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
Baseball in the United Kingdom of three, the AAA, AA and A championships are single games. The Independent leagues compete against the teams in their own leagues, and in 2017 the first Independent leagues finals weekend was held at Hull, which consisted of semifinals between the champions of the Independent leagues and a final held the next day. This was followed by an England v Scotland friendly All-Star game. The season runs from April until August. Baseball in Northern Ireland is affiliated to Baseball Ireland for practical reasons. Northern Ireland's only team, the Belfast Northstars, play in the Irish Adult League. British University Baseball has