The NL Expansion Orioles
 

Major League Baseball consisted of just 16 teams from 1903 until after World War II. For a large amount of this time, no team was west of St. Louis or south of Washington.

While other leagues such as the American Football League (AFL) and NFL added teams all over the country, MLB remained pretty much status quo. With television blackouts of national TV games in home team cities in the 1950s, fans could not see other games. MLB moved teams throughout the 1950s, but they took them from cities that had them for decades such as Brooklyn and the second teams in St. Louis and Philadelphia.

In this dynasty, I will expand the league by two teams every few years in order to help to grow the game to other regions. I will also simulate the expansion drafts for each to see what they would be like if they existed in the 1950s. The World Baseball Classic will also be a part of this simulation.

In this simulation, I will expand at times I see fit. I will play two seasons (1946 and 1947) before my first expansion.

1946 regular season final standings. A very close playoff race in the National League, going down to the final afternoon of the season as the Cubs edge out the Cardinals to gain the 2nd playoff spot in the National League. The AL race is between the Yankees and the Red Sox, and decided in August with the Yankees eventually pulling away.

The playoffs, expanded beyond the World Series for the first time ever, will include a minimum of one game in each league. The first place teams (the Yankees and the Cardinals) will automatically get a 1-0 lead in each championship series, meaning they only have to win one game in that series to go to the World Series. The Cubs and the Red Sox will have to win two games on the road in order to get to the Series.

Sounds good, I enjoy alternate/custom historicals :D

The 1946 playoffs leading up to the World Series was excellent. Cubs-Cardinals at Sportsman's Park with one game, and Red Sox-Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

The Cardinals easily handled the Cubs in their first game, 4-1, clinching a trip to the World Series. They scored 2 runs in the 1st and 2nd innings.

The Red Sox-Yankees series was different. Game 1 had a great crowd at Yankee Stadium, over 67,000, as fans hoped to see the Yankees clinch a World Series bid. That was not the case though, as a 10th inning Red Sox rally led by a Ted Williams triple led to 6 runs and a 11-5 victory, which dampened spirits in Gotham.

Game 2 though was one of the most exciting moments in baseball's history. The Red Sox led almost the entire game. It was 5-1 going to the 7th inning, with Boston just 9 outs away. Meanwhile, the Yankees added 3 runs in the 7th, on two singles and a bases loaded walk. It was 5-4, but the excitement was just beginning.

The Yankees held Boston scoreless in the 8th, then Boston held the Yankees until the bottom of the 9th. The Red Sox were 3 outs away from their first World Series until 1918.

The Yankees with the last at-bat dampened things. Nick Etten and Charlie Keller added singles to put 2 on for Yogi Berra, who pinch hit for the P. He flew out. Then Tommy Henrich came out, and after a long at-bat, on 3-2 slammed a two-bagger through into LF, tying the game at 5.

Billy Johnson flew out, bringing up Aaron Robinson with the game on the line. On a 1-2 pitch, he sent everybody on their way home in glee with a 3 run game winning HR to left off Ellis Kinder. Thousands of fans stormed the field at Yankee Stadium, celebrating the Yanks first trip to the Series in 3 years.

So it sets up as New York-St. Louis again in the World Series, a rematch of 1942 and 1943.

The 1946 World Series was a battle between two October stalwarts. The New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals. The two sides played consecutive Series from 1942-1943, with each winning one. Both teams were the tops in their league during the regular season, with the Yankees winning 104 in the AL and the Cardinals 95 in the NL.

The Cardinals got home field advantage though because of the National League getting it for the Series this year. The Yankees had to play one more game in the postseason, two to the Cardinals one, as Aaron Robinson's walk-off HR sent them to the Series.

The series started in St. Louis with a 2-1 game winner for the Cardinals. Little-known Mo Mozzali sent everybody home with a PH single in the 9th. Mozzali had played just 38 games in the 1946 season and had 10 hits all season. He won the game though, in his only Series action.

Game 2 was another one-run game, a 3-2 Yankees win to send the teams back to the Big Apple tied. Snuffy Stirnweiss's 9th inning 3B was the key swing, as Charlie Keller later brought him in on a hit.

Back in the Bronx, Game 3 went to New York 3-1, as the Yankees won with single runs in the 1st, 6th and 7th. Game 4 went to St. Louis, tying the series, as the Cardinals answered with 4 runs in the 6th and 2 in the 9th for a 6-2 victory. Tommy Glaviano and Whitey Kurowski each had 2 RBIs in the win.

