Quick Geography Lesson: East Is West

In the strange geography of baseball, Tampa Bay’s expansion team appears headed to the American League West for at least the 1998 and 1999 seasons.

To get the Devil Rays into the American League and the Arizona Diamondbacks into the National, owners agreed that none of the existing teams would have to switch divisions in 1998 and 1999, sources at the baseball meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., said Friday.

Because of that, Tampa Bay probably will join the Angels, Oakland, Seattle and Texas in the AL West. Arizona will be a natural fit in the NL West.

As part of the understanding, owners established a committee to examine realignment, including the possibility of teams switching leagues. Houston, according to one source, expressed an interest in joining the AL Central if the Rangers were switched from the AL West to the AL Central. Kansas City, the source said, expressed an interest in joining the NL Central.

Some teams wound up trading interleague opponents in 1998. The New York Yankees, for instance, traded games against the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins to Tampa Bay for games against the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.

Tampa Bay got the regional opponents it wanted, and the Yankees got games against the two former New York area teams--probably better draws at Yankee Stadium, and perhaps weaker opponents.

“We had to switch,” Yankee owner George Steinbrenner said. “We had to take a third trip to the West Coast, which I agreed to do so he could have those natural rivalries.”

An unusual geographic placement would not be unusual for baseball. Atlanta and Cincinnati played in the NL West from 1969 to 1993.

Among the understandings reached by owners are that schedule makers will try to ensure regional rivalries are included among the interleague games each year. That was especially important to the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, who won’t play this year in the initial season of interleague games.

Kansas City and St. Louis also expressed a desire to play each other every season. Other regional rivalries expected to get special attention are the Dodgers and Angels, New York’s Mets and Yankees, Chicago’s Cubs and White Sox, the San Francisco Bay area’s Giants and Athletics, Canada’s Expos and Blue Jays and Florida’s Marlins and Devil Rays.

The resolution owners adopted states that any realignment wound not start until the 2000 season. The committee is to make its report by June 30 and owners are to vote by Sept. 30.

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Seventy-eight players joined Greg Vaughn of the Padres and Mike Bielecki of the Atlanta Braves in filing for salary arbitration. And New York Met catcher Todd Hundley got a $21-million, four-year contract just after filing. Mike Mussina of Baltimore, Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers, and Bernie Williams of the Yankees were among the top players who filed. . . . Infielder Jeff Kent has signed a two-year contract with San Francisco with an option for the 1999 season. . . . Pitcher Jason Grimsley signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers. . . . Gerald Williams and Chuck Carr, who will be battling for starting outfield spots with Milwaukee, agreed to one-year contract with the Brewers. Pitcher Bob Wickman also agreed to a $2.1-million, two-year contract. . . . San Diego right-hander Tim Worrell, 9-7 with a 3.05 ERA last season splitting time between the starting rotation and the bullpen, signed a one-year contract. Phil Plantier, who had 34 home runs for the Padres in 1993, signed a minor league contract with the team.