[tm1681]

Now, it's time for the Midwestern leagues.

In real life, the American Association began play in 1882 as a direct competitor to the National League. It would last until 1891 before folding, and ten years later the American League would begin play as the next Major League to compete with the NL.

In this fictional universe, just as in the previous version, leagues in the Midwest were announced in the autumn of 1881 to begin play in 1882 for the same purpose: to compete with the dominant baseball leagues of the time. However, instead of league vs league as in real life, here it's region vs region, with the Midwest's new professional league and two semi-professional league aiming to compete with the Northeast's pro league and three semi-pro competitions.

One big difference in this version of the ficational universe: Midwestern Baseball is written up as a version distinct from Northeastern Baseball, similar to how Massachusetts and Philadelphia had variants of baseball that different from the version played in New York during the 1840s-60s, with New York baseball winning out.