The MLB has not been present in some states for over a century. What are the only ones left? What have they done to keep baseball alive and thriving where it is absent, even though most other sports exist there?
The “what states don’t have a basketball team” is a question that has been asked on the internet for years. The answer to the question is, there are currently no states without an NBA or MLB team.
Baseball may be America’s pastime, yet despite its popularity in the United States, the great majority of states lack an MLB franchise of their own. Despite the fact that numerous states had an official MLB club, many of those teams have since folded. Here’s a list of states that have never had a Major League Baseball franchise.
The states that are home to a Major League Baseball franchise
Spring training map for the Colorado Rockies | John Leyba/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Only 17 states presently have at least one MLB franchise, according to Keydata. California is the state with the most MLB franchises, at five. The Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, and San Francisco Giants are those clubs. The Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays play in Florida, while the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox play in Illinois.
The Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals are from Missouri, while the New York Mets and Yankees are from New York. The Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds are from Ohio, the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates are from Pennsylvania, while the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers are from Texas.
There is just one MLB franchise in nine states. The Diamondbacks are from Arizona, the Rockies are from Colorado, the Atlanta Braves are from Georgia, the Baltimore Orioles are from Maryland, and the Boston Red Sox are from Massachusetts. The Detroit Tigers are from Michigan, the Minnesota Twins are from Minnesota, the Milwaukee Brewers are from Wisconsin, and the Seattle Mariners are from Washington state.
States without a recognized Major League Baseball club
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In contrast, 22 states have never had an MLB club and have never had an MLB team. Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are among the states mentioned.
Teams will normally establish in a major city or state, since this is an ideal strategy to attract a huge number of supporters. There are a few exceptions to the rule, since many states that have never had an MLB club are tiny ones. North Carolina, for example, has a population of nearly 10 million people but no MLB franchise. Oregon is in the same boat.
This list, however, may vary as clubs negotiate with cities over stadiums. For example, Las Vegas may obtain the A’s in the future after acquiring the Raiders from Oakland. If that occurs, the A’s will become Nevada’s first official Major League Baseball franchise.
The exceptions and states that used to have an official MLB franchise are listed below.
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Of course, there are outliers and states that formerly had an MLB club. The Washington Nationals, for example, are based in Washington, D.C., although D.C. is not yet a state. There were a number of MLB-recognized clubs that moved or went out of business in the early days of baseball. Since the Major League Baseball acknowledged the Negro League not long ago, numerous states have had a Negro League franchise.
The Louisville Colonels, Grays, and Black Caps, as well as the Monroe Monarchs, were all from Kentucky. The Indianapolis Hoosiers and Blues were both from Indiana. The Bacharach Giants and the Newark Peppers, as well as the Browns, Eagles, and Stars, all played in New Jersey. The Birmingham Black Barons and the Montgomery Grey Sox both played in Alabama.
The Little Rock Grays played in Arkansas, the Memphis Red Sox in Tennessee, and the Hartford Dark Blues in Connecticut. The New Orleans Stars played in Louisiana, the Providence Grays in Rhode Island, the Richmond Virginians in Virginia, and the Topeka Golden Giants in Kansas.
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The “who won the most world series rings as a player?” is a good question to ask. The answer is that there are currently three teams that have never had an MLB Baseball team in their state: Washington, D.C., Hawaii, and Alaska.
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