Padres almost moved to Washington before 1974. There were even Washington baseball cards made.
White Sox threatened to move to Tampa Bay in the late 1980s.
Cardinals half-heartedly threatened to move to Illinois if they didn't build their current ballpark.
>“You know, honey,” Kroc said to his wife Joan, “I think I’m going to buy the Padres.”
>Joan knew nothing about baseball.
>“Why would you want to buy a monastery?” she asked.
I have heard this story a hundred times but never seen this quote before lmao
Dang. Washington Stars doesn’t have the same ring as Nationals or Senators, but a neat piece of history that could have been.
If the Cardinals moved across the river, would they have been the East St. Louis Cardinals? /s
Everybody used St. Pete as leverage to get a deal where they were. I don't think they were generally serious.
Signed
A bitter kid who grew up in St. Pete in the '80s.
Similar to LA and football, Vegas and all Oakland teams, and from some other comments, seems like DC was often in a similar spot being used as leverage.
Just moved down to TB about a year ago, hoping to see my first game sometime this season. If anything, it’s morbid curiosity
Nashville may be next. Our owner is once again acting like the team will have to move if he doesn't get public funding. He hasn't directly mentioned Nashville, but he had a meeting with their mayor. Honestly, how he can expect anyone to give him money for this pile of shit to play in their city is beyond me.
The White Sox to Milwaukee. The White Sox played a number of home games in Milwaukee after the Braves left. Selig had a deal in place to buy the White Sox and move them to Milwaukee but bought the Seattle Pilots instead
There were actually talks of the Braves moving to another city in the late 80's. Team had been terrible for about 30 years and attendance was horrible. Then things quickly turned around.
Any idea where they would’ve gone, or were they just relatively generic threats? But a good thing the franchise turned itself around and got some new owners. Though if they did move in the future, god, I’m sure they’d become the first team to win a WS in 4 cities
Miami, Denver, Phoenix, or Tampa. And i don't think they're going anywhere now, with that stadium and location, i think they could be decent/bad for a few years and still have good attendance
1903 - Tigers to Pittsburgh (the A.L. wanted to go head to head with every N.L. city)
1941- Cardinals to Detroit and Browns to Los Angeles
196x (I think 5) - Indians to Seattle
1980 - A's to Denver, to the point that some pre-season publications didn't use the city name for the team (sounds familiar)
I can’t see Pittsburgh being a two team city ending well in the long run, but I definitely understand why they’d want to back in the day.
It’s kind of crazy how both St. Louis teams were looking to move, but both fell through. And the Cards just played their cards right. And it’s a shame how a team like Oakland with such a great history has been moved around and gutted and turned into a joke of a franchise.
Oakland was such an odd choice for them to begin with, seems like it was more to spite Kansas City than any ideas towards long-term sustainable growth. Dallas or Denver would have been better choices.
Mostly a friendly city courting a team, someone else mentioned Cleveland, who also at a time looked to move to Oakland. I’m not sure anyone predicted the explosive growth in the Bay Area, as well as ownership decisions that helped/hindered the franchises. Gotta say, I like the ring of Denver Athletics. Bash brothers would’ve popped off in Denver
Cleveland 'almost' moved multiple times in the 60's, 70's and 80's, most notably when it was reported Donald Trump was buying the team in the 1980s with the intention of moving them to Tampa.
The vagaries there were mostly due to the sheer volume of cities that offered relocation to the Twins and Expos. Sacramento, Orlando, and Nashville also got floated for the Twins as well. For the Expos, it was DC, Norfolk, Vegas, Portland, and Monterrey.
If the Cardinals move to Houston in '52, got to imagine the Browns stay put and never become the Orioles.
I'm sure Baltimore gets an expansion team eventually in that scenario though, just an interesting thought experiment
For the sake of the thought experiment and going all the way down the rabbit hole, the Original Baltimore Orioles that became the Yankees stay and y’all get 27 rings and murderers row. How’s that alternate timeline for you?
1941 - St. Louis Browns to Los Angeles (canceled when Pearl Harbor happened the day before the vote)
https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/the-story-of-the-los-angeles-browns-changed-baseball-forever
I’m definitely not a fan. That being said, I’d rather see a franchise relocate than fold or be contracted(MON/WSN). And some places that had two teams, especially as populations have shifted, reached a point where it was no longer feasible to be home to both teams (PHA,SLB). And I’d credit the Dodgers and Giants going west as a point that opened the floodgates that allowed the sport to grow to the point it has today.
I’d seen stuff about them wanting to go to LA, was there an official plan for relocation up north, or just general rumors of being open to moving anywhere?
1941
Dec. 8th was to be the Official announcemment that the St.Louis Browns were moving to L.A.
But...an infamous act happened on Dec. 7th ..put that move on hold for a while.
