1998 Major League Baseball expansion
Encyclopedia
The 1998 Major League Baseball
expansion resulted in the establishment of MLB's 29th and 30th teams beginning play for the 1998 season
. After initiating an expansion committee in March 1994, 27 groups representing nine cities submitted bids for the proposed expansion teams. After a year long process, on March 9, 1995, the league awarded the National League
franchise to Phoenix
and the American League
franchise to St. Petersburg
. The Arizona Diamondbacks
and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (presently the Tampa Bay Rays
), would subsequently begin play for the 1998 season.
and Florida Marlins
as part of the 1993 expansion, by 1994 Major League Baseball was looking to expand again from 28 to 30 teams. On March 2, 1994, MLB created an expansion committee to evaluate the feasibility of expansion. Although both Phoenix and St. Petersburg were believed to be overwhelming favorites for the franchises, other cities were invited to bid for the proposed franchises. The committee was headed by Boston Red Sox
General Partner John Harrington
, with others serving on the committee including Bill Giles
of the Philadelphia Phillies
, Jerry Reinsdorf
of the Chicago White Sox
, George Steinbrenner
of the New York Yankees
, Stanton Cook of the Chicago Cubs
, Richard Jacobs of the Cleveland Indians
, Stan Kasten
of the Atlanta Braves
, Leonard Coleman president of the National League and the president of the American League, Bobby Brown.
By June, the league announced that all cities with interest in the proposed franchises should submit their intentions by June 24. By June 30, the committee released the nine communities that submitted information to MLB for the proposed franchises. Buffalo
, Mexico City
, Monterrey
, Nashville
, Northern Virginia
, Orlando
, Phoenix
, St. Petersburg
and Vancouver
placed expansion requests, Other cities mentioned as potential expansion locations which did not officially submit an application to the league included Charlotte
, Washington
and Guadalajara
.
After whittling down the field to four finalists (Northern Virginia
, Orlando
, Phoenix
and St. Petersburg
), MLB announced Phoenix and St. Petersburg as the two expansion franchises on March 9, 1995. Announced to begin play for the 1998 season, each ownership group paid a $130 million expansion fee to enter the league. The ownership groups paid $32 million in July 1995, $25 million in July 1996, $40 million in July 1997 and $33 million in November 1997. In addition, the two expansion teams gave away their rights to $5 million from baseball's central fund for each of the five years following expansion (1998-2002).
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
expansion resulted in the establishment of MLB's 29th and 30th teams beginning play for the 1998 season
1998 Major League Baseball season
*American League Championship Series MVP: David Wells**American League Division Series:*National League Championship Series MVP: Sterling Hitchcock**National League Division Series*All-Star Game, July 7 at Coors Field: American League, 13-8; Roberto Alomar, MVP...
. After initiating an expansion committee in March 1994, 27 groups representing nine cities submitted bids for the proposed expansion teams. After a year long process, on March 9, 1995, the league awarded the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
franchise to Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
and the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
franchise to St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
. The Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (presently the Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
), would subsequently begin play for the 1998 season.
History
With the successes of the Colorado RockiesColorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...
and Florida Marlins
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
as part of the 1993 expansion, by 1994 Major League Baseball was looking to expand again from 28 to 30 teams. On March 2, 1994, MLB created an expansion committee to evaluate the feasibility of expansion. Although both Phoenix and St. Petersburg were believed to be overwhelming favorites for the franchises, other cities were invited to bid for the proposed franchises. The committee was headed by Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
General Partner John Harrington
John Harrington (Red Sox CEO)
John L. Harrington is an American business manager. He was the CEO of the Boston Red Sox.-Early life and career:He graduated from Boston College in 1957, and received his MBA from Boston College in 1966. After college, he was an officer in the U.S. Navy, then worked for both the General Accounting...
, with others serving on the committee including Bill Giles
Bill Giles (baseball)
William Yale Giles is the chairman and part owner of Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies.-Personal:He is the son of former National League president Warren Giles...
of the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
, Jerry Reinsdorf
Jerry Reinsdorf
Jerry M. Reinsdorf is a CPA, lawyer and an owner of the MLB's Chicago White Sox and the NBA's Chicago Bulls. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. He has been the head of the White Sox and Bulls for over 20 years.He made his initial fortune in real...
of the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
, George Steinbrenner
George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
of the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, Stanton Cook of the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
, Richard Jacobs of the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
, Stan Kasten
Stan Kasten
Stan Kasten is the former President of the Washington Nationals and a founding partner of FanDriveMedia. He became president of the Nationals after the ownership group led by Theodore N...
of the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
, Leonard Coleman president of the National League and the president of the American League, Bobby Brown.
By June, the league announced that all cities with interest in the proposed franchises should submit their intentions by June 24. By June 30, the committee released the nine communities that submitted information to MLB for the proposed franchises. Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
, Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
, Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
placed expansion requests, Other cities mentioned as potential expansion locations which did not officially submit an application to the league included Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and Guadalajara
Guadalajara
Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco...
.
After whittling down the field to four finalists (Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
, Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
and St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
), MLB announced Phoenix and St. Petersburg as the two expansion franchises on March 9, 1995. Announced to begin play for the 1998 season, each ownership group paid a $130 million expansion fee to enter the league. The ownership groups paid $32 million in July 1995, $25 million in July 1996, $40 million in July 1997 and $33 million in November 1997. In addition, the two expansion teams gave away their rights to $5 million from baseball's central fund for each of the five years following expansion (1998-2002).
See also
- 1993 Major League Baseball expansion1993 Major League Baseball expansionMajor League Baseball's expansion in 1993 added the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies to Major League Baseball.-Background:Talks of expansion began on August 8, 1985 when the players and the owners agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement . The basic agreement allowed the National League...
- 1997 Major League Baseball expansion draft