There are so many issues with this idea that you don’t know where to start.
The Kings of the NBA did that between KC and Omaha for a few years
As I understand, that was a short-term arrangement and was never intended to be permanent. Here is one article I found on the subject:
Edit: This may be a big hint for MLB to just admit that baseball is not working in the Tampa Bay area and that the franchise should just relocate.
It’s also a risky idea. The Canadian covid rules are playing havoc with the NHL teams and schedule. I’m sure that was a factor in the decision to not have NHL players go to the Olympics. If that continues into spring/summer, there might be no baseball in Montreal.
Where do you think they would go?
Just curious.
The covid situation will not be with us forever. It is a dumb idea beyond covid. This is the first time I have ever heard of an idea for a team to split its games equally, with half in the first part of the season and half in the second. I wonder how many players would want to play for a franchise like that. It would be great for housing. Plus, at least with other times when teams split games between cities there was some proximity between them.
In a way this reminds me of when the Buffalo Bills played one game a year in Toronto. The idea was that the Bills were trying to extend their fan base reach to Toronto as part of their regionalization efforts. At the time I reluctantly understood the idea and figured that if playing one game in Toronto helped keep the franchise in Western New York then it was worth it.
At the same time, some people were floating the idea of the Bills eventually playing more games in Toronto and maybe dividing the season half-way. That I could not have supported. It all turned out to be a moot point anyways, since the Bills in Toronto series was a complete failure. I don’t blame the Toronto fans for not purchasing overpriced tickets, which was the biggest reason for the failure, though there were others.
Edit: I assume you meant to refer to baseball in Toronto.
For starters, some people in Montreal are saying they want another team. If Montreal can get a decent stadium built, that is an option. Montreal is mentioned in this article:
I have also heard the Newport News, VA area mentioned as a possibility.
It is ironic that back in the late 1980s and early 1990s MLB was anxious to expand to Florida because it was the next hot area for them. Neither franchise there has done well at all.
That is only 3 hours away from DC.
Do you think that area can support two teams?
No idea. I don’t know that area well enough. I just said that I have heard it mentioned.
Fresno!
They have the population, and no other team really close, but I don’t think MLB wants another team in California.
I was partially kidding, but it’s likely eventually. Right now, it would be one of the smaller markets, and not particularly wealthy, but it’s growing while some of the cities where there are already teams, like the Midwestern ones, are shrinking. Except we have no water.
BTW, back about 1983, I used to attend single A games of the Visalia Oaks (now Visalia Rawhide) where the most popular player was Kirby Puckett. Fun watching him make some great diving grabs in centerfield.
Taken way too soon!
Living semi close to Minneapolis, the Twins were one of the teams that were shown locally (before cable TV took over the broadcast rights), so I remember his defensive magic.
I met Kirby Puckett a couple times when he was in community college. Nice guy, not very tall.
The body style of a bowling ball.
Which makes his playing style that much more incredible.
Small strike zone.
I have been to Fresno once and it did not strike me as a likely place for a major league professional sports team. It has some minor league teams.
I also remember when the Kings first relocated to Sacramento and some people there were talking about getting a Major League Baseball team soon. Then, in the late 1980s the Raiders considered moving to Sacramento as one of their options when Al Davis was shaking down cities. Nothing ever came of any of this either.
I remember reading about it. Woke up one morning and couldn’t see his wife in the bed next to him. At least he got two championships before he had to hang it up.
I hate raining on somebody’s parade and speaking ill of the dead, but it came out later that Puckett was not exactly the great guy everybody made him out to be. Here is one article:
https://vault.si.com/vault/2003/03/17/the-rise-and-fall-of-kirby-puckett-the-media-and-the-fans-in-minnesota-turned-the-twins-hall-of-famer-into-a-paragon-of-every-virtueand-that-made-his-human-flaws-when-they-came-to-light-all-the-more-shocking
Yeah, I remember that article. He kinda had a double life.