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Major League Baseball wants to expand to 32 teams in the next few years, with commissioner Rob Manfred spearheading the effort to increase the size of the league. When MLB expansion happens, it will also bring some realignment of divisions.
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Bob Nightengale of USA Today noted that while the league’s targeted cities for realignment have changed over the years, MLB originally floated a plan for realigned divisions that was revealed a few years ago. In a column for Baseball America, Tracy Ringolsby said MLB expansion to 32 teams would result in four divisions.
Related: When MLB Expansion Will Happen, What Cities Will Get Teams
While the reported plan is now nearly a decade old, it’s still worth noting that MLB seemed to be envisioning a scenario with eight teams in each of the four divisions. Under the proposal, teams would play 12 games against intradivisional opponents each season and three games each against clubs from the other divisions.
Notably, per Ringolsby’s reporting, MLB teams would each receive one off day per week. With the proposed division realignment, the MLB schedule would be reduced from 162 games to 156 games.
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The regional divisions would significantly reduce the amount of player travel, which could appeal to the MLB Players Association. For Opening Day, teams would start each season by facing an opponent from within their division.
As for the MLB playoffs, according to the reported concept, the four first-place teams in each division would automatically advance to the Divisional Round. For the Wild Card Round, the eight remaining teams with the best records would face off against one another, with the winners meeting the division champions.
While clubs would lose the revenue from six additional games (three home and three road), MLB’s hope was that regional divisions and the revamped playoff setup would boost attendance in September and generate higher television ratings.
Of course, plenty has changed since MLB first crafted this plan, and the league has ambitions for even more changes in the future. However, it highlights one real proposal MLB considered as it weighed expansion. With Manfred now making it a priority over the next few years, division realignment and a 32-team league appear to be on the horizon.
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