History of MLB Expansion Teams and Franchise Moves

The National League Before 1900

The National League was formed in 1876 with 8 teams, including franchises in Boston (now the Atlanta Braves) and Chicago that are still part of the league today. For the next quarter of a century, the configuration of the league changed almost annually as new teams were added and others dropped out. A total of 27 different franchises participated in the league from 1876 through 1891, although there were never more than 8 teams in the league in any one year.

In 1892, the National League expanded to 12 teams with the addition of 4 teams from the American Association, which had disbanded after 10 years. The NL had already picked up 2 AA franchises in Brooklyn and Cincinnati for the 1890 season, to go along with the original Boston and Chicago franchises and existing teams in Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. In 1892, the AA franchises in Baltimore, Louisville, St. Louis, and Washington joined the National League. This 12-team configuration remained stable from 1892 through the 1899 season.

The 12 National League Teams From 1892–1899

1900–1961: The 8-Team National League

In 1900, the National League contracted again, back to 8 teams. The roster included the two original NL teams in Boston and Chicago, along with 6 teams that had their beginnings in the American Association: Brooklyn, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York, and St. Louis. These 8 "classic" franchises comprised the National League for more than 60 years. All 8 franchises are still in the league, with 5 of the 8 in their original locations.

1953: The Braves Move to Milwaukee

The first franchise relocation in the modern National League occurred in 1953 when the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee. Despite being one of the oldest continually operating franchises in baseball, and despite winning the NL pennant in 1948 behind the pitching of Warren Spahn, the Braves (who had also been known at various times throughout their history as the Red Stockings, the Beaneaters, the Doves, the Rustlers, and the Bees) had become second-class citizens in Boston, where the American League’s Red Sox were far more popular. After moving to Milwaukee, the Braves set a National League attendance record of 1.8 million fans in 1953.

1958: The Dodgers and Giants Go West

The Brooklyn Dodgers first took the field as the Brooklyn Atlantics in the American Association in 1884. Known by numerous other nicknames (including the Grays, Bridegrooms, Grooms, Superbas, and Robins—often simultaneously and interchangeably) for the first 50 years of their history, the Dodgers had a rabid fan base in Brooklyn.

They became the first integrated team in Major League Baseball when they brought African-American player Jackie Robinson to the team in 1947. With Robinson and several other African-American players, the Dodgers had great success for the next 10 years. They won 6 pennants and beat the New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series for their first championship.

However, the Dodgers’ stadium, Ebbets Field, was old and in disrepair. Dodgers’ owner Walter O’Malley wanted to build a new stadium in Brooklyn, but he was rebuffed by city planners and politicians. Lured by a lucrative stadium offer in Los Angeles, O’Malley made the unpopular decision to move the Dodgers to the West Coast. He convinced Horace Stoneham, owner of the rival New York Giants (who were also in need of a new stadium), to move west, too. The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles and the Giants to San Francisco for the 1958 season.

1901–1960: The 8-Team American League

The American League began play in 1901 as the “Junior Circuit” to the established National League. Like the older league, the AL was composed of 8 teams: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Washington. It remained an 8-team league for 60 years, and the original franchises are all in the league today, although 4 of them are no longer in their original cities.

The American League franchise moves are a little more confusing than those of the National League: No National League teams moved until team nicknames were well established, and with the exception of the most recent move in 2005, teams kept their names when they moved. By contrast, several of the American League franchise shifts involved complete name changes and the assumption of names previously used by other franchises.

1902 and 1903: The Milwaukee and Baltimore Franchises Move Early

The Milwaukee Brewers played only one season in Milwaukee before departing for St. Louis in 1902, where they played as the Browns for 52 years before moving to Baltimore in 1954 to become the Orioles.

Meanwhile, the Baltimore Orioles franchise that was a charter member of the American League moved to New York in 1903. In New York, the team was known as the Highlanders until 1913, when it dropped that name in favor of the New York Yankees.

