The Tampa Bay Rays are in the World Series. For years, before a change in their ownership situation and an agreement for a new ballpark that will likely increase attendance, there was the latent threat of relocation, though. Would that relocation have come with a rebrand — a new team name and identity that fits where team moved to? Who knows. Montreal Rays… or a resurrection of the Montreal Expos? Who can say.
On the flip side, we have the Athletics. They’ve moved, they’ll move again, they’ve moved many times before. But they stayed the Athletics.
And, of course, expansion is coming… but that’s not the same thing.
Even recent relocations in other sports haven’t seen this kind of makeover (though maybe some have, I can’t recall). The Rams, Chargers, and Raiders are still the Rams, Chargers, and Raiders. There used to be more relo-and-rebrand, like the Oilers-into-Titans and Hornets-into-Pelicans-but-wait-the-Hornets are back.
But, I think the last one in baseball was Expos-into-Nationals in 2005, and before that, it was… Senators-into-Rangers, right?
Anyway, do you think we’ll see this in baseball again? Or will everything become chained by nostalgia/continuity with only new teams getting new brands?
