Future MLB Expansion?

[OSUFan_88]

I'd rather see them retract than expand, but what do I know?

[DieHardYankee26]

I don't see the benefits. Send the Astros back to the NL/bring the Brewers back to the AL so my pitchers can stop having to hit and be done with it.

[lowpaiddonkey10]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jr.

The Braves have too much of a stronghold in Charlotte to support a MLB team. The Knights are doing well because they kept the ticket prices the same as when they were in Fort Mill, SC, which is about 30 min south of Charlotte. I don't know how much of an attendance improvement there would be if Tampa moved there.

Newish resident of NC. College is the thing down here. Not enough support for a baseball team here. Durham Bulls seems to be enough to satisfy this fan base.

[Caulfield]

Quote: Originally Posted by KSUowls

Offenses would probably be fine, but there isn't enough quality pitching to support expansion. You could argue that there isn't enough to even cover the expansion that happened 20 years ago.

this leads to another gripe of mine: raise the mound back to 1968 heights - will improve pitching & cut down on the number of TJS

[Jr.]

Quote: Originally Posted by Caulfield

this leads to another gripe of mine: raise the mound back to 1968 heights - will improve pitching & cut down on the number of TJS

There's some research that says increasing the angle of the mound increases torque and pressure on the shoulder/elbow, so I don't know about the cut down on surgeries part.

But I don't think pitching needs more improvement. The stuff on average is better than it's ever been in the history of the game.

[SidBream]

Quote: Originally Posted by lowpaiddonkey10

Newish resident of NC. College is the thing down here. Not enough support for a baseball team here. Durham Bulls seems to be enough to satisfy this fan base.

Thing is, there are A LOT of “newish” residents in the major metro areas of NC and SC and most of them have plenty of expendable income. I’d say that’s a pretty good start on building a fan base.


You’re right, college sports are big. But transplants have no allegiance to any local college teams or to the Braves. Even long time Braves fans (and college baseball fans) would make the switch if the ownership group actually spent some money.

I went to my first Braves game in 1991 (I was 7) and have been a fan ever since. But I’ve got absolutely no allegiance to the franchise because of the way ownership runs the business. It’s disgusting how they got the tax money for SunTrust Park.

I’m also a member of a family who has graduates from NCSU, UNC, ECU, and Georgia Tech. We love our sports teams but college baseball doesn’t hold a candle to the professional game.

Southerners love sports, period. And we’re proud of our towns and cities. The Panthers, Hornets and Hurricanes have had a ton of success from a business point of view. There would be a fan base for MLB baseball in NC.

The problem with MLB baseball moving to Charlotte or Raleigh is that both have successful AAA teams with awesome stadiums that probably can’t be developed into MLB size stadiums. Not that there aren’t other sites for that, but a lot of money has gone into the development of the existing AAA stadiums and surrounding areas and I doubt the investors want to see them play second fiddle so soon.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[Jr.]

Quote: Originally Posted by SidBream

The problem with MLB baseball moving to Charlotte or Raleigh is that both have successful AAA teams with awesome stadiums that probably can’t be developed into MLB size stadiums. Not that there aren’t other sites for that, but a lot of money has gone into the development of the existing AAA stadiums and surrounding areas and I doubt the investors want to see them play second fiddle so soon. Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

BB&T in Charlotte was actually designed to be expandable to up to 30K seats, I believe.

[mariner690]

It's hard to see the Rays getting a new stadium in Tampa after watching how bad the previous proposals have flopped. Even the commish took a dig at the Rays after the last proposal failed so quickly.

My guess is 3 cities get a new team at the end of the 2020's through expansion and the Rays moving. With Montreal, Nashville, Charlotte and Portland battling it out.

I cant imagine a team in Mexico City. The cities elevation is 2,000 higher than Denver. And it could be difficult to attract players from a player safety and travel standpoint.