Now the realignment part. Personally, I don't think very many fans want the AL/NL to disappear. What we want is FAIR pennant races with lots of teams in the race for a long time. We don't want playoffs like the NBA, where half the league makes it.
As a realist, I understand that making balanced schedules is at odds with the modern TV start time problem. So here's my "Traditionalist" Radical Realignment concept.
I do NOT "favor" this radical realignment to a 16-NL, 16-AL, two divisions of 8 each. But I understand that an eight team division probably isn't going to happen; and this is my compromise if MLB is hell bent on joining the West together:
American League: BAL, BOS, NYY, CLE || DET, CWS, MIN, KCR
National League: CHC, STL, MIL, COL || CIN, PIT, PHI, ATL
Pacific League: SFG, LAD, SDP, ARZ || SEA, OAK, LAA, Portland
Continental League: TEX, HOU, MIA, TBR || NYM, WAS, TOR, Montreal
18 against your league (126 games)
36 games interleague games - 1 (three-game) series against each team in three of the other six divisions per year. (Play the whole league home/away every 4 years).
#1 - We get the West for TV purposes that the West needs.
#2 - Each division has THE EXACT SAME schedule.
#3 - Each LEAGUE has a schedule that's at maximum 24 games different. As of right now, it's 57 games different.
#4 - We do it with limited damage to the AL/NL structure. It's based on "revisionist history." Back in 1957, you had two eight-team leagues playing 154 games against each other, winner to the World Series. The Pacific Coast League was an open league with 8 teams doing the same thing. Instead of the Dodgers/Giants/Athletics' moving west and destroying the PCL, I'm just pretending they "joined it" and make it a third major league. The proposed Continental League becomes the "fourth major league."
In Baseball America's radical plan, there's a combined 2128 seasons of each city's team being in their current league totally wiped out.
In this concept, we're only changing ONE QUARTER of the combined tenure (568 seasons).
The top 12 teams by tenure in their city & league do not leave the AL or NL. 14 of the top 17 teams remain in their current league.
The remaining NL teams have an average of 99 seasons in their city in the NL.
The remaining AL teams have an average of 96 seasons in their city in the AL.
The PCL has only 41 years AVG in their AL or NL city (326 seasons)
The CBL has only 30 years AVG in their AL or NL city (242 seasons)
The most radical changes are obviously the PCL and CBL. The PCL would go from 110 games in the PTZ/MTZ to 126. No Central Time Zone teams in their division (AL West). Rivalry games with SF-OAK, LAA-LAD, LAA-SD, PORT-SEA.
The CBL includes six of the nine shortest tenures in their current city in their current league (including the bottom three).
HOU (5 AL Seasons) - just switched leagues. Stays with Texas. No longer in the AL West (win for them).
WAS (13 NL Seasons) - "just arrived" from Montreal. Washington baseball history was two versions of the American League Senators until 1973.
TB (20 AL Seasons) - is a one of the newest four franchises. They are 968 miles from their closest AL East "Rival" (BAL) and 1167 miles from NYY.
In this model, TB gets Miami and Washington (Closer than BAL), Houston and Texas (closer than NYY). The Mets instead of the Yankees (about the same), keeps Toronto.
MIA (25) is a one of the newest four franchises. They get Tampa as a rival. They keep former NL East foe NYM, and WAS, and MON.
MON (36) was in the NL from 1969-2004. They're coming back so it's almost at zero. They now have a division rivalry with Toronto, face Washington (who took their team), and the Mets who were their very first opponent in 1969.
TOR (41) Going to have an easier time winning their division by leaving the Yankees/Red Sox. Keeps a NY rival. Gains Montreal as a rival. Adds TEX as a rival, which is odd, but they've had a couple heated encounters the last few seasons, so that could go "Red Wings-Avalanche" style.
Texas (46) has never liked being in the West anyway for TV and travel reasons.
You have three pairs who've always been geographically isolated by distance or culture: HOU-TEX, MIA-TB, MON-TOR.
You may now lose your minds.