Expansion of MLB
By: Elizabeth Boyd
The History- Why Expand
In 1960, the American League conducted a survey to determine potential expansion cities. The list included Atlanta, Buffalo, Dallas–Fort Worth, Denver, Oakland, San Diego, Seattle, and Toronto. One of the reasons for the expansion was because of increasing pressure to maintain the sport as the US "national pastime", particularly because of the increasing popularity of professional football.
How They Expanded- Who Expanded
When the MLB decided to expand they came up with new leagues for the teams. They started with a couple teams and decided they wanted to form 4 more. That means they needed more players, so they started the 1968 MLB expansion draft. Each team got to draft 30 players from the major and minor leagues. The 4 teams they expanded were The San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, Washington Nationals (The San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos), and Milwaukee Brewers (Seattle Pilots) ), and Milwaukee Brewers (Seattle Pilots).