Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada (founded in 1869) consists of the National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901). Historically, teams in one league never played teams in the other until the World Series, in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other. This changed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play.[1] As of 2022, the Philadelphia Phillies, founded in 1883, are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in both Major League Baseball and all of American professional sports.[2]
In addition to the major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams. An organization officially styled Minor League Baseball, formerly the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues,[3] oversees nearly all minor league baseball in the United States and Canada. The minor leagues are divided into classes AAA, AA, High A, Low A, Short-Season A, Advanced Rookie, and Rookie. These minor-league divisions are affiliated with major league teams, and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major-leaguers. The Mexican League is an independent league that is a member of Minor League Baseball and has no affiliations to any Major League Baseball teams. Organized Baseball is often applied as an umbrella term for all leagues — Major and minor — under the authority of the Commissioner of Baseball.[4]
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, African-American players were barred from playing the major leagues, though several did manage to play by claiming to be Cubans or Indians. As a result, a number of parallel Negro leagues were formed. However, after Jackie Robinson began playing with the major-league Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, the Negro leagues gradually faded. The process of integration did not go entirely smoothly; there were some ugly incidents, including pitchers who would try to throw directly at an African-American player's head. Now, however, baseball is fully integrated, and there is little to no racial tension between teammates.
^"Interleague". Major League Baseball. from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
^"Philadelphia Phillies", Baseball Almanac, retrieved October 1, 2022
^"The Official Site of The International League | ilbaseball.com Homepage". International League. from the original on January 6, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
^Light, Jonathan (1957). The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball (Second ed.). McFarland & Company. p. 670. ISBN0-7864-2087-1.
^"Home". Frontier League. from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
January 20, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Professional baseball news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world Sapporo Dome in Japan serves as home ballpark for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters a professional baseball team playing in Nippon Professional Baseball Contents 1 Modern professional leagues 1 1 Americas 1 1 1 United States and Canada 1 1 2 Caribbean countries 1 1 3 Mexico 1 1 4 Central America 1 1 5 South America 1 2 Asia 1 2 1 Japan 1 2 2 Korea 1 2 3 Taiwan 1 2 4 Other Asian leagues 1 3 Europe 1 4 Australia 2 Historic leagues 3 See also 4 ReferencesModern professional leagues EditAmericas Edit United States and Canada Edit See also Baseball in the United States Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada founded in 1869 consists of the National League founded in 1876 and the American League founded in 1901 Historically teams in one league never played teams in the other until the World Series in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other This changed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play 1 As of 2022 the Philadelphia Phillies founded in 1883 are the oldest continuous same name same city franchise in both Major League Baseball and all of American professional sports 2 In addition to the major leagues many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams An organization officially styled Minor League Baseball formerly the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues 3 oversees nearly all minor league baseball in the United States and Canada The minor leagues are divided into classes AAA AA High A Low A Short Season A Advanced Rookie and Rookie These minor league divisions are affiliated with major league teams and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major leaguers The Mexican League is an independent league that is a member of Minor League Baseball and has no affiliations to any Major League Baseball teams Organized Baseball is often applied as an umbrella term for all leagues Major and minor under the authority of the Commissioner of Baseball 4 Operating outside the Minor League Baseball organization are many independent minor leagues such as the Atlantic League American Association Frontier League 5 and the feeder league to these the Empire Professional Baseball League Caribbean countries Edit Dominican Professional Baseball League 1951 present Puerto Rico Baseball League 1938 present Cuban League 1878 1961 Mexico Edit Mexican Pacific League 1945 present winter league Mexican League 1925 present summer league Central America Edit Panamanian Professional Baseball League 1946 1972 2001 present Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League 1957 1967 2004 present South America Edit Venezuelan Professional Baseball League 1946 present Colombian Professional Baseball League 1948 1958 1979 1988 1994 present Asia Edit Japan Edit Japan has had professional baseball since the 1930s Nippon Professional Baseball consists of two leagues the Central League and the Pacific League each with six teams Korea Edit South Korea has had professional baseball since 1982 There are 10 teams in KBO League Taiwan Edit Taiwan has had professional baseball since the 1990s The Chinese Professional Baseball League absorbed Taiwan Major League in 2003 Other Asian leagues Edit Other Asian leagues include three now defunct leagues the China National Baseball League Israel Baseball League and Baseball Philippines Europe Edit Italian Baseball League Honkbal Hoofdklasse Dutch league Elitserien Sweden Baseball Bundesliga Germany Australia Edit See also Baseball in Australia Australian Baseball League Greater Brisbane League New South Wales Major LeagueHistoric leagues EditDuring the late 19th and early 20th centuries African American players were barred from playing the major leagues though several did manage to play by claiming to be Cubans or Indians As a result a number of parallel Negro leagues were formed However after Jackie Robinson began playing with the major league Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 the Negro leagues gradually faded The process of integration did not go entirely smoothly there were some ugly incidents including pitchers who would try to throw directly at an African American player s head Now however baseball is fully integrated and there is little to no racial tension between teammates Between 1943 and 1954 the All American Girls Professional Baseball League fielded teams in several Midwestern towns See also EditBaseball Around the world Baseball awards International List of organized baseball leagues Professional baseball Professional sportsReferences Edit Interleague Major League Baseball Archived from the original on January 23 2018 Retrieved May 8 2018 Philadelphia Phillies Baseball Almanac retrieved October 1 2022 The Official Site of The International League ilbaseball com Homepage International League Archived from the original on January 6 2006 Retrieved November 1 2017 Light Jonathan 1957 The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball Second ed McFarland amp Company p 670 ISBN 0 7864 2087 1 Home Frontier League Archived from the original on October 1 2017 Retrieved November 1 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Professional baseball amp oldid 1125452349, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
