Analysis performed for us by Baseball Prospectus writer Rob Arthur reveals that between 1920 and 1960, upgrading from zero affiliates to one or more was worth about 2.25 wins per year. Going from a below-average to an above-average number of affiliates was worth an astounding 7.7 wins per year, albeit with diminishing returns after reaching twice the typical team’s farm-club count. Overall, adding one farm team was worth about 11 wins, on average, to a parent club over the following five years. Establishing a minor-league system, and extracting the youth it yielded, was for years the best (and
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