Major League Baseball
In North America, the term Major League Baseball generally refers to the top-level caliber of baseball play. Leagues in other parts of the world, notably Japan and Latin America, may have equivalent levels of play (and increasingly draw from the same talent pools), but are typically not included when the term is used.
More specifically, "Major League Baseball" (MLB) refers to the two top leagues, the National League and the American League, and the joint organizational structure which has existed between them since 1901. MLB has a Commissioner, maintains joint umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing and television contracts for the two major leagues. This structure and the major league ownership of minor league baseball is possible because of a 1922 court decision in which baseball was ruled a local affair and not interstate commerce subject to antitrust law, an exemption which does not apply to other sports.
Current Major Leagues
The Major League Baseball season runs from early April through late September. Players and teams prepare for the season in February and March in spring training. There are 30 teams in the two leagues, 14 in the American League (AL) and 16 in the National League (NL), and each league is split into three divisions: East, Central, and West. Games are mostly played against teams within the same league, and those are usually weighted towards teams in the same division. Games were played exclusively within each league (excepting the World Series) until interleague play was introduced in 1997. Thus, teams like the New York Yankees in the AL and the New York Mets in the NL now play each other every year, instead of only possibly meeting in the World Series.
The season is 162 games long. From 1898 to 1961, the season was 154 games long. Before that, seasons ran from between 98 and 150 games.
In early July, around the midpoint in the season, there is a three day "All-Star break" during which the Major League Baseball All-Star Game takes place, an exhibition game featuring the best players from each league playing one another.
In October, at the end of the regular season, the postseason begins for the eight teams that make the playoffs. Until 1969, when there were no divisions, the team finishing with the best record in each league won the league's pennant and faced the other league's pennant winner in the fall classic, the World Series. When the league expanded in 1969, each league split into Eastern and Western divisions. To determine the pennant winner, the two division leaders squared off in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and National League Championship Series (NLCS).
After subsequent expansions, the leagues realigned again in 1994 into the current East, Central, West makeup. The three division leaders plus a "Wild Card" team now face off in the playoffs. The Wild Card team is the team with the best record in the league that did not win a division. The four teams face off in the Division Series to determine which teams head to the League Championship Series for a chance at the league's pennant. The Wild Card winner faces the division winner with the best record, unless the teams are in the same division, in which case the Wild Card team plays the second-best division winner. (See American League Division Series and National League Division Series.)
The National League champion and American League champion battle each other in the October season finale, the World Series.
At the time of writing the Commissioner of Baseball, Bud Selig, has often floated the idea of further expansion and realignment of the major leagues. At the moment, however, the major leagues are each split into three divisions, and structured as follows:
American League
National League
Historical Major Leagues
In 1969, the centennial of professional baseball, a commission chartered by Major League Baseball identified the following leagues as "major leagues". The list is sometimes disputed by baseball researchers. The MLB list included the following:
Some researchers contend that the National Association (1871-1875), the Negro Leagues (primarily during the years from 1921-1946), and the first year of the American League (1900) deserve consideration as major leagues due to the caliber of player and the level of play exhibited. However, game and statistical records for these particular leagues were not kept in a consistent manner.
Related articles
Players and officials
Statistics and records
Post-season awards
Exhibition and playoffs
External links
Referenced By
11 April | 11th April | 12 August | 12 June | 12 May | 12th August | 12th June | 12th May | 15 March | 15th March | 1840 in sports | 1840s in sports | 1841 in sports | 1842 in sports | 1845 in sports | 1846 in sports | 1848 in sports | 1849 in sports | 1876 | 1927 in sports | 1931 | 1935 | 1939 in television | 1950 in sports | 1951 in sports | 1952 in sports | 1953 in sports | 1955 in sports | 1956 in sports | 1957 in sports | 1959 | 1961 in sports | 1962 in sports | 1964 | 1965 in sports | 1966 | 1966 in sports | 1968 in sports | 1970 in sports | 1971 in sports | 1972 in sports | 1973 in sports | 1974 in sports | 1975 in sports | 1976 in sports | 1978 in sports | 1979 in sports | 1983 in sports | 1984 in sports | 1985 in sports | 1986 in sports | 1987 in sports | 1988 in sports | 1989 | 1989 in sports | 1990 in sport | 1990 in sports | 1991 in sports | 1992 in sports | 1993 in sports | 1994 in sports | 1995 in sports | 1997 in sports | 1999 in sports | 2001 | 2001 in sports | 2002 in memoriam | 2002 in sports | 2003 American League Championship Series | 2003 California Recall | 2003 in sports | 24 July | 24 November | 24th July | 24th November | 26 July | 26 September | 26th July | 26th September | 28 June | 28th June | 29 July | 29th July | 2 February | 2 May | 2nd February | 2nd May | 30-30 club | 300-300 club | 3Com Park | 3 July | 3rd July | 40-40 Club | 4 February | 4th February | 6 August | 6th August | 9 March | 9th March | A. Bartlett Giamatti ...
|
