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ALTERNATE REALITY MLB (WHAT IF THE DODGERS NEVER MOVED TO LOS ANGELES?) 1957-58 MLB Offseason: After Robert Moses rejected his proposal to build a new domed stadium in Downtown Brooklyn, Walter O'Malley decides to take Moses' alternative proposition of moving his ballclub to a new ballpark in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, thus renaming themselves the New York Dodgers; meanwhile, Horace Stoneham -- owner of the New York Giants Baseball Club -- pulls his team out of the aging Polo Grounds in Manhattan and relocates them to the Upper Midwest, settling in Minneapolis, Minnesota; the team would be rechristened as the Minnesota Giants; with the Giants relocating to Minnesota, the Dodgers are ensured that New York City still has a National Leauge franchise. 1958-59 MLB Seasons: With the new stadium in Queens under construction, the Dodgers play their final 2 seasons at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, with selected games at the Polo Grounds -- ironically, the former home of their now-former crosstown rivals, the Giants -- and Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey. 1960 MLB Season: The newly-rechristened New York Dodgers officially move into their new home ballpark in Flushing Meadows; the stadium is named "Walter F. O'Malley Municipal Stadium" after the franchise's owner. 1960-61 MLB Offseason: The original Washington Senators relocate to Los Angeles, California, and are renamed the Los Angeles Angels; however, the Nation's Capital would not be without baseball for long, as the American League adds a new Washington Senators franchise as one of two expansion teams; the other being the San Francisco Seals. 1961-62 MLB Offseason: Following suit with the AL from the previous offseason, the National League expands with 2 new franchises of their own: the Houston Colt .45s (which would later become the Houston Astros) and the Los Angeles Stars. 1965-66 MLB Offseason: Despite their newfound success in Milwaukee -- after relocating from Boston in 1953 -- the Braves still relocate to Atlanta due to two factors: 1) William Bartholomay, who purchased the team in 1962, desired to move them to a larger TV market; and 2) the fast-growing city of Atlanta, GA -- led by Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. -- had just completed a new stadium in hopes of bringing an existing MLB and/or NFL/AFL team to the area. 1968-69 MLB Offseason: MLB expands 4 more teams (2 in the AL, and 2 in the NL); The American League receives the Seattle Pilots and the Milwaukee Brewers, while the National League adds the Oakland Oaks and the Montreal Royales (the latter of the two being the first MLB franchise to play in Canada). Before 1970 MLB Season: Due to financial woes, poor play on the field, and the fact that they had to play at a dilapidated former minor league baseball stadium -- Sick's Stadium, the long time home of the then-Pacific Coast League's Rainiers -- the Seattle Pilots were declared bankrupt one week before the start of the 1970 MLB season, thus, clearing the way for their move to San Diego, CA; the team would then be purchased by prominent San Diego businessman C. Arnholdt Smith, who rechristened them the San Diego Padres (after the former PCL team which he owned). 1971-72 MLB Offseason: The Washington Senators relocate to the Dallas-Fort Worth Area of Texas and rebrand themselves as the Texas Rangers. 1975-76 MLB Offseason: The American League approves 2 new expansion franchises to begin play in 1977: The Seattle Mariners (after the city of Seattle, King County, and the state of Washington agreed to drop their lawsuit against the AL for breach of contract, after the Pilots' relocation to San Diego in 1970) and the Toronto Blue Jays (the 2nd MLB Canadian franchise). June 1991: The National League approves expansion bids for both Denver, CO and Miami, FL; the two clubs -- respectively named the Colorado Rockies and the Florida (now Miami) Marlins -- would begin play in 1993. March 9, 1995 (During 1994-95 MLB Strike): MLB names Phoenix, AZ, and Tampa, FL, as expansion franchises, both beginning play in 1998; the Phoenix franchise (which would be known as the Arizona Diamondbacks) would play in the National League, while the Tampa franchise (which would become the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and later simply the Tampa Bay Rays) would play in the American League); since interleague play didn't exist at the time of the announcement, the San Diego Padres would agree to move from the AL to the NL to ensure that both leagues had an even number of teams (the AL with 14 teams, and the NL with 16). September 29, 2004: MLB announces the relocation of the Montreal Royales to Washington, D.C., for the 2005 season; the team would be renamed the Washington Nationals. 2012-13 MLB Offseason: The Houston Astros move from the National League to the American League, giving both leagues 15 teams and ensuring season-long interleague play. ALIGNMENT OF ALTERNATE REALITY MLB (WHERE DODGERS DIDN'T MOVE TO LOS ANGELES) AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox New York Yankees Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays CENTRAL Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Detroit Tigers Kansas City A's Milwaukee Brewers WEST Houston Astros Los Angeles Angels San Francisco Seals Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST Atlanta Braves Miami Marlins New York Dodgers Philadelphia Phillies Washington Nationals CENTRAL Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds Minnesota Giants Pittsburgh Pirates St. Louis Cardinals WEST Arizona Diamondbacks Colorado Rockies Los Angeles Stars Oakland Oaks San Diego Padres