(10-08-2020 11:17 AM)BePcr07 Wrote:  If you were the commissioner of baseball and were tasked with reducing MLB from 30 teams down to 16: 1) Who would you keep? and 2) How would you organize the remaining teams? Feel free to add any commentary if you wish.

Mine:

I would organize 4 divisions of 4 geographically. They would all play by current NL rules - only way I can justify a pitcher winning an MVP that isn’t a Cy Young. Of the 14 teams I removed, I removed the 13 youngest franchises plus the 15th youngest franchise. I kept the 14th youngest, Texas Rangers, to have a presence in Texas.

West: Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers
South: Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals
North: Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates
East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies

If contraction is the goal then I would create multiple tiers. No real need in getting rid of that many teams and it would be a fun way to utilize the minor leagues and involve more cities. It would never happen, but it's fun to think about.

Also, I wouldn't do divisions. With 16 teams, you could easily craft a schedule where everyone plays everyone an equal number of times.