Seattle Mariners Are 'Greatest Impetus' For Change with Possible MLB Realignment
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Last Sunday, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said that league expansion and league realignment are possibly coming within the next decade.
And while still far off, fans all across the sport have already tried to wrangle with what it could mean for the league, and for their team.
For the Seattle Mariners, realignment actually seems like quite a good thing, for a number of reasons:
Reduced travel
The Mariners travel more than any team in the majors. It's not an excuse, it's just a fact, that when you travel that much, you might be prone to wearing down or getting tired. Is that why the Mariners just went 2-7 on a nine-game east coast swing? Not necessarily, but it certainly is possible.
Already this season, the Mariners have made trips to Cincinnati, Toronto and Boston, and then another to Detroit and New York, and another to Baltimore, New York, Williamsport, and Philadelphia.
They still have trips to Atlanta and Tampa, and then Kansas City and Cleveland. If some of those trips each year could be replaced with West Coast teams like San Francisco, Arizona and the Dodgers, things could become easier to manage for the M's and the staff.
Different divisional partners
I once said that I was happy to see the Houston Astros enter the American League West, because the M's would be able to beat up on them. That's when the Astros were winning 50 games in their rebuild, and I now regret those comments.
So, take this with a grain of salt, but the M's moving out of a division with the Astros and Rangers and into a division with the Rockies or an expansion team? That could be very good for business.
Further agreement?
I spoke with ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney on the latest Refuse to Lose podcast and he said the following:
But I agree with you, and I actually think that if you were to draw a list and say 'Okay. Which teams are the greatest impetus for change, I think the Mariners will be at the top of the list. Like, I think that everyone is cognizant of the fact that they potentially are working at a competitive disadvantage because they travel so many miles, and they do have to go so far, and there really isn't a short trip for them.
You can listen to the full interview in the podcast player below:
The Mariners will take on the Athletics on Friday night. Seattle is 68-60 and in possession of wild card spot number three.
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