Back Minor League Baseball Danish Minor League Baseball German Minor League Baseball Esperanto Ligas Menores de Béisbol Spanish Minor League Baseball Finnish Ligue mineure de baseball French Minor League Baseball Galician Minor League Baseball Italian マイナーリーグベースボール Japanese 마이너 리그 베이스볼 Korean
 | This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (November 2023) |
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| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | September 5, 1901 |
| No. of teams | 208 |
| Countries | United States (157 teams) Canada (1 team) + Dominican Republic (Rookie League) (50 teams) (as of 2024 season) |
| Headquarters | New York City, U.S. |
| TV partner(s) | Stadium, Bally Live App MiLB.tv, local tv stations |
| Official website | MiLB.com |
Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National League and American League, as the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (NAPBL or NA).
Minor League Baseball originated as simply the organization of lower tiers of professional baseball in the United States, comprising clubs that lacked the financial means to compete with the National League and later the American League. The association of minor leagues remained independent throughout the early 20th century, protected by agreements with the major leagues to ensure they were compensated when minor-league players were signed by major-league clubs. Later, Minor League Baseball evolved to be constituted entirely of affiliates of larger clubs, giving young prospects a chance to develop their skills before competing in the major leagues.
MiLB teams sign Professional Development League licenses with MLB clubs, requiring that Major League affiliates provide and pay for players and staff for affiliate clubs. In exchange, MLB affiliates maintain full control of the players and may freely move them between levels of play.
Minor League Baseball consists of several levels of play. MLB prospects play at each level, typically beginning at the lowest level and earning promotion to higher levels. There are, however, no strict requirements for advancement; prospects may skip levels and some may rarely skip the Minor Leagues altogether. MiLB's levels have been restructured several times, with teams both added and contracted. Most recently, the league eliminated the Short-Season A and Rookie Advanced levels of MiLB in 2021. The five domestic levels of MiLB today are, from lowest to highest, Rookie League,[a] Single-A, High-A, AA (or Double-A) and AAA (or Triple-A). MiLB has also included several foreign leagues throughout its existence, with the only active affiliate being the Dominican Summer League.
Entering the 2021 season, MLB began a significant restructuring of MiLB, reducing the total number of teams to 120 teams (four per each of the 30 MLB franchises) across the four full-season divisions of play.[1] There are also two affiliated rookie leagues based in the United States, with teams based at the parent clubs' spring training complexes in Arizona and Florida; an off-season autumn league; and one affiliated rookie league in the Dominican Republic. Additionally, four independent baseball leagues, comprising teams that are not affiliated with any Major League club, are designated Partner Leagues of MLB.
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