Double-A (baseball)

Double-A baseball game in action: New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Double-A (or Class AA) is the second highest level of play in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) in the United States after Triple-A. There are thirty Double-A teams in three leagues at this classification: Eastern League, Southern League, and the Texas League.^[1]

System

The Double-A classification usually hosts developing players that have been part of professional baseball for only a couple of years. These players can get to the Double-A level by earning a promotion from any of the Single-A or Rookie leagues.^[2] Players often advance directly to the majors from this level, as the level of competition is higher. This is in contrast to Triple-A, which is typically stocked with minor and major league veterans who have been in the minor league system for a longer period of time.^[3] A small handful of players might be placed in Double-A to start, usually veterans from foreign leagues or top prospects out of college. The step up to the Double-A level can be one of the hardest promotions for such players because it is the level at which pitchers need to have a good off-speed pitch in their repertoire. In addition, it is the level where fastball-only hitters need to learn how to hit off-speed pitches, or their hopes of advancing to the majors will diminish.^[3] Major League teams sometimes send players to play at the Double-A level to rehabilitate from injuries.^[2]

Due to the fact that players aren't moving back and forth from the Major Leagues at this level, the rosters tend to be more stable. Fans of Double-A teams have a longer amount of time to get acquainted with the players, which helps create a better relationship between the team and its fans.^[4]

Current teams

Eastern League

Division	Team	MLB Affiliation	City	Stadium	Capacity
Eastern Division	Binghamton Mets	New York Mets	Binghamton, New York	NYSEG Stadium	6,012
	New Britain Rock Cats	Colorado Rockies	New Britain, Connecticut	New Britain Stadium	6,146
	New Hampshire Fisher Cats	Toronto Blue Jays	Manchester, New Hampshire	Northeast Delta Dental Stadium	6,500
	Portland Sea Dogs	Boston Red Sox	Portland, Maine	Hadlock Field	7,368
	Reading Fightin Phils	Philadelphia Phillies	Reading, Pennsylvania	FirstEnergy Stadium	9,000
	Trenton Thunder	New York Yankees	Trenton, New Jersey	Arm & Hammer Park	6,341
Western Division	Akron RubberDucks	Cleveland Indians	Akron, Ohio	Canal Park	9,097
	Altoona Curve	Pittsburgh Pirates	Altoona, Pennsylvania	Peoples Natural Gas Field	7,210
	Bowie Baysox	Baltimore Orioles	Bowie, Maryland	Prince George's Stadium	10,000
	Erie SeaWolves	Detroit Tigers	Erie, Pennsylvania	Jerry Uht Park	6,952
	Harrisburg Senators	Washington Nationals	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	Metro Bank Park	6,187
	Richmond Flying Squirrels	San Francisco Giants	Richmond, Virginia	The Diamond	9,560

Southern League

Division	Team	MLB Affiliation	City	Stadium	Capacity
North	Birmingham Barons	Chicago White Sox	Birmingham, Alabama	Regions Field	8,500
	Chattanooga Lookouts	Minnesota Twins	Chattanooga, Tennessee	AT&T Field	6,340
	Jackson Generals	Seattle Mariners	Jackson, Tennessee	The Ballpark at Jackson	6,000
	Montgomery Biscuits	Tampa Bay Rays	Montgomery, Alabama	Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium	7,000
	Tennessee Smokies	Chicago Cubs	Kodak, Tennessee	Smokies Park	6,412
South	Biloxi Shuckers	Milwaukee Brewers	Biloxi, Mississippi	MGM Park	6,000
	Jacksonville Suns	Miami Marlins	Jacksonville, Florida	Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville	11,000
	Mississippi Braves	Atlanta Braves	Pearl, Mississippi	Trustmark Park	8,480
	Mobile BayBears	Arizona Diamondbacks	Mobile, Alabama	Hank Aaron Stadium	6,000
	Pensacola Blue Wahoos	Cincinnati Reds	Pensacola, Florida	Pensacola Bayfront Stadium	5,038

