2007-06-01 07:56:59 · 13 answers · asked by jhatchettjr 1 in Sports ➔ Baseball
MLB did this to avoid breaking up long time rivalries.
2007-06-05 07:23:09 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
A few years ago, MLB was talking re-alignment. In the end the only thing that happened was Bud Selig moved his team, the Milwaukee Brewers, from the AL Central to the NL Central. That's why there are 6 teams in that division. MLB did realign several years ago (changing the NL and AL West mostly) adding the Rockies, Marlins, Devil Rays, and Diamondbacks. 3 of the 4 new teams are National League squads, which gives the NL a larger number of teams.
Also, consider that more teams are located in the middle part of the country and are naturally suited to the Central Division. Even Texas, which is in the AL West, could conceivably be in the Central.
If MLB were to relign AGAIN, for the third time in 15 years, in order to get a steady amount of teams in each division they'd have to do two things: #1 break up some long-standing rivalries and #2 put a team like Pittsburgh, which has been a National League squad since the beginning of time, in the AL. This goes against all sorts of purist tradition, some teams are American League and others are National League and that's just how it is. Baseball wants to do neither. Could you seriously imagine the Yankees or Red Sox as National League teams, or the Dodgers or Phillies as American League teams? It's just wrong.
So in conclusion, there are 6 teams in the NL Central and 4 teams in the AL West because the Office of the Commissioner decided that's the way it was going to be.
2007-06-01 16:07:22 · answer #2 · answered by radreamer 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here we go again.
30 is evenly divisible by 2, but not by 4, so the AL has 14 teams and the NL has 16. The other choice was an even split, which would mean that there would either be one team in each league in the middle of a 3 - 4 day bye or one interleague series all of the time.
Each league is divided into 3 divisions, and again, neither 14 nor 16 is evenly divisible by 3.
Within each league, the divisions are basically geographic, but there is still arbitrary.
2007-06-01 15:14:04 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
history lesson
the Milwaukee Brewers were an AL West team their entire career until the 1990s
because of the addition of another AL and NL (Arizona and TB) team they were approved by the MLB commisioner to become a National League team. Since it was more practical to make them an NL Central team rather than an NL West team, they did so
there were 28 teams before this. with the 2 new teams, you would have interleague play everyday (15 a division) so the NL was given the extra team, ie the Milwaukee Brewers
thus the AL West went from 5 to 4, and the NL Central went from 5 to 6
2007-06-01 15:52:29 · answer #4 · answered by TheSandMan 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Brewers were actually in the AL Central. With the two expansion teams in '98 (D-Backs & D-Rays), a problem arose. With wanting to continue interleague play, both leagues had to have an even number of teams, but both had 15. So, the decision was made to move an AL Central team to the NL Central. The Royals were chosen first, but they declined. Brewers were next in line, and with Bud Selig (team owner) wanting to have his team in the NL all along, moved them.
2007-06-01 15:16:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It seems to be because
a) you need an even number in both the NL and the AL, or you'd have to play inter-league games almost every day, and
b) with 3 divisions, you can't divide 16 or 14 evenly by three, so you get 5-5-6 in the NL, and 5-5-4 in the AL.
2007-06-01 15:07:48 · answer #6 · answered by aladou 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Great question. This means that each NL Central team has a lesser chance of making the playoffs. As you know, Milwaukee was moved to the NL a few years ago... thanks in part to Bud Selig. This is the team that is throwing the numbers out of whack.
2007-06-01 15:06:21 · answer #7 · answered by Scott H 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Bud Selig. Anything that goes wrong in MLB can usually be traced back to Bud Selig
2007-06-01 20:20:57 · answer #8 · answered by Tom 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cuz there has to be an even number of teams in each league
2007-06-01 15:05:23 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because there has to be an even number of teams in each league - you can't create a balanced schedule otherwise.
2007-06-01 15:09:51 · answer #10 · answered by mzag920 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Its all about the location of the teams and the convenience and fairness of traveling for road trips.
2007-06-01 15:54:58 · answer #11 · answered by armchairquarterback1975 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