Astros to the AL?!?

[Jimbo]

One team will be moving, regardless if it is the Astros or not. The reason why they want to move a team from the NL Central to the AL West is the NL Central has the most teams and the AL West has the fewest teams.

A second WC team would make another round of playoffs, something baseball does not need.


Sides close to Major League Baseball labor deal, sources say - ESPN

I hate the idea of adding another round of WC , this would push the WS all that much further into November.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

Is moving to the AL worth the discount??

Major League Baseball told Houston businessman Jim Crane it would not approve his purchase of the Houston Astros unless he agreed to move the team to the American League, The Associated Press has learned.

Crane was forced to agree to move the sale along, a person familiar with the negotiations said Wednesday on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made by MLB or the Astros. Approval of the sale could be announced as early as Thursday at a meeting of baseball executives in Milwaukee.

Crane will receive a $70 million discount off the $680 million purchase price in exchange for moving the Astros to the AL in 2013, with McLane and MLB contributing $35 million each to the discount, an MLB official with knowledge of the talks said, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Probably not to the fans:

The Astros, members of the National League since they joined the majors as an expansion team in 1962, would be in a division with in-state rival Texas. But fans are unhappy that the other three teams are all on the West Coast, meaning many road games would routinely end past midnight Central time.

Report -- Approval of Houston Astros sale conditional on move to American League - ESPN

 

[Will94]

The Astros, members of the National League since they joined the majors as an expansion team in 1962, would be in a division with in-state rival Texas. But fans are unhappy that the other three teams are all on the West Coast, meaning many road games would routinely end past midnight Central time.

Well, there is no rivalry with Texas. When the schedule comes out every year, no one circles the games against Texas. It's just like the other interleague games, meaningless series in the middle of the regular season. I will freely admit that I was wrong about the wild card. I was right about interleague play, however. It, and Bud Selig, should fade away in the night and never be seen again.

Everyone I've talked to would be fine going back to the NL West. As a child, my most hated team in baseball was the Dodgers. For that matter, I loved watching night games at Candlestick. Crazy things would happen just about any night. I understand that moving back to the NL West would reduce ad rates on the future Comcast Houston, but it wouldn't bother me as a fan.

 

[Will94]

Ultimate Astros » Former Astros players bothered by impending move to American League

"The team that should be in the American League is Milwaukee," said former All-Star outfielder Jim Wynn, who played for the Astros from 1963-1973. "Milwaukee came from the American League. The National League team is the Houston Astros. If they move to the American League, the fan base is going to get really mad."

An informal Chronicle online poll last month showed 76 percent of the respondents opposing a league change, with 35 percent vowing to sever their allegiance if the Astros were to join the AL. Like Wynn, many fans wonder why NL Central rival Milwaukee, which was in the AL from 1970-1997, isn't changing leagues. Selig used to own the Brewers and still lives in Milwaukee — two facts that don't sit well with many Astros loyalists.

 

[Will94]

Ultimate Astros » Local attorney says Astros' move to AL violates lease agreement

Citing provisions from a 2000 agreement that expires at the end of 2029, Yankowsky said the terms spell out that the home team — the Astros — be a National League franchise.

Article 1, Section 1.1 of the lease states that all capitalized terms in the lease have meanings assigned in a glossary of defined terms. One of the key provisions, Yankowsky said, comes in Article 5, Section 5.1 defining "Permitted Uses" of Minute Maid as including "exhibition, presentation and broadcasting of Baseball Home Games and activities related thereto."

The Glossary of Defined Terms classifies "Baseball Home Games" as "any major league baseball game in which the Team as the host Team for its opponent (i.e. the Team takes the field in the first half of each inning and bats in the last half of each inning of such baseball game)." Team, as defined by the Glossary, is "the major league baseball team owned by the tenant pursuant to the rights granted to it as a National League franchise under the Franchise, currently named the Houston Astros Baseball Club." Franchise, as defined in the lease, is "the Team issued by the National League."

"In the simplest form, what this means, in my judgment, is come opening day of 2013, the Sports Authority can refuse to let them play because it's not a permitted use of the stadium," Yankowsky said. "They can quite simply lock the doors and say, 'No, it's not a permitted use.' The play of Major League Baseball games, by definition, are limited to games in which a National League team is the home team."

There's a new hero in Houston, and he's a lawyer!

 

[yaz96]

I hate the idea of adding another round of WC , this would push the WS all that much further into November.

Selig just says, "Show me the money!"

 

[cosmo_kramer]

Ultimate Astros » Local attorney says Astros' move to AL violates lease agreement

There's a new hero in Houston, and he's a lawyer!

Seeing the word 'currently' used makes me think that the lease is simply listing the status of the team at the time the agreement was reached. The number of game dates and other revenue-related parameters would be seen as potential deal-breakers, but not which league in MLB the team plays for...

 

[whitewolf8214]

I believe also milwaukee should go back to the american league since they came from there

 

[whitewolf8214]

Selig just says, "Show me the money!"

so true yaz

 

[Will94]

It's done ...
Ultimate Astros » Jim Crane officially approved as Astros' new owner; Astros moving to AL

As part of the deal, Crane was required to give baseball the power to move the Astros to the American League West. That move will happen in 2013, and at some point soon, commissioner Bud Selig said there will be an additional wild card team in each league. The expanded playoffs could come as soon as the 2012 season, Selig said.

