MLB Realignment. What Would Happen?

With Major League Baseball thinking about realignment, what would happen? Would you really see long-standing teams switch leagues? Would there be a balanced schedule? Would rivalries such as Yankees/Red Sox, Cubs/Cardinals, Dodgers/Giants end? Well, here is my thoughts on something that could possibly work.

First off, if MLB is going to realign teams, I think they have to do so in the manner to make the game more equal. Besides the common complaint of breaking up the AL East so teams have a better chance of winning, I think the most important issue is having a balanced schedule. I know MLB tries to bring the rivalries out during interleague play, but I think it can be changed just a bit. Take the Cubs/Cardinals for example. The Cubs get six games against the White Sox every year, while the Cardinals have six against the Royals. All things being equal, this is going to favor (at least in recent years) the Cardinals because the Royals have not been as competitive as the White Sox.

So, let's assume Major League Baseball does in fact realign the divisions. Here is an idea of a balanced schedule.

Each team would play:

• 18 games against every team in their own division (18x4 = 72 games)
• 6 games against every other team in their own league (6x10 = 60 games)
• 6 games against one division from the opposite league (6x5 = 30 games)

Balanced schedule, easy travel, and 162 games still on board. It's a trifecta!

The only problem would be going back to the original point of separating teams from each other in the divisions. Can you really break up some of these rivalries? I don't think so. However, MLB has basically already thrown history out the door with interleague play, so I don't see how changing the league around every three or six years would be that bad.

Example for six divisions:

1. Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals
2. Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Florida Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays
3. Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland A's, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners
4. Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays
5. Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals
6. Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers

The easiest part of realignment would be the West/South Region. You have ten teams that you need to split up into two sets of five.

Arizona, Colorado, Houston, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Texas

Honestly, in baseball, I don't think travel is that big of deal, especially considering that Seattle's shortest distance to play anybody on the road is over 800 miles. So, that leaves you 20 teams in the Midwest/Eastern region which you can easily make into four separate divisions. Realignment might not happen, but it is something fun to think about and the possibilities are endless. The people you have to worry about are the baseball naturalists who don't want to see anything change.

I think realignment would bring out a balanced schedule, a competitive balance, and a chance for more revenue. Major League Baseball should think about it. Heck, I've even showed them how to make the schedule easier to figure out -- especially with the possibility of no more two or four game series!