Baseball is nearing the end of its contract. It is in its final year, and by December of this year it will be up. Therefore, there are plenty of propsed changes being discussed for the new contract.
The first one I want to mention is a rather new proposal that the Houston Astros will move to the A.L. West. As it stands, the National League has three divisions. Two of whom have five teams, and one of whom has six teams. In the American League, there are three divisions two of whom have five teams and one of whom has only four. Sixteen total teams in the N.L., and fourteen total in the A.L. So, the proposed change is that the Houston Astros would move to the A.L. West. This would balance the two leagues, having fifteen total teams in each broken up into three divisions (five teams in each division). The Diamondbacks have also been discussed being moved to the A.L., but it is less likely due to the fact that the Astros would balance it out a lot more. This wouldn't affect us Rays much, but would affect me. I live in Houston so generally only get to see the Rays live once every couple of years. Under this proposal, the Rays, obviously, would play the Astros at least twice a year and I would be able to see the every year. So I am definitely crossing my fingers for this.
The next change I want to discuss is the expansion of playoffs, which in my opinion is long overdue. In this early proposal, five teams in each league would make the Playoffs. However, divisions would be non-existant as far as the playoffs go. It would be the three top teams, and two wild cards. Much like Basketball's format. Now, as it stands, Baseball only allows eight teams to make the Playoffs. Football allows 10, and Hockey and Basketball both allow 16. Which is why I think this is long overdue. Eight teams is a rather small amount, especially after playing a long and grueling 162 game season. This also would benefit the Rays a lot, who are a small market team. It would give them more of a chance to compete with teams such as the Red Sox and Yankees, and given the fact these three teams very well possibly could be the top three teams in the A.L. for a good while, it could definitely help us out a lot. I am also crossing my fingers for this. I want Playoff expansion, and would rather see twelve teams make it rather than eight, it's still better than nothing.
Another change considered is to have at least one interleague game per day. I don't understand the reasoning behind it, but being a fan of interleauge as I am I don't necessarily mind it. I think it's fun, but I am a minority on that.
One that hasn't been discussed, but that I would like to see, is to make the DH universal, where both leagues used it.
There are a ton of other plans being discussed, but these were some that stuck out to me. I will update everyone as new things are brought out. Also, please comment on your opinion of these particular proposals as well as any ideas you have.
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