During the Little League Classic between the New York Mets and the Seattle Mariners, Robert Manfred, the commissioner of the MLB, went into the broadcast booth.

Manfred dropped a major bombshell — the MLB is looking to expand, with a possibility of geographical realignment of teams.

Social media went into an uproar over Manfred’s comments, with some believing that this might be the end of the American (AL) and National (NL) Leagues. Many of the classic AL and NL teams are projected to be moving into the same divisions.

The realignment is being advertised as a way to give the players extra rest and shorter travel times. It is also a way to set up better matchups when it comes to the playoffs and television ratings. Manfred detailed his idea live: “That 10 o’clock timeslot where we sometimes get Boston-Anaheim would be two West Coast teams,” Manfred said. “That’s a problem for us sometimes, [because it] becomes a real opportunity for our West Coast audience.”

Certain games taking place across the United States start too late for those on the East Coast, and too early for those on the West Coast. Instead of getting an East Coast vs. West Coast matchup late at night, now games would become regionalized to cater to specific audiences.

This new model has worked wonders for the NBA, which relies on its regional rivalries to sell its playoffs. After the NBA made the switch, the professional sports association saw a 12% rise in viewership last year. In recent news, the NBA secured an 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal with the postseason format they have been using, which has proven to work for their teams nationwide.

This geographic realignment would also help the MLB immensely with interest in its postseason product. Last season, there was an 18% increase from the season before in divisional series viewing. This had a lot to do with the teams that were playing against each other.

The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets have a long standing rivalry, with other opening rounds including big names like the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. Other matchups in the AL included the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians in the Midwest, and the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals.

The truth behind the realignment is that its purpose is to avoid the opening rounds of matchups that viewers are less likely to tune into. Television providers are not willing to pick up the NL Wild Card series against the Atlanta Braves and Padres, these other games that do not excite the fans.

There is no doubt that MLB saw this deal and felt like they were being left in the dust. Earlier this year, news broke that ESPN was stopping Sunday Night Baseball after they opted out of the last three years of their deal. There have been reports about a new deal that might be on the horizon, incorporating media outlets like NBC and Netflix. It is safe to say that the MLB’s current product is just not working anymore.

While fans are afraid that some signature rivalries like the Mets and the Braves might no longer exist if they get split up in this new plan, others are excited for centralized games across each coast.

The question is: will the positives outweigh the negatives if the MLB is unable to maintain a large viewership and media deals?

Without viewership, they will no longer be able to exist. The MLB is banking on these changes to help get more money into the sport and eyes on the game to grow it even further.

As the MLB makes these changes, it is also considering expanding to two brand new cities that will help grow the game and start brand new regional rivalries. The possible city expansion includes Salt Lake City, Utah and Charlotte, North Carolina, which both have great sports cultures that have been built up over the years with their NBA and National Hockey League (NHL) teams.

These new teams would help change the landscape of the MLB after realignment and start new rivalries if the MLB attempts to force the old ones to end. Currently, the MLB is not in it to end rivalries; after all, it makes them the most money. It is taking a swing at trying to make a product that is more palatable for the companies that air the games.