1)    On March 31, 1998 the Arizona Diamondbacks play their first first game in front of 50,179 fans against the Colorado Rockies.  The Rockies would win that first game.  In the game Travis Lee would collect their first hit (a first inning single).  Later in the game he would hit a homer.  That homer would be the first run scored as well as the first RBI. Even though in 1998 the Diamondbacks had a typical 69-97 expansion record, they made key acquisitions and in 1999 they posted a 100-62 record becoming the fastest expansion team to make the playoffs.  In 2001, the 4 year old Diamondbacks would win the National League pennant to play the 26 time World Champion New York Yankees.  They would win in a game seven thriller.

2)    The Diamondbacks have won 3 Divisional titles, winning the 1 National League title and World Series championship. The Diamondbacks in their short 10 year history has not retired any uniform numbers.

3)    The Diamondback plays their home games at Chase Field.  From 1998 to 2005 it was known as Bank One Ballpark changing to Chase Field when Bank One merged with Chase.  It has a capacity of 49,033. Ken Kendricks Jr. is the Managing General Partner of the ball club which at the beginning of 2007 is managed by Bob Melvin.

4)    The Tampa Bay Devil Rays were the other team that began play in 1998. They played their first game against the Detroit Tigers and lost 11-6.  They won their first game the next day.

5)    In all the Devil Rays have been a poor team never finishing better than last in the 5 team American League East, which includes the New York Yankees, Boston red Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays.  They did retire the uniform number 12 worn by Wade Boggs in their first 2 seasons.  Boggs retired as a Devil Ray and got his 3000 hit while playing for them.

6)    The Devil Rays play their home games at Tropicana Field, a stadium that has a capacity of 38,437. They are owned by Stuart Sternberg and at the beginning of the 2007 season are managed by Joe Maddon.

1)    When Major League Baseball announced that they would be expanding the National League in 1993, Wayne Huizenga led the effort to have an expansion in put in Miami.  The team was named the Marlins for the fish in which he said, “… is a fierce fighter and an adversary that tests your mettle.”  On April 5, 1993 they played their first game winning over the Los Angeles Dodgers.  While they were serious about fielding a good team they only won 64 games in their first year.

2)    The Marlins have been an up and down club, but it has more to do with the club ownership than their play.  Each time that they were able to field a championship team the ownership made moves to get rid of their most expensive and best players.  In 1997er they had their best season, the next year they had their worst.

3)    The Marlins have been lucky that they play in a time of the Wild Card.  In 1997 and again in 2003, they entered the playoffs as the Wild Card team.  In each of those years they won the National League pennant and became World Series champions.  They became the quickest of the expansion teams to win one.

4)    The only uniform number that they have retired is 5 in horror of their first team president who died prior to their first season.  The number 5 was retired because Jo DiMaggio had been his favorite player.  It is the only number that was retired by a team even before they played a game.

5)    They play their home games at Dolphin Stadium, their home since they began.  The stadium has a capacity of 36,331 and is also the home of the NFL Dolphins.

6)    The Marlins are owned by Jeffery Loria and managed by Fredi Gonzalez.

1)    The city of Toronto in 1977 was awarded an American League franchise becoming the second team from Canada to have a Major league team.   They played their first game on April 7, 1977 defeating the Chicago White Sox.  They went on to lose 107 of the next 161 games.

2)    The Blue Jays had their best two years in 1992 and 1993.  In those years they won 96 games in 1992 and 95 in 1993.  In 1993 John Olerud, Paul Monitor and Roberto Alomar, finished the season 1-2-3 in batting.  They won the World Series by Joe Carter hitting a one-out three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth.  This is the only time a team has won with a walk-off home run while trailing.

3)    The Blue Jays have won 5 Divisional titles.  They won back to back American League pennants in 1992-93 winning the World Series both times.

4)    The Blue Jays have not retired any uniform numbers, other than the number 42, which is retired throughout baseball.

