Acting Commissioner Bud Selig made it official on Thursday. The Milwaukee Brewers, by coincidence the only club he controls, are returning the city they represent to the National League next season.
“History will provide that this has been a remarkable day,” Selig said in concluding a 45-minute press conference at the Pfister Hotel.
That’s not so sure. It’s a remarkable day for Milwaukee, yes, but otherwise only a blip on the big-league baseball map–unless it actually triggers the widespread realignment that was Selig’s original intent.
Initially, the plan was for 15 teams, half of the entire assemblage, to switch leagues for the purposes of geographical purity, and even more important, to enable some of the clubs to present their games during television’s prime time, locally, so the kids can stay awake till the finish.
This and more modest plans were shot down. In the end–at least to this point–only Milwaukee agreed to switch. If nothing else, it is a historical footnote: The first major-league club to change leagues in this century.
Selig described it as the conclusion of Phase I.
“I emphasize that,” he said, his voice rising accordingly. “It was not an easy decision.”
Easy or not, Selig didn’t require any prompting about what’s in store for the future.
“The next step (Phase II) will involve a significant number of teams,” he said. “This will be so successful it will make future moves much easier.”
There is no doubt in my mind Milwaukee’s return to the NL will be an outstanding success. The Brewers will renew the old Milwaukee Braves’ long-lost rivalry with the Cubs and will have the opportunity to rekindle their relationship with the comparatively nearby St. Louis Cardinals and the faraway Los Angeles Dodgers.
Even Selig, who seldom speaks an unkind word, put a minor knock on the White Sox.
“Our rivalry with the Cubs will be spectacular,” he said, “much more than it has been with the White Sox.”
Old-time Cubs fans, certainly those older than 50, would agree. To begin with, before Milwaukee was awarded a major-league franchise, Wisconsin was “Cub territory.” The Cubs’ front office, in routine checks, discovered that as many as half the cars parked at Wrigley Field and its the adjoining area had Wisconsin license plates.
Milwaukee didn’t get a big-league club until 1953, when the Boston Braves moved there. The Cubs-Braves games often attracted capacity crowds, and why not? While the Cubs were stuck in the second division, the Braves won pennants in 1957 and ’58 and almost took four in a row. They lost the flag on the final day of the ’56 season and lost again in a three-game playoff with the Dodgers in ’59.
Those were the days when the Braves had Henry Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Joe Adcock, Johnny Logan, Billy Bruton and Red Schoendienst along with an excellent pitching staff headed by Warren Spahn. The winningest left-hander in baseball history, Spahn had a supporting cast that included Lew Burdette, Bob Buhl and reliever Don McMahon.
Milwaukee was ablaze with baseball. Upon arrival, the Braves broke the NL’s one-season attendance record and consistently drew in excess of 2 million fans, a phenomenon of the time.
There also have been hard times. The club moved to Atlanta (the home of the current Braves) in 1966, and eventually Milwaukee embraced the Seattle Pilots, who went bankrupt after one season. Selig, then a young entrepreneur, formed a purchase group that presumably is still intact.
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Selig’s Brewers were placed in the AL before the 1970 season, and have been there ever since. For various reasons, the Brewers never matched the Braves’ popularity, which probably explains why polls show most Milwaukee fans favor the return to the NL.
“Our National League roots remain strong and vibrant,” Selig said. “It’s like coming home.”
That sounds fine to me, so long as the Cubs and White Sox remain rooted in Chicago.
THE NEW LINEUP
Baseball’s 1998 league and division structure.
AL East
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Devil Rays–(star)(star)
Toronto Blue Jays
AL Central
WHITE SOX
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers–(star)
Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins
AL West
Anaheim Angels
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers
NL East
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Montreal Expos
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central
CUBS
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros
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Milwaukee Brewers–(star)
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
NL West
Arizona Diamondbacks–(star)(star)
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
San Diego Padres
(star)–new division; (star)(star)–expansion team