Relocation Series: MLB (Part 2)
By Shawn Stewart
There are several Major League Baseball teams that have relocated for one reason or another. The reasons for relocating can vary from low attendance or financial hardships to issues with the neighboring stadiums. Some teams have located due to intense competition from another team in the same city. The geographic component in relocation is where teams were relocating to. Most teams were moving from the East Coast to the Midwest and the Sunbelt region. Baseball wanted to expand westward and southward. With Major League Baseball teams relocating, it represented the sport expanding from its main inner-city cores to areas further west and south. Let's take a deeper look into some of the biggest franchise moves in Major League Baseball history.
The New York Giants became the San Francisco Giants (1958):
The New York Giants logo (logolynx.com/
Like their biggest rival, the Dodgers, the Giants decided to follow suit and moved the franchise from New York to San Francisco in 1958. The New York Giants also experienced success and failure, just like their in-state rivals. The main reason for this relocation was financial concerns. However, for the most part, the New York Giants had high levels of success. For two seasons starting in 1883, the team was called the New York Gotham’s (maybe an awesome Batman reference?), but in 1885, they became the New York Giants. During their 75 seasons in New York City, the Giants played their home games at the Polo Grounds. The Giants have produced many successful baseball Hall of Famers which include, Willie Mays, John McGraw, and Mel Ott. During their time in New York, the franchise won five of its eight Worlds Series Championships and 17 of its 23 National League Pennants. The Giants have rewarded us with some of the greatest moments in baseball history. In 1922, they swept the New York Yankees in the Fall Classic. In 1951, the famous "Shot Heard' Round the World", where Bobby Thomson hit a walk-off home run against the Brooklyn Dodgers in game 3 of a 3 game playoff series to send the Giants to the World Series against the New York Yankees. Finally, how about the greatest defensive play in Major League Baseball history? Willie Mays, and his famous "catch" during game one of the 1954 World Series. The New York Giants National League Football team is named after the New York Giants baseball team. The Giants and Dodgers rivalry continues today, but instead of Brooklyn and New York, it is located out west in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The Washington Senators became the Minnesota Twins (1961):
The Washington Senators logo (sportslogohistory.com)
The Washington Senators represented Major League Baseball in the capital of the United States. This made the team name "Senators" a perfect fit based on the location. They played in Washington, DC from 1901-1960. For much of the team's history, success was not kind to the Senators. The Senators won one World Series Championship in 1924, against the New York Giants. Washington also won 2 American League Pennants. The city of Baltimore received a Major League team in 1954. The city of Baltimore is just 40 miles north of Washington D.C., and this would give the Senators some competition because many Senators fans lived in the Baltimore, MD area. The Senators continued to play poorly for a while, and with the new team in Baltimore, this harmed attendance for the team in Washington. Calvin Griffith, who would take ownership of the Washington Senators in 1955 after his father, Clark Griffith passed away, found it economically impossible to keep the team in Washington, DC. There was one location offering to help the Senators leave the Nation's Capital, and that was the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The original move was rejected, but in 1961, Calvin Griffith and the Washington Senators made their move to Minneapolis, Minnesota, becoming the Minnesota Twins. The nickname the Twins refers to the "Twin Cities" of Minneapolis and St. Paul in the state of Minnesota.
The Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers (1972):
The Washington Senators logo (sportslogo.net)
By now you are probably a little confused. Didn't I just tell you that the Washington Senators became the Minnesota Twins in 1961? Yes, but after the first Washington Senators team moved to Minneapolis, Washington DC was awarded another Major League Baseball team, also named, you guessed it, the Washington Senators. Like the original Washington Senators, the new Washington Senators suffered from low attendance and poor on the field play. The new Washington Senators team was also struggling with competing against the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles won four American League Pennants and two World Series Championships in a five year period. (1966-1971) The Washington Senators had only one season above .500. As the attendance problems continued the team starting having major financial issues, so the team owner, Bob Short, was threatening to move the team if no one would purchase the team from him. The mayor of Arlington, Texas, Tom Vandergriff, was looking to bring a Major League team to the Dallas-Fort-Worth area. There was a down payment already put down and a stadium was already built, so Short moved the team to Arlington, Texas in 1972, and the Texas Rangers were established. The renamed franchise is a special shout out to the law enforcement agency.
The Montreal Expos become the Washington Nationals (1969):
The Montreal Expos official logo
There was no way that Major League Baseball was going to keep a team out of the Nation's Capital. In 1969. Canada established its first Major League Baseball team, the Montreal Expos. This team was named for Expo 67, an exposition celebrating Canada's 100th birthday celebration. The Expos would not be Canada's last baseball team, as Toronto established a team in 1977, which became the Toronto Blue Jays. The Expos had a surge of success and failures. The Expos almost didn't make it through the first decade in Montreal. A new stadium needed to be built quickly or the Expos were going to be moved to Buffalo, New York. In 1976, Olympic Stadium was built for the Summer Olympics. This would be the new home to the Montreal Expos for the remainder of their stay in the city. The events leading up to the Expos departing Montreal included an out of date stadium and poor attendance. In 1994, before the Major League strike began, the Expos had the best record in baseball, but the strike ended the season, also canceling the playoffs. The Expos went into a financial crisis and started to go into a decline. The Expos played their last home game at Olympic Stadium on September 29,2004. The following season, the Montreal Expos were moved to Washington DC, becoming the Washington Nationals. This would be the first time since 1971 that the Nation's Capital would represent a Major League team.
Seattle Pilots became the Milwaukee Brewers (1970):
The Seattle Pilots logo (sportslogohistory.com)
In 1969, the city of Seattle was rewarded a Major League Baseball team, the Seattle Pilots. This would mark the first time the Pacific Northwest was allowed to have a Major League team. The Pilots only lasted one year in Seattle, which was due to poor play which is usually a normal circumstance with expansion teams. The stadium the Pilots played at was called Sicks Stadium which was actually once used for a minor league team, and the design was not constructed properly for a Major League team. There were only 19,500 seats available on opening day for the Pilots. The stadium also had a major plumbing problem, and this resulted in low fan attendance. Combined with poor play and financial hardships, the Pilots were destined to relocate. Bud Selig, who was a Milwaukee businessman at the time, wanted to bring baseball back to the state of Wisconsin, so in 1970, the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee and became the Milwaukee Brewers. This would become the 2nd re-establishment of the Milwaukee Brewers.
As you can see, there have been many moves and name changes throughout Major League Baseball history. Most of the moves were due to financial struggles or poor attendance, but those moves were needed and required to help save a particular franchise and of course save the game of baseball. Two other minor name changes have occurred more recently. In 1993, the Florida Marlins were established and kept the team name until 2011. In 2012, the Florida Marlins became the Miami Marlins. Most recently, in 1998, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were founded, and they kept the name until 2007, and then in 2008, they dropped the word devil and were known as the Tampa Bay Rays. It was interesting writing about the biggest moves in baseball history. I am curious though, could we see another Major League Baseball team change locations or their team name soon? I guess we will have to wait and found out? In part 3 of the relocation series, I will look at the NBA franchises that have changed names and locations.
Follow Shawn on twitter @ShawnSportsNut