5)    They play their home games at Rogers Center.  The Stadium was known as the SkyDome when it opened in 1989 until 2003 when it was renamed.  It has a capacity of 51,517 for baseball, but is also used for concerts, football and basketball.

6)    The team is owned by Rogers Communications INC. and are managed by John Gibbons.

1)    When the Pilots moved from Seattle to become the Milwaukee Brewers, the city of Seattle filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball. Finally Seattle was awarded another franchise and in 1977 the Seattle Mariners began play.  It wouldn’t be until 1991 that the Mariners would have their first winning team.

2)    In 2001 the Mariners had not only their best season, but also one of the best ever in baseball.  The won 116 games matching the previous record for wins set by the 1906 Chicago Cubs.  Part of this was due to bringing in Japan’s star Ichiro Suzuki.  Ichiro would win the American League MVP as well as Rookie of the year.  However they lost the American League pennant to the New York Yankees.

3)    They have reached post season only 4 times, winning 3 Divisional titles and having one Wild card berth.  They have yet to win a pennant.

4)    The Mariners have not retired any uniform numbers.  Their policy is that only players in the Hall of Fame and had played for at least 5 years for the Mariners or players that played their career in Seattle, but narrowly missing the Hall of Fame.  Even though they have not officially retired any numbers they have not reissued 11-Edgar Martinez, 14-Lou Pinella, 19-Jay Buhner, 24-Ken Griffy Jr..  The number 51 of Randy Johnson was not used after he left the team until Ichiro Suzuki requested to use the number.  He had worn that number his entire career in Japan.

5)    They play their home games in Safeco Field.  The Stadium opened in 1999. The stadium has a retractable roof with a train line running under the roof when it is open.  It has a capacity of 47,116.

6)    The team is owned by Japanese businessman Hiroshi Yamauchi and managed by Mike Hargrove.

1) When the American League expanded in 1969, the city of Seattle was awarded a franchise. The Seattle Pilots would see 1969 as their only year. At the end of the season, Bud Selig, who was working on a way to get baseball back in Milwaukee after the move by the Braves to Atlanta in 1966, purchased the team. Even though the league wanted the team to stay in Seattle they could not find any one to purchase the team and finally allowed Selig to complete the purchase. The Milwaukee Brewers began play in 1970 wearing uniforms that the Pilot logo could be clearly seen beneath the Brewers Logo. With the move the Milwaukee Brewers became the first team to lose a franchise after its first year, the 1901 American League Milwaukee Brewers mover to St. Louis to play in 1902, and reclaim a franchise after a team played one year in the League. The Brewers moved to the National League in 1998.

2) 1982 became a memorable year for the Brewers. They won the American League East, although they got a scare from a surging Baltimore Orioles team. The Orioles and the Brewers faced each other in a 4 game series at the end of the regular season with the Brewers having a 3 game lead. The Orioles won the first three games of the series and the two teams were tied. The winner of the final game would win the division. The Brewers were able to win. They lost the first 2 games of the American League championship series, but won the last three games over the California Angels. They took the World Series to 7 games, but lost game 7 and the series to the St. Louis Cardinals.

3) The 1982 Divisional title and American League pennant is the only post season appearance for the Brewers.

4) The Brewers have retired the uniform numbers; 4-Paul Molitor, 19-Robin Yount, 34-Rollie Fingers and 44-Hank Aaron. Aaron only played for the Milwaukee Brewers for the last 2 years of his career, but he also played from 1954-1965 in Milwaukee as a Braves. Announcer Bob Uecker is honored by retiring the number 50 as a tribute to his years of service to the team.

5) They play their home games in Miller Park. The stadium opened in 2001 and has a retractable roof. It has a capacity of 42.201.

6) The team is owned by Mark L. Attanasio who purchased the team from the Selig family in 2004. They are managed at the beginning of the 2007 season by Ned Yost.

1)    Shortly after the Athletics left Kansas City for Oakland in 1967, they were granted a team with the expansion of 1969.  Ewing Kauffman won a bidding war for the team and named them after the American Royal Livestock Show. With smart trades that brought Amos Otis, Cookie Rojas and Fred Patek to the team, and investing in a strong farm system that developed George Brett, Frank White and Paul Splittoff the Royals became the first of the expansion teams to become successful.

