During a segment on Foul Territory where they were talking about the Portland Diamond Project’s renderings of a stadium and a discussion on whether Portland or Salt Lake City would be the western expansion for Major League Baseball, I realized what I needed to do. Why did it have to be Portland OR Salt Lake City? Why does the eastern expansion have to be Nashville OR Raleigh?
Why not both? Why not more?
With Out of the Park Baseball 26 right around the corner, I figured I could bring several new teams to life. To save my sanity, I figured the best way would be to just add one team to each existing MLB division. So, six new teams. The first four were easy enough, as Portland, Salt Lake City, Nashville, and Raleigh have been pushing to be the next places MLB expands. For the last two, I decided on San Juan, PR and Mexico City, MEX.
As for which divisions each team would go to, I pretty much just looked at the map, saw what teams they would be in close vicinity of, and just put them in the opposite league. So, Portland is close to the Mariners of the AL West, so I added Portland to the NL West. Salt Lake City would be close to Colorado and the Diamondbacks, both NL West teams, so Salt Lake City went to the AL West. And so on…
Since this expansion and any impending expansion draft would throw the rosters into chaos anyway, I decided that I’m going to push it one step further and restart Major League Baseball with a full fantasy draft. I’ve also decided that I will be taking over as GM and Manager of the Puerto Rico Voluntarios.
I’m really excited for this franchise to get underway. I will be streaming this franchise live on Twitch.tv/ThatSportsGamer, and will be archiving those streams on YouTube.com/ThatSportsGamer.
Disclaimer: Since 2015 I have been the Head of Community for Out of the Park Developments, makers of the Out of the Park Baseball franchise. While the posts here reflect my personal insights and enthusiasm for the game, I understand and encourage you to take anything I say in regards to Out of the Park Baseball or Out of the Park Developments with a grain of salt.