Post by Sha-Le Unique on Oct 1, 2015 1:30:46 GMT -5
These are the AL team logos we can expect to see by 1969.
Recently, HOFFBL commissioner Chris Cosenza proposed an idea that the league could potentially get realigned into three divisions per league in 1969. It would be the first time that HOFFBL would have three divisions and a wild card. Through the 17 votes that have been cast, 12 of the 17 are in favor of the new proposed realignment, which means that by majority vote, the realignment is bound to happen by the time that the league expands to 24 teams.
In 1969, the expansion Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots will be joining the American League, while the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres will enter the National League. More GM's will be on the move during this round of expansions, with current Orioles GM Dave Mitchell set to move to the Royals and current Braves GM Darryl Lierman making his own move to Seattle to run the Pilots. Replacement GM's for those teams and new GM's for the Expos and Padres all have yet to be named.
Anyway, the realignment in 1969 will make the divisions look like the following:
AL East
Baltimore
Boston
New York
Washington
AL Central
Chicago (A)
Cleveland
Detroit
Kansas City
AL West
California
Oakland
Minnesota
Seattle (Pilots)
NL East
Atlanta
Montreal
New York (N)
Philadelphia
NL Central
Chicago (N)
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
St. Louis
NL West
Houston
Los Angeles (N)
San Diego
San Francisco
These changes will obviously provide a major change in the overall landscape of each league. In comparison to the current alignment, let's analyze what the new divisions could look like going forward. Favorites and contenders are provided as in what to expect from each team between now and the early 70s. If I see any teams that I feel will greatly benefit from the realignment or could get screwed over from the realignment, I will mention them as well.
AL East
- Overall Glance
The Favorite: The AL East should easily continue to be one of the strongest divisions in all of HOFFBL. With the Tigers out of the picture, the Yankees should be expected to bounce back and take the reigns of the division once again. They certainly have the talent and newfound youth to do so. Plus it's the Yankees, who have been by far the most successful AL team in history. As long as their core remains intact, they will be the favorites after the realignment.
Mickey Mantle might be 34 now, but the Yankees' new young core should propel them back to the top of the AL East once again.
The Contenders: But the AL East also features a talented Orioles team with a good amount of youth. The Orioles' core is in its prime and if they can add an ace pitcher of some sort, they'll be in the mix for years. And then there are the Red Sox, who had some good seasons in the past, but were never really good enough to be in the playoffs. Break has vowed to have more success in the future after his rebuild is done, so we will have to see how that goes. The Red Sox needed to get younger and the current rebuild should pay off in the future, but it may not be until the early-mid 70s before the Red Sox are really competing again.
The Rest: As for the Senators, they will only be in the AL East for a few seasons before migrating out west, but they have yet to really show any particular improvement as a team. They're slated to finish with the #1 overall pick in the draft for the 4th consecutive season and despite putting together a solid farm, they still need a franchise hitter and a true ace to really take the next step. Time will tell as to how long this rebuild ends up lasting.
- Team(s) that will benefit most from realignment: Yankees
Again, with the Tigers moving to the AL Central, the Yankees won't have that big roadblock any more in the future.
- Team(s) that will benefit least from realignment: Orioles and Red Sox
No matter what, the Orioles and Red Sox will always be stuck with the Yankees. That's what makes the rivalries between these 3 teams to be very intense and fun to follow.
AL Central
- Overall Glance
The Favorite: As stacked as the AL East may be after realignment, the AL Central could be even more stacked. The Tigers right now are the class of the AL and have just about everything going well for them. And with that wonderful core of theirs not slowing down any time soon, expect them to continue their dominance into the 70s and beyond.
The reign of Al Kaline and the Tigers shouldn't be ending any time soon.
The Contenders: Then there's the White Sox, who have run the AL West with 6 division titles in the past 7 seasons. They still have their amazing pitching and a good enough offense to generate a sufficient amount of run support. The White Sox have an older core though than the Tigers, which makes the Tigers' stay atop the division that much more likely to occur.
The wild card of this division would have to be the Indians. Some seasons, they've looked like real contenders, but in other seasons, they have not done as well. They are a true "hit or miss" team that will either have a lot going for them, or very little. Their veterans may not be getting younger, but the arrivals of young hitters and pitchers should give the Indians some real hope for the future. The Tribe still has some glaring holes to fill, but with a few moves, they could be back in the mix as a real contender.
The Rest: The Kansas City Royals will of course be one of the new expansion teams and will likely need at least a few seasons to develop a young core to further build around.
-Team that will benefit most from realignment: Tigers
The Tigers will still be the team to beat for a while in the AL regardless of what division they are in.
-Team that will benefit least from realignment: White Sox
With the Tigers and White Sox being reunited in the same division again, the White Sox may need to start playing for the wild card by then if they can't catch the Tigers.
AL West
- Overall Glance
The Favorite: This division looks to be more clear cut early on. The Twins have emerged as a real contender and have a core in its prime that should be able to carry them for years to come. Plus without the White Sox to directly compete with, the Twins should easily be expected to atop the new AL West early on into the 70s.
Harmon Killebrew and the Twins have finally found some real success in HOFFBL.
The Contenders: 2 other AL West teams aren't exactly contenders right now, but are clearly building for the future and could make some noise by the early 70s. One of these teams is the Angels, who have quietly put together a very good group of young elite pitchers to build around. They are still missing another big bat or 2 in their lineup, but trades can be made when the time is right to fix those holes. The Angels are in a good spot for the future. Patience and smart trades could go a long way with them.
The other team is the A's, who are slated to move to Oakland in 1968. The A's core is more built around a few elite hitters, but with some solid pitching prospects in the minors developing, the A's could become another real contender in the 70s.
The Rest: The Seattle Pilots will be the AL's other expansion team in 1969 and like the Royals, they'll likely need at least a few seasons to put together a good young core to build around.
- Team that will benefit most from realignment: Twins
With the White Sox moving to the AL Central, the Twins should be able to grab this division early on by the horns.
- -Team that will benefit least from realignment: None in particular
The Angels and A's should both start to really compete by the time the Twins' core is aging, so the realignment should end up working out well for all 3 teams.
NL analysis coming soon!
