in real life, I would imagine each team would have one main starting pitcher (sort of the Quarterback) that would pitch once a week. I think it would be interesting to see if pitchers would be able to stay loose and compete at their peak ability.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

OKC could be a good fit if I were to swap out the New Orleans team.

No need to lose the bayou, you can just move the Mariners.

 

[Butane123]

I like this. More baseball the better imo. I'd like to see a pro team in Nebraska or Oklahoma. I think Omaha or OKC could support a team.

I'd love to get an MLB team in OKC.

I think it would be a good city because A: We're absolute sports nuts and B: all current MLB teams are just far enough away that while there are diehards fans of the teams, there are way more people who only have a passing interest in them.

 

[Marz]

This would also get rid of the stupid wild card game.

 

[Reven]

I think SLC is one of the more likely locations for an expansion team. I wanna see a NHL team there first, but a MLB team would be cool and there is probably a large enough fan base to support it because the lower level baseball teams do well here.

 

[platakul]

There's definitely enough talent to support more teams

 

[perfectchaos007]

I think San Antonio wants a baseball team. It's the largest city in the nation without a baseball team

 

[EdReedFan20]

This would also get rid of the stupid wild card game.

I doubt it. The wild card game existed before the Astros moved to the AL. What would change is the removal of the scattered inter-league games throughout the season. Instead, things would go back to inter-league games being lumped together at a particular time of the season.

I think San Antonio wants a baseball team. It's the largest city in the nation without a baseball team

With all the cities people are listing, I could see there being expansion teams plus relocations, especially teams that want new ballparks, but have little hope of getting financial help. Teams like the Athletics and Rays have seemed to be subject of relocation rumors. I believe the A's were rumored a while back to possibly move to San Jose, though I think there would be issues with the Giants' TV rights, which resulted in those rumors getting squashed.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

But honestly, I'm not sure a MLB team should go to New Orleans or other similar sized cities, or even larger ones like my current city (Charlotte). 162 games is a lot of volume, particularly when there are NFL and NBA teams in town.

I'd say if MLB were to expand, Canadian cities make sense, maybe Puerto Rico, but if in the continental US, find medium sized cities without other professional franchises.

Fake edit: San Antonio might be good fit. It's larger than its reputation.

 

[Mortemis]

This would also get rid of the stupid wild card game.

They'd have to shrink the number of playoff teams down to 8 then if they get rid of the wild card.

They could expand the playoff teams to 12, but idk how they'd handle that. Maybe give the top 2 seeds byes, and have short series for the first round. Idk.

 

[Vyrance]

I've heard studies that the New York metropolitan area could support a third MLB team, and that it could be located in New Jersey.

And Montreal does deserve a second chance.

Screw that, let other areas have one team first

 

[UraMallas]

Probably better to put Colorado in the North and St. Louis in the South. Then get rid of Montreal and put Atlanta back with the Mets where they need to be. And then add New Orleans to the South.

There is no way they break up the Cubs and Cards.

 

[Marz]

I doubt it. The wild card game existed before the Astros moved to the AL. What would change is the removal of the scattered inter-league games throughout the season. Instead, things would go back to inter-league games being lumped together at a particular time of the season.



With all the cities people are listing, I could see expansion teams plus relocations, especially teams that want new ballparks, but have little hope of getting financial help.

The current setup is the 3 division winners and then the top 2 wildcard seeds play a play in game right?

If you have 4 divisions then that eliminates the wild card and you just have the division winners advance to the playoffs.

Unless im missing something?

 

[EdReedFan20]

The current setup is the 3 division winners and then the top 2 wildcard seeds play a play in game right?

If you have 4 divisions then that eliminates the wild card and you just have the division winners advance to the playoffs.

Unless im missing something?

I was thinking in terms of NFL. Yeah, you're right. The only way there would be wild cards is if MLB put in a bye for the top two teams of each league. But I doubt teams would go for that, since the teams with the bye would risk cooling off, especially if the series they were bypassing went the full distance.

 

[perfectchaos007]

I doubt it. The wild card game existed before the Astros moved to the AL. What would change is the removal of the scattered inter-league games throughout the season. Instead, things would go back to inter-league games being lumped together at a particular time of the season.



