Power Ranking Each National League Team's Chances of Switching Leagues
ESPN's Buster Olney has reported that as part of Major League Baseball's on-going labor talks, the proposition of realigning baseball into two 15 team divisions is now being seriously discussed.
The whole idea centers around the idea of having continuous interleague play whereby there are 14 intra-league series and one inter-league series being played at all times.
The proposition depends, of course, upon the agreement of at least one team to switch leagues, a proposition no team is likely to take seriously without being offered an array of cash and prizes.
Getting ahead of ourselves a bit, perhaps, let's take a look at each National League team's chances of switching leagues.
16. Chicago Cubs: No Chance
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The Chicago Cubs are as old as the National League itself, having been one of the original founding members of the league.
The Cubs-Cardinals rivalry is one of the oldest and best in sports.
Having the Cubs and White Sox in the same division would create too many intra-market match-ups.
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15. St. Louis Cardinals: No Chance
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Is there any team that says "National League" more than the St. Louis Cardinals?
Like the Chicago Cubs, the Cardinals are too much a part of the NL to be shuffled over to the AL.
14. Los Angeles Dodgers: No Chance
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The Los Angeles Dodgers are right up there with the Reds, Cubs, Phillies and Cardinals as National League icons, and the NL may be more tied to the Dodgers than the Phillies anyway.
Plus, Major League Baseball has no interest in a divisional rivalry between intra-market teams like the Dodgers and the Angels would be.
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13. Philadelphia Phillies: No Chance
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The Philadelphia Phillies have been in the National League since 1883. Moving a team that is now in its third century in the NL would be unpopular with Philadelphia fans and would upset the aesthetic of Major League Baseball.
12. New York Mets: No Chance
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There is no way Major League Baseball would ever consider moving the New York Mets to the American League East.
Not only is there no disparity of teams between the AL East and the NL East, but the league would not want the two teams in the biggest market in sports playing head-to-head 18 times per year, which would cost the teams and the league massive revenues.
11. Atlanta Braves: Probably Not.
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One of the original justifications for moving the Milwaukee Brewers to the National League a bunch of years ago was that Milwaukee was essentially a National League town because of the Braves' time in the city.
That kind of undermines any argument in favor of moving the Braves to the American League now.
10. San Francisco Giants: Probably Not
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The San Francisco Giants only receive consideration because of geography, but Major League Baseball should have no interest in moving the team of John McGrew, Willie Mays and Barry Bonds to the American League.
Plus, the MLB would not want the Giants and Oakland A's matching up for 18 intra-market games per year.
9. Florida Marlins: Probably Not
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The Florida Marlins are the southeastern most team in baseball, which makes putting them in a non-eastern division impossible. They also share Florida with Tampa Bay, which means that moving them to the AL would mean 18 intra-market games.
And, the big-market/small-market imbalance is already too obvious in the AL East with both the Rays and the Marlins being overwhelmed by the Red Sox and Yankees.
8. Cincinnati Reds: Probably Not
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The Cincinnati Reds have lineage back to the first ever professional baseball team and are senior members of the Senior Circuit. If Major League Baseball were considering moving the Reds, they would just move the Brewers.
And no one wants both Ohio teams in one division. They are not technically in the same market, but it eliminates cross-state inter-league rivalries just the same.
7. Washington Nationals: Maybe
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Yes, the Washington Nationals play in one of the eastern most major cities in the United States, so switching them to the AL would mean they would play in the AL East.
And putting the Nationals and the Orioles in the same division presents much the same problem has having the Mets and the Yankees in the same division, in that it features too many games involving fans from one market.
But the Nationals have already been screwed around with during their brief history in Major League Baseball, and have only been moved to D.C. within the last six years. Certainly the Washington fans have not developed any long-lasting affinity for the National League, and indeed the previous two Washington franchises—who are now the Twins and Rangers—each played in the AL.
At the end of the day, moving the Nationals to the AL East would likely involve bringing the Pittburgh Pirates into the NL East, bumping the Toronto Blue Jays to the AL Central, and moving the Kansas City Royals to the AL West, and that is probably too much reshuffling.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates: Maybe
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Yes, like the Cubs, Phillies and Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Pirates lineage goes all the way back to the 1800's, when they made their debut as the Pittsburgh Alleghenys in 1882.
But...
Is any team in more of a need of change of scenery than the Pittsburgh Pirates? The team has been to the playoffs three times since 1980, and not since 1992. The team also has not had a winning season since 1992.
And every year when Interleague play rolls around, the league misses out on a natural Intra-Pennsylvania rivalry between the Phillies and Pirates.
The Pirates could be moved to the AL Central and the Royals moved to the AL West, and these problems would be solved.
5. Colorado Rockies: On the Table
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The Colorado Rockies could make the move from the NL West to the AL West to make room for the Astros in the NL West.
Imagine an AL West with both Coors Field and Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
It would be an amazing display of offensive explosiveness.
4. Arizona Diamondbacks: On the Table
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The thing of it is, like any other team in baseball, the Houston Astros do not want to switch leagues.
A potential alternative to the Astros switching leagues would be for the Diamondbacks to make the switch from the NL to the AL, and for the Astros to then begin playing in the NL West.
The Astros would certainly be in a "we were here first" position if it came down to Houston or Arizona.
3. Milwaukee Brewers: On the Shortlist
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The Milwaukee Brewers played in the American League from their inception as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 up until 1994, when they moved over to the NL as part of the realignment, which caused this whole unbalanced league rhubarb in the first place.
If the Brewers went back to the AL Central and the Kansas City Royals moved to the AL West, that would be a very fitting and minimally disruptive change.
2. San Diego Padres: Would Anyone Even Notice?
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The San Diego Padres are one of the least celebrated teams in the National League, presently having a nearly completely inconspicuous existence.
Plus, playing in the absurdly pitcher-friendly PetCo Park, it might help things along a little bit if the Padres could use a designated hitter every day.
1. Houston Astros: The Top Contender
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Houston, you have a problem.
There are pretty good indications that the Houston Astros may be the team to make the jump to the American League.
The Astros do not have a particularly memorable or extensive history in the National League, having only been around since 1962 and having made only a single World Series in their history.
More importantly, the Astros are the only team that could be realistically plucked from the NL Central and placed in the AL West, which means the whole unbalanced league issue could be resolved without having to move any other team.
And the Texas Rangers already play in the AL West, which would give the two Texas teams a natural rivalry. Plus, despite the fact that both teams play in Texas, Dallas and Houston are separate markets.
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