Photo credit: MLB Raleigh
Major League Baseball (MLB) might be seeking expansion soon, and Raleigh is one of the top candidates.
MLB commissioner Robert Manfred has shown interest in expanding the league to 32 teams.
“You’ve got to decide that you’re willing to expand,” Manfred said in a September interview with Sports Illustrated. “That decision depends in part on how much central revenue you generate, and how the owners are going to react to creating two additional shares of that central revenue.”
Manfred plans to retire after the end of the 2029 season.
“When I think about the things I’d like to get, there’s no way we’re getting two more teams on the field before I’m gone,” he said. “I’d like to pick the teams before I’m gone.”
Advocates are going lengths to make it happen. Digital strategist Lou Pascucci and User Interface Designer Ryan Foose created a website called MLB Raleigh that is drumming up interest to bring major league baseball to Raleigh with successful social media pages (33.9 thousand followers across their platforms) and a merchline advertising their movement.
“I think the community kickstarted this whole thing,” said Pascucci during an Oct. 9 interview with The Pirates’ Hook. “The demand for [baseball] was always here.”
Pascucci uses the Durham Bulls as one example. The Bulls are one of the most successful minor league baseball teams in the country, ranking 8th in attendance out of all 120 full- season minor league teams.
Research also suggests that baseball in Raleigh is viable. Over 2.1 million people live in the triangle metro area alone, with another 1.2 million in broadcast range to be able to watch the games televised. The population within the metro area is larger than both the Cleveland Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers, both successful MLB teams.
“It doesn’t seem too far-fetched when we’re actually larger than teams that are currently successful playing major league baseball,” said Pascucci.
Raleigh also has the largest population in driving distance (60 miles), with 3.8 million living in the radius. That’s more than other expansion-hopeful cities such as Charlotte and Nashville.
Pascucci said the organization and web presence has helped amplify the community’s voice.
“We just made a website, made social posts and threw events, but this is becoming a narrative that ‘hey, Raleigh should have a baseball team’,” he said. “That’s everybody else in this community, sharing this and believing this.”
Raleigh also has a committed owner in Tom Dundon, who also owns the Carolina Hurricanes. They own the highest media market rank compared to the other cities, and public government support from governor Josh Stein, according to MLB Raleigh.
Some believe that if a pro team came to Raleigh it could hurt local teams like the Durham Bulls. Pascucci thinks not.
“We weren’t going to go forward with this if there was anything that was a detractor to the area, or if the numbers weren’t going to work out,” he said. “If it hurt the Bulls, we weren’t going to do it. But immediately we found Seattle.
MLB added an expansion team – the Seattle Mariners – in 1970, even though a minor league team, the Tacoma Rainiers, already existed nearby.
“We went and got newspaper clippings, and there was the same thing happening, people saying ‘you can’t kill the Rainiers.’ ‘You’ll kill the Rainiers,’” Pascucci said. “But the Mariners ended up coming to Seattle, 22 miles from home plate to home plate, and in just two years, the Rainiers were setting attendance records.”
The Pirates’ Hook reached out to the Durham Bulls for their opinion on the matter, they informed us they can not speak on the topic at this time as they are a part of the MLB/MiLB organization.
Not only is MLB Raleigh a community striving for major league baseball in Raleigh, they also are a humanitarian organization of sorts.
“We built a website, and a little brand around it. We’ll sell hats and t-shirts, and whatever money we make, we’ll help use that to fix up baseball fields in underserved areas of Raleigh. So we’ll show that we’re putting our money where our mouth is, and we’ll run this as a community group.” said Pascucci.
He wants there to be a strong sense of community if Raleigh gets a team.
Right now, MLB Raleigh is striving to establish Raleigh as a city that is viable for expansion.
“At some point here, as we pitch to Major League Baseball, as we pitch to sponsors, this is going to have to become a statewide effort,” Pascucci said. “So you think you can expect that to happen after this.”
