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
Women in baseball Major League Baseball draft, marking the first time a woman was drafted in the MLB's yearly new player draft. In 1989, NBC's Gayle Gardner became the first woman to regularly host Major League Baseball games for a major television network. In 1990, CBS Sports' Lesley Visser became the first woman to cover the World Series, serving as their lead field reporter. In addition to working the World Series from 1990-1993 for CBS, Visser covered the 1995 World Series for ABC Sports via The Baseball Network. On August 3, 1993, Gayle Gardner became the first woman to do television play-by-play for