Expansion

[ZMovieman]

No way on expansion. All you need do is get one of the NL teams to agree to move to the AL. Even the leagues at 15 teams each. Then three divisions each of 5 teams each.

 

You play each team outside your division 9 times a season, for 90 games. You play each team in your division 18 times, for 72 games. 90+72=162.

 

Kill the interleague circus. Keep the wild card.

 

That would be my plan. I'd ask Colorado or Washington to volunteer for the NL to AL switch.

 

I've thought about this possibility before, but it means that one team in each league would always have a "bye" series due to the odd number of teams. Only solution would be where the AL and NL "bye" teams play each other, which I do not support at all.

[ZMovieman]

I grew up in Virginia Beach, VA and love the idea of a Charlotte franchise. While I enjoyed baseball, I frankly didn't have a rooting interest until I moved to Chicago. Baltimore was too far north and Atlanta was too far south. When I hit Chicago, I was misguided (I cheered for the team that was also my little league team - the White Sox). In hindsight, the longest 5 months of my life. Thank God I had some friends set me straight, otherwise I'd be one of "them." ::Shutters::

[rocket]

The Yankees were no lock to win the division this year.

 

Fair enough. But with this division alignment, theoretically, the Astros would have been out of the race in June. And now they're in the World Series. I don't think we should tinker with that.

[sherwood921]

All the "it was so much better when" crowd can talk all they want about dilution. History forgets all the crappy ballplayers and teams from those eras. 32 teams is the way to go. Hopefully it's within 3 years.

 

In 1945, when the population of the US was 140 million, we had 16 teams in MLB. There were no blacks in MLB then, no Asians, and few Hispanics. Today, with a population of approx. 280 million, there isn't a reason in the world why we couldn't support 32 good, competitve teams in MLB.

 

Of course back then you didn't have all of the other sports bombarding you on TV, cable, and satelite on an hourly basis. If baseball was going to expand, there would have to be some sort of financial considerations. Right now you have a handful of teams that aren't being supported while the Yankees are spending over $200 million. Baseball is having trouble calling itself "the National Pastime" and I'm not sure they could support 2 more teams. Look at what happened to the NHL with expansion. Scoring records that were sacred for decades fell to mediocre players. Defensemen started scoring 40+ goals per year.

 

I think you have it mixed up...when hockey expanded those records became impossible to break. No one has come close to Gretzky's scoring records...and I don't know any defensemen who has scored 40 goals either since they expanded. If anything it diluted the talent and caused teams like Minnesota to play the trap, which causes boring hockey. You're right that expansion hurt the NHL though...but it's not the same situation as baseball.

[CuseCubFan69]

I say anything that gives high paying jobs to Americans is good. Can't outsource this one can they...heh..heh..heh.

 

George Bush

People will never understand that 15+15 does not work, I swear.

[Derwood]

People will never understand that 15+15 does not work, I swear.

 

Nope, it comes up every time. This ain't the NFL boys.

[AlwaysaCub]

If I were a scheduler and I heard the 15 and 15 plan, I think I'd shoot myself.

[UMFan83]

I hate the idea personally. Baseball needs less teams not more. Cities like Tampa can barely support their teams as it is.

 

Plus I am all about tradition. I wish baseball could go back to the original 16 :). But in all seriousness, I just don't see a need for another team.

 

But if there was.... North Side, South Side.....West Side? ;) They can build on the near the Cubs old West Side Grounds

[mhuber92211]

If expansion happens then the number of games would have to revert back to 154 which wouldn't be that bad.

 

Also, the area of choice for expansion HAS to include Portland, OR

[erik316wttn]

No way on expansion. All you need do is get one of the NL teams to agree to move to the AL. Even the leagues at 15 teams each. Then three divisions each of 5 teams each.

 

You play each team outside your division 9 times a season, for 90 games. You play each team in your division 18 times, for 72 games. 90+72=162.

 

Kill the interleague circus. Keep the wild card.

 

That would be my plan. I'd ask Colorado or Washington to volunteer for the NL to AL switch.

 

If you have 15 teams in each league, the season would go into late October probably because you could not have every single team play on the same day if you kill interleague. One team per league would always have to have a day off. And if you would keep interleauge, you'd have to always have at least one interleague series, kind of taking away the specialness of it.