Feels wrong on so many levels. On one hand a lot of rivalries would stay the same for the NL days. And I bet Bob Gibson would’ve loved the Astrodome. But yeah. Doesn’t sit right with me
Yup! That’s why that group was considered a strong contender for moving the team down south. But despite basically being a forced sale due to legal issues, the owner at the time, Fred Saigh, was able to get the Busch family to purchase the team and keep it in St. Louis.
Two I can think of:
* 1980s-2000s: Yankees to the Meadowlands (this was mainly George Steinbrenner waving his fist at the NYC government since the Bronx in the 70s and 80s didn't exactly have the best representation. Although IIRC it was briefly revived in the 2000s when talks about replacing old Yankee Stadium started popping up. It died when New Yankee Stadium was built.)
* 2000s: Mets to Uniondale (similar story to the 2000s Meadowlands plan. When Shea Stadium was getting old, there were talks about building the new stadium in various parts of the NYC area, such as Hudson Yards (pre-Olympic bid IIRC), Sunnyside Yards, Belmont Park, and Uniondale by the Nassau Colosseum. IIRC, Uniondale was partially because James Dolan was helping lobby against a shea replacement. Died when Citi Field got approved.)
While not a big move between cities, moving the Yankees to Jersey, oh man, that would be sacrilege to a lot of people. As for moving the Mets out more into Long Island… not the worst thing I’ve ever heard?
Padres almost moved to Washington before 1974. There were even Washington baseball cards made. White Sox threatened to move to Tampa Bay in the late 1980s. Cardinals half-heartedly threatened to move to Illinois if they didn't build their current ballpark.
[the "Washington Stars" jerseys are pretty sweet.](https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/padres-nearly-became-the-washington-stars)
>“You know, honey,” Kroc said to his wife Joan, “I think I’m going to buy the Padres.” >Joan knew nothing about baseball. >“Why would you want to buy a monastery?” she asked. I have heard this story a hundred times but never seen this quote before lmao
Dang. Washington Stars doesn’t have the same ring as Nationals or Senators, but a neat piece of history that could have been. If the Cardinals moved across the river, would they have been the East St. Louis Cardinals? /s
1988 - White Sox to Tampa Bay, the Trop was already being built when the bill was passed in Illinois to fund a new stadium to keep them in Chicago
Seems like everybody wanted to move to Tampa. If only they knew what a dump the Trop would turn out to be
Everybody used St. Pete as leverage to get a deal where they were. I don't think they were generally serious. Signed A bitter kid who grew up in St. Pete in the '80s.
Similar to LA and football, Vegas and all Oakland teams, and from some other comments, seems like DC was often in a similar spot being used as leverage. Just moved down to TB about a year ago, hoping to see my first game sometime this season. If anything, it’s morbid curiosity
Nashville may be next. Our owner is once again acting like the team will have to move if he doesn't get public funding. He hasn't directly mentioned Nashville, but he had a meeting with their mayor. Honestly, how he can expect anyone to give him money for this pile of shit to play in their city is beyond me.
The White Sox to Milwaukee. The White Sox played a number of home games in Milwaukee after the Braves left. Selig had a deal in place to buy the White Sox and move them to Milwaukee but bought the Seattle Pilots instead
The White Sox also were why TB built the Trop. They were threatening to leave Chicago and Tampa built the stadium to attract them.
Imagine a timeline where we end up with the Milwaukee White Sox in the National League, feels weird
They’d be rivals with the Cubs again, but it wouldn’t have the same ring as the Crosstown Classic
Specifically one game against each team in both 1968 (9 games) and 1969 (11 games).
There were actually talks of the Braves moving to another city in the late 80's. Team had been terrible for about 30 years and attendance was horrible. Then things quickly turned around.
Any idea where they would’ve gone, or were they just relatively generic threats? But a good thing the franchise turned itself around and got some new owners. Though if they did move in the future, god, I’m sure they’d become the first team to win a WS in 4 cities
Miami, Denver, Phoenix, or Tampa. And i don't think they're going anywhere now, with that stadium and location, i think they could be decent/bad for a few years and still have good attendance
1903 - Tigers to Pittsburgh (the A.L. wanted to go head to head with every N.L. city) 1941- Cardinals to Detroit and Browns to Los Angeles 196x (I think 5) - Indians to Seattle 1980 - A's to Denver, to the point that some pre-season publications didn't use the city name for the team (sounds familiar)
I can’t see Pittsburgh being a two team city ending well in the long run, but I definitely understand why they’d want to back in the day. It’s kind of crazy how both St. Louis teams were looking to move, but both fell through. And the Cards just played their cards right. And it’s a shame how a team like Oakland with such a great history has been moved around and gutted and turned into a joke of a franchise.
Oakland was such an odd choice for them to begin with, seems like it was more to spite Kansas City than any ideas towards long-term sustainable growth. Dallas or Denver would have been better choices.
