baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
s.
International competition
*Many international baseball events are coordinated by the baseball division of the
World Baseball Softball Confederation
World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC; french: Confédération internationale de baseball et softball) is the world governing body for the sports of baseball, softball, and Baseball5. It was established in 2013 by the merger of the Inter ...
, including the
World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...
.
Americas
*
Latin American Series
The Latin American Series (''Spanish: Serie Latinoamericana'') was a baseball competition that annually gathers the champions of the professional winter baseball leagues (summer in the case of Curaçao) from the countries that are part of the Lat ...
*
Caribbean Series
The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is nor ...
Babe Ruth League
The Babe Ruth League is an international youth baseball and softball league based in Hamilton, New Jersey, US named after George Herman "Babe" Ruth.
The parent program, Babe Ruth League, Incorporated, is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization.
B ...
, a youth program, headquartered in Hamilton, New Jersey.
*
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad.
History
FCA was foun ...
*
Little League Baseball
Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationPony Baseball, a youth program, headquartered in Washington, Pennsylvania.
*
Roy Hobbs
''The Natural'' is a 1952 novel about baseball by Bernard Malamud, and is his debut novel. The story follows Roy Hobbs, a baseball prodigy whose career is sidetracked after being shot by a woman whose motivation remains mysterious. The story mos ...
Baseball, an over 30 amateur, adult men's baseball organization, headquartered out of Ft. Myers, FL, with national and international Leagues and Teams.
High school
* In the US, the
National Federation of State High School Associations
The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. NFHS's headquarters are located in White River State Park in Ind ...
(NFHS) and each state association governs the play of baseball at the high school level. The Federated Christian Athletic Association (FCAA) and state Christian associations oversee the play of baseball at the private Christian School level. Note, however, that a substantial number of Christian schools choose instead to join their state's general athletic association if the organization's rules allow it.
Baseball for the Disabled
*
Alternative Baseball
Alternative Baseball, officially Alternative Baseball Organization Inc. (ABO), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Dallas, Georgia, United States, which provides year-round baseball training, exhibitions, and activities for teens and ...
New Brunswick Senior Baseball League The New Brunswick Senior Baseball League is the highest level of amateur baseball play in New Brunswick, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from ...
, Canada
*
Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League
The Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League is an amateur baseball league located in Nova Scotia. The league is the highest level of amateur baseball in the province, it is for players 18 and over. The league champion traditionally represents Nova S ...
, Canada
*
National Adult Baseball Association
The National Adult Baseball Association (NABA) is an adult, amateur baseball organization, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It offers competitive and recreational baseball for players in over 125 leagues in over 40 U.S. states. Over 25,000 pl ...
, United States
*
Cuban National Series
The Cuban National Series (, SNB) is the primary domestic professional baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. ...
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 ...
*
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
College World Series
The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...
NAIA Baseball World Series
The NAIA World Series (officially branded as the Avista NAIA World Series for sponsorship purposes from 2013) is a double-elimination tournament, held since 1957, to determine the baseball champion of the National Association of Intercollegiate At ...
List of Collegiate Summer Baseball Leagues
Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...
Town Team Baseball
Town Team Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played in the United States. In Town Team baseball, sometimes also called townball, the teams represent either a given city or town, or a commercial enterprise which sponsors the team. Usually a ...
Townball is a popular tradition in the
Upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...
, with grassroots support at the local level.
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 professiona ...
*
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 (A ...
(MLB) in the United States and Canada, made up of two component leagues;
**
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 s ...
**
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 b ...
* Minor League Baseball (MiLB) in the United States and Canada, comprising several levels and multiple component leagues;
**'' AAA''
***
International League
The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...
***
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...
Eastern League Eastern League may refer to:
Baseball in the United States
''Most recent leagues listed first''
* Eastern League (1938–present), a minor league established in 1923 and renamed Eastern League in 1938, at the Double-A level
* Eastern League (1916 ...
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 ...
**''
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 ...
''
***
Midwest League
The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganiza ...
***
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 ...
***
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 ...
**''
Single-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 ...
''
***
California League
The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major L ...
***
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 un ...
***
Florida State League
The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A followi ...
**''Rookie''
***
Arizona Complex League
The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it f ...
***
Florida Complex League
The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...
**Fall baseball
***
Arizona Fall League
The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...
*
Independent baseball league
An independent baseball league is a professional baseball organization in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball and is outside the Minor League Baseball clubs affiliated to it.
