As you’ve no doubt heard, there’s been some loose talk lately about realigning Major League Baseball to create two 15-team leagues. This would lead to all sorts of prickly questions, but the first that must be answered is fundamental: Which National League team (or teams) will switch to the American League.
Which Team Should Switch Leagues?
Assuming that the existing divisions remain, there are two obvious possibilities: the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Houston Astros.
The Diamondbacks, because 1) they would slide nicely into the four-team American League West, and 2) because Arizona doesn’t observe Daylight Savings Time, which means none of the D’backs road games would start later than 7:10 or 7:15pm, local time.
The Astros, because 1) they would play the Rangers plenty of times every season, and 2) they're currently one of six teams in the bloated National League Central.
The downside of moving the Astros is that they would play a number of road games with 9:05pm starts, Houston time. But that’s going to happen regardless, because if the Diamondbacks change leagues the Astros will have to take their place in the National League West.
Again, all of this assumes the divisions are retained, along with unbalanced schedules that have extra games against divisional foes. If the divisions are eliminated and/or the schedules are balanced, the time-zone issues go away.
Of course, there’s another issue: Nobody wants to move. Astros owner -- for the moment, anyway -- Drayton McLane doesn’t want to move. And the Diamondbacks were supposed to move a few years after their creation, but pitched such a fit that MLB didn’t make them move. Could these dynamics change? Sure. But the resistance to change is often both emotional and powerful. Which is just another reason to think any sort of meaningful realignment is unlikely.
Still, what do you think? Of the two most obvious candidates, which should join the American League?
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