So, how do you make it to the Major Leagues? If you’re watching a game on TV or listening to it on the radio, at some point you will hear about a player who just got called up from…Wichita, Las Vegas, Buffalo etc. That player who got called up wasn’t at home sitting on the couch waiting for a Major League team to process his resumé. He also wasn’t vacationing when that club called and asked if he wouldn’t mind joining them for a game they happened to be playing that night. No, that player was playing in one of those minor league towns.
Every Major League club has 6-8 minor league affiliates as a part of their player development system. Branch Rickey was a baseball executive in the 40’s and 50’s and he is largely credited for the current minor league system we have today.
For this achievement alone he would have been well regarded, although Mr. Rickey’s place in baseball history will always be, first and foremost, secured for bringing Jackie Robinson to the Major Leagues.
Prior to the mid 1940’s all minor league teams were owned and run independently of the Major League teams. These minor league clubs paid the salaries of the players and owned their contracts outright. The minor league clubs maintained the right to sell their players to whomever they wished and generally controlled the destiny of each player.
Because the minor league clubs biggest source of revenue was the box office, clubs geared their teams toward the local community. It paid to have a winning team and the hometown fans expected it.
The old Pacific Coast League was a great example. Joe DiMaggio played for the San Francisco Seals, and Ted Williams played for the old San Diego Padres, before they made their marks on history in the Major Leagues. This proved to be an agreement that over time was inefficient for Major League clubs. When they needed to replace older players or season young ones they were at the mercy of somebody else's discretion.
Branch Rickey changed everything. He felt that it was a better investment to own all his minor league player contracts and instead develop them with his own coaches in the minor leagues. He would simply loan out his players and staff.
It was a win-win situation for minor league owners who no longer had the burden of player payroll. But it also meant that major league organizations would now decide what players went where and it didn’t cost the franchise anything to buy out that contract.They already owned it.
Today, in any Major League organization, there will be a Triple-AAA, Double-AA, High and Low Single-A and two Rookie level teams. The Major League parent pays the salaries of every player, coach and trainer. Players are moved up or down according to their skill level, with Triple-AAA being the last rung before the big leagues.
Technically, players can get called up from any level. Most of the time though, players getting the call will come from Triple-AAA. At this level you will find that most players have already been in the big leagues and are very polished.
Sometimes players at the Triple-AAA level are just waiting for an incumbent to get traded or to fine tune a certain aspect of their game which will help them be more consistent at the Major League level. Whatever the reasons, if a player makes it to Triple-AAA he can play.
A couple of things regarding the Minor Leagues:
If you are under contract, getting paid to play baseball, you are by definition a pro. Being in the minor leagues just means that a player isn’t yet skilled enough to stay in the big leagues.
If a player is under contract with a Major League franchise then he is required to do all the same things that a big leaguer does…for a lot less pay, crushing travel, accommodations you would arrange for your in-laws and criminal benefits….ya’ gotta REALLY love the game when you’re down in the ‘bushes’.
The point is that these players give up a lot to pursue a dream and everybody should respect that, so never ask a minor league player, “So when are you going to go pro?”
College baseball and the minor leagues – same level of baseball, right?
WHOAA! Not even close there, ‘sugar britches’. The ten best college programs in the country would have a tough time competing in Short Season Rookie-ball.
This is not an indictment of college baseball in any way; it’s simply a fact. If you think about it logically it makes sense. Every Short Season Rookie club is made up of 50% of the best drafted kids right out of college.
The other half of the team is made up of the best players who signed out of high school and have been playing professionally for the last 2 years. It is true that some players coming out of college have worked their way very quickly to the Major Leagues but this is definitely the exception rather than the rule. And 95 % of those instances involve pitchers, not position players.
Every scout I know that saw Mark Prior in college felt that he was the most Major League-ready pitcher to come out in the last 25-30 years. That’s Cooperstown company. Even Mark Prior spent parts of two seasons in the minor leagues.
As an example, let's say you were playing a team in the Single A California League.
You would face a 12-man staff that would include, for purposes of comparison, the number 1 starter from Univ. of Texas (1-2 years ago), the number 1 starter from CS Fullerton (1-2 years ago), the number 1 reliever from Univ. of Arkansas chosen in the 1st round of the draft that season, the five best pitchers from Low Single-A (one level higher than Short Season Rookie), and so on. In short, you are facing every school’s best pitching—every night.
Again, this is not meant to disparage college baseball in any way. I will always treasure my college baseball career and I would recommend that 95% of all high school players who get drafted, think first about attending school. I think for most players it is hands down the best way to prepare for a career in professional baseball.
The point is that these young players in the minor leagues are extremely talented and worth going to see play. If you get a chance to attend Major League spring training, here’s a good test of what I’m talking about.
Without looking at your program or any player’s guide, try and judge which players are in Double-AA and which ones played in the big leagues the year before. You will start to realize that these guys can play.
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