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Triple-A Baseball
Highest level of competition in Minor League Baseball
All current Triple-A teams are located in the United States; before 2008, some Triple-A leagues also fielded teams in Canada,[2] and during 1967-2020 the Mexican League was classified as Triple-A. Other than the current two Triple-A leagues, only five other leagues have ever held the classification.
History
Prior to 1946, the top level of Minor League Baseball was Double-A, which had been established in 1912.[3][4]:236 The Triple-A classification was created before the 1946 season, and began with all three leagues then in Double-A moving up to the new level:[4]:15
This structure would persist for the next 75 years with only a few changes:
1952-1957: The PCL was classified as "Open" for these six season, in anticipation of it potentially becoming a third major league; once the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants relocated from New York City to California, the PCL returned to Triple-A for the 1958 season.[4]:16, 497
1963-1968: The AA did not operate during these six seasons.[4]:521, 541
1967: The Mexican League received Triple-A classification;[4]:537 it had previously been Double-A since 1955[4]:481
1979: The Inter-American League debuted with a Triple-A classification; the league disbanded in June[4]:587
1998: Teams from the AA, which disbanded after the 1997 season, were added to the PCL and IL[5]
The IL, PCL, and Mexican League continued as Triple-A leagues until Major League Baseball (MLB) reorganized the minor leagues prior to the 2021 season. At that time, the IL and PCL were discontinued and replaced with Triple-A East and Triple-A West. The Mexican League continues to operate, independently.
Venezuela: two Inter-American League teams in 1979
Purpose
Triple-A teams' main purpose is to prepare players for the Major Leagues. ESPN wrote in 2010:[6]
Winning is nice, but secondary. It's much more important for a young prospect like outfielder Xavier Paul to get regular at-bats against lefties, or work on dropping down sacrifice bunts with a runner on first, than it is to take three of four from the Portland Beavers.[6]
Both young players and veterans play for Triple-A teams:
There are the young prospects speeding through the organization on the fastest treadmill, the guys who used to be young prospects who are in danger of topping out in Triple-A, the 30-somethings trying to get back to the majors after an injury or a rough patch, and the guys just playing a few more seasons because someone still wants them and they still want to.[6]
Most, if not all, of the players on an MLB team's expanded roster who are not currently on the team's active roster are assigned to the team's Triple-A club. Expanded rosters consist of 40 players, while active rosters generally consist of 26 players as of the 2021 season. Most Triple-A teams are based close to their MLB parent club, as activating a Triple-A player as an injury replacement is a common occurrence.
Leagues
Teams at this level are divided into two leagues: Triple-A East and Triple-A West. The Triple-A East fields teams primarily in the Eastern United States, while the Triple-A West fields teams mostly in the Western United States. Each of the 30 Major League Baseball teams has an affiliation with one Triple-A team in the United States.
The Triple-A All-Star Game was a single game held between the two affiliated Triple-A leagues--the International League and the Pacific Coast League. Each league fielded a team composed of the top players in their respective leagues as voted on by fans, the media, and each club's field manager and general manager.[8] The event took place every year since 1988 when the first Triple-A All-Star Game was played in Buffalo, New York. Prior to 1998, a team of American League-affiliated Triple-A All-Stars faced off against a team of National League-affiliated Triple-A All-Stars.
Traditionally, the game has taken place on the day after the mid-summer Major League Baseball All-Star Game.[9] The game is meant to mark a symbolic halfway-point in the season (though not the mathematical halfway-point which, for most seasons, is usually one month prior). Both Triple-A leagues share a common All-Star break, with no regular-season games scheduled for two days before the All-Star Game itself. Some additional events, such as the All-Star Fan Fest and Triple-A Home Run Derby, take place each year during this break in the regular season.[10]
With the 2021 reorganization of Minor League Baseball, no announcement about the future of the Triple-A All-Star Game has been made.
Triple-A Championship
Beginning in 2006, the annual Triple-A National Championship Game was held to serve as a single championship game between the champions of the International League and Pacific Coast League to determine an overall champion of Triple-A baseball. It was originally held annually at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, and known as the Bricktown Showdown.[11] Starting in 2011, the game was held in a different Triple-A city each year.[12] As with the All-Star Game, no announcement about future editions of the game has been made.
As a part of professional baseball's pace of play initiatives implemented in 2015, 20-second pitch clocks entered use at Triple-A stadiums in 2015.[13] In 2018, the time was shortened to 15 seconds when no runners are on base. Other significant changes implemented in 2018 included beginning extra innings with a runner on second base and limiting teams to six mound visits during a nine-inning game.[14] For the 2019 season, the number of mound visits was reduced to five, and pitchers were required to face a minimum of three consecutive batters unless the side is retired or the pitcher becomes injured and is unable to continue playing.[15]