MLB Expansion Plan

Klew1986 · 05-09-2016, 08:20 AM

Hey everyone. I just simulated the 2016 season and am planning to expand to 32 teams. My plan is to bring back the Montreal Expos and have a team in Mexico City. Here is what I have planned for the re-alignment. I would appreciate any feedback/ideas.

AL East: Baltimore, Boston, New York, (Montreal)
AL Central: Chicago, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Texas
AL North: Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, Toronto
AL West: Los Angeles (A), Oakland, Seattle, San Diego

NL East: New York (N), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington
NL Central: Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis
NL South: Houston, Miami, Tampa Bay, (Mexico City)
NL West: Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles (N), San Francisco

grmagne · 05-09-2016, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klew1986

Hey everyone. I just simulated the 2016 season and am planning to expand to 32 teams. My plan is to bring back the Montreal Expos and have a team in Mexico City. Here is what I have planned for the re-alignment. I would appreciate any feedback/ideas.

AL East: Baltimore, Boston, New York, (Montreal)
AL Central: Chicago, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Texas
AL North: Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, Toronto
AL West: Los Angeles (A), Oakland, Seattle, San Diego

NL East: New York (N), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington
NL Central: Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis
NL South: Houston, Miami, Tampa Bay, (Mexico City)
NL West: Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles (N), San Francisco

There's definitely a lot less travel in this league than the current MLB. I guess you weren't a big fan of Milwaukee and Houston switching leagues, though

Klew1986 · 05-09-2016, 08:25 AM

It just makes more sense for Houston to be with the southern teams and Milwaukee be in the northern.

mmarra82 · 05-09-2016, 08:28 AM

Tampa as well gets bumped from the AL. Geographically it makes sense. Wonder how teams would feel about expansion and then all the re-alignment?

Klew1986 · 05-09-2016, 08:29 AM

Yeah, it will be interesting to see in real life. It's a matter of time before they expand to 32 and go with the 4 divisions of 4 team layout.

BIG17EASY · 05-09-2016, 09:05 AM

Interesting realignment. Question: Are you letting the game handle the additional minor league teams, or are you adding those manually?

BigRed75 · 05-09-2016, 09:17 AM

I did the same expansion a few years back (before the Astros moved to the AL). Here's how I aligned them:

NL East: Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, Washington
NL South: Atlanta, Miami, Houston, St. Louis
NL Central: Cubs, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh
NL West: Colorado, L.A. Dodgers, San Diego, San Francisco

AL East: Baltimore, Boston, Yankees, Toronto
AL South: Kansas City, Mexico City, Tampa Bay, Texas
AL Central: White Sox, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota
AL West: Arizona, L.A. Angels, Oakland, Seattle

I had to give Montreal their old spot in the NL East, plus it makes them division rivals with the Nationals.

Interleague rivalries:
East: Montreal/Toronto, Yankees/Mets, Baltimore/Washington, Boston/Philly (not ideal)
Central: Cubs/White Sox, Reds/Indians, Milwaukee/Minnesota, Pittsburgh/Detroit (the Hank Greenberg series)
South: Houston/Texas, Kansas City/St. Louis, Tampa Bay/Miami, Mexico City/Atlanta (really not ideal)
West: Arizona/Colorado, Angels/Dodgers, Oakland/San Francisco, Seattle/San Diego

Mexico City's team was the Red Devils, of course.

Charley575 · 05-09-2016, 09:24 AM

This alignment makes good geographical sense, but as a native South Floridian I'll jump in just to note that there is a reason why both in MLB and the NFL the league goes out of its way to put the South Florida team in the same division with a New York team. There are a lot of New York transplants in South Florida.

Side Story!
When I was growing up in Broward County in the 80s it was extremely common to see "I (heart) NY" bumper stickers on cars driving around town. This spawned a response from native Floridians "If you (heart) NY, GO BACK".

I digress... Florida-New York is sort of a natural rivalry because of the number of New Yorkers living down there and the sports leagues seem to recognize it. Consider the NFL. Really, Miami should be in the AFC South and Indianapolis should be in the AFC East, but the NFL decided that Dolphins-Jets was too good a rivalry to break up. If you are ever in SoFLa during football season wen the Jets are in town, go. You'll see what I mean. Don't wear Jets gear unless you know you will be sitting around a lot of Jets fans, in which case, don't wear Dolphins gear. Could get ugly.

frank_olaf · 05-09-2016, 09:29 AM

I did something similar, added a team in Portland and one in Charlotte. I can't remember the exact division alignment.

I'm curious to know how are you set up the playoffs?

I wanted to keep two wild card teams, which meant each league had six playoff teams. The top two division winners got a first round bye and the third best division winner played the second wild card team and the fourth best division winner played the first wild card team.

