Man, I’ve been digging into this baseball thing lately, and let me tell you, it’s a whole world beyond the major leagues. So, I started by looking into what’s going on just below the majors, you know, the level where players are this close to the big time.
First off, I found out that this level is called Triple-A. It’s basically the last stop before players make it to the majors. These guys in Triple-A are good, like really good. They’re just a step away from their dreams. I started to read into what it takes to even get to Triple-A, and it’s a grind. Players go through Rookie Ball, and other levels I hadn’t even heard of, just to get here.
- I spent hours watching videos of Triple-A games.
- Noticed the stadiums are smaller, but the energy is still crazy.
- Found out that there are lots of teams in different places – way more than the majors.
Then I got into the whole structure of minor league baseball. There are six different levels, from AAA all the way down to rookie leagues. I mean, that is a lot of baseball! And the number of teams is wild, over 200 scattered all over the place. It’s like this massive network of players all trying to make it.
I also stumbled upon this group, Diamond Baseball Holdings, sounds important. They own a bunch of these minor league teams, so they’re a big deal in this world. It was established in 2021 by media conglomerate Endeavor and is a subsidiary of the investment firm Silver Lake. From what I gather, they’re trying to make the minor league experience even better for fans and players.
What really caught my eye was how they’re trying to speed up the games. They introduced a pitch clock, and now the games are like, 2 hours and 39 minutes on average. That’s way quicker than they used to be. It makes the games more exciting, less time standing around, more action.
The History Part
Then I dove into a bit of history. I read that two major leagues merged way back in 1892 to become one big league. But then they got rid of four teams, and that’s when the American League popped up in 1901.
So, yeah, that’s my deep dive into the baseball level just below the majors. It’s been a wild ride learning about all this. These Triple-A guys are so close to the top, and there’s a whole system set up to help them get there. It’s pretty cool, to be honest.
