It's now been 17 seasons since MLB last expanded, the longest it's been between MLB expansions since they first began expanding. The league stood at 30 teams, unbalanced with 16 in the NL and 14 in the AL until 2 years ago, moving the Astros to the AL to even the leagues at 15 teams.

15 team leagues require constant interleague, which I absolutely despise. I realize every other pro sports league plays interleague games throughout the year, but I just can't get used to the idea, especially the first and last weeks of the season.

The easiest remedy is to expand by two teams, and then either go to four divisions of 4 teams each like the NFL, or going back to only 2 divisions of 8 teams.

In my opinion the best idea is to expand by 6 teams, being able to have 3 divisions of 6 teams in each league. I wouldn't do all 6 teams at once though, perhaps adding two teams first, then 4 more within another 6 years or so. Unfortunately, I don't think there are 6 cities that could support a franchise, and that would allow MLB to split the divisions geographically very well.

There are of course some franchises that might choose to relocate as well. The A's seem to want to stay in the Bay Area despite long time stadium issues, and the Rays have frequently been rumored as a relocation candidate as well. Both of those two teams could move to one of the more desirable cities leaving MLB with fewer expansion possibilities, which is why I think MLB will only expand by 2 teams, although I'm still not sure how soon that could happen.

Portland, Vancouver, San Antonio, Nashville, Charlotte, and Montreal are all worthy of looking into as possible future locations, with Monterrey and Las Vegas being on the next list. Although I really think Vegas would be a better fit for NHL/NBA franchises.

I haven't seen many people push for expansion recently, and it looks like we'll go at least 20 years before new franchises appear. I'd love to see what everybody else here thinks on if/when MLB expansion could/should occur.

For me I think MLB is good on expansion. The inter league match ups throughout the year do not bother me. If they did expand I would do 2 only. 6 would be too many and dilute the teams too much. I am curious on if they did expand by 2 teams how would people divide the teams into divisions.

I don't think MLB expands any further. They might relocate, but the only area that might work is going back to Montreal. None of the other cities you mentioned have the home population base to support 81 home games a year.

i think the fish should move up to orlando. maybe memphis getting a team, although they're probably a cardinal town. nashville makes the most sense geographically as does charlotte. both towns have very big populations. cut down on that brave fanbase. portland might be too liberal to support a baseball franchise although it might work in austin. sorry to bring politics into this

what about slc? salt lake has a huge metro. if mlb were to expand by two teams, here's how much time i have:

nl west
padres
giants
dodgers
dbags

nl central
rockies
cardinals
cubs
brewers

nl south central
reds
pirates
braves
marlins

nl east
phillies
expos
nats
mets

al west
angels
salt lake
a's
mariners

al central
rangers
astros
twins
royals

al north central
tigers
indians
twins
blue jays

al east
yanks
red sox
orioles
rays

I'd hope for a two team expansion as well. It wouldn't dilute the teams too badly, and I don't like the year-long inter league play either. I liked it better when I was a kid, watching a season of baseball and wondering how the two leagues would work out in the end. Then we went to a small dose of inter league play at the beginning of the summer. I didn't like it, but I could stomach it. Now it's all year and kind of lame. It takes the nostalgia out of inter league games for me.

I've heard contraction is more likely than expansion. That Tampa franchise is a disaster.

I know my Cubs are the oldest professional sports organization in the country and they've been in the same city since 1870. That's just five years after the Civil War. They ain't going anywhere.

*NOT* a MLB fan but I don't understand how NC does not have a MLB team somewhere in the state. I can't see how the Braves, Orioles, and/or Nationals would keep a franchise out of NC--it hasn't stopped NFL with Panthers vs Ravens/Redskins/Falcons , NBA with Hornets vs. Hawks/Wizards, or the NHL with the Hurricanes vs Thrashers(yes they moved)/Capitals.

(12-30-2014 08:42 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote:  *NOT* a MLB fan but I don't understand how NC does not have a MLB team somewhere in the state. I can't see how the Braves, Orioles, and/or Nationals would keep a franchise out of NC--HWixasn't stopped NFL with Panthers vs Ravens/Redskins/Falcons , NBA with Hornets vs. Hawks/Wizards, or the NHL with the Hurricanes vs Thrashers(yes they moved)/Captials.

While NC has the population (10 mil), they are pretty evenly distributed across the state. That lack of concentration means that to capture the 25K every 81 nights you either need to centrally located the team (Research Triangle?) or hope that it would be enough of a beacon in Charlotte to pull the entire state. Georgia has a population of 10 million people as well, but half of the live north of the fall line, which is about 2.5 hrs from Atlanta.

(12-31-2014 12:33 AM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(12-30-2014 08:42 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote:  *NOT* a MLB fan but I don't understand how NC does not have a MLB team somewhere in the state. I can't see how the Braves, Orioles, and/or Nationals would keep a franchise out of NC--it hasn't stopped NFL with Panthers vs Ravens/Redskins/Falcons , NBA with Hornets vs. Hawks/Wizards, or the NHL with the Hurricanes vs Thrashers(yes they moved)/Capitals.

While NC has the population (10 mil), they are pretty evenly distributed across the state. That lack of concentration means that to capture the 25K every 81 nights you either need to centrally located the team (Research Triangle?) or hope that it would be enough of a beacon in Charlotte to pull the entire state. Georgia has a population of 10 million people as well, but half of the live north of the fall line, which is about 2.5 hrs from Atlanta.

