Notes: MLB expansion, position players pitching, 2028 Olympics

One aspect of the upcoming labor battle this offseason, after the collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1, is Major League Baseballs desire to expand from 30 to 32 teams.

MLB's last expansion was in 1998, and Jeff Passan at ESPN in his outline of potential new cities notes that commissioner Rob Manfred wants the league to decide on one west coast and one east coast team by January 2029.

It will be at least three decades before MLB adds more teams, the longest stretch without expansion since the first 60 years of the American League (1901-60) saw eight teams in each league for a total of 16 teams. Since then:

1961: 16 to 18 teams (Angels, new Senators added)

1969: 20 to 24 (Expos, Padres, Royals, Seattle Pilots)

1977: 24 to 26: ( Blue Jays , Mariners )

Matt Brown expertly covers the business of college sports at his Extra Points newsletter, and analyzed how the potential MLB expansion cities might affect revenue for some college programs .

Sam Miller at his Pebble Hunting newsletter isn't a fan of the trend of more position players pitching:

It's a bit surprising to me that baseball, which has so many unwritten rules about what players should and shouldn't do when the game is out of hand, has settled on such a bizarre, asymmetrical surrender when it comes to position players pitching. The pitcher throws the single worst pitch he can. The batter then takes a massive overswing.

Bill Shaikin at the Los Angeles Times argues that Major League Baseball, the Players Association, and LA28 should figure out a way to come to an agreement on making MLB players available to play in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles:

The league says play ball, but not without the authority to punish players that do not wish to play. The union says play ball, but not unless the league eases up on mandatory participation, and unless LA28, the international baseball federation and the International Olympic Committee provides major league players with flexibility in areas such as accommodations, tickets and marketing rights.

The league says play ball, but not without the authority to punish players that do not wish to play.

The union says play ball, but not unless the league eases up on mandatory participation, and unless LA28, the international baseball federation and the International Olympic Committee provides major league players with flexibility in areas such as accommodations, tickets and marketing rights.