the next MLB city

[aerodynamix]

I would think a warm weather city would get one over a northern city.

In that case, I'll nominate Charlotte.

Even though I dearly want the Marlins to stay, I concur. But...I dunno, either Raleigh or Charlotte would do. And make the Bulls the relocated teams' AAA affiliate (sp?).

Although, I wouldn't mind seeing a San Antonio/Austin team. But then again, Austin is a major college town with a highly successful Texas baseball team while San Antonio (actually, both) doesn't necessarily have the facilities. Unless they would use the AlamoDome...

The county has offered to put up 200 million of a proposed 300 million dollar new ballpark for the Marlins. So no, they wouldn't have to play in the Alamodome, which cannot be configured for baseball in any case.

I see. Well, if the Marlins do relocate, it's either in Carolina or San Antonio.

[rams80]

How about the Mexico City Caballeros

Does the phrase "15 Day DL (Montezuma's Revenge)" mean anything to you?

As for likely baseball locales, I feel it runs in the following categories

Most likely

Portland

Charlotte

Minor issues

Las Vegas (gambling)

San Antonio (heat, stadia, two other Texas teams)

Larger issues

Sacramento (5 other teams in Cali, can only support one major team.)

Norfolk (interest has died down, Washington and Baltimore in area)

Monterey (if any place in Mexico gets the team-its here, but a move to Mexico could be troubled)

Buffalo (overloaded market, little money)

Louisville (no teams, but little interest AFAIK)

Surely you jest

San Juan, Puerto Rico-no fans, no stadium, no money

Oklahoma City-gonna be either NBA or NHL here, nothing else

ROFL-ville

Indianapolis (overloaded market, happy with Indians)

San Jose (Giants territory)

Meadowlands (Yankees and Mets, oh my!)

[Ron Mexico]

Okay, why is Charlotte considered such a good possibility? I remember they were close to landing the Twins, but they couldn't even come close to a stadium deal. Wouldn't this already overload a market that has yet to prove it can support a team (I know the issue with the Hornets was with management). The Panthers haven't been a consistent draw until recently, and you still don't really know about the NBA. Is there something about Charlotte I am missing?

[RickV]

I thought I read somewhere that the Charlotte mayor said his city wasnt interested in the Marlins because they could not support a 3 major sport. My gut feeling is that the Marlins arent going anywhere, Miami/Dade will somehow workout a deal with them and build them a new ballpark.

[Krona]

As for likely baseball locales, I feel it runs in the following categories

Most likely

Portland

Charlotte

"While we know Mr. Loria's primary intention is to keep the Marlins in South Florida, we've always believed the team would be a perfect fit for Portland.

The biggest hurdle his organization has faced has been in securing a baseball-only stadium. Thanks to Senate Bill 5, which passed in August 2003, we already have the public's and Governor Kulongoski's support to build such a facility. And the legislation has no sunset.

Since that time, and even after the Expos moved to DC, we've worked tirelessly behind the scenes with such baseball-savvy partners as HOK Sport, Gameplan LLC -- and in a united effort with the Oregon Sports Authority.

Among these positive, proactive steps: working toward the relocation of the main post office, a prime place for a possible ballpark, with perfect views of Mt. Hood.

In the end, we hope Portland's enthusiasm for baseball, its regional assets and our group's community efforts on behalf of a professional franchise -- including an ongoing outreach to students and schools -- are all strongly considered."

Steve Kanter

President, Portland Baseball Group

http://www.portlandbaseballgroup.com/

[nwtrailtrekker]

i say give a team to memphis and portland, even out the AL and NL to 16 teams each. portland goes in the AL West (important cause they only got 4 teams). memphis can go in the central. that way you have 2 divisions of 5 and 1 division of 6 (both being central) in each league.

[rams80]

i say give a team to memphis and portland, even out the AL and NL to 16 teams each. portland goes in the AL West (important cause they only got 4 teams). memphis can go in the central. that way you have 2 divisions of 5 and 1 division of 6 (both being central) in each league.

As much I would like two 16 team leagues (so we could go to four divisions and abolish the wild card), expansion probably isn't an option right now.

Memphis is the smallest market in the NBA, what could possibly lead you to believe they could support a second team.

[The_Admiral]

As much I would like two 16 team leagues (so we could go to four divisions and abolish the wild card), expansion probably isn't an option right now.

Yeah, get rid of what's helped baseball become so exciting in recent years! DAMN THE WILD CARD STRAIGHT TO HELL

The wild card is Selig's baby. Even people who hate the steroid scandal, the contraction fiasco, public stadium extortion, All-Star Games that count, so on, so forth, usually shrug their shoulders and go "well, I guess the wild card is good." It'd be 5-6-5 in the American League, and the Blue Jays would be liberated from the Eastern Division.