Klew1986 · 05-09-2016, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG17EASY

Interesting realignment. Question: Are you letting the game handle the additional minor league teams, or are you adding those manually?

I will be looking at former minor leagues and bring them back. That way I can have logos/unis for them.

Klew1986 · 05-09-2016, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRed75

I did the same expansion a few years back (before the Astros moved to the AL). Here's how I aligned them:

NL East: Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, Washington
NL South: Atlanta, Miami, Houston, St. Louis
NL Central: Cubs, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh
NL West: Colorado, L.A. Dodgers, San Diego, San Francisco

AL East: Baltimore, Boston, Yankees, Toronto
AL South: Kansas City, Mexico City, Tampa Bay, Texas
AL Central: White Sox, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota
AL West: Arizona, L.A. Angels, Oakland, Seattle

I had to give Montreal their old spot in the NL East, plus it makes them division rivals with the Nationals.

Interleague rivalries:
East: Montreal/Toronto, Yankees/Mets, Baltimore/Washington, Boston/Philly (not ideal)
Central: Cubs/White Sox, Reds/Indians, Milwaukee/Minnesota, Pittsburgh/Detroit (the Hank Greenberg series)
South: Houston/Texas, Kansas City/St. Louis, Tampa Bay/Miami, Mexico City/Atlanta (really not ideal)
West: Arizona/Colorado, Angels/Dodgers, Oakland/San Francisco, Seattle/San Diego

Mexico City's team was the Red Devils, of course.

Interesting set up. I think I will stick with mine though.

BIG17EASY · 05-09-2016, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klew1986

I will be looking at former minor leagues and bring them back. That way I can have logos/unis for them.

I'd be interested to hear how difficult the process is regarding balancing the leagues, making sure schedules work out evenly, etc.

I have a league started in OOTP14 that's currently in 2021 (I sim day by day and often go weeks where I don't have time to play, so it's a slow go), and I want to expand at the end of the current season. But I've never done it before and don't want to mess it up.

dmacgreg37 · 05-09-2016, 10:43 AM

I brought in Montreal and Vancouver (instead of Mexico City).

Coltrane · 05-09-2016, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klew1986

Hey everyone. I just simulated the 2016 season and am planning to expand to 32 teams. My plan is to bring back the Montreal Expos and have a team in Mexico City. Here is what I have planned for the re-alignment. I would appreciate any feedback/ideas.

AL East: Baltimore, Boston, New York, (Montreal)
AL Central: Chicago, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Texas
AL North: Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, Toronto
AL West: Los Angeles (A), Oakland, Seattle, San Diego

NL East: New York (N), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington
NL Central: Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis
NL South: Houston, Miami, Tampa Bay, (Mexico City)
NL West: Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles (N), San Francisco

I added the same teams but I went with a total of four. I also included the return of the Providence Grays and I put a team in Havana.

rpriske · 05-09-2016, 10:54 AM

If Montreal joins the AL they NEED to be in the same division as Toronto.

I don't think you can underestimate the immediate and effective rivalry that would exist.

BigRed75 · 05-09-2016, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charley575

This alignment makes good geographical sense, but as a native South Floridian I'll jump in just to note that there is a reason why both in MLB and the NFL the league goes out of its way to put the South Florida team in the same division with a New York team. There are a lot of New York transplants in South Florida.

That's a fair call. I suppose if you wanted to do that with mine you could swap Tampa and Miami with Baltimore and Washington to keep the interleague rivalries intact. You'd lose the Expos and Nats being in the same division, but you'd gain a lot more money...

PSUColonel · 05-09-2016, 11:01 AM

https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/co...thin_the_next/

Klew1986 · 05-09-2016, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSUColonel

https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/co...thin_the_next/

Interesting setup, but not sure how I feel about Baltimore moving to NL

Padreman · 05-09-2016, 11:52 AM

I have a strict no Canadian team rule and no multiple teams in one city rule so I had a few teams relocate and then a couple of expansions

Bluenoser · 05-09-2016, 12:24 PM

I added 6 teams and have this setup.

05-09-2016, 08:20 AM	#1
Klew1986 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 2,727	MLB Expansion Plan Hey everyone. I just simulated the 2016 season and am planning to expand to 32 teams. My plan is to bring back the Montreal Expos and have a team in Mexico City. Here is what I have planned for the re-alignment. I would appreciate any feedback/ideas. AL East: Baltimore, Boston, New York, (Montreal) AL Central: Chicago, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Texas AL North: Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, Toronto AL West: Los Angeles (A), Oakland, Seattle, San Diego NL East: New York (N), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington NL Central: Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis NL South: Houston, Miami, Tampa Bay, (Mexico City) NL West: Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles (N), San Francisco

