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

by Neil J. Sullivan

This impressive history of baseball in the smaller towns and cities of the U.S. is divided into three sections. The first covers the years from 1877 to 1920, when the modern game was evolving and the general outlines of major and minor leagues were taking shape; the second treats the period from 1920 to 1950, the golden age of the minors; the third is devoted to the expansion of the majors and the rise of television, both of which all but destroyed the minors, reducing the number of leagues from 59 to 21.

Genres: Baseball, History

307 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

For every time Sullivan says he isn't waxing rhapsodic about minor league baseball, that is what he ends up doing. Countless times he goes on about how the major leagues ruined strong independent minor league teams, or entire leagues. He practically rages about how major league owners are selfish and bad business men. And, that minor league teams built strong regional rivalries and ties with their local community.

After awhile it wears thin, much as it does in Neal Lanctot's book about the Negro Leagues. Society and sport changes, evolve,s for better or worse. Major league baseball spreading from coast-to-coast and attempting to spread internationally is business. What has changed since this book was written in 1990 is the rebirth of independent minor leagues that have no relationship with major league teams. Some of these leagues and teams have been very successful, and some have gone the way of their forebears into bankruptcy.

This book does have its good points. He does manage to give a historical overview of some of the more famous leagues and teams (Pacific Coast League, Baltimore Orioles, even the Negro Leagues), and he does this without burying the reader in stats (as many baseball historians do).

[Jason Powers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book to see if there are stories missed in my understanding of the Minor League game from 1903-1960. Neil compiled a nice history of various teams (Baltimore, for example) that were the cream of the crop for a substantial amount of time. Some will find his analysis a bit biting in regards to the majors, as he does often portray this battle as black hat - white hat.

He is though reinforcing the obvious departure from independent minor league systems, that sold talent rather freely, to the eventual hog-tying of talent to a farm system. Rickey is the closest 20th century progenitor of this system - as he was for many other ideas. Sullivan walks a reader through the course of the minor's evolution to its highest form, to its lowest ebb in power.

Sullivan offers up a fairly in-depth research of players on these historical teams - giving you a flavor of the talent and echelons these teams played at. In short, this is more educational and enlightening, that it is entertaining and glib and fun.

It makes good research, but it will be of interest to only hard core baseball fans. Casual fans probably will not have much use for it.

Solid work - not a page turner - but does justice to The Minors.

[Marianne Stehr · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Baseball, but this is written like an encyclopedia and not at all interesting, gave up very quickly!