An alternate MLB history

[Dr. Medulla]

The perhaps complicating element in this story is how much MLB wanted to exploit the west coast market. O'Malley and Stoneham may indeed have wanted to leave (or felt they had to given conditions in the city), but how much did MLB encourage the idea? Which is to say, does MLB let Stoneham go to Minnesota when the west coast is just waiting there? The postwar period is when California is regarded as the future, a place for freedom and getting rich and all that horseshit. So my curiosity is the input of the league w/r/t relocation.

edit: Sorry, it was rude of me not to express how impressed I am with your work on this alternate timeline. I sometimes offer students a time machine question where they get to change some aspect of history and explain the results. It's fun but it's meant to see how they treat the mechanics of historical development. What you did above is superb stuff.

Good question. The Pacific Coast League was granted open status in 1952. This meant that they were a step above a minor league, while not quite at the major league level, but it gave them rights regarding players that other minor leagues did not have. I've read that MLB did this to feel out the prospect of elevating the PCL as a third major league to tap into the West Coast market. The timing was off, however, as the rise of nationally televised major league games ate into minor league attendance across the nation and the final bell rang for the PCL's major league aspirations when the Dodgers and Giants moved west.

The Giants were very close to moving to Minnesota before O'Malley got things moving in Los Angeles. My hunch is that they would have gone there if the Dodgers had not moved to Los Angeles. They already owned the major league rights to the market and the Twin Cities had a brand new stadium (which is something Los Angeles did not have in 1958).

Horace Stoneham had reportedly started eyeing up Minnesota as early as 1951, purchasing a large parcel of land for a the building of a future stadium and had been in active negotiations to shift the franchise, but when O'Malley signed on the dotted line to move the Dodgers it made the Giants move inevitable. The National League wouldn't approve the Dodgers shift without another team moving to the West Coast to make the travel implications worthwhile.

Los Angeles would have gotten a team sooner than later. I have an idea how this would have happened. Stay tuned ...

Jet travel and, to a lesser degree, television were the prerequisites for westerns expansion, to make feasible a truly national game and audience. No less important, I think, was the suburban ideal, which was premised on the idea that older cities simply didn’t work in the modern era. Too cramped and dangerous, not conducive to cars. Cities were for work, suburbs were for living. The West Coast was younger, more land to expand upon, to build proper a suburban life based on enjoying the good life, like baseball. (That the Browns moved from St. Louis to Baltimore was the weirdo shift. All the others went west and/or south.)

[revbob]

I hope this is a more entertaining version of Man in the High Castle

[WestwayKid]

I've run my first simulated season...

1958
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American League
Yankees 93 - 61
Tigers 92 - 62
Indians 86 - 68
Red Sox 82 - 72
White Sox 81 - 73
Senators 64 - 90
KC Athletics 64 - 90
Orioles 54 - 100

National League
Braves 92 - 62
Cardinals 89 - 65
Pirates 85 - 69
NY Giants 76 - 78 (a surprisingly good season for what will be their final campaign in New York)
Dodgers 74 - 80
Redlegs 73 - 81
Phillies 70 - 84
Cubs 57 - 97

AL MVP: Mickey Mantle... .329 average with 41 home runs
NL MVP: Joe Cunningham (Cardinals)... .347 average (sometimes players who were not remarkable in real life catch fire in my alternate reality)

AL Cy Young: Sam Jones (Detroit)... 21-11 with an ERA of 2.98
NL Cy Young: Joey James (Milwaukee)... 23-6 with an ERA of 2.10 (see notes on Joe Cunningham...)

League Leaders:
BA: Ted Williams .373
Homers: Duke Snider 48
RBIs: Duke Snider 142
ERA: Joey Jay 2.10
Wins: Joey Jay 23

Nobody was elected to the HoF.

[Dr. Medulla]

I have literally never heard of Joey James or Joe Cunningham. I don’t believe any ballplayer has been named Joe, for that matter. This is one fucking crazy alternate timeline.

[WestwayKid]

I have literally never heard of Joey James or Joe Cunningham. I don’t believe any ballplayer has been named Joe, for that matter. This is one fucking crazy alternate timeline.

Joey Jay had a 13 year MLB career, mostly with the Braves. He had a lifetime record of 99-91, with an ERA of 3.71. He was a 2x all-star and led the NL in wins in 1961 while a member of the Reds.

Joe Cunningham had a 12 year MLB career with the Cardinals, White Sox and Senators. He had a lifetime average of .291 and he was also a 2x all-star.

