Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 6-5-2017

Pittsburgh Press, June 5, 1917:

Rumor says today that the address of the Washington ball club is to be changed. Ban Johnson says there is nothing to the rumor.

Poor patronage at Washington, it is said, makes the transfer of the Senators to some other city imperative, and Baltimore, Brooklyn and Toronto have been mentioned.

Ban Johnson says: “The sentiment of the American league is to stick by Washington. I can say that the league would rather operate in Washington at a loss than elsewhere at a profit…”
...
The very latest whisper today names Pittsburg as the logical city for the location of the Washington franchise, providing the National league consents to further invasion of its territory.

The eventual choice, Minneapolis/St. Paul, would have been a completely reasonable destination as well. Combined, the Twin Cities had a population of 615,280 in the 1920 census. That’s bigger than Pittsburgh, Washington, and Cincinnati were at the time.

Major League Baseball in Las Vegas? Commissioner says it’s an option

Major League Baseball would be open to having a team in Las Vegas, Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday.

With two existing franchises — the Oakland A’s and the Tampa Bay Rays — struggling to secure financing for new stadiums, the option of relocating a team to Las Vegas is very much on the table.

“If we were looking at relocation,” Manfred said, “Las Vegas would be on the list.”...

Manfred didn’t rule out the possibility of an expansion franchise in Las Vegas, but added that “until the Tampa Bay and Oakland situations are settled, I can’t see talking about expansion.”

Investors say they are ready to bring baseball to Montreal

A group of investors that wants to bring professional baseball to Montreal said the only thing they are waiting for is a call from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.

The Major League Baseball Commissioner had previously established requirements for returning a team to Montreal: a solid financial package, government support, a site and plans for a stadium.

All of these conditions have now been met by the group, a source told the Canadian Press.

Thus, the money is there, the support of two of the three levels of government is acquired, the group has a few sites and no fewer than five stadium plans will serve as the foundation for the project.

The group is so ready that this source says that if MLB should contact them in the coming days, weeks, or months for whatever reason, the project can be set in motion.

Last year, Stephen Bronfman and Mitch Garber publicly unveiled their commitment to this project. Bronfman said that it was too early to begin the financial arrangement. Twelve months later, it seems that it is now done.
Bronfman and Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre co-signed a letter to the 30 MLB teams and Commissioner Manfred in the fall of 2015 to show Montreal’s interest in finding place for Montreal in the select group.

Relocation Less Common in MLB Than NFL, Other Leagues

In 1972, the Washington Senators packed up and moved down to Texas to become the Rangers. In the 45 years since the Senators’ departure, however, only a single other Major League Baseball franchise has relocated: the Montreal Expos (owned by MLB at the time) moved to Washington before the 2005 season and became the Nationals.

During that same 45-year period, meanwhile, the National Football League has seen the relocation of franchises on nine occasions (10 if Oakland completes their move to Las Vegas). The National Hockey League has featured nine moves of their own (including one merger); the NBA, eight.

There are quite a few reasons for MLB’s stability relative to the other leagues, including antitrust protection, willing local governments, and a little bit more patience when it comes to stadium issues. And baseball hasn’t always possessed such geographic consistency. Consider: the creation of the Rangers actually marked the end of a 20-year period that saw quite a bit of movement throughout Major League Baseball. Rarely did a move leave a city without a franchise — and for those cities left without teams, all had new teams in short order — but there was activity nonetheless.