SAN JOSE — Five of San Jose’s mayors sent Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred a letter last week, asking MLB to permanently suspend territorial rights and create an avenue for the city to get an expansion team.
“San Jose and Silicon Valley present a unique market opportunity for an expansion MLB team or existing club. We must disabuse those who might conflate San Jose with our smaller neighbor to the north, San Francisco,” the letter reads. The A’s had previously attempted to move to San Jose, but those attempts were stalled by MLB and the Giants in the past.
Unlike the two-team markets in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, where both teams share the entire region, the Bay Area counties were split between the two MLB teams. Santa Clara County was neutral territory until 1990 when the Giants, stymied in their efforts for a San Francisco ballpark, sought a ballot measure to come to San Jose. The A’s, under owner Walter Haas, granted permission for the vote.