An overhaul of Triple-A baseball will bring about more convenient travel, easier expansion, more opponents and maybe, just maybe, a world series.
At least that's what the minor league team owners who voted Wednesday to realign from three leagues into two are banking on.Starting with the 1998 season, the American Association will be no more. Three of the teams will join the International League, while the other five will merge with the Pacific Coast League. An expansion team will be added to each league.
"One of the things that we are going to have to look toward in the future is the anticipation of additional major league expansion," American Association president Branch B. Rickey said. "If the major leagues expand again, of course, in keeping the one-to-one ratio with the major leagues, we would have to add Triple-A teams.
"We found that the three-league process was a very complex one, and we hope that this will help address expansion better if nothing else."
The new leagues would be:
- A 14-team league comprised of the 10 current members of the International League; Buffalo, Indianapolis and Louisville from the American Association; and the expansion team in Durham, a member of the Tampa Bay farm system.
- A 16-team league comprised of the 10 current teams of the Pacific Coast League; Iowa, Nashville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Omaha from the American Association; and the expansion team in Memphis, which is not yet aligned with a major league team.
"I think the driving force for most of the members in the American Association was simply the opportunity to play a greater number of opponents," Rickey said. "We see the reconfiguration of baseball formats and schedules in the major leagues, and we think there are some similar benefits to be gained at the minor league level."
Rickey said the 14-team league would likely retain the International League name. The name of the 16-team league has yet to be decided.
Rickey would not disclose the final vote. "I would simply say that, in overview, it was a compelling vote."
How about that world series between the two league champions?
"Hopefully that will be one of the main positive outgrowths of this change," International League president Randy Mobley said.
The realignment must be approved by the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues and must be reviewed by Major League Baseball.