For the 2012 season, the American Association began interleague play with the Can-Am League.[4] The two leagues were both headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, and both had Miles Wolff as their commissioner. This was similar to interleague play in Major League Baseball, but American Association and Can-Am League were separate legal entities and had separate playoffs/championships.
At the end of the 2013 season, due to the Tucson Padres relocating to their city, the El Paso Diablos suspended operations. The team was eventually revived and relocated, operating as the Joplin Blasters. The Blasters ceased operations after the conclusion of the 2016 season.
On November 19, 2015, Miles Wolff announced that there would no longer be interleague play. It also was announced that for the Amarillo Thunderheads and Grand Prairie AirHogs would operate as a joint team, the Texas AirHogs, playing 25 games in Amarillo and 25 games in Grand Prairie to make up a 12-team league.[5][6] The team remained in Grand Prairie full-time in 2017, with the Cleburne Railroaders joining the league the same season. Shortly before the 2017 season, the Laredo Lemurs withdrew from the league.[7] They were temporarily replaced by the Salina Stockade from the Pecos League for the season. The Chicago Dogs joined for 2018 [8] and the Milwaukee Milkmen joined in 2019, replacing the Wichita Wingnuts, who folded in large part due to the demolition of Lawrence-Dumont Stadium and their eventual replacement by the Wichita Wind Surge.
In May 2021, the league announced the approval of Lake Country Baseball, based in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, as a new member of the league starting in 2022. Construction commenced later that summer on a new stadium and multi-use indoor sports facility, which opened for play on May 20, 2022, as Wisconsin Brewing Company Park.[14] The team selected the name Lake Country DockHounds, after hosting an online name the team contest.[15]
With the DockHounds joining the league for the 2022 season, the American Association opted for realignment of the divisions. Going away from the prior North/South divisions, the league decided to go with East/West divisions. The league placed Cleburne, Chicago, Kane County, Gary SouthShore, Milwaukee, and Lake Country in the East Division; and Winnipeg, Fargo-Moorhead, Sioux Falls, Sioux City, Lincoln, and Kansas City in the West Division. The league also changed the playoff format. The top four teams in each division make the playoffs, and the team in each division with the best record is allowed to choose their first-round opponent from the remaining three division teams.[16]
Business model
The American Association (AA) typically recruits college and former major and minor league players. Former affiliated-league players who get injured or have other circumstances join the AA as an opportunity to get re-signed by major league organizations. For example, David Peralta was signed in 2004 as a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals but suffered injuries and was released in 2009. He resurrected his career as an outfielder with teams such as the AA's Wichita Wingnuts and Amarillo Sox in 2012 and 2013, then became a starting outfielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Other players include college players who were not drafted into MLB but seek the opportunity to be seen by major league scouts and possibly get signed by major league organizations. Other former MLB players join the AA as a way to stay involved in baseball after their MLB career, often as coaches and managers.
As of 2008, the salary cap for each team was $100,000, with a minimum salary of $800 per month.[17] The price of an expansion team is also about $750,000.[17] This is in stark contrast with the minor and major leagues. Former Commissioner Miles Wolff stated in an interview that "We have to pay the salaries of the players, which they don't in an affiliated [league]. It's a much riskier business. Just because of the longevity and tradition, we usually don't get the best cities, either, so some of the markets we're in are not great markets. But as I say, I think it's a better product."[17]
In 2018, the league raised the minimum salary to $1,200 per month to comply with the new Save America's Pastime Act.[18]
Roster rules
Rosters are limited to 25 players, with a maximum of six may be veterans and minimum of five must be rookies or LS-1. The remaining players will be designated limited service players and of those LS players only six (6) may be LS-4. Two of the LS-4 players may have LS-5 status.[19]
Rookie: A player with less than one year of service.
LS-1: A player with fewer than two years of service.
LS-2: A player with fewer than three years of service.
LS-3: A player with fewer than four years of service.
LS-4: A player with fewer than five years of service.
LS-5: A player with less than 6 years of service.
Veteran: A player with six or more years of service. If a player has six or more years of service but has not reached the age of 26 by September 1 of that season, he will be considered an LS-4. If he has not reached the age of 24 by September 1 of that season, he will be considered an LS-3.[20]
Fort Worth Cats – founding member of the league, had its membership revoked by the league on October 26, 2011, after failing to provide the league with a letter of credit[21] Moved to the North American League, then United League Baseball, then later folded
Wichita Wingnuts – suspended operations following the 2018 season as their ballpark was to be demolished to make way for a new ballpark and the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge; many players and staff members transferred to the pre-existing Cleburne Railroaders for 2019 and beyond
Texas AirHogs – did not play the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, folded after the season
The American Association hosted an annual All-Star Game from 2006 to 2010. The league's first All-Star game was played in El Paso, Texas, on July 18, 2006, which pit a team of American Association All-Stars against an All-Star team from the Can-Am League. Its current format pits the all-stars from each division against each other. There was no All-Star game in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2020, or 2021.
^ abcvan der Horst, Roger (May 19, 2008). "All About Baseball: Wolff Happily Stays Independent" (Document). McClatchy-Tribune Business News. ProQuest465137999. The cap is around $100,000 in each league. [...] the minimum salary is $800 a month. [...] Our expansion price is around $750,000.
^Pannier, Robert (May 16, 2018). "American Association Raises Rookie Salaries to Accommodate Federal Law". Minor League Sports Report. Retrieved June 14, 2021. Rookies, in particular, were making far below the standard, paid about $800 per month. [...] Prior to Spring Training beginning, the American Association approved an increase for rookies of $400 a month
^American Association of Professional Baseball Media Guide 2022. 2022. p. 3.
