Let's Make a Major League! (Phase I: League Structure)

[Nerdlinger]

The premise here is that we're in an alternate world where we at BBF as a community can collectively create a brand new Major League Baseball from scratch. We're in the present, and there are currently no MLB teams anywhere, but we can pick whichever sites we like and place new teams there. I'm going for a league of somewhere between 24 and 36 teams located primarily in the US and Canada, just like the existing MLB, but with no teams named the same as their real life counterparts. Hopefully, we can get some good participation here in the Between Innings forum (I've noticed that the Fantasy Baseball and Gaming forum gets less traffic).

The first step for creating such a league is to decide on its basic structure: the number of teams and the number of subdivisions. In the poll I've presented some potential arrangements of 24, 28, 30, 32, and 36 teams. They're symmetric and for the most part plausible. Note that I've used the term "conferences" instead of "leagues" -- this alternate version of MLB doesn't have a history (yet) and so will likely be divided geographically. Vote for which arrangement you like best for our new MLB. If you have an arrangement in mind which is not listed, please feel free to share it in a post. The next phase after this is selecting the sites for our league's franchises.

[PlanetZoltan]

Sounds like a fun idea, hopefully there will be lots of participation.

I went with 28 teams 2 conferences, 2 divisions each. i like the 7-7/7-7 format, to me it just seems to work well.

[Nerdlinger]

Sounds like a fun idea, hopefully there will be lots of participation.

Thanks. I had a sinking feeling that this project would die before it even started. I may have to actively drum up some support.

[bluesky5]

Thanks. I had a sinking feeling that this project would die before it even started. I may have to actively drum up some support.

You come up with a lot of entertaining scenarios DJC.

[bluesky5]

I went with 24 teams, 2 conferences (leagues) with 2 divisions.

[Nerdlinger]

You come up with a lot of entertaining scenarios DJC.

Thanks. I try. Helps keep me sane.

[9RoyHobbsRF]

I like the way english soccer is

If you don't do well and are one of the lower teams in the league you get demoted to a lesser league and a well performing team from the upper minor league gets promoted

talk about incentive

[DTF955]

Almost voted 32 teams, 4 conferences, 4 teams but like the idea more of a team being 4th and still decent, plus you might get better pennant races with 7 teams available.

I chose that over 24 teams (same with with 6 teams in each division) because for the first decade or so I followed baseball, and for the most passioante years as I was in my youth, I grew up with 26 teams. There's a certain magic to me about a team workign their way up from the basebment, 7th is distant but not nearly as sad a shape as 12th or 14th, and 4th seems like it should be more middle of the road

This likely requires a balanced schedule, but need not - I might have voted 26 actually, so one conference was blanaced and one not, and one league would have a balanced schedule and one not. But, there is a certain beauty in both being like the A.L. of '77-'93, as I say, 4th can be exactly int he middle.

And, who knows, there might be a way to have a sensible, unbalanced schedule with 2 divisions of 7.

[Nerdlinger]

The AL from 1979-1993 and the NL in 1993 used the formula (6 x 13 + 7 x 12 = 162), but I think that's too balanced. If there are divisions, a team should play significantly more games against each team in its division than a team in another division, since the divisional rivals are those with which each team is most directly competing for a playoff spot. The formula could be tweaked to (6 x 14 + 7 x 10 = 154), which some people might like because it shortens the regular season. The formulas (6 x 16 + 7 x 8 = 152) or (6 x 18 + 7 x 8 = 164), which increase the imbalance in the schedule, could work too. All of this assumes no interconference play, of course. I'd prefer that there be no ICP, but the structure of the schedule will be something we can vote on in a later phase of the project.

[Nerdlinger]

Any more takers?

[RMD]

Personally, I'd start with 36 teams, and given these options, go with 4 divisionless conferences divided by regions. I would hope to grow the game based on these regions, and hopefully regional rivalries could help this game be #1 in America.

I'd go:
East: 1. Philadelphia I 2. Philadelphia II 3. Washington 4. Baltimore 5. Brooklyn 6. New York I 7. New York II 8. Boston I 9. Boston II

North: 1. Pittsburgh 2. Cleveland 3. Cincinnati 4. Detroit 5. Chicago I 6. Chicago II 7. St. Louis 8. Milwaukee 9. Minnesota

South: 1. Miami 2. Tampa Bay 3. Atlanta 4. New Orleans 5. Birmingham 6. Memphis 7. Oklahoma City 8. Texas 9. Houston

West: 1. Oakland 2. San Francisco 3. Los Angeles I 4. Los Angeles II 5. San Diego 6. Seattle 7. Las Vegas 8. Utah 9. Colorado

[DTF955]

Any more takers?

If it continues to be tied between 28 and 24 teams with 4 divisions in 2 conferences, I would be willing to change my vote to 24 teams with each conference having 2 divisions of 6, if it's going to help it move along. I might not be able to vote on everything (though I'll push hard for a Brooklyn team ) and wouldn't want my vote to hold things up.

In addition, as I said, in my biggest years of fandom the N.L. was 2 divisions of 6 teams each. So, that would be acceptable.

(Ironically, I also noted that I almost picked the 32-team, 4 divisions of 4 teams each model, as in "If Baseball Integrated Early," which if i had would have given it 3 votes along with the 6-6/6-6 model.)

[Nerdlinger]

No more love? It's a good thing I opted to make this poll open-ended.

DTF -- If you want a Brooklyn team, it might have been better to vote for more teams, as it would increase your odds.

[Nerdlinger]

I'm beginning to think that there may be a general lack of enthusiasm here for this project. 353 views and just 14 votes....

[StanTheMan]

I like the way english soccer is

If you don't do well and are one of the lower teams in the league you get demoted to a lesser league and a well performing team from the upper minor league gets promoted

talk about incentive

Actually, three go down "are relegated" and three go up "are promoted" between each tier on The English League. (And every other professional soccer league in Europe)

ie The three worst AA teams move down to A, while the three A teams move to AA. The three worst
MLB teams move to AAA, with three AAA teams moving up to the majors.

All teams are independently owned, as are player contracts... The system wouldn't work here for many reasons. It is a wonderful system, creating games towards the end of the season with a level of excitement and financial reward/punishment unknown in American Sports.