The Northern League (baseball, 19 ...
s in the United States and Canada
**
American Association of Professional Baseball
The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor ...
**
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...
Frontier League
The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...
Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs
The Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs was an independent baseball league based in Northern California. The league was founded in 2013 by four former North American League teams.
History
During the initial season, two Hawaii-b ...
United Shore Professional Baseball League
The United Shore Professional Baseball League (USPBL) is an independent baseball league in suburban Metro Detroit, Michigan, United States, started in May 2016. Each team in the USPBL plays a 42-game regular season schedule from May through Septem ...
Instructional Leagues
*
California Winter League
California Winter League is a former baseball winter league. It was the first integrated league in the 20th century as players from Major League Baseball and Negro league baseball played each other in training games. The league was in existence f ...
*
Latin America
*
Colombian Professional Baseball League
The Colombian Professional Baseball League ( es, Liga Profesional de Béisbol Colombiano, links=no or LPB), is a professional baseball league based in Colombia. It is a five-team winter league that plays during the Major League Baseball offseason ...
* (LCBP), Colombia
*
Cuban National Series
The Cuban National Series (, SNB) is the primary domestic professional baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. ...
* (CNS), Cuba
*
Dominican Professional Baseball League
Dominican may refer to:
* Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean
** People of the Dominican Republic
** Demographics of the Domi ...
* (LIDOM), Dominican Republic
*
Dominican Summer League
The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only ...
(rookie), Dominican Republic
*
Mexican Pacific League
The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule ru ...
*, Mexico
*
Liga Norte de México
The Liga Norte de México (''LNM'') (English: ''Northern League of México'') is a professional baseball league located in the Northwest of Mexico in the states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. Formerly known as Liga Norte d ...
, Mexico
*
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 ...
(Triple-A), Mexico
*
Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League
Liga de Beisbol Profesional Nacional (LBPN) is the professional baseball league of Nicaragua. The league consists of five teams with a 30 game regular season schedule that runs from November to December. Followed by a four team round robin, with ...
Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente
Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (LBPRC) is the main professional baseball league in Puerto Rico; it is colloquially referred to as the Puerto Rican Winter League. Consisting of seven teams as of the 2020–21 season, the league's ...
* (LBPRC), Puerto Rico
*
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year.
History Early years
Baseball exp ...
* (LVBP), Venezuela
Defunct Leagues
*
Federal League
The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...
defunct since 1915, in the United States
*
Union Association
The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season.
Seven of the twelve teams who were in the Association at some poi ...
*
Negro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...
, defunct since 1958, in the United States
*
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...
, defunct since 1954, in the United States
*
Canadian Baseball League
The Canadian Baseball League was an independent minor league that operated in 2003. The league's only Commissioner was Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame member Ferguson Jenkins. The league featured former ...
*
Cuban League
The Cuban League was one of the earliest and longest lasting professional baseball leagues outside the United States, operating in Cuba from 1878 to 1961. The schedule usually operated during the winter months, so the league was sometimes known a ...
*
*
Venezuelan Summer League
The Venezuelan Summer League (VSL) was a professional baseball sports league that operated in Venezuela from 1997 to 2015, primarily in the state of Carabobo. Teams in the league served as academies for Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations, a ...
*
North Country Baseball League
The North Country Baseball League (NCBL) was an Independent baseball league, independent, professional baseball league located in the Northeastern region of the United States in 2015. Operating in cities not served by Major League Baseball or thei ...
Asia Winter Baseball League
The Asia Winter Baseball League is a professional baseball league hosted in Taiwan with 2012 as its inaugural season. Making use of the warm and dry winter climate in West Taiwan, the short term league aims to offer young baseball players additio ...
Japan
*
Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
(NPB)
**
Central League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...
(major)
**
Pacific League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...
(major)
***
Eastern League Eastern League may refer to:
Baseball in the United States
''Most recent leagues listed first''
* Eastern League (1938–present), a minor league established in 1923 and renamed Eastern League in 1938, at the Double-A level
* Eastern League (1916 ...
Central League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...
and
Pacific League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...
)
*
Shikoku Island League Plus
The is an independent professional baseball league on the island of Shikoku in Japan. (None of the teams in Nippon Professional Baseball are based in Shikoku.) The league currently has four teams, and has its league headquarters in Takamatsu.
...
