Multiple realignment proposals exist, including four-team and eight-team divisions, geographic divisions, moving teams across leagues, or eliminating leagues entirely. Plans that depend on expansion should wait until expansion and team relocation decisions are final. Uncertainty about potential moves of teams like the Athletics and the Rays complicates drawing any lasting geographic map. The American and National Leagues should be retained to preserve the World Series matchup and historical continuity. One alternative proposal is random scheduling with schedules released in August as now, while still assigning teams to leagues for traditional continuity.
We've seen proposals for four team divisions. There have been people mentioning 8 team divisions if/when MLB expands to 32 teams. Your typical AL/NL north, south, east, and west divisions. Moving teams across leagues? Eliminating the leagues all together! All of these ideas have pluses and minuses. Anything that really only works with expansion should have to wait until there actually is expansion.
Considering we don't even know for sure that the Athletics will end up in Las Vegas or the Rays in Tampa or St. Pete or Orlando - you get the picture. I'll come right out and say my personal belief is that this is the leagues need to stay. As long as you're going to have the World Series it's a contest between the AL and the NL.
The one interesting idea I heard mentioned was to do it randomly. Thirty teams, thirty-two teams, doesn't matter. Balanced schedule? Doesn't' matter. So the idea is this: in August, just like now, the MLB schedules are released for the next season. You'd know who you're playing, when, and where. And how many times. Just like today. It it were up to me, you'd know your league. Because I think that's still a part of the history of the game to continue.
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