In the future, changes to Major League Baseball will likely be made. This article features specific speculations –– expansion teams, teams relocating to different cities, changes to team logos and colors, changes in season scheduling, and changes to the game itself. This article also lists speculative future World Series champions, and player, team and baseball records that'll possibly reach.

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Expansion teams Edit

It is assumed that there will be more major league teams in the future. I predict that there will be 32 teams by 2050, compared to 30 teams at present. The expansion teams will be Portland Pioneers and Montreal Saints.

Portland Pioneers Edit

Portland Pioneers will enfranchise in 2026 and will be in the American League West division. During the franchise's first game, they will host the Seattle Mariners at Cascade Park. Then Seattle Mariners will finally have a close rivalry after all those lengthy travels throughout the seasons. The team colors will be sky blue and green. Their logo will be the green letter 'P' with sky blue enclosure.

The Pioneers will have Arizona Diamondbacks as an interleague rival, meaning every year they'll play six games against them each season, three at each ballpark. The interleague rival series will be called the Varanid Series.

I predict that Portland Pioneers will win their first World Series title in 2062 over the relocated team Virginia Colonials (formerly Miami Marlins) in seven games.

Montreal Saints Edit

Montreal Expos existed from 1969 till 2004 before they moved to Washington and became the Nationals. Numerous Montreal fans were sad following their move to Washington, and player's strike of 1994 may be a blame as Montreal had the best record in baseball when that baseball season was cut short and postseason was cancelled. However, after just 22 years without the baseball team in the city, Montreal will get an expansion team for the second time and be named the Montreal Saints in 2026. There uniform colors will be deep purple, black, old gold and white. The Montreal Saints will be in the National League East division. During the opener of that franchise, they will host the Washington Nationals at Labatt Ballpark, which will be built two blocks south of Molsen Centre. The first franchise played their home games in Olympic Stadium.

Like the former Montreal team, the interleague rival of Montreal will be Toronto Blue Jays, meaning the Saints will play six games against them every year, three games at each team's ballpark. Expos played against the Blue Jays from the introduction of interleague play in 1997 until their final year in Montreal in 2004. The Expos-Blue Jays matchup was called the Pearson Cup, but the Saints-Blue Jays matchup will be called the Lake Ontario Series, since part of the road between the home cities lie near the banks of Lake Ontario.

I predict that Montreal Saints will win their first World Series title in 2034 by sweeping the Houston Astronauts. Montreal would have their first World Series championship 65 years after the first team was enfranchised. Who' knows? If player's strike never occurred in 1994, maybe Montreal Expos would have won the World Series and the team would've remain in Montreal.

Relocations and renames Edit

From now until the year 2050, there will be eight teams relocating either to a different city or their nickname will simply be renamed. Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, and Chicago White Sox will move to a different city, while Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, and San Francisco Giants will simply be renamed while staying in the city.

New York Mets to Brooklyn Edit

The New York Mets will look for a new stadium to replace Citi Field in 2024. After looking at Jersey City/Newark, NJ, Buffalo, NY , and Orlando, FL, they'll find a site in south Brooklyn. In late November 2026, a new stadium called Jackie Robinson Memorial Stadium will be completed. The Mets will play their first home game in the new stadium against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2027, winning the game 7-4. That same year they will be renamed the Brooklyn-New York Mets, The first MLB team to hyphenate their home city name. However in 2030 they will simply be called the Brooklyn Mets. They will make their first World Series appearance under their new banner in 2037, but losing to Cleveland Blues (currently the Indians) in seven games. They would win their first World title since 1986 by beating the Indiana White Sox 4-1 in 2058.

Tampa Bay Rays to Charlotte Edit

Tampa Bay Rays have their lowest annual fan attendance of any MLB team, sparking possible relocation to a different city. St. Petersburg mayor Bill Foster prohibits the team on the lease until 2027. After the lease expired, the team would be free to go, moving to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2028 while keeping their nickname. They will stay in the American League South division.

During the relocation, the minor league team Charlotte Knights will move to Tampa Bay while keeping Knights as their name and will be the Triple-A affiliate of the Rays team that was moved from Tampa Bay, or in other words switching teams between two cities between MLB and AAA, upgrading the Charlotte team from minor league to major league while downgrading the Tampa Bay team from major league to minor league. Charlotte Rays will use similar team colors except they will change the logo to make it fit for the city they relocated to. They will play in the Meineke Field. Charlotte Rays will still be in the American League South division. During the franchise's first game, they will host the Toronto Blue Jays.

The interleague rival of Charlotte Rays will be the Atlanta Braves, meaning they'll play six games against each other every year, three at each ballpark. The Rays-Braves matchup will be called the Savanna Series, due to their nearness to the prominent terrain.

I predict that they will win their first World Series title since moving to Charlotte in 2033 by sweeping the Colorado Rockies.

Cleveland Indians to Blues Edit

In 2031, new Cleveland Indians owner who is against Native Americans decides to change the nickname to what the franchise started with, Blues. This'll be a good nickname since three different Cleveland franchises were named Blues, including the Indians that started out as Blues. Also it will neatly match with the other colored Ohio team, the Cincinnati Reds.

