Rob Manfred’s future vision of Major League Baseball includes major changes that many fans will … [+] detest. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
There was a hue and cry at the end of the 2022 season about the slow pace of Major League Baseball, and management did something about it quickly. Of course, plans were in place to institute a pitch clock, but the length of the average game ensured there would be no delay in imposing the change.
This was as successful a move as baseball has made since the institution of the designated hitter in the American League in 1973.
The presence of the designated hitter allowed the American League to improve its batting average by 20 points and a full run per game. The American League had been perceived as less talented and less interesting at the time the DH rule was implemented, and the DH upgraded the status of the American League.
The imposition of the pitch clock increased the pace of play dramatically. The average length of an MLB game in 2022 was 3:03:44, making it a long day for anyone going to a game. But with a 20-second pitch clock imposed, the average length fell to 2:39:49 in 2023.
The only moves in MLB history bigger than the implementation of the DH and the pitch clock was the breaking of the color barrier by Jackie Robinson in 1947.
More changes are at hand over the next decade, and one of those changes will alter the fabric of Major League Baseball.
The first order of business is finding new facilities for the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland A’s. The Rays announced an agreement with St. Petersburg and Pinellas County in September for a new ballpark in downtown St. Petersburg, near the site of Tropicana Field.
“Major League Baseball is here to stay, right here,” Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said. “This is a project we will all be proud of.”
The belief is that the new stadium will be ready for the start of the 2028 season.
That’s the same year a new stadium is supposed to be ready in Las Vegas for the Oakland A’s.
The A’s are expected to be in Oakland for one more season before a proposed move to Las Vegas. … [+] (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The A’s are set to play out their lease at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in 2024, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The lease runs out after that season, and they could play in Las Vegas in 2025, even though the team’s $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark won’t be ready until 2028
If those plans hold, the A’s could play in the Las Vegas minor league ball park from 2025 through 2027, although nothing is set in stone.
Once the stadium situations are solidified and both the Rays and A’s are in new facilities, Manfred wants baseball to expand.
Going from 30 to 32 teams makes numerical sense, and it would give Major League Baseball the same number of teams as the NFL.
The most likely cities for consideration include Nashville, Charlotte, Montreal and Portland, Oregon. Manfred also mentioned expanding to Mexico during an appearance on the Dan Patrick show in 2018. Those are the same cities that are still being mentioned, although the Mexico option seems a huge longshot.
Once expansion becomes a reality, Manfred would like to realign his sport. His goal is to make Major League Baseball look like the NFL.
If realignment goes just the way the commissioner wants, the American League and National League would become the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. Certain American and National League teams would move based on geographical alignment, and that would be the end of baseball’s greatest tradition.
Baseball’s history of having two league has been dissipating since 2000, when both leagues were absorbed by Major League Baseball. As a result, MLB is the only entity.
But once the stadium situations are handled and expansion is reality, the makeup of the sport will change. Jim Bowden of The Athletic delivered a column that explained Manfred’s vision.
It could look like this:
Eastern Conference
East Division
Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies
North Division
Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays
Mid-Atlantic Division
Baltimore Orioles, Charlotte expansion team, Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals
Southeast Division
Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, Nashville expansion team, Tampa Bay Rays
Western Conference
Midwest Division
Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins
Southwest Division
Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers
Pacific Coast Division
Colorado Rockies, Las Vegas A’s, Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants
West Division
Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres
What would this do for Major League Baseball? It would reduce travel costs and deliver regional rivalries.
All at the cost of MLB’s greatest tradition – the American and National Leagues. Will baseball survive? Almost certainly, but it will be in a much weaker position in the sporting world than it has been for more than a century.
