The 2021 minor league season continues to evolve, even in mid-June. After MLB took over MiLB (a hostile takeover, some would say) and eliminated historic league names in favor of generic labels (which some would also characterize as a hostile move … guess which side of that fence I’m on), the affiliated minor league season began with no All-Star Games and no post-season games nor series on the schedule. There are still no 2021 All-Star Games but we are getting a post-season, unlike any post-season we’ve ever seen.

MiLB announced a couple of weeks ago that the lower-level leagues (Double-A down to Low-A) would play post-season series to determine a league champion. So, that’s good. The two Triple-A leagues would not have a post-season but their regular season would be extended by ten games, and each league would name a Champion based on its teams’ regular season winning percentage.

Today MiLB announced that those final 10 games will not be part of the regular season after all. They will be collectively called the “Triple-A Final Stretch”. It’s apparently a way to have a post-season without actually having a post-season. So the word “stretch” is appropriate.

Here’s how it will work: in addition to a Regular Season Champion being proclaimed based on winning percentage as previously announced, each Triple-A league will also name a “Triple-A Final Stretch” Champion based upon the highest winning percentage during the tacked-on final 10 games. Those ten games will consist of a 5 home and 5 away series. The opponent for each series is different, but it appears that proximity was a significant determining factor. The matchups can be found here.

Because it’s not an actual championship contest it necessitates a host of tie-breaking conditions, which I won’t go into here. I’ll just say that if your opponent is determined randomly and you need a bunch of tie-breakers, you don’t have a true championship series. You don’t even have a real tournament since each team only plays two opponents, there are no rounds, and nobody is eliminated along the way.

To recap: come October we’ll have a Triple-A East Regular Season Champion, a Triple-A West Regular Season Champion, and a Triple-A Final Stretch Champion that has nothing to do with either of them. Glad they could clear that up for us.

While having more baseball games is always better than having fewer baseball games, this is kind of a haphazard mess which we can hope gets hammered into a more traditional look for 2022. We collectors can also hope that MLB/MiLB will produce an official ball for the lower-league post-season series and for the Triple-A Final Stretch. If we can’t have a true Triple-A championship this season at least we might have something new to add to our collection.

-Tony Baseballs

When you’ve been collecting for over 25 years and discover items you didn’t yet know existed, it’s pretty exciting! Today we’re spotlighting such a find, some great minor league collectibles from the Tacoma, Washington, Triple-A club.

Mr. Kevin Kalal worked for the Tacoma franchise first as Public Relations Director from 1991-1994, when the team was the Oakland A’s Triple-A affiliate and played as the Tigers; and then as Assistant General Manager, Director of Baseball Operations from 1995-2007, during which time the team was renamed to the Rainiers and became a member of the Seattle Mariners organization.

Kevin recently put several Official Pacific Coast League balls up for sale from various years that were stamped on the sweet spot with the team’s Opening Night date. Since our focus at minorleaguebaseballs.com is official game balls, we reached out to ask Kevin about the origin of these baseballs. He revealed that he had overseen what became a Tacoma tradition.

“The owner of the club was George Foster (not the former Cincinnati Reds player),” Kevin wrote, “and he began the tradition of making Opening Night balls in 1993 and his final season as the owner was 2006. In addition to the balls, he had commemorative bats made for the fiull-time staff members and other VIPs of the club.

“I was responsible for having the balls imprinted (usually a case of balls (10 dozen)) and what was left over from the owner’s gifting were used in the Opening Night Game (usually about 5 dozen balls).”

You can see those we managed to snag in the “All-Star Games and Special Events” section (1996, 1997, 2004, 2006). A couple of samples are below.

Many thanks to Kevin Kalal for this information; to former team owner George Foster for creating such a wonderful baseball tradition; and to both men for their work in minor league baseball and the community of Tacoma. It’s a great story and a reminder to us collectors that no matter how long we spend in this hobby there are still hidden gems to be found. It’s just one of the many reasons that minor league baseball is the best baseball experience!

A quick promotional note: The Collector’s Guide is still available for sale on this site and on Amazon.com, but these balls will be featured in the revised Edition, along with updates for the 2021 season. Look for it soon!

-Tony Baseballs

Happy New Year, fellow collectors! Just as 2020 saw the whole world change, 2021 ushers in major changes for the minor leagues, both affiliated and independent.

By now you know that the Basic Agreement between MiLB and MLB was allowed to expire back in September and MLB has taken over the affiliated minor leagues. In addition, a new working relationship has been established with several independent leagues.

In summary, 42 teams have been disinvited from MiLB, reducing the number of directly-affiliated teams to 120. For an updated listing of which teams are going where, check out our friends at Ballparkdigest.com. On the league level, here’s how the landscape has been reconfigured for 2021:

Triple-A and Double-A remain unchanged as far as league structure, although the team makeups will change slightly.

