Thirty teams does not make sense. We have 16 teams in one league (National) and 14 in the other (American). We have four divisions of 5 teams (AL East, AL Central, NL East, NL West), a division of 6 teams (NL Central) and a division of 4 teams (AL West). What is the deal? Thirty teams sounded like a good idea, except when the league forbids interleague play, then two leagues of 15 teams would be impossible to manage and does not make sense. As a result, either eliminate the leagues (please don't, this is the only sport left with conference-specific dynamics) or contract two teams (Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays come to mind) or add two new teams (Portland, N. Virginia, San Jose, Monterrey, Las Vegas, Buffalo, Puerto Rico). The two leagues (or conferences in most sports) should have the same number of teams. For a long period of time, MLB had 14 AL teams and 12 NL, so it can be done, but either way, the homogeneity of scheduling is lost and must be considered a factor in realignment.
New divisions. In any case, get rid of the Central Division. Three divisions is nonsensical. As I have stated, we have four divisions of 5, a division of 4 and a division of 6. Where is the uniformity? There is none, that is why you can't find any. So, in the three cases outlined above (stay with 30 teams, contract to 28, expand to 32), I present the following divisional alignments. Please note, I am somewhat of a baseball purist/traditionalist. In a perfect world, I believe that there should only be two leagues and no divisions. All of these divisions minimize the splendor of pennants. I am a fan of the modern-day playoff however, wildcard and all.
» In the case that the league contracts the two Florida teams (that never should have had teams in the first place), four 7-team divisions should be set up. The big change would be the elimination of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Washington Nationals move to the AL. Why? Well, the Washington Senators were in the AL until they moved to Minneapolis to become the Twins. A new Washington Senators were in the AL until they moved to Arlington to become the Rangers. So history has them in the AL. The second "crisis" is with the Cincinnati Reds in the NL West, but the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers (who are west of Cincinnati) in the East. The simple answer, my friends, is history. It has all been written. The divisions...
American League East
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays
Washington Nationals
American League West
Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Minnesota Twins
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers
National League East
Atlanta Braves
Chicago Cubs
Milwaukee Brewers
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
National League West
Arizona Diamondbacks
Cincinnati Reds
Colorado Rockies
Houston Astros
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
» Alright, what if the league added two teams to make 32 teams in MLB. Well, we have to make assumptions, and although I would love for a team to be in Buffalo, an expansion franchise being awarded is, how to say this, not going to happen in my lifetime. (Relocation on the other hand...) Assuming that the two Florida teams stay still (ugh) and the league adopts Portland, Ore., and Las Vegas as two expansion teams, the setup is quite easy if I use the previously-derived 28-team league divisions and add the two Florida teams and the two western expansion teams...
American League East
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
Washington Nationals
American League West
Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Minnesota Twins
Oakland Athletics
Portland Hash Brothers
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers
National League East
Atlanta Braves
Chicago Cubs
Florida Marlins
Milwaukee Brewers
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
National League West
Arizona Diamondbacks
Cincinnati Reds
Colorado Rockies
Houston Astros
Los Angeles Dodgers
Las Vegas Gamblers Anonymous
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
» And, finally, what if the league keeps its current roster of teams, and we have a league of 16 (two divisions of 8) and a league of 14 (two divisions of 7)? Simple. The Nationals would remain in the NL and the Brewers would play in the NL West.
American League East
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
American League West
Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Minnesota Twins
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers
National League East
Atlanta Braves
Chicago Cubs
Florida Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
Washington Nationals
National League West
Arizona Diamondbacks
Cincinnati Reds
Colorado Rockies
Houston Astros
Los Angeles Dodgers
Milwaukee Brewers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
» Now, my dream sequence would be 32 teams (32 being a beautiful number, that is, being divisible by 4) but both Florida teams being relocated. As a result, obviously, Buffalo would get a team (finally), and I really think that baseball wants to get a team in Mexico (to complete the American trifecta -- Canada, USA and Mexico), so Monterrey will get a team too. Then the divisions would look like this...
American League East
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Buffalo Bisons
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays
Washington Nationals
American League West
Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Minnesota Twins
Oakland Athletics
Portland Hash Brothers
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers
National League East
Atlanta Braves
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Florida Marlins
Milwaukee Brewers
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
National League West
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
Houston Astros
Los Angeles Dodgers
Las Vegas Gamblers Anonymous
Monterrey Mojitos
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
What do you think? Four teams from each league make the playoffs, as is now the case: The two division winners and two wild-cards. (That is right, three western teams or three eastern teams could make the playoffs in each league. Crazy.)
The All-Star Game should be considered an exhibition game. Yes, what a novel idea. (I think that is how it all started anyway.) The team with the better regular season record should earn home field advantage in the World Series. (Mindblowing, I know.) And discontinue having the fans choose the all-stars -- they do not know anything.
Well, that is it for now (until another idea pops up).
