An Alternate MLB History: The American Association Lives

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).


I love baseball history.. liking the timeline :)
Glad the A's stayed in Philly too
 
The departure of the Brooklyn Dodgers provided an opportunity for the perennial cellar-dwelling Newark Eagles to finally become competitive. In 1957, they shifted operations to Brooklyn, renamed themselves the Bombers (after the aircraft), and played in the Dodgers' old park until a new stadium could be built. The Philadelphia Athletics also benefited from relocation, specifically that of their cross-town rivals the Phillies, as it eliminated competition for the same market. Conversely, the Phillies, now reincarnated as the Kansas City Blues, were faring quite poorly in their new digs due to fiscal mismanagement. A second round of expansion was set for 1964. That same year, the Blues picked up and left for San Diego, only to be promptly replaced by a new NL franchise, the Kansas City Cyclones. The other expansion teams added that season were the Minnesota Marauders in the NL, and in the AA, the Denver Blizzards and Toronto Ospreys (the first major league team outside of the United States). Suffering from competition with the Dodgers and lacking both on-the-field success and fan support, the Oakland Acorns would move to Houston the next year. The 1965 season was the start of another -- albeit shorter -- period of franchise stability which lasted until 1978.

The major leagues in 1965:

MLB ATL AA Lives 1965.png
 
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A new rule instituted by both leagues in 1967 provided the pitcher with a designated pinch hitter (later referred to just as a "designated hitter," or DH). The DH would bat for the pitcher during a game without requiring the pitcher to be replaced by a substitute on the mound. This helped to ease the burden on pitchers, who had enough to worry about without having to come to the plate and serve as a near-automatic out every time. The second era of franchise stability ended when the Dallas Rangers moved to Atlanta for the 1978 season. The outcry by baseball fans in Dallas over the loss of their beloved team forced MLB to accelerate the next round of expansion, which had been planned for 1981. The cities of Miami and Indianapolis had already been promised franchises in the American Association, so the new Dallas team was placed in the National League.

The Florida Everglades (AA East), Indianapolis Hoosiers (AA West), Montreal Royals (NL East), and Dallas Scorpions (NL West) -- the Atlanta franchise still held the copyright to the Rangers name -- began play in 1979. That year, the Denver Blizzards changed their name to the Colorado Blizzards, hoping for a broader appeal to their whole state like the new Florida team. Unfortunately, the rush to expand left Montreal unprepared for the Royals, who had to play in an inadequate minor league park because a new, larger stadium had yet to be approved by the city. The Royals performed dreadfully, finishing dead last in the league standings and in attendance, leading to their relocation to Washington, DC, the next season.

The major leagues in 1980:

MLB ATL AA Lives 1980.png
 
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The city of Cincinnati would suffer another loss in 1993, when the expansion Reds (which had replaced the original Reds) themselves relocated to Arizona and to the AA West. Atlanta moved to the East to replace them. It was not until 2001 that the Queen City received a second replacement team. Diehard Reds fans consider the Phoenix team to be an expansion franchise, while the Cincinnati franchise was merely "on hiatus" from 1994-2000. The 2001 expansion brought the majors up to 32 teams overall, adding the New Orleans Orcas and Portland Timbers to the NL and the Tampa Bay Barracudas to the AA as well as the Reds. The Seattle Stallions rebranded themselves that year to the Seattle Tsunamis to appeal to the growing local Japanese-American population.

Rather than retaining two 8-team divisions per league, the NL and AA were both reorganized into four 4-team divisions (East, North, South, and West). As part of the realignment, the leagues attempted to keep intact historic rivalries, such as those between the Bulldogs and Red Sox and between the Brewers and Browns. The postseason was revamped also that year, with the four division winners in each league first facing off in the best-of-7 Division Series before the two victors move on to the LCS. Late in the 2005 season, a powerful hurricane destroyed the Orcas' stadium, forcing them to spend the last month of the season on the road. For 2006, the team relocated to Charlotte to become the Carolina Cougars. This would be the last franchise shift as of 2012.

The major leagues in 2012:

MLB ATL AA Lives 2012.png
 
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In case you were wondering....

MLB Schedule Structure 1876-present

National League 1876-1891
1876: 70 games = 10 x 7 opponents
1877-78: 60 games = 12 x 5 opponents
1879-82: 84 games = 12 x 7 opponents
1883: 98 games = 14 x 7 opponents
1884-85: 112 games = 16 x 7 opponents
1886-87: 126 games = 18 x 7 opponents
1888-91: 140 games = 20 x 7 opponents

American Association 1882-1891
1882: 80 games = 16 x 5 opponents
1883: 98 games = 14 x 7 opponents
1884: 110 games = 10 x 11 opponents
1885: 112 games = 16 x 7 opponents
1886-91: 140 games = 20 x 7 opponents

Players' League 1890
1890: 140 games = 20 x 7 opponents

Federal Association 1915-1918
1915-17: 154 games = 90 same division (30 x 3 opponents) + 64 other division (16 x 4 opponents)
1918: 150 games = 30 x 5 opponents

National League and American Association 1892-present
1892-1900: 154 games = 22 x 7 opponents
1901-55: 154 games = 90 same division (30 x 3 opponents) + 64 other division (16 x 4 opponents)
1956-63: 156 games = 96 same division (24 x 4 opponents) + 60 other division (12 x 5 opponents)
1964-78: 160 games = 100 same division (20 x 5 opponents) + 60 other division (10 x 6 opponents)
1979-2000: 160 games = 90 same division (15 x 6 opponents) + 70 other division (10 x 7 opponents)
2001-present: 162 games = 54 same division (18 x 3 opponents) + 108 other divisions (9 x 12 opponents)

Note that the National Association and Union Association are not represented here -- this is because in this timeline, neither are officially considered major leagues.
 
Here's what the top tier of the minor leagues looks like in 2012. The Eastern and Western Leagues are Level A, the highest level of the minors (there's no AA or AAA in this TL); the other levels are lettered from B to F in rank from next highest to lowest. In parentheses after each team is the major league club with which it is associated.

MLB ATL AA Lives 2012 Minors.png
 
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