Minor league baseball teams are affiliates of a Major League team intended to develop and prepare younger players. The minor leagues are structured in different manners, but the typical structures are Rookie team, Class A, Class AA and Class AAA.
Rookie Team
The Rookie team is for new high school graduates and the players have an average age of 19. These are young players who need a lot of developing.
Class A
Class A is a level higher that the rookie team. Some Major League teams have both A and advanced Class A clubs. Class A players typically have more experience and ability than the Rookie team players.
Class AA
As players improve and gain more experience, they move up to Class AA. The average age is 23 and players at this level have a better chance of moving to the Major League than do players on the Rookie team and Class A. 140-game schedule is played by the teams from April to September. Former Major League players who might be recovering from an injury sometimes play at the AA level while rehabbing. Major Leaguers also working on a particular problem--perhaps batting mechanics or a pitcher's windup--could temporarily join the AA team.
Class AAA
This level is the closest to the Major Leagues and the final level of minor league baseball. The quality of the game and the players is very close to Major League Baseball. The players might be those promoted from AA or former Major League players who are sent down to work on a problem, or who are rehabbing from an injury. The AAA team often features a handful of players who could play at the Major League level should someone on that team become injured.
Minor Leagues
The minor league teams typically play with players at similar skill levels. As they progress in their career, from rookie to AA and AAA, they are required to travel farther distances and they generate higher incomes. Some of the minor leagues have very long affiliations with the major league clubs. An example is the Durham (N.C.) Bulls, which has been part of the Atlanta Braves' farm system for 17 years. Another is the Pawtucket (R.I.) Red Sox, which has been the AAA affiliate of the Boston Red Sox since the early 1970s.
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