With all apologies to the good people of Brooklyn, heartbreaking stories of MLB team relocations are actually few and far between. That’s in stark contrast to the NFL, where team relocations happen frequently and the Raiders might relocate to another city by the time you finish reading this sentence.

In baseball, chances are, if you become a fan of a team, that team will be there for a long time, for good or ill. Most of MLB team relocation history took place by the middle decades of the 20th century. Here’s a guide to MLB team relocation history since the beginning of the World Series in 1903.

Baltimore Orioles Become the New York Yankees

It’s debatable whether to include this one, as it does not fall within the typical idea of team relocation – that is, an established team leaving one city for another. Here’s what happened: When Ban Johnson created the American League in 1900, he wanted a team in New York City. However, the National League blocked this from happening, not wanting competition with the established New York Giants. So, the AL put a team in Baltimore instead, called the Orioles.

The team struggled for two seasons, 1901 and 1902, and when the AL and NL decided to work together, the AL was allowed to put a team in New York. The Orioles were disbanded, and the franchise shifted to New York, with the AL awarding the team to new owners,  Frank Farrell and Bill Devery. The team began play as the New York Hilltoppers in 1903, becoming the Yankees (officially) in 1913. The Baltimore Orioles of today did not begin play until 1954.

Boston Braves Become the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves

The Braves franchise has moved three times, having success in all three cities. But the club’s most storied years, including the 2021 World Series championship, have come in Atlanta.

The Braves started play the same year Americans voted Rutherford B. Hayes in as president – 1876. They played from 1876 to 1882 as the Red Stockings, then became the Boston Beaneaters from 1883 to 1906. Still in Boston, they went through two more brief name changes (Doves, Rustlers) before settling on Braves in 1912. The team won the World Series in 1914 and the AL pennant in 1948.

In 1953, the Braves moved to Milwaukee because of low attendance and the fact that the Red Sox had become much more popular (thanks in part to Ted Williams). In Wisconsin, the team won the 1957 World Series and the NL pennant in 1958. They also never had a losing record in any season in Milwaukee (1953-1965).

In 1966, the team moved to Atlanta, where the Braves have won six National League pennants and the World Series in 1995 and 2021.

 St. Louis Browns Become the Baltimore Orioles

The original Milwaukee Brewers, a founding team of the American League, played just one season in 1901 before moving to Missouri and becoming the St. Louis Browns. From 1902 to 1953, the Browns never became a powerhouse like the crosstown rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Browns won just one AL pennant in 1944, then lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. By the time the team left St. Louis, they drew an average of less than 3,900 fans per game. In 1954, the team became the Baltimore Orioles, a club that has won six AL pennants and three World Series (1966, 1970 and 1983).

Philadelphia Athletics Become Kansas City/Oakland Athletics

The Philadelphia Athletics, an original member of the AL in 1901, stayed in Philadelphia until 1954. During the 1950s, several teams moved west to tap into new fan markets in growing cities. In the case of the Athletics, the once powerhouse team (eight AL pennants, five World Series titles) had fallen on hard times, and the Phillies had overtaken them as the most popular team in Philadelphia. The Athletics moved to Kansas City, where they played from 1955 to 1967, but never had a winning record. In 1968, the franchise moved further west, to Oakland, where it remains. The Oakland Athletics have won six AL pennants and four World Series championships, including three in a row from 1972-1974.

The Giants and Dodgers Move to California

Perhaps the most well-documented MLB relocation in history. The Athletics had made the first move west, but the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers made the most (in)famous. This tale is worthy of its own separate telling.

Washington Senators (1.0) Become the Minnesota Twins

In yet another move west, the Washington Senators packed their bags and left D.C. for Minneapolis, becoming the Twins (named after the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul). This first version of the Washington Senators, another founding member of the AL, is the most successful, winning the 1924 World Series and three AL pennants, all by the early 1930s. However, the team’s futility in later years, including just four winning seasons between 1934 and 1960, inspired Douglass Wallop to write “The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant,” adapted as the famous musical “Damn Yankees.”

Things have gone better in Minnesota, where the Twins started play in 1961. The club has won three pennants and two World Series (1987, 1991).

Seattle Pilots Become the Milwaukee Brewers

A very strange MLB relocation story. The Pilots played just one season, in 1969, before moving to Milwaukee and becoming the Brewers. Part of the problem involved the team’s home, Sicks’ Stadium, which was in poor shape. The team did not draw as well as expected and ownership experienced financial problems. With money running low to pay coaches and players, a federal judge ruled the team as bankrupt, clearing the way for sale of the team to Bud Selig, who moved the club to Milwaukee. The Brewers have one AL pennant (1983) but are one of a handful of teams to never win the World Series (the others are the San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Seattle Mariners).

Washington Senators (2.0) Become the Texas Rangers

After the original Senators left, MLB granted a new franchise for Washington, D.C. It didn’t go very well. This second version of the Senators picked up where the first one left off, losing an average of 90 games between 1961 and 1971, including losing more than 100 in four seasons. In 1972, the team moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, becoming the Texas Rangers. While still without a World Series win, the team has won two AL pennants (2010 and 2011).

Montreal Expos Become the Washington Nationals

Once again, Washington became involved with a relocation, this time on the receiving end. The Expos, which played in Canada from 1969 through 2004, never won a pennant but had exciting teams for many years and developed some of the best players in the game at that time, including Gary Carter, Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Tim Wallach and Vladimir Guerrero. However, fan support in Montreal continued to dwindle and Les Expos de Montréal left the city, becoming the Washington Nationals with the start of the 2005 season. The Nationals – note that they didn’t go for Washington Senators 3.0 – won the World Series in 2019.