Originally Posted by Shackdaddy
Next year will be the first time in the history of baseball that every team will play each other in the same season. That was part of the deal between the players and the owners. That means fans of one team can see every other team at least once every two years.
Each team will play 14 games with each team in its division. 56 games. Six games with each team in the other two divisions in the league. 60 games. And 46 interleague games (Three games each with 14 teams in the other league and four games against one team in the other league).
Given that, the terms American League and National League are no longer relevant.
The next logical step to me is geographical realignment of the major leagues. Like the NBA and the NHL.
Here is my proposed major league baseball league structure.
There will be an eastern conference and Western Conference with three divisions in each conference each division consisting of five teams.
Eastern Conference Northeast division: Red Sox, Mets, Yankees, Phillies and Pirates.
Eastern Conference Southeast division: Orioles, Nationals, Braves, Rays and Marlins.
Eastern Conference Mideast division: Blue Jays, Guardians, Reds, Tigers and Twins
Western Conference Midwest division: Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals and Royals.
Western Conference Southwest division: Astros, Rangers, Rockies, D backs and A’s (I am putting Oakland in this division because I predict within the next five years they will be moving to Las Vegas).
Western Conference Pacific division: Padres, Angels, Dodgers, Giants and Mariners.
This is a win-win. No existing rivalries will be lost like the Red Sox and the Yankees, Dodgers and Giants, Cardinals and Cubs. And rivalries like Cubs and White Sox, Reds and Guardians, Royals and Cardinals will be created because they will be playing 14 games against each other. And they will be in the same division.
That is a win for the fans.
It’s a win for baseball because it creates more interest that baseball desperately needs. It is in third place behind the NFL and the NBA and slipping. And it will reduce the cost of travel.
Another idea:
With the expanded wild card playoffs pushing the baseball season into November. Another change that could be considered just cutting back to schedule from 162 games to 154 games. Which could simply be done by cutting back the number of games with a divisional opponent from 14 to 12.
And with that expand the divisional round of playoffs from from best of five to best of seven.
The bottom line is that MLB’s league structure needs to be brought into the 21st-century.
Any feedback will be appreciated.
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