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I'd put San Juan as an obvious choice, second is hard.
Las Vegas seems like a good opton, but its not a big population city, and commissioners get scared by the casino's and gambling. Portland is another viable place, but would cut into the Seattle market. Brooklyn could most definitely support a team but the Mets and Yankees would both have to move before Brooklyn gets another team. I'd go somewhere like Charlotte or the triangle or Louisville, KY: A good population where the team would be supported, and far enough away from any other MLB team.
Louisville would infringe on the Cincinnati market and isn't very far from St. Louis. I think MLB is already overexpanded.
One division in MLB has just 4 teams (AL West) while the rest have 5. If expansion occurs it will most likely be a city that fits within the geographic profile of that division as MLB does not want to enhance shrinking attendance through dismantlement of old rivalries. Another Texas or LA franchise is probably most likely though I would love to see a Salt Lake City or Oklahoma City franchise emerge given the support they have shown for their existing pro sports teams.
One division in MLB has just 4 teams (AL West) while the rest have 5. . .
Not true, the NL Central has 6. This imbalance was created to avoid having to have at least one team off in each league every day; the only other solution was a lot more interleague play.
If it's 16 teams in each league, arranged 5-6-5, west-central-east; Add a team in Las Vegas to the AL west and another city in the Pacific or Mountain time zone. Move the Rangers to the AL central.
Better bet is to have an NL team move to the AL. This is perhaps more difficult option but would create better balance of all 5 team divisions.
1. Add two teams to the majors, both in the southern United States, one in the American League, the other in the National League. The lack of southern teams in the Major League level provides an opportunity to expand in this region. Here are some suggestions:
a. Carolinas (Charlotte, Raleigh): Situated between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, Charlotte is the third largest metropolitian area in North America, behind Orlando and Sacramento, without a baseball team at the major league level, while Raleigh is the eleventh. A National League team would not make too much a dent in the fanbases of the Nationals and the Braves. The University of South Carolina Gamecocks are perennial contenders in the College World Series, so baseball has a following in the Carolinas.
b. Tennessee (Nashville, Memphis): The eastern half of the state is primarily Braves country, while the western half roots for the Cardinals, plus the Memphis Redbirds are the AAA affiliate of the Cardinals. Therefore, an American League team is recommended to avoid disrupting the current fanbases.
c. Louisiana (New Orleans): The addition of a team would provide a possible future rivalry with either the Rangers or the Astros. The Louisiana State University baseball team also has had recent success at the College World Series.
d. Texas (San Antonio): Texas is always ripe for baseball, as evidenced by the number of players from the state and a solid University of Texas baseball team. As the fifth largest metropolitan area without a Major League Baseball team and only one major men's sports team (Spurs), San Antonio would provide a solid fanbase in southern Texas. To be consistant with the Spurs' roots in the ABA, an American League team is recommended.
e. Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, Tulsa): Oklahoma City recently added a NBA team (at the expense of Seattle) and might be interested in adding another team in a different sport. Like Louisiana, a team would provide a possible rival to either the Rangers or Astros, as well as the Royals.
2. Add a fourth division (South) to each League and rename the Central division the North.
3. Realign teams based on geography:
a. Colorado Rockies join the AL West
b. Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, and Tampa Bay Rays join the AL expansion in the AL South
c. Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, and Miami Marlins join the NL expansion in the NL South
d. Pittsburgh Pirates join the NL East
4. Reform the schedule to create better balance. Each team plays…
a. 18 games against each of 3 division rivals
b. 12 games against the 3 League, interdivision rivals finishing in the same rank as the previous season
c. 6 games against each of the 9 other interdivision rivals
d. 3 games against each of 4 interleague rivals, all within a single division, rotating every year
e. (optional, if demanded enough) 6 games against 1 designated interleague rival
Each team will play 156 total games, 39 against each division rank (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th), excluding any games against the designated interleague rival.
5. Reform the Postseason seeding and format. Within each league,
a. the top two division winners are seeded 1 and 2 and earn a first round bye.
b. the other two division winners and TWO wild card teams are seeded 3 through 6, based on win-loss records and any tiebreakers and one-game playoffs.
c. the 3 seed will be paired against the 5 seed (and the 4 seed against the 6 seed) in a best-of-three-games series if any of the following occurs:
i. a 3 vs. 6 (and 4 vs. 5) pairing would pair two division winners against each other (and two wild cards against each other)
ii. a 3 vs. 6 matchup would pair a winner and first runner up of the same division against one another, AND a 3 vs. 5 matchup would not pair two division winners or two wild cards against one another
iii. a 4 vs. 5 matchup would pair a winner and first runner up of the same division against one another AND a 4 vs. 6 matchup would not pair two division winners or two wild cards against one another
Otherwise, the 3 seed will be paired against the 6 seed (and the 4 seed against the 5 seed)
d. the winners of each First Round series will be pitted against either the 1 seed or the 2 seed in best-of-five-games division series.
i. The 1 seed is to face the lowest seed remaining, unless such a matchup pits a winner and first runner up of the same division.
ii. The 2 seed is to face the second lowest seed remaining, unless such a matchup pits a winner and first runner up of the same division AND the 1 seed would not face the first runner up of its division if facing the second lowest seed remaining.
e. the winners of the two division series will face one another in a best-of-seven-games League Championship Series.
6. Reform home field advantage for the World Series to base it on AL vs. NL record and the All-Star Game.
a. Under this purposed schedule above in (4), there are 192 Interleague games.
b. The All-Star Game counts as 16 games (each league represented by 16 teams).
c. In case of a tie, the league of the defending World Series Champion maintains home field advantage.
But seriously, I can see a club in North Carolina for sure. As for the second team, it's just me and my wishful thinking (for now...), but I'd say San Antonio before OKC. Just don't see Oklahoma City getting a Major club before them or Vegas or somewhere in Tennessee.
Last edited by NewToCA; 10-30-2011 at 04:05 PM..
Reason: don't alter another poster's comments
I agreed that if the MLB expanded to 32 teams that both should be in the south. If the weather is a factor, just build roofed-stadiums. (Easy to say when you don't have to pay for it, though) I thought the Majors should go for San Antonio and New Orleans though North Carolina deserves a team. Plus, Portland would be a good fit, move the Dodgers there!
There are already too many teams in the MLB with the financial disparity to prove it. If the A's move to San Jose (or Sacramento), the only other option would be for the Rays to move somewhere in North Carolina, and that's it.
better geographics and plus market sizes are more balanced in each division
no solution is perfect
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