Two Other Professional Baseball Leagues That You Should Know Of

Aside from the Major Baseball League (MLB), there are two other professional baseball leagues that have been around for many years. Read on below to know more about them:

Minor League Baseball (MiLB)

Baseball teams playing at the Minor League Baseball are mostly independent or members of the MiLB. These teams are not owned by any Major League team but most of them are affiliated with them. However, there are a small number of minor league teams that are directly owned by Major league clubs, though this is very rare.

The current minor league system is divided into five categories:

• Triple A – There are two affiliated leagues under this classification, which include the Pacific Coast League and the International League. The Mexican league is also classified under the Triple A class, but unlike the two leagues mentioned above, it is not affiliated with Major League clubs. Veterans and younger players alike play for AAA teams.

• Double A – Southern League, Texas League and Eastern League falls under the AA classification. Many of the top players are placed here to compete against each other. Players who compete under the Double A league classification are expected to go major by the end of the minor league season. In addition to that, the salaries of players playing for the aforementioned leagues tend to be higher in comparison to the salary received by other prospects.

• Class A – This classification is composed of two sub-classes: Class A-Advanced and Class A. Players who have batting consistency and pitching control issues are often assigned to be in the Class-A category. Players competing under this category are usually less experienced or have certain playing issues that they need to work out.

• Class A-Short Season – Though this category shares the same ‘Class A’ designation, this is an entirely different category. Short Season A teams play for a shortened season, as the name suggests, which often starts in June and concludes during early September. Players competing under this category are second year pros or newly signed draftees.

• Rookie – Like the Short Season teams, players in the Rookie category also play a shortened season. This category is considered as the lowest level of Minor League Baseball. It is generally consists of six leagues: Gulf Coast, Dominican, Venezuelan Summer, Appalachian, Pioneer and Arizona League.

Independent Baseball League

The Independent Baseball League is composed of a number of professional baseball organizations in Canada and US. They are not affiliated with the Minor Baseball League nor operated by the Major Baseball League. Independent leagues in baseball started to flourish in the Northern states. Since they do not worry about territorial limitations, they can choose to relocate close to major league clubs without asking for their consent. Some of the independent baseball leagues that are still operating up to this day include the Northern American League, Pecos League, American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, Frontier League and Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.