AH Baseball Teams

[Lazar]

One issue that I'm touching on in my AH and future history writing is alternate major league baseball teams. I'm working from a 1930s POD, so any baseball team created after that point would be butterflied away. Therefore, I'd like some ideas for names to use for AH expansion teams in major North American cities (working on the idea that teams like the Braves and Dodgers will have stayed in their old cities, unlike IOTL). Some rather boring/obvious/butterfly resistant ones have popped to mind, like "San Francisco Friscos", "Los Angeles Angels", "Buffalo Bison", "Milwaukee Brewers". Any ideas for some of these cities?

Toronto
Montreal
Houston
Denver
Seattle
Atlanta
Havana

[Sigma7]

Depending on transportation and population movements in your timeline, you could have some of the teams from the old Pacific Coast League merge with the American League and National League:

PCL/MLB Merger:

Seattle Pilots: OTL Rainiers, but Pilot's is a way cooler name. The Mariner's should have taken it if they could've.

San Francisco Seals: Joe Dimaggio played his pre-MLB ball with them.

Oakland Oaks: In an actual discussion I had with some of my friends, we suggested that a trigger for the PCL/MLB merger would have been the Kansas City Athletics merging with the Oakland Oaks in the late '50s and moving to Oakland. Of course, in that case, they'd still be the Oakland A's.

Los Angeles Angels: BONUS! No need for the whole "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Great Golden Bear Flag State of California" crap the Halos have today...

San Diego Padres: Ted Williams played his pre-MLB ball with the old PCL Pads.

Other cities:

Houston Colt 45's: Yeah, that was the 'Stros original name, and they never should have gotten rid of it. Just because they moved into the Astrodome doesn't mean they've got to change their name. As I recall, the Twins didn't change their name to the Minnesota Metros when they moved into the Metrodome or the Mariners become the Kings when they moved into the Kingdome...) if you want another name for them, how about the Houston Lone Stars or make the Houston franchise the Texas Rangers?

Denver Zephyrs: I have relatives in the Denver area and they were a little disappointed when the name Rockies was picked over the name of their previous Triple A baseball team, The Zephyrs. Denver Zephyrs was a pretty cool name.

Havana Hurricanes: Only because I'd have named the team in Miami the Miami Storm, rather than the Florida Marlins. (Same team colors though)

Atlanta Blaze or Flames: Unless you want the Calgary Flames in your timeline's NHL.

Toronto Marlboros: A name with a history in the city of Toronto, albeit with hockey, but a cool name in my opinion.

Montreal Royales: Name of the Dodgers minor league club that called Montreal it's home prior to the Dodgers departure for the west coast. This spelling (which I think gives it some extra flair) is the spelling that was used for an actual Canadian Baseball League team in 2003.

One suggestion for a city not listed but would be perfect if they ever got an MLB franchise:

Oklahoma City Cyclones: Actually named one of my roto-teams this.:cool:

[Expat]

How about Havana Knights as a pun on nights?
Or the Cuba Libres is kinda cheesy but I like it and there's at least a women's pro soccer team in DC called the Washington Freedom, so there's some precedence. Looks like the first Cuba Libres were served in 1900, so it fits the POD.

Houston/Texas Rangers works with a 30s POD

I thought San Francisco totally rebuked the word 'Frisco.' Don't they completely HATE it?

[Xen]

An expansion team in San Francisco is likely going to be named the Seals after their longtime Pacific Coast League team, just like the Angels in Los Angeles, the Padres in San Diego, etc.

I agree with the Flames bit for Atlanta, especially if the team begins play in 1965, a century after the burning of Atlanta by Sherman.

[AltSptHst]

If Buffalo would have been awarded the NL expansion team for 1969 instead of Montreal, Bisons probably would have been the name.

[Lyly]

Houston Oilers is an easy name, not really sport-specific.

I like the idea of Havana Kings, and there was a Class AAA team affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds called the Havana Sugar Kings in the 50's.
Maybe also Havana Pirates.

Toronto Reds or Maples.

Denver Zephyrs sounds cool.

Seattle Indians or Red Skins or Natives, considering the cities named after Chief Seattle.

[Lazar]

Thanks a ton for the suggestions!

I thought San Francisco totally rebuked the word 'Frisco.' Don't they completely HATE it?
There was a California League team in the 1890s called the San Francisco Friscos; admittedly it's the least creative thing I could think of. "Seals" really makes much more sense.

