How did the National League and American League originate in baseball and how did they divide the teams?

Answer 1

League history

The National League was formed in 1876 when six of the strongest teams of the National Association withdrew from that organization (effectively killing it) to form a new league with stronger executive authority. The teams were: the Athletic of Philadelphia (folded in 1876), the Boston Red Caps (now the Atlanta Braves), the Chicago White Stockings (now the Cubs), the Hartford Dark Blues (folded in 1877), the Mutual of New York (folded in 1876), and the St. Louis Brown Stockings (folded in 1877). They were joined by two others, the Cincinnati Red Stockings (folded in 1880), and the Louisville Grays (folded in 1877). The league president's authority was tested the first season, when the Athletic and Mutual clubs refused to make western road trips later in the season, and were expelled from the N.L., which operated as a six-team league for the next two seasons.

The new league encountered its first rival organization, when the American Association began play in 1882. The A.A. offered cheaper ticket prices ("quarter ball") and Sunday baseball and alcoholic beverages where one or both were legal. The National League and American Association participated in an early version of the World Series seven times during their ten-year coexistence, though the series were only exhibition games arranged by the teams involved. The N.L. won most of those encounters, while some ended in ties due to disputes or other issues.

After the 1891 season, the A.A. disbanded and merged with the N.L., which became known legally for the next decade or so as the "National League and American Association". The teams now known as the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers (in Brooklyn) and Pittsburgh Pirates had already switched from the A.A. to the N.L. prior to 1892. With the merger the N.L. absorbed the team now known as the St. Louis Cardinals, along with three other teams which did not survive into the 20th century.

The National League became a 12-team circuit with monopoly status for the rest of the decade. The league became embroiled in numerous internal conflicts, not the least of which was a plan supported by some owners (and bitterly opposed by others) to form a "trust," wherein there would be one common ownership of all twelve N.L. teams. The N.L. used its monopoly power to force a $2,400 limit on annual player wages in 1894.

Then, the league contracted to eight teams for the 1900 season, eliminating its teams in Baltimore, Cleveland, Louisville, and Washington. This provided an opportunity for competition. Three of those cities received franchises in the new American League in 1901. The A.L. declined to renew its National Agreement membership when it expired, and on January 28, 1901, officially declared itself a second major league. By 1903, the upstart A.L. had located teams in Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. Only the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates had no A.L. team in their markets.

The National League at first refused to recognize the new league, but reality set in as talent and money drained away to the new league. After two years of bitter contention a new version of the National Agreement was signed in 1903. This meant formal acceptance of each league by the other as an equal partner in major league baseball.

After the contraction to eight teams in 1900, the National League consisted of the same eight teams in the same cities until 1953, when the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee. The team later moved to Atlanta in 1966. In 1958, the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants moved to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively, bringing major league baseball to the West Coast of the U.S. for the first time.

The N.L. remained an eight-team league until 1962, when it added the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s (renamed the Houston Astros in 1965). In 1969 the league added the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals), becoming a 12-team league for the first time since 1899. In 1993 the league expanded again, adding the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins. In 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks became the league's fifteenth franchise, and the Milwaukee Brewers moved from the American League to the National, to make the National League the 16-team league it is today.

As a result of expansion to 12 teams in 1969, the National League, which for the first 93 years of its existence competed equally in a single grouping, reorganized into two divisions of six teams (East and West), with the division champions meeting in the National League Championship Series (an additional round of postseason competition) for the right to advance to the World Series. Beginning with the 1994 season, the league has been divided into three divisions (East, West, and Central), with the addition of a wild card team (the team with the best record among those finishing in second place) to enable four teams to advance to the preliminary National League Division Series.

Often characterized as being a more "traditional" or "pure" league, the National League (as of 2005 at least) has never adopted the designated hitter rule as did the American League in 1973. In theory, this means the role of the N.L. manager is somewhat expanded in comparison to the A.L., because the manager must take offense into account when making pitching substitutions and vice versa. There are perceived to be fewer home runs and big offensive plays due to the presence of the pitcher in the batting order, although this is not always the case.

For the first 96 years of its coexistence with the American League, National League teams faced their A.L. counterparts only in exhibition games or in the World Series. Beginning in 1997, however, interleague games have been played during the regular ("championship") season, and count in the standings.

Through the 2005 season, the Dodgers have won the most National League pennants (21, plus one A.A. pennant), followed closely by the Giants (20) and Cardinals (16, plus 4 A.A. pennants). Among National League teams, the Cardinals have won the most World Series (9) followed by the Dodgers (6), Pirates (5), and Giants (5)

Answer 2

A) AL East -particularly consistent too. in spite of the indisputable fact that the AL needed isn't as gifted per chance, they're better interesting now when you think about that there remains a probability to shake issues up better than the different divisions. meaning, no one is head and shoulders better than the different between the Twins, White Sox and Tigers. B) NL West- in spite of the indisputable fact that I agree it truly is a tougher call to make. The conflict between the wrestle for the WC is closer (Giants/Rockies), and the Rockies nevertheless have an outdoors shot on the dep..

Answer 3

I think it has something to do with... man... I really don't have a frickin' clue! If I were to guess... I would say it was by some sort of territorial boundries. Hmmm... I don't know.