An Alternate MLB History: The American Association Lives

[Nerdlinger]

This timeline diverges from our own in 1889, when the Sabbatarian movement was thwarted in its attempt to ban Sunday baseball in several cities, most notably Brooklyn and Cincinnati. As a result, the American Association teams in these two cities -- among the strongest in the Association -- remain in the rowdier, more permissive AA rather than jumping to the National League for the 1890 season. The Brotherhood war occurs in a similar manner to OTL, but in the aftermath of the demise of the Players' League, both the NL and AA remain more stable and equal than in OTL. The Bierbauer incident is butterflied away, reducing the animosity between the two circuits and leading to an era of peace and cooperation.

Beginning in 1901, the NL and AA agree to play a formal postseason series. Each league divides its teams into an East and West Division that year as well. The division champs play one another in a best-of-7 League Championship Series, with the victor moving on to face off against the representative from the opposite league in a best-of-7 World's Championship Series (later shortened to the "World Series"). The two leagues fend off the threat of a third major league circuit, the Federal Association, survive two World Wars, and rectify the injustice of segregation during a period of stability which lasts for five decades. As in OTL, teams start to relocate in the 1950s, migrating into the southern and western US and into Canada. The leagues expand several times, with each adding two teams in 1956, 1964, 1979, and 2001.

 

[Nerdlinger]

Here's a fun chart showing the evolution of the major leagues and their teams in this alternate MLB history. More detailed description of franchise relocation and expansion to follow.

 

[Nerdlinger]

In the wake of the PL war, Brotherhood players were redistributed amongst NL and AA teams. The financial losses taken by teams in both surviving leagues resulted in several franchises either folding or relocating. Two PL franchises, Boston and Philadelphia, were absorbed by the AA in 1891, replacing the Kansas City Cowboys and the old Philadelphia Athletics, respectively. The Indianapolis franchise transferred to Washington in 1891, returning the capital city to the NL after the previous team moved to Detroit the year before. In the American Association, the Louisville Colonels shifted to Buffalo in 1892; the Columbus Solons headed off to Milwaukee the same year. The complement of team locations in the NL and AA would remain stable until the turn of the century. The Boston Red Stockings of the AA, suffering from local competition with the Beaneaters, was absorbed by its NL rival after the 1900 season. The NL team appropriated the moniker of the failed AA entry, which was soon shortened by the press to the "Red Sox." The Brooklyn Trolley-Dodgers of the AA similarly had their name trimmed down simply to the "Dodgers." A new AA franchise from Newark, the Eagles, replaced Boston for the 1901 season.

The National Agreement between the NL and AA in 1901 split the leagues into the following divisions. (This arrangement would remain constant for the next 50 years.)

 

[FDW]

Interesting, but I think you can end up with a league larger than 32 teams if you have the NL and AA at peace with one another.

 

[Nerdlinger]

Interesting, but I think you can end up with a league larger than 32 teams if you have the NL and AA at peace with one another.

Well, the AL and NL made peace in 1903, but they didn't expand until 1961 and 1962, respectively. I'm not sure that mere cooperation between the leagues would necessarily lead to a financial and population base for significantly more franchises than OTL.

 

[d32123]

So the Yankees move to Dallas?

Okay, officially most dystopic TL I've read on this site.

 

[FDW]

Well, the AL and NL made peace in 1903, but they didn't expand until 1961 and 1962, respectively. I'm not sure that mere cooperation between the leagues would necessarily lead to a financial and population base for significantly more franchises than OTL.

Well, the butterflies caused by this peace could lead to said development of those markets sooner than OTL.

 

[Nerdlinger]

So the Yankees move to Dallas?

Okay, officially most dystopic TL I've read on this site.

No, the Cincinnati Reds move to Dallas. There are no Yankees here, at least not as we know them. Since my POD is in 1889 and the Yankees weren't formed until after then, they've been butterflied away, like all other AL teams in OTL (as well as all NL expansion teams in OTL). That short-lived alt-Yankees team in the Federal Association folded in 1918. The Dallas expansion team is a different franchise which was added to the NL much later, in 1979.

BTW, I'm a Yankee fan, so their absence is not due to any bias of mine against them.

 

[Nerdlinger]

Well, the butterflies caused by this peace could lead to said development of those markets sooner than OTL.

I suppose so. Relocation and expansion does occur earlier in this TL than OTL.

To be honest, I just really like 32 as a number for teams in a league -- it allows for two leagues each with four 4-team divisions, like how the NFL is arranged now. Awesome symmetry and balance.

 

[Westbrook]

Hello excellent timeline! As usual, superbly done-Your knowledge of the National Pastime is superb. My only issue is that a majority of the names in 2012 sound like minor league teams rather than major league ones. Subscribed.

 

[d32123]

No, the Cincinnati Reds move to Dallas. There are no Yankees here, at least not as we know them. Since my POD is in 1889 and the Yankees weren't formed until after then, they've been butterflied away, like all other AL teams in OTL (as well as all NL expansion teams in OTL). That short-lived alt-Yankees team in the Federal Association folded in 1918. The Dallas expansion team is a different franchise which was added to the NL much later, in 1979.

BTW, I'm a Yankee fan, so their absence is not due to any bias of mine against them.

Ah I misread the graph. Good to know. Though in the unlikely event that I'm born ITTL I'd probably be a Mets fan which is puke enough.

 

[Nerdlinger]

Hello excellent timeline! As usual, superbly done-Your knowledge of the National Pastime is superb. My only issue is that a majority of the names in 2012 sound like minor league teams rather than major league ones. Subscribed.