During the first season as the Blues nickname, they will make their first World Series appearance since 2016, then six years later they will end the curse of Rocky Colavito by winning 'em all for the first time in 89 years, since 1948, by beating the Mets in seven games.

Houston Astros to Astronauts Edit

When the Houston team moved to a new stadium in 1965, the then Houston Colt 45's were intended to rename the team to the Astronauts, but since the domed stadium wanted to end in Dome as suffix, they instead renamed the team to the prefix Astros. Now since the Astros moved out of AstroDome in 1999, the team name is now eligible to extend it to the original proposal, the Astronauts. During the 2012-13 season when the Astros were transitioning to the American League, team owner Jim Crane considered to possibly extended this nickname along with several entirely different names before keeping the name. In 2033, the team will be rebranded as the Houston Astronauts. From then on, the Astros will still be referred as their alternate nickname.

Atlanta Braves to Oaks Edit

In 2035, due to the Braves' association with Native Americans, Atlanta Braves will be renamed to Atlanta Oaks, due to the abundance of oak trees in the Atlanta area. The uniform colors will be maroon, white and gray with green texts.

Oakland Athletics to San Jose Edit

The Oakland Athletics will move to San Jose, California for the 2039 MLB season and the team will be renamed to San Jose Athletics. The team colors will remain the same except they will also add green pinstripes to their home uniforms that same year. San Jose is just 40 miles south of Oakland (technically down the freeway) and the San Francisco Giants will still be the interleague rival.

After moving to San Jose, they would not win the World Series for the rest of the century, though they will appear in the 2043 and 2061 World Series.

San Francisco Giants to Seals Edit

In 2039 following their 80th anniversary of the Giants' franchise move to San Francisco from New York, the team owner decides to rename this nickname to Seals after the former minor league franchise that resided in San Fran until 1957. Giants was named after their original city that is the giant among the cities in the U.S. A decade prior to renaming, the minor league soccer franchise San Francisco Seals moved to San Jose while keeping Seals as their name, countering with the major league soccer team San Jose Earthquakes moving to San Francisco while retaining their name.

Toronto Blue Jays to Buffalo Browns Edit

In 2040 the Toronto Blue Jays will move to Buffalo, NY after failure to get a new stadium. However the city of Toronto will purchase the Blue Jays name thus forcing a name change. They will choose the name Browns after their new owner Robert Brown. The Buffalo Bisons will relocate to Toronto and become the minor league Blue Jays. Their home stadium will be Niagara Bank Stadium where the will host the New York Yankees in their inaugural game in Buffalo winning 3-0. The home uniforms will be a brown cap with a orange visor and orange block letter B and white home jerseys with brown pinstripes and brown and orange text. They will win their first World Series in 2049 4-1 over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Chicago White Sox to Indiana Edit

In 2048 the White Sox will move south to Indianapolis to become the Indiana White Sox. They will play at a stadium built on the site of the previously demolished stadium, Victory Field (home of the minor league baseball team Indianapolis Indians). Their new Stadium, Sprint Center, will be twice the size as the Guaranteed Rate Field and also be home to the Indianapolis Clowns (NFC North team relocating from the Detroit Lions in 2038).

The interleague rival will still be the Chicago Cubs, calling the matchup the I-65 Series (formerly the Crosstown Series when White Sox were in Chicago).

I predict that after the relocation, they would appear in six more World Series by the end of this century, winning three, including their World Series title during their first year in Indiana over the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.

Division realignment Edit

With two new teams added in 2026, leagues will who’dat into four four-team divisions by replacing AL Central and NL Central with AL South, AL North, NL South, and NL North. That division split will have greater competition between rivals and also reduce travelling. The most important effect of the alignment is that each league will get one more division winner, hence one more playoff berth while keeping two wild cards.

Season scheduling Edit

Season scheduling will be somewhat different by 2050 than present scheduling. Currently, every team play 20 interleague games per season. But by 2050, all teams will play 27 interleague games per season. Like present, they will play 162 games in the season by mid-century. Dates of Opening Day, season finale, All-Star Game, and spring training schedule will be the same, but the postseason will be little different to be mentioned below. By that season with four four-team divisions in each league, the number of series teams will play with the other teams are listed below.

Against the division rivals, every team will play 54 games/18 series (18 games/6 series against each team).

Against the interdivision opponents, every team will play 81 games/27 series (6 games/2 series against each of the selected 9 teams, 9 games/3 series against each of the selected 3 teams).

