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
Empire Professional Baseball League Empire Professional Baseball League The Empire Professional Baseball League is an independent baseball league that began play in 2016. The Empire League plays a 70-game regular season followed by a five-game post season. The six-team league consists of two teams from Upstate New York, two from Puerto Rico, one from Maine, and one from New Hampshire. League offices are in Tampa, Florida. The Empire League is a replacement of the North Country Baseball League, which folded after one season (and was itself a last-minute replacement for the East Coast Baseball League, which disbanded before the start of the 2015 season).