With the talk of possible realignment in Major League Baseball, here are some of my ideas on some realignment possibilities.
Two Leagues of 15, No Divisions
American League National League
Boston Red Sox New York Mets
New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies
Baltimore Orioles Washington Nationals
Toronto Blue Jays Atlanta Braves
Pittsburgh Pirates Florida Marlins
Cleveland Indians Cincinnati Reds
Detroit Tigers Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins St. Louis Cardinals
Kansas City Royals Houston Astros
Tampa Bay Rays Arizona Diamondbacks
Texas Rangers Colorado Rockies
Seattle Mariners Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim San Francisco Giants
Oakland Athletics San Diego Padres
The biggest change with this format is that there would be at least one interleague matchup every week of the season. It also means that one National League team would have to move to the American League. I choose Pittsburgh because it made sense geographically and the maybe a move to the AL will spark a change in the tides in Pittsburgh. Other possibilities are the Houston Astros, the Florida Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers and possibly the New York Mets. Five teams would make the playoffs from each league and the 4 seed would play the 5 seed in a best of three series, the rest of the playoffs would remain the same.
Two Leagues of 15, Six Divisions
American League National League
East East
Boston Red Sox New York Mets
New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies
Baltimore Orioles Washington Nationals
Toronto Blue Jays Atlanta Braves
Tampa Bay Rays Florida Marlins
Central Central
Minnesota Twins Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox St. Louis Cardinals
Cleveland Indians Cincinnati Reds
Kansas City Royals Milwaukee Brewers
Detroit Tigers Pittsburgh Pirates
West West
Texas Rangers Colorado Rockies
Houston Astros Arizona Diamondbacks
Seattle Mariners Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Angels San Francisco Giants
Oakland Athletics San Diego Padres
The only change here is that the Houston Astros move to the American League. It's the same format as the other one, but each division winner earns a playoff berth along with two wild-cards. I also thought about geographical realignment, but you still have to keep most of the match-ups pure, like you can't have the Chicago Cubs in the American League or the New York Mets in the same division as the Yankees, etc. The match-ups have to remain old school in most cases because after all, their will be more interleague play because it goes throughout the season.
I believe that the idea of having no divisions and just two leagues will be the final verdict the MLB has. It goes back to the 1950's while keeping baseball modern as well.
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