You make the divisions - expansion game

[PhilSimms11]

its interesting because now with the universal DH there is no need for AL vs NL... other than history...

other problem is that in no way will it ever happen that if divisions are 4 teams that all 4 will be big market, or all 4 be small market... that is just not balanced...

so here is my bet... it will be similar to basketball and hockey divisions where it is 8 team divisions and 16 team conferences where the conferences are EAST and WEST

Probably best way to do it...

so lets first see North/south

EAST

North- Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies, pirates, blue Jays, Indians, reds

South- Marlins, Rays, Braves, Nats, Orioles, Carolina(expansion), cardinals, Louisville(expansion)

WEST

North- giants, mariners, Rockies, twins, Tigers, Cubs, White sox, Brewers

South- Padres, diamondbacks, rangers, Astros, A's, royals, Angels, Dodgers


well, clearly some of those teams don't fit... and guessing the expansion is near impossible... even though I would love Louisville to get a team, as I always found it interesting that the location most famous for BATS doesn't have any MLB team...
But they are too small of a market, and they are too close to other markets...

Here's what I did. We're going back to 1993 when there were four divisions of seven. Like you, I'm going to four divisions of eight. I made a few other changes...
--relocated the Rays to Montreal and the Marlins to either Charlotte or Nashville (the other city gets an expansion team); the state of Florida has proven they don't support MLB
--Portland is my other expansion city
--renamed the LA Angels of Anaheim (Jesus) the California Angels as it never should have changed
--put the A's in Las Vegas because that looks like a reality

Eastern League
East (8)--BAL, BOS, MTL, NYM, NYY, PHI, TOR, WAS
Central (8)--ATL, CHA, CHW, CIN, CLE, DET, NSH, PIT

Western League
West (8)--ARZ, CAL, LA, LV, POR, SD, SEA, SF
Midwest (8)--CHC, COL, HOU, KC, MIL, MIN, STL, TEX

Play division opponents 16 times each (16 x 7 = 112 games)
Play the other division 6 times each (8 x 6 = 48 games)
Two interleague games = 2 games

Two division winners and four best records qualify for playoffs in each league.

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

I would try to add Salt Lake City as a possible expansion city. There has been a big push by Larry Miller's family (former owner of the Utah Jazz) to bring MLB there. Adding two teams out west helps balance a potential 4 teams/4 division set up with easier travel. There are just too many teams East of the Mississippi:

NE:
Boston
Toronto
NYY
Detroit

SE:
Tampa
Miami
Atlanta
DC

Mid-Atlantic:
Philly
Baltimore
Pitt
NYM

Great Lakes:
Cleveland
Cincinnati
Cubs
St. Louis

Midwest:
White Sox
Milwaukee
Minnesota
Kansas City

NW:
Seattle
Colorado
Salt Lake
Vegas

Pac:
San Fran
Dodgers
Angels
Padres

SW:
Arizona
Texas
Houston
Albuquerque or San Antonio (a bit of a wild card, but it makes the geography work)


We could do other variations with the Northeast and Midwest teams that would keep the big market teams out of the same divisions or lump em all together, I don't really care. Go ahead and make a division with the Red Sox, Yanks, Mets and Phillies:

Megalopolis:
Boston
NY
NY
Philly

Atlantis:
Baltimore
DC
Pittsburgh
Atlanta

Gulf Coast:
Miami
Tampa
Houston
Texas

Great Lakes:
Toronto
Detroit
Cleveland
Cincinnati

Midwest:
Cubs
White Sox
Milwaukee
Minnesota

Heartland:
St. Louis
Kansas City
Colorado
Arizona

Cali:
San Fran
San Diego
Anaheim
LAD

Northwest:
Seattle
Salt Lake
Vegas
Portland Thinkers (for Portlandia fans)

 

[PhilSimms11]

Here's what I did. We're going back to 1993 when there were four divisions of seven. Like you, I'm going to four divisions of eight. I made a few other changes...
--relocated the Rays to Montreal and the Marlins to either Charlotte or Nashville (the other city gets an expansion team); the state of Florida has proven they don't support MLB
--Portland is my other expansion city
--renamed the LA Angels of Anaheim (Jesus) the California Angels as it never should have changed
--put the A's in Las Vegas because that looks like a reality

Eastern League
East (8)--BAL, BOS, MTL, NYM, NYY, PHI, TOR, WAS
Central (8)--ATL, CHA, CHW, CIN, CLE, DET, NSH, PIT

Western League
West (8)--ARZ, CAL, LA, LV, POR, SD, SEA, SF
Midwest (8)--CHC, COL, HOU, KC, MIL, MIN, STL, TEX

Play division opponents 16 times each (16 x 7 = 112 games)
Play the other division 6 times each (8 x 6 = 48 games)
Two interleague games = 2 games

Two division winners and four best records qualify for playoffs in each league.

...or play every team in your league 10 times (150 games). That's a nice balanced schedule. I think 150 games for the season would suffice...but, you know. 12-game interleague.