Baseball in the United States the Atlanta Braves' affiliates except the Carolina Mudcats. Minor League teams that are owned directly by the major league Club do not have PDCs with each other and are not part of the reaffiliation shuffles that occur every other year. A special minor league is the Arizona Fall League. It operates outside the Minor League Baseball hierarchy and is owned by MLB as a whole; teams generally assign prospects from the AAA and AA classes to the league's six teams. Today, 19 affiliated minor baseball leagues operate with 246 member clubs in large, medium, and small towns, as well as
Western Baseball League Western Baseball League The Western Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in the Western United States and Western Canada. Its member teams were not associated with any Major League Baseball teams. It operated from 1995 to 2002. The league was founded in 1994 by Portland, Oregon businessman Bruce L. Engel. It began play in 1995, with the following teams: Northern Division: Southern Division: Long Beach won the inaugural league championship, defeating Tri-City, 3 games to 1. In 1996, Surrey folded, then the Reno Chukars were added. Long Beach won its second consecutive title, again 3 games to 1