Most of us knew this was coming. Ever since Major League Baseball messed with divisions multiple times over the past two decades, primarily since Tampa Bay and Arizona joined the league – we all knew that the dreaded “E” word would be brought up once more.
Expansion.
Many have speculated a grand plan for a 32-team league. Two leagues of 16 teams in four divisions of four. Yes, much life the NFL, although there’s a reason why it works for them. But can it work in baseball? Well MLB commissioner Rob Manfred cited for Fox Sports that the favourable schedule of a 16-team league split into four divisions due to tighter divisional footprints that would ultimately make owners happy, because fewer road games would start at unfavourable times for local television.
Baseballs growing revenue supports the concept, but in order for things to go according to plan, Manfred acknowledged that the process can’t begin until stadium issues are resolved in yes you guessed it, Oakland and Tampa Bay. This means we could theoretically see expansion in two cities. Fox Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi compiled a list of favourable destinations but these are the ones that stand out.
1 – Montreal
Montreal is the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. or Canada without a Major League Baseball franchise. The team could play at Olympic Stadium while a new ballpark is built. The fans were given the raw end of the deal when the MLB bought the team and moved it to D.C. Montreal fans are ready to have baseball back in town, the legislators are ready to have it back in Canada, and many believe the MLB is ready to go back to Montreal as well, this is exactly why they are the number one destination for an expansion team.
2 – Charlotte
Due to the strong population and favourable business climates, Charlotte would be another reasonable expansion team. Currently the Charlotte Knights led all Triple-A franchises in 2015 with an average attendance of 9,428 at BB&T Ballpark, which has a capacity near 10,000. Although the ballpark is not big enough for a major league ball club, the demographics are there, and considering Manfred would like to implement this MLB expansion within the next 5-6 years, it gives Charlotte a reasonable timeframe to get things done.
This list comes with a caveat: Due to the fact that MLB expansion isn’t expected until after 2020, it would be foolish to dig further because we simply do not know. The politicians who would take up the cause may not in fact be in office yet. The economic circumstances that could swing public referendum haven’t been presented, but what fans do know, is the commissioner definitely has something up his sleeve.
