1998 Expansion (preview)

Interlude

Realignment

"Interim" commissioner Bud Selig did not take long after coming into power to implement some radical ideas. Well, they weren't that radical, but in the most tradition-minded sport of them all, they did seem radical. But Selig, unlike many other wild dreamers of the past, was able to see his ideas to fruition. This illustrates not just Selig's position as one of the more powerful owners (and a man working among friends), but someone who can effectively put through his ideas. And to Selig's credit (much though I mock him elsewhere), many of his ideas have been good ones.
After the 1992 expansion, it became even more clear that baseball was facing the same problem it faced in the late 1960's: too many teams out of contention. In the late 60's, 20 teams competed for 2 postseason berths (10% of teams reached postseason). This was fixed when baseball expanded to two divisions in 1969, making it 4 postseason berths for 24 teams (17%). This was done in part to make the postseason more exciting, but mainly to provide room for other teams, especially underdog teams, to make the playoffs and make the pennant race much more accessible.
The MLB faced a similar problem in 1993. Things hadn't changed much since the first divisional split; now 28 teams competed for the 4 berths (14%). But baseball was facing growing competition from the other major sports. The NBA and NHL playoffs are admittedly a joke; when more than 50% of teams make the postseason, the first few rounds are pretty dull. But the great benefit of this was giving more teams a shot at the postseason; therefore more teams would be considered competitive and able to draw fans, and fewer teams would have to live through utterly meaningless Septembers.
Baseball decided to take a limited solution to this problem; they looked to the example of the NFL. The NFL had expanded to 4 divisions, with the addition of one or two "Wild Cards," where the team with the best record (after the division leaders) took a spot in the postseason as well. This was essentially what Selig had in mind.
Selig envisioned breaking baseball into 3 divisions; 2 divisions of 5 teams each and one division of 4 teams to make up both 14-team leagues. Here's what he had in mind:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

AL EAST

Baltimore Orioles

Boston Red Sox

Detroit Tigers

New York Yankees

Toronto Blue Jays

AL CENTRAL

Chicago White Sox

Cleveland Indians

Kansas City Royals

Milwaukee Brewers

Minnesota Twins

AL WEST

California Angels

Oakland Athletics

Seattle Mariners

Texas Rangers

NATIONAL LEAGUE

NL EAST

Atlanta Braves

Florida Marlins

Montreal Expos

New York Mets

Philadelphia Phillies

NL CENTRAL

Chicago Cubs

Cincinnati Reds

Houston Astros

Pittsburgh Pirates

St. Louis Cardinals

NL WEST

Colorado Rockies

Los Angeles Dodgers

San Diego Padres

San Francisco Giants

One added benefit of the new divisional system was that it was geographically correct -- teams were located in divisions in keeping with their physical location -- so no more Atlanta Braves in the Western division.

The three division winners would each receive a postseason berth, and the 2nd-place team with the best record would get a Wild Card berth. While the MLB didn't go to "seeding" teams in the postseason like the NBA, they did set up advantages and disadvantages. The Wild Card would have to face the team with the best record in the league in the first round of playoffs (unless they both came from the same division; in which case they would face the team with the 2nd-best record). The team with the best record in the league would also be guaranteed home-field advantage in the ALDS and ALCS.

This meant, of course, a new round of playoffs, termed the Division Series. The Division Series would be a best-of-5 affair, with the two winners then advancing to the ALCS. It meant more postseason games ($$$), more teams in contention deeper into the season ($$$), and a move toward becoming more competitive with the other major sports.

Traditionalists were outraged. The idea of a 2nd-place team making it into October baseball was considered akin to sacrilege. It meant that a lesser team stood a greater chance of making it to the World Series and winning it (which was precisely the idea, although they prefer to call themselves "underdogs"). It also meant that two divisions in baseball would consist of only 4 teams. So you only had to beat 3 other teams to make it to the postseason. And with a 6- or 7-team division, there was always a measure of competitive balance. But with a 4-team division, you're going to have years where all 4 teams are good and some years when they're all bad.

The reality, though, was that it didn't make that much of a difference. It was probably a necessity to include more teams in the postseason, especially since the owners kept adding more franchises all the time. In 2006, 30 teams are competing for 8 postseason berths (27%). It's a lot more than it used to be, but it's nowhere near the NBA or the NHL.

Bud Selig announced that 1994 would be the first season played under this new format. And it started off well . . . at least, until the player's strike hit. One of the forgotten casualties of the '94 strike is Bud Selig's 3-division system. What was supposed to breathe more life into baseball soon became old news compared to the more monumental events in the game.

