DBWI Boston has an American League baseball team

Actually, Boston did have an American League baseball team for a couple of years, to go along with the Braves. Ban Johnson thought that his new league had to enter the Boston market, and put the Boston Americans there.

However, what the American League really wanted was a team in New York, but was blocked from the Giants. In 1903, the other National League owners forced the Giants to relent, and the Americans relocated to New York.

However, originally it was supposed to be the Baltimore Orioles who were to move to New York. Its unclear why the Boston Americans moved instead, but a change of ownership seems to have been the deciding factor.

One thing that is clear is that the New York team wouldn't have been called the "Yankees", which was a moniker adopted by New York sportswriters due to their New England origin. But what would have been the other effects? Could Boston have supported two major league teams? Would Baltimore have eventually gotten a replacement team?
 
Seems to me the history of the game, especially the American League, would have been radically different. Who knows were the young George Herman Ruth would have wound up had not Jack Dunn, the Orioles' owner, not acted on a tip, boarded the route 9 streetcar out Wilkens Avenue to St. Mary's to see Brother Matthias' protégé? Ruth, quickly nicknamed "Babe", became an instant star with the Orioles, helping them to the 1915 AL pennant and a World Series victory over the Phillies. Dunn also made sure that Oriole Park on Greenmount Avenue was tailored once Ruth's hitting talents became evident: that short right field porch and the relatively low wall made it easy for Ruth, playing first base or right field on days when not pitching, to bomb passing streetcars on routes 7, 8, and 17. Indeed, there's the story of his "Million to One" shot in May 1922: he got all of a Tom Zachary pitch, driving over the wall, just as a Towson-bound route 8 streetcar was passing. It was a warm day, and the windows in the Brill semi-convertible car were open--and the Babe's shot found an open window, bouncing around inside the car. The story, incredible as it seems, was verified by multiple witnesses. The car's motorman later met Babe and got him to autograph the ball, and posed for pictures with 5724, the car in question. The final bit of evidence was a shallow dent in the metal fittings of one of the reversible seats, the point of the ball's impact: it was photographed extensively, and when the car was scrapped, the seat was saved and is now on display at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum.

If Ruth had wound up elsewhere, the story of the American League in the 1920s would not have been written by the epic races involving the Orioles, Walter Johnson and the Senators in the sunset of his career, and the George Sisler-led St. Louis Browns. Perhaps the Yankees wouldn't still be stepchildren in New York (after all these years, it's still very much a National League town, even with the pieced-together Yankees winning wartime pennants in 1942 and 1944).

At the same time, the Braves/Giants rivalry might not have become as intense as it is, nor would Braves Field have been reconfigured in the 1950s to accommodate the prodigious belts of a young Henry Aaron and a just-slightly-older Eddie Mathews.
 
The Braves almost moved, though, the Americans were better in 1901 and 1902 as far as attendance, and only the purchase of the Braves by HarryFrazee in 1911 saved them. He only owned them for a few years, along witha few other men, but that saw Johnny Evers brought in for that 1914 Series win, and then they lost the 1916 Series to the yanees. Frazee is a forgotten hero in Boston. he never had lots of money for his ball club and he sold his share in 1919 to some judge who nearly ran them into the ground. They didn't recover till the mid-40s and that Series loss to the Indians. Most baseball historians know the old joke in the '20s. "Could Boston have supported two major league baseball teams? Right now they don't have any!"

Ted Williams was amazing for those Yankees though, I'm glad he got into that Series in '42 before they went off to war - and a Triple Crown, too - but that and the 53-game hitting streak in 1941 were just crazy and still are part of Yankee lore.

Meanwhile, the new owner's first thing to do in 1935 was outbid the Yankees for Joe Dimaggio - now there's a what-if, could DiMaggio have done better in a different city? He learned to shorten his swing becasue that park was so vast and hit .404 in 1939 to lead the National League.(1) it's nice he finally got into a World Series in 1948 and won in 1950. He was a great ballplayer more known for his defense and average, but he could have hit a lot more home runs in another park.

But, yeah, it's still possible they could have moved in1953, but DiMaggio kept them there, he was so poular even after he retired, and Perini did a lot with charity. That was like a new ballpark built in '52 as one last ditch effort, much more of a hitters' park. It's said that DiMaggio was always kidn of bitter about that - may have led to his constantly wanting to be called the best living balplayer - becasue he talked about what he could have done with perini Park and that huge but close wall in left that Aaron used to hit all those home runs and break the record.

The Browns' move to Milwaukee culd have been the Braves moving. It may seem weird, but I think so. Then again, the Cardinals could have, also, it was a very fluid time in baseball, and Boston's three straight pennants and 2 World Series in 1956-1958 were a great sign of stability.

(1) OOXC: Yes, he hit .381 OTL, so actually plausible.
 
But what about that great lineup that the Braves had in the 1970s with Tony Conigliaro, Jim Rice, Fred Lynn and Mike Schmidt?
 
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