Game 5 went to the Yankees 5-1 as Roger Wolff had a dominant pitching performance, limiting the Cards to 6 hits. Joe Gordon's 1st inning HR was the catalyst and the Yankees never trailed from there.

The Yankees clinched in Game 6, with a powerful 9-3 victory. Aaron Robinson's 2 run HR in the 2nd gave the Yankees a lead they would never relinquish, and a 6-run 9th was the cushion the New Yorkers needed. Robinson was named World Series MVP for his performance, and with what he did in the playoffs, he deserved the accolades.

He had 6 hits and 6 RBI in the series, along with 2 HRs. The Yankees won their 11th title; no other team in the league has more than 5. That is also 7 titles in the last 11 seasons. The Yankees have been utterly dominant in this era.

AL and NL award winners.

This looks like an interesting concept, I'm always down for alt-history and other such universes. If only it could have started with a Cardinals victory :(

Anywho, I'll be watching.

Same. Really interested to see where you expand and the teams you use.

Also, just curious why you decided to start in 1946?

"In this simulation, I will expand at times I see fit. I will play two seasons (1946 and 1947) before my first expansion." First Post of the series.

Trevor Farrell Doyle was a baseball and sports lifer. He was a boy who loved sports pretty much from his early days. He was born on October 28, 1913 in the small Ohio River town of East Liverpool, Ohio, just 40 miles from Pittsburgh.

East Liverpool was the center of America's pottery and ceramics industry. Doyle was the son of Irish and German immigrants, who moved there in order to obtain good, well-paying jobs.

Unlike many mill towns in western PA and OH, East Liverpool was thriving on this industry. Doyle played on mill teams starting just after the Great War and quickly became one of the most talented guys. He was a natural at catcher, and also took up the game of football, which had become very important in high school in these small towns as early as the 1920s.

He participated as a quarterback in the early era of high school football, where recruiting had not quite taken total hold. He was mostly looked at by small schools in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The University of Pittsburgh looked at him, but would only let him play baseball, not football. Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, a smaller university at the time, would let him do both.

In Athens as a Bobcat, Doyle excelled, starring on the freshman football team in 1932 as the quarterback, but he eventually took a spot as a right halfback on the team. However, he could not get a spot in the starting lineup, and was mostly relegated to playing in blowout games and kicking duty (he excelled as a punter and kicker). The team went 8-0 in 1935.

On the baseball team though, he starred as the catcher, eventually becoming captain in his senior season, 1936. He got a couple of semi-pro looks, but never a pro team. He graduated, and went back to East Liverpool, getting a job at Ogilvie's Department Store. Doyle married a girl he met in Athens, a OU cheerleader.

Doyle worked at Ogilvie's until World War II started, when he enlisted in the Navy. Doyle was on a ship for 4 years, eventually becoming a Captain before his discharge after completing his service. When he moved back to East Liverpool a couple of months before the war ended, Doyle wanted to try something different.

He helped as a coach for his HS's baseball team, and felt like he had an innate ability to help to coach those players.

Doyle had always been a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, having lived just 40 miles away from Forbes Field, and had attended multiple games a year throughout the 1920s. He applied with the Pirates organization for a position as a scout during the middle of the 1945 season.

Doyle got the job, and began scouting players throughout Ohio and western Pennsylvania. This led to him getting the managerial job for the Tallahassee Pirates in 1946, where he guided them to a 60-66 record. This year he will manage the Charleston Rebels in A ball (South Atlantic League).

Below are the NL Gold Glove winners I missed.

Major League Baseball has remained the same for 44 years. There has not been an expansion from the 16 club number since 1903. Every team has remained in the same city. There have been no franchise changes, no new cities in more than 2 generations. With World War II ending along with the travel restrictions that came with it, there has been a desire for an expansion of baseball into new markets (OTL).

The owners have seen professional football start to encroach on the popularity of baseball with new cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco becoming a part of the All-American Football Conference (AAFC). They have also started teams in smaller metropolitan areas such as Buffalo and Baltimore which have gotten their first taste of professional sports.

But professional football is still often seen as a second banana behind baseball, horse racing, college football and boxing, while the NHL is just a 6 team enterprise in northern cities. Baseball, major and minor league, can be found in almost all of the 48 states. Meanwhile, with no national radio except for the World Series and the new League Championship Series that started last year, there is still plenty of room for the sport to expand into more homes.

There is also a new variable which could impact things: television. Television has already expanded into the New York to Washington megalopolis, with both Philly teams, both St. Louis teams, Washington, the 3 New York teams, and the Cubs already televising, with all but Pittsburgh having plans to televise games by 1948.

