Talk:Minor League Baseball

Number of teams in infobox

Can anyone please explain to me why the infobox says that there are 256 teams when there are only 160 teams? SportsFan007 (talk) 05:15, 13 November 2019 (UTC)

Counting the Mexican League and Dominican Summer League teams, which are MiLB member leagues, there's 46 AAA, 30 AA, 30 High A, 30 Low A, 22 A Short Season, 18 Rookie Advanced, 40 Rookie complex, and 45 DSL teams. That adds up to 261. So the 256 number is actually outdated, as it's become more common for teams to have multiple complex or DSL teams. But it's certainly not 160; that number is quoted when people talk about domestic minor league affiliates that charge admission and ignores the foreign and complex teams. oknazevad (talk) 06:19, 13 November 2019 (UTC)

MiLB announced a reduction of North American (USA) teams that charge admission (exempt are the Arizona Rookie and Gulf Coast) from 160 to 118 in the next 2 years, along with the elimination of 2 Short-Season Class A and Advanced Rookie leagues each. I suppose each of the 30 major league teams will have one Class A and one Rookie team each by 2023. And independent leagues without major league baseball team affiliation tend to be financially struggling, they may go out of business. 2605:E000:100D:C571:814E:3DF0:D65C:DE13 (talk) 00:23, 27 July 2020 (UTC)

They haven't announced any final decisions. Those are proposals put forth by Major League Baseball. It's too soon to change anything in this article (outside of the mention of the ongoing process that's already included), as the final results are not yet known. Yes there's going to be some major changes. No, we don't know what they will look like exactly yet. oknazevad (talk) 03:46, 27 July 2020 (UTC)

Here's the list of proposed 42 teams to be cut from Minor League Baseball support and could suspend operations before the 2021 season: 2605:E000:100D:C571:9196:A1F2:33B1:81EA (talk) 21:58, 3 September 2020 (UTC)

That list is months old and has been revised. Plus who knows what will happen after the pandemic. Plans have and continue to change. oknazevad (talk) 22:27, 3 September 2020 (UTC)

References

Rocky Mountain League

I looked at the archives and it said during the 1990s and 2000s. the Rocky Mountain League (with teams representing Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming) was supposed to launch in 1994-2001 before things fell through. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:569:BD38:8400:DCF1:4F9F:5C5E:8D67 (talk) 04:33, 20 January 2021 (UTC)

Number of teams

@Oknazevad: The rookie league teams are not listed on MiLB.com or on the Major league affiliations table. SportsFan007 (talk) 01:54, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

But we have confirmation they exist from the existing references. And they are on the milb.com site, under the other teams where the leagues are linked. I strenuously object to their removal. They exist and are part of the MLB clubs affiliates. oknazevad (talk) 02:00, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

Actually, how did you come up with that number? They haven't really announced the complex teams yet.. but I believe I heard that they were only going to have one team per franchise in the AZL and GCL this year... and the Dominican complex teams still exist. Spanneraol (talk) 02:06, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

Exactly where i got the number from. Per reporting at Baseball America and other sources, only one complex team per Major League organization, which is a simple calculation of 120 + 30 = 150. The Dominican teams are mentioned separately in the following sentence. oknazevad (talk) 02:16, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

Where are you getting this from? Please give a link SportsFan007 (talk) 02:20, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

Unless it’s changed, the Brewers (for example) are planning on two AZL teams, one standalone DSL team, and a co-op with Toronto. [1] Also, I think complex teams should be included in the count. NatureBoyMD (talk) 02:27, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

I’m okay with including them, I just haven’t seen a source saying that there are 30 teams in the rookie league. SportsFan007 (talk) 02:31, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

Technically there could be two complex teams per MLB organization, but its unlikely given the stricter cap on number of minor leaguers each organization can have under contract. See: [2],[3], though it is a subscription (and I will admit that I signed up for a Baseball America subscription just to follow these developments.) oknazevad (talk) 02:39, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

@Oknazevad: Um, I don’t see where in your links it mentions the rookie league having 30 teams, I just see mentions of 120 teams. (Btw, I am subscribed) Also, it says 120 teams on the official MiLB Instagram page. SportsFan007 (talk) 03:29, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

The rookie complex leagues are discussed in the second link I included. Some organizations might decide to field two, as Naitch noted above, so the final count isn't exactly known, but it is definitely not 120 when rookie teams are included, and they should definitely be included. oknazevad (talk) 13:04, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

@Oknazevad: If the final count is not known yet, then why list it as 150 and say there are five teams per affiliate when that isn’t officially true? SportsFan007 (talk) 16:05, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

Why list it as 120 with four affiliates when that is t accurate either? That's what I object to. oknazevad (talk) 17:26, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

@Oknazevad: How is 120 inaccurate when that is the number listed on the official website and on their official social media? SportsFan007 (talk) 19:50, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

Are team-operated rookie teams actually considered "affiliates"? Are we counting apples and oranges here? BilCat (talk) 19:54, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

Yes they are, and they always have been counted in this article. That's the issue with the 120 number, it doesn't account for those teams. The milb.com website does include those teams, but only listed by league. The other affiliates used to be listed by league as well before the changes, and, as noted in the respective articles, things like league names are not finalized, so they may be so listed again once those details are finalized. There are more than 120 teams in the new minor league organization, so only listing that number is plain incorrect. oknazevad (talk) 20:41, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

@Oknazevad: I think the number should stay at 120 until an accurate number of rookie teams are officially announced. SportsFan007 (talk) 21:02, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

The majority of the old league names are returning but it’s not the actual original leagues though.

The majority of the old league names are returning but it’s not the actual original leagues though. Should we rename the new league articles or merge the new league articles into the old league articles? Granthew (talk) 19:23, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

Good question. See WT:MLB#Minor leagues, or, what is old is new again, which is where this decision will probably be made. BilCat (talk) 19:35, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

MiLB "organization" or a "term"?

Currently the opening sentence in the article is: "Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), including teams affiliated with MLB clubs and independent baseball leagues consisting of unaffiliated teams." While the "organization" does include 120 affiliated teams (plus Dominican Republic League), it doesn't include "independent" baseball leagues. My thinking is that the should be something similar to this: "Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a term for professional baseball that is played below the major league level." What should be the correct sentence? Ccui123 (talk) 16:41, 4 January 2024 (UTC)

We come here to the problem that this article is supposed to be about the organization of affiliated teams (hence the capitalized title) and not really about the indy leagues. There is an independent baseball league article, which should be mentioned here (and more than just a see also link), but shouldn't be included in the first sentence. oknazevad (talk) 17:01, 4 January 2024 (UTC)