11/4/14

Should Canada Have Another MLB Team?

Canada is mainly known for hockey. There are seven Canadian NHL teams including the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Winnipeg Jets. The city of Toronto also has the Raptors of the NBA. Toronto is also the host of the only Major League Baseball team in Canada, the Blue Jays. Canada did used to have a second team. The Montreal Expos were a team that existed from 1969 to 2004. After the 2004 season, Major League Baseball announced that the Expos would move to Washington, D.C. to become the Washington Nationals. Even though there is only one MLB team remaining in Canada, Major League Baseball is making an attempt to bring another baseball team to Canada. Prior to the start of the 2014 season, the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets faced off at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. There were games played on March 28 and 29. Even though both games were exhibition games, a total of 96,000 fans showed up between both dates. Even though Canada is devoted to hockey, there are still many Canadians who are loyal baseball fans. I went to Toronto last year to go to some Blue Jays games. I was amazed to see how enthusiastic the fans were. All of the Blue Jays fans that I was surrounded by were really supportive of their team. After one of the games, I ran into a few people who had come all the way from Vancouver, British Columbia to go to the game. Since these fans are so passionate about baseball, I believe that Canada should have a second MLB team.