Expanding MLB by 6 teams - Help me pick the teams

[jpeters1734]

I'm looking to expand the MLB by 6 teams and I'd like some suggestions.

I don't really want to change the divisional structure or relocate teams, but I am willing to move a team or two to a different division.

What do you all think?

[Number5]

Move the Yankees to Alaska, that proud part of the US never had major league baseball team.

[glenmere14]

I always run the current MLB for 10-15 years, then expand, taking over one of the expansion teams. I typically add:

- Long Island Ducks
- Newark Bears
- Omaha Collegians
- St. Paul Saints
- Tacoma Pilots
- Billings Bulls

Have fun

[RoteLaterne]

Las Vegas

Mexico City
Guadalajara

Montreal
Calgary

Havanna

[USF]

Originally Posted by jpeters1734

I'm looking to expand the MLB by 6 teams and I'd like some suggestions.

I don't really want to change the divisional structure or relocate teams, but I am willing to move a team or two to a different division.

What do you all think?

Montreal
Vancouver
San Antonio
Jacksonville
Nashville
Albuquerque

[itsmb8]

Montreal Expos
Las Vegas Heat
Carolina (Charlotte) Pilots
Nashville Sounds
Portland Stags
New Orleans Herons/Storm/Flood

Also good options:
San Antonio
Indianapolis
Louisville

[Bluenoser]

This is how I set up my 36 team MLB:
_

[jeffw3000]

Montreal Expos
Nashville Musicians
Hawaii (Honolulu) Islanders
Orlando Magicians
New Orleans Dukes
San Antonio Wranglers

[lotr13]

The six largest metro areas without MLB teams are:

Montreal
San Juan
Vancouver
Portland
Charlotte
Sacramento

Using those would definitely require some realignment though.

[Vegas Vic]

Sacramento would be problematic in that there are two franchises (Giants and A's) reasonably close.

The most likely cities for future MLB expansion appear to be Portland, Charlotte, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Montreal.

[thehef]

AL EAST - I like the idea of a 3rd team in New York (like the pre-60's). Maybe Long Island or Staten Island.
AL CENTRAL - Indianapolis. In that region, Columbus is probably the largest US city without an MLB team, but Ohio already has two teams...
AL WEST - Vancouver, Canada's 3rd largest city, would be the 4th largest in U.S. Would make travel to Seattle more efficient.
NL EAST - Back to Montreal, the 2nd largest city in Canada.
NL CENTRAL - Louisville or Nashville
NL WEST - San Antonio, the 7th largest US city and largest one without an MLB team

In the above, to further regional rivalries and better suit geography, I'd probably consider moving either the Angels or A's to NL West and put San Antonio in the AL West.

If I'm adding Montreal & Vancouver as above, I also might further the North American International effort and drop maybe Indy & Louisville/Nashville, as I've always liked the idea of Caribbean regional team that splits its games between Havana, Santo Domingo, and San Juan, and a team in Mexico City.

[mgom27]

Southeast Orlando? Jacksonville? Charlotte? New Orleans?
West Coast Las Vegas? San Jose? Hawaii? Portland?

[OzzyOz23]

I did the same when I picked up '20 and added:

Vancouver Canadians (AL West)
Mexico City Diablos (AL West)
Las Vegas Aces (AL West)
Montreal Expos (AL East)
Portland Beavers (NL West)
Brooklyn Cyclones (NL East)

Brooklyn perhaps didn't need to be there and could have been replaced by Nashville if I didn't have an affinity for old stories about the Brooklyn Dodgers.
It took some realignment to set it up logically and in a manner I like - the Houston Astros went back to the NL Central (where they rightfully belong) & the Texas Rangers to the AL Central. The AL West is loaded with expansion teams, but my draft settings allowed for relatively strong teams to he drafted so balance wasn't an issue.

The logos and uniforms are all available on the boards here. It helps a ton with immersion and I am grateful to the modders.

[cheo25]

As someone who hates interleague play, I like the 6-division, 36-team theory. You can play 18 games against division opponents, 6 games against the other 12 teams in the league and have a 162-game schedule without interleague play.

[BigRed75]

I had a grand plan all set out for a 36-team MLB. Only made it two years in.

Anyway, here's the broad outline of what I had planned:

Two years in, expansion to 32 teams. Charlotte Monarchs and Orlando Orcas. Charlotte went into the AL East, Orlando the NL East.

Three years after that, franchise shifts.
* Arte Moreno finally gets fed up with Anaheim officials and moves the team to Salt Lake. They stay the Angels. AAA Salt Lake moves to Anaheim, becomes the Orange County Stars.
* Oakland finally gives up, moves to Sacramento. Stays the Athletics. (This also solves the "two MLB teams in close proximity to Sacramento" problem mentioned earlier. The Sacramento River Cats move to San Jose (now that San Jose is off the table for a home for the Athletics) and the San Jose Giants move to Sonoma.
* Washington moves back to Montreal. (This was done before the Nationals won the World Series and they had a reputation of classic overachievers. Now they aren't going anywhere. Feel free to move Tampa Bay to Montreal instead)

Three years after that, another round of expansion to get to 36
* Raleigh Capitals (NL Central)
* Indianapolis Aviators (AL Central)
* Portland Beavers (NL West)
* San Antonio Missions (AL West)

Feel free to use as much or as little of that as you want. Now, I'm planning a 24-team successor to MLB.

[joker7702]

My simulation from last year added:
Indianapolis Sharks
Montreal Expos
San Antonio Devils
Portland Clouds
Jacksonville Seafarers
Charlotte Tribe

[Buster Cherry]

Nashville
Charlotte
Indianapolis
Las Vegas
Vancouver
San Antonio

Those are the cities that I would choose. The nicknames are up to you.