Paul's Franchise League - FRANCHISE DRAFT

I could see opportunity for some real world rivalry set up -

Orioles, Yankees, Red Sox
Phillies, Pirates, Mets

If the teams stay final as they are here is my stab at divisions based on geography. A big question is to put either Baltimore or Philly in the East. It might be interesting to put the two PA teams in the same division so I put the Phillies in the Central. Also Baltimore would be teamed up with two of their traditional AL East rivals. However it really could go either way.

How about KC and HOU in the same division? Home Runs will be flyouts in those two stadiums.

UNOFFICIAL DIVISIONS

EAST
New York Yankees
New York Mets
Boston Red Sox
Baltimore Orioles (or Philadelphia)

Central
Montreal Expos
Pittsburgh Pirates
Philadelphia Phillies (or Baltimore)
Detroit TIgers

West
San Diego Padres
Kansas City Royals
Houston Astros
Milwaukee Brewers

Wow! Big changes! Should make things really interesting:

-all 4 western clubs change (!)
-3 of the 4 central clubs change (in a sense, all 4 change if Baltimore moves to the East)
-Pittsburgh changes owners, stays in the league, but (perhaps) moves back to the Central!
-(Perhaps) Philadelphia moves to the Central, joining Montreal, (perhaps) Pittsburgh and Detroit.
-The East has the least change (with 3 returning owners and teams, unless the Phillies move), but the Yankees rejoin the league!
-Subject to Paul's decision on the divisions, based on Randy's thoughts (above), the Central might have 2 managers "moving out" - Delbird possibly trading places with Bill in the East and Central, and Carl trading places with Paul (West and Central).

For me, the idea of Pittsburgh, Montreal and Philadelphia being together in the Central brings back great personal memories of my brother and I playing strat together. Our first cards were for the 1970 season, but we got cards every year for several years in a row, including 1972 and 1973. Our first card set in 1970 was just 6 teams, which included Pittsburgh, Montreal and Philadelphia,(as well as Minnesota, Baltimore and Cincinnati). My brother's favorite team was Philadelphia, and mine was Montreal.

Divisions as they stand, with apologies to Randy.

East - all within 400 miles of one another.
Mets
Yankees
Expos
Red Sox

Central - Royals are an outlier. Not going to fit well regardless of where placed. The other three are within 300 miles.
Orioles
Phillies
Pirates
Royals

West - Wide Open Spaces, but at least the Tigers and Brewers have some geographic connection - 350 miles apart.
Astros
Padres
Tigers
Brewers

This also puts 2 AL and 2 NL teams in each division.

Looks good Paul.

I'll start working on the FA pool tonight.

Some hard choices Paul. It will be strange to be in the central. I have no natural rivalry so it is fine

Going from Wriggly to Royal Stadium will be a change in tactics

Divisions as they stand, with apologies to Randy.

East - all within 400 miles of one another.
Mets
Yankees
Expos
Red Sox

Central - Royals are an outlier. Not going to fit well regardless of where placed. The other three are within 300 miles.
Orioles
Phillies
Pirates
Royals

West - Wide Open Spaces, but at least the Tigers and Brewers have some geographic connection - 350 miles apart.
Astros
Padres
Tigers
Brewers

This also puts 2 AL and 2 NL teams in each division.

Awesome Paul!!! Very exciting!!!

Divisions as they stand, with apologies to Randy.

East - all within 400 miles of one another.
Mets
Yankees
Expos
Red Sox

Central - Royals are an outlier. Not going to fit well regardless of where placed. The other three are within 300 miles.
Orioles
Phillies
Pirates
Royals

West - Wide Open Spaces, but at least the Tigers and Brewers have some geographic connection - 350 miles apart.
Astros
Padres
Tigers
Brewers

This also puts 2 AL and 2 NL teams in each division.

Awesome Paul!!! Very exciting!!!

Random Thoughts...

I fully expected someone to pick up the Reds, which would have made a Central of Baltimore, Philly, Pittsburgh, and Cincy - a nice geographical division, as Pittsburgh and Cincy aren't far apart.

Ten minutes before selecting the Pirates, I was leaning toward John's Athletics. Definitely didn't envision Scott picking the Padres. We're going to see a lot of big-name players pass through San Diego the first few years of the 70's.

Surprised that three early-70's power teams aren't in this league - Reds, Dodgers, Athletics. The free agent market will be flooded with quality players.

I think the competitive balance is good. The West doesn't have one clear-cut top team. The Expos and Royals might struggle in their division for the first couple years, until the talent starts to arrive. But when it does arrive, look out.

There are going to be a lot of player drops to get under payroll. Baltimore is stacked with high-price guys. Pittsburgh too.

Is it just me or do the Astros and Mets resemble each other in team makeup? A bit more pitching in NY, a bit more hitting in Houston.

Surprised of the swing to the East. We look more like MLB 1955 than 1975.

Made me sad to drop the Cardinals, but they had some boring teams during what I call "The Ken Reitz Years."

Good luck in the playoffs, John, Bill, Scott, and Dean!

We all live near the East Coast what did you expect stuff for East Coast bias of favorite teams