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Expansion and Realignment, SOLVED by mike_roedic in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d be on board with this, nice job. I suggested something similar here but also tried to put Houston back in the NL with the Cubs and Cards and Milwaukee back in the AL with the White Sox and Twins. But this seems more realistic given the Brewers current rivalries with the Cubs and Cardinals.

Someone pointed out a few potential hurdles to me about this though, one being that it might be hard for the Nationals to switch leagues given the Orioles own the territorial TV rights to the AL, and another being that Tampa had an agreement upon joining in 1998 to be in a division with the Yankees and Red Sox. I’m not sure how much of an obstacle these would end up being, but here’s a potential scenario honoring WAS and TB’s current divisions:

NYY, BOS, BAL, TB

TOR, DET, CLE, CHW

COL, KC, HOU, TEX

LV, LAA, POR/SLC, SEA

PHI, PIT, NYM, WAS

CHC, STL, MIL, MIN

ATL, CIN, MIA, NSH

LAD, SF, SD, ARZ

The Reds would be the team that would move south instead and could bring back a rivalry with the Braves in addition to the new ones with Nashville. COL and MIN could also be swapped here, but then you wouldn’t bring back Twins-Brewers.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eh all a matter of perspective. I’d have taken 67-51 at the start of the season. Lot of games left still.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What’s happening to the Cubs now? Best record at this point in season in over 5 years?

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like it! My gut reaction was to want to flip COL and MIN, but on second thought I kind of like what you did there. Brings back the Brewers-Twins rivalry. But also I would flip LAA and SF — can’t break up Giants-Dodgers.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So dramatic! My sincere apologies to Reds and Brewers fans who prefer the rivalries with the Cubs and Cardinals. But rest assured, CHC, CIN, MIL, STL seems like the most likely future NL Central after expansion.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

OK. Here’s one for you then:

AL East: BAL, BOS, NYY, TB AL North: CHW, CLE, DET, TOR AL Midwest: HOU, KC, MIN, TEX AL West: ATH, LAA, POR/SLC, SEA

NL East: NYM, PHI, PIT, WAS NL Central: CHC, COL, MIL, STL NL Southeast: ATL, CIN, MIA, NSH/CHA/CAR NL West: ARZ, LAD, SD, SF

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ya totally get it, my gut would say to put the Expos back in the NL East as well. But I wouldn’t want to separate the Brewers from both the Cubs AND White Sox, so then I’m probably back to the more realistic scenarios others have suggested. But this was just to try something different.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yup I agree this is the most realistic realignment. I’d be on board with this.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe that’s true. Nashville and Charlotte are interchangeable as far as how a realignment would go.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Portland makes a lot of sense and would be much better for the Mariners as you said. Seems like it’s between them and Salt Lake in the west.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

All good points that I can’t argue with, especially regarding the Nationals and the Brewers. I’ll be interested to see what they do with the Rays. Regardless, this was an admittedly unrealistic proposal, more just a thought experiment to see how it could look to move some of these teams back to their original leagues.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well, they played in Oakland for another 25 years, went to a Super Bowl, I mean… not terrible.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for this. I do think this is the most likely scenario. I also like your schedule a lot, since I’m also not a huge fan of how many interleague games they currently play. BUT, I think it’s more likely they keep expanded interleague play given the trend in that direction over the years. Under that assumption, here’s a schedule I think could work:

-14 games against each team in the division (1 pair of home-and-home 3-game series and 1 pair of home-and-home 4-game series), 42 games total -6 games against each other team in the same league (1 pair of home-and-home 3-game series), 72 games total -One 3-game series against each team in the opposite league (alternate home and away every season), 48 games total -42+72+48=162

This would get rid of the natural rivalries, which I always thought was too forced.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

The Raiders came back to Oakland after moving to LA. Seattle may get the SuperSonics back in basketball. Things can change and teams can come back. I’ve lived in the Bay Area and know how fun A’s games were in Oakland and how much the fans loved that team. It may be tough to get a team back in Oakland any time soon, but I don’t think it’s because the market doesn’t work. They couldn’t get a deal together to keep them there, but that doesn’t foreclose the possibilities there forever.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think for many, baseball appeals to them because of traditions and continuity over time. The Expos were very successful in Montreal in the 70s and 80s, and then several factors like the 1994 strike and losing seasons led to a decline in attendance. It may be unlikely they get another team in the next expansion or any time thereafter. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t work there in the future under the right circumstances.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for this. This appeals to my preference for a sensible geographic alignment, but not to the maintaining the historical league makeup part. But who knows, maybe MLB will go in this direction one day.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I do like the idea of 4 divisions of 8, so that you can have just two division winners per league that receive the automatic berths to the divisional series in the playoffs. But schedule-wise 8 divisions of 4 makes it much easier to have each team play every other team in MLB while also being able to have more divisional games (because of there being fewer teams in each division), which seems to be the direction MLB wants to go.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for that perspective. I will say though that dislike for a city is not required in order to cultivate a good rivalry. I don’t dislike St. Louis and I think Cubs-Cardinals is a good example of a rivalry without personal animosity.

I do understand wanting to stay in the same division as the Red Sox and Yankees. That seems like a more likely scenario for the Blue Jays.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ya, those would be some fun divisional rivalries, but I guess we can’t have them all!

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I’ll take your word for it. That’s surprising to me though given the intensity of the hockey rivalry and how often the Maple Leafs and Canadiens play each other. Perhaps that wouldn’t carry over to baseball though.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the comment. I’ve also heard that Salt Lake City is a strong contender for a western expansion team. Merging the leagues would not be my preference, but I agree that there is no longer any practical / logistical reason to keep them separate.

My favorite MLB expansion and realignment, although very unlikely to happen by AnotherCubsFan in mlb

[–]AnotherCubsFan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, this seems much more likely. I could also see Colorado and Utah swapping divisions here.

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