Expansion of Major League Baseball (Lokker 2021) The expansion in 1998, with the AL and NL each gaining one franchise, bringing the MLB to its current size of 30 teams. The original six teams were awarded to two cities from different regions of the United States - New York and Chicago for the National League and Philadelphia and Baltimore for the American League.
The first two teams added were the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays. The third team was Colorado, which joined as a National League club before becoming an American League team following the 2013 season when Seattle moved to the American League. The final team added was Houston who replaced the Expos/Nationals franchise that had left Montreal for Washington D.C. in 2001.
Arizona and Tampa Bay are still members of the AL West while the other two new franchises are in the NL East and Central divisions. The Diamondbacks' ownership group includes former Milwaukee Brewers owner John Harrington, former Boston Red Sox president Larry Lucchino (who also managed the Brewers), and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. The Rays' owners include Jeffrey Loria of the Miami Marlins and Walt Disney Company CEO Robert Iger.
1998 The 1998 Major League Baseball expansion resulted in the formation of the league's 29th and 30th franchises, which began play in the 1998 season. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays entered the league as a pair of wild cards, with the other 17 teams vying for division titles and a chance at home-field advantage through the playoffs.
The Diamondbacks' inaugural season was marked by poor on-field performance but strong attendance figures due to the team's location near Phoenix. Meanwhile, the Devil Rays finished last in their division with only 912 fans attending each game. But both teams had successful postseasons: The Diamondbacks won the division title and the Devil Rays made it to the World Series.
The Tampa Bay franchise was moved to New York prior to the 1999 season and became the New York Mets. However, two cities in Florida still have major league teams: The Miami Marlins play in South Florida while the Orlando Magic play in Central Florida. Both teams opened their stadiums in 1997; however, neither has been able to draw significant fan interest or income from ticket sales.
The Milwaukee Brewers were the first team outside the six current National League members to join the NL. They began play in 1970 after the Dodgers and Giants left for California.
With the advent of the Houston Colt '45s (later Astros) and the New York Metropolitans in 1962, the National League grew to ten clubs (Mets). In 1961, the American League schedule was expanded to include each club playing each other 18 times. The remaining game was made up by using a double-header system. This continues to this day.
The number of games in both leagues has increased since then. There were 104 games played in 1995, which is now the most recent season completed without a loss for any team. The record is 108, which was set in 1968. That year, there were only 30 teams due to the expansion of two new teams - the Minnesota Twins and the Tampa Bay Rays. A total of 132 games were played in 2008.
There have been attempts to expand the league further, but none have succeeded. In 1992, four new teams were admitted into what is now called "Division Series" play - the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, and Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2007, another two teams were brought in through a draft - the Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies. Both teams are still members of their respective leagues.
In 2009, there was talk about expanding the league one more time to 12 teams. But, no agreement could be reached on how to do this.
In 1961, the American League expanded to ten teams. The American League elected to expand to ten clubs in 1960. The success of the Dodgers' and Giants' migrations to the West Coast prompted the American League to establish a new club, the Angels, to Los Angeles. The AL also wanted to give some other Western cities their own team so they formed two new clubs, the Rangers in Dallas and the A's in Oakland. In 1962, the Tigers joined the AL.
The original eight teams were divided into East and West divisions. Each team played its other teams in its division twice and each team once against the other seven teams in its division. The winner of each division went through to the league championship series where they competed for the title. If the season ended with no champion, because it was tied among the three leading teams, we would use the best-of-five playoff format to determine which team would win the title.
The AL Championship Series began in 1964. The winners of the East and West Division championships went through to the series which this year consisted of three games instead of five. The winners of these three games then met in the World Series for the right to go to the season's finale.
The 1965 World Series pitted the Yankees vs the Orioles. It is considered one of the greatest World Series ever because it featured two powerhouses of the time meeting in the World Series for the first time.
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