MLB Expansion Plan

[Charley575]

I play fictional, and I do it this way...
2 Conferences (Leagues), East and West.
2 Divisions per Conference, North and South.
8 teams per Division, so 32 teams.
162 games.
Unbalanced Schedules, you have to win IN the division to win the division.
No interleague play, as God intended.
Division Champions plus 1 WC from each Conference get in.
#1 Seed gets a bye in first round of playoffs.
First round is a 3 game series. #2 seed is home team for all 3 games.
Conference Championship and League Championship are 7 game series.

I like this setup. It ensures that all playoff teams will be worthy. This past season in the Western Conference the division champions won 105 and 99 games respectively. WC was a 95 game winner while 92 and 90 game winners were left out in the cold (sorry, not sorry). In the East, the Division Champs won 111 and 97 games while another 95 game winner took the WC. 93 and 90 win clubs were excluded.
I can't tell you how much I hate weak teams making the playoffs. A couple years ago I had a 8 divisions of 4 teams setup and hated it because there was always some chump team getting in with 85 or fewer wins on a balanced schedule. I even had a 80-82 team get in once. I just decided I only wanted strong playoff teams. The NFL playoff system is especially horrible because it rewards terrible teams like the Houston Texans with a home game. Boo.
The 3 game first round series is just long enough to give the #1 seed the advantage of being able to reset their starting rotation while the winner of 2 vs. 3 must spend their top 2 or 3 starters to make it out of the first round.

[dmacgreg37]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

Since there isn't a balanced schedule in the NHL, you can't necessarily make a direct comparison of club records across divisions.

The current NHL playoff system isn't conference-based anyway, it's mostly division-based (with the exception of the so-called 'wild card' qualifiers—but these are really 'crossover' qualifiers in a purely division-finish based system).

If you're allowing WC to cross division, it's conference based. They also have a "conference final".

[dmacgreg37]

Originally Posted by Assos

Yet the Lightning are in the Conference finals......

Lightning fan just saying....

Playing weaker teams will allow for that.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by dmacgreg37

If you're allowing WC to cross division, it's conference based.

Only one qualifier can actually cross over. All seven other qualifiers are effectively position-based.

I don't know why the NHL made its playoff format seem more complicated than it really is. What it's doing now is something the AHL did for years—the top four teams in each division qualify for the playoffs, with the proviso that if a fifth-place team in a division had more points than the fourth-place team in the other division, then it would 'cross over' and take the place of that fourth-place club in the playoff bracket. After that, the playoffs proceeded on a divisional basis, with the two division playoff winners meeting in the conference finals, and the two conference playoff winners meeting for the championship.

Originally Posted by dmacgreg37

They also have a "conference final".

Yes, because each conference can have only one representative in the Stanley Cup. That's no different from 1981-82 through 1992-93, when the NHL had a purely division-based playoff system which produced two conference champions contesting for the Stanley Cup.

[dmacgreg37]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

Only one qualifier can actually cross over. All seven other qualifiers are effectively position-based.

I don't know why the NHL made its playoff format seem more complicated than it really is. What it's doing now is something the AHL did for years—the top four teams in each division qualify for the playoffs, with the proviso that if a fifth-place team in a division had more points than the fourth-place team in the other division, then it would 'cross over' and take the place of that fourth-place club in the playoff bracket. After that, the playoffs proceeded on a divisional basis, with the two division playoff winners meeting in the conference finals, and the two conference playoff winners meeting for the championship.

Yes, because each conference can have only one representative in the Stanley Cup. That's no different from 1981-82 through 1992-93, when the NHL had a purely division-based playoff system which produced two conference champions contesting for the Stanley Cup.

I'm well aware of how it's set up, and how it used to be set-up. They have playoffs that are conference based, in that they can only have one representative in the SC Final. They are also division based (sort of) for the first two rounds. To say they are NOT conference based at all though, is inaccurate.

[The Game]

In my EBL vs MLB league i have 32 teams 8 teams per division. 4 Wildcards per league.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by dmacgreg37

I'm well aware of how it's set up, and how it used to be set-up. They have playoffs that are conference based, in that they can only have one representative in the SC Final. They are also division based (sort of) for the first two rounds. To say they are NOT conference based at all though, is inaccurate.

Six of the eight positions are based on the place of finish in the division. Two of the four first-round series in a conference are specifically determined by place of finish within a division; the other two series, barring a strong fifth-place club in a division, would also go according to position of finish in the division.

That's a division-based playoff system, with a small tweak for instances where there is a strong fifth-place club in one division doing better than the fourth-place club in the other division.

A conference-based system means the qualifiers are determined by their place of finish within the conference, without regard to division. That's not the situation under the current NHL playoff format.

[dmacgreg37]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

Six of the eight positions are based on the place of finish in the division. Two of the four first-round series in a conference are specifically determined by place of finish within a division; the other two series, barring a strong fifth-place club in a division, would also go according to position of finish in the division.

That's a division-based playoff system, with a small tweak for instances where there is a strong fifth-place club in one division doing better than the fourth-place club in the other division.

A conference-based system means the qualifiers are determined by their place of finish within the conference, without regard to division. That's not the situation under the current NHL playoff format.

I disagree, based on the wildcards and CONFERENCE final, but to each their own.

