The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball

When the pandemic hit in early 2020, baseball’s minor leagues cancelled their seasons. A few independent leagues tried abbreviated schedules, but all Major League affiliates shut down—for the first time in more than 120 years. Since then, Major League Baseball has taken over governance of the minors, and leagues and teams have been eliminated. In its fourth and final edition, this book gives a complete accounting of the minor leagues as they were known from the late 19th century through 2019.

Lloyd Johnson is a baseball historian, writer and consultant, former president of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), former executive director of SABR, past senior research associate for the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York, and the first director of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. He lives in Belton, Missouri.

Miles Wolff is the former owner of the Durham Bulls, the Quebec Capitales, the Burlington Royals, and ten other minor league, independent and summer collegiate teams. He is the former publisher and owner of Baseball America, and Total Baseball named him among the top 100 most important individuals in baseball history. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.

Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff
Format: softcover (8.5 x 11 in 2 vols.)
Pages: 1063
Bibliographic Info: bibliography
Copyright Date: 2024
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8929-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4769-2
Imprint: McFarland

• Volume 1 •

Acknowledgments—4th Edition v

Preface 1

Guide to Abbreviations 2

League Classifications 3

I. Professional Teams and Leagues—1876–2019

Teams by Leagues 5

Teams by Cities 37

Teams by State and Country 77

Professional Leagues by Year 118

Non-Signatory Leagues 150

II. The Seasons

The Pre-History: 1876–1882 151

The Beginnings: 1883–1901 155

The Early Years: 1902–1913 199

The First Decline: 1914–1919 273

The Roaring Twenties: 1920–1929 301

The Depression and Beyond: 1930–1941 354

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

• Volume 2 •

The War Years: 1942–1945 439

The Golden Age: 1946–1952 455

The Second Decline: 1953–1962 547

The Subsistence Years: 1963–1977 619

The Revival: 1978–1995 701

The Boom Years: 1996–2006 809

The Final Chapter: 2007–2019 898

III. Achievements

Active League Records 1007

Inactive League Records 1013

All-Time Leaders, Individual Career 1031

All-Time Leaders, Individual Single Season 1033

Awards 1036

Bibliography 1043

“Unfortunately, this is the final edition of the Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. In 2021, Major League Baseball eliminated the minor league’s head office and many longstanding leagues and teams. Thankfully, these volumes will serve as a statistical record for the league. … Containing more than 1,000 pages, this two-volume set is a treasure”—Booklist

From the previous editions:

• Winner of the 1993 Macmillan-SABR Baseball Research Award

• “Wonderful, indespendible”—The Sporting News

• “A very big and very good reference book”—The Cleveland Plain Dealer

• “A must buy for anyone who enjoys baseball history”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

• “A remarkable achievement”—American Reference Books Annual