To be fair, if you think about it, some actual team names are kind of lame, even though we've become used to them. Some are garments (Red Sox, White Sox), colors (Reds), harmless entities (Padres, Angels, Cubs), or just ill-defined (Phillies, Nationals, Mets).

 

[Nerdlinger]

Ah I misread the graph. Good to know. Though in the unlikely event that I'm born ITTL I'd probably be a Mets fan which is puke enough.

Yeah, but they're the alt-Mets, not the real Mets, so it's OK.

 

[d32123]

Yeah, but they're the alt-Mets, not the real Mets, so it's OK.

I guess you're right. A couple months ago I tried to write an MLB future TL but school got in the way and I lost interest. I'd love to see a good MLB TL and I wish you all the best of luck.

 

[FDW]

I suppose so. Relocation and expansion does occur earlier in this TL than OTL.

To be honest, I just really like 32 as a number for teams in a league -- it allows for two leagues each with four 4-team divisions, like how the NFL is arranged now. Awesome symmetry and balance.

Then why not shoot for 40? You get that same symmetry while also being able to have enough teams to experiment with the markets a bit more.

 

[Nerdlinger]

The next big challenge facing the NL and AA was the Federal Association of 1915-18. Billing themselves as a third major league, the Federals placed teams in eight NL and AA cities: Baltimore, Boston, New York (the Bronx -- the Giants played in Manhattan), and Philadelphia in the East Division, and Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis in the West Division. Though it was able to draw a significant number of talented players from the two older circuits, this upstart league would fall victim to competition from the established clubs in these markets, as well as to unfortunate timing. World War I began to drain the majors of manpower in 1917, leading to the collapse of the FA teams in Boston and Pittsburgh by season's end. The divisional structure was dissolved for the 1918. The last year of the FA was a disaster, with the New York and Philadelphia clubs folding mid-season. The four remaining franchises were disbanded at season's end.

The FA in its inaugural season:

 

[Nerdlinger]

I guess you're right. A couple months ago I tried to write an MLB future TL but school got in the way and I lost interest. I'd love to see a good MLB TL and I wish you all the best of luck.

Thanks. I don't intend for this to be a very long or in-depth TL; just a basic overview focusing mainly on franchise shifts and expansion.

Then why not shoot for 40? You get that same symmetry while also being able to have enough teams to experiment with the markets a bit more.

I actually do have an idea of what a 40-team MLB would look like in this TL, but they wouldn't reach this number until around 2050 or so. I'll post it after I get up to the present.

 

[Nerdlinger]

Following the end of the Great War, the major leagues entered into a new renaissance. Offense became the name of the game, and power hitters began socking balls over the wall left and right (and center, too). Fans flocked to the stadiums to see their favorite sluggers belt homer after homer. The good times didn't last forever, though. The Depression hit the majors hard and the minors even harder. Many minor leagues folded during the '30s and early '40s, and several major league clubs (the Phillies and Eagles in particular) were on the verge of bankruptcy. While World War II improved the nation's economic situation, it would also deprive the NL and AA of more players than did the first war. It was in 1943 that integration of Negro Leaguers into the majors began, not so much as a means to right past wrongs as a need for players to fill the war-depleted rosters. Another renaissance began after the war, an era which would later be nostalgically referred to as baseball's "Golden Years."

The period of franchise stability in the majors which lasted the entire first half of the 20th century ended in 1951, when the financially troubled Phillies left for Kansas City. A spate of relocations followed: the Reds shifted to Dallas in 1952; the Giants and Senators headed west in 1954 to Los Angeles and Seattle, respectively, bringing the major leagues to the Pacific coast for the first time; the Dodgers followed suit, moving to San Francisco in 1956. The Expansion Era began in 1956, when the NL added the Oakland Acorns (the Bay Area wouldn't be left to the AA alone) and the New York Mets (to replace the Giants); the AA added the Los Angeles Mammoths (the Dodgers needed another Pacific team to ease the burden of travel) and the new Cincinnati Reds (naturally, fans in the city where the first pro team played were upset at the loss of the original Reds). These franchise moves and expansions would result in some juggling of clubs between divisions and further relocation of minor league teams which were ousted from their homes by the big leagues.

The major leagues in 1956:

 

[von kressenstein]

No, the Cincinnati Reds move to Dallas. There are no Yankees here, at least not as we know them. Since my POD is in 1889 and the Yankees weren't formed until after then, they've been butterflied away, like all other AL teams in OTL (as well as all NL expansion teams in OTL). That short-lived alt-Yankees team in the Federal Association folded in 1918. The Dallas expansion team is a different franchise which was added to the NL much later, in 1979.

BTW, I'm a Yankee fan, so their absence is not due to any bias of mine against them.

Uhm Boston Braves.. 1876..unless they took the name red sox instead.. scratch that.. brain fart... they were orginally boston red stockings...
I still like the Braves name better

 

[Nerdlinger]

Uhm Boston Braves.. 1876..unless they took the name red sox instead.. scratch that.. brain fart... they were orginally boston red stockings...
I still like the Braves name better

Yeah, the Red Sox here are actually the Braves franchise of OTL. They never moved from Boston in this TL.

Note that Boston, Chicago, and St. Louis are one-team towns from 1901-1950, whereas in OTL, each city had both an NL and AL team. Chicago was big enough to support two teams, but the Braves and Browns had to flee town (as did the Athletics from Philadelphia, although the Phillies are the ones to leave in this TL).