If You Could Move One Team...

[MNBrew]

Seriously, I remember 25 years ago, there was much talk about Buffalo as a potential future MLB site. Buffalo may still be a great MLB site. Buffalo has no problem supporting its NFL Bills & NHL Sabres.

Buffalo is pretty rabid about the Sabres, but the NBA team in Buffalo only lasted about 10 years, and there has been talk of the Bills moving to Toronto for several years. I live in upstate NY, in the Bills TV area, and in a typical season about half the Bills home games aren't televised because they are not sold out. I think you are right about the baseball stadium being built for potential expansion, and it's a relatively nice AAA stadium, but I don't think there would be enough interest/fan money to support an MLB team there.

I take your points & projections with all due respect and can see why Buffalo may not be the optimal market for MLB that it was once viewed as. My only point in response is that the NBA's Buffalo Braves of 30+ years ago don't really provide a reasonably valid comparison to MLB of today for myriad reasons (cultural phenomenon sports now is in our country, media exposure & proliferation & accessibility, fan interest & attendance, merchandising, etc., etc., etc.).

[Bombers]

Two items to comment on:

Toronto:

• I go to Toronto every year in May for work and have gone to a game for 3 straight years.
  
• The stadium sucks.
  
• It is located in an area where you don't tailgate, good bars are a pretty good hike, fans don't seem "into" it. (Could just be a factor of a bad team)
  
• The only coolness factor to it is it is attached to the hotel, so kind of neat if you get a field facing room. But that is a 1 time, well did that thing. (And to be honest gets pretty boring watching a game from your hotel room. But since I was there for a week I got to watch live baseball almost every night from my room without buying a ticket.)
  
• Every game I have gone to the stadium is maybe 35% full and that is probably being generous. (I always go to a Sunday day game)
  
• The people I work with from Toronto are really into Hockey and Baseball / Basketball is a complete after thought.

2. Move Houston to AL West.

• JoePepsi: I 110% agree with this.
  
• Simple math gives the brewers a 16.7% chance of winning the division but yet an AL West team has a 25% chance. I just don't get this.

[gbpakman]

This is a fun topic.

 

I think when you look at population size, these cities jump out as potential MLB team suitors:

Portland

San Antonio

Indianapolis

 

These cities, while not as large, could potentially house teams:

Nashville

Memphis

Salt Lake City

Louisville

Oklahoma City

Hartford

Birmingham

 

Of the teams I listed, I think San Antonio or Nashville would be the best fit.

[trwi7]

I can't imagine the Rangers or Astros would be happy about a team moving to San Antonio.

 

FWIW, when MLB expanded with the Rays and D'Backs the cities who submitted an application for a franchise other than Tampa and Phoenix obviously were Buffalo, Mexico City, Monterrey, Nashville, Northern Virginia, Orlando and Vancouver. Others that were rumored but didn't submit an application were Charlotte, Washington D.C. (obviously wouldn't happen now) and Guadalajara.

[The Truth]

If I could move one team I'd move the Chicago Cubs to Siberia, Russia

[craigharmann]

I can't imagine the Rangers or Astros would be happy about a team moving to San Antonio.

I'm in San Antonio, and I think it would be a possibility, people here live under this absurd notion that we're going to get a football team. No way, no how on that one. I think if they built a baseball stadium in New Braunfels or San Marcos, halfway between SA and Austin, a baseball team could definitely be a possibility. But it probably won't happen.

[Invader3K]

I think Portland makes the most sense. Yeah, it's in Seattle's "territory", but the two cities are about as close by as many other neighboring MLB teams. Would probably make for a good rivalry too.

[NievesNoNO]

As many have stated the Rays to Portland makes a lot of sense. My second choice would be Honolulu. I don't think that would ever happen becasue of travel costs, but who knows. The Pirates could then shift to the A.L. East.

[Funketown]

FWIW, when MLB expanded with the Rays and D'Backs the cities who submitted an application for a franchise other than Tampa and Phoenix obviously were Buffalo, Mexico City, Monterrey, Nashville, Northern Virginia, Orlando and Vancouver. Others that were rumored but didn't submit an application were Charlotte, Washington D.C. (obviously wouldn't happen now) and Guadalajara.

I had no clue Mex City and Monterrey actually applied. I can't imagine a MLB team in Mexico in the near future, although I imagine some Spanish speaking players would be willing to take a discount to play there.

[nate82]

I had no clue Mex City and Monterrey actually applied. I can't imagine a MLB team in Mexico in the near future, although I imagine some Spanish speaking players would be willing to take a discount to play there.

Doubt it. Since the majority of the Hispanic players are not really from Mexico most of the Hispanic players are from places like the Dominican. The Dominican Republic and Mexico are completely different cultures to make a comparison it would be like saying someone from Texas is the same as someone from New York.

[Eddiehitsthefoulpole]

I would move a team back into Montreal. I have no logical reasoning for this. I just remember when I was a kid Montreal had a lot of young talent (Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Steve Rogers, etc..), that stadium was a tough place to play for visiting teams because of how raucous the fans were. I know how things changed after those guys moved on but I know that the fans that were left were hard core. Please don't tell me how dumb this idea is, it is simply a statement of nostalgia.

[Invader3K]

I would move a team back into Montreal. I have no logical reasoning for this. I just remember when I was a kid Montreal had a lot of young talent (Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Steve Rogers, etc..), that stadium was a tough place to play for visiting teams because of how raucous the fans were. I know how things changed after those guys moved on but I know that the fans that were left were hard core. Please don't tell me how dumb this idea is, it is simply a statement of nostalgia.

It very well might be viable, but they would absolutely have to build a new stadium like they had planned, before that fell through in the early 2000's.

 

 

[RockCoCougars]

I would move a team back into Montreal. I have no logical reasoning for this. I just remember when I was a kid Montreal had a lot of young talent (Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Steve Rogers, etc..), that stadium was a tough place to play for visiting teams because of how raucous the fans were. I know how things changed after those guys moved on but I know that the fans that were left were hard core. Please don't tell me how dumb this idea is, it is simply a statement of nostalgia.

Not really a dumb idea at all. Montreal was a great franchise, and I believe that they set or came close to setting some sort of attendance records during their glory days. Two things killed that franchise- poor ownership once the brewery sold the team, and the '94 strike. That '94 team was absolutely loaded.

[Funketown]

I had no clue Mex City and Monterrey actually applied. I can't imagine a MLB team in Mexico in the near future, although I imagine some Spanish speaking players would be willing to take a discount to play there.

Doubt it. Since the majority of the Hispanic players are not really from Mexico most of the Hispanic players are from places like the Dominican. The Dominican Republic and Mexico are completely different cultures to make a comparison it would be like saying someone from Texas is the same as someone from New York.

I'm hard-pressed to believe the cultural difference between Santo Domingo and Mexico City is greater than the cultural difference between Santo Domingo and say, Seattle or Milwaukee. That said, the cultural difference between Havana and Miami is probably less than the difference between Havana and Monterrey.

[Invader3K]

I can see the cultural aspect both ways. However, I really doubt any city in Mexico is going to get an MLB team in the next decade or more, probably much longer than that. The political and criminal situation in that country is just way too volatile right now.