the astros moved to the al in the 2013 season.
the astros moved to the al in the 2013 season.
when did the astros move to the al?
the 2013 season
on november 15, 2011, it was announced that crane had agreed to move the franchise to the american league for the 2013 season. the move was part of an overall divisional realignment of mlb, with the national and american leagues each having 15 teams in three geographically balanced divisions. crane was given a $70 million concession by mlb for agreeing to the switch; the move was a condition for the sale to the new ownership group. two days later, the astros were officially sold to crane after the other owners unanimously voted in favor of the sale. it was also announced that 2012 would be the last season for the astros in the nl. after over 50 years of the astros being a part of the national league, this move was unpopular with many astros fans.
history of the houston astros
selig has made some decisions involving the houston astros that were unpopular with their supporters. he ordered the roof at minute maid park to be opened for games three and four of the 2005 world series, pre-empting the authority held by the astros. the roof was closed for all prior playoff games and similar weather conditions. for hurricane ike in 2008, selig mandated that the astros play two home games against the chicago cubs in his hometown of milwaukee despite proximity to the visiting cubs; the home ballparks for the texas rangers and atlanta braves were both available to host the games. the astros subsequently were victims of a no-hitter by carlos zambrano and recorded a single hit in the following game. in the midst of the playoff race, this decision and its impact deeply affected the playoff race and seedings with eight teams holding winning records at the moment. the milwaukee brewers benefited from these events by qualifying in the playoffs as a wild card team, only to lose in the nlds to the philadelphia phillies, the eventual world series winner. in 2011, selig also demanded that the astros move to the american league west as a condition of the sale of the franchise to businessman jim crane; the team switched leagues in 2013 in return for $70 million discount in the purchase price.
bud selig