Sports in Phoenix mirroring the major league teams which play in the Cactus League. The only two Cactus League teams which do not have a rookie league team playing in Phoenix are the Kansas City Royals and the Colorado Rockies. The Arizona Fall League is an off-season league run by Major League Baseball, and consists of six teams made up of some of the most talented minor league players in baseball. Unlike baseball's minor leagues, like AAA teams, the teams are not affiliated with a single major-league team. Each of the six teams is affiliated with five major league teams, all of which
Baseball in the United States when St. Louis Cardinals' general manager Branch Rickey formalized the system, and teams in small towns were "growing players down on the farm like corn." As of 2018, the Minor League Baseball hierarchy is separated into the classes of AAA, AA, High-A, A, Short-Season A, Rookie-Advanced and Rookie. Most major league teams have teams in at least six of these seven levels. Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball teams may enter into a PDC for a two- or four-year term. At the expiration of a PDC term, teams may renew their affiliation, or sign new PDCs with different clubs,