I agree with you about adding two teams. You could go to 4-team divisions, get rid of interleague (except for a very few matchups, nobody cares about it), and create a much more competitive environment.
That also strengthens the All-Star Game and World Series.
You could even make the rosters 28 (as they used to be from Opening Day to May 1), with 25 suiting up. It helps manage injuries and rotations, allows a little more strategy, and gives more players time in the bigs. Phase out the DH, keeping it until the expanded rosters and the new clubs are in place. (That also provides a transition period for DH-only types like Big Papi.)
The player talent is at a higher level proportionally than ever. We do need to allow for more minor-league clubs (and use pitchers differently), but there is plenty of talent to stock the clubs. Maybe cities Bud won't consider can get a chance then. Bud's adamancy was one reason it took so darn long for DC to get back in.
Expansion is a good source of easy revenue.
There are places to go. Unfortunately, one of the best has three territorial vetoes, most likely: New Jersey. But a third team in the market would do pretty nicely. The Carolinas could be viable (call them the Carolina Cougars), Portland is bigger than at least 3 current MLB markets, there is a movement to revive baseball in Montreal, and there are all the usual choices, such as Nashville, New Orleans, Buffalo, Vancouver, Las Vegas, San Antonio, the Tidewater area (largest metro without a team in any of the 4 major sports), etc. Brooklyn?
FWIW, Brooklyn and Montreal are the only places that have lost MLB and not gotten it back. Buffalo is the only one of the Continental League cities never to get a major-league team.
I’m not exactly happy about the expanded playoff but I can live with it. But the DH in the NL? NO WAY.
I will fight the dh with as much fervor as I do Islam and liberalism.
I don’t watch the AL. The DH would be a death knell for me. I would still follow my Giants, but as for watching any other games, I would say screw them. DH ball sucks.
Bread and Circuses.
SCREW the DH rule!!!!
It’s the reason I won’t even watch the AL anymore.
I hope the NL keeps their big boy pants on and kills this idea forever so future generations can always know what old school baseball is all about.
Great post. I agree 100% about getting rid of interleague play. I’m on the fence about the DH; if they got rid of I definitely wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.
How about Indiana for a new baseball francise?
The designated hitter is an abomination and should be removed from baseball.
I’m fine with expansion to 32 teams as long as one of them is a NL team in San Antonio (largest city without MLB or even AAA baseball) so I can see the Braves once a year. ;)
Seriously, now that Houston is moving to the AL (groan), there will be no NL team in Texas.
Unfortunately, since we can barely draw 5K a night to see the AA Missions in decrepit Wolff Stadium, MLB in SA is a pipe dream.
Ping
Pedro Martinez
2004 BOS (AL) Hit Batsmen: 16
2005 NYM (NL) Hit Batsmen: 4
Gee, I wonder why such a discrepancy ?
At that point they might as well drop the league label and call them conferences. When the rules are different “leagues” makes sense, when they’re the same it’s a league with conferences.