Baseball Division Re-alignment

[Tom Hendricks]

I have been toying with this for a while, not that it would ever be done. The NL has a division with 6 teams and the AL has a division with 4 teams.

What if we move the Twins from the Central Division to the AL West. Then switch the Pirates from NL Central to the AL Central.

This would even out all the division. Put another very good team in the AL West and balance out NL Central.

 

[Chaos Descending]

Why not just give the AL a couple of expansion teams? I'm sure there are some worthy markets, perhaps Portland and Las Vegas? Or even Monterrey, Nueva Leon, Mexico, for that matter? That way each league can have 16 teams. Get rid of the "division" structure. Top four teams in each league get to the playoffs each year.

 

[Danny99]

The only realignment I want to see is the Jays escaping a division with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Why not just give the AL a couple of expansion teams? I'm sure there are some worthy markets, perhaps Portland and Las Vegas? Or even Monterrey, Nueva Leon, Mexico, for that matter? That way each league can have 16 teams. Get rid of the "division" structure. Top four teams in each league get to the playoffs each year.

I want a team in Vegas as well, I kept hoping that Oakland would move there. I also think a team could do well in Puerto Rico, I would love that.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ The A's will probably end up in San Jose....

Vegas might be a good idea for an expansion team, though; they've certainly got the foot traffic. (Be pretty funny if they revived the name 'Outlaws' from their old XFL team though...considering the location )

And Puerto Rico would be a good idea as well. They've got a decent place to play (Hiram Bithorn Stadium) already.

 

[Alpinemaps]

Portland won't get a team - they're talking about moving the AAA team out of there, and moving them down to San Diego (the team is a AAA affiliate of the Padres). Vegas will never get a team, because it's Vegas (which is sad - I think a team would do good there).

Indianapolis is another big city without a team.

I think it's hard for them to discuss expansion again, when it was just a couple of years ago they were talking about contraction, and getting rid of the Twins and Expos.

This is "the year of the pitcher". Maybe we're finally seeing pitching catch up. Every expansion dilutes the pitching pool even more. Plus, with 5 starters the norm - it's even though to find quality pitchers to round out rotations.

I'd love to see some realignment, and to see another two expansion teams. I just doubt that it will happen. Plus, if you move into every open market now, that leaves no negotiation room for any team if they're trying to get a new stadium. (Where are they going to threaten to move to?).

They've shot down the 15 teams in each league idea - that would require Interleague play every day of the season (dilutes that product). And moving the Twins to the AL West won't happen, either - they're too far east. KC used to complain when they were in the AL West - the games would start too late. (It's tough when you're two time zones away from your primary opponents).

 

[Starbreaker]

No need for realignment. The sucky teams just need to get better.

I think we'll probably see a couple of new teams within the next 20 years though.

 

[Chaos Descending]

They've shot down the 15 teams in each league idea - that would require Interleague play every day of the season (dilutes that product).

That sounds like nonsense to me. Can you explain the reasoning behind that?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

If there are an odd number of teams in a league, then one team must always be idle on any given day.

That's why, for example, there are two more National League teams than American League ones. They can't just move one of the NL teams over to the AL, because that would mean that both would have a team each day who isn't playing anyone. (Unless, as Alpinemaps pointed out, there's one interleague game every day.)

 

[Chaos Descending]

That's a good point.

But then again, I still want 16 teams in each league, no divisions, top four teams in each league make the playoff every year. So that issue would be moot if I were in charge!

Bud Selig, on the other hand, wants "floating realignment" in which the divisions get reshuffled every year!

 

[Skywalker]

I'd love to see the MLB realign into four divisions of four teams like the NFL, but they'd need to add two more teams to do that, and I don't see the MLB adding two more franchises in the near future. Plus it would likely split the Cubs/Cardinals rivalry (Cubs would likely go to the presumptive NL North, Cardinals to the NL South), which wouldn't be cool.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I like the idea of Las Vegas and Puerto Rico teams.

I actually watched the XFL, and I always liked the sound of 'Las Vegas Outlaws'. (Don't know, though, what the Puerto Rico team could be called...never been there.)

Add the LV team to the AL West, and the Puerto Rico team to the East, I think. No other reshuffling would be necessary (as the AL West only has four teams as it is).

 

[Chaos Descending]

NM

 

[Thestral]

I don't even watch baseball, but...

how about another team in the non-Florida Southeast other than the godforsaken Braves? Memphis, New Orleans, Nashville, Charlotte, I don't care. Just break up Bravesland.

Not that it'll stop me rooting for the Phils when I pay attention, but I might care about a more local team if it wasn't the bloody Braves.

 

[SVD]

North and South divisions? GAH, that dont sound right!

If it was up to me to do some shuffling, convert the Astros into an AL team, put them in the AL West (they look out of place in the NL Central), the give an NL franchise to Indianapolis, and give an AL Franchise to Puerto Rico. Execute 10 years from now.

 

[Starbreaker]

I think a team in Nashville would do well.

 

[Pegaritaville]

Am I the only one old enough to remember the last time they realigned baseball? Doesn't seem like that long ago that the Twins and the Brewers were in the same division.

Anyway, I wouldn't mind a little reshuffling. Purely for selfish reasons, I hate that two teams in our (AL Central) division are in the eastern time zone. I'm just not a morning person.

 

[SmoothieX]

I'm content with alignment the way it is, but I would prefer the teams go back to playing a balanced schedule.

It feels like the same teams are always playing. It's weird that you can be done playing a certain team by Easter, yet your first series against another team comes on Sept 20.

 

[DanCPA]

I think a team in Nashville would do well.

I think Oklahoma City would also do well. The middle part of the country has a lot of potential.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Why not just give the AL a couple of expansion teams? I'm sure there are some worthy markets, perhaps Portland and Las Vegas? Or even Monterrey, Nueva Leon, Mexico, for that matter? That way each league can have 16 teams. Get rid of the "division" structure. Top four teams in each league get to the playoffs each year.

Baseball doesn't really need expansion right now. It always risks diluting the product. Right now, I think most teams are just talented enough. I feel two more teams would be a negative.

Getting rid of the division structure would ruin the nice rivalries that exist at the moment due to uneven schedules (play your division much more than everyone else).

Either way, this seems to be an attempt to fix a non-problem (who cares if there are uneven teams in each leagues, they are separate leagues).