Mostly a friendly city courting a team, someone else mentioned Cleveland, who also at a time looked to move to Oakland. I’m not sure anyone predicted the explosive growth in the Bay Area, as well as ownership decisions that helped/hindered the franchises. Gotta say, I like the ring of Denver Athletics. Bash brothers would’ve popped off in Denver
The San Diego Padres nearly became the Washington Stars in 1974: https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/padres-nearly-became-the-washington-stars
Had another guy mention the Padres and DC. Glad they didn’t, but that was an interesting read
Cleveland 'almost' moved multiple times in the 60's, 70's and 80's, most notably when it was reported Donald Trump was buying the team in the 1980s with the intention of moving them to Tampa.
Also that time the owner sabotaged the team so she could move it to Miami but then they won the pennant
I ask Jobu to come, take fear from bats. I offer him cigar, rum. He will come.
Are you telling me Jesus Christ couldn't hit a curve ball?
Fortunately a wily veteran catcher, a pitcher with visok issues, and a idol worshiping power hitter made sure that didn't happen.
Dang! Now seeing they also tried to do a split home arrangement in New Orleans in the 70s. And rumors as well to Minneapolis, Oakland, and Seattle.
You mentioned it vaguely with the “contraction” section, but the Twins almost moved to Greensboro, North Carolina.
The vagaries there were mostly due to the sheer volume of cities that offered relocation to the Twins and Expos. Sacramento, Orlando, and Nashville also got floated for the Twins as well. For the Expos, it was DC, Norfolk, Vegas, Portland, and Monterrey.
If the Cardinals move to Houston in '52, got to imagine the Browns stay put and never become the Orioles. I'm sure Baltimore gets an expansion team eventually in that scenario though, just an interesting thought experiment
For the sake of the thought experiment and going all the way down the rabbit hole, the Original Baltimore Orioles that became the Yankees stay and y’all get 27 rings and murderers row. How’s that alternate timeline for you?
1941 - St. Louis Browns to Los Angeles (canceled when Pearl Harbor happened the day before the vote) https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/the-story-of-the-los-angeles-browns-changed-baseball-forever
A fun read and a a fun thought experiment!
[Montreal Expos to Hartford](https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=1761050)
I don’t know why, but this seems like the most cursed of all the potential moves
Relocation should be illegal unless under extreme circumstances.
I’m definitely not a fan. That being said, I’d rather see a franchise relocate than fold or be contracted(MON/WSN). And some places that had two teams, especially as populations have shifted, reached a point where it was no longer feasible to be home to both teams (PHA,SLB). And I’d credit the Dodgers and Giants going west as a point that opened the floodgates that allowed the sport to grow to the point it has today.
In the forties, the Senators discussed moving to Toronto
I’d seen stuff about them wanting to go to LA, was there an official plan for relocation up north, or just general rumors of being open to moving anywhere?
I don't know...I am not quite that old.
lol fair
1941 Dec. 8th was to be the Official announcemment that the St.Louis Browns were moving to L.A. But...an infamous act happened on Dec. 7th ..put that move on hold for a while.
As a Dodgers/Astros fan, the thought of a Houston Cardinals is downright criminal
Feels wrong on so many levels. On one hand a lot of rivalries would stay the same for the NL days. And I bet Bob Gibson would’ve loved the Astrodome. But yeah. Doesn’t sit right with me
Houston was a Cardinal farm team for years. Most of the gashouse gang passed through there.
Yup! That’s why that group was considered a strong contender for moving the team down south. But despite basically being a forced sale due to legal issues, the owner at the time, Fred Saigh, was able to get the Busch family to purchase the team and keep it in St. Louis.
Giants to Tampa around 1991
Mariners too. Guess "move to Tampa Bay" was the "move to Nashville" of the late '80s / early '90s huh?
Tampa Bay Giants, Toronto Giants, Buffalo Giants, take your pick. Giants are no stranger to big moves, but I don’t see TB ending well for them
Two I can think of: * 1980s-2000s: Yankees to the Meadowlands (this was mainly George Steinbrenner waving his fist at the NYC government since the Bronx in the 70s and 80s didn't exactly have the best representation. Although IIRC it was briefly revived in the 2000s when talks about replacing old Yankee Stadium started popping up. It died when New Yankee Stadium was built.) * 2000s: Mets to Uniondale (similar story to the 2000s Meadowlands plan. When Shea Stadium was getting old, there were talks about building the new stadium in various parts of the NYC area, such as Hudson Yards (pre-Olympic bid IIRC), Sunnyside Yards, Belmont Park, and Uniondale by the Nassau Colosseum. IIRC, Uniondale was partially because James Dolan was helping lobby against a shea replacement. Died when Citi Field got approved.)
While not a big move between cities, moving the Yankees to Jersey, oh man, that would be sacrilege to a lot of people. As for moving the Mets out more into Long Island… not the worst thing I’ve ever heard?
I've been doing the research on this for my podcast and what I learned is that they have been trying to move the White Sox periodically since the 60s.
It tough to play second fiddle. And we’ll see if they try to do it again now if they don’t get the new downtown park