[BigRed75]

Okay, so all this talk got me thinking about a 36 team MLB. Using a combination of factors mentioned in this thread, including the metro area rankings, I've come up with two 18-team leagues with 3 six-team divisions each. I'm not entirely pleased with the Central divisions, but it mostly works for interleague play and natural rivals being in opposite divisions, too:

American League

East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, N.Y. Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays

Central: Charlotte, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Indianapolis, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins

West: Houston Astros, Sacramento Athletics, Salt Lake Angels, San Antonio, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers

National League

East: Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, Montreal Expos, N.Y. Mets, Orlando, Philadelphia Phillies

Central: Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Raleigh Capitals, St. Louis Cardinals

West: Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, L.A. Dodgers, Portland Beavers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants

I'm thinking about doing this game, starting with a 2016 quickstart and expanding to 32 teams in 2018. I'm definitely going to have Charlotte be one of those two teams (to avoid the AL Central having two expansion teams at the same time) and probably Orlando in the NL. I'm leading toward keeping the three divisions since that's where we'd end up, but put both expansion teams in their league's respective East divisions.

Then, when I expand by the other four teams (probably around 2025), I would move Detroit to the AL East and Charlotte to the AL Central.

I'm definitely going with the Raleigh Capitals and Portland Beavers. I haven't decided on the other four nicknames yet. I prefer sticking with traditional minor league nicknames, and am leaning toward the San Antonio Missions, but the problem is that Indianapolis's (Indians) and Charlotte's (Hornets) traditional minor league nicknames are right out.

[BigRed75]

Interleague "Natural" Rivalries under this plan:

East: Mets/Yankees, Rays/Marlins, Blue Jays/Expos, Braves/Red Sox, Phillies/Orioles, Tigers/Orlando (stuck with each other)
Central: Reds/Indians, Cubs/White Sox, Brewers/Twins, Royals/Cardinals, Raleigh/Charlotte, Pirates/Indianapolis (former ML/AAA relationship)
West: Giants/Athletics, Mariners/Beavers, Salt Lake/Colorado, Astros/Dodgers (former NL rivalry), Texas/Arizona (Battle of the States), San Diego/San Antonio (Battle of the Saints)

[mgom27]

Orlando is a good team to add and in the same division as Rays
/Marlins.

[BigRed75]

Okay, so I hope to go ahead with my 36 team idea. I've plotted out the evolution of all the leagues (major and minor) up to 2025. I just have High-A expansion (2026) and Double-A expansion (2027) and the resultant franchise shifts in the lower leagues.

With six expansion franchises debuting in two different lots, as well as tnree franchise shifts, that's a lot of changes to plot.

And I still don't have a name for Indianapolis. And I'm not using Arrows.

[The Game]

What about Steelers for indy?

[TheMaus2]

Honestly I'd cut Arizona and the angels and realign to two division setups.
Then the divisons would look like this:

NL East
PHI
PIT
CIN
ATL
WAS
NYM
MIA

NL West
LAD
COL
MIL
SF
SD
CHN
STL

AL West
TEX
SEA
HOU
OAK
MIN
KC
CHW

AL East
NYY
DET
CLE
BOS
BAL
TOR
TB

Division Winners get in automatically with the next four best teams in ech league getting a berth.

Then expand to 32:

NL East gets: Charlotte, Havana
NL West gets: Maui
AL East gets: WAS moves to Montreal to become the Expos again
AL West gets: Las Vegas

After a good amout of time, we reach 36. The playoff scheme adds an extra wildcard spot.

NL East gets: New Orleans
NL West gets: MIL eventually moves to Vancouver and Madison gets a franchise.
AL East: Washington D.C
AL West: Portland

[BigRed75]

Why in the world would Madison get a major league franchise and Milwaukee lose one?

Likewise, putting a team in Maui over Oahu (and specifically Honolulu)?

But hey, it's your game, play it your way.

[TheMaus2]

Originally Posted by BigRed75

Why in the world would Madison get a major league franchise and Milwaukee lose one?

Compensation for Wisconsin

Likewise, putting a team in Maui over Oahu (and specifically Honolulu)?

I felt that Maui was the cooler city. And It felt more obvious that I would eventually go with a team in Hawaii, so I avoided the capital.

[Klew1986]

I'm back to this idea and have 3 options on the table...

2018 MLB Expansion Plans

Option #1:
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


Option #2:
AL North: NYY, BOS, BAL, TB
AL North: CWS, DET, CLE, TOR
AL Central: HOU, TEX, KC, MIN
AL Pacific: LAA, OAK, SEA, POR

NL North: NYM, WAS, PHI, MON
NL South: ATL, CIN, PIT, MIA
NL Midwest: CHC, STL, MIL, COL
NL Pacific: LAD, SF, SD, ARI

Option #3:
AL East: New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles
AL North: Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians
AL South: Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Mexico City/Austin/Nashville
AL West: Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies (switch)

NL East: New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos (expansion)
NL Atlantic: Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays (switch)
NL North: Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks

[buckeye22]

Originally Posted by BigRed75

Interleague "Natural" Rivalries under this plan:

East: Mets/Yankees, Rays/Marlins, Blue Jays/Expos, Braves/Red Sox, Phillies/Orioles, Tigers/Orlando (stuck with each other)
Central: Reds/Indians, Cubs/White Sox, Brewers/Twins, Royals/Cardinals, Raleigh/Charlotte, Pirates/Indianapolis (former ML/AAA relationship)
West: Giants/Athletics, Mariners/Beavers, Salt Lake/Colorado, Astros/Dodgers (former NL rivalry), Texas/Arizona (Battle of the States), San Diego/San Antonio (Battle of the Saints)

Still better than the days where we were stuck with Colorado/Arizona every year.