[Mingjai]

I was just looking over the media market rankings to see which metropolitan areas don't have MLB teams. Nielsen Media Markets--Click Here. Not counting the Florida markets, the highest populated media market with no MLB team is Sacramento at 19, followed by Portland (23), Indy (25), and Charlotte (27). In my quick glance over the rankings, the lowest ranked market with an MLB team is Cincinnati (34). While there are a lot more variables to a good baseball market than populations (see, e.g., all of the large Florida markets), it's interesting to look who's on the list of potential expansion sites and how they rank in media market size.

Also, why is Portland considered such a good baseball town? Looking at the attendence of their AAA team, it wouldn't seem a better option than Sacramento. In fact, didn't the predecessor to the current Portland Beavers move to Salt Lake City to become the Buzz/Stingers/Bees?

While I'm on the topic: Salt Lake City might not be too bad of an option, though with the Jazz, BYU, the U of U, and now RSL all vying for the sports fans' buck, it's probably not too realistic at this point. But I must say that Franklin Covey Field--with it's blue skies and view of the mountains--is a great place to spend a lazy summer afternoon.

[rams80]

As much I would like two 16 team leagues (so we could go to four divisions and abolish the    wild card), expansion probably isn't an option right now.

Yeah, get rid of what's helped baseball become so exciting in recent years! DAMN THE WILD CARD STRAIGHT TO HELL

The wild card is Selig's baby. Even people who hate the steroid scandal, the contraction fiasco, public stadium extortion, All-Star Games that count, so on, so forth, usually shrug their shoulders and go "well, I guess the wild card is good." It'd be 5-6-5 in the American League, and the Blue Jays would be liberated from the Eastern Division.

The Wild Card is not good, it allows teams to suck for significant periods of the season, turn it on a little, luck into the playoffs, and then get hot for two weeks to show up in the World Series. I'm sure a four division setup would allow for plenty of exciting divisional races.

[otherwilds]

Where does that name come from, anyway?

A "Queen City" nickname refers to when the largest city in your state is not the capitol city or something to theat effect.

Memphis Grzzlies are already losing steam as attendance is dropping despite the fact they are going to the playoffs for the second year in a row. so i do not see them making a play for MLB franchise. Though both Memphis and Louisville have great AAA ballparks.

[TheOldRoman]

Contraction is not an option. Selig only brought it up as a threat, to try to extort stadium deals for a few teams, most notably Minnesota. There is no way in hell MLB will contract.

The truth is, there are not any cities left without a team that can support one. The only team that has a chance of moving is the Marlins, and they are still 50/50 at least to stay. The Marlins know their best chance for sucsess is staying in Miami, so they are using the other cities to get leverage against Miami.

[heronfish]

MONTREAL

You want a centre that has enough baseball heritage, and population for a team it is in Montreal. Give them a smaller outdoor stadium and they can work well, look at what the Alouettes have done since moving to McGill.

[Mac the Knife]

Contraction is not an option. Selig only brought it up as a threat, to try to extort stadium deals for a few teams, most notably Minnesota. There is no way in hell MLB will contract.

The truth is, there are not any cities left without a team that can support one. The only team that has a chance of moving is the Marlins, and they are still 50/50 at least to stay. The Marlins know their best chance for sucsess is staying in Miami, so they are using the other cities to get leverage against Miami.

No one said it was likely, but it is, technically, an option.

Personally I'm rooting for a move, but out of pure self-interest. Back when the Marlins played their first game in '93, my (now) wife and I drove from our hometown in Pennsylvania to Miami, making it the centerpiece of a week-long vacation.

Before going to the game I rented a U-Haul, just about literally driving it up to the stadium's gates. I then proceeded to buy out a souvenier stand - lock, stock and barrel - as soon as the gates opened. Had some of their staffers load the stuff into the U-Haul, then watched the pregame ceremonies and 3 innings of Marlins-Dodgers in scorching heat (literally the worst sunburn I've ever had in my life - I had blisters for a week) before realizing I was going to have sunstroke if I didn't get the hell out of there.

Anyway, if they were to relocate, my $8,000 investment that day probably climbs pretty appreciably. Hell, I'll even rent them a U-Haul, just for sentimentality.

[Buffalo]

Contraction is not an option.  Selig only brought it up as a threat, to try to extort stadium deals for a few teams, most notably Minnesota.  There is no way in hell MLB will contract.

The truth is, there are not any cities left without a team that can support one.  The only team that has a chance of moving is the Marlins, and they are still 50/50 at least to stay.  The Marlins know their best chance for sucsess is staying in Miami, so they are using the other cities to get leverage against Miami.