It would either be Raleigh or Charlotte. Not sure where the best location would be but I would say that if they chose Charlotte it would run opposite the NFL season for the most part versus a larger overlap of of the NHL season in Raleigh with the Hurricanes.

Would Durham work? They have most of the baseball heritage in North Carolina, and it's a half hour from Raleigh, and only minutes from Chapel Hill.

Charlotte probably looks better on paper in terms of support, but I could see the Braves pitching a bigger fit over the loss of influence in South Carolina.

(01-03-2015 08:32 PM)chargeradio Wrote:  Would Durham work? They have most of the baseball heritage in North Carolina, and it's a half hour from Raleigh, and only minutes from Chapel Hill.

Charlotte probably looks better on paper in terms of support, but I could see the Braves pitching a bigger fit over the loss of influence in South Carolina.

Yes. Durham would be as good as Charlotte or Raleigh or Greensboro (half way between Raleigh and Charlotte).

I don't think a baseball franchise would do well in North Carolina. It takes a lot of people in a concentrated area to sell that many tickets.

There is no doubt that North Carolina can support the Carolina Panthers, the Charlotte Hornets, and the Carolina Hurricanes. North Carolina could even support a Major League Soccer team. Baseball is different.

A third team in New York or a team in New Jersey would have a better chance at success, in my opinion.

(01-05-2015 08:47 AM)chess Wrote:  

(01-03-2015 08:32 PM)chargeradio Wrote:  Would Durham work? They have most of the baseball heritage in North Carolina, and it's a half hour from Raleigh, and only minutes from Chapel Hill.

Charlotte probably looks better on paper in terms of support, but I could see the Braves pitching a bigger fit over the loss of influence in South Carolina.

Yes. Durham would be as good as Charlotte or Raleigh or Greensboro (half way between Raleigh and Charlotte).

I don't think a baseball franchise would do well in North Carolina. It takes a lot of people in a concentrated area to sell that many tickets.

There is no doubt that North Carolina can support the Carolina Panthers, the Charlotte Hornets, and the Carolina Hurricanes. North Carolina could even support a Major League Soccer team. Baseball is different.

A third team in New York or a team in New Jersey would have a better chance at success, in my opinion.

With the popularity of baseball in this state I don't see why NC wouldn't have the wherewithal to support a MLB team.

If a North Carolina franchise were #31, I could see their expansion partner being another New York/New Jersey team:

AL East - NYY, BOS, TOR, BAL
AL North - DET, CLE, CHW, MN
AL South - TB, NC*, HOU, TEX
AL West - SEA, LAA, OAK, KC

NL East - NYM, NJ*, PHI, WAS
NL North - PIT, CIN, CHC, MIL
NL South - MIA, ATL, AZ, STL
NL West - SD, LAD, SF, CO

An 8x4 alignment would work better if Arizona or Colorado were sent to the AL West, putting Kansas City in the AL South, and Houston in the NL South.

MLB could then go to an NFL style schedule:

Division opponents: 12 games each (36 total)
League opponents: 8 games each (96 total)
Interleague play: 30 games (two entire divisions, 3 games against each opponent; one 3-game series from one opponent from each of the other two divisions based on prior years' standings)

This would also allow each division to play their counterpart in the opposite league every year, so you will always have Mets-Yankees, Marlins-Rays, Orioles-Nationals, etc.

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(01-10-2015 05:23 AM)chargeradio Wrote:  If a North Carolina franchise were #31, I could see their expansion partner being another New York/New Jersey team:

AL East - NYY, BOS, TOR, BAL
AL North - DET, CLE, CHW, MN
AL South - TB, NC*, HOU, TEX
AL West - SEA, LAA, OAK, KC

NL East - NYM, NJ*, PHI, WAS
NL North - PIT, CIN, CHC, MIL
NL South - MIA, ATL, AZ, STL
NL West - SD, LAD, SF, CO

An 8x4 alignment would work better if Arizona or Colorado were sent to the AL West, putting Kansas City in the AL South, and Houston in the NL South.

MLB could then go to an NFL style schedule:

Division opponents: 12 games each (36 total)
League opponents: 8 games each (96 total)
Interleague play: 30 games (two entire divisions, 3 games against each opponent; one 3-game series from one opponent from each of the other two divisions based on prior years' standings)

This would also allow each division to play their counterpart in the opposite league every year, so you will always have Mets-Yankees, Marlins-Rays, Orioles-Nationals, etc.

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I'm not a fan of 4-team divisions in pro sports. I'd rather two 8 team divisions inn each league in your scenario:

NL East - NYM, NJ*, PHI, WAS, PIT, CIN, CHC, MIL
NL West - SD, LAD, SF, CO, MIA, ATL, AZ, STL

AL East - NYY, BOS, TOR, BAL, DET, CLE, CHW, MN
AL West - SEA, LAA, OAK, KC, TB, NC*, HOU, TEX

I'd realign your grouping this way for more continuity:

NL East - NYM, NJ*, PHI, PIT, CIN, WAS, MIA, ATL
NL West - SD, LAD, SF, CO, AZ, STL, CHC, MIL

AL East - NYY, BOS, TOR, BAL, DET, CLE, TB, NC*
AL West - SEA, LAA, OAK, KC, CHW, MN, HOU, TEX


You could replace NC with Nashville for better concentration of population as per some of the posts above.

Playoffs would ideally just be the two division winners in each league, but more realistically would be two division winners and two wild cards with best records. Or you could have three or four wild cards with some or all of them in single-elimination games before facing division winners.