05-09-2016, 09:17 AM	#7
BigRed75 Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 2,423	I did the same expansion a few years back (before the Astros moved to the AL). Here's how I aligned them: NL East: Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, Washington NL South: Atlanta, Miami, Houston, St. Louis NL Central: Cubs, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh NL West: Colorado, L.A. Dodgers, San Diego, San Francisco AL East: Baltimore, Boston, Yankees, Toronto AL South: Kansas City, Mexico City, Tampa Bay, Texas AL Central: White Sox, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota AL West: Arizona, L.A. Angels, Oakland, Seattle I had to give Montreal their old spot in the NL East, plus it makes them division rivals with the Nationals. Interleague rivalries: East: Montreal/Toronto, Yankees/Mets, Baltimore/Washington, Boston/Philly (not ideal) Central: Cubs/White Sox, Reds/Indians, Milwaukee/Minnesota, Pittsburgh/Detroit (the Hank Greenberg series) South: Houston/Texas, Kansas City/St. Louis, Tampa Bay/Miami, Mexico City/Atlanta (really not ideal) West: Arizona/Colorado, Angels/Dodgers, Oakland/San Francisco, Seattle/San Diego Mexico City's team was the Red Devils, of course. __________________ Mainline team SPTT team Was not a Snag fan...until I saw the fallout once he was gone and realized what a good job he was actually doing. - Ty Cobb Last edited by BigRed75; 05-09-2016 at 09:18 AM.

05-09-2016, 09:29 AM	#9
frank_olaf Minors (Double A) Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 128	I did something similar, added a team in Portland and one in Charlotte. I can't remember the exact division alignment. I'm curious to know how are you set up the playoffs? I wanted to keep two wild card teams, which meant each league had six playoff teams. The top two division winners got a first round bye and the third best division winner played the second wild card team and the fourth best division winner played the first wild card team. Last edited by frank_olaf; 05-09-2016 at 09:30 AM.

05-09-2016, 10:43 AM	#13
dmacgreg37 Major Leagues Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 498	I brought in Montreal and Vancouver (instead of Mexico City). Attached Images Last edited by dmacgreg37; 05-09-2016 at 10:46 AM.

05-09-2016, 10:54 AM	#15
rpriske Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Spencerville, ON, Canada Posts: 27,797	If Montreal joins the AL they NEED to be in the same division as Toronto. I don't think you can underestimate the immediate and effective rivalry that would exist. __________________ Rusty Priske Poet, Canadian, Baseball Fan ````````````````````````````````````````

05-09-2016, 08:25 AM	#3
Klew1986 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 2,727	It just makes more sense for Houston to be with the southern teams and Milwaukee be in the northern.

05-09-2016, 08:28 AM	#4
mmarra82 Major Leagues Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 312	Tampa as well gets bumped from the AL. Geographically it makes sense. Wonder how teams would feel about expansion and then all the re-alignment?

05-09-2016, 08:29 AM	#5
Klew1986 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 2,727	Yeah, it will be interesting to see in real life. It's a matter of time before they expand to 32 and go with the 4 divisions of 4 team layout.

05-09-2016, 09:05 AM	#6
BIG17EASY Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,291	Interesting realignment. Question: Are you letting the game handle the additional minor league teams, or are you adding those manually?

05-09-2016, 09:24 AM	#8
Charley575 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ocala, FL Posts: 544	This alignment makes good geographical sense, but as a native South Floridian I'll jump in just to note that there is a reason why both in MLB and the NFL the league goes out of its way to put the South Florida team in the same division with a New York team. There are a lot of New York transplants in South Florida. Side Story! When I was growing up in Broward County in the 80s it was extremely common to see "I (heart) NY" bumper stickers on cars driving around town. This spawned a response from native Floridians "If you (heart) NY, GO BACK". I digress... Florida-New York is sort of a natural rivalry because of the number of New Yorkers living down there and the sports leagues seem to recognize it. Consider the NFL. Really, Miami should be in the AFC South and Indianapolis should be in the AFC East, but the NFL decided that Dolphins-Jets was too good a rivalry to break up. If you are ever in SoFLa during football season wen the Jets are in town, go. You'll see what I mean. Don't wear Jets gear unless you know you will be sitting around a lot of Jets fans, in which case, don't wear Dolphins gear. Could get ugly.

05-09-2016, 11:01 AM	#17
PSUColonel Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 13,145	https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/co...thin_the_next/

05-09-2016, 11:52 AM	#19
Padreman Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2013 Location: Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico (formally San Diego, CA.) Posts: 4,131	I have a strict no Canadian team rule and no multiple teams in one city rule so I had a few teams relocate and then a couple of expansions __________________ Chargers= Despicable Traitors

05-09-2016, 12:24 PM	#20
Bluenoser Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: In The Moment Posts: 14,541	I added 6 teams and have this setup. Attached Images