Expansion is not something which is taken lightly. There is opposition among some of the owners in the American League having to feed more mouths. Also, a big difference is if they expand by two teams or four. That could do a lot of damage to the minor league system.

Meanwhile, the announcement of possible expansion (at the 1946 Winter Meetings) has placated cities wanting to become big league. More than 15 cities have expressed interest in expansion teams. 33 of the 34 metropolitan districts in the US (all but Scranton-Wilkes Barre) have expanded population since 1940.

The cities which are interested in the expansion range from obvious choices such as Los Angeles and San Francisco to places like Memphis and Seattle who just want to gauge interest for a possibility later on. Each team will cost about $1.2 million. With as many as four cities being picked, this expansion could have impact for decades. I will go over the cities and analyze their chances.

Expected favorites

Los Angeles

1947 civilian population: 3,916,875

The City of Angels has been looked at as a possible Major League city for years now. There have been several false starts. The St. Louis Browns came within a day of moving there, but the start of World War II six years ago scuttled that.

Still, with a fast growing population, Hollywood + television, and the chance to tap into the largest market on the West Coast and the 3rd largest in the country, it looks to be an odds-on favorite. A problem is the two Pacific Coast League teams in the area (Los Angeles and Hollywood) which would have to move, which could cause a lot of issues with that league, who wants to be a 3rd major league. There is also a question on where the team would play. The cavernous LA Coliseum looks to be the only major league quality ballpark.

San Francisco

1947 population: 1,989,891

Being what Los Angeles is for northern California, a well-supported sports city with a lot of corporate money, plus many of the same benefits as Los Angeles, the Bay Area looks like a very good option to pair with Los Angeles in the same league, creating an instant rivalry.

The Bay Area is also a cosmopolitan region that would quickly adopt a team with its large, growing population. There is the same problem with the PCL as in Los Angeles, but Oakland would keep its PCL team.

Contenders

Baltimore

1947 population: 1,306,040

Baltimore has already proved itself as a city which will support almost any sports team, no matter what level. The AAA Orioles got crowds north of 50,000 for Little World Series games a couple of seasons ago, outdrawing the all St. Louis World Series. Baltimore is virgin pro sports territory, with well over a million people, but due to Washington being so close, they haven't had a Major League team since the early 1900s.

The Senators might look to be an obstacle to this because of Baltimore possibly cutting into their ticket and media revenue.

Kansas City

1947 population: about 800,000

Kansas City's population is understated, because of its position as a transportation hub for the Midwest and the gateway to the West. They also have a large stadium near downtown which can be expanded to Major League specifications and a AAA Yankees farm team which draws very well.

The Cardinals though might have an issue with a team here because of being in the same state as sharing some of the same territory.

Milwaukee

1947 population: about 850,000

The Brew City has had a legacy in baseball almost since the sport started, dating back to before 1900 with the Brewers. Much like the Green Bay Packers a couple hours up the road, the entire state of Wisconsin would support a baseball team in Milwaukee.

A problem is the only stadium that is large enough in Milwaukee is just 13,000 seats (Borchert Field). That could be a problem even for just a year as a temporary stadium.

Montreal

1947 population: 1,300,000

This is a definite option if MLB wants to expand into Canada for its first entry. Montreal is the major city in the country, and bringing a team here would bring a whole new market, possibly the entire nation of Canada into the fold. They also support the Dodgers AAA farm, where Jackie Robinson played last year before his entrance onto the Dodgers this year breaking the color barrier. An issue may be the difference in Canadian money and trying to find a large enough facility.

Minneapolis-St. Paul

1947 population: 1,006,278

Another virgin market, the Twin Cities has a well-educated population which would support a major league team very well. It would also have no competition except for University of Minnesota sports and hockey + pro basketball. One issue: where do you place the stadium? In Minneapolis or St. Paul. That is the big question.

Toronto

1947 population: 1,010,000

Being Canada's 2nd market, Toronto has a lot of growth potential on Lake Ontario. They also have a history of well-supported teams in the CFL and with the Maple Leafs in the NHL. But the winds blow cold off the lake in April and May. The minor league baseball team in Toronto is also not as well supported as in other nearby cities.

Buffalo

1947 population: 1,035,000

Toronto's neighbor city to the south along Lake Ontario also has a pretty good case for a MLB team. Its Bills are well supported, along with the minor league Bisons.

Long shots

New Orleans

1947 population: 601,608

New Orleans, the major city in the South, would bring a completely different vibe into the sport as the first professional team in the South. It is probably the city in the region best prepared for pro sports, but its limited population might be a deterrent, along with the segregation laws.

