The Orlando Dreamers just added a major player to their push to get an MLB team to Orlando.
The group, which was created in 2019 by the late Orlando Magic co-founder Pat Williams, announced earlier this week that they added Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin as an MLB ambassador.
“I spent considerable time talking to key people in Major League Baseball, including Commissioner Manfred, before committing to join the Orlando Dreamers’ effort,” said Larkin, per the announcement. “The strategies and backgrounds of the key people involved with the Dreamers’ effort gave me full confidence that with appropriate support from the media, the community, and government officials, Orlando will secure a Major League Baseball franchise before the end of this decade. At this stage in my career, nothing could be more exciting than being a key part of this effort in my adopted home of Orlando, Florida.”
The addition of Larkin, who collected 2,340 hits during his 19-year career with the Cincinnati Reds, adds even more credibility to the Dreamers’ expansion case. The group has already collected more than $450 million from investors, per CBS Sports, and can claim to be the largest media market without an MLB team, per Nielsen’s 2024-2025 ranking.
With MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred claiming that he wants to finalize expansion plans before his term ends in January 2029, a number of other cities are building their case to be the league’s 31st and 32nd franchises. The Portland Diamond Project, Big League Utah (Salt Lake City) and Music City Baseball (Nashville) are all rival groups aiming to bring Major League Baseball to their cities.
The biggest challenge for Orlando’s group, however, may be the history of baseball in Florida. Both the Tampa Bay Rays and Florida/Miami Marlins have struggled to consistently draw fans and have ranked in the bottom four in attendance every year since 2013.
Still, the addition of a figure like Larkin undoubtedly bolsters the Dreamers’ resume as the possibility of adding two more MLB teams continues to grow more distinct. The 27-year drought since the last expansion (the Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998) is the longest since the first expansion in 1961, and the Athletics’ impending move to Las Vegas removes what was previously a major obstacle.
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