Author: /u/Healthy-Lock-967

Yes, I’m aware that MLB expansion won’t happen for a while (especially in Texas) but this is a little fun thought experiment that I thought of, plus there’s a lockout going on right now and I’m bored.

It’s kind of weird to me how, even though it is the most populated state, California has five teams but Texas only has two. So I was thinking, what if, in the future, Texas had a few more teams? Lets look at the candidates:

San Antonio – It’s the biggest city in the US without an MLB team, so it would make sense for them to finally have a team.

Austin – A smaller market than San Antonio, but still a city with good potential, plus its the capital and is right in the center of the state.

El Paso – El Paso is right along the border, so it could draw in fans from both Mexico and New Mexico.

South Texas – The region is one of the fastest growing in the US, and just like El Paso, it would attract a large fanbase from across the border and would appeal to some from central Texas.

DFW – DFW is the 4th largest metro area in the nation, the top 3 + SF all have two teams already, so why shouldn’t Dallas? The problem here is that the Rangers are located right in between Fort Worth and Dallas, while all the other places with two teams have distinct intracity rivalries (Bronx vs Queens, Northside vs Southside, LA county vs Orange county, SF vs Oakland)

Houston – Houston’s case for a second team also shares the same pros and cons as DFW. Houston is the 4th largest city in the US, but the Astros are already in the center of the city and there aren’t really any rivalries between any regions of the city/metro area.

If you could pick any of these cities, which one would you choose for an expansion MLB team? And how would they affect the Astros?