Expansion class of 1969
Round 2's verdict: no out-and-out successes, but a pair of definite failures
Baseball’s old-line teams agreed that the initial round of expansion had been extremely beneficial.
Owners of the 16 veteran clubs enjoyed divvying up the $8.4 million in admission fees paid by the four new teams in 1961 and 1962 — the 2023 equivalent of roughly $83 million — and they loved beating up on the expansion squads, which averaged 93 losses per season in the 1960s.
Three of the newest teams — the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, and New York Mets — would eventually establish themselves as successful operations. (The Washington Senators would slink off to oblivion in 1972, replaced in the big-league lineup by Dallas-Fort Worth.)
So, given the generally positive feelings, why not do it again? “I am certain that within the next few years, the two leagues will expand to 12 clubs,” Ford Frick, baseball’s commissioner, said in the mid-1960s.
Both leagues pulled the trigger for the 1969 season, though the results failed to match 1961-1962’s outcome. Two of the ’69 expansion squads, the Montreal Expos and Seattle Pilots, would eventually be forced to relocate, while the Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres would endure lengthy stretches of mediocrity on the field and at the gate.
We’re reviewing the five expansion rounds on successive Wednesdays. Check back to last week’s entry for an explanation of my fan support index (FSI), and look below for breakdowns for 1969’s four entrants. (Win-loss records and attendance figures for 2023 are not included in the following summaries.)
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Kansas City Royals
Span: 1969-2022
Regular-season record: 4,066 wins, 4,441 losses (.478)
Postseason record: 9 playoff qualifiers, 4 American League pennants, 2 World Series titles
Fan support: Average FSI of 91.3 (8.7% below expectations)
Strange but true: The Royals were hastily added to the American League after Charlie Finley moved the Kansas City Athletics to Oakland following the 1967 season. Officials in Missouri threatened an antitrust suit, and the AL capitulated by offering Kansas City a replacement team.
Verdict: Success, sort of. The Royals quickly became a strong team, qualifying for the AL Championship Series three times during their first decade. But they haven’t done especially well at the box office, drawing fewer than 1.5 million fans in 18 separate seasons.
Montreal Expos
Span: 1969-2004
Regular-season record: 2,755 wins, 2,943 losses (.484)
Postseason record: 1 playoff qualifier
Fan support: Average FSI of 82.3 (17.7% below expectations)
Strange but true: The National League’s selection of Montreal was unexpected. The city’s AAA team, the Royals, had fled town for Syracuse in 1961, and Montreal had been without baseball ever since. Popular support favored Royals as the new team’s nickname, but Kansas City beat Montreal to the punch. The Expos were named after the Expo ’67 World’s Fair.
Verdict: Failure. The Expos were a hot ticket for a few years, posting annual attendance figures above 2.1 million four times between 1979 and 1983. But the club qualified for the playoffs only once in its 36-year history, and Montreal’s fans eventually lost interest. The Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2005.
San Diego Padres
Span: 1969-2022
Regular-season record: 3,952 wins, 4,568 losses (.464)
Postseason record: 7 playoff qualifiers, 2 National League pennants
Fan support: Average FSI of 95.6 (4.4% below expectations)
Strange but true: Walter O’Malley of the Los Angeles Dodgers was the most powerful owner in the National League. O’Malley promised an expansion team to nearby San Diego, and he made certain that it was granted.
Verdict: A bit more of a success than a failure. The Padres have the second-lowest lifetime winning percentage (.464) among the 30 MLB clubs. Only Miami is worse at .460. It’s also true that the Padres’ attendance has been erratic over the years. But the club is currently enjoying a strong upswing on the field and at the box office.
Seattle Pilots
Span: 1969
Regular-season record: 64 wins, 98 losses (.395)
Postseason record: (none)
Fan support: Average FSI of 75.6 (24.4% below expectations)
Strange but true: The American League granted a team to Seattle even though it lacked a big-league stadium and its ownership group was sadly undercapitalized. A bankruptcy referee intervened after a single season, authorizing the transfer of the club to Milwaukee, thereby turning the Pilots into the Brewers.
Verdict: Failure. This was clearly the worst choice in any of the five expansion rounds since 1961. MLB paid the price for its complete lack of research prior to Seattle’s admission, though the franchise has been stable since its relocation to Milwaukee.