Baseball - Minor League Baseball (MiLB) - Triple-A
Triple-A is the highest level of Minor League Baseball (MiLB). There are two North American Triple-A leagues, the International League (IL), and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). Each of the IL and PCL teams is affiliated with a Major League Baseball team. There is also a third Triple-A league, the Mexican League. Mexican League teams do not have MLB affiliations.
The International League
The International League is one of two Triple-A leagues in Minor League Baseball. It is the older of the two leagues dating its founding to the 1886 merger of the New York State League (which dates to 1885) and the Ontario League (which also dates to 1885). In 1884 the International League absorbed the remainder of the Eastern League (which dates to 1884).
The league has seen a tremendous amount of change throughout its history, even disbanding once for a short period of time. The league is currently organized into three divisions, the North, South, and West Divisions. It currently fields a total of 14 teams, which are listed below.
International League teams play a 144 game schedule. Other events during the season include:
- All-Star Game
- Playoffs and Championship (Governors' Cup) - Playoffs are played in September of every year awarding the Governors' Cup to the International League.
For a list of International League Champions see: Governors' Cup - International League Championship - Triple-A Baseball Championship (Bricktown Showdown) - The Triple A Baseball World Series or championships is played in September of each year and pits the International League Governors' Cup champion against the Pacific Coast League champion in a 1-game winner-take-all championship game.
The International League has a two-round playoff format. in the first round the wild-card team plays the North Division champion and the South Division Champion plays the West Division Champion. Round one is a best-of-five game series. The winners of round one advance to play for the Governor's Cup, which is a best-of-five game series.
International League Links
Following is a listing of all of the International League teams:
International League - North Division
- Buffalo Bisons - Buffalo, New York
(Affiliate of the Cleveland Indians) - Ottawa Lynx - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
(Affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies) - Pawtucket Red Sox - Pawtucket, Rhode Island
(Affiliate of the Boston Red Sox) - Rochester Redwings - Rochester, New York
(Affiliate of the Minnesota Twins) - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees - Moosic, Pennsylvania
(Affiliate of the New York Yankees) - Syracuse Chiefs - Syracuse, New York
(Affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays)
International League - South Division
- Charlotte Knights - Charlotte, South Carolina
(Affiliate of the Chicago White So) - Durham Bulls - Durham, North Carolina
(Affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays) - Norfolk Tides - Norfolk, Virginia
(Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles) - Richmond Braves - Richmond, Virginia
(Affiliate of the Atlanta Braves)
International League - West Division
- Columbus Clippers - Columbus, Ohio
(Affiliate of the Washington Nationals) - Indianapolis Indians - Indianapolis, Indiana
(Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates) - Louisville Bats - Louisville, Kentucky
(Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) - Toledo Mud Hens - Toledo, Ohio
(Affiliate of the Detroit Tigers)
International League News
The Pacific Coast League
The second of the two Triple-A leagues, the Pacific Coast League (PCL), dates to 1903. Through most of its early history the Pacific Coast League was the premier baseball league in the western United States. In 1952 the PCL was given an "open" classification, a step above Triple-A, limiting MLB's rights to draft PCL players. This came to an end in 1958 with the move of the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles and the New York Giants to San Francisco. In 1997 the Pacific Coast League expanded by agreeing to take teams from the disbanding American Association.
The PCL currently consists of two conferences, the American Conference and the Pacific Conference. Each conference has a Northern and a Southern Division. There are currently 16 teams in the Pacific Coast League, listed below.
Pacific Coast League Teams play a 144 game schedule. Other events during the season include:
- All-Star Game
- Playoffs and Championship (PCL Finals) - Playoffs are played in September of every year crowning a Pacific Coast League champion. For a list of Pacific Coast League Champions see: Pacific Coast League Championship
- Triple-A Championship (Bricktown Showdown) - The Triple A Baseball World Series or championships is played in September of each year and pits the International League Governors' Cup champion against the Pacific Coast League champion in a 1-game winner-take-all championship game.
Pacific Coast League Links
Following is a listing of all of the Pacific Coast League teams:
Pacific Coast League - American North
- Iowa Cubs - Des Moines, Iowa
(Affiliate of the Chicago Cubs) - Memphis Redbirds - Memphis, Tennessee
(Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) - Nashville Sounds - Nashville, Tennessee
(Affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers) - Omaha Royals - Omaha, Nebraska
(Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals)
Pacific Coast League - American South
- Albuquerque Isotopes - Albuquerque, New Mexico
(Affiliate of the Florida Marlins) - New Orleans Zephyrs - New Orleans, Louisiana
(Affiliate of the New York Mets) - Oklahoma RedHawks - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
(Affiliate of the Texas Rangers) - Round Rock Express - Round Rock, Texas
(Affiliate of the Houston Astros)
Pacific Coast League - Pacific North
- Colorado Springs Sky Sox - Colorado Springs, Colorado
(Affiliate of the Colorado Rockies) - Portland Beavers - Portland, Oregon
(Affiliate of the San Diego Padres) - Salt Lake Bees - Salt Lake, Utah
(Affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) - Tacoma Rainiers - Tacoma, Washington
(Affiliate of the Seattle Mariners)
Pacific Coast League - Pacific South
- Fresno Grizzlies - Fresno, California
(Affiliate of the San Francisco Giants ) - Las Vegas 51s - Las Vegas, Nevada
(Affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers) - Sacramento River Cats - Sacramento, California
(Affiliate of the Oakland Athletics) - Tucson Sidewinders - Tucson, Arizona
(Affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks)
International League News
Contact • Home • Legal • Privacy • RSS
Subscribe to NuttyAboutSports.com Articles by Email • Subscribe to NuttyAboutSports BLOG by Email
Copyright © 2006-2008 WorldReach Marketing. All Rights Reserved.