12up Logo

Rob Manfred Says Insane Montreal Plan is Best Way to Keep Rays in Tampa Bay

By Brendan Balsamo

Rob Manfred continues to spew ridiculous ideas for the MLB, this time about the Rays.
Rob Manfred continues to spew ridiculous ideas for the MLB, this time about the Rays. / Brian Blanco/Getty Images

MLB has not had a team in Canada besides the Toronto Blue Jays since the 2004 season, when the Montreal Expos went defunct. There has been a big push in recent years for the league to bring a team back to Montreal in place of the Expos, but we haven't yet heard a legitimate situation where that could work.

Now that the Tampa Bay Rays have been consistently struggling to put fans in seats despite their recent success, it might be time to send the team back north. However, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred wants to do it in a way that doesn't permanently take the team from their home of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

So...how...does that work?

Despite the fact that it's...somewhat deranged, Manfred really wants the Rays to pursue a season-sharing plan with the city of Montreal.

As he told the Tampa Bay Times, "People continue to believe that the two-city alternative they're exploring is viable and could be a really good solution for keeping baseball in Tampa Bay."

Who are these "people," Robert?

He also claimed the the Rays owner, Stu Sternberg, had convinced all other MLB owners that there was no other way to keep baseball down in Tampa Bay.

The plan, as it's laid out, would give the season's first half to Tropicana Field, and in the second half, the team would play their games in a brand new stadium in Montreal.

This is a never-before seen concept in baseball, but it has been done before in pro sports. For four seasons in the 1970s, the NBA's Kansas City-Omaha Kings split their time between two cities. Those cities, however, were in the same stratosphere. The Rays move would be on a scale that spans two continents and would likely be absurdly difficult for not only the team, but the fans as well. Who in Tampa will support a team that'll leave them for the playoffs?

As much as it is a valiant effort to try and keep baseball in Tampa Bay, if this is what has to be done, then the effort isn't worth it. Move the team. Bring baseball back to Montreal. Permanently.