[erik316wttn]

The only problem I have, is that with the current Wild Card situation, you're practically guaranteed that the teams with the #1 and #2 records will get into the playoffs. And the way it's set up in the 32 team scenario, it'd just be the Yankees getting in every season with no other team in the division having a prayer.

 

Keep the Wild Card.

 

the yankees and red sox tied this year, didn't they? I would imagine boston would have a prayer. anyway, I think most of us agree that a new revenue system is needed.

 

Colorado belongs with Arizona, Kansas City, Texas . . .teams like that. I think your best bet is to shake up the AL and NL. Tampa belongs with Florida and Atlanta and charlotte.

 

Baseball will never be able to redo the revenue system, because the players and the union would have a collective fit and strike.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

The only problem I have, is that with the current Wild Card situation, you're practically guaranteed that the teams with the #1 and #2 records will get into the playoffs. And the way it's set up in the 32 team scenario, it'd just be the Yankees getting in every season with no other team in the division having a prayer.

 

Keep the Wild Card.

 

the yankees and red sox tied this year, didn't they? I would imagine boston would have a prayer. anyway, I think most of us agree that a new revenue system is needed.

 

Colorado belongs with Arizona, Kansas City, Texas . . .teams like that. I think your best bet is to shake up the AL and NL. Tampa belongs with Florida and Atlanta and charlotte.

 

Baseball will never be able to redo the revenue system, because the players and the union would have a collective fit and strike.

 

I think the union might agree to some concessions if expansion came along with it. Adding two teams would add 50 new major league level jobs.

[LoneStarCubFan]

NL East

New York Mets

Philadelphia

Washington

Pittsburgh

 

NL South

Atlanta

Florida

Houston

Cincinnati

 

NL Central

Chicago

St. Louis

Milwaukee

Colorado

 

NL West

San Francisco

San Diego

Los Angeles

Arizona

 

AL East

New York Yankees

Boston

Baltimore

Toronto

 

AL South

Tampa Bay

Texas

Charlotte or Nashville

Cleveland

 

AL Central

Chicago

Minnesota

Detroit

Kansas City

 

AL West

California/Anaheim/Los Angeles/Orange County

Seattle

Oakland

Portland or Las Vegas

[rocket]

AL South

Tampa Bay

Texas

Charlotte or Nashville

Cleveland

 

I see you've never been in Cleveland for the winter.

[snoodmonger]

If the goal of this is to eliminate the Wild card, I don't see why baseball would do it. The WC is doing exactly what it's supposed to do--extend the playoff chase and keep more teams (and fans) interested in the season up until its end.

 

In StL I'm hearing a lot of grumbling that, with WC teams making the WS (and hopefully winning it) 4 seasons in a row, baseball's going to have to make a change. But does anyone really care about that? Maybe I'm just not enough of a purist, but I'm not bothered by WC teams winning the series. It's not like in most of the other sports where too many WCs get in, and invariably one or two don't deserve to get into the postseason. Most of the WC teams have been reasonably good squads. (That '98 Cubs team probably being an exception).

 

Besides, I'm guessing that, if the system stays the same for an extended period of time, we'll find this little stretch of wild card magic is probably a statistical anomaly.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

If the goal of this is to eliminate the Wild card, I don't see why baseball would do it. The WC is doing exactly what it's supposed to do--extend the playoff chase and keep more teams (and fans) interested in the season up until its end.

 

In StL I'm hearing a lot of grumbling that, with WC teams making the WS (and hopefully winning it) 4 seasons in a row, baseball's going to have to make a change. But does anyone really care about that? Maybe I'm just not enough of a purist, but I'm not bothered by WC teams winning the series. It's not like in most of the other sports where too many WCs get in, and invariably one or two don't deserve to get into the postseason. Most of the WC teams have been reasonably good squads. (That '98 Cubs team probably being an exception).

 

Besides, I'm guessing that, if the system stays the same for an extended period of time, we'll find this little stretch of wild card magic is probably a statistical anomaly.

 

Could the whining in St. Louis be a result of the fact that they've been eliminated by wild card teams the past two years?