1954 and 1955: St. Louis and Philadelphia Lose Their AL Teams

With some additional nickname changes, the 8 American League teams remained in place from 1903 until the Browns’ move to Baltimore in 1954. Another change came in the following year, when the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City.

Browns Move to Baltimore: Despite typically having mediocre on-field results, the St. Louis Browns were for 20 years considerably more popular than the National League’s Cardinals, with whom they shared their stadium, Sportsman’s Park. In 1926, however, the Cardinals beat the Yankees in the World Series, and the St. Louis fans embraced the Cardinals at the expense of the Browns.

The Browns regained some popularity in the early 1950s under their new owner, the showman Bill Veeck, but when the Cardinals were sold to brewing giant Anheuser-Busch, Veeck sold the Browns to a group that moved them to Baltimore. They began a new life as the Baltimore Orioles in the 1954 season.

Athletics Move to Kansas City: The Athletics were managed by the legendary Connie Mack for the first 50 years of their existence and reached the World Series 8 times through 1931. But by the 1950s, the team had posted consistently poor results for 2 decades, and the owners decided to move west to Kansas City for the 1955 season.

The Modern Major Leagues Before Expansion

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1961: American League Expansion to 10 Teams

In 1960, the American League voted to expand to 10 teams. Prompted by the success of the Dodgers’ and Giants’ moves to the West Coast, the American League added a new franchise, the Angels, in Los Angeles. The league also awarded a franchise to Minneapolis-St. Paul, but Calvin Griffith, the owner of the Washington Senators, asked for and received approval to move the Senators there instead, giving the new expansion slot to Washington.

New AL Teams

As a result, the 1961 American League season included 3 new teams:

• The expansion Los Angeles Angels
• The expansion Washington Senators
• The newly renamed Minnesota Twins, formerly the old Senators

The Angels went through several name changes related to the location of their new stadium in nearby Anaheim, which opened in 1966. In 1965, the Angels changed their name to the California Angels; in 1997, they became the Anaheim Angels; and in 2005, they adopted their current name, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

1968: The Athletics Move West Again

California gained its fourth major league team in 1968, when the Kansas City Athletics completed their westward migration, which had started in Philadelphia, by moving to Oakland.

1962: National League Expansion to 10 Teams

Not to be outdone, and facing the potential threat of a third league with a team in New York to replace the Giants and Dodgers, the National League added 2 expansion clubs for the 1962 season.

New NL Teams

• New York Mets
• Houston Colt .45s

The New York Mets were formed with the specific intent of drawing fans of the National League’s former New York teams. Their team colors were Dodger blue and Giants orange. In the expansion draft, the Mets selected several players with ties to the old teams, especially the Dodgers. See The Amazin' 1962 New York Mets.

The other team added by the National League was the Houston Colt .45s, opening the Texas market to Major League Baseball for the first time. In 1965, the Colt .45s were renamed as the Houston Astros when they moved into the Astrodome, the first domed sports stadium in the world.

1966: The Braves Move to Atlanta

1966 brought another franchise shift as the Braves left Milwaukee after 13 seasons in the Midwest. The Braves relocated to Atlanta, becoming the first Major League team in the Southeast.

1969: MLB Expansion to 24 Teams and the Beginning of Divisional Play

By the late 1960s, Major League Baseball was ready to expand again. In 1967, both leagues voted to add 2 more teams for a total of 12 teams in each league. The expansion timetable was hurried by the Athletics’ move to Oakland. Instead of beginning play in 1971 as planned, the new teams took the field in 1969.

New AL Teams

• Kansas City Royals
• Seattle Pilots (later Milwaukee Brewers)

The American League replaced the Athletics with the expansion Kansas City Royals and added a new team, the Pilots, in Seattle. Unfortunately, the Pilots were unsuccessful on the field and in financial trouble from the start. Major League Baseball approved a sale of the team and a move to Milwaukee for the 1970 season, where the team was renamed as the Brewers. So, four years after the Braves had left, baseball was back in Milwaukee.

