I thought I'd drag Doug's response to the question about expansion over to this thread because I think it's an interesting question. The response I began making to Doug is below
Quote:
Originally Posted by dougdirt
Expansion didn't dilute anything. People that say that make my head hurt. Population is up by incredible amounts and we are bringing in players on a world wide scale. The pitching is better than its ever been. So is the hitting..
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I would suggest that some of the expansion was absolutely called for. I posted this story about the Continental League and I think that Rickey and others were recognizing that expansion could be supported. At this point, there had been four moves almost all westward: The Browns moving east to Baltimore and the Braves moving to Milwaukee, I believe both in 1954. Then after 1957, the Dodgers and Giants to the West Coast for the 1958 season.
In 1961, the year of the first expansion brought the Senators to Minnesota and an expansion club coming to DC. The Los Angeles Angels were the other AL expansion team. In the NL, baseball returned a second team to NY and also expanded to Houston. The Twin Cities and Houston were both to be members of the Continental League.
I always felt the 1961 expansion basically recognized the plethora of African American players. Likewise the nation was experiencing a considerable southern and western flow of population. I know some of the historians on here have talked about the geographic breakdown of the early configuration of the major league. I think that continues to be true and Doug mentions it here. There are players from more places coming to play ball here and new places continue to provide players.
I think the later expansions continued to recognize the growth of cities throughout the U.S. and in Canada, Toronto in particular, although I wonder whether baseball didn't blow it in Montreal, but I think that's an agrument for another day. Now the only planned Continental League city that doesn't have ML is Buffalo. Today, there are a good number of the top 50 cities that do not have teams that probably could support them.
I think the last two expanses went fairly well because baseball followed a suggestion made by Whitey Herzog, I believe. He had suggested allowing the clubs to begin stocking minor league clubs a few years before the major league clubs began.
I have to run now, but perhaps this can begin this conversation.