Apr 4, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; General view of the stadium with snow and a baseball before the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Toronto Blue Jays at the Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
With 15 teams in each division and constant interleague play, it seemed as though MLB expansion would be inevitable. What locations should the next teams in baseball call home?
It has been almost twenty years since expansion came to Major League Baseball. With the introductions of the Tampa Bay Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the MLB had expanded to thirty teams, causing both leagues to be uneven. Sixteen clubs called the National League home, as the Milwaukee Brewers moved from the American League, while the AL held fourteen squads.
With interleague play being introduced as a year long concept, the Houston Astros were moved to the American League, giving each league fifteen teams. This has made scheduling a bit more difficult, as Rob Manfred said, since it is easier to create a schedule with multiples of four instead of multiples of five.
As such, Manfred said that expansion is inevitable, even if it is not imminent. While the stadium issues in Tampa Bay and Oakland need to be resolved, and any possible relocation determined, expansion is definitely on the radar and will be coming to the MLB once again.
With expansion being such an inevitability, let us take a look at five possible locations for a new team.
If ever there was a city build as a shrine to entertainment, it is Las Vegas. The neon home of casinos, the city where “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” it would seem somewhat surprising that a major league franchise in any sport has not called this city home.
While it is a tourist and entertainment Mecca, the risks are obvious. With legalized gambling, and such a large part of the city’s economy based on such activities, there is the risk that various unsavory characters could look to influence the games. Given the numerous black eyes that the MLB has had in its past due to gambling, would Manfred want to open that potential Pandora’s Box by putting a franchise in Vegas?
However, it seems inevitable that a team from one of the four major sports will end up calling Vegas home in the somewhat near future. The NHL is considering their own expansion for the 2017-18 season, with Vegas and Quebec City being the only two locations under consideration. Even though such expansion is not guaranteed, the realization that Vegas will get a franchise should it happen may show that those concerns over legalized gambling are overblown.
Las Vegas has virtually anything that a person would want, except for a major league franchise from one of the four major sports in America. That could change in the next couple of years. Should expansion come to the NHL, and progress smoothly in Vegas, that could open the floodgates for other leagues to follow suit and place a franchise there.
Louisville Kentucky has already carved out a unique place in MLB history. As the home of the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, as well as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals AAA team, the Louisville Bats, baseball is certainly well represented in the city.
Yet, baseball has been a part of the identity of Louisville for much longer. The Louisville Colonels were a major league franchise from 1882 through 1899, playing in American Association before joining the National League. The franchise folded following the 1899 season, as team owner Barney Dreyfuss purchased a controlling interest in the Pittsburgh Pirates and brought fourteen players, including Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke and Rube Waddell with him.
Given the rich history of baseball in Louisville, it would seem as though the city would be a natural fit for another franchise. The biggest issue may be the market size, as the region surrounding Louisville holds only 1,269,702 residents, ranking 44th in the country, as of 2014. Louisville just may not be a large enough area to support a major league franchise.
Louisville has a great history and will be forever a part of baseball, and if they can show enough support for a major league franchise, the city could once again be a part of the future of the game.
One of the disadvantages facing the Seattle Mariners, and any team playing in the Pacific Northwest in any major sport, involves the amount of travel required for road trips. The Mariners typically log the most air mileage, by quite a bit, as their divisional opponents are such a long distance away. However, adding another team to the region could help minimize a portion of that travel.
While Vancouver could be a possible destination, there is another Canadian city that deserves a team more (we’ll get to that later in the list). Therefore, Portland is the most logical destination. A growing metropolis, Portland has proven that they will support their professional teams with rabid enthusiasm, as based on the support for the TrailBlazers and the Portland Timber of the MLS.
Interestingly enough, the Mariners could be the biggest obstacle standing in the way of possible expansion to Portland. As they consider Portland a part of their region, there could be a dispute as to territorial rights such as we saw when the Expos were moved to Washington DC.
A key part in the history of the Pacific Coast League, and a city that has proven that it can support their home teams, Portland would be a logical choice for a MLB franchise. However, it could take some negotiating to keep there from being a territorial squabble as occurred between the Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles.
Even though baseball may be considered “America’s Game,” and be as much a part of the national identity as apple pie and eagles, the rabid following that the game has in Latin America puts America’s support of baseball to shame. With various Winter Leagues throughout the Caribbean, and the following the game has, it is time for a major league franchise to call the area home.
Perhaps the best option would be to put a team in Mexico City. In fact, Rob Manfred has even discussed placing a team in Mexico City in the past, considering the country to be a relatively untapped market. Not only could an expansion team in Mexico have an entire country to support the franchise, but it could help bring in more Hispanic players and fans.
Mexico City, and the idea of expanding to Mexico as a whole, is not without potential pitfalls. Even ignoring that the city is at a higher elevation than Denver, and the blanket of smog covering it, there are major questions surrounding corruption and the potential safety of any players in the country. Mexico is also a relatively poor country; while it ranks 15th in Gross National Product, the country is 80th in GNP per capita, behind such countries as French Guiana and Estonia.
A team in Mexico City would certainly be supported by the country given their love of baseball. However, there is a major question of whether or not enough fans would be able to afford to see a potential expansion team play there, even if the security issues were resolved.
Consider Montreal a bit of a do-over for the MLB. The Expos had solid support until the strike in 1994 destroyed the fanbase, and after a decade of dismantling and penny pinching by Jeffrey Loria, the team was taken over by Major League Baseball and moved to Washington DC. The fans deserved a better fate.
Yet, baseball remains popular in Montreal. Exhibition games played in the city have been popular, drawing sellout crowds, showing that the love of the game has not disappeared just because the Expos were essentially stolen away. The city wants baseball back.
Montreal also has a rich baseball history outside of the Expos. Jackie Robinson played his first games outside of the Negro Leagues in Montreal, spending a season with the Royals before joining the Dodgers. Baseball had been played in the city in some capacity since 1860, with the first franchise, the Montreal Base Ball Club, playing games in the early 1870’s.
The biggest problem facing expansion to Montreal would be finding a replacement for Olympic Stadium, but with the efforts of former Expo Warren Cromartie and the Montreal Baseball Project, the return of the Expos could be forthcoming when baseball expands once again.
