Triple-A (baseball)

Triple-A (or Class AAA) refers to the highest level of play in minor league baseball in the United States and Mexico.

Contents

Purpose

Triple-A teams' main purpose is to prepare players for the Major Leagues:[1]

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.[1]

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.[1]

Players at this level who are on the 40-man roster of a major league team can be invited to come up to the major league club once the major league roster expands on September 1 (though teams will usually wait until their affiliates' playoff runs are over, should they qualify). For teams in contention for the post-season, these players create the flexibility needed to rest regular starters in late regular season games. For those not in contention, recalling such players gives them an opportunity to evaluate their future players under game conditions.

Leagues

Teams at this level are divided into three leagues: the International League, the Pacific Coast League, and the MLB-independent Mexican League. Each of the 30 Major League Baseball teams has an affiliation with one Triple-A team in the United States. However, Mexican Triple-A teams are not included in the organized farm team system.

Current teams

See also: List of Triple-A baseball stadiums

International League

Division Team Founded² MLB Affiliation City Stadium Capacity³
North Buffalo Bisons 1979 New York Mets Buffalo, New York Coca-Cola Field1 18,025
Lehigh Valley IronPigs 2008 Philadelphia Phillies Allentown, Pennsylvania Coca-Cola Park 10,000
Pawtucket Red Sox 1970 Boston Red Sox Pawtucket, Rhode Island McCoy Stadium 10,031
Rochester Red Wings 1899 Minnesota Twins Rochester, New York Frontier Field 10,840
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 1989 New York Yankees Moosic, Pennsylvania PNC Field 10,310
Syracuse Chiefs 1961 Washington Nationals Syracuse, New York Alliance Bank Stadium 11,071
South Charlotte Knights 1976 Chicago White Sox Fort Mill, South Carolina Knights Stadium 10,002
Durham Bulls 1912 Tampa Bay Rays Durham, North Carolina Durham Bulls Athletic Park 10,000
Gwinnett Braves 2009 Atlanta Braves Lawrenceville, Georgia Coolray Field 10,475
Norfolk Tides 1961 Baltimore Orioles Norfolk, Virginia Harbor Park 12,067
West Columbus Clippers 1977 Cleveland Indians Columbus, Ohio Huntington Park 10,100
Indianapolis Indians 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates Indianapolis, Indiana Victory Field 14,500
Louisville Bats 1969 Cincinnati Reds Louisville, Kentucky Louisville Slugger Field 13,131
Toledo Mud Hens 1965 Detroit Tigers Toledo, Ohio Fifth Third Field 10,300
1 Hosting the 2012 Triple-A All-Star Game

Pacific Coast League

American Conference
Division Team MLB Affiliation City Stadium Capacity
North Iowa Cubs Chicago Cubs Des Moines, Iowa Principal Park 11,500
Memphis Redbirds St. Louis Cardinals Memphis, Tennessee AutoZone Park 14,320
Nashville Sounds Milwaukee Brewers Nashville, Tennessee Herschel Greer Stadium 10,700
Omaha Storm Chasers Kansas City Royals Papillion, Nebraska Werner Park 9,023
South Albuquerque Isotopes Los Angeles Dodgers Albuquerque, New Mexico Isotopes Park 12,379
New Orleans Zephyrs Miami Marlins Metairie, Louisiana Zephyr Field 10,000
Oklahoma City RedHawks Houston Astros Oklahoma City, Oklahoma RedHawks Ballpark 13,066
Round Rock Express Texas Rangers Round Rock, Texas Dell Diamond 11,000
Pacific Conference
Division Team MLB Affiliation City Stadium Capacity
North Colorado Springs Sky Sox Colorado Rockies Colorado Springs, Colorado Security Service Field 8,500
Reno Aces Arizona Diamondbacks Reno, Nevada Aces Ballpark 9,100
Salt Lake Bees Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Salt Lake City, Utah Spring Mobile Ballpark 15,500
Tacoma Rainiers Seattle Mariners Tacoma, Washington Cheney Stadium 9,600
South Fresno Grizzlies San Francisco Giants Fresno, California Chukchansi Park 12,500
Las Vegas 51s Toronto Blue Jays Las Vegas, Nevada Cashman Field 9,334
Sacramento River Cats Oakland Athletics West Sacramento, California Raley Field 14,414
Tucson Padres San Diego Padres Tucson, Arizona Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium 11,500

Mexican League

Zone Team Location Stadium Capacity
North Vaqueros Laguna (Laguna Cowboys) Torreón, Coahuila Estadio Revolución 12,000
Diablos Rojos del México (Mexico City Red Devils) Mexico D.F. Foro Sol 26,000
Acereros de Monclova (Monclova Steelers) Monclova, Coahuila Estadio De Beisbol Monclova 9,000
Sultanes de Monterrey (Monterrey Sultans) Monterrey, Nuevo León Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey 27,000
Pericos de Puebla (Puebla Parrots) Puebla, Puebla Estadio de Béisbol Hermanos Serdán 12,112
Broncos de Reynosa (Reynosa Broncos) Reynosa, Tamaulipas Estadio Adolfo López Mateos 7,000
Saraperos de Saltillo (Saltillo Sarape Makers) Saltillo, Coahuila Estadio De Beisbol Francisco I. Madero 16,000
South Piratas de Campeche (Campeche Pirates) Campeche, Campeche Estadio Nelson Barrera 6,000
Petroleros de Minatitlán (Minatitlán Oilers) Minatitlán, Veracruz Parque 18 de marzo de 1938 7,500
Guerreros de Oaxaca (Oaxaca Warriors) Oaxaca, Oaxaca Eduardo Vasconcelos Stadium 7,200
Tigres de Quintana Roo (Quintana Roo Tigers) Cancún, Quintana Roo Estadio De Beisbol Beto Avila 9,000
Olmecas de Tabasco (Tabasco Olmecs) Villahermosa, Tabasco Estadio Centenario 27 de Febrero 10,500
Rojos del Águila de Veracruz (Veracruz Red Eagles) Veracruz, Veracruz Estadio Universitario Beto Avila 7,782
Leones de Yucatán (Yucatan Lions) Mérida, Yucatán Estadio De Beisbol Kukulkan 13,600

Triple-A All-Star Game

Main article: Triple-A All-Star Game

The Triple-A All-Star Game is a single game held between the two affiliated Triple-A leagues. Each league fields a team composed of the top stars in their respective leagues as voted on by fans, the media, and club field managers and general managers.

The event has taken 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 Triple-A All-Stars faced off against a team of National League Triple-A All-Stars. Traditionally, the game has taken place on the day after the mid-summer Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Triple-A Championship

Main article: Triple-A Baseball National Championship Game

Since 2006, the annual Triple-A Baseball National Championship Game has been 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 AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; beginning in 2011, it will be held in a different city every year.[2][3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Shelburne, Ramona (2010-09-01). "John Lindsey waits for his chance". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/columns/story?id=5510887. Retrieved 2010-09-28. 
  2. ^ "Bricktown Showdown To Determine Triple-A Baseball Champion." Triple-A Baseball. Press Release. 12 July 2006.
  3. ^ "Triple-A championship game renamed." Pacific Coast League. 7 August 2009. Retrieved on 8 August 2009.

External links

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