Where should the next MLB expansion teams be placed?

[7,052,770]

Inspired by some discussion in the baseball thread.

I picked Charlotte and Nashville, although Havana would be the best if the government could work it out. It would probably set attendance records.

[traininthedistance]

Write-in: Hampton Roads.  The Norfolk/Newport News/VA Beach area is the largest metro without a single major sports team, and obviously neither the Braves nor the Nationals have much of a hold on southern Virginia.  Presumably they would be able to capture the Richmond market as well, and hopefully some of North Carolina as well.

Charlotte or Raleigh-Durham would also be decent choices; really the thing that stuck out for me from that map is how the VA/NC area needs a team more than anywhere else.

[TNF]

Louisville/Havana

[WalterMitty]

there shouldnt be mlb expansion.

[retromike22]

haha I was going to make this thread too but you beat me to it.

If it was up to me, I would have 4 divisions in each League: East, Central, West, and.... South.

Each division would have... 4 teams (so moving 3 teams around, and adding 1 new team). Or... each division could have 5 teams.

For the playoffs, the division winner with the highest win percentage would play the division winner with the lowest win percentage. No more wild card, just division winners playing against each other.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

If I had my druthers I'd create teams in Charlotte and Monterrey and move Milwaukee to Salt Lake.  (Technically, Milwaukee could move to any of the three new cities, but I like the incongruity of the Brewers being the name of the team there.)  The move of Milwaukee does three things.  It gets a small market team into what should be a better situation where the team would not be overshadowed by the two nearby Chicago clubs.  It also is the cleanest way to preserve the existing rivalries of the other four NL Central teams if baseball goes to a four division structure, which it likely would if it expands to 32 teams. Last but not least, going to Salt Lake returns the Brewers to the American League.  For reasons of geography, if Milwaukee loses its team and Charlotte, Monterrey, and Salt Lake gain theirs, this is how I would align the divisions:

AL Central   Chicago White Sox   Cleveland Indians   Detroit Tigers   Minnesota Twins AL East   Baltimore Orioles   Boston Red Sox   New York Yankees   Toronto Blue Jays AL South   Houston Astros (from AL West)   Kansas City Royals (from AL Central)   Salt Lake Brewers (ex-Milwaukee from NL Central)   Tampa Bay Rays (from AL East) AL West   Anaheim Angels   Oakland Athletics   Seattle Mariners   Texas Rangers

NL Central   Chicago Cubs   Cincinnati Reds   Pittsburgh Pirates   St. Louis Cardinals NL East   Charlotte Knights   New York Mets   Philadelphia Phillies   Washington Nationals NL South   Atlanta Braves (from NL East)   Colorado Rockies (from NL West)   Miami Marlins (from NL East)   Monterrey Sultans NL West   Arizona Diamondbacks   Los Angeles Dodgers   San Diego Padres   San Francisco Giants

 

[Joe Biden 2020]

I would like to see New Orleans get one as well as either Norfolk or Raleigh.  Charlotte is too close to Atlanta, but Raleigh is far enough east that they wouldn't be overshadowed too much by the Braves.  I would prefer Norfolk over Raleigh, because I have family history in Norfolk coming from a Navy family.

My third choice would be Nashville.  I don't think Nashville would get swallowed up by the Braves or Reds or Cardinals (the nearest established franchises).

[MasterJedi]

If I had my druthers I'd create teams in Charlotte and Monterrey and move Milwaukee to Salt Lake.  (Technically, Milwaukee could move to any of the three new cities, but I like the incongruity of the Brewers being the name of the team there.)  The move of Milwaukee does three things.  It gets a small market team into what should be a better situation where the team would not be overshadowed by the two nearby Chicago clubs.  It also is the cleanest way to preserve the existing rivalries of the other four NL Central teams if baseball goes to a four division structure, which it likely would if it expands to 32 teams. Last but not least, going to Salt Lake returns the Brewers to the American League.  For reasons of geography, if Milwaukee loses its team and Charlotte, Monterrey, and Salt Lake gain theirs, this is how I would align the divisions:

