The Minors: The Struggles and the Triumph of Baseball's Poor Relation from 1876 to the Present

Baseball's minor leagues, like the major leagues have had a long and storied history. This book details its history and shows how greed and paranoia among major league baseball owners denied the minors their chance to bask in the major league sun.Many major league teams around today, like the Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers were originally long-time minor league teams which should have had an opportunity to become major league teams on their own. The book devotes a chapter to the original Baltimore Orioles who had a dynasty of their own in the 1920s, and another chapter to the Newark Bears' dynasty of the 1940's and early 1950s. Chapters are also devoted to the American Association, the Texas League and Branch Rickey. Rickey revolutionized minor league baseball with his idea of developing major league talent by "farming out" new players to minor league teams.Sullivan also talks about the PCL's attempt to become the third major league in the late 1940s. Alas, many minor leagues before had attempted this and all were 'shot down' in their attempts. The last section of the book details the fall and subsequent rise of the minor leagues.Although it's a bit dated now, this book does an excellent job cataloging the history of the minors.