Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A,

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

(created in 1990), and Class A. Teams in Class A Short Season played about 75 to 80 games per season, compared to the 130- to 140-game seasons of most professional baseball minor leagues. As part of the 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, Class A Short Season was eliminated along with its two leagues, the New York–Penn League and

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...

. Nine of the 22 active short-season teams were organized into new leagues at the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

classification level.

History

In 1965, the

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

of Class A started a 66-game season in late June, a departure from the league's previous "full season" schedules of about 120 games. In December 1965, the

announced that it would play an 85-game schedule starting in late June 1966, limiting teams to no more than two veteran players on their 25-man rosters. After playing the 1966 season with two short-season leagues, the New York–Penn League also moved to a short-season format, playing an 80-game schedule beginning in late June 1967. The three leagues would continue to play short seasons through 1971. In February 1972, the Northern League folded, due to reduced support from both fans and

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB) teams, leaving the New York–Penn League and Northwest League as the only two short-season leagues. Both leagues would operate annually through 2019. Mike Meyers outfielder (cropped)

Class A Short Season was originally the fourth-highest level in the minor leagues; with the addition of

in 1990, Class A Short Season became fifth in the overall hierarchy: # Triple-A # Double-A # Class A-Advanced # Class A ("Full-Season A") # Class A Short Season ("Short-Season A") # Rookie league Before the 2021 season, MLB restructured the minor leagues, discontinuing the use of all historical league names within Minor League Baseball and eliminating Class A Short Season. This effectively contracted Class A from having three levels to two, with Class A-Advanced and full-season Class A continuing on as "

" and "

Low-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each ...

", respectively.

Dispersal of Class A Short Season teams

When the classification was ended before the 2021 season, there were two leagues with a total of 22 active teams. Of the 14 active teams in the New York–Penn League: * four joined the MLB Draft League: Mahoning Valley Scrappers,

State College Spikes The State College Spikes are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in State College, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. T ...

West Virginia Black Bears The West Virginia Black Bears are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Granville, West Virginia, and play their home games at Monongalia County Ballpark, which is across the Monongahela River from Morga ...

, and

Williamsport Crosscutters The Williamsport Crosscutters are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. From 1994 to 2020, they were ...

* three joined the

High-A East The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

league:

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of ...

Brooklyn Cyclones The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and play at Maimonides Park, just off the Coney Island Bo ...

, and

Hudson Valley Renegades Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson ...

* two joined the Futures Collegiate Baseball League:

Vermont Lake Monsters The Vermont Lake Monsters are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Burlington, Vermont. From 1994 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL). They play their home games at Centennial Field, ...

and Norwich Sea Unicorns * two joined the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League: Batavia Muckdogs and

Auburn Doubledays The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York. From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYP ...

* two folded:

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pl ...

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major League ...

* one joined the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

Frontier League: Tri-City ValleyCats Of the eight active teams in the Northwest League: * six joined the High-A West league: Eugene Emeralds,

Everett AquaSox The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is affiliated with the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seating capacity ...

, Hillsboro Hops, Spokane Indians, Tri-City Dust Devils, and Vancouver Canadians * one joined the independent Pioneer League: Boise Hawks * one joined the amateur Mavericks Independent Baseball League:

Salem-Keizer Volcanoes The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes are a baseball team located in Keizer, Oregon, who are charter members of the Mavericks Independent Baseball League, a four-team league entirely based in the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area and playing all their h ...

Purpose

Teams in short-season leagues played schedules of about 75 to 80 games, starting in mid-June and ending in early September, with only a few off-days during the season. The late start of the season was designed to allow

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

players to complete their college seasons in the spring, be selected in the MLB draft in June, signed, and then be immediately placed in a competitive league. Players in short-season leagues were a mixture of newly signed draftees who were considered more advanced than other draftees, and second-year pros who were not yet ready, or for whom there was not space, to move up the minor league hierarchy. Second-year pros were often assigned to "extended

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

" in Florida or Arizona during April and May, before reporting to their short-season leagues.

Notes

References

{{reflist, 30em Minor league baseball