Baseball is very popular in a few countries in the world. Many countries have baseball fields and even teams who people who enjoy playing the game, not to mention fans. But, a few countries are absolutely crazy about baseball. The United States is one of those countries. Their most popular league is MLB, Major League Baseball, and has been for a while. Once they merged the American League and the National League into one gigantic sports show, baseball became even more organized. But, those are the absolute best of the best, the professionals.
For those a step below them, Minor League Baseball exists. Now, as many might wonder, what is Minor League Baseball? Well, here are all the things you need to know about Minor League Baseball
Minor League Baseball – What’s Different?
Everything is different in MiLB, except the rules. Instead of 30 teams competing, we have a total of 256 teams competing. That is a lot more, meaning there are many more people who are competing for prestige or a chance to enter the MLB. One of the ways of progressing to the MLB is either through the MiLB or by showing immense talent and effort.
The MiLB is 118 years old and was established in 1901. Instead of having two leagues, it has a lot more, to cover all levels of play and all kinds of players.
MiLB – Organization Within the Leagues
There are several leagues within MiLB. The Triple-A league is at the top, followed by the Double-A league. They are followed by Class A Advanced and Class A leagues. Following those are Class A Short Season and Rookie Advanced leagues. The last but not least is the Rookie league. All of them are extremely competitive and have their own divisions, two or three, depending on the league. What all of this means is plenty of baseball in the US when MLB matches are not on. There used to be class B, C and D leagues, but the MiLB was heavily reformed in 1963.
Broadcasting – MiLB Games on Your Screen
On national television, you could catch MiLB games on Thursdays on the CBS Network, for the two had a contract. They were later picked up by the American Sports Network. But, teams often have contracts with local networks, meaning you can catch lower tier games on local channels. The MLB Network sometimes has broadcasts of MiLB games.
They have their own online service, MiLB.tv, which streams all Triple-A games and a selection of games from other leagues.
Affiliations
MLB teams do not have any ownership over MiLB teams. But, they do however have affiliations and can use the Minor League to train athletes. The PDC or Player Development Contract helps in this regard. You will often find some teams allied with others, in the hope of developing new talent and taking home a trophy.
This is all you need to know about the MiLB in order to start watching. Have a great day with the MiLB!
