Baseball in the south.

[GahLee]

I have often wondered why there aren't more MLB teams in the south.

There are only 3 teams in the south and that is if you consider the Marlins and Rays as the south ( I don't ).

So, to me there is only one team in the south, the Braves.

Now I am not for any more expansion but there are teams that could/should move.

Both teams in Florida for instance...the Rays are legit contenders and they are half full basically every night.

Florida has never been able to sell tickets.

The Royals would be a great candidate to move locations.

I digress, why is it that we do not have MLB in the south?

[wounded mullet]

Because the south is football country.

[TennesseeFan07]

I wish there was one reasonably close to this area. I'd be a big time fan.

[BigPapaVol]

It's more about city sizes, economics and climate than geography.
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[Heebs]

I don't see where you'd put more teams.

Nothing in Alabama/Mississippi. I doubt Nashville or Memphis would be able to support a team for 81 days per year. And they already tried to move the Twins to the Triad of NC around Greensboro/Winston Salem/High Point, but the 1% restaurant tax for a stadium was shot down back in the late nineties.

[wounded mullet]

Listen. this is an issue that has been beat into the ground down here. When the Devil Rays drew 12,000 a game it made sense seeing is they were consistently the worst team in baseball. Then something odd happened in 08, the team got good yet the attendance didnt spike to the level you would expect. Every excuse has been used, 1) Location in St Pete and long commute for people in Tampa 2) Economy 3)Such a large % of transplants with allegiances elsewhere.4) This simply isnt a baseball town.

Looking further at the facts so far this year dosent really give you any more of a clear picture...



What i see here is what i always expected.The teams that have a rich history or have had a substancial run of success are near or at the top. The fact is it takes generations to form a bond with a major league baseball team and the south is fairly new at having pro baseball teams. If patience is had with these franchises im guessing there will be more of a rabid following that will pay off at the turnstiles. Adding to this is Florida is a different beast, finding a person born in this state is a task and there are a ton of Sox fans and Yankee fans down here considering the offseason home base for the Yanks are right here. So as a fan of these teams you can go watch 12 or so games for the fraction of what you would pay back home why would you want to change allegiance to the town you live in now?

[robvols]

Originally Posted by GahLee

I have often wondered why there aren't more MLB teams in the south.

There are only 3 teams in the south and that is if you consider the Marlins and Rays as the south ( I don't ).

So, to me there is only one team in the south, the Braves.

Now I am not for any more expansion but there are teams that could/should move.

Both teams in Florida for instance...the Rays are legit contenders and they are half full basically every night.

Florida has never been able to sell tickets.

The Royals would be a great candidate to move locations.

I digress, why is it that we do not have MLB in the south?

The same can go for hockey despite the presence of the Preds,Trashers and Canes. The Panthers and Lightning go under the mentality.

[blupotato]

in the south there are a large number of farm teams. if anything i wish there was a better agreement in terms of their blackout policy on television. but this is the money grubbing mlb we are talking about.