{"id":19453,"date":"2022-07-19T20:08:44","date_gmt":"2022-07-19T20:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/mlb-expansion-mlbpa-chief-tony-clark-hopeful-league-can-get-to-a-world-of-32-teams\/"},"modified":"2022-07-19T20:08:44","modified_gmt":"2022-07-19T20:08:44","slug":"mlb-expansion-mlbpa-chief-tony-clark-hopeful-league-can-get-to-a-world-of-32-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/mlb-expansion-mlbpa-chief-tony-clark-hopeful-league-can-get-to-a-world-of-32-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB expansion? MLBPA chief Tony Clark hopeful league can get to ‘a world of 32 teams’"},"content":{"rendered":"
At some point in the future Major League Baseball will expand to 32 teams. I don’t know if it’ll happen in five years or 50 years, but it will happen eventually. And based on what is being said by those with the power to make it happen, it sounds like expansion to 32 teams could happen sooner rather than later. <\/p>\n
“We are hopeful … that we can find ourselves in a world of 32 teams rather than 30,” MLB Players’ Association executive director Tony Clark told reporters Tuesday, including the Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/a>. That comes less than a month after commissioner Rob Manfred said he “would love to get to 32 teams” in an ESPN profile. <\/p>\n MLB last expanded in 1998, when the (Devil) Rays and Diamondbacks joined the league. We are currently in MLB’s longest expansion drought since the league first expanded in 1961. There are no shortage of viable expansion cities (Charlotte, Montreal, Nashville, Portland, Las Vegas, etc.) or prospective owners. Owning an MLB team is very lucrative and many people want in. <\/p>\n The biggest issue standing in the way of expansion is the Athletics and Rays, specifically their ballpark situations. Manfred has said those two clubs need new stadiums before MLB can consider expanding. Part of that is leverage — MLB wants to continue using Las Vegas as a relocation option as Oakland seeks a new park in the Bay Area, for example — and part of it is just doing what’s right. <\/p>\n