2)    In a little over five years the Royals became one of the dominant teams in the American League West.  They won the division three straight years from 1976-1978, but lost the American league pennant in each of those years to the Yankees, losing 2 of the series in the 9th inning of the final game.

3)    In total the Royals have won 6 Divisional titles in route to winning 2 American league pennants.  They won 1 World Series championship.

4)    The Royals have retired the uniform numbers; 5-George Brett, 10-Dick Howser and 20-Frank White.

5)    The Royals play their home games at Kauffman Stadium.  The Stadium opened in 1973 and has a seating capacity of 40,793

6)    The team is owned by David Glass and at the beginning of the 2007 season Buddy bell is their manager

1)    From 1936-1968 the Pacific Coast League had a team from San Diego named the Padres.  When the National League expanded into San Diego it was natural for the team to adopt that name and its legacy.

2)    In 1973 the Padres drafted from the University of Minnesota Dave Winfield.  Winfield was a star outfielder for the University, but he was also a Basketball star.  In fact Winfield was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings to play football (even though he had never played a college game) and by teams in both of the Professional Basketball leagues, The Atlanta Hawks in the NBA and the Utah Stars of the ABA.  The Padres, to convince him to play baseball, moved him to the team without playing a game in the minor leagues.  He played for the Padres until 1981 when as a free agent he signed with the New York Yankees.  Even though many of his best years were with the Yankees and later the Blue Jays, Winfield join the Hall of Fame as a Padre.  The first to be inducted as a Padre and the only one until Tony Gwynn is inducted in August 2007.

3)    The Padres have won 5 Divisional titles.  Even though they have not won a World Series championship they have won 2 National League pennants.

4)    The Padres have retired the uniform numbers; 6-Steve Garvey, 19-Tony Gwynn, 31-Dave Winfield, OF, 35-Randy Jones.

5)    The Padres play their home game at PETCO Park.  The stadium opened in 2004 with a capacity of 42,445.

6)    The team is owned John Moores. At the beginning of the 2007 season are managed by Bud Black.

1)    In some ways the Washington Nationals may feel more like the old Washington Senators (1903-1960: moved to Minnesota or 1961-1971; moved to Texas), but they began their existence in the National League as the Montreal Expos when each League expanded from 10 to 12 in 1969. The franchise was moved to Washington in 2005.

2)    The Washington recorded 12 wins in interleague play in 2005.  The most by any team.

3)    The Washington Nationals in their two years have finished last in the National League East division.  The Montreal Expos only had one post season appearance. They finished 1st in the 2nd half of the strike shorten 1981 season, won the east title by beating the Phillies 3games to 2, but lost to the Dodgers in the League championship series.

4)    With the move to Washington the Nationals returned to circulation the uniform numbers that had been retired in Montreal.  They have no retired number other than 42 which has been retired throughout baseball.  The Expos retired the numbers; 8-Gary Carter, 10-Rusty Staub and Andre Dawson, 30-Tim Raines.  The Nationals do have a Hall of Stars honoring the stars of the Senators.  Among these are Walter Johnson, Harmon Killebrew and Frank Howard.

5)    The Nationals play their home games in RFK stadium, the same stadium that the Washington Senators (1962-1971) called home.  The stadium has a capacity of 45,596.

6)    After Major League Baseball took over the franchise in 2002 they looked for an new owner for the team. They moved the team to Washington in 2005 with plans to sell to local ownership and in 2006 the group lead by Theodore N. Lerner formally took procession of the team.  At the beginning of 2007 they are managed by Manny Acta.

1) When Major League Baseball decided to expand in the early 1960’s, Houston joined the New York Mets in the National League. They began play in 1962 as the Houston Colt .45’s. The owner Judge Roy Hofheinz in and effort to show off the team had the players wear blue cowboy suits with matching hats and boots on road trips. It was found to be confusing to other travelers and the players finally refused to wear the outfits. In their first year they ended up 8th, in the 10 team National League. They won more games than the expansion Mets and the Chicago Cubs, the team they beat on their opening day. In 1965 they became the Astros. They also moved into the first dome stadium, which took its name from the team name, the AstroDome. Their name change came due to trademark objections by Colt Firearms.

2) The Astros have endured a few tragic events over their short history. Pitcher Jim Umbricht lost a battle with cancer in 1964. In that same year Ken Johnson pitched a No Hitter, however he lost the game 1-0. In 1975 before the beginning of spring training Pitcher Don Wilson would commit suicide. Midway in the 1980 season Pitcher J.R. Richard would suffer a stroke. Richard won 107 games in his first 10 years, but the stroke ended a promising career. At the time the Astros had just signed Nolan Ryan and the 1980 Astros starting staff looked to be one of the best in the game.

3) The Astros have won 6 Divisional titles as well as getting 2 Wild Card berths. They have won only one National League pennant, but lost the World Series in 2005 to the Chicago White Sox.

4) These uniform numbers have been retired by the Astros; 24-Jimmy Wynn, 25-José Cruz, OF, 32-Jim Umbricht, P, 33-Mike Scott, P, 34-Nolan Ryan, P, 40 Don Wilson, 49 Larry Dierker. The number 5 of Jeff Bagwell is scheduled to be retired on August 26, 2007.

5) They play their home games at Minute Maid Park. The stadium opened in 2000 as Enron Field. When Enron went bankrupt in 2002, the naming rights were purchase back by the owners and for the much of 2002 was known as Astros Field, until the naming rights were sold to Minute Maid. The stadium has a capacity of 40,950.

6) The team is owned by Drayton McLane Jr. At the beginning of the 2007 season they are managed by Phil Garner.

1) As a counter measure to the formation of a new Major League, the Continental League, Major League Baseball decided to expand. They made a deal with the Continental League that ensured their folding. One of the four teams that were created was the New York Mets. The owners of the new National League franchise the decided to name the team the Mets, as a shorten form of the existing corporate name, “New York Metropolitan Baseball Club, Inc.”. In the 1880’s there was also an American Association team that played in New York using the name Metropolitans and it was seen as a good fit. The team decided when they went through the expansion draft to stock their roster to select players who had played on the Dodgers, Giants and Yankees as a way to appeal to fans’ nostalgia. In 1962 the teams first year of play they went on to have one of the worst records ever recorded in Major League baseball winning only 40 of 160 games. They lost over 100 games in each f their first four seasons.

2) During the first 7 years of the Mets existence, they were not a very good team. But they also were building a team for the future by drafting good young players. Tom Seaver won the Rookie of the Year in 1967 and Jerry Koosman in 1968, his rookie year, won 18 games. In 1969 the Mets began their season in the same usual fashion. On August 14 they were behind the Chicago Cubs, in the newly formed National League East division by 9 ½ games. The Mets went on to win 38 of their last 49 games and ended with a record of 100-62. The Cubs had a bad September going 8-17. The Met won the division. They went to sweep the Atlanta Braves in the first national League playoffs. They were considered underdogs against the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles had gone 109-53 in the regular season and included future Hall of Fame players Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson and Jim Palmer. Even though the Mets lost the first game pitched by Tom Seaver. Their pitching led them to win the next 4 games and the series.

3) The Mets have won 5 Divisional titles and received 2 Wild Card berths. They have won 4 National League pennants going on to win 2 World Series titles.

4) The team has retired the following uniform numbers; 14-Gil Hodges, 37-Casey Stengel and 41-Tom Seaver. Seaver is the only one of these to have played for the Mets, with Stengel and Hodges both being managers.

5) The Team plays their home games in Shea Stadium. The Stadium opened in 1964 and named after William A. Shea, the man who bought baseball back to the National League. It has a capacity of 55,601.

6) The team is owned by Fred Wipon and at the beginning of the 2007 season Willie Randolph is their Manager.