Jenkins: Exploring MLB expansion and relegation

From Wes Jenkins at The Hardball Times on April 25, 2019:

Major league expansion — a concept filled with imagination and limitless possibility for sports-loving, yet sports-empty American cities. Portland already has a group lobbying to bring a major league team to town. So does Raleigh. I’d argue Montreal deserves a team more than any other city on the continent, and Las Vegas, for being such a hotbed of major league talent, in addition to the league’s new gambling interests, merits a serious conversation. Nashville, Austin, San Antonio, Mexico City, New Orleans: all cities mentioned when expansion is on the table.

As long as expansion stays an idea, but not a reality, all of these cities can dream that one day they will have a team, too. But the reality, as much as one can use that word for years-away plans, seems to be that only two cities will receive expansion teams.

But what if that weren’t the case? What if there was a way for every expansion-oriented city to receive a team and alleviate baseball’s competitive balance issues all in one go?

Read the full article here: https://tht.fangraphs.com/exploring-mlb-expansion-and-relegation/



Originally published: April 25, 2019. Last Updated: April 25, 2019.