With all the cities people are listing, I could see there being expansion teams plus relocations, especially teams that want new ballparks, but have little hope of getting financial help. Teams like the Athletics and Rays have seemed to be subject of relocation rumors. I believe the A's were rumored a while back to possibly move to San Jose, though I think there would be issues with the Giants' TV rights, which resulted in those rumors getting squashed.

Given their high population, San Jose will be getting pro teams its just a matter of time. I think San Antonio will ultimately get a baseball team because here is a list of the top 3 most populous cities without a baseball team

1. San Antonio
2. San Jose
3. Austin

San Antonio and Austin are just over an hour away from eachother, so whichever city gets the team will have support coming in from both cities. That's pretty appealing geographically.

 

[EdReedFan20]

Given their high population, San Jose will be getting pro teams its just a matter of time. I think San Antonio will ultimately get a baseball team because here is a list of the top 3 most populous cities without a baseball team

1. San Antonio
2. San Jose
3. Austin

San Antonio and Austin are just over an hour away from eachother, so whichever city gets the team will have support coming in from both cities. That's pretty appealing geographically.

Well, San Jose is literally next to Santa Clara, so they basically have an NFL team right now (Niners).

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Did the Sharks die at some point or something?

 

[unknownstranger]

Would people actually want to watch Baseball during the summer in Vegas?

 

[devilhawk]

Royals would throw a fit about being in a division with Texas teams and Tampa. So zero percent of that happening. The Royals were even offered to flip leagues at one point.

I think a Carolina team would be a strong possibility. There is just too much money sitting there in the South that is only occupied by the Braves.

 

[KingBroly]

Montreal would have to buy the naming rights from the Nationals. That kind of stuff never happens.

 

[devilhawk]

Given their high population, San Jose will be getting pro teams its just a matter of time. I think San Antonio will ultimately get a baseball team because here is a list of the top 3 most populous cities without a baseball team

1. San Antonio
2. San Jose
3. Austin

San Antonio and Austin are just over an hour away from eachother, so whichever city gets the team will have support coming in from both cities. That's pretty appealing geographically.

Portland, Charlotte, Orlando are all bigger than the San Antonio as far as statistical areas. If you go by media markets there are even more cities. I don't think city-proper population has much worth in this case.

 

[NetMapel]

Vancouver please.

 

[KingBroly]

Portland, Charlotte, Orlando are all bigger than the San Antonio as far as statistical areas. If you go by media markets there are even more cities. I don't think city-proper population has much worth in this case.

Charlotte can't support 3 teams right now. There's some statistical data out there based on population about how many pro teams a city can support and Charlotte's right at 2.

 

[hodayathink]

But honestly, I'm not sure a MLB team should go to New Orleans or other similar sized cities, or even larger ones like my current city (Charlotte). 162 games is a lot of volume, particularly when there are NFL and NBA teams in town.

Baseball primarily operates in the NFL/NBA offseason, so I don't see why having teams in those two sports would even matter.

Also, I'd be really surprised if they expanded and didn't do one AL team and one NL team. I know they didn't do it last time, but I'd still be surprised.

Montreal would have to buy the naming rights from the Nationals. That kind of stuff never happens.

Aren't the old Nationals currently the Twins, though? Or was that the Washington Generals?

Edit: They were the Nationals and the Senators. So technically the Nationals themselves are an example of using a team name owned by another team.

 

[devilhawk]

Charlotte can't support 3 teams right now. There's some statistical data out there based on population about how many pro teams a city can support and Charlotte's right at 2.

Sure. That may be the case. I just don't see a league expanding into the 37th (SA) or the 57th (NOLA) tv markets when there are much better markets out there. MLB has become so regionalized as far as tv money, I just don't see an expansion team happening in a market worse than every other current team.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Baseball primarily operates in the NFL/NBA offseason, so I don't see why having teams in those two sports would even matter.

Also, I'd be really surprised if they expanded and didn't do one AL team and one NL team. I know they didn't do it last time, but I'd still be surprised.

The teams would be tapping the same folks to buy season tickets, though. The Panthers and Saints could stand on their own, with only 8 home games. The NFL franchises would be fine. But the Hornets in Charlotte and Pelicans in New Orleans and potential MLB teams would cannibalize one another on season ticket sales, but also on families picking and choosing how to spread out their entertainment dollars buying smaller ticket packages.

To be clear, I think Charlotte would be in far better shape due to 2x population (city and metro) and better corporate support, probably diminished by what I presume to be far lower tourism, but I still wouldn't add another pro franchise here.