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Major League Baseball
Wednesday, February 3, 1954
Organized Baseball Changed Forever – History Lost – Future Preserved?
Major League Baseball Commissioner Ford C. Frick dropped a proverbial bombshell on organized baseball today, citing a need to improve overall competitive balance and league finances. The changes to be announced are drastic and will be felt from coast to coast.
The commissioner worked for weeks with all sixteen ownership groups to come up with a plan that lays out the next 20 to 30 years for Major League baseball. The changes will be taking effect for the upcoming 1954 season and include league restructuring, a new divisional alignment of teams, and a complete restructuring of league finances.
The commissioner’s office said no further franchise relocations will be permitted until at least 1961, when both the American and National Leagues will expand by two teams each.
While all sixteen teams and the commissioner’s office have agreed in principle to the terms of the new long-term agreement, a formal vote on the matter has not yet taken place. The commissioner has called a special meeting for Monday, February 22, 1954 when a vote to ratify the new agreement and blueprint for organized ball will be taken.
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