Things were so simple in 1993. Two leagues, two divisions. Win your division, play the other division winner, go to the World Series. There were 7 teams in each division. Everything was even. It was like clock-work. Then someone in 1994 thought, "wouldn't it be neat if we screwed with the evenness of this and added another division and a Wild Card?" No one seemed to be overly upset about this. Sure, the East and Central teams each had to get through one more team to get to the top of the division than the West teams did, but at least there were the same number of teams in the two leagues.
And then, the storm of 1998 hit. Here come the Rays and the Diamondbacks. Brand new teams, one for each league. But that's going to create an odd number of teams in each league. We need National League teams to play other Nationals and likewise with the Americans. Whatever can we do? Ah, enter Commissioner Bud's favorite Brewers. I'll make them switch leagues, he says. So now, we have a 14-team American League with 5 teams in the East and Central and 4 in the West. And on the other side a 16-team National League, with a 5-team East, a 6-team Central, and a 4-team West division. We've saved the sanctity of being in separate leagues! But wait, aren't we trying that new "Interleague Play" thing all the kids are talking about? Yeah, but it only affects about a month of the season. Everything is okay.
About 10 years later, someone pointed out, hey you know if we move the Astros from the National League Central to the American League West, each division will have 5 teams in it. So the plan was set in motion. Until someone realized that every series, there would be one Interleague game going on. That's okay though, Interleague play is a good thing. It gives teams a chance to play other teams it wouldn't normally see. Heck, old Bud and the brain-trust would even like to see more Interleague games. Shoot Bud, why even bother with divisions or leagues anymore? Why don't we just make everyone use the DH, put all the teams in a big pile, take all the strategy out of the game, and let the top 8 play in the post-season?
Or, I could offer another solution. Currently there are 30 teams in 6 divisions. Which divides well, but doesn't allow for keeping the competitive balance. But another way that does is 32 teams in 8 divisions, ala the National Football League. Which requires just one thing. Two new teams. But where to get them from? My thoughts on the 4 most logical places to start a new MLB franchise, in order of how well I think they'd do. Luckily we'd only need to pick 2.
Nashville, Tennessee- Right near the heart of Tennessee, these people yearn for baseball. Tennessee is the state that currently has the most minor league baseball teams, without having an MLB team also in the state. The closest the Bigs gets to Tennessee is Atlanta, but I'm sure they would support an MLB team well. Plus, they already have the Titans, so we know a major sports franchise can survive there.
Salt Lake City, Utah- Again, we know this place can support a major sports franchise. It's somewhat near some other cities (Denver, Phoenix) to create some rivalries, I guess. And honestly, if you live in Utah, would you mind having something else to do in the summer? (Stereotype: I assume everyone in Utah is Mormon)
Portland, Oregon- Another city with a large population, a sports franchise, and not much else to do. Except maybe stare at big trees. (Stereotype: I know next to nothing about Oregon) But they could create some interesting things being near Seattle and not much else. There's a large part of an untapped market they could draw in.
Omaha, Nebraska- It's the home to the College World Series. It's near Iowa, which I'm told is baseball heaven or something. And other than teams in Minneapolis, there's no professional sports teams to speak of in this part of the country. I think a lot of people would drive a-ways to go to baseball in Omaha. Especially after a long day of farming. (Stereotype: everyone in Nebraska, Kansas, North and South Dakota and Iowa are farmers, right?)
So those are the 4 places I would think would be most logical to put 2 new baseball teams to even things out and not have to have Interleague games every series. Any other places you'd like to see professional baseball played?
Today's Twitter Bio: @kelimepie
She's a member of the @damesongames squad. She's an Ohio State student, which I try not to hold against her. She hails from Harrison, Ohio, which I'm not sure anyone could hold against her. And she's a die-hard Reds fan. And a Joey Votto fan. And a Drew Stubbs fan. And a Joey Votto fan. And a Jay Bruce fan. And a Joey Votto fan. And a Chris Heisey fan. And did I mention she likes Joey Votto?
If you'd like to know more about how she feels on these and many more topics, please follow her and ask her. She'll tell you without hesitation. And, um, Joey Votto.
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