I was surprised to see both of them as league leaders and admittedly I had to look them up. They were solid players who appear to have had some good seasons. I’m allowing OOTP to control everything in regards to how the seasons play out (it actually “plays” every game). I wonder if even small changes - like maybe placing Joey Jay higher in the rotation - could create better years for them versus real life. I’m also curious if they continue to be league leaders.

[Dr. Medulla]

I have literally never heard of Joey James or Joe Cunningham. I don’t believe any ballplayer has been named Joe, for that matter. This is one fucking crazy alternate timeline.

Joey Jay had a 13 year MLB career, mostly with the Braves. He had a lifetime record of 99-91, with an ERA of 3.71. He was a 2x all-star and led the NL in wins in 1961 while a member of the Reds.

I've read Jim Brosnan's memoir, Pennant Race, about pitching for the '61 Reds, so Jay must have been in there, yet made no impression on me whatsoever.

[WestwayKid]

1959
-------
The Tigers defeat the Milwaukee Braves 4 games to 3 to deny Milwaukee their third straight championship.

American League
Tigers 100 - 54
Yankees 85 - 69
Indians 84 - 70
White Sox 75 - 79
KC Athletics 74 - 80
Red Sox 69 - 85
Orioles 68 - 86
Senators 61 - 93 (the Senators appear to be circling the drain...)

National League
Braves 95 - 59
Dodgers 90 - 64
Pirates 82 - 72
Cardinals 79 - 75
Phillies 74 - 80
Redlegs 68 - 86
Minnesota Giants 67 - 87 (the Giants started the season strong in their new home, but faded badly after the all-star break)
Cubs 61 - 93

AL MVP: Mickey Mantle (.308 average; 40 homers; 93 RBI's)
NL MVP: Eddie Mathews (Milwaukee) (.306 average; .407 on-base; 37 homers)

AL Cy Young: Sam Jones (Detroit) (23-6; 2.20 ERA; 216 strikeouts)
NL Cy Young: Sandy Koufax (Brooklyn) (17-11; 2.28 ERA; 255 strikeouts)
For those keeping score, last year's NL Cy Young winner, Joey Jay (Milwaukee) finished runner up to Koufax.

League Leaders:
BA: Walt Dropo (White Sox) .349
Homers: Rocky Colavito (Cleveland) 44
RBIs: Ernie Banks (...so Cubs fans, the game AI traded him to Cleveland) 127
ERA: Sam Jones (Detroit) 2.20 ERA
Wins: Sam Jones (Detroit) 23

Checking the Historical Simulation Accuracy (which checks the simulated season against what really happened), everything looks great except for triples, which were up 11.2% over the historic 1959 season.

A note on Sam Jones, who won his 2nd consecutive Cy Young. Jones, who got his start in the Negro Leagues, possessed what Stan Musial called the best curveball he ever saw. He played from 1951 through 1964, bouncing around quite a few teams. He threw a no hitter in 1955 and in 1959 he was the NL ERA & Wins leader (which matches up with the historical simulation). He was also a 2x all-star and led the NL in strikeouts on 3 separate occasions.

[WestwayKid]

1960
-------
The Braves win their 4th straight NL pennant and defeat the Yankees in the World Series 4 games to 3.

American League
Yankees 86 - 68
Indians 83 - 71
Tigers 78 - 76
Orioles 78 - 76
Senators 78 - 76
Athletics 74 - 80
White Sox 71 - 83
Red Sox 68 - 86

National League
Braves 94 - 60
Cardinals 92 - 62
Pirates 89 - 65
Dodgers 79 - 75
Philles 69 - 85
Cubs 67 - 87
Redlegs 64 - 90
Giants 62 - 92

AL MVP: Harmon Killebrew (Senators) (.276 average; 38 homers; 104 RBIs)
NL MVP: Frank Robinson (Reds) (.314 average; 37 homers; 112 RBIs)

AL Cy Young: Bill Stafford (White Sox) (16-11; 2.39 ERA; 153 strikeouts)
NL Cy Young: Sandy Koufax (Brooklyn) (15-11; 3.14 ERA; 290 strikeouts)
For those keeping score, last year's NL Cy Young winner, Joey Jay (Milwaukee) finished runner up to Koufax.

League Leaders:
BA: Dick Groat (Pirates) .386
Homers: Roger Maris (who was apparently dealt to the Cubbies) 40
RBIs: Roger Maris (Chicago Cubs) 118
ERA: Bill Stafford 2.39 ERA
Wins: Art Mahaffey (Cleveland) 20

Checking the Historical Simulation Accuracy (which checks the simulated season against what really happened), the outliers versus real life were doubles (down 5.1%) and stolen bases (up 3.6%).

AL Cy Young winner Bill Stafford was a rookie in 1960. In real life, he played from 1960 until 1965, starting his career with the Yankees (winning two championships along the way). He was a solid, yet unremarkable, pitcher: compiling a record of 43 - 40, with an ERA of 3.52.

