Well, maybe not a chiropractor, but they are contemplating a re-alignment. By now, most readers have likely caught wind of the up-for-debate topic of re-alignment in the MLB. For those who may not have, let me give a brief recap. The NL has 16 teams (2 divisions with 5 teams, 1 with 6) and the AL has 14 teams (2 divisions with 5 teams, 1 with 4). Suddenly the smartest people in the sport realize that 16 = 14 is somewhat in proportionate and they consider a new concept called “re-alignment”.
Upon hearing this story, I thought to myself “how the hell did we just realize this?”
Anyway, there seem to be two ideas in general that have come from discussions on re-alignment. The first, take the Houston Astros from the NL Central and put them in the AL West. This creates a “natural rivalry” with the Texas Rangers, takes a team from a division of 6, places them in a division of 4 and evens out all of baseball. Two leagues have 15 teams, all divisions have 5 teams.
Let’s play “what if”. If the aforementioned happens, there is a sort of potential scheduling complication. We have an odd number of teams in each league, which means on any given night, one team in each league will not have a divisional opponent. So the somewhat obvious solution: if the Chicago Cubs (NL) and Toronto Blue Jays (AL) have no league opponent to play on a given 3 day stretch (due to other teams being locked into another series), why not play each other? That is ok, if you are willing to support interleague play every night for one team in each division.
The second thought “Why don’t we have the best 5 teams in each league in the playoffs” Good question, hypothetical and potentially hallucinated voice in my head put into print. It sounds like you are hinting at splitting MLB into two equal leagues (15 and 15 or 14 and 14) and forgetting about the divisions within the leagues, then taking the best 5 records and they are in the playoffs. This is not the first time this would be done in the MLB (see 1969). However, we kind of have this in the NBA…and personally, I don’t really like it. As a Reds fan, I love the Reds/Cards rivalry because the value is that much higher than a Reds/Rockies series. On the same token, Yanks/Soxs (everyone’s favorite/least favorite two teams) would be equally diminished. In baseball, some games just mean more. It’s true, honestly and statistically. I say we hold on to that. Besides, finding a storyline for 162 games a year in a world without extra valued games would be brutal as a viewer. “These two teams used to be in the same division and would not even shake hands when on the same all-star team. Now, they square off again. Let’s see if the same intensity resonates”. Set the DVR, I want to watch the last 2 innings.
Another consideration: “I don’t like interleague play, and the league is too diluted” Solution: get rid of a team from each league (I’m not naming names) and move the Astros. Now we have 14 and 14 and interleague play resumes as normal. This could work, except it would be difficult to cut two teams and two markets from a financial perspective just to better the game from a quality standpoint, at least I would think. The game may be better off, but money is money and I think the suits like their gold-plated toilets.
It’s going to be interesting to see what happens, but the most likely scenario is Houston to the AL and everything else stays the same, with some considerations for scheduling (likely an expansion of interleague play). As a fan of the NL and more specifically the NL Central I think it is a way of having the most difficult division in baseball served some justice. (Seriously, no DH and you compete with 6 teams. Great year last year Rangers, you had to hold off 3 teams with a DH to win the division. Try holding off 5 with your pitcher hitting every game!)
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