When Major League Baseball first expanded in 1961 with the addition
of the Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Senators, it started a
trend that saw the number of franchises almost double, from sixteen
to thirty, while baseball attendance grew by 44 percent. The story
behind this staggering growth, told for the first time in
Baseball’s New Frontier, is full of twists and unexpected turns,
intrigue, and, in some instances, treachery. From the desertion of
New York by the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants to the
ever-present threat of antitrust legislation, from the backroom
deals and the political posturing to the impact of the upstart
Continental League, the book takes readers behind the scenes and
into baseball’s decision-making process. Fran Zimniuch gives a
lively team-by-team chronicle of how the franchises were awarded,
how existing teams protected their players, and what the new teams’
winning (or losing) strategies were. With its account of great
players, notable characters, and the changing fortunes of teams
over the years, the book supplies a vital chapter in the history of
Major League Baseball.