(Independent)
*
Baseball Challenge League
The Route Inn BCL, formerly known as the , is an independent minor baseball league in Japan. The league's abbreviated designation is "."
League structure
The Baseball Challenge League has three divisions, East, Middle, and West, with four teams ...
Japan Women's Baseball League
The , formerly Girls Professional Baseball League until 2012, was the highest level of women's baseball
Women's baseball is played in several countries. The strongest and most organized women's baseball leagues are in the United States, Aust ...
(Women's)
South Korea
*
KBO League
The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...
(major)
**
KBO Futures League
KBO Futures League () or Korea Baseball Futures League is South Korea's second level of baseball, below the KBO League. It serves as a farm league with the purpose to develop professional players on-demand to play in the KBO League. The league ...
Chinese Professional Baseball League
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 2 ...
China Baseball League
The China Baseball League (, CBL) was a professional baseball league under the administration of Chinese Baseball Association, founded in 2002. The league suspended operations in 2012 due to financial troubles after the 2011 season, but returne ...
(CBL), China (defunct)
Philippines
*
Baseball Philippines
The Philippine Amateur Baseball Association (PABA) is the national governing body for amateur baseball in the Philippines.
Presidents
*Dominador Pangilinan (?–1986)
*Hector Navasero (1986–2013)
*Ely Baradas (2013; acting)
*Marty Eizmendi (2 ...
UAAP Baseball Championship
Baseball in the UAAP is an all-male sport. Six teams are participating in the seniors division while there are four teams in the juniors division. Baseball was introduced as a sport in the seniors division in 1938. In the juniors division, Baseba ...
Other
*
Iran Baseball Championship
This article contains a list of organized baseball leagues.
International competition
*Many international baseball events are coordinated by the baseball division of the World Baseball Softball Confederation, including the World Baseball Class ...
Israel Baseball League
The Israel Baseball League (IBL; Hebrew: ליגת הבייסבול הישראלית, ''Ligat ha-Beisbol ha-Israelit'') was a six-team professional baseball league in Israel. The first game was played on June 24, 2007.
League structure
The s ...
Baseball Finnish Championship Series
The Baseball Finnish Championship Series ( Finnish: ''Baseballin SM-sarja'') has been played in Finland since 1981. Currently the Championship consists of 6 teams, but has had as many as 7 (in 2007). The Championship winner represents Finland in ...
Greek Baseball League
Greek Baseball league is the top amateur baseball league in Greece. The inaugural season was held in 2000 and the first champions were Marousi 2004. The season begins every March and concludes every November with the finals, a best-of-five serie ...
Irish Baseball League
The Irish Baseball League (IBL) is the men's league in Ireland. It started play in 1997. The season runs from March to October and are played on the weekends.
Club sides and fields
The O'Malley Fields at Corkagh Park in Clondalkin, West Dublin ...
, Ireland
*
Italian Baseball League
The Italian Baseball League (IBL; Italian: ') is a professional baseball league that is governed by FIBS (Italian Baseball & Softball Federation), which has its headquarters in Rome. The IBL is a wood bat league in which both composite and alumi ...
Honkbal Hoofdklasse
The Honkbal Hoofdklasse ( Dutch for ''Major League Baseball'') is the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands. It is an eight-team league that plays a 42-game schedule and is overseen by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softba ...
Elitserien
Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan.
Elitserien leagues at present:
* Elitserien (badmin ...
Australian Baseball League
The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it ...
*
Greater Brisbane League
The Greater Brisbane League or formerly the Greater Brisbane Baseball Board league (GB3) is the largest baseball league in the Australian state of Queensland and covers all teams from Brisbane North, South, West, Metro as well as three Gold Coas ...
, Australia
*
New South Wales Major League
The NSW State Baseball League (previously known as the New South Wales Major League) is the highest amateur level of play for the sport of baseball in New South Wales. The league is currently composed of 9 baseball clubs predominantly from Sydne ...
Sport governing body
A sports governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function.
Sports governing bodies come in various forms and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule i ...
*
Regulation of sport
The regulation of sport is usually done by a sport governing body for each sport, resulting in a core of relatively invariant, agreed rules. People responsible for leisure activities often seek recognition and respectability as sports by joining ...
Baseball awards
Professional baseball leagues, amateur-baseball organizations, sportswriting associations, and other groups confer awards on various baseball teams, players, managers, coaches, executives, broadcasters, writers, and other baseball-related peopl ...
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...