[Slacker]

If Buffalo would have been awarded the NL expansion team for 1969 instead of Montreal, Bisons probably would have been the name.

The AAA team in Buffalo is the Bisons, they're the Mets' current Triple A affiliate.

[The Kiat]

Reds move to Sacramento in the mid 90's and changed their name to the Sacramento Knights.

[Simon Oliver Lockwood]

The Atlanta minor league franchise was called the Atlanta Crackers.
Sacramento’s PCL team was called the Solons – due to it being the state capitol. Senators is another obvious name.

[Alexander Hamilton]

Some random thoughts:
1. I have always liked the name "Generals" for a Houston team in honor of General Sam Houston. The symbol of the team could be the equestrian statute of Sam in Memorial Park pointing towards the San Jacinto battlefield.
2. "Golden Bears" for a team in San Francisco, Oakland or Sacramento.
3. "Miners" for a team in Denver.
4. I liked the name "Browns". I don't think the team can stay in St. Louis but if they move to city other than Baltimore (which had a long history of teams with the Orioles name) such as San Francisco, Los Angeles or Buffalo perhaps the name can be kept.
5. "Huskies" for a team in Minneapolis-St. Paul. If the New York Giants moved to Minnesota rather than SF (as Horace Stoneham was originally planning to do) it could keep the name and its symbol could be Paul Bunyan.
6. "Jets" for a team in Seattle. The symbol could be a Boeing 747 in flight.
7. "Sugar Kings" was the traditional name for teams in Havana, but we would have to butterfly away Senor Castro since it is a very "imperialist" name. "Hurricanes "is a good alternative as suggested above.
8. "Dons" or "Condors" for a team in San Diego. Both are traditional California names.
9. "Blues" or "Blue Sox" for a team just about anywhere. I am suprised there isn't a Blue Sox already.

[Simon Oliver Lockwood]

Some random thoughts:

9. "Blues" or "Blue Sox" for a team just about anywhere. I am suprised there isn't a Blue Sox already.

There was a minor league team -- the Utica Blue Sox. When Kansas City was in the American Association the nickname was the Blues.

[Christopher Marlowe]

Federal League teams if insetad of it folding it merges or continues on?

[PCSwitaj]

I liked the ideal of the PCL merger - perhapse something similar with the AFL/NFL merger, have a championship series between the top clubs and have the PCL representative do well, and perhapse have some hot shot in the league office in NYC decide that they can cash in by having a merger? It could make some interesting questions, among them are the PCL teams divided up amongst the NL and AL, or do they attepmt to keep it as seperate leagues and attempt some sort of tourny before splitting teams up? Do some PCL teams get relocated to more exciting markets? (to propose a few questions)

[Sigma7]

I liked the ideal of the PCL merger - perhapse something similar with the AFL/NFL merger, have a championship series between the top clubs and have the PCL representative do well, and perhapse have some hot shot in the league office in NYC decide that they can cash in by having a merger? It could make some interesting questions, among them are the PCL teams divided up amongst the NL and AL, or do they attepmt to keep it as seperate leagues and attempt some sort of tourny before splitting teams up? Do some PCL teams get relocated to more exciting markets? (to propose a few questions)

The way I always figured it:

AL gets:

Seattle Pilots (formally the Rainers)
Los Angeles Angels

NL gets:

San Diego Padres
San Francisco Seals (name could be changed at a later date)

The important points to remember though: expansion should be balanced and the AL and NL are going to insist on each having a club in LA.

The Angels come in as an AL team, the NL's going to demand a franchise in LA. What could be done there is a moving another PCL team to LA or perhaps merging the Solons with the Hollywood Stars and forming the LA Stars? (Suggestions for a second LA franchise name?)

The Bay area get balanced out by the A's merging with the Oaks and moving to Oakland. Thus, the Bay area gets an AL team and an NL team.

Another suggestion for a San Antonio franchise: San Antonio Sentinals. Home of The Alamo and all.

[Alexander Hamilton]

I really like this thread so I am inflicting some more of my random thoughts on you.
1. For any Western team "Explorers" "Scouts" or "Pathfinders".
2. "Orcas" for a Seattle team.
3. "Prospectors" for a Denver team.
4. "Troopers" or "Cavalry" for a Dallas team.
5. In the case of a PCL merger with the National and American Leagues, I think the San Francisco team would fight to keep its old name since it was so historic. The teams in LA would probably also keep their PCL names. Quite frankly, I can not think of better names for teams in LA than Angels and Stars since both are so related to the area. Unlike "Lakers" which refers to the lakes of Minneapolis. Are there even any lakes in LA?
6. "Missions" or "Sheriffs" for a San Antonio team.
7. At one time the Brooklynn team and the minor league team in Richmond were called the "Robins". A nice friendly bird.

