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Right this moment is the Fourth of July, the right day to declare our independence from Main League Baseball’s conventional construction.
I’ve determined to rebuild MLB’s lineup of groups from the underside up, as if the American and Nationwide Leagues had by no means existed. It’s an train in fantasy, to make sure, nevertheless it additionally gives a brand new perspective on the way in which that baseball operates (and has all the time operated).
Listed here are the bottom guidelines:
1. There needs to be one league, not two. Different sports activities are aligned underneath a single umbrella — Nationwide Basketball Affiliation, Nationwide Soccer League, Nationwide Hockey League. Baseball’s cut up into the AL and NL is an anachronistic remnant of a conflict that led to 1903. The 2-league construction is especially foolish now that each group performs each different group through the common season. Eliminate it.
2. There needs to be 32 groups, not 30. North America retains rising, however baseball has remained caught at 30 groups for a quarter-century. It’s time to get in line with the continent’s demography.
3. The brand new league needs to be confined to the USA and Canada. The time might come when MLB expands into Mexico, the Caribbean, and Japan. However there are many worthy growth candidates nearer to house. Cope with them first.
4. There needs to be one group per market. Bear in mind the earlier reference to the AL-NL conflict that ended 120 years in the past? Each leagues positioned groups in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Boston again then as a part of their battle plans. The next additions of the NL’s Mets and the AL’s Angels had been designed to disclaim an opposing league free rein in New York and Los Angeles. These long-ago actions are irrelevant immediately. There’s no logical purpose for a single metropolis to have a couple of group.
5. Every MLB market ought to have no less than 2 million residents. Thirty-eight metropolitan areas in North America at present meet this commonplace, together with all however one of many markets within the real-world model of Main League Baseball. (Sorry, Milwaukee.)
6. Care needs to be taken to keep away from inserting two golf equipment in shut proximity. An exception have to be made, after all, at any time when each markets are nicely above the inhabitants threshold. The New York (19.6 million) and Philadelphia (6.2 million) metros are roughly 100 miles aside, however sheer dimension compels the inclusion of each. San Antonio (2.6 million) and Austin (2.4 million) are 70 miles from one another, however just one can qualify for the brand new MLB. I picked Austin.
This train leaves me with 25 of the 26 present big-league markets, together with seven newcomers. I’ve divided my reimagined MLB into eight divisions. Scroll right down to see the lineup. (The brand new markets are signified by asterisks.)
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Main League Baseball (reimagined)
Northeast Division
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Boston
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Montreal*
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New York
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Toronto
Mid-Atlantic Division
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Baltimore
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Philadelphia
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Pittsburgh
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Washington
Southeast Division
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Atlanta
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Charlotte*
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Miami
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Tampa-St. Petersburg
Plains Division
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Austin*
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Dallas
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Houston
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Nashville*
Midwest Division
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Chicago
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Cincinnati
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Cleveland
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Detroit
Central Division
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Denver
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Kansas Metropolis
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Minneapolis-St. Paul
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St. Louis
Northwest Division
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Portland*
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San Francisco
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Seattle
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Vancouver*
Southwest Division
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Las Vegas*
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Los Angeles
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Phoenix
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San Diego
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