RIP Astros
1962-2012

 

[Neutron]

I still do not agree with this....

 

[whitewolf8214]

We have liftoff: Astros officially on way to AL in 2013
By 'Duk


It's official: After a 2012 season that will be their 51st as a member of the National League, the Houston Astros will symbolically pack up and join the American League in 2013. The long-rumored move was announced by commissioner Bud Selig in Milwaukee on Thursday as the owners unanimously approved the sale of the Astros to Jim Crane.

In exchange for agreeing to switch circuits, Crane (below) will receive a break of about $70 million — half from MLB and half from previous owner Drayton McLane — from his $680 million purchase price. Not a bad coupon if you can get it.

This is obviously big news. It's the first case of a team switching leagues since the Milwaukee Brewers jumped to the NL in 1998 and it's going to leave a big impact. For the first time since 1997, both leagues will contain the same amount of teams — 15 — a distribution that will require interleague play throughout the entire season. The six-team NL Central and equally ridiculous four-team AL West will be no more; the Astros' Texas two-step into the Rangers' division will leave five teams across each of the six divisions.

Unlike the Brewers' move into the Milwaukee Braves' old league, Houston has no history as an American League city. So there is likely to be plenty of opposition from the fan base, criticism that has been loudly voiced by former Astro Lance Berkman(notes). They'll have to get used to a lot of things — from shopping for a DH to getting used to more late start times against the Angels, A's and Mariners — and any and all complaining can be directed toward McLane. His decision to make a nice profit on his $117 million purchase of the team in 1992 made the team most vulnerable to a change. It was a lot easier to push around an owner (Crane) wanting in on the exclusive club than convincing one of the comfortably ensconced ownership groups (Milwaukee and Arizona would have made sense) to move.



For baseball fans without a Wandy in the race, it'll take some time to get used to the idea of interleague play from the beginning to the end of the season. Ditto for a second wild-card team that would lead to a one-game playoff round, an imminent move that Selig also announced on Thursday.

But it'll also be interesting to see how the NL clubs stock their rosters for that schedule dynamic. Something tells me that we'll be seeing more guys like Jason Giambi(notes) and Jim Thome(notes) finding homes on National League rosters.

 

[Will94]

I am getting more and more angry as I think about this. The people of Harris County, through the Houston Sports Authority paid for Minute Maid Park. The Sports Authority leases the stadium to the Astros. Shouldn't the people of Harris County (and I am not one of them) have a say in this? I've seen only one online survey on the move to the AL. 76% of respondents opposed the move with 35% stating that they were done with the Astros if it happened.

My only hope is that the SA threatens to refuse to allow the Astros to use MMP. A few posts up I posted a story about a local attorney who is claiming that the lease stipulates that the tenant must be in the National League. I don't think that he could win in any court, but I am hoping that he could raise enough of a stink to make this a national story and force that b@stard Selig to back down. There are a lot of people in Houston who just found out today that all of this was going on.

 

[Jimbo]

I am more concerned with the stupid idea of making 2 conferences of 15 teams and playing Interleague play every night.

Is this a done deal ?

Nice that Selig can make all these changes and then walk away in a year.

I also agree with those saying that Milwaukee should be the one to come back.

 

[whitewolf8214]

yes it is 2 post #72

 

[cosmo_kramer]

I am getting more and more angry as I think about this. The people of Harris County, through the Houston Sports Authority paid for Minute Maid Park. The Sports Authority leases the stadium to the Astros. Shouldn't the people of Harris County (and I am not one of them) have a say in this? I've seen only one online survey on the move to the AL. 76% of respondents opposed the move with 35% stating that they were done with the Astros if it happened.

My only hope is that the SA threatens to refuse to allow the Astros to use MMP. A few posts up I posted a story about a local attorney who is claiming that the lease stipulates that the tenant must be in the National League. I don't think that he could win in any court, but I am hoping that he could raise enough of a stink to make this a national story and force that b@stard Selig to back down. There are a lot of people in Houston who just found out today that all of this was going on.

Did you see my earlier response, post #67?? Probably not, because you haven't commented on it....

 

[Will94]

Did you see my earlier response, post #67?? Probably not, because you haven't commented on it....

I had missed it. I am just outraged at this. All of my life, I have considered myself a National League guy. I've rooted for them in World Series and All-Star games. If not for a childhood spent collecting baseball cards, I would probably be unable to name all of the American League teams. They are the other league that I don't pay attention to.

 

[dfergie]

I had missed it. I am just outraged at this. All of my life, I have considered myself a National League guy. I've rooted for them in World Series and All-Star games. If not for a childhood spent collecting baseball cards, I would probably be unable to name all of the American League teams. They are the other league that I don't pay attention to.

Same here...

 

[Bluemonick]

Just thank God their not going to Alabama, imagine the attendance numbers.

 

[Mr Tony]

I also agree with those saying that Milwaukee should be the one to come back.

they keep saying that because Milwaukee was originally a NL team (the Braves) thats their "reason" why Milwaukee wont go back to AL