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Originally Posted by BigCity
I do agree that the concept would have likely not been considered at the time - but on the other hand, I can't imagine anyone of the time thinking a 12 team division/league wouldn't actually hurt the attendance figures of the teams in 7th thru 12th place.
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Certainly, but then, it didn't stop the leagues from having 10 team divisions from 1961/62 through 1968. Even in 1969 the NL president was talking about how the only proper way to send a representative to the World Series was to send the team which finished with the best winning percentage in a single division league. It was only the prospect of a large structural disparity between the leagues which finally made the NL change its mind and follow the AL's idea.
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Originally Posted by BigCity
What would you think of the possibility of two (East & West) 6 team divisions in 1955, expanding to 3 divisions in (East, Central, and West) in 1969? 14 years of 2 12 team leagues just seems wrong...
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Well, the NL lasted 8 seasons with a 12 team division from 1892-1899.
But a two division alignment in 1955 is a more realistic alternative (if that term can be used when discussing alternative history
) and could be tied into a demand by the PCL clubs as compensation for being split up from their own league. However, I'm not sure that such a trilogy of huge changes — merging with PCL franchises, splitting into divisions, and increasing the schedule to 162 games — could have all been swallowed at the same time. MLB, as we all know, is generally not big on radical change.
Historically speaking, the earliest reference to a three division alignment in the majors I've come across was a proposal for the AL to split into 3 divisions for the 1978 season. It was actually under serious study, but ultimately the status quo won out.
Given this, I offer this counter-proposal:
Start off with 12 team divisions. This lasts from 1955-1960, or 6 seasons. Much dissatisfaction amongst fans and owners with the format leads to the decision to split the leagues into two divisions of 6 teams in 1961 (and possibly an increase in the schedule to 162 games, if you opt to use the schedule format used by MLB with this alignment. You could go with 156 games easily instead, which would be a less jarring change than a jump from 154 to 162 games. The AL's original proposal for 1969 was for a 156 game schedule).
The leagues expand in 1969, but retain the two division format, with each league now having two divisons of 7 teams.
In 1977, the leagues each decide to split into a three division format (with or without interleague play; without will be easier on your schedule maker).
What's nice about this proposal is that you have some major changes happening in years which had some big changes in real life but for which you previously didn't have anything happening: 1961 and 1977. So that echoing is kind of nice IMHO.
But of course, in the end it's entirely your call and you can feel free to ignore any of my ramblings.
One other historical item that may be of interest. The talk of the PCL becoming a major league was the strongest in the early 1950s. At around this same time was some discussion that if that happened, not long afterwards the four biggest market teams from the AA and IL would leave their respective leagues and join together to form a fourth major league. Of course, the departure of half the clubs from each of the AA and IL would have crippled those minor leagues, and disputes over territorial rights would have been considerable, but is was being mentioned as a serious and quite possible eventuality. This was strengthened by the fact that MLB had not moved into any new markets for some 50 years.
But as it happened, the Braves departed to Milwaukee in 1953, displacing the AA club that had been in the city; in 1954 the Browns moved to Baltimore, displacing that city's IL franchise; and in 1955 the Athletics moved to Kansas City, knocking out the AA club that had been there. With those moves, three of the larger AA-IL markets had been taken over by MLB, and any prospect of an eventual AA-IL major league was dead.