Inter-League Play after potential expansion teams

[SomeGuy]

Two expansion teams have been rumored for a few years now but some experts are predicting the virus could increase the probability of that as it would bring economic relief. If two teams join MLB and each league has an even 16 teams then the everyday inter-league play would no longer be necessary. 

 

My question is do you prefer the current system where there is always an interleague series going and each division plays another division from the other league or do you prefer the week long event that we used to have before the Astros were realigned to the AL?

 

I liked the event aspect of inter-league week but I feel the current setup is more balanced.  Plus the week long event was always kind of gimicky where the same teams played each other every year and we pretended they were rivals. I found myself tuning in to random interleague matchups pretty regularly with the current system.

 

Two more teams would probably result in 4 divison leagues and change scheduling a bit but I would think interleague would still find some role in the schedule.

[Shaitan]

None of the above. I want no interleague, with the exception of the rivalry series.

[rdehring]

 

None of the above. I want no interleague, with the exception of the rivalry series.

Agree that 6 games a year, home and home, against your rival from the same division is the way to go.  Twins vs. the Brewers is great for the fans, as is KC vs. St. Louis, Cubs vs. Sox, Indians vs. Reds, etc.  Yes, there are some that don't make sense, but for the most part these are great.

 

Now, lets get the DH in both ballparks and I will be happy.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

If expansion, I’d like to consolidate into one league and one rule book (universal DH).

 

So no inter league I guess

[notoriousgod71]

No interleague, no expansion, no wild cards,no DH.

 

Selig had it right when he wanted contraction.

 

Baseball. Fixed.

 

 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

No interleague, no expansion, no wild cards,no DH.

 

Selig had it right when he wanted contraction.

 

Baseball. Fixed.

so.... no Twins then either?

[cardsfan]

I still want 2 teams contracted like Tampa and another. Marlins would have been except for new stadium. Florida baseball should have just been in February and March.

[SomeGuy]

 

Agree that 6 games a year, home and home, against your rival from the same division is the way to go.  Twins vs. the Brewers is great for the fans, as is KC vs. St. Louis, Cubs vs. Sox, Indians vs. Reds, etc.  Yes, there are some that don't make sense, but for the most part these are great.

 

Now, lets get the DH in both ballparks and I will be happy.

Are these teams really rivals though?  Most of them have shared fans. It feels forced.

 

This also introduces an unbalanced schedule.  KC has to play St Louis every year while the Indians get the almost always poor Reds. If you miss the playoffs by 1 game and your interleague "rival" has the best record or if the team ahead of you had a gimmie series against someone like the Marlins,  I would feel cheated. 

[SomeGuy]

I originally hated the idea of removing interleague week when the Astros moved but I am sold on the new format.

[Trov]

I do recall some rumors of expansion, not sure where that would be.  They need to get the Rays out of Tampa.  They are too good of an an organization to be stuck in that bad of a stadium and that bad of a fan base.  Vegas has a AAA team, but I could see them making bid for an MLB team.  A few other big AAA cities could make bids too, like Portland.  

 

If there is two more teams I would love to see no inter-league play at all.  It started as a gimmick to get fans interested after the 94 strike.  Getting to see teams you never got to see, and getting to have special rivals, but for me it fell flat.  The difference in rules is annoying.  The fact that there has to be a series every day is annoying, but make sense to not have a 14 and 16 team league like they had before, not fair to 16 team league it reduced percent of playoffs.  

 

I would welcome expansion to just get rid of inter-league play.  If they want to keep it, we need single rule book.  Before inter-league play I felt All-Star game was better, also before so much national coverage.  It was the one chance you would see the stars of the other league, but now you see them all the time.  It made the WS even more fun to see, because the two teams had never played that season and most likely had not played in a WS together.  It gave a different feeling.  Now you may have played the team as much as 6 times, and possibly just played them at the end of the season.  

 

This is just my perspective and sure many people do not agree.  I would be opposed to the "rivalry" series too. Sure the Twins kind of have a rivalry with brewers, more so fans have it not the players.  The inter city rivalry can be fun, but imagine the "sub-way" series back in the day if there had not been inter-league play, maybe the pizzia clemons thing would have been less, but the series would have been more fun I think.  Only half the league has natural geography rivals, where the other half get forced together.  

[bighat]

I like it as it is.

 

It's fun to have a few series in NL stadiums each year and have NL teams visit Target Field.

 

I think it's great for Twins fans to see our team playing in new locations so we can get a peek. San Diego, New York Mets, Colorado, etc. And equally good for the Twins brand to have every MLB team get in and check out Minneapolis and Target Field. The reviews are always glowing. If there's a town that could do with some praise right about now, it's Minneapolis. The more eyes we have on the city as it recovers from tragedy, the better.

[SomeGuy]

A couple links that I found interesting that explore why expansion could be more likely now.

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/will-mlb-turn-to-expansion-after-losing-revenues-to-covid-19/

 

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/why-the-coronavirus-shutdown-could-lead-to-mlb-expansion-in-the-near-future/

[notoriousgod71]

 

A couple links that I found interesting that explore why expansion could be more likely now.

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/will-mlb-turn-to-expansion-after-losing-revenues-to-covid-19/

 

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/why-the-coronavirus-shutdown-could-lead-to-mlb-expansion-in-the-near-future/

LET'S DILUTE THE PITCHING EVEN MORE!

[SomeGuy]

 

LET'S DILUTE THE PITCHING EVEN MORE!

GET RID OF THE DH AND MAKE THE PITCHERS HIT!

[SomeGuy]

LET'S DILUTE THE PITCHING EVEN MORE!

But seriously the quality hitters would be spread out more too. 2 more teams would be competing for free agents and trade targets etc. Plus that is more opportunities for developing and training pitchers.

[notoriousgod71]

 

But seriously the quality hitters would be spread out more too. 2 more teams would be competing for free agents and trade targets etc. Plus that is more opportunities for developing and training pitchers.

It just doesn't happen. Every time baseball expands offense explodes.

[4twinsJA]

Everything on the table for possible changes given present situation. I want universal DH. Expansion great, will bring probable realignment and schedule changes. Decrease season game total, decrease travel for teams, extra-inning change, roster/IL changes, minor league revamping. Many possible changes coming.

[Shaitan]

I can't imagine expansion following a shortened season and a questionable national economy. It doesn't seem like realistic timing.

 

On the other hand, expansion = more MLB jobs, so it could help in the next CBA as a concession toward the players union.