AL Central   Chicago White Sox   Cleveland Indians   Detroit Tigers   Minnesota Twins AL East   Baltimore Orioles   Boston Red Sox   New York Yankees   Toronto Blue Jays AL South   Houston Astros (from AL West)   Kansas City Royals (from AL Central)   Salt Lake Brewers (ex-Milwaukee from NL Central)   Tampa Bay Rays (from AL East) AL West   Anaheim Angels   Oakland Athletics   Seattle Mariners   Texas Rangers

NL Central   Chicago Cubs   Cincinnati Reds   Pittsburgh Pirates   St. Louis Cardinals NL East   Charlotte Knights   New York Mets   Philadelphia Phillies   Washington Nationals NL South   Atlanta Braves (from NL East)   Colorado Rockies (from NL West)   Miami Marlins (from NL East)   Monterrey Sultans NL West   Arizona Diamondbacks   Los Angeles Dodgers   San Diego Padres   San Francisco Giants

 

Why move a team from Milwaukee where there is actually support for the team? Why not move a team where nobody really cares about them like the Oakland A's, Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays and they have trouble filling the stands?

[Orser67]

http://wagesofwins.com/2011/10/31/could-your-city-give-a-sports-team-a-good-home/

In the link above, the author looks at what markets (in the US and Canada) are under-served by professional sports teams based on the income of the area. According to the author, Chicago, Houston, LA, NYC, Washington, and Riverside (CA) could all easily support new teams, while Philly, Montreal, Las Vegas, and Bridgeport (CT) are less ideal candidates. Milwaukee, Cleveland, Denver, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Tampa, and Cincinnati are all overextended.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/24/upshot/facebook-baseball-map.html?_r=0#6,33.671,-83.704

Here's a map the NYTimes made of zip codes by favorite MLB team. What jumps out to me from the map is that the Southeast could use another team.

Based on the above, I'd probably go with a North Carolina or Virginia team and another New York team. I'd also probably move Milwaukee to Riverside.

[Orser67]

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2013-misc.shtml

Looking at attendance figures, I might move the Rays or Royals instead of Milwaukee actually. As bad as Cleveland's figures are, I'm hesitant to move a team that has been in the same place for 100 years (this also applies to the Pirates and Reds).

[NewYorkExpress]

Las Vegas, Buffalo, Vancouver (Canada), Memphis, Orlando and Oklahoma City should get teams from somewhere.

Miami, Toronto and Houston should be moved or contracted.

[Хahar 🤔]

Expansion is off the table, and for good reason. There are enough teams as it is. Montreal is the only market that might warrant a team, and the only potential candidate for relocation is Tampa Bay, since San Diego and Miami both have fairly new parks.

[Hatman 🍁]

lol why is Ottawa on this list? We can't even manage to keep small independent teams in the city.

Baseball would only work in Montreal if they build an new stadium. No one wants to go to the big O for anything. When the Als moved from the Big O to McGill Stadium it was the best thing that franchise ever did.

[Lief 🗽]

It's time to bring the Dodgers home, obviously. Also Austin, TX.

[Hatman 🍁]

Toronto ... should be moved or contracted.

WTF is wrong with you?

[7,052,770]

Expansion is off the table, and for good reason. There are enough teams as it is. Montreal is the only market that might warrant a team, and the only potential candidate for relocation is Tampa Bay, since San Diego and Miami both have fairly new parks.

How would 32 teams as opposed to 30 hurt anything? The overall talent pool has increased thanks to population increase, more countries caring about baseball, and increasing specialized youth coaching. A player who could just barely make to MLB in 1998 (when it expanded to 30) couldn't make it today.

With that argument off the table, there's really no reason not to expand if it could be profitable, and there's definitely markets where it could be.

[MasterJedi]

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2013-misc.shtml

Looking at attendance figures, I might move the Rays or Royals instead of Milwaukee actually. As bad as Cleveland's figures are, I'm hesitant to move a team that has been in the same place for 100 years (this also applies to the Pirates and Reds).

And last year the Brewer's attendance was the lowest since 2006 (which was lower then last year). No reason to move the Brewers at all, support their team a lot more then a ton of other underperforming teams.