Texas League

Division	Team	MLB Affiliation	City	Stadium	Capacity
North	Arkansas Travelers	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	North Little Rock, Arkansas	Dickey-Stephens Park	5,800
	Northwest Arkansas Naturals	Kansas City Royals	Springdale, Arkansas	Arvest Ballpark	7,305
	Springfield Cardinals	St. Louis Cardinals	Springfield, Missouri	Hammons Field	10,486
	Tulsa Drillers	Los Angeles Dodgers	Tulsa, Oklahoma	ONEOK Field	7,833
South	Corpus Christi Hooks	Houston Astros	Corpus Christi, Texas	Whataburger Field	5,050
	Frisco RoughRiders	Texas Rangers	Frisco, Texas	Dr Pepper Ballpark	10,316
	Midland RockHounds	Oakland Athletics	Midland, Texas	Security Bank Ballpark	6,669
	San Antonio Missions	San Diego Padres	San Antonio, Texas	Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium	9,200

Playoffs

Unlike the major league and the Triple-A level, two of the three Double-A leagues have their season divided into two parts, the Eastern League being the exception. One team may clinch a spot in the playoffs by winning the division in first half of the season. The teams' records are then cleared and another team will also clinch a playoff slot during the second half. Wild cards are used to fill out the remaining teams. Usually, four teams qualify for the league playoffs. This system is used at the Class A level as well.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Awards

References

↑ "Standings". Minor League Baseball Official Website. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
↑ 2.0 2.1 "What is Double AA baseball?". SportingCharts. 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
↑ 3.0 3.1 Moore, Jeff (July 2, 2013). "Understanding minor league levels". The Hardball Times. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
↑ Santelli, Robert; Santelli, Jenna (2010). The Baseball Fan's Bucket List: 162 Things You Must Do, See, Get, and Experience Before You Die. Running Press. p. 218. ISBN 9780762438556. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
↑ "Texas League Playoff Procedures". Retrieved 28 March 2015.
↑ "Eastern League Playoff Procedures". Retrieved 28 March 2015.
↑ "Southern League Playoff Procedures". Retrieved 28 March 2015.

External links

Eastern League

Eastern Division	Binghamton Mets New Britain Rock Cats New Hampshire Fisher Cats Portland Sea Dogs Reading Fightin Phils Trenton Thunder

Western Division	Akron RubberDucks Altoona Curve Bowie Baysox Erie SeaWolves Harrisburg Senators Richmond Flying Squirrels

Southern League

Premier Division	Arlesey Town Banbury United Bideford Biggleswade Town Burnham Cambridge City Chesham United Chippenham Town Cirencester Town Corby Town Dorchester Town Dunstable Town Frome Town Histon Hitchin Town Hungerford Town Paulton Rovers Poole Town Redditch United Slough Town St Neots Town Truro City Weymouth

Division One Central	AFC Hayes Aylesbury Aylesbury United Barton Rovers Beaconsfield SYCOB Bedford Town Bedworth United Chalfont St. Peter Daventry Town Egham Town Godalming Town Hanwell Town Kettering Town Leighton Town Marlow North Greenford United Northwood Potters Bar Town Royston Town Rugby Town St Ives Town Uxbridge

Division One South & West	AFC Totton Bashley Bishop's Cleeve Bridgwater Town Cinderford Town Clevedon Town Didcot Town Evesham United Fleet Town Larkhall Athletic Mangotsfield United Merthyr Town North Leigh Sholing Shortwood United Stratford Town Swindon Supermarine Taunton Town Tiverton Town Wantage Town Wimborne Town Yate Town

Seasons	1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15

Texas League

North Division	Arkansas Travelers Northwest Arkansas Naturals Springfield Cardinals Tulsa Drillers

South Division	Corpus Christi Hooks Frisco RoughRiders Midland RockHounds San Antonio Missions

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