[wilcoxchar]

San Antonio or San Diego could get the Missions. For Denver, the Zephyrs sounds kinda cool but I still prefer the Rockies as the name, or something to do with the mountains. :p

[Sigma7]

I always thought Pioneers would be a good name for a team in Salt Lake City.

If they put a team in Virginia, based on population in the metro area, Norfolk would be the place to put it. The current Triple A team there is the Norfolk Tides (formerly the Tidewater Tides) Norfolk Tides is a pretty good name, maybe Norfolk Wave(s)?

Some other Norfolk franchise names:

Mariners (if the Seattle club is the Pilots the name is available and the Norfolk/Hampton Roads/Newport News area has lots of shipbuilders)

Commodores (big navy presence in the area)

Sea Wolves (again, the navy presence and this one could provide some big money making mechandise.)

Phoenix should have gone with their old minor league team's name Phoenix Firebirds. (If done right, their merchandise could sell off the charts with a stylized phoenix from mythology as their logo)

Miami should be the Miami Storm (same colors as the Marlins, teal, black and silver, except with a big lightning bolt over a sillouette of Florida as it's logo)

[Snowman23]

How about more teams in the south, maybe a team in New Orleans, Mobile, Little Rock, or Chattanooga. The Chattanooga Choo Choos? :p

Or Maybe the Boston Whalers? But in the 80's PETA would start raising a fuss....

[Tothlord]

Toronto Trappers
Denver Peaks
Buffalo Stampeders
Houston Drillers
Atlanta Colonels
San Antonio Missions
Seattle Schooners
San Diego Admirals-naval base theme

A potential almost name was the Minneapolis Giants

Los Angeles Amigos
Phoenix Roadrunners

[The Kiat]

Then the Bostonians can just whale on PETA. Besides, they have a lot more to fear from the seaborne vigiliantes Sea Sheperd.

How about more teams in the south, maybe a team in New Orleans, Mobile, Little Rock, or Chattanooga. The Chattanooga Choo Choos? :p

Or Maybe the Boston Whalers? But in the 80's PETA would start raising a fuss....

[Ace Venom]

Honestly, you have a number of things to work with. Professional baseball teams popped up all over the place and not just what would be considered major league. The American and Federal Leagues were the only major leagues founded in the 20th centuries. Perhaps the most curious aspect of the Federal League's collapse was that unlike with the American Association of the 19th century, the remaining major league (or in this case, leagues), did not absorb teams from the former major league.

The St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates are all relics of the former American Association. Perhaps the American and National Leagues could have absorbed some of the teams from the Federal League to create new histories for major league teams? Since some of these teams were already in major league markets, it's possible that a few old franchises could have been revived.

Baltimore Terrapins: It's not as if Baltimore was an alien baseball market. Long before the Browns moved there, Baltimore lost the AA/NL Orioles to contraction in the National League and the original charter AL franchise that would move to New York and become the Yankees (irony considering Ruth was from Baltimore). Baltimore was thus ripe ground for the Federal League, but the Terrapins could easily have been absorbed by the American League to open a potential rivalry between the Washington Senators and the Baltimore Terrapins.

Chicago Whales: Given the situation in New York before the 1958 season, it's not inconceivable that you could have seen another major city with three major league teams. They already have their own ballpark, which would later become known as Wrigley Field. Now imagine the Whales in the National League, creating a similar rivalry that the Giants and Dodgers had when they played on the east coast, only this is between the Whales and Cubs.

Kansas City Packers: They were locked in a pennant race with the Whales towards the end of the final season of the Federal League. Given NL saturation in the area (Cubs, Cardinals and now the Whales), the AL could probably get this franchise. There's no guarantee that the Packers would remain in Kansas City, but this franchise is ripe for the plucking.

Buffalo Blues: Buffalo might seem obvious. They had a Federal League team and I think the NL could probably do well with this franchise. An astute businessman could remain this team the Bisons to harken back to the old major league team. Unfortunately, I don't think Buffalo would be able to keep supporting a major league team and don't be surprised if they move out west.