New NL Teams

• San Diego Padres
• Montreal Expos

Meanwhile, the National League expanded into two new markets for the 1969 season, adding the San Diego Padres as its third California team and the Montreal Expos as the first Major League team in Canada.

1972: Washington’s Loss Is Texas’ Gain

Soon after this round of expansion, the American League approved one more relocation: In 1972, the Washington Senators (the 1961 expansion version) moved to Dallas-Ft. Worth, giving both leagues a presence in the Lone Star State. The team was renamed as the Texas Rangers.

Divisional Play Begins

In connection with the 1969 expansion, the leagues created divisions for the first time, resulting in a new round of playoffs to decide the pennant winners. Each league was divided into East and West Divisions, as shown in the table below. The American League made additional changes within a few years, but the National League alignments remained the same for 24 years, through the 1992 season.

Divisional Alignment 1969–1993

1977: American League Expansion to 14 Teams

In 1977, the American League expanded again, going from 12 teams to 14 teams.

New AL Teams

• Toronto Blue Jays
• Seattle Mariners

The league added its first franchise in Canada, the Toronto Blue Jays, to compete with the Montreal Expos of the NL. A new franchise, named the Mariners, was also awarded to Seattle to replace the ill-fated Pilots.

With the 1977 expansion, the existing East and West divisional structure was maintained. Each division was increased from 6 to 7 teams: Toronto was added to the East Division, while Seattle joined the West Division. This alignment was maintained for 17 years, through the 1993 season.

1993: National League Expansion to 14 Teams

Despite the AL expansion in 1977, the National League remained at 12 teams until 1993, when it added 2 new franchises.

New NL Teams

• Colorado Rockies
• Florida Marlins

Both of these teams represented forays into new, formerly untapped markets. The Rockies, based in Denver, were marketed to the vast Mountain States area between Kansas City and California. The Marlins, located in Miami, were the first Major League team in Florida.

For the 1993 season, the league retained its existing divisional structure, adding Florida to the East Division and Colorado to the West.

1994: Divisional Realignment and the Wild Card

With 14 teams in each league, both leagues switched to a three-division format in 1994, adding a Central Division in each league and realigning the East and West Divisions. In each league, the East and Central Divisions had 5 teams, while the West Division had 4 teams.

MLB also created a new playoff structure, adding a wild-card playoff berth for the non-divisional winner with the best overall record, and a new playoff round, the Division Series, to determine the two teams that would advance to play for the league pennant.

Due to a players’ strike in 1994, this new playoff structure was not actually implemented until 1995.

1998: MLB Expansion to 30 Teams

The final round of expansion to date occurred in 1998, when each league added one new team:

• AL: Tampa Bay Devil Rays
• NL: Arizona Diamondbacks

The American League moved into Florida with the addition of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (known since 2008 as the Rays). The National League moved into the Arizona desert with the addition of the Phoenix-based Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-backs had early success, winning the World Series in 2001, just their fourth year. The Rays were less successful initially, but they did win the AL pennant in 2008 and were back in the playoffs in 2010 and 2011.

League Transfers and Division Changes Due to the Expansion

The expansion to 30 teams, with an odd number of teams (15) in each league, created potential scheduling problems. To avoid this, MLB decided to move one team from the American League to the National League, giving the NL 16 teams and the AL 14. The Milwaukee Brewers agreed to transfer. So Milwaukee, the former home of the Braves for 13 years, once again became a National League city, with the Brewers in the NL Central Division.

The Arizona Diamondbacks were added to the NL West Division, giving the National League 5 teams in the East Division, 6 teams in the Central, and 5 in the West. Meanwhile, since Tampa Bay was added to the AL East, the Detroit Tigers agreed to move from the AL East to the AL Central Division. The result of the moves was 5 teams in the AL East, 5 teams in the AL Central, and 4 teams in the AL West Division.

