How To Get MLB Expansion Right The First Time

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12 hours ago

Apparently, our old friend Commissioner Manfred unleashed some expansion comments recently. This should not come to a surprise to any of you considering that MLB is first and foremost in the business of making money and the sport is secondary. Expansion is going to happen whether we like it or not. Are there enough major-league caliber players to support it? Who knows! The league will get their franchising fees and the players will get more jobs. It is a win-win for the league and Players Association.
Expansion in major-league North American sports doesn't happen often. MLB hasn't added a new franchise (not including re-location) since 1998 when the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays joined the league. The Tennessee Oilers (now Titans) joined the NFL in 2002. The NBA added the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) in 2004. The NHL has been the only league to add to its list of franchises in the last 20 years with the Vegas Golden Knights introduction in 2017 and Seattle Kraken in 2018. This brought their team total to 32 and you have to assume that this is the number that MLB likely has in mind to be in line with both the NHL and NFL, who also has 32 teams.
Now, Stephen Nesbitt over at TheAthletic is proposing a division re-alignment along with two potential new franchises in a two-conference, four-division NFL-esque set-up. It would look something like this:
What Stephen lays out is pretty and neat, there are still some major holes and lack of schedule planning. First off, Portland and Salt Lake City are awful ideas. There is no baseball culture and frankly the West doesn't need any expansion. Salt Lake City will get the same support it does as the Arizona Diamondbacks do (not great). Meanwhile, Portland doesn't have the population for a team AND it encroaches on Seattle's fanbase. I can't see it getting approved.
My second thought is that new proposed NL South division. Stephen sort of addresses this, but I don't think you can brush off how bad this division would be from a growth perspective with bringing in a new franchise. Assuming you are playing your division rivals a significant amount, attendance away a proposed Nashville or NC team would likely be poor (even with a new park in Tampa). Atlanta's attendance fluctuates and still have a bit of trouble getting butts in seats when they are bad. All this honestly throws off this proposed re-alignment from the get-go.
With that you are probably thinking, 'Wow Jay, you sure have a lot to say why you don't like this idea? What would be your plan, genius?' Funny you should ask!
The MLB should look to the NHL for inspiration for re-alignment, not the NFL. Moving to a two-conference, four-division set-up is the way to go. Along with the new divisions, I'm also proposing adding games, a new playoff format and more.
Are you mad yet? Did it destroy your conventional and conservative views on what rivalries should and shouldn't be? Good. It's time for baseball to take a big leap into redefining itself and I feel like this 're-brand' has it on the right track. Is it perfect? Of course not, I hate that the Nationals are in the 'South' Division. I couldn't think of any other logical place to put them and they were the Southern-most team in the 'East'. But don't worry, they will still play each other because Interleague play is meaningless anymore. With that, the MLB should move to a 170 game schedule and eliminate Spring Training games. Will the players like it? Probably not! Owners will love that extra cash though. In this new format, you will play your division foes 14 times a season and play each team in every other division once a season (you can alternate home-away every year).
I did like Stephen's idea of new teams in Nashville and North Carolina. Nashville is a growing city and a passionate fanbase for their existing teams the Titans and Predators. It has a deep history with baseball and the Negro Leagues (hence, the Stars). Charlotte and North Carolina is steeped in baseball culture, supporting minor-league baseball and competitive NCAA baseball programs. There is no better place to make an MLB team work.
Another big leap I'm taking is expanding the playoff format. You may groan, but this is more fun and helps grow the game. While the NHL doesn't get the playoffs right at the current moment, they did have an excellent format previously. I'm proposing a 16-team 1-8 seeded tournament where the Top-2 teams in each division make the 1-4 seeds and the rest being filled by wildcards. The first round would be a Best-of-Four game series, with the remaining rounds and World Series being Best-of-Seven. Each conference would look something like this: