Expansion Poll

[chuckwillard]

I'm playing through a normal, single-player game (Red Sox, starting 2006, in Coach Mode). Come 2008, I want to add two teams to the American League. So, instead of coming up with two expansion cities myself, I thought, why not a poll?

So vote for your favorites from the options. Confine yourselves to two votes, please. And suggest a team nickname, if you would, for your choices.

Thanks,
Chuck

[FRENCHREDSOX]

Las Vegas Gamblers (ARENT they already a franchise ? oh Loria has yet announced it then will happen though...:D )

Portland Volcanoes



SHAME you didnt have a "other" option because I would have voted for Mexico City or Monterrey (think both have better markets than Portland especially for TV if they signed a couple of Mexicans onto their squad)

[TheNamelessPoet]

Indy stalions, racers, speedsters (then make them an all speed team)

Portland Otters, sea otters, Portland Portables, portland Port-O-Potties!!!

[beerchaser]

Voted for Charlotte and Vegas, though I'd much rather see MLB in the Raleigh area than Charlotte. Mogul's demographic info for Raleigh is very outdated.

Hadn't really thought about the nicknames, but the Vegas team should have showgirls at the ballpark instead of a mascot. That'll help your attendance numbers. ;)

[TheNamelessPoet]

Voted for Charlotte and Vegas, though I'd much rather see MLB in the Raleigh area than Charlotte. Mogul's demographic info for Raleigh is very outdated. Im gonna work on that as soon as 2008 comes out. Im gonna do an international database starting at the begining of the "Mogul" season. Im adding international cities also.


Hadn't really thought about the nicknames, but the Vegas team should have showgirls at the ballpark instead of a mascot. That'll help your attendance numbers. ;) LOL Thats AWESOME LOL

[DTF955]

You've got to have a team in Brooklyn because then the mighty yankee cash cow can be cut into some; the team will will be competitive quickly.

I don't like the idea of Las Vegas for the realism aspect, with the gambling. But, i suppose it could happen anyway.

Brooklyn would be the Dukes. Like the Duke of Flatbush, Duke Snider. Try to have lots of ideas going back to the Dodger days to draw fans.

I voted for Memphis, but now I don't know if I should have; might cut into the Stl ouis team more than I think, though it shouldn't, it's plenty far enough away. Not sure about the team name. I do think it'd be a good location.

[FRENCHREDSOX]

I voted for Memphis, Not sure about the team name. .

The Rockers or Rollers in honour to E.P. or the Blues in honour to that tradition (musical greats from around there include Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, B.B. King, and Howlin' Wolf. )


Pharaohs (linking in to the egyptian theme of its name -wasnt Memphis the original capital of ancient egypt ?)

[beerchaser]

The Rockers or Rollers in honour to E.P. or the Blues in honour to that tradition (musical greats from around there include Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, B.B. King, and Howlin' Wolf. )

Good choice, I have a team called the Memphis Blues as the AAA affiliate for my 2007 Raleigh expansion team.

[ohms_law]

Portland and Vegas. First order of buisness is to even up the divisions, so adding Portland and Vegas is what you want to do geographically. You also need to then move Texas to the AL Central.

As for names, Portland Beavers would be what everyone around here would expect. Lumberjacks is another name that I've used. I don't know about Otters though, as an otter isn't really associated with Portland.

Las Vegas Cowboys. Gamblers. Luck or Lucky 7...

[RAW]

New Orleans Pelicans to honor the old Southern Association (not the Hurricanes and some of you jokers would like). San Antonio Missions, to honor the old Texas League (not Illigal Aliens, hum). However, both should probably be in the National League with natural rivals Atlanta and Houston. Memphis Blues is good (Chicks was their old SA name), but, again, no natural AL rivals (maybe Texas Rangers?)

[Clay Dreslough]

I voted Las Vegas and Montreal. Although looks like LV and Portland are gonna win.

That's OK. Baseball in Montreal WITH the DH would just be too weird.

[ohms_law]

Hey, the Brewers switched leagues...

[Sanji Watsuki]

I accidently voted for 4 places rofl.

*voted* ... wait? 2?! *hits stop, votes again with 2*
"You've already vote!"
NO!

[FRENCHREDSOX]

I voted Montreal.

Baseball in Montreal would just be too weird.


Would nt it be nice that Selig force Loria to relocate his Marlins to Montreal ?


That way their fans could relive the proverb "Vendetta è un piatto che si serve freddo" :D



He would be out of baseball in a year.....

[Xen_Antares]

If a team is placed in Portland than that team should go to the NL while either Colorado or San Diego goes to the AL. Portland and Seattle shouldnt be in the same league, just like Washington and Baltimore shouldnt be in the same league.

[rollsroyce11991]

Portland needs a proffessional sports franchise.

[Hobbits]

Montreal Expos. MLB seems to go back to the cities that lose franchises (Washington, Seattle, Milwaukee, ...)

San Antonio Hobbits.

[RickD]

I voted Montreal because I think done right they can make a team work! Name....

Montreal Eskimoes!

[Xen_Antares]

A professional sports team called the Eskimoes would be as controversial as teams such as the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Indians. Many Inuit peoples consider the name Eskimo to be derrogatory anyways.

If Baseball is returned to Montreal it would be as the Expos, and if it is pushed hard enough, the team history would be returned with it.

[FRENCHREDSOX]

A professional sports team called the Eskimoes would be as controversial as teams such as the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Indians. Many Inuit peoples consider the name Eskimo to be derrogatory anyways.

If Baseball is returned to Montreal it would be as the Expos, and if it is pushed hard enough, the team history would be returned with it.

LOOKING justly at the last 5 years of their existance the Expos fans were treated as if they were dirt - terrible media coverage (ensuring that future fans would be "turned off " the sport),Loria's management & the 2 years of MLB ownership just enforced the sentiment that Montreal & its fans were nothing - the actions were clear :
1) No "English" speaking TV deal which cut potential revenue;

2) No "French" speaking PR or upper echelon management position being filled which alienated the local population;

3) No free agent signings long term (because they didnt want to burden the future owner but at the same time it didnt stimulate the paying fans to go to see their team)

4) Constant trading away of top talent (remember Pedro ?)

5) the lack of development of the stadium - who wants to go to a sh*thole ?

6) The kindness of the MLB in playing home games in another country - great for your local fan when it takes 5 hours to go see your team play that day & in essence not SEE your team for a whole month or so (including away games)

7) Basically telling fans they didnt mean anything as it was ALWYS said that the club would re-locate whoever bought it;


yet with all these demoralising factors the Expos still managed to have an average of over 10000 fans per home game in there final season - imagine if a owner (like Toronto's) commited to build the club what COULD have been done...


just thoughts on the "poor" Expos plight:(

[ohms_law]

If a team is placed in Portland than that team should go to the NL while either Colorado or San Diego goes to the AL. Portland and Seattle shouldnt be in the same league, just like Washington and Baltimore shouldnt be in the same league.
I understand your point, but you could make the same argument about San Francisco. Using the MLB's "market arithmetic", the 500 miles between SF and Portland is just as "damaging" to the Giant's as the 200 miles distance would be to the Mariners.
Also, it's not like a team in Portland is going to take fans away from the Safeco park. I don't know about anyone else here, but traveling almost 5 hours to get to a ball game in Seattle isn't exactly practical.
In the end though, The AL is about the west coast. The American League's roots are in the west coast, afterall. It's also the AL that needs to expand in order to even up the leagues. Norfolk isn't going to happen. Moterray is a neat idea, but I have yet to see anything that shows that it's practical. Vancouver is worse for Seattle than Portland is. Las Vegas probably will get a team sometime soon. I don't see any teams moving to New Orleans any time soon though. What's left?


Portland needs a proffessional sports franchise.

Don't forget about the Trailblazers...

[jgurney]

Portland Beavers (of course) is my first choice, but nature or forest related stuff would work too - (Grizzly-, Black- or Brown-) Bears, Pinecones, Chinook, Lumberjacks, etc.

Charlotte should have a team but I can't think of any good names (I am using Carolina Confederates at the moment). Bees is an option (but too similar to the basketball team). Rebels is another possibilty. Evangelists might be worth a laugh too.

[beerchaser]

How about the Carolina Carys. Cary is the name of a city in North Carolina (granted, it's a Raleigh suburb, not a Charlotte one). It's also a running joke among the locals that Cary is an acronym for Containment Area for Relocated Yankees, of which the area is full and more coming all the time. It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't all immediately start whining about how "up North, we did things such and such way". If such and such is so great, then go back there and leave us Carolina natives alone.


Yes I'm kidding about the nickname, but only partially.

[oriolesfan89]

Charlotte or Raleigh should have a team because the closest teams to the area are the Braves and the Orioles/Nats. also baseball is more popular in the southeast than in portland or canada. Another place could be a second team in Boston/New England.

[Casey59]

Hartford!!!

[TheNamelessPoet]

Hartford!!!

They had a team
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/HAR/

Id rather new haven tho... Closer to me lol
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NHV/1875.shtml

[ohms_law]

Or Providence. It'd be pretty cool to have the Greys back in existance.

[Casey59]

They had a team
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/HAR/

Id rather new haven tho... Closer to me lol
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NHV/1875.shtml

I'm well aware of the CT teams . . .time they get another one

[RAW]

Disagree with Xen Antares. Portland and Seattle should be in the same league because of the natural rivalry factor. Same for Washington Baltimore. I will never get used to Washington being in the NL. I also need to change out my vote for New Orleans. With a population of less than 200,000 now, they couldn't afford major league baseball. Actually, Baton Rouge is now the largest city in Louisiana, and the largest city in the USA without professional baseball.

[ohms_law]

Actually, Baton Rouge is now the largest city in Louisiana, and the largest city in the USA without professional baseball.

That's pretty funny. There are about 5 cities that i've seen lay claim to this title. Personally, I wouldn't rate Baton Rouge on the top of the list though.

[beerchaser]

I just did a google search of the top 50 US cities and Baton Rouge wasn't even on the list.

[RAW]

beerchaser - the google list is pre-Katrina. Current estimates put the Baton Rouge area population to well over 500,000, while New Orleans is now less than 400,000.
to Ohms - Looking over population listings, I see many larger than BR, but they all seem to be subs of cities that do have pro baseball or vise versa, like Austin, which has pro baseball at Round Rock, and many much smaller cities that do have pro baseball. Of course, Baton Rouge is primarily a college football/baseball/basketball area with LSU and, to a lesser degree, Southern University. The conventional thinking there is that pro baseball cannot compete financially with that competition.

[dolfanar]

I did a similar thread a few months ago, and here is what the fine posters and I came up with. Maybe it will stimulate some brain cells. I still plan on doing this once we get control of expansions...

2006
Las Vegas Gamblers AL West
Indianapolis Racers AL Central
New York (Manhattan) Titans AL East
Brooklyn Bombers NL East

2010
Montreal Blues NL East (Atlanta moves to NL Central, Houston to NL West)
Portland Pioneers AL West (Name suggested by polarisslbm)

[ohms_law]

beerchaser - the google list is pre-Katrina. Current estimates put the Baton Rouge area population to well over 500,000, while New Orleans is now less than 400,000.
to Ohms - Looking over population listings, I see many larger than BR, but they all seem to be subs of cities that do have pro baseball or vise versa, like Austin, which has pro baseball at Round Rock, and many much smaller cities that do have pro baseball. Of course, Baton Rouge is primarily a college football/baseball/basketball area with LSU and, to a lesser degree, Southern University. The conventional thinking there is that pro baseball cannot compete financially with that competition.

That's a good point re: the numbers beign affected by Katrina.

One thing I didn't realise was that you were including minor league teams in what you were saying. I generally don't, but that's ok.
Another issue is wether or not you include just the population within city limits, or the population of the metropolitan area. The US Census bureu tends to use Metropolitan areas since the 1950's, since suburbs are significantly connected to their urban centers now. I tend to agree, so those are the figures that I personally use.
therefore, not considering minor league affiliates, only looking at baseball franchises, Portland is currently the largest metropolitan area in North America without a team.


I did a similar thread a few months ago, and here is what the fine posters and I came up with. Maybe it will stimulate some brain cells. I still plan on doing this once we get control of expansions...

2006
Las Vegas Gamblers AL West
Indianapolis Racers AL Central
New York (Manhattan) Titans AL East
Brooklyn Bombers NL East

2010
Montreal Blues NL East (Atlanta moves to NL Central, Houston to NL West)
Portland Pioneers AL West (Name suggested by polarisslbm)

Long time no see dolfanar!
:)

interesting plan there. I wouldn't put any teams east of the Rockies until there are a couple more along the Pacific Coast, is all. There's Sacramento that needs a team, and Oakland should move to San Jose. Indianapolis is a good choice though.

[beerchaser]

I assumed RAW was talking about MLB teams also, not minor league teams.

[RAW]

Sorry about the misunderstanding. I wasn't suggesting Baton Rouge as one of his major league expansion teams, just not New Orleans as I voted originally. Portland is probably a good choice, but weather might be a problem in the shoulder months (domed stadium?). Still like the natural rivalry with Seattle. Rather see more southern teams (not Florida). Really like San Antonio as a real possibility in either league with rivalries with either Houston or Dallas/Ft. Worth.

[ohms_law]

Yea, ok. It is a good point that you're making re: New Orleans.
IRT Portland weather, it's actually better here than it is in Seattle, especially in the summer months. It rains all winter, but that's not really an issue for baseball.
I like San Antonio as well though. Louisville, Memphis, and Charlotte should be considered also. And Norfolk/Virginia Beach. As I said above though, the first issue is to get a couple of teams in the Pacific time zone to even up the divisions. Along with moving the Rangers into the AL Central.

[dolfanar]

Long time no see dolfanar!
:)

interesting plan there. I wouldn't put any teams east of the Rockies until there are a couple more along the Pacific Coast, is all. There's Sacramento that needs a team, and Oakland should move to San Jose. Indianapolis is a good choice though.

Hey Ohms. I'm always Lurking. Just haven't had much to say lately.


What can i say... I'm an East coast guy :) And really does California need a whole division to itself? :p Though i suppose I'm one to talk putting two more teams in New York state...

Charlotte is the one I hadn't considered, that I might include if I could do >36 teams. New Orleans and Memphis are also interesting,and if I could do 40 teams I suppose I might throw Sacramento a bone... :p

[ohms_law]

There's another idea, do a California division and a Texas division. There are enough big cities in each state to make that perfectly feasable.
:)

Hey, I spent half my life on the easy coast myself. I've only moved here this last year, so i'm hardly against more east coast teams. If that happens though, you (or whoever) should seriously consider re-aligning to non-geographical divisions.

[FRENCHREDSOX]

Along with moving the Rangers into the AL Central.
Now that is sensible especially if you can get 2 PACIFIC coast teams into the AL West

[Casey59]

Hartford Travelers
Hartford Independants

I always liked
Philadelphia Independence or Washington Independence

I'm not sure that means much, because I also like Chicago Fire, Cleveland Rockers, Boise Spuds and the Apache Trail (of Phoenix)

[filihok]

You'd think Vegas would have a pretty cool stadium

[Arctic Blast]

A miniature slot machine at every seat! Casino hostesses to bring you your drinks!

[dolfanar]

Ack! A zombie thread!


I still plan on doing this once we get control of expansions...

I can be so naive sometimes... and this was TWO years ago!


For what it is worth, I actually tried using the input/export roster functions for expansion... painful but doable. But good GOD does Clay need to put in that damned Expansion draft option when we create new teams!!!

Current Expansion:

Las Vegas Gamblers AL West
Portland Pioneers AL West
Indianapolis Racers AL Central
Carolina Cougars (Charlotte) AL East
Montreal Blues NL East
Memphis Kings NL Central (Houston to NL West)