If Commissioner Manfred gets his wish, what would new MLB divisions look like?

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00:00MLB Commissioner Rob Manford gets a lot of grief from fans, like most commissioners do.

00:05But you have to give him credit for changing the game a little to try and appeal to new fans.

00:11New rules, strike zone challenges, and now a bit of a bigger change.

00:15The possibility of expansion and realignment in the next few years.

00:22During ESPN's broadcast of the Little League Classic between the Mets and Mariners Sunday night,

00:27the commissioner was asked to give the fans a peek into the future of the game.

00:32When asked about expansion and realignment, Manford said the topics were related, and he could see both happening.

00:39I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign.

00:44I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel.

00:49And I think our postseason format would be even more appealing for entities like ESPN,

00:56because you'd be playing up out of the east, out of the west.

01:00Expansion would need to happen first, and cities like Nashville, Salt Lake City, and Portland are on the short list.

01:07If the divisions were then realigned, what would they look like?

01:10With 32 teams, it might look more like the NFL or NHL, with teams in a geographically similar Atlantic division.

01:18The Mets and Yankees, the Nats, Phillies, and Orioles as division rivals.

01:24The American League and National League, as we know them, would likely be gone.

01:28Manford said having those types of regional matchups might fill a viewership void,

01:33and could mean more local advertising dollars and higher revenue streams from future media rights deals.

01:40And that 10 o'clock time slot where we sometimes get Boston, Anaheim, would be two West Coast teams.

01:46And that 10 o'clock slot that's a problem for us sometimes becomes a real opportunity for our West Coast audience.

01:52Speaking of the West Coast audience, how about the Angels and Mariners joining the Dodgers, the Giants, and the Padres,

01:58with maybe an expansion team like Salt Lake City thrown together into a new Pacific division?

02:04Major League Baseball hasn't expanded since the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays entered the league in 1998.

02:11Manford has said he'd like to add two more teams before he retires in 2029.

02:17First, the league needs to settle the stadium situations of the Athletics and the Rays.

02:21And then there is that looming labor dispute with the Players Union that could throw a wrench into everything.

02:27For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis.