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Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. More specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates North American professional baseball's two leagues, the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure which has existed between them since 1903.

The American League operates under the Designated Hitter Rule, but the National League does not ('inter-league' game rules are determined by the home team's league). In 2000, the American and National leagues were officially disbanded as separate legal entities with all rights and functions consolidated in the commissioner's office.

MLB