Minor Baseball: The Farm & The Indies

Independent Baseball (Continued from previous page)

There is minor league baseball beyond the leagues affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB).

The independent leagues operate predominantly in the Eastern and Central United States and Canada.

The six recognized independent minor leagues are:

• The Atlantic League (ATL)
• Canadian-American League (Can-Am)
• The Central Baseball League (CBL);
• Frontier League (FL)
• The Northern League (NL);
• Southwestern League (SWL)

Many of these leagues have been around decades. Some have, in their history, been associated with affiliated baseball in one form or another.

Why operate outside of the blessing, and the paid contracts of the affiliated major league system?

Baseball is great business in more markets than the NA has teams to associate with major league clubs.

The Can-Am league may even become affiliated... with the major leagues of Japan!

Why Don't I Ever Hear About These Teams?

The indies generally come up on the radar of the major sports outlets when aging athletes like Jose Canseco or a Ricky Henderson are staging a comeback from someplace like Newark in the Atlantic League.

The teams and leagues well known to their local communities. They have also developed a following in communities that affiliated baseball abandons. See an NA team leaving town, and you can almost bet that one or more of the indies will try to seize the opportunity to gain a foothold in another market if there's any kind of following there.

New Haven lost the affiliated Ravens, but picked up the Cutters from the Northeast League the following season.

The Northeast League, renamed the Can-Am League in 2004, also sees more opportunities in Canada. With the departure of the Edmonton Trappers to Round Rock (Austin), Texas, there are only four affiliated teams left in Canada, the AAA Ottawa Lynx being the only one above Class A. There are three independent league teams.

Canuck baseball has been dinged in recent years by flagging attendance at its major and affiliated minor league outlets. The double-whammy of Canadian and U.S. tax authorities on players has also made playing North of the border less than appealing to players making minor league wages.

Are Independent League Players As Good As Those in Affiliated Baseball?

Players in the indies can be very good to great players at the minor league level.

They tend to be odd lots of older athletes who have had brief major league careers or lengthy minor league careers in affiliated baseball. There are a good handful of attitude cases, talented but lacking team skills, and there are a lot of players who have just had plain old-fashioned bad luck. The cosmic tumblers did not all drop on 'MLB' for these guys, even though many posses talents that might have taken them all the way in the right circumstance.

Do Independent Players Make As Much As Affiliated Minor League Players?

The teams in these leagues pay their own salaries. League players' wages generally track lower than those in the class AA and up minor leagues, although in some markets players coming from the affiliated leagues are doing generally better than in years past.

Are the Independent Stadiums A Good Place To Catch A Ballgame?

There are a lot of fun places to watch baseball in the indies. Some of the best times in baseball can be had with the St. Paul Saints (Actor/Comedian Bill Murray's team) of the Northern League or the Atlantic League 2004 Champion Long Island Ducks.

There are many new baseball parks springing up in the independent leagues. Some are as nice as any of the palaces of affiliated minor league baseball. Others have shaved a few amenities, or use cheaper seats in places, to keep costs in line.

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