1998 Major League Baseball expansion 1998 Major League Baseball expansion The 1998 Major League Baseball expansion resulted in the establishment of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s 29th and 30th teams beginning play for the 1998 season. After initiating an expansion committee in March 1994, 27 groups representing nine cities submitted bids for the proposed expansion teams. After a yearlong process, on March 9, 1995, the league awarded the National League franchise to Phoenix and the American League franchise to Tampa. The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (currently the Tampa Bay Rays), would subsequently begin play for the 1998 season. With the successes of
Baseball in the United Kingdom one of the teams in the South West of England. There is also a full Great Britain Baseball Programme which comprises the Great Britain Baseball Academy, junior national teams and Great Britain 'Seniors' Baseball Team. The BBF league format is divided into the national divisions, consisting of four tiers from the National League, down to the Single A league. At the end of the season, all divisions compete in postseason tournaments where the top teams from each conference play knockout matches with the winning teams then progressing to the Championship Series. The Championship Series of the National League is best