For those who are curious, here's what the postseason would have looked like when the strike hit:

ALDS

New York Yankees (70-43; AL East Champs) .vs. Cleveland Indians (66-47; Wild Card)

Chicago White Sox (67-46; AL Central Champs) .vs. Texas Rangers (52-62; AL West Champs)

NLDS

Montreal Expos (74-40; NL East Champs) .vs. L. A. Dodgers (58-56; NL West Champs)

Cincinnati Reds (66-48; NL Central Champs) .vs. Atlanta Braves (68-46; NL Wild Card)

I've mentioned before that the '94 players' strike crushed the hopes of the Expos, who would never be that good again. It wasn't so bad for the other NL teams; the other three would return to the postseason in 1995.

Over in the AL, the New York Yankee renaissance had to wait another year before making the postseason. And a very good Chicago White Sox team missed a chance at postseason glory. Both Cleveland and Texas would be back in '95. The '95 Rangers are a great footnote to baseball history; they're the only team to win a division with a losing record. True, it wasn't a full season, and true, there was no postseason, so it wasn't a real division title. But it's still a pretty sorry distinction, and one of the real dangers of the 4-team division.

When baseball came back in 1995, so did Selig's format. It saw the Braves beat the Rockies in the NLDS and then sweep the Reds in the NLCS (Cincinnati having defeated L.A. in the NLDS). In the AL, the Indians beat the Red Sox in the ALDS and then toppled the Mariners in 6 games in the ALCS (Seattle having defeated New York in the ALDS). The Braves then took the World Series in 6 over the Cleveland Indians. There was really no scandal involved; both pennant winners sported the best record in their league and were certainly worthy competitors in what was a memorable World Series.

Everyone knew it would happen eventually, and it did in 1997, when the Florida Marlins became the first-ever Wild Card World Champions. It was certainly an exciting journey, culminating in a 7-game World Series that made the Marlins look like the underdogs, but realists pointed out that the Marlins certainly weren't the best team in baseball in 1997. But with the addition of a 3rd round of playoffs, the odds are that much greater that the best man will lose. The Marlins repeated the trick as Wild Card World Champions in 2003. No franchise has ever won a World Series without finishing in first place at some point in its history. Except the Marlins -- they've done it twice. And they're still waiting on their first-ever 1st-place finish.

Selig the Mad Scientist went into 1998 with even more crazy ideas. It was termed "Radical Realignment," and this time it proved too radical for even the most ardent of his supporters. Specific plans were never publicized, but Selig reportedly wanted multiple teams changing leagues, let alone divisions.

This was all to accommodate the 1998 addition of two new franchises. They couldn't just put one in each league, because that would make it an uneven 15 teams per league, with one team in each league idle at all times. No one was ready to go for constant, year-round interleague play, so Selig stepped in with his plan.

Luckily, cooler heads prevailed, and a plan was put in place whereby one team would be added to each league, but with one AL franchise switching to the NL to make it a more practical 16/14 split. As I've mentioned before, Kansas City was the first choice to move, but local fans rejected the idea. The Milwaukee Brewers were open to the possibility of the move (which would hopefully make their owner, Bud Selig, more money), and so it was decided. After a couple division-switches and just a little realignment, baseball agreed upon the divisional format that still exists today:

AL EAST

Baltiimore Orioles

Boston Red Sox

New York Yankees

Tampa Bay Devil Rays*

Toronto Blue Jays

AL CENTRAL

Chicago White Sox

Cleveland Indians

Detroit Tigers (moved from AL East to accommodate Brewers' switch to NL)

Kansas City Royals

Minnesota Twins

AL WEST

Anaheim Angels (later Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)

Oakland Athletics

Seattle Mariners

Texas Rangers

NL EAST
Atlanta Braves

Florida Marlins

Montreal Expos (later Washington Nationals)

New York Mets

Philadelphia Phillies

NL CENTRAL

Chicago Cubs

Cincinnati Reds

Houston Astros

Milwaukee Brewers

Pittsburgh Pirates

St. Louis Cardinals

NL WEST

Arizona Diamondbacks*

Colorado Rockies

Los Angeles Dodgers

San Diego Padres

San Francisco Giants

* -- denotes 1998 expansion team

This had the added benefit of removing at least one of the 4-team divisions and adding a super-competitive 6-team NL Central.

Stay tuned, as I'll wrap up this entire series by discussing the two 1998 expansion teams: the Arizona Diamondbacks and . . . uh . . . what do you call them . . . uh . . . the . . . starts with an "S"? . . . No, no, a "D" . . . Are we, um, are we sure that there's another "major league" team to discuss? Are we? Really?