The MLB's Changing Geography 11/11/15

Hey baseball fans!

Today is the four year anniversary of the official renaming of the Miami Marlins, who were known as the Florida Marlins before this date in 2011 going back to the team's inception in 1993. This got me thinking: what other teams have renamed themselves and/or moved? Well, the only way to find the answer to this question is research, which is exactly what I did.

The Dodgers changed their name many times. From 1884 to now, the Dodgers have been named the Atlantics, Grays, Bridgegrooms, Grooms, Superbas, Trolley Dodgers, and Robins. They were officially named the Dodgers in 1932. However, they weren't the Los Angeles Dodgers yet; they were the Brooklyn Dodgers. Brooklyn didn't move to California until after the 1957 season. Speaking of the Dodgers' move, the Giants also moved to Cali in order to keep their rivalry with LA alive. They used to be called the New York Giants, but then became the San Francisco Giants in 1958.

The Baltimore Orioles also changed their name. Prior to the 1954 season, the O's were actually called the St. Louis Browns. The Browns actually played in the same ballpark as the St. Louis Cardinals, Sportsman's Park. However, it's really the Cardinals who played in the Browns' park, as the AL St. Louis team occupied Sportsman's Park from 1902-1953, while the NL St. Louis team didn't start playing their until 1920. Actually, the Orioles had a different name in 1901 aside from the Browns. Believe it or not, in 1901, the Baltimore Orioles were the Milwaukee Brewers.

Here's an interesting story. The Washington Senators played in the DC from 1901-1960 and then from 1961-1971. Wait, why didn't I just say 1901-1971? The reason is simple: one Washington Senators team replaced the other! In 1960, the original Washington Senators packed their bags, moved to Minnesota, and renamed themselves the Twins. The next season, 1961, a new Washington Senators franchise played in the nation's capital. However, after the 1971 season, the second Washington Senators team moved to Texas and became the Rangers. Washington, D.C. would get an MLB team back in its city in 2005, when the Montreal Expos relocated to the land of the White House and rebranded themselves as the Washington Nationals.

Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."