No one said it was likely, but it is, technically, an option.

Personally I'm rooting for a move, but out of pure self-interest. Back when the Marlins played their first game in '93, my (now) wife and I drove from our hometown in Pennsylvania to Miami, making it the centerpiece of a week-long vacation.

Before going to the game I rented a U-Haul, just about literally driving it up to the stadium's gates. I then proceeded to buy out a souvenier stand - lock, stock and barrel - as soon as the gates opened. Had some of their staffers load the stuff into the U-Haul, then watched the pregame ceremonies and 3 innings of Marlins-Dodgers in scorching heat (literally the worst sunburn I've ever had in my life - I had blisters for a week) before realizing I was going to have sunstroke if I didn't get the hell out of there.

Anyway, if they were to relocate, my $8,000 investment that day probably climbs pretty appreciably. Hell, I'll even rent them a U-Haul, just for sentimentality.

What exactly did you buy?

And how do you expect to sell several (I imagine hundreds) of pieces of "old school" and by your premise, obsolete merchandise and actually make a profit off of your huge initial investment?

I mean, lets face it, eBay is filled with tons of old sports stuff that don't even get sold with auctions starting at $0.99.

Your story intrigues me, but sounds like it was a silly idea.

Reply and justify yourself!

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Louisville was mentioned earlier, but that can't happen. Louisville Slugger Field is downtown, holds about 10,000 seats and was just finished a couple of years ago. I don't know that adding seats is an option, and I further doubt this town cares enough about baseball to show up. Unlike Cincinnati (which is an hour and a half away), there isn't a large enough local population to come to games.

Also, Louisville is presently going nuts of behind closed door deals to build an unnecessary basketball arena on a a flood plane (seriously). That issue seems likes it's years from being finished, and basketball is really the only sport this city cares about anyway.

I think Charlotte is a good option for the Marlins, except I don't know how well they draw for the NBA Bobcats. I remember attendance became an issue for the Hornets.

I actually think contracting the two MLB Florida clubs is the way to go. The Devil Rays are an unattended mess in basically Yankees territory, and Marlins can't draw even when winning the World Series over and over again.

[dgnmrwrw]

Where does that name come from, anyway?

A "Queen City" nickname refers to when the largest city in your state is not the capitol city or something to theat effect.

Actually, it comes from the name of the bride of the King of England (George III). See here.

[BallWonk]

I've always figured there were three kinds of minor-league cities:

1. Cities with poor attendance, which should therefore not receive a big-league team.

2. Cities with good attendance that maximizes the local baseball market, which should therefore not receive a big-league team.

3. Cities with good attendance that accounts for a fraction of the potential baseball market, which are therefore candidates for MLB expansion or relocation.

It's notable that Portland has been in category one for a long time now.

Buffalo looks like the poster child for category two.

Memphis has always seemed to me like a candidate for category three. The South in general seems under-served, given its growing population and rising economic standards. One problem is that growth in the old Confederacy has been much more diffuse than past periods of population and economic growth in the rest of the country, so instead of being focused in a few big cities the South has seen growth patterns that are more diffuse. You get areas like the Research Triangle that are sort of like a big city's worth of suburbs without any actual big city. That can make for markets that are hard for baseball to serve.

[dgnmrwrw]

Okay, why is Charlotte considered such a good possibility?  I remember they were close to landing the Twins, but they couldn't even come close to a stadium deal.  Wouldn't this already overload a market that has yet to prove it can support a team (I know the issue with the Hornets was with management).  The Panthers haven't been a consistent draw until recently, and you still don't really know about the NBA.  Is there something about Charlotte I am missing?

Panthers Attendance:

Year......Rank................Games.....Total..............Avg..........%Cap

2000.......6.....Carolina.......8.......583,489.........72,936........99.6

2001.......8.....Carolina.......8.......579,080.........72,385........98.8

2002.......8.....Carolina.......8.......572,015.........71,501........97.6

2003.......9.....Carolina.......8.......582,566.........72,820........99.4

2004.......6.....Carolina.......8.......586,259.........73,282........100.0

2005.......6.....Carolina.......8.......587,700.........73,462........100.3

I couldn't find the numbers for 1995-1999, but I'm pretty confident that they would look similar. This seems consistently good attendance to me, considering their records during those years were 7-9, 1-15, 7-9, 11-5, 7-9, 11-5.

I think Charlotte really could work with an intimate, 40,000-seat stadium.

[BBM]

I know it'll never happen, but I'd love to see a team come back to Brooklyn. New York could easily hold another team, and it would be great to see a team in Brooklyn.

Of course it would be a logistical nightmare, and Steinbrenner and Wilpon would NEVER approve of such a thing, but I'd like to see it.