The real shakeup occurred with the A classifications (A, Advanced-A, Short Season-A, and Rookie-A) being consolidated into just two, High A and Low A.

HIGH A
Carolina League
Mid-Atlantic League (new)
Midwest League
Northwest League

LOW A
California League
Florida State League
South Atlantic League

The Appalachian League is no longer affiliated with MLB and will transition to a Collegiate Summer League. The New York-Penn League, formerly the oldest continuously-operated Class A league in professional baseball, will cease operations.

Next on the list of changes is the designation of several independent leagues as “MLB Partner Leagues”. The Atlantic League was already working with MLB by testing proposed rules changes, such as robo-umpires. Now that relationship has become formalized and it will be joined by three other indies, the American Association, the Frontier League, and the Pioneer League, to, as the MLB press release put it, “collaborate with MLB on initiatives to provide organized baseball to communities throughout the United States and Canada.”

Finally, MLB is creating a new Collegiate Summer League called the MLB Draft League, with a specific focus on top prospects eligible to be drafted.

In the next couple of weeks this site will be revamped to reflect the new minor league environment. Let me know what you think and happy collecting!

It’s official: after weeks of speculation about partial seasons and games sans fans, MiLB President Pat O’Connor announced on June 30th that the affiliated leagues of MiLB will not play at all in 2020.

Independent leagues will likely follow suit. The Atlantic League had already scrapped official play for the year. As of this writing the Pecos League plans on a limited schedule to be played in Texas, but that may be doomed as well.

It’s possible that the pandemic will be looked upon as the final straw in the contentious negotiations between MLB and MiLB for renewal of their agreement in September of this year. It appears increasingly likely that MLB’s plans to contract leagues will come to pass, as several minor league clubs are in grave financial straits and may not survive this baseball-less summer. The pandemic could end up doing the contracting for MLB Commissioner Manfred.

It’s a sad day indeed. All the more reason to buy my book! Take a look at the “Collector’s Guide” page and take one home! A historical record of what minor league baseball looked like pre-Covid is what we all need right now.

-Tony Baseballs

A slew of cancellations has laid waste to the collections of minor league enthusiasts everywhere. As far as I can tell only one ASG ball was produced for 2020 before the world shut down. You can see the Bowling Green Hot Rods’ Midwest League ASG ball here. Enjoy it, it’s probably the only one you’re going to see this year. Of course I’ll keep you posted if any others show up.

Now you can own the only guide to collecting and identifying official minor league baseballs! Everything you need to know to enjoy this niche of the baseball memorabilia market is in one handy guide. From defunct leagues to modern leagues; from the affiliated Minor League system to the independent leagues, this book has it all!

• A comprehensive look at the clues needed to identify and date your baseball using the president’s stamp, the manufacturer, even the color of the ink and the placement and design of the stamping;
• Presidents’ tenures of all affiliated and independent minor leagues since 1902;
• A confirmed list of minor league commemorative baseballs, including All-Star Games, Championship Games, and post-season series;
• An in-depth look at unique designs.

Order your copy today!

As if the virus weren’t bad enough for the business of baseball, negotiations between Major League Baseball and the affiliated Minor League Baseball organization continue. From all indications it appears increasingly likely the the affiliated system is looking at some significant changes.

As I said, the virus is bad enough, as several minor leagues have postponed or cancelled their All-Star Game festivities, if not their entire seasons (yet). As of this writing that list of ASG cancellations includes the Eastern League, the Midwest League, the Southern League, the Texas League, and the Triple-A All-Star Game.

All of this craziness makes this website all the more relevant as a repository and a museum for official minor league baseballs. I’m tracking down those teams that had already produced official ASG balls (you can see them here) and I’ll update the site as soon as I hear from them all. Keep your eyes peeled.

And don’t forget to buy the book! For collectors of minor league balls, I present a handy reference and how-to guide for curating your collection. Pick one up today! Buy two, they’re small!

Since you’re here, you’re interested in minor league baseballs. Have I got a deal for you! Available on Amazon, now you can purchase my guide to curating your collection. Take a look and take one home!

The new year promises to be a big one! For starters the physical museum has moved to sunny Arizona and continues to grow. In a few weeks we’ll have another big announcement. You’ll notice the Information Warehouse section is gone but never fear, it will return in a new form! Watch this space for details and as always, happy collecting!

The All-Star games have wrapped up and so has the regular season! It’s time for post-season series. The only commemorative I’m aware of is the game ball for the Triple-A National Championship Game which is scheduled for September 17th at Autozone Park, home of the Memphis Redbirds.

Watch this page for updates!