1998 Major League Baseball expansion the American League. Following that transaction, MLB consequently altered its season structure so as to include interleague play throughout the regular season. 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
Pocatello, Idaho minor league baseball teams Pocatello, Idaho minor league baseball teams Pocatello, Idaho, has been home to baseball teams who have competed in 35 seasons of Minor League Baseball, between 1926 and 1993. The Pocatello Bannocks played in the Utah–Idaho League from 1926 to 1928. Pocatello's teams since then have played in the Pioneer League. The Pocatello Cardinals, an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, played during the seasons of 1939–1942 and 1946–1951, as the league paused for three years during World War II. The Cardinals two Pioneer League titles, in 1942 and 1949. A new version of the Pocatello Bannocks started up in 1952,