The question then becomes, “In what other way can I work in the professional baseball industry without being a player, manager, coach, or owner?”  Here are several starting points, each with a short description to help you better understand what is available to you:

League-level:  It is possible for you to work with an independent baseball league at the league office level.  Skills here include media relations, strategic planning, marketing, attracting major sponsors for league-wide exposure, and other similar duties. Entry-level (team):  Many independent baseball teams need help with game-day operations, ticket sales, community relations, and many other tasks to entice local organizations and individuals to spend money with the team.  You will need interpersonal, computer, phone, and event-planning skills.  In addition, the hours may be long and some physical effort will be required, especially if you work on game-day operations. Specialty skills:  You can join an independent baseball team with a number of specialty skills.  These could include online radio broadcasting, public address announcing, statistician, dealing with local and regional sports media, promotions development and implementation, online marketing, grounds keeping, stadium management, concessions skills, and merchandise/inventory management.  Even higher-level specialty skills include stadium design, graphic design for logos and sponsorship obligations, game scheduling, and raising capital for teams. Management (team):  You will need to be able to manage employees, interns, and have a good ability to deal with other executives, team owners, and the league executives.  You also will be working long hours overseeing items dealing with concessions, merchandise, stadium operations, stadium construction/renovation, speaking at the local service organizations, dealing with player contracts, and many other tasks.  You should have the ability to run a small/medium business, including accounting/payroll understanding, budgeting, networking, and many other senior-level tasks.

With over 50 independent baseball teams scheduled to play in 2010, there are several opportunities to join this industry.  Remember that your love for the game has to be tempered with the understanding that the team owner, league president, and general manager all want to turn a profit while maintaining a high standard of excellence in the local market.  If you are willing to do what you can to offer professional quality while focusing on making a profit and obtaining new fans then you have the first step needed to join independent professional baseball.

An independent professional baseball team is a team which plays in a professional baseball league that is not affiliated with any Major League organization or the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, which is now named (officially) Minor League Baseball.  These teams have complete control over the players they sign, the personnel they hire, and their players can be signed by any “affiliated” team in Minor League Baseball.  

Occasionally, an independent baseball player may make it to a Major League Baseball roster after having started his career in the independent baseball leagues.  Many players who make it to a Major League roster after having spent time with an independent baseball team usually had previous Major League, or high-level Minor League experience prior to joining a Major League Baseball roster.  

For the 2009 season, nearly 60 independent teams fielded a team in 8 independent leagues.  The teams play in the U.S. and Canada.  There are independent baseball teams in the Northeast, Quebec, Calgary, California, the Mid-Atlantic, Texas, Arizona, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota and the Dakotas, just to name a few regions.  The players can range from just out of college, former “affiliated” minor league players who were released, players who could be in the minors but opted to play closer to home for family reasons, former Major League players, and occasionally international players.  Many teams have managers and coaches whom have previous Major League Baseball experience.

The question you may still have, however, is if an independent baseball team is worth your time and money.  In most markets this is a “yes.”

Here are just some of the reasons why:

Prices are usually equal to or less than comparable entertainment, such as the movies
Concession prices are usually less than at higher-level professional sports
Kids and fans get participate in on-field and off-field promotions
Many teams offer incentives for you to bring groups
Many of the general managers and team executives have years of professional sports experience, so they understand what it takes to give you good entertainment for your money
Many of the players are accessible for autographs
The quality of play is considerably high, especially compared to other alternatives you may have in your area

Hopefully this article gives you a better understanding of independent baseball and helps you make a better decision for your entertainment dollar.

Unlike many jobs across North America, independent baseball players do not have a union or company department like Human Resources. They can be released almost at any time, for almost any reason, and there is usually nothing in their contracts which guarantees any sort of payment after players retire. When told all about this, many fans say, “Why would these players do that?!?”

Here are a few of the reasons:

A genuine love of the game: Many players in independent baseball believe that they have been overlooked by the Major League teams’ scouting departments. They genuinely believe that they deserve a chance to be in an “affiliated” farm team with one of the Major League organizations; and they truly love playing baseball. Many fans whom have attended independent baseball games comment on the hustle and passion of the players. A player who believes that he was overlooked may play with a “chip on his shoulder” in order to prove that he belongs with a Major League-affiliated farm team.

A need to be closer to home: Often, there are a few guys in each independent league who genuinely belong in a higher level of baseball. For whatever reason, however, they need to be closer to home with a less-grueling travel schedule. Sometimes players just started a family, others need to help out with a sick family member, and others need the support of friends and family in order to be comfortable with playing at the professional level.

A desire to continue his career in baseball: Many players will play in an independent baseball league in order to gain credibility for his post-playing career. Certain players want to manage or coach in professional baseball, others want to coach at the college level, and others want to transition to the front office of a professional sports team after they retire.

A need for camaraderie: If you have ever watched any documentary about “life in the minors” then you know that the players love playing baseball, enjoy crazy antics with their teammates, playing cards in the clubhouse, and the chance to develop lifelong friends especially on those long bus trips! If a player is good enough to be considered professional then many will take the opportunity to play in the independent leagues because he knows how competitive the demand is. Other players from around the continent are more than willing to take his spot, so he knows that he part of an elite level of baseball even though it is considered to be independent of the affiliated organizations.

A chance to rebuild his career: Sometimes an extremely talented player ends up in an independent league due to an injury, salary cap move, or simply due to “politics” in organized baseball. Such a player will play on an independent baseball team in order to prove to scouts that he is healthy, willing to go back at a more economical price, or simply that the other team which released him made a mistake. In a given year, dozens of players in independent baseball sign contracts with affiliated Minor League teams; and each year a few will get to play in the Major Leagues.

The next time you see an independent baseball game, or if you meet some independent baseball players around town, now you have a better understanding of why they do what they do regardless of the price at which they play. If you ever have said that you think pro athletes need to play with more passion and that they are overpaid, then be sure to attend an independent pro baseball game. You will be pleasantly surprised!