That would make sense if the pool from which professional ballplayers was drawn was “available males”. However, the fact that there are more males than there were 50 years ago is meaningless unless there are also more males who grew up playing baseball. That number has certainly been in decline for at least the last 15 years.
The second question is: Where do you put the new teams? The only viable markets I can think of that don’t already have teams are Las Vegas and Portland. Pretty much every other city large enough to support a team is already in another team’s territory.
We already have teams in markets that cannot or do not support them. As good as the Rays have been on the field, they average at barely more than 50% attendance. The Marlins as a franchise are an absolute joke, and exist solely so that their owner can pocket the revenue sharing money. The A’s are done in Oakland and, unless the Selig and the Giants let them move to San Jose, they’ll be looking for a new market. The Royals have been a nonentity since George Brett retired, and have become another perennial MLB welfare parasite like the Marlins. The Blue Jays are starting to look more and more like the Expos.
I’d put the Pirates and the Orioles in this list as well, but there is too much history in those franchises to move them or get rid of them. Plus, I think their problems are really just the result of bad ownership.
With all that going on, should MLB really be adding new teams? Will that really improve the game? Should they put an expansion team in one of the few remaining viable markets when they could kill two birds with one stone and move a team from a market that clearly isn’t working?
I don’t think so. I think they ought to get rid of the Marlins as soon as they can (might be legal problems with that stemming from the new stadium) and probably the Blue Jays. The Rays ought to be moved to Las Vegas or Portland, and the A’s as well unless they can move to San Jose.
With internalization, among other factors, the talent pool is bigger. And plenty of kids play ball; there are lots of them getting signed every day.
Portland would be one city; the AL needs a fourth Western city. I wouldn’t touch Vegas. I’d LOVE a third New York area team. (Before moving the Expos to DC, according to the Washington Post, MLB was also negotiating with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.) And I know of a city up north that has a metro population of about 3.5 million and has a big ballpark just sitting there. Those are a few possibilities.
New teams mean a lot of money in entry fees. That would be good for MLB’s economy.