 

I don't see a problem with a Wild Card winning it all. Does it seem strange that there's been a wild card in the past four World Series and that they've won? A little, but it isn't a problem for me.

 

I'd personally add a wildcard play-in series. I'd have two wild cards who play one three game series to get to play the division winners. The Divisional series would start the day after the third scheduled wild card play in game. This would put the wild card team at a slight travel and rotation disadvantage. It would create one extra play-off team, but not dillute the field too much.

[erik316wttn]

AL South

Tampa Bay

Texas

Charlotte or Nashville

Cleveland

 

I see you've never been in Cleveland for the winter.

 

The NFL has Indy in the AFC South.

 

I don't know if I'd want to see expansion. Stuff is too far watered down as it is.

 

If you could add a hard cap (give all teams 3 years to comply) and a salary floor, I may be in favor of expansion and re-allignment.

 

There will never in our lifetimes be an MLB team in Las Vegas.

[goonys evil twin]

If the goal of this is to eliminate the Wild card, I don't see why baseball would do it. The WC is doing exactly what it's supposed to do--extend the playoff chase and keep more teams (and fans) interested in the season up until its end.

 

I have no desire to eliminate the wild card. In fact, I'm all for adding a wild card team to each league, and having the better of the two WC teams hosting a 1 game playoff just to get into the first round. That would not delay the start of the playoffs, or extend the break, and open up the WC excitement to even more fans.

[JGalt73]

Also, the area of choice for expansion HAS to include Portland, OR

 

Portland would be my first choice! (Not that my avatar is from the Portland Baseball Group or anything.) The Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area is the largest market in the US without a MLB team. Also, Portland has less rainfall during the baseball season than 16 other MLB cities, including Chicago.

 

However, I am thinking more relocation than expansion. It doesn't make sense to revenue share with teams that don't always put that money back onto the field.

[goonys evil twin]

The Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area is the largest market in the US without a MLB team.

 

For a second I was really confused about that metropolitan area, thinking Seattle had moved or something.

 

Didn't realize there's another Vancouver.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

With nearly 22MM in the NYC metropolitan area, you could add a 3rd ML team to the city--as they had for many years of course--and at over 7MM pops per team, the NYC teams would STILL be the largest market per team, just edging out LA (13MM people, 2 teams).

 

If you added a 3rd team to LA or Chicago (9MM pops, 2 teams), those cities markets per team would still rank in the upper half of all ML markets.

 

If I'm adding teams via expansion, I'd add them in NYC and LA before I considered markets like Portland, Las Vegas or Indianapolis. I'm just sayin'...

[SouthSideRyan]

I am completely opposed to adding a 2nd wild card team. It starts getting too gimmicky having the 2 next best records making the playoffs, and then seems to take away from the pennant races down the stretch. The Indians/Red Sox and Astros/Phillies this year would've been meaningless and it would've been just one more team making it without winning the classically defined goal of winning your division.

 

You think people are raising hell now? Wait til the 5th best team in the league wins the world series.

[erik316wttn]

With nearly 22MM in the NYC metropolitan area, you could add a 3rd ML team to the city--as they had for many years of course--and at over 7MM pops per team, the NYC teams would STILL be the largest market per team, just edging out LA (13MM people, 2 teams).

 

If you added a 3rd team to LA or Chicago (9MM pops, 2 teams), those cities markets per team would still rank in the upper half of all ML markets.

 

If I'm adding teams via expansion, I'd add them in NYC and LA before I considered markets like Portland, Las Vegas or Indianapolis. I'm just sayin'...

 

NYC would be able to hold another team.

 

Although back when they had three teams, the other 3 major sports where nowhere near as big, so most of the "sports" money went to baseball.

 

Steinbrenner would pop a vein, though, if MLB even thought about putting another team in New York.

[stitchface]

15 and 15 does work with interleague play. I don't think interleague is special now so I don't how its any different if they don't all play at once. the NFL doesn't, why does baseball have to. As far as the schedulers go, I imagine they do most of their work on a computer anyway so they can make it work. I think two sixteen team leagues is better though. With the rise of Milwaukee, the inherent disadvantage of a six team division is becoming more prominent. The NL Central should get the wildcard more frequently and the AL West less frequently.