MLB commissioner names 6 cities, 3 countries for potential expansion
As exciting as the All-Star game was, the fact is that Major League Baseball is struggling. Attendance is at a 15 year low, and for the first time in history, teams are on pace to have more strikeouts than hits.
Commissioner Rob Manfred has placed the blame on Mike Trout for not wanting to do commercials, Deadspin reported.
“Mike has made decisions on what he wants to do, doesn’t want to do, how he wants to spend his free time or not spend his free time,” Manfred said before the All-Star Game. “I think we could help him make his brand very big. But he has to make a decision to engage. It takes time and effort.”
So, yes, the timing does seem a little strange for Manfred to float the idea of expanding the league to 32 teams.
Las Vegas, Portland, Charlotte and Nashville, are all cities that could be the home of MLB’s next teams.
And that’s just domestically.
The commissioner threw out Montreal, Vancouver, and possibly Mexico as international possibilities.
Given the success of the NHL’s Golden Knights and the impending arrival of the NFL’s Raiders, it certainly isn’t a surprise to see Las Vegas on the list.
And Montreal saw hall of fame players like Pedro Martinez, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter and Tim Raines before getting KO’d by the 1994 lockout.
Either way, it sure sounds like this is something Manfred has been giving serious thought to.
“I hope I’m around long enough to see us expand,” Manfred told FS’s ‘First Things First’ on Tuesday. “I think 32 (teams) would be great for our sport.”
"We think there are places in Mexico we could go for the long haul."
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on the league's expansion pic.twitter.com/aezGxAs5mS
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) July 17, 2018
“We have a real list of cities that I think aren’t just interested in having baseball, but are viable in having baseball. Places like Portland, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Nashville in the United States. Certainly Montreal, possibly Vancouver in Canada, we think there are places in Mexico we can go for the long haul.”
It should be noted that the commissioner pointed out on The Dan Patrick Show that the first priority for the league is to get embarrassing stadium situations for the A’s and Rays rectified.
Commissioner Rob Manfred says MLB would like to eventually get to 32 teams and named Las Vegas, Portland, Nashville, Charlotte, Montreal and Mexico as potential homes. pic.twitter.com/xO0BjsBDu0
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) July 17, 2018
“Oakland and Tampa have to get done before anything else happens. Then I’d like to get to 32.”
Adding two teams would presumably mean realignment in some shape or form, and a new playoff system.
Given the length of the season and postseason, we could, in theory, be watching the World Series while preparing for Thanksgiving.
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