Baseball has been America’s pastime for more than a century.
The sport has weathered world wars, the Great Depression, and countless other challenges while maintaining its essential character.
But Rob Manfred warned of major changes coming to baseball that will have fans seeing red.
Manfred wants to destroy more than 100 years of baseball tradition
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred dropped a bombshell during ESPN’s broadcast of the Little League Classic between the Mariners and Mets.¹
He revealed that Major League Baseball is planning massive structural changes that would fundamentally alter the game as we know it.
The biggest shock? Manfred is seriously considering eliminating the American League and National League entirely.
That’s right – the National League, which has existed since 1876, and the American League, established in 1901, could be wiped out in favor of a generic geographic realignment system.
"I think if we expand it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign," Manfred explained during the broadcast.² "I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel."
But here’s what Manfred really cares about – television money.
"I think our postseason format would be even more appealing for entities like ESPN because you’d be playing out of the East, out of the West, and that 10 o’clock where we sometimes get Boston-Anaheim would be two West Coast teams," he continued.³
It’s all about the TV contracts, not the fans
Notice how Manfred’s entire justification centers around making things "more appealing" for ESPN and other networks.
The commissioner is openly admitting he’s willing to destroy baseball’s most fundamental structure to squeeze more money out of television deals.
"That 10 o’clock slot that’s a problem for us sometimes becomes a real opportunity for our West Coast audience," Manfred added.⁴
The proposed changes would mirror how the NBA and NHL organize their divisions – completely generic geographic groupings with no historical significance whatsoever.
Manfred also confirmed that MLB is pushing forward with expansion to 32 teams, with Salt Lake City and Nashville viewed as frontrunners for new franchises.⁵
"I think the owners realize there’s demand for MLB in a lot of great cities, and we have an opportunity to do something good around that expansion process," he stated.⁶
The commissioner previously announced he hopes to have this expansion process in place by the time his contract expires in 2029.⁷
This is what happens when money matters more than tradition
So let’s understand what’s really happening here.
Rob Manfred – who has already fundamentally altered baseball with pitch clocks, designated hitters in both leagues, and constantly changing playoff formats – now wants to eliminate the American and National League structure that has existed since 1903.
The reasoning? It’ll make scheduling easier and help TV networks program their late-night slots more efficiently.
Never mind that millions of baseball fans have grown up understanding the fundamental difference between the American League and National League.
Forget about the fact that the World Series – the championship series between these two leagues – is literally called the World Series because it determines which league produces the world champion.
Manfred thinks none of that matters if ESPN can avoid having a Boston-Anaheim game in the 10 p.m. time slot.
This is the same commissioner who has spent years trying to speed up baseball games because he thinks modern fans don’t have the attention span for a traditional nine-inning contest.
Now he wants to reorganize the entire sport around television programming convenience.
The destruction of another American institution
Baseball used to be different from other sports precisely because of its unique structure and deep respect for tradition.
The American League and National League maintained separate identities, different rules (like the designated hitter), and distinct cultures for more than a century.
That’s what made the World Series special – it was truly a clash between two different baseball worlds.
But Manfred sees all of that history as an inconvenience getting in the way of maximizing revenue streams.
It’s been nearly 30 years since MLB last expanded in 1998 when the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays joined the league.⁸
The difference is that previous expansion efforts tried to preserve baseball’s traditional structure while accommodating new teams.
Manfred’s approach is to use expansion as an excuse to blow up everything that makes baseball unique.
The geographic realignment would supposedly address travel concerns, particularly for teams like the Seattle Mariners who currently play in the American League West alongside California and Texas teams.⁹
But here’s the thing – baseball has managed these scheduling challenges for decades without destroying its fundamental league structure.
The real agenda is making the sport more like the NBA and NHL, where generic geographic divisions exist solely to maximize television revenue.
This is what happens when you put executives in charge who view America’s pastime as just another entertainment product to be repackaged and sold.
Rob Manfred has made it clear that no aspect of baseball tradition is safe from his relentless pursuit of television dollars.
First it was the pace of play. Then it was the playoff format. Now it’s the basic structure that has defined baseball for more than 120 years.
Traditional baseball fans better hope there are enough people who still care about preserving what makes America’s pastime special – because Rob Manfred clearly doesn’t.
¹ Darrian Johnson, "Major changes coming to Major League Baseball, commish warns," The Spun, August 18, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Ibid.