2005: The Expos Move to D.C. and Become the Nationals

In 2005, there was a move within the National League East: The Montreal Expos franchise relocated to Washington, D.C., where the team was renamed the Washington Nationals. But the unbalanced league alignment was maintained through the 2012 season.

2013: Balanced Alignment Returns as the Houston Astros Move to the AL West

Effective with the 2013 season, the Houston Astros moved from the NL Central Division to the American League West Division. The move resulted in balanced divisions for the first time since 1998, with five teams in each division. Since each league now has 15 teams, the new alignment requires additional interleague play.

MLB also added a second wild-card team in each league in 2012, with a single "play-in" game between the two wild cards to determine which team will advance to the Division Series. The new format creates an additional incentive for teams to win their division.

MLB After Realignment to 3 Divisions: 1998–Present

Future Expansion or Franchise Relocation?

Speculation arises periodically about whether Major League Baseball will expand again, or whether smaller market teams will relocate. Expanding from the current 30 teams to 32 or more would bring baseball to additional markets. On the other hand, opponents of further expansion argue that Major League talent is already diluted.

Potential Candidates for Expansion

Which cities or metropolitan areas would be likely candidates for expansion? Considerations generally include population, income, media penetration, and baseball tradition. Currently, 25 of the 30 teams are located in 21 of the 22 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas, and the Toronto metro area population would place it in the top 10. Five other U.S. metropolitan areas have larger populations than Cincinnati, Cleveland, or Kansas City:

• Riverside, California
• Portland, Oregon
• Sacramento, California
• San Antonio, Texas
• Orlando, Florida

Another nine areas, including Las Vegas, Nevada, and Nashville, Tennessee, are more populous than the Milwaukee area, which is currently the smallest market in Major League Baseball.

Would any of these areas be strong candidates for a new MLB franchise? Or should the MLB consider additional international expansion, maybe to Mexico City, San Juan, or even Havana? With 7 billion people now on the planet, potential new fans are being born every minute.

© 2011 Brian Lokker

Comments

EJWTX64 on August 08, 2020:

Expand to Portland and Austin/San Antonio for 2026. Relocate A’s to San Jose (MLB needs to make San Jose joint Giants/A’s territory). Relocate Rays to Montreal. Realign teams & Divisions: AL West: Sea/Por/SJ/LAA; AL SW: Hou/TXR/ASA/Col; AL N: CWS/Clev/Det/KC; AL E:NYY/Bos/Mtl/Tor - NL W: LAD/SF/SD/AZ; NL N: CHC/Minn/Mil/StL; NL E: NYM/Phil/Was/Bal; NL S: Atl/Pit/Cin/Mia. To enhance regional play, teams play 18 gms in division = 54 gms; teams play 5 games against other teams in league = 60 gms; Regional Inter league divisions would play 6 gms = 24 gms (i.e. NL E vs AL E; NL W vs AL W etc). Each year divisions would play one other interleague division (once every 3 years) = 24gms. Total 162 games. Cin/Clev and Phil/Pit would each play each other annually at least 6 games and would play 6 less games between their interleague divisional rivals and or interleague rotating division to maintain regional rivalries. This alignment should reduce travel, enhance regional rivalries and help attendance since regional rivalries would encourage nearby cities fans to travel. Expand playoffs to 8 teams in each league. Top two division winners would get 2 round bye to divisional series (best of 7). Next 2 division winners get a one round bye to the regional series (beat of 5). 4 wild card teams would play (best of 3). Season would start one week and half earlier with at least 2 double headers first week and season would end week and a half earlier to allow expanded playoffs to start earlier. Division winners have incentive to be on top two to get 2 round bye and other two division winners have incentive to avoid wild card and get one round bye. White Sox should consider relocating to Nashville.