Houston

1947 population: 760,000

Houston, the hub of the oil industry in Texas, has been incredibly fast-growing since the war ended. The city has possible owners with deep pockets which could perhaps swing a few of the undecideds their way. But the city's hot/humid summer weather may be a deterrent.

Dallas and Fort Worth

1947 population: 930,000

The Metroplex of Dallas and Fort Worth, mostly separated during this time, could go after a team. A problem is would people drive to downtown Dallas from Fort Worth or vice versa? Or would a stadium be built in the middle between the two cities.

Denver

1947 population: 471,460

Denver, as the major city in the Mountain West, definitely has an interest in becoming a big league city, but its small size of under 500,000 might make things tough for attendance in mid-week games in this city.

Northern New Jersey

1947 population: 3,433,586

Northern New Jersey (Newark, Jersey City, and neighboring cities) has a larger population than any city on the list other than Los Angeles. The problem is there are already so many teams nearby, with the 3 New York teams plus 2 in Philadelphia. There would be a lot of territorial fees to pay.

Seattle

1947 population: 602,910

Being out there in the Pacific Northwest far away from any other population centers, Seattle is mostly using this as a feeler for possible interest for possible teams moving from other cities.

Louisville

1947 population: 550,000

Louisville, being further north than other Southern cities, has looked like an interesting possibility for a team, but it might be hemmed in market area by Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis teams.

We can vote for our favorites, right? Baltimore in the NL and LA for the AL.

1947 mid-season standings and All-Star teams for a game hosted by the St. Louis Browns.

July 1, 1947

There is speculation around baseball that the National and American Leagues will make their expansion decision next week at the All-Star Game in St. Louis. There are thoughts it could be nothing at all for now, 2 teams (2 in one league) or 4 teams (2 in both leagues).

Los Angeles, San Francisco, Baltimore, and Kansas City are seen as favorites, but several other cities are also very interested. Each franchise will cost between $1.2-$1.25 million.

There is speculation that each league wants franchises near where TV stations are starting up, so they can take advantage of the telephone communication lines.

July 9, 1947

The All-Star Game was at Chicago's Wrigley Field, so the owners decided to meet in downtown Chicago. With the separation between the National League and the American League, each set of 8 owners had their own separate meetings held, at different hotels in the city. The NL at the Stevens Hotel and the AL up the street at the Blackstone.

Each league's meetings lasted multiple hours. All 16 cities made presentations to the different committees as possible owners and important dignitaries from each of the participating cities were in town. Bob Rodenberg was in town for Baltimore. Kansas City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Milwaukee, and Montreal all had large contingents in town.

Each league deliberated in large convention rooms from morning until early evening waiting to make a decision. This had been discussed for months prior, as one of the major topics during the 1947 season. What cities, if any, are going to break the 44 year, more than 2 generation drought without a expansion franchise in the major leagues?

What is the decision that is going to be made? We have been waiting for months.

At 9pm on the 9th day of July, a bulletin came from the Blackstone Hotel, which surprised lots of people. The American League owners were at a deadlock after hours of debate. There was lots of chatter about Los Angeles and San Francisco getting in the league, but several of the poorer owners in the AL, like the Browns and Athletics owners, feared having to pay territorial fees to every PCL team.

The decision ended up being that the American League would NOT expand for the 1948 season. They would stay status quo at 8 teams a side. A decision would be made later about possible expansion later on. This was a bulletin on all major radio networks.

The National League though was not ready to make a decision. They deliberated over several cities, including LA and San Francisco. But with the NL having more "powerhouse" teams, they felt like it would be better to not have to worry about if teams were going to make it.

They waited on their decision until the next morning, July 10.

July 10, 1947

The morning of July 10 in Chicago has dawned cloudy with a few showers. At the Stevens Hotel, National League owners were up most of the night deliberating over a decision which could shape the future of the sport for decades to come, and maybe even all of big-league sports. What was the Senior Circuit going to decide?

Are the owners going to stay status quo with 16 teams for at least another year, possibly longer? Or would they expand the league by 2 for the coming 1948 season?

The expansion of the sport at this coming time, less than two years after World War II ended, is coming at a key point in this country's history. There are reports of a "boom" of babies which could swell the country's population. It was at 132 million in 1940, and 15,000,000 more have been added in the last 7 years.

In addition, air travel and television could play huge parts in this decision. Dodgers and Giants owners, who already televise most of their home games on TV, already know the benefits of showing games, even to a small amount of sets, mostly in bars.

