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Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in
Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only
Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in
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), ...
, organized into three leagues: the
Eastern League, the
Southern League, and the
Texas League
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
.
History
![1922 Jigger Statz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/1922_Jigger_Statz.jpeg)
Class AA ("Double-A") was established in 1912, as the new highest classification of
Minor League Baseball. Previously,
Class A had been the highest level, predating the establishment of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues—the formal name of Minor League Baseball—in 1901.
Entering the 1912 season, three leagues were designated as Class AA:
[
* ]American Association American Association may refer to:
Baseball
* American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891
* American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997
* American Association of Profe ...
(AA)
* International League (IL)
* Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Each of these leagues had previously been in Class A.[ Each remained in Class AA through 1945,][ then moved into Class AAA (" Triple-A") when it was established in 1946.][ No other leagues were designated Class AA during 1912–1945, although a Class A1 level (between Class A and Class AA) was established in 1936.][
The contemporary Double-A classification, as the second-highest level in Minor League Baseball, was established in 1946. Entering that season, the three aforementioned leagues in Class AA all moved to the newly established Triple-A, and Class A1 became Double-A with two leagues:][
* ]Southern Association
The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cla ...
, previously Class A1 (1936–1945)
* Texas League
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
, previously Class A1 (1936–1942; idle for three seasons during World War II)
The Texas League remained in Double-A for the next 75 years. During this time, there were limited changes to leagues at the Double-A level:
* 1955: the Mexican League
The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country.
The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...
, previously 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
* Independ ...
, was classified as Double-A[
* 1961: final season of the Southern Association][
* 1963: the Eastern League and original ]South Atlantic League
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 ...
were moved from Class A to Double-A[
* 1964: the original South Atlantic League was reconstituted as the Southern League][
* 1967: the ]Mexican League
The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country.
The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...
moved to Triple-A[
Entering the 2020 minor league season (which was not played, due to the ]COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
) the Texas League had been in Double-A since 1946, the Eastern League since 1963, and the Southern League since 1964. Prior to the 2021 season, 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) reorganized the minor leagues. At that time, the existing leagues were temporarily renamed: Eastern League as Double-A Northeast
AA, Aa, Double A, or Double-A may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''America's Army'', a 2002 computer game published by the U.S. Army
* '' Ancient Anguish'', a computer game in existence since 1992
* Aa!, a J-Pop musical group
* Do ...
, Southern League as Double-A South
AA, Aa, Double A, or Double-A may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''America's Army'', a 2002 computer game published by the U.S. Army
* '' Ancient Anguish'', a computer game in existence since 1992
* Aa!, a J-Pop musical group
* Do ...
, and Texas League as Double-A Central
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
. Following MLB's acquisition of the rights to the names of the historical minor leagues, MLB announced on March 16, 2022, that the leagues would revert to their prior names, effective with the 2022 season.
System
The Double-A classification usually hosts developing players that have been part of professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professional ...
for only a couple of years. These players can get to the Double-A level by earning a promotion from any of the lower-level leagues, with 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 ...
("High-A") being immediately below Double-A in the minor league hierarchy.
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 pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
s need to have a good off-speed pitch in their repertoires. In addition, it is the level where fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...
-only hitters need to learn how to hit off-speed pitches, or their hopes of advancing to the majors will diminish. Some players may be placed in Double-A to begin their minor league careers, usually veterans from foreign leagues or top prospects out of college. Additionally, major league clubs sometimes send players to their Double-A team to rehabilitate from injuries.
While Triple-A is the highest level in the minor leagues, players may also advance to the major leagues directly from Double-A. For example, within the Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
organization, 17 position players were promoted from Double-A directly to MLB during 1978–2018; approximately one player every two seasons. As players at the Double-A level are, generally, still improving their skills, it could be argued that the pure talent level is higher in Double-A than Triple-A, where there may be some stagnation of talent.
Because players are not moving back and forth from the major leagues at this level, as often happens in Triple-A, 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.
Current teams
Texas League
Eastern League
Southern League
Playoffs
Prior to the 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, all three active Double-A leagues played split season
A split season is a schedule format implemented in a variety of sports leagues. The season is divided into two parts, with the winners of both halves playing each other at the end for the overall championship.
Split seasons are usually found in sp ...
s, with the Eastern League moving to that system in 2019. Teams winning their division in either half of the season qualified for the postseason, with wild card teams filling out the remaining spots in a bracket tournament, usually composed of four teams.
On June 30, 2021, Minor League Baseball announced that the top two teams in each league (based on full-season winning percentage
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
, and regardless of division) would meet in a best-of-five postseason series to determine league champions.
All-Star Games
Prior to the 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, each of the active Double-a leagues held its own midseason All-Star Game. From 1991 to 2002, the three combined to hold the Double-A All-Star Game
The Double-A All-Star Game was an annual baseball game held from 1991 to 2002 between professional players from the affiliated Double-A leagues of Minor League Baseball—the Eastern League (EL), Southern League (SL), and Texas League (TL). Tea ...
between teams of American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
-affiliated All-Stars and National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
-affiliated All-Stars.
After the start of the 2021 minor league season was delayed by a month, team schedules were released without a break for an all-star game.
Awards
Pace-of-play initiatives
As a part of pace-of-play initiatives implemented in 2015, 20-second pitch clock
A pitch clock is used in college baseball and Minor League Baseball to limit the amount of time a pitcher uses before he throws the ball to the hitter. This is one measure that has accelerated the pace of play. Major League Baseball (MLB) will ...
s entered use at Double-A stadiums in 2015. 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
Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie.
Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine regulation innings (in softball and high school baseball games there are typically seven innings; in Little Lea ...
with a runner on second base and limiting teams to eight mound visits during a nine-inning game. In 2019, the number of mound visits was reduced to seven, and pitchers were required to face a minimum of three consecutive batters, unless the side is retired or the pitcher is injured and unable to continue.
See also
*List of Double-A baseball stadiums
There are 30 baseball park, stadiums in use by Double-A (baseball), Double-A Minor League Baseball teams. The Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League uses 12 stadiums, the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League uses 8, and Texa ...
References
External links
*
{{Southern League (baseball)
Minor league baseball
Texas League