Brian Lokker (author) from Bethesda, Maryland on August 02, 2019:

Alan Merrett: OK, I see. Actually the divisions are currently of equal size - six divisions with five teams each since 2013. But I guess my table showing the divisions may be a little confusing. I used one table to show this six-division lineup, but it probably would have been clearer to include a separate table for each realignment within the six divisions, or at least to use a second one to show the equal divisions as of 2013. I may have to revise the article to make that change. Thanks again for your comments.

Alan Merrett on August 02, 2019:

Vacancies just a word to describe where teams could be placed to bring up divisions of equal size

Brian Lokker (author) from Bethesda, Maryland on August 01, 2019:

Alan Merrett: Thanks for your comment. I don't quite understand what you mean by three "vacancies." But I definitely think you make a good point about team names and nicknames.

Alan Merrett on July 31, 2019:

There are basically three vacancies ; 2 in the NL and one in the AL.

Nashville should take the vacancy in the NL east. Portland and maybe San Antonio for the AL vacancies. There are plenty of teams around California, so a franchise in Texas would be more likely to find it profitable than another one in California.

This is assuming that that there are requests for a franchise that necessitate a team moving from one league to another,like Houston did.

I just hope there is strict control of names and nicknames of franchises. i.e that the location should have the name of the city of location and not some suburb.People outside the USA can easily identify and locate a city on a map . The other one would be strict control of the nickname. American sport excels in this ; in that the franchises usually come up with a nickname that is relevant to the city/area and without being cumbersome(it rolls off the tongue easily). You don't want some of the nicknames that you find in the PCL or IL like "isotopes" or "stripers" or worst of all "baby cakes". They sound like something from a cartoon.

Jeffgooch on July 03, 2019:

Align1. I agree with all you say, except I think the expansion teams will be Vegas and Charlotte.

Brian Lokker (author) from Bethesda, Maryland on May 23, 2019:

Thanks for your comment. I still favor Align 1's Plan A, except I'd replace Montreal with Nashville for the NL expansion to preserve the Mets/Nationals rivalry. Admittedly that's a personal preference due to my location and my rooting interest, but I also think it makes sense for MLB.

Commissioner without the Title on May 23, 2019:

Align1's plan is spot on! The addition of Portland and Montreal make a ton of sense. If Portland does not work for some reason, substitute Las Vegas is its place and leave the rest of Align1's plan in place.

Nathan on May 13, 2019:

First of Portland, Oregon has already been mentioned in the past. The city has already had talks with MLB and so has Nashville, Tennessee.

There are 8 cities I think MLB will look at for one of the 2 expansion spots if they are interested:

Buffalo, New York

Charlotte, North Carolina

Jacksonville, Florida

Indianapolis, Indiana

Las Vegas, Nevada

Montreal, Canada

Nashville, Tennessee

Portland, Oregon

Brian Lokker (author) from Bethesda, Maryland on December 13, 2017:

Align 1: Thank you for your comments and the very interesting proposals.

I would prefer plan A, both because I like the idea of smaller divisions and because I'd like to maintain the integrity of the existing two leagues. My only qualm with the proposed assignment of the teams is personal: I admit that geographically the plan makes sense, but as a transplanted NY Mets fan in the Washington DC area, I like the fact that the Mets and Nats are in the same division, because it means the Mets visit DC relatively often.

Maybe the NL could expand to Nashville instead of Montreal, put Nashville in the Southeast Division, and keep Washington with the Mets and the Pennsylvania teams in the Northeast Division.

What would you envision as the playoff format for the two plans?

Align1 on December 13, 2017:

MLB Expansion/Realignment Proposal #2

PLAN B - 4 Large 8-Team Divisions - Intermix AL & NL Teams in Each Division

Revise RINGOLSBY PLAN in 4 ways:

1) Disallow 2-team East markets in same division (Chi., N.Y., D.C.).

2) Equally intermix 4 AL & 4 NL teams in each division (to balance DH rule).

3) Move Minnesota to West Conf. & Chicago Sox to East Conf.

