In one of the most storied affiliations at the Class AAA level, the PawSox have been the top affiliate of their nearby MLB parent for 45 years. International League: Pawtucket Red Sox and Boston Red Sox (1973)
As a result, not all agreements listed below began when the MiLB affiliate was in its current market. In addition, we are recognizing affiliations that shifted when a minor league club relocated. That affects a few leagues, though we will note where an MLB club has held long-term ownership over an MiLB club in that circuit.
Since affiliations are recognized by player development contracts (PDCs), we are not counting MiLB teams that are owned by their MLB parent club, unless MLB ownership is prevalent throughout a particular league. With another affiliation cycle set to kick off in the coming weeks, we take a look the longest affiliations in each MiLB league.Īs for how we are qualifying affiliates, there are a few things to note. The often-fluid nature of baseball affiliations can lead to shifts during every affiliation cycle, making long-lasting agreements between Major League and Minor League teams more notable. By Zach Spedden on Augin Affiliation News, Major-League Baseball, Minor-League Baseball
