AAA Baseball Overview
Back in the 1930s,
St. Louis Cardinals GM Branch Rickey jokingly observed that minor
league teams in small rural towns were "growing players down on the
farm like corn." To this day, some 70 years later, Rickey's astute
comment lives on -- the minor leagues are universally known as the
"farm system."
And the top tier of that system is Triple-A baseball.
AAA
teams are usually located in or near major U.S. cities that don't
already have an MLB franchise. Each 40-player
roster boasts the most talented ballplayers in the farm system. In
addition, these elite minor leaguers may be called up to play in the
big leagues. For Major League Baseball teams in the pennant hunt,
Triple-A ball clubs supply fresh pitching and additional run support.