Time to say goodbye
As much as it pains the millions and millions of Montreal Expo fans (yeah, right) and one of three other franchises, it is time to say goodbye to Major League Baseball.
So, Major League Baseball, 30 teams too many for you? Guess so.
As announced on Tuesday, Major League Baseball will contract two of its teams before the 2002 season. The franchises were not named. Thus, theoretically, any team is in danger of the chopping block. Could the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves be contracted? Only in some fans sweetest dreams.
Baseball will only look at the franchises that are an embarrassment to them. The most likely of these franchises are the Montreal Expos. The Expos, known for drawing crowds lower than some Division II college football teams, are the worst franchise in baseball financially. They will be put out of their misery. So will either the Minnesota Twins, the Florida Marlins, or the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, with the Twins being rumored as the second team.
What happens now is that all of the players on the two teams will be free to anyone, right? Not exactly.
In the rumored agreement, the current Expos owner, Jeffrey Loria, will go to own the Florida Marlins. Then the Florida Marlins owner, John Henry, will own the Anaheim Angels. The owners of the Minnesota Twins, Carl Pohlad, and the Anaheim Angels, the Walt Disney Company, will receive around $200 million. Loria and Henry will take around three of their current players to their prospective new teams. The rest will be available in a dispersal draft and the Pittsburgh Pirates are unofficially on the clock.
What about the 100+ minor leaguers with no team? That is to be determined. Options are being considered.
The contraction leaves 13 teams in the American League and 15 teams in the National League meaning one National League team will have to switch. Who might that team be? The newly crowned world champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona would move to the American League West, the Texas Rangers would move to the American League Central, and the Pirates would move to the National League East.
This move could make baseball better, it could make it worse. That remains to be seen. That is assuming we even have a next season. We still don't know that yet and it is a different subject altogether.
As announced on Tuesday, Major League Baseball will contract two of its teams before the 2002 season. The franchises were not named. Thus, theoretically, any team is in danger of the chopping block. Could the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves be contracted? Only in some fans sweetest dreams.
Baseball will only look at the franchises that are an embarrassment to them. The most likely of these franchises are the Montreal Expos. The Expos, known for drawing crowds lower than some Division II college football teams, are the worst franchise in baseball financially. They will be put out of their misery. So will either the Minnesota Twins, the Florida Marlins, or the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, with the Twins being rumored as the second team.
What happens now is that all of the players on the two teams will be free to anyone, right? Not exactly.
In the rumored agreement, the current Expos owner, Jeffrey Loria, will go to own the Florida Marlins. Then the Florida Marlins owner, John Henry, will own the Anaheim Angels. The owners of the Minnesota Twins, Carl Pohlad, and the Anaheim Angels, the Walt Disney Company, will receive around $200 million. Loria and Henry will take around three of their current players to their prospective new teams. The rest will be available in a dispersal draft and the Pittsburgh Pirates are unofficially on the clock.
What about the 100+ minor leaguers with no team? That is to be determined. Options are being considered.
The contraction leaves 13 teams in the American League and 15 teams in the National League meaning one National League team will have to switch. Who might that team be? The newly crowned world champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona would move to the American League West, the Texas Rangers would move to the American League Central, and the Pirates would move to the National League East.
This move could make baseball better, it could make it worse. That remains to be seen. That is assuming we even have a next season. We still don't know that yet and it is a different subject altogether.
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