So let's review. For the 1916 season, here's how the spread would look like post FL:

National League
Boston Braves
Brooklyn Robins (not known as the Dodgers in 1916)
Buffalo Bisons (fka Blues)
Chicago Cubs
Chicago Whales
Cincinnati Reds
New York Giants
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals

American League
Baltimore Orioles (fka Terrapins)
Boston Red Sox
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Packers
New York Yankees
Philadelphia Athletics
St. Louis Browns
Washington Senators

How about more teams in the south, maybe a team in New Orleans, Mobile, Little Rock, or Chattanooga. The Chattanooga Choo Choos? :p

FWIW, New Orleans had the chance at Major League Baseball twice. They could have gotten the Athletics from Oakland in the late 1970's or the Pirates from Pittsburgh in the early 1980's. New Orleans actually has a pretty interesting history with professional baseball as it was home to the minor league Pelicans until the late 1950's (again in the 1970's) before the Zephyrs moved to New Orleans from Denver in the 1990's. Shoeless Joe Jackson played for New Orleans during one of their championship seasons. New Orleans has obviously missed its window because no one in their right mind would want to put a team there now, but back in the late 1970's and early 1980's, the Louisiana Superdome looked very attractive. Now, another disaster like Katrina could seriously disrupt operations unless someone is willing to front funds to upgrade Zephyr Field in the suburb of Metarie.

As far as Mobile, Little Rock and Chattanooga go, they all have professional teams. Mobile has the BayBears (AA affiliate of the Diamondbacks), Little Rock has the Travelers (AA affiliate of the Angels) and Chattanooga has the Lookouts (AA affiliate of the Dodgers). New Orleans also has the Zephyrs, the AAA affiliate of the Marlins.

[jeff]

How's about:

1. Portland (Oregon) Pioneers
2. Louisville Stallions
3. Phoenix Scorpions

[Zacoftheaxes]

If Buffalo would have been awarded the NL expansion team for 1969 instead of Montreal, Bisons probably would have been the name.

We already have another team called the Bison, bust it's in some smaller league, so yeah, most likely Bisons.

[Ace Venom]

We already have another team called the Bison, bust it's in some smaller league, so yeah, most likely Bisons.

The National League was no stranger to Buffalo. The Bisons were in the National League and featured Hall of Famers such as Dan Brouthers, Pud Galvin, Jim O'Rourke and Charley Radbourn. Another famous Bison is one who should be in the Hall of Fame: Deacon White. A new NL Bisons team could draw connections to the 19th century team.

[Lazar]

Okay, I've come up with a preliminary sketch of a 36-team MLB for my timeline. In this timeline the Sunbelt won't have undergone as much growth as it did IOTL, so I've only got one team in the Rockies and none in Florida - it's based more on what the largest metropolitan areas were in 1950 than today. I found that I had to start the Western divisions pretty much at the Mississippi River; the whole scheme looks rather messy when overlaid on a map of North American time zones, so I hope that time zone issues wouldn't cause too many headaches for the teams. Also I chose to put Havana in the Central Division because I had a suspicion that it would be easier for the team to fly to the other Central cities than to the Eastern Cities. So without further ado, here it is. What do you think?

American League

Eastern Division

Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Philadelphia Athletics
Toronto Maple Leafs
Washington Senators

Central Division

Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Louisville Colonels
Milwaukee Brewers
St Louis Browns

Western Division

Dallas Rangers
Kansas City Blues
Los Angeles Angels
New Orleans Saints
Seattle Pilots
Twin Cities Twins

National League

Eastern Division

Boston Braves
Brooklyn Dodgers
Buffalo Bisons
Montreal Royals
New York Giants
Philadelphia Phillies

Central Division

Atlanta Crackers
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Havana Hurricanes
Pittsburg Pirates
St Louis Cardinals

Western Division

Denver Zephyrs
Hollywood Stars
Houston Generals
Oakland Oaks
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Seals

[The Kiat]

The Havana Reds :D

[Lazar]

Silly goose, I've butterflied away the Cuban communists. :D

[Snowman23]

You have two Phillies ;) If it was theirs only one Philadelphia team and it was a mistake get rid of it. But if you need a new name, use something colonial like the Philidelphia Colonials or Minutemen or Presidents.

[Lazar]

Sorry, that was a typo - one of them was supposed to be the Athletics.

[The Kiat]

New York Continentals

Or even the Continental League being added to MLB.

[Snowman23]

Sorry, that was a typo - one of them was supposed to be the Athletics.

Ok. Cool list. Its stuff like this that's fun doing ATL's.