4) AL teams keep DH, NL teams maintain no DH. Home field rules.

AMERICAN LEAGUE: (15 unchanged teams & 1 expansion team)

NATIONAL LEAGUE: (15 unchanged teams & 1 expansion team)

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

Atlantic Div: Boston, N.Y. Yankees, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Miami

Northeast Div: Chicago Sox, Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto, Montreal, N.Y. Mets, Philadelphia, Washington

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

Central Div: Colorado, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis, Kansas City, Texas, Houston

Pacific Div: Seattle, Portland, Oakland, San Francisco, L.A. Dodgers, L.A. Angels, San Diego, Arizona

Align1 on December 13, 2017:

MLB Expansion/Realignment Proposal

PLAN A - 8 Small 4-Team Divisions - Separate AL/NL Leagues

AMERICAN LEAGUE: (15 unchanged teams & 1 expansion team – YES designated hitter)

Eastern Division:

Toronto, Boston, N.Y. Yankees, Baltimore

Comments: 4 of 5 rival teams grouped most closely together from previous East Division.

Northern Division:

Minnesota, Chicago Sox, Detroit, Cleveland

Comments: 4 of 5 rival teams grouped most closely together from previous Central Division.

Southern Division:

Tampa Bay, Houston, Texas, Kansas City

Comments: Houston/Texas rivalry maintained, while they escape the remote west coast teams from previous West Division. Kansas City good fit w/ Texas teams, Kansas City & Texas have a past history being division rivals together. Southeastern team Tampa Bay is a little closer to/less remote with Houston, Texas & Kansas City than it was in previous East Division w/ northeastern teams N.Y. Yankees, Toronto & Boston, respectively. Tampa Bay closer to Houston than it is to Baltimore.

Western Division:

Seattle, Portland, Oakland, L.A. Angels

Comments: All 4 teams a natural fit together, including expansion Portland, which provides a strong natural rival w/ remote Seattle & fills a geographical void between Seattle & Oakland.

NATIONAL LEAGUE: (15 unchanged teams & 1 expansion team – NO designated hitter)

Northeast Division:

Montreal, N.Y. Mets, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh

Comments: N.Y. Mets/Philadelphia rivalry maintained from previous East Division. Expansion Montreal a nice fit here. Pittsburgh a natural fit with cross-state rival Philadelphia.

Southeast Division:

Washington, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Miami

Comments: Washington/Atlanta/Miami rivalries maintained from previous East Division. Cincinnati & Atlanta have a past history being division rivals together. Atlanta is closer to Cincinnati than it is to Washington. Washington a good team for Cincinnati to begin a division rivalry with. Remote Miami has the 3 closest League teams with it in division.

Midwest Division:

Colorado, St. Louis, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee

Comments: 3 of 5 rival teams grouped most closely together from previous Central Division. Colorado an adequate fit here.

Western Division:

San Francisco, L.A. Dodgers, San Diego, Arizona

Comments: 4 of 5 rival teams w/ best natural fit together from previous West Division.

Frank Lebel on June 22, 2017:

Absolutely fascinating and easy to read. Thanks

Brian Lokker (author) from Bethesda, Maryland on April 20, 2012:

mlbkranks - Thank you for reading and commenting. I understand your frustration about the Houston move. I'm sure I'd feel the same way if my favorite team (the Mets) changed leagues. The move does leave a geographical void, as you've pointed out. I think the new setup with two wild cards might prove interesting, though, since the one-grame playoff will provide more incentive for a team to win its division rather than settling for the wild card.

mlbkranks on April 20, 2012:

i hate 2 see the astros move 2 the a.l. ive always pulled 4 them 2 be in the world series vs texas. not only will that not take place but it will make it tough 2 want 2 attend their games being in the same division with texas and the closest n.l. team 2 dallas becomes...st.louis...600 miles away! i HATE interleague games and the wild card!! they take away from the world series, divisional races (as 2 win the division) and unbalanced schedules.