ESPN: San Antonio should be next to get MLB team

‘San Antonio will have to go toe-to-toe with Austin,' ESPN writer says

SAN ANTONIO – Less than two weeks since Commissioner Rob Manfred made national headlines by naming possible cities for Major League Baseball to expand to, ESPN made its own suggestion in the city of San Antonio.

Despite Manfred not naming the Alamo City as one of the possible destinations during his interview on the Dan Patrick Show July 17, ESPN provided a quick case Wednesday for San Antonio.

“San Antonio, with its rustic downtown and River Walk districts, along with a couple decent plots of land in the central district that could accommodate a new park, would be a natural fit,” Bradford Doolittle, ESPN MLB writer/analyst, said.

“Adding a team in bilingual San Antonio would enhance MLB's relationship with its Latin audience and help grow the game south of the border,” Doolittle said.

In the interview, Manfred said the MLB is looking to eventually get up to 32 teams -- currently at 30 teams -- by expanding to cities and/or countries such as Las Vegas, Portland, Nashville, Charlotte, Montreal or Vancouver in Canada or Mexico.

“I’d like to get to 32 (teams). It gives you schedule flexibility,” Manfred said in the interview.

Doolittle said if the current population trends continue, Texas could have more than 40 million people living in it by 2040 and that two major league teams -- Texas Rangers and Houston Astros -- are not enough for the state.

“All this said, if MLB targets Texas for an expansion franchise, San Antonio will have to go toe-to-toe with Austin, which has a lot of merit in its own right, and it could come down to the strength of the ownership groups that emerge,” Doolittle said.

With the San Antonio Spurs as the only major professional team in the city, Doolittle said the support is there for a potential MLB club.


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