So… Rob Manfred wants to expand the baseball universe, add some new teams for Charlotte and Portland, and… switch a bunch of teams between divisions? Here’s a possible, heavily geographically-weighted configuration from Fox Sports:
Mets, Phillies, Nationals, Pirates, Guardians, Brewers, Braves, Marlins to the AL. White Sox, Astros, Rockies, Royals, Angels to the NL. The Astros get moved twice in the last two shuffles. I agree that the league must evolve; if you’re not growing, you’re dying. And as much as I loathe the mealy-mouthed Manfred, I also agree that travel schedules in the current scheme are nonsensical.
Note that the remap leaves these logical omissions!
- AL Mideast (to match the NL Midwest)
- AL Central (to match the NL Central)
- NL Mid-Pacific (to match the AL Mid-Atlantic)
- NL Puny Ponds (to match the AL Great Lakes)
…where my Puny Ponds teams at?
Baseball has to evolve. A configuration like this will freak out the traditionalists, but the traditionalists are preventing the game from moving forward and competing for eyeballs. Meanwhile, casual fans will barely notice the difference. Bring on the change.
