A wild report came out not too long ago that the Rays are actually considering putting a team in Montreal for half the year. Tampa Bay would host the Rays for the other half of the year. Baseball actually gave the Rays permission to see if this is something that is feasible.
Why are the Rays trying to move? The Rays owner, Stuart Sternberg pretty much admitted that Tampa Bay isn’t capable for hosting a baseball team:
“We are at or near the bottom in every economic category in Major League Baseball. “… We are simply not well-suited for a Major League Baseball team that needs to draw tens of thousands of people each of its 81 games to its ballpark,” he added. “… And to force that to happen here when the conditions are not right could be more than damaging to a team, to Major League Baseball, and, most importantly, to a community. (We must) confront that reality and have a conversation about how to keep baseball here for generations to come.”
I just can’t imagine that there is any chance this happens. If the Rays can’t host a team for the full year, then they shouldn’t have one at all. What about the Rays name? Having that as the name doesn’t make any sense for Montreal. What about the uniforms? Do they change mid-way through the year too? I don’t see why Montreal just doesn’t have the team long term. Let Florida have spring training.
Another thing that I do want to mention. If baseball put a third team in northern New Jersey (they won’t) that team would thrive and fans would show up. Montreal, Vegas, and Northern New Jersey are the 3 cities that could host teams. The Marlins are next. Nobody goes to those games either.
