So what if instead of selling Babe Ruth's contract in 1920 to the New York Yankees, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold the club entirely. Not a lot is known about the situation just that Frazee seemed to need cash in a hurry. Securing the rights to a play "No, No, Nanette" that would not appear on Broadway until 1925 only seems to be part of the story. In part the original deal for Ruth's contract was to help finance his purchase of the Fenway Park that same year. So that's our divergence. Harry Frazee fails to buy Fenway Park and is strapped for cash especially as the lease on the park is $30,000 a year, the hometown rival Boston Braves aren't interested in sharing their new Braves Park stadium, the theater magnate decides it's time to get out of baseball and return to Broadway. Who's the most likely buyer? Is there anyone in town willing to purchase the team? Is it possible the Red Sox relocate?

Is there any possible chance one of the owners or ownership groups of the disbanded Federal League try and purchase the Red Sox in a bid to bring baseball back to their city? I know Ned Hanlon the former owner of the FL Baltimore Terrapins was especially keen to get back into baseball and bring a team back to Baltimore. Though not sure about other cities and potential buyers. Judging by population the top 3 choices for relocation would have been Baltimore, Buffalo, and Milwaukee they're all cities larger than 500,000 people and without a Major League teams but baseball legacies. Longer Shots would be Newark, New Orleans, Minneapolis, or Kansas City. Those 4 are under 500,000 people though do have baseball histories of some sort. Any chance an established baseball city gets a second team? Who was close to Frazee and might have influenced his decision? Would love to hear from more informed baseball minds in the group.

Does the American League try and start another Boston Franchise?
 
The AL probably sits on its thumbs if the Red Sox move. Let’s say they move to Baltimore, become the Terrapins, and Ruth goes with them.

Bear a few things in mind - the Yankees are still the Yankees even without Ruth, and there may be a push to acquire an equally big star (or Gehrig may fit that role.) However, if the Terrapins are better run, they might take a few titles from the Yankees.

Expansion seems unlikely just to get back into Boston. If anything happens to push the AL back into Beantown, it’s another move - the Browns, Senators or Athletics are possibilities, and maybe the White Sox if someone buys out Comiskey and doesn’t want to keep the team in Chicago. I’m not sure if anyone would make such a move or if the AL would care that much that they don’t have a presence in Boston.
 
what if John F Fitzgerald along with some of his friends buys the Sox from Frazee . Since the timeline you are proposing is one of the worst Dystopian timelines I've ever seen. You most likely butterflied away the Jimmi fund away also does this mean I'm a Braves fan then? Also would the Braves move into Fenway since it's a much better stadium then what they played in
 
The Jimmy Fund is safe. It was actually started by the Braves. It was when the Braves left town that they went to see Tom Yawkey to see if the Sox would adopt the charity. Yawkey agreed immediately.
 
what if John F Fitzgerald along with some of his friends buys the Sox from Frazee .

John F. Fitzgerald could be a potential owner or member of a new owners group. He was well known as a patron of the Red Sox. If he buys the team the Sox remain in Boston. It's all hypothetical of course but he may well be interested in doing it just to save the team. Another possible candidate is Bob Quinn and his associates the man who bought the Red Sox in 1923 though the team was underfunded during his ownership tenure.

Also would the Braves move into Fenway since it's a much better stadium then what they played in

I highly doubt the Braves move to Fenway. They played some of their games at the stadium in 1914 including their World Series victory basically because they were waiting for Braves Field to be completed. Braves Field was at the time by many considered to be the superior ballpark and a vision of the future. It was one the first crop of parks made entirely from steel and had public transit in mind, it even had a trolley system leading to the park. The real clincher though was that Braves Field could seat more people at 40,000, Fenway at the time packed 35,000. In fact the Sox took advantage of this a number of times and leased the facility to host games at Braves Field like during the 1915 and 1916 World Series and games they knew would draw extremely large crowds especially prominent between 1929 to 1932. Today Braves Field is heavily modified and in use as Nickerson Field at Boston University, I'm told the main concourse under the seating is largely untouched from the old days.

does this mean I'm a Braves fan then?

You? No you're still a Red Sox fan. A version of you that lives in this timeline, definitely. Also there's probably a version of you out there that's a Boston Bee's fan in a world where the Braves never stopped using that name past 1941. Or a timeline where you family never stopped cheering for the Red Sox even when they moved to Baltimore and were raised a hardcore Terrapins fan taking trips to Terps Park every summer as a regular pilgrimage.

one of the worst Dystopian timelines

Oh no this is hardly Dystopian. I'm a Detroit Lions fan so I know sports Dystopias lol. There's a timeline where the BoSox don't exist at all. Worse yet there's a timeline where you were raised as Boston Red Sox fan. The catch being they were bought by Colonel Rupert and the New York Yankees in 1920 had their talent raided and turned into a minor league feeder team for the Yankees and continued to this day as a AAA affiliate. Yup a timeline where the Sox are thriving in the minors rocking the B on their caps and a little Yankees logo patch on the sleeve. The alternate version of you applauds extra hard when the Steinbrenner family makes appearance at Old Fenway. This is only a Dystopia to Red Sox fans of course. Happy Halloween.
 
Ruth wanted out of Boston so he still gets sold or traded. But there would be more takers - every AL team except New York and Chicago boycotted Frazee. With a new owner he could end up anywhere.
 
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The Red Sox moving to Baltimore in 1920 potentially creates some butterflies down the line. Not only will Babe Ruth get the mother of all welcome home parties that would be talked about to this day if he remains with the team but Ned Hanlon the teams new owner was also known for grooming players into managers. If Ruth showed an interest and committed to that path it's possible he becomes the Terrapins skipper at some point or retires to become a manager somewhere else.

The bigger butterfly would be what happens in 1954. Where do the Browns move if Baltimore is no longer available? Do they go to Milwaukee as the Braves never leave Beantown? Maybe they look to the west and get another franchise to move with them like the Philadelphia Athletics who were set to move to KC in 1955? How funny would it be in context to our timeline to hear about the San Francisco Athletics, all the grimacing SF Giants fans. Do the Giants and Dodgers even move in a scenario like this? Do Oakland, Atlanta, and Kansas City ever get franchises or get them much later as expansion teams or transplants? One small move in 1920 could change baseball geography quite a bit
 
Don't overlook how conservative baseball was in 1920, or indeed until after World War II. The proposed move of the Browns to Los Angeles after the 1941 season was squelched by Pearl Harbor, but the idea itself was viewed as very radical in its day. That would make a proposed move in 1920 more difficult still.

Furthermore, in 1920, the memory of Red Sox world championships was still quite fresh, the last one having occurred in 1918. It's a pretty fair bet there would be a sizable local move afoot to keep the Red Sox in Boston.
 
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