Catherine Trammell - Contributing Reporter
Not only do we have four teams on the market this offseason, but we have three teams that have decided to relocate. Rumor has it, one of them was forced to move. Apparently the New Commissioner's Office and fans across Cobbfather petitioned to try and remove the goat curse by all means necessary. In this case, it's the hopefully promise of moving the team out of Miami. But with the same owner, will the curse remain? Time will tell. Let's take a quick look at how the new stadiums might effect the season, start with Florida.
- Florida is taking their party to Bourbon Street. Speaking of bourbon, they will be rebranding as the Old Fashioneds. The top hitting division becomes even more hitter friendly with this move, moving from a 0.940 park factor to a 1.069 park factor. (.129 increase) You may see less triples, but you'll see an uptick in home runs and base hits. Let's see how their pitchers adjust. .
- Honolulu makes the move off the island to the mainland, taking up residence in the land of the Mormons. And rightfully so, they will be nicknamed Tabernacles. In the process they become slightly more hitter friendly themselves (by .100 PF), and while it will be an uptick in home runs, you'll mostly see it in singles and doubles. That also makes the AL East the most pitcher friendly division.
- Our final move is the former home of the Commissioners office, shifting away from the greens of Augusta, choosing to move north of the border. YUCK, another Canadian team. This move is even more drastic than the other two. We see the team move from a 0.904 PF to a 1.074 (.170 PF increase). 1B/2B/3B goes from -2 -2 -3 to a +2 +2 +2. Good luck to those pitchers this year! I hope the defense is behind them. They will go from the Squeeze to the Fighting Poutine Plates. Terrifying!!