Let's Talk Baseball: Bold Proposal, Season 2

Image via Mets Baseball Club

Season 2 of my bold proposal for baseball realignment is about to begin. For those new to the program, here is my original post for the idea and here is how things shook out at the end of last season, setting up the two divisions I'll be using for the 2011 season. Here they are:

First Division

Phillies
Rays
Yankees
Twins
Giants
Braves
Rangers
Red Sox
Cardinals
Rockies
Tigers
Marlins
Angels
Reds
Padres
White Sox


Second Division

Dodgers
Cubs
Mariners
Blue Jays
A's
Mets
Brewers
Astros
Nationals
Indians
Royals
Orioles
Diamondbacks
Pirates

You will note a few teams in italics. These are the last six World Series champions. As discussed in my post for Ken Burns's Baseball, ten different teams won the World Series between 1978 and 1987, the longest such streak in the history of the event and a strong testament to parity during that era. The current streak of six is really none too shabby, leading me to believe that baseball power is not quite as concentrated as I imagined. Ideally, I would love to see the streak continue. So, I'll keep an eye on those six teams over the course of the year in hopes that someone else will take the title this time.

Same as last year, I will consider the experiment a failure if one of the second division teams wins the World Series. I will likely check in with standings every month or so. Stay tuned...

****************



I will be participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge, hosted by Tossing It Out. It's not too late for you to join in the fun, either. It all starts April 1st. I don't want to reveal my plan just yet except to say that it will, in fact, be baseball themed.