[7,052,770]

In general, I'm strongly against teams moving, because it's just not right to rip out the hearts of the fans like that. I think that any team that just insists on moving should have to do like the Cleveland Browns and leave the name and history behind. Why should banners won in Seattle be hanging in Oklahoma City, or titles won in Minneapolis or Houston be celebrated in Dallas and Nashville? The new fans didn't care about those old days. It was really stupid that the Titans got to wear Oilers throwback jerseys on the AFL 50th anniversary year, instead of the Texans, whose fans actually cared about the Oilers...

Having said all that, I would be OK with one possible move:  Move the A's to Sacramento. It's close enough that they could keep their Northern California fanbase. The Giants are more popular in every single ZIP Code, but if the A's became "Sacramento's team" instead of "the Bay Area's second team," they'd probably take over in Sacramento and have a more established fanbase. And they'd be close enough for the random Oakland loyalists to still keep up.

[DC Al Fine]

Miami, Toronto and Houston should be moved or contracted.

How about we move the Jays down south in exchange for the Phoenix Coyotes moving to Quebec?

[TJ in Oregon]

Miami, Toronto and Houston should be moved or contracted.

How about we move the Jays down south in exchange for the Phoenix Coyotes moving to Quebec?

Deal. You can take the entire NHL  while you're at it.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Miami, Toronto and Houston should be moved or contracted.

How about we move the Jays down south in exchange for the Phoenix Coyotes moving to Quebec?

Deal. You can take the entire NHL  while you're at it.

I like this idea!!

[traininthedistance]

In general, I'm strongly against teams moving, because it's just not right to rip out the hearts of the fans like that. I think that any team that just insists on moving should have to do like the Cleveland Browns and leave the name and history behind. Why should banners won in Seattle be hanging in Oklahoma City, or titles won in Minneapolis or Houston be celebrated in Dallas and Nashville? The new fans didn't care about those old days. It was really stupid that the Titans got to wear Oilers throwback jerseys on the AFL 50th anniversary year, instead of the Texans, whose fans actually cared about the Oilers...

Having said all that, I would be OK with one possible move:  Move the A's to Sacramento. It's close enough that they could keep their Northern California fanbase. The Giants are more popular in every single ZIP Code, but if the A's became "Sacramento's team" instead of "the Bay Area's second team," they'd probably take over in Sacramento and have a more established fanbase. And they'd be close enough for the random Oakland loyalists to still keep up.

How about moving the Raiders back to Los Angeles?  Would you be okay with that move?

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

Miami, Toronto and Houston should be moved or contracted.

How about we move the Jays down south in exchange for the Phoenix Coyotes moving to Quebec?

Deal. You can take the entire NHL  while you're at it.

I like this idea!!

Awwwww, I love when dumb*** Americans make it a point to acknowledge hockey is too much for them. 

[Хahar 🤔]

Sacramento's already got an NBA team. It's not big enough to support another team. Oakland would be a perfectly fine location if the ownership group were willing to commit to a new stadium and invest in the team; Lew Wolff et al. are doing neither.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2013-misc.shtml

Looking at attendance figures, I might move the Rays or Royals instead of Milwaukee actually. As bad as Cleveland's figures are, I'm hesitant to move a team that has been in the same place for 100 years (this also applies to the Pirates and Reds).

And last year the Brewer's attendance was the lowest since 2006 (which was lower then last year). No reason to move the Brewers at all, support their team a lot more then a ton of other underperforming teams.

The problem is, unless you decide geography is more important than tradition and break up the Cardinals-Cubs rivalry by moving St. Louis into the new NL South so that they don't play in the same division, then the Brewers seem to be the most logical candidate to cut from the NL Central to make it a four team division.  But geographically, leaving them in the NL would be odd as they'd be smack dab in the middle of the NL Central.  Moving them to the AL Central just switches one problem for another.

About the only other alternative would be to move Pittsburgh from the NL Central into the NL East so they can reintensify their rivalry with the Phillies and put the new Charlotte team in the NL South instead of the NL East, and then either place the Monterrey expansion team in the AL South (which would eliminate any chance of a Toronto-Monterrey World Series) or shift the Rockies there and except for returning the Brewers to the AL from which it came, I'd like to avoid league shifts.