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League historyBy 1875, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was on shaky ground. The N.A. suffered from a lack of strong authority over clubs, unsupervised scheduling, unstable membership, dominance by one team, and an extremely cheap ($10) entry fee that gave clubs no incentive to abide by league rules when it was not convenient.
The National League's formation meant the death of the N.A., as its remaining clubs folded or reverted to amateur or minor status. (The only strong club from 1875 excluded in 1876 was a second one in Philadelphia, often called the White Stockings or Phillies. But there would have been other entries under the established open enrollment system.) The new league's authority was tested after the first season. The Athletic and Mutual clubs fell behind in the standings and refused to make western road trips late in the season, preferring to play games against local nonleague competition to recoup some of their losses rather than travel extensively. Hulbert reacted to the clubs defiance by expelling them, an act which not only shocked baseball followers (New York and Philadelphia were by far the two most populous cities in the league at the time) but made it clear to clubs that league schedule commitments, a cornerstone of competition integrity, were not to be ignored. Since the league's formation in 1876, the Chicago Cubs are the only team to play continously in the same city. 1877–1952
The N.L. encountered its first strong rival organization when the American Association began play that same year of 1882, although direct competition was merely impending, with the A.A. circuit a distant southerly line stretching from St. Louis to Philadelphia. The A.A. offered Sunday games and alcoholic beverages in locales where that was permitted, and it sold cheaper tickets everywhere (25 cents versus the N.L.'s standard 50 cents, a hefty sum for many in 1882). The National League and American Association participated in a version of the World Series seven times during their ten-year coexistence, though the series were only exhibition games arranged by the teams involved. The N.L. won most of those encounters, while some ended in ties due to disputes or other issues. After the 1891 season, the A.A. disbanded and merged with the N.L., which became known legally for the next decade as the "National League and American Association". The teams now known as the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers (in Brooklyn) and Pittsburgh Pirates (as well as the now defunct Cleveland Spiders) had already switched from the A.A. to the N.L. prior to 1892. With the merger the N.L. absorbed the team now known as the St. Louis Cardinals, along with three other teams which did not survive into the 20th century. The National League became a 12-team circuit with monopoly status for the rest of the decade. The league became embroiled in numerous internal conflicts, not the least of which was a plan supported by some owners (and bitterly opposed by others) to form a "trust," wherein there would be one common ownership of all twelve N.L. teams. The N.L. used its monopoly power to force a $2,400 limit on annual player wages in 1894. Then, the league contracted to eight teams for the 1900 season, eliminating its teams in Baltimore, Cleveland, Louisville (who has never had another major league team since), and Washington. This provided an opportunity for competition. Three of those cities received franchises in the new American League in 1901. The A.L. declined to renew its National Agreement membership when it expired, and on January 28, 1901, officially declared itself a second major league. By 1903, the upstart A.L. had located teams in Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. Only the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates had no A.L. team in their markets. The National League at first refused to recognize the new league, but reality set in as talent and money drained away to the new league. After two years of bitter contention a new version of the National Agreement was signed in 1903. This meant formal acceptance of each league by the other as an equal partner in major league baseball. After the contraction to eight teams in 1900, the National League circuit did not change until 1953 when the Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee; in 1966 the club moved on to Atlanta. In 1958 the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants moved to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively, bringing major league baseball to the West Coast of the U.S. for the first time. ExpansionThe N.L. remained an eight-team league until 1962, when it added the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s (renamed the Houston Astros in 1965). In 1969 the league added the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals), becoming a 12-team league for the first time since 1899. In 1993 the league expanded again, adding the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins. In 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks became the league's fifteenth franchise, and the Milwaukee Brewers moved from the American League to the National, to make the National League the 16-team league it is today. As a result of expansion to 12 teams in 1969, the National League, which for the first 93 years of its existence competed equally in a single grouping, reorganized into two divisions of six teams (East and West), with the division champions meeting in the National League Championship Series (an additional round of postseason competition) for the right to advance to the World Series. Beginning with the 1994 season, the league has been divided into three divisions (East and West, each with five teams, and Central, with six teams). A third postseason round was added at the same time: the three division champions plus a wild card team (the team with the best record among those finishing in second place) now advance to the preliminary National League Division Series. Often characterized as being a more "traditional" or "pure" league, the National League (as of 2007) has never adopted the designated hitter rule as did the American League in 1973. In theory, this means the role of the manager is greater in the National League than in the American, because the N.L. manager must take offense into account when making pitching substitutions and vice versa. Overall, there are fewer home runs and runs scored in the National League than in the American due to the presence of the pitcher in the N.L. batting order. For the first 96 years of its coexistence with the American League, National League teams faced their A.L. counterparts only in exhibition games or in the World Series. Beginning in 1997, however, interleague games have been played during the regular ("championship") season, and count in the standings. Through the 2006 season, the Dodgers have won the most National League pennants (21, plus one A.A. pennant), followed closely by the Giants (20) and Cardinals (17, plus 4 A.A. pennants). Representing the National League against the American, the Cardinals have won the most World Series (10) followed by the Dodgers (6), Pirates (5), and Giants (5). St. Louis also holds the distinction of being the only A.A. club to defeat an N.L. club in the 19th century version of the World Series. TeamsCharter franchises (1876)The original eight charter teams were the following:
Other franchises, 1878–1891Joined in 1878
Joined in 1879
Joined in 1880
Joined in 1881
Joined in 1883
Joined in 1885
Joined in 1886
Joined in 1887
Joined in 1889
Joined in 1890
Post-AA merger, 1892–1899In 1892, the National League absorbed the American Association, bringing in four teams from the A.A., in addition to the four teams that had switched leagues in the preceding half-decade. From 1892 through 1899, the twelve teams in what, for a time, was termed the "National League and American Association" were the following:
Classic EightAfter the 1899 season, the league underwent its largest contraction since 1877, dropping four clubs: the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Spiders, Louisville Colonels, and Washington Senators. This left the "classic eight" teams of the National League, which would stay in place for over 50 years:
Contraction, expansion, and relocation, 1953–present
Current teamsNational League East
National League Central
National League West
National League presidents, 1876–1999
Office eliminated in 1999, although Bill Giles, son of former N.L. President Warren C. Giles, currently holds the title of honorary National League president. Other leaguesSeveral other sports have had leagues called "National League", usually with the sport name as a qualifier, including:
Sources
See also
Professional Baseball Leagues
de:National League es:Liga Nacional eo:National League fr:Ligue nationale ko:내셔널 리그 nl:National League ja:ナショナルリーグ pt:National League simple:National League sv:National League zh:國家聯盟
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