They could go any set of ways with this. A western expansion with LA and San Francisco? Very possible. The first Canadian team with Montreal or maybe Toronto? A chance. They could also surprise with a city like Buffalo or Minneapolis.

Wednesday night, the National League announced a press conference for 11:30am local time at the Stevens Hotel. Hundreds of newspaper writers, radio and early TV reporters, and newsreel reporters stayed in town for the extra day to cover the meetings.

Cities were waiting with baited breath for the proceedings. The Mutual network decided to cover the presser live over its entire network with Bill Corum hosting. Several Los Angeles and San Francisco stations picked up the proceedings live.

Stevens Hotel press conference

National League President Ford Frick came up to the microphone along with New York Giants President Horace Stoneham, the head of the Expansion Committee. They determined that two cities would gain the right to a National League ballclub for the 1948 season. In order for a city to be named an expansion city, 6 of the 8 owners had to approve (75%).

Two envelopes were out on a long table that would be opened by the Commissioner. They were securely brought in by an local accounting firm hired by the NL and opened up. Only one person (the accountant) knew which two cities it was. Most of the possible owners who were in the running were in the room.

After introducing himself opening up the press conference, Frick walked up and opened the envelopes. Frick opened up the first envelope.

President Frick: "Contained in this envelope will be the name of the city of the 17th major league franchise. By a vote of 7-1, the 9th club in the National League will go to the city of..... Milwaukee!"

The crowd of reporters gasped when they heard that Milwaukee had gotten a franchise, which likely meant Los Angeles and San Francisco would be shut out. Milwaukee was picked due to it being a central city for the NL, with Chicago being the only no vote. Milwaukee is only 90 miles from Chicago, and the Cubs felt like it would cut into their fan base.

They were also surprised that the NL would allow a team to play in just a 13,000 seat stadium. Then the news was revealed that Milwaukee would build a new stadium for the team, seating over 50,000, to be completed by 1949 or 1950. With the Packers already playing 2 games a year in Milwaukee, it had already proven that it could host big league sports.

Milwaukee's owners also marketed that they could bring in the entire state of Wisconsin for the team, along with other neighboring states like Minnesota, and that that baseball was a very popular sport in the state.

After the Milwaukee decision, there were murmurs in the crowd about where the 18th club was going to be. Some people expected an upset like Montreal or Buffalo. But one city stood out in the crowd.

President Frick: "Contained in this envelope will be the name of the city of the 18th major league franchise. By a unanimous vote of 8-0, the 10th club in the National League will go to the city of... Baltimore!"

Baltimore had always been in the shadow of the Nation's Capitol, Washington in everything. Being just 30 or so miles apart, and with Washington already having an AL and a NFL team, plus minor league hockey and pro basketball, the city had been yearning for a chance at the majors. It had always been its own identity.

The 1944 Little World Series proved a big part in why the city got its team. Baltimore had already proven that even with a AAA team, that Baltimore could support the big leagues.

Baltimore would also be the southernmost city in the National League, but close enough to build rivalries against multiple close by teams, like the Phillies, Dodgers, and Giants, along with the Braves and Pirates. Baltimore also has a stadium which can be easily retrofitted to major league specifications. This made the decision more of a no-brainer for NL brass.

So we will have Baltimore and Milwaukee as expansion teams in 1948.

July 10, 1947

IT’S BALTIMORE! (Baltimore Evening Sun)

A wild celebration ensued in downtown Baltimore and all over the city this afternoon when it was announced that Baltimore would be one of the two expansion teams in the National League, joining Milwaukee. Fireworks were shot off in downtown, and at Baltimore Municipal Stadium where the Orioles AAA teams currently play now.

Baltimore was chosen over Los Angeles, San Francisco, Buffalo, Montreal, and other cities because of its fervent fan base in all sports. From college football to lacrosse to horse racing to minor league hockey to AAA ball, Baltimore has proven itself as a major league city for the last decade or so, as the only large city on the Eastern seaboard without a MLB team.

Baltimore Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro Jr, who made the trip to Chicago to stump for Baltimore as an expansion city, was over the moon with this news. “This is the greatest day in the history of the city of Baltimore in the 20th century. People will now know about us all over the country and the world!”

The O’s will play in 1948 at Baltimore Municipal Stadium, which will likely seat 30,000 spectators. It will be expanded to 55,000 by 1949 or 1950.

The Orioles group of investors will name a GM and possibly a manager (or maybe both doing the same job) within the next 7-10 days. They know it will be a long plan in order to compete with the Giants, Dodgers, and other National League powers.