March 4, 2023

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

Check out mlbmusiccity.com and find out how serious Nashville is about getting an expansion franchise.

The Stars, as they will be known, have already hired several full-time staff members, some part-time employees and a number of contract people. They recently brought in Toronto Blue Jays coach and former MLB manager Don Mattingly on board as an advisor.

It's enough to make Montreal folks mutter in envy, considering Montreal has no presence in wanting a franchise or on a website or with a Twitter feed.

The Music City Baseball group is so confident it is expecting to enter the league in a certain year.

"We're looking at having a team start play in 2027. That's our goal,'' Dr. Chris Bacon, a university professor and the Stars' marketing and communications advisor, told this author on Friday.

Bacon said his people are really operating on a hunch about 2027 and if that is the case, expansion teams would be awarded in 2025 and as has been the tradition in the past, then they will be given two years to get ready before the first pitch.

But first of all, commissioner Rob Manfred would have to announce, likely in 2024, that expansion is open for bidding and that they will have a certain number of months to get their bids together for consideration by an expansion committee.

"We're just trying to be active,'' Bacon said of his group's presence in the community and on the website. Bacon said "32 is a good number,'' alluding to the addition of two new teams on top of the current 30 in operation.

Bacon said the Stars are looking at possible land near Tennessee State University for a ballpark but they may look at other sites.

The Nashville group is funded by an all-black group of investors in partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Former Blue Jays pitcher Dave Stewart is one of the group's key people.

Real-estate whiz John Loar is responsible for all day-to-day business operations of MCB. Among his many accomplishments are both the acquisition and sale of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.

So you can see these Nashville guys mean business. It’s evident Montreal has fallen behind in the race for a franchise to replace the Expos. Other cities being considered as expansion favourites are Las Vegas, Portland, Oregon and Charlotte, N.C.

Danny Gallagher's new book about the Expos is called Around the Horn and is available at Amazon.