Against the interleague opponents, every team will play 27 games/9 series, including 6 games/2 series against the interleague rival. Since they won't be playing against every team from a different league, teams will mainly be played in an interleague division determined by the four-year rotation as well as at least one team from three other divisions. In the years when every team play in an interleague division outside of their cross-division (e.g. AL West vs. NL East, AL East vs. NL South), they will play all four teams in their designated division for 3 games/1 series each, 6 games/2 series against the interleague rival (3 games/1 series each at home and on the road), and 9 games/3 series against teams from other interleague division, 3 games/1 series against one team from each non-designated division, including one from the cross division. In the years when every team play in the cross interleague division (e.g. AL North vs. NL North), they will play all four teams in their cross division for a total of 18 games/6 series, including 6 games/2 series against the interleague rival and 6 games/2 series against the randomly selected other team from that cross division, 3 games/1 series each at home and on the road, and 9 games/3 series against teams from other interleague division, 3 games/1 series against one team from each non-designated division.



Postseason Edit

In the same year when two new teams were added and divisions were realigned, in 2026, the Wild Card matchup will be added to each league and expanded to a best-of-three League Wild Card Series (LWCS). Since there will be an extra division, hence one more division winner in each league, two more playoff qualifiers will be added to MLB to increase the number of playoff qualifiers to 12, six in each league. The LWCS will be different as it won’t have just wild card teams playing, but wild card qualifiers playing against the lower seeded division winners, just like the Wild Card Round in the NFL. The winners of LWCS will advance to the LDS, the winner of #3 and #6 seeded team matchup will face the #2 seeded team in the LDS, while the winner of #4 and #5 seeded matchup in the LWCS will face the #1 seeded team in the LDS. From then on, playoff format will be the same as present, with the best-of-five LDS, best-of-seven LCS, and best-of-seven World Series.

Teams arranged in divisions Edit

Present Edit

Below lists the current teams with six divisions, three in each league. Each division contain five teams.

AL East AL Central AL West NL East NL Central NL West Baltimore Orioles Chicago White Sox Houston Astros Atlanta Braves Chicago Cubs Arizona Diamondbacks Boston Red Sox Cleveland Indians Los Angeles Angels Miami Marlins Cincinnati Reds Colorado Rockies New York Yankees Detroit Tigers Oakland Athletics New York Mets Milwaukee Brewers Los Angeles Dodgers Tampa Bay Rays Kansas City Royals Seattle Mariners Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres Toronto Blue Jays Minnesota Twins Texas Rangers Washington Nationals St. Louis Cardinals San Francisco Giants

Future Edit

Below shows what the divisions and team colors will be like in 2050. Relocated and renamed teams except for White Sox will have different colors than current name teams in current cities. The team colors for Minnesota Twins would be changed by 2050, plus minor changes for Milwaukee Brewers, Dallas Rangers, and New York Yankees. They will have eight divisions (four in each league), each containing four teams.

AL East AL South AL North AL West NL East NL South NL North NL West Baltimore Orioles Charlotte Rays Indiana White Sox Los Angeles Angels Montreal Saints Atlanta Oaks Chicago Cubs Arizona Diamondbacks Boston Red Sox Dallas Rangers Cleveland Blues Portland Pioneers Brooklyn Mets Colorado Rockies Cincinnati Reds Los Angeles Dodgers Buffalo Browns Houston Astronauts Detroit Tigers San Jose Athletics Philadelphia Phillies St. Louis Cardinals Milwaukee Brewers San Diego Padres New York Yankees Kansas City Royals Minnesota Twins Seattle Mariners Washington Nationals Virginia Colonials Pittsburgh Pirates San Francisco Seals

Interleague rivalries Edit

Below lists interleague rival pairs as well as series matchup names between them by 2050. These pairs play six games against one another every year, three at each ballpark. Two pairs are located in the same city (New York and Los Angeles), three pairs are in different cities within the same state (e.g. Cleveland Blues & Cincinnati Reds), and eleven are in different states, districts or provinces (e.g. Toronto Blue Jays & Montreal Saints).

AL partner NL partner Series name New York Yankees Brooklyn Mets Subway Series Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Freeway Series Indiana White Sox Chicago Cubs I-65 Series Buffalo Browns Montreal Saints Lake Ontario Series San Jose Athletics San Francisco Seals Bay Series Baltimore Orioles Washington Nationals Beltway Series Boston Red Sox Philadelphia Phillies Revolution Series Cleveland Blues Cincinnati Reds Ohio Showdown Kansas City Royals St. Louis Cardinals Show-Me Series Charlotte Rays Atlanta Oaks Savanna Series Minnesota Twins Milwaukee Brewers Tea Series Detroit Tigers Pittsburgh Pirates Treasure Cove Series Houston Astronauts Colorado Rockies Rocket Series Portland Pioneers Arizona Diamondbacks Varanid Series Seattle Mariners San Diego Padres Warcraft Series Dallas Rangers Virginia Colonials Development Series

Possible milestones Edit

By 2050, I expect that we will have lot more milestones and a lot of current records will break. The examples of milestones may include (current records are in parentheses)

If the Yankees keep rolling along during the 21st century like they did during the 20th century, they may have 50-time World Series Champions by 2100. But, I predict that the Yankees will only win three more world championships this century, which will only then be a 30-time World Series Champion by 2100. I also predict that all 32 teams will win at least one world championship from now till the turn of the 22nd century.

Predicted World Series Champions Edit