Last fall I was sitting here watching the ALCS with the Boston Red Sox taking on the Houston Astros.
Yeah, I hate the Astros are in the American League.
In 2013, the Astros made their debut in the AL. Major League Baseball decided to have 15 teams in both the NL and AL so they moved one National League team to the Junior Circuit. When the Astros were being sold, part of the deal was Houston would move from the six-team NL Central to the previously four team AL West. Sure, it made six five-team divisions but it was very unpopular with Houston fans and baseball purists in general.
It was the first time a team switched leagues since 1998 when the Milwaukee Brewers left the AL Central for the NL Central when baseball expanded to Arizona and Tampa Bay. And there is my point.
If baseball wanted to move a team to the American League, it should have been the Brewers. Milwaukee spent just 15 seasons as a National League team as opposed to over 50 for the Astros. The Brewers were off the table since Commissioner Bud Selig's family owned the franchise and the Brewers loved their rivalry with the Chicago Cubs. Still, it would've been the right thing to do.
With Milwaukee moving back to the AL, I would place them in the Central and move Kansas City to the West. I'm sure Royals fans wouldn't love that, but they were an AL West team for many years before realignment in 1994 and the Rangers would sort of be their geographic partner.
BREWERS MOVE BACK TO AMERICAN LEAGUE
NL EAST: Atlanta, Miami, New York Mets, Philadelphia, Washington
NL CENTRAL: Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati, Houston, Pittsburgh, St. Louis
NL WEST: Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego, San Francisco
AL EAST: Baltimore, Boston, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay, Toronto
AL CENTRAL: Chicago White Sox, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minnesota
AL WEST: Kansas City, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland, Seattle, Texas
If not Milwaukee, since Selig didn't want it and moving the Royals to the AL West seems a bit mean, then it should have been Colorado or Arizona. The Rockies would give a nice bridge to the baseball island that is Seattle. But, at the time, they had spent 20 years in the NL while Arizona spent just 15. Arizona would also be a better bridge for the Texas Rangers and has regularly rebranded the franchise while the Rockies have pretty much stayed the course.
The damage would be that the Astros would move to the NL West. It isn't the worst idea since Houston was in the old NL West with the Dodgers, Giants and Padres ... but they would be in a worse situation than pairing with the Rangers in the AL West.
DIAMONDBACKS MOVE TO AMERICAN LEAGUE
NL EAST: Atlanta, Miami, New York Mets, Philadelphia, Washington
NL CENTRAL: Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, St. Louis
NL WEST: Colorado, Houston, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego, San Francisco
AL EAST: Baltimore, Boston, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay, Toronto
AL CENTRAL: Chicago White Sox, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, Minnesota
AL WEST: Arizona, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland, Seattle, Texas
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