Latest news with #ChicagoAll-StarGameAnnouncement
Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
MLB Realignment Idea Sees Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Phillies in Same Division
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred recently gave baseball fans something to talk about when he mentioned the league could potentially realign geographically when it expands. The statement was met with mixed reactions, with many saying baseball should not mess with the current American League and National League structure. However, FOX Sports laid out a potential realignment that would create one of the most entertaining divisions in baseball. FOX Sports suggested that the AL and NL both feature four divisions containing four teams each. In the AL, the divisions would be the AL Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes and Southeast. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 01: Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is interviewed during the 2027 Chicago All-Star Game Announcement before a game between the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on August... CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 01: Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is interviewed during the 2027 Chicago All-Star Game Announcement before a game between the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on August 01, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. MoreFOX Sports' proposed AL Northeast would have the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox. "A division that places together four of the largest, loudest cities in the region — don't worry, that's a compliment," wrote FOX Sports. "This division also has maybe the strongest "we're so back/it's so over" energy of them all, too, given how these fan bases tend to engage with their teams' highs and lows. Keeping the Red Sox and Yankees together was paramount, but this setup also has the bonus of letting the Mets and Yankees rivalry grow that much larger, since it won't just be for New York supremacy, but also for the divisional kind." Four teams that enter every season with World Series aspirations. The division would feature three great, existing rivalries. However, seeing the Subway Series have division implications would be great for baseball. More MLB: Cubs Boss Says He Wishes His Team Was More Like Brewers In Blunt Message
New York Post
16 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Rob Manfred's radical MLB realignment idea already being met with harsh reactions
Rob Manfred sent the collective heads of baseball traditionalists everywhere spinning Sunday night when he openly discussed the idea of realignment during the ESPN broadcast of the MLB Little League Classic. The idea unquestionably would create one of the biggest shake-ups in baseball and likely end the long-standing American League and National League format that MLB has operated under for more than 100 years. Advertisement 'I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign,' Manfred told ESPN. 'I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel. And I think our postseason format would be even more appealing for entities like ESPN because you'd be playing up out of the East and out of the West.' The reactions came swiftly after Manfred made his comments during the broadcast, with baseball traditionalists decrying the idea of realigning the divisions. Mets broadcaster Howie Rose described the threat of realignment as the American League and National League ceasing to 'exist as we know them' and describing it as the 'last move before total destruction of the traditions that made baseball great.' Advertisement Former big leaguer Cameron Maybin argued that realignment would tilt the playoff balance in a post on social media. 'Some divisions get watered down, others overloaded and rivalries that drive October storylines we love, vanish. Baseball needs competitive integrity, not manufactured shakeups,' he wrote. 3 Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is interviewed during the 2027 Chicago All-Star Game Announcement. Getty Images Expansion would be the first domino that would need to fall in order for the MLB commissioner to see realignment come to fruition, but the idea has created, at the very least, some buzz, along with plenty of anger, over what could happen with a potential realignment. Advertisement The biggest question that would first need to be answered is where Major League Baseball is expanding. Nashville, Tenn., has been one of the favorites to land an expansion team when the time comes, but other markets have expressed interest, including Portland, Ore., Salt Lake City, Orlando, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C., which in itself would make the realignment process a challenging one. Manfred didn't mention any parameters about what a realigned MLB would look like, but it wouldn't be far-fetched to see it turn into an Eastern and Western Conference format similar to the one in the NBA or NHL, with 16 teams in each conference. 3 Rob Manfred's realignment plan eliminate the two-league system for geographic conferences. Advertisement In one scenario in which MLB expands to Nashville and Portland, a potential Eastern Conference could include the Mets, Phillies, Red Sox, Yankees, Pirates, Guardians, Orioles, Nationals, Marlins, Braves, Rays, Nashville, Tigers, Blue Jays, Brewers and Twins. The Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals, Reds, Rockies, Rangers, Astros, Royals, Mariners, Portland, Athletics, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Angels, Padres and Giants could make up the Western Conference. The easiest division to put in place would be in the Northeast, where the Mets, Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox are a natural fit together, and in this scenario, it's possible to keep the Dodgers, Giants, Angels and Padres together. Grouping the two Florida teams along with the Braves and an expansion Nashville team allows for a potential rivalry to come together between Atlanta and MLB's newest team — this would work, as well, if Charlotte were to join the league instead of Nashville. 3 American League teams would be grouped together much differently. MLB Photos via Getty Images Creating a division that includes the Mariners with the Athletics, who should be in Las Vegas well before any expansion takes place, the Diamondbacks and a Portland expansion team would potentially accomplish Manfred's goal of cutting down on travel time. As other leagues have learned, however, there is no exact science to mapping out the best geographically based divisions — the NHL's Capitals had to play in a division with Atlanta, Carolina and Tampa Bay at one point — and there's bound to be a disgruntled franchise or fan base or two. Manfred has overseen some of the most drastic changes in baseball during his tenure as commissioner, but realignment would be the biggest undertaking of his reign, which is expected to end with a planned resignation in 2029.
Newsweek
a day ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
MLB Commissioner Reveals Blockbuster Information on 'Sunday Night Baseball'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The future of MLB may be changing sometime in the very near future. Sunday night, during MLB's annual Little League Classic, commissioner Rob Manfred joined the broadcast booth and revealed future plans that could reshape the entire league. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 01: Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is interviewed during the 2027 Chicago All-Star Game Announcement before a game between the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on August... CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 01: Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is interviewed during the 2027 Chicago All-Star Game Announcement before a game between the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on August 01, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. MoreDuring his time on the broadcast, Manfred revealed that expansion teams could soon be coming to MLB and that would mean the reshaping of divisions and leagues. "In my mind, I think if we expand it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign," Manfred told the booth. "I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel, and I think our postseason format would be even more appealing." Expansion is something that many have felt was coming for quite some time, but to now hear the commissioner of the league say it on national television means it must be coming sooner rather than later. Manfred explained that the expansion teams are due to the demand for more MLB in new states and cities across the United States. "I think the owners realize there's demand for Major League Baseball from a lot of great cities and we have an opportunity to do something good around that expansion process." The most interesting part of Manfred's discussion with the booth was the mention of geographical realignment across the league. If that were to happen, there is a chance that the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox all end up in the same division. Some divisional rivalries would stay the same but there would be possibility for new ones as well. MLB is trying whatever it can to grow the game and make it more popular and many feel that geographical-centric divisions could be an answer. More MLB: Are Braves Potential Landing Spot for Ketel Marte After 'Diva' Report?
New York Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Ex-police chief warns Chicago cops will get hurt because Mayor Johnson won't help ICE
A retired Chicago-area cop expressed frustration with Mayor Brandon Johnson's refusal to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 'What's happening in Chicago and actually the state of Illinois, but I'll talk to you about Chicago, is they're under orders from the mayor not to cooperate with ICE. In fact, he famously said that the Chicago Police Department will never assist ICE, even if it's constitutionally required,' Tom Weitzel, who was chief of police in Riverside, Illinois, told Fox News Digital. Weitzel served as police chief in the Chicago suburb, less than an hour outside the city, from January 2008 to May 2021. In July, Johnson vowed that his city's police 'will not ever cooperate with ICE.' He also recently called ICE raids 'terrorism,' and described Trump's America as looking like 'if the Confederacy won.' 'He's had his city attorneys go and brief the administrative staff or Chicago PD, and then they're going to roll call to tell their officers how they cannot assist,' Weitzel said. 'And the dangerous thing with that is that he's telling them to never assist. So even when ICE would need more police officers because they're under attack, they're being assaulted, maybe they're being battered. He's directed his police department to not cooperate, which is unheard of. I've actually never heard of that.' 4 Immigrants detained by Federal Agents are put into a van outside the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office where ICE had detained people on June 4, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. The Washington Post via Getty Images 4 Mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson speaks during the 2027 Chicago All-Star Game Announcement before a game between the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on August 01, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. Getty Images The retired police chief said he thinks morale among law enforcement in the city is low. 'And morale is terrible because the media keeps slamming them,' Weitzel continued. 'You have the local politicians slamming the police, and you have the mayor, the chief of the whole government for the city of Chicago. He, if anyone thinks he supports police or policing, they are crazy. The mayor is about as anti-police as they come. And you know, nobody should be surprised because he ran on that campaign, and he got elected.' Chicago has seen over 51,000 illegal immigrants from the southern border settle into the city since August 31, 2022. 4 Tom Weitzel, former chief of police in Riverside, Illinois. Riverside Police 4 Federal agents hold back protesters while removing detainees on June 4, 2025, from a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago's South Loop. TNS 'As someone who spent 37 years in law enforcement, starting out as a patrol officer for the Chicago Zoological Park Police, in Brookfield, Illinois, and holding various other positions in law enforcement, including being a detective sergeant, patrol sergeant, assistant chief of police, acting chief of police, and finally, chief of police,' Weitzel said he is concerned for the well-being of the Chicago PD. 'They're going to get police officers hurt, not only ICE agents, federal agents, but local police that are going to be injured, because I can tell you that when there's an attack on them that you've seen that, throughout the country, that some of their caravans have been attacked, the local police are coming to help,' he said. Weitzel added that, 'Regardless of what the mayor says, and those officers are there not to do ICE enforcement or federal enforcement, they're there to assist ICE and prevent them from getting injured. So you're going to see his own local police officers be injured in the line of duty because of a completely stupid statement like they will never assist ICE.' Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