Art Mahaffey, who led MLB with 20 wins, was a 3x all star who played from 1960 until 1966. He was a mainstay of the Phillies rotation. He's the last pitcher to have struck out 12 batters and hit a grand slam in the same game. He never achieved 20 wins in real life, but came close in 1962 when he notched up 19 victories.

[WestwayKid]

Looking into how Roger Maris ended up on the Cubs, he was traded from Cleveland on 11/18/1958 along with Curt Flood and Bob Aspromonte for Ernie Banks.

[WestwayKid]

I'm still playing around with this when I'm bored. I figured out my fictional 2024 MLB today:

American League
East
Baltimore Orioles
New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox
Atlanta Athletics (I kept the Braves in Milwaukee. Bud Selig puts together an ownership group and purchases the franchise in 1965. Charlie Finley does bail on Kansas City following the 1967 season and ends up in Atlanta for 1968)
Miami Waves (1977 expansion team. You'll see my logic elsewhere, but suffice to say I put a team in Toronto before 1977. The team name has a very late-70's feel to it)

Central
Detroit Tigers
Cleveland Guardians
Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals (1969 expansion team)
Toronto Blue Jays (1969 expansion team. I decided to create the Blue Jays nearly a decade before they actually existed. The NL put a team in Montreal in 1969, so it makes sense that the AL would do the same. In real life, Seattle was granted a 1969 franchise, but it was a disaster across the board. Seattle clearly wasn't ready for major league ball in 1969, so I'm not giving them an expansion team until the 1970s)

West
Houston Astros (1962 expansion team in the National League, moved to the AL for the sake of realignment)
Texas Rangers (1961 expansion team as the Washington Senators. Just like in real life, I have them relocating to Dallas/Ft. Worth)
Seattle Mariners (1977 expansion team)
Los Angeles Angels (The original Washington Senators. They could not have moved to Minneapolis as they did in real life as I have the Giants beating them there, but Los Angeles was looking for a big league team and the foundering Senators answered the call)
San Francisco Seals (1961 expansion team. In real life, this slot went to the Los Angeles Angels, but since I'd already created the Los Angeles Angels, I felt San Francisco would be the perfect spot for the AL to expand)

[WestwayKid]

National League
East
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
Brooklyn Dodgers (This is where my fictional history diverges. Walter O'Malley gets his new stadium in Brooklyn and the franchise never leaves)
Montreal Expos (1962 expansion team. The Expos were a cool franchise. I've decided to keep them in Montreal after getting new ownership and a new open air stadium)
Tampa Bay Rays (1999 expansion team. True to real life, just joining the National League)

Central
St. Louis Cardinals
Cincinnati Reds
Chicago Cubs
Milwaukee Braves (As previously mentioned, the Braves never leave Milwaukee)
Arizona Diamondbacks (1993 expansion team)

West
San Diego Padres (1969 expansion team)
Minnesota Giants (The New York Giants bail on New York City in 1959 for a new stadium in the Twin Cities)
Colorado Rockies (1993 expansion team)
Los Angeles Stars (1962 expansion team. The New York Mets are never created because the Dodgers never leave, opening a spot for the National League to create a franchise in California).
Portland Diamonds (1999 expansion. Created as an American League expansion team, they swap with the Houston Astros in 2013. It took me awhile to figure out where would I expand baseball. Portland has a long minor league history and they've been mentioned as a possible spot for a franchise for awhile, so why not)

[Flex]

Good work so far WWK. I agree about Portland. Small-ish metro area but such a good baseball history and it would help fill out the West Coast with baseball. Id rather see a franchise there than in Vegas.

[Dr. Medulla]

Montreal Expos (1962 expansion team. The Expos were a cool franchise. I've decided to keep them in Montreal after getting new ownership and a new open air stadium)

What's their team name, given that Montreal's World Expo was still five years way?

[WestwayKid]

Montreal Expos (1962 expansion team. The Expos were a cool franchise. I've decided to keep them in Montreal after getting new ownership and a new open air stadium)

What's their team name, given that Montreal's World Expo was still five years way?

That's a typo - should have said 1969 - but good eye nonetheless!

[Dr. Medulla]

Montreal Expos (1962 expansion team. The Expos were a cool franchise. I've decided to keep them in Montreal after getting new ownership and a new open air stadium)

What's their team name, given that Montreal's World Expo was still five years way?

That's a typo - should have said 1969 - but good eye nonetheless!

As part of this alternate history, I request that the Expos win the WS in 1980, 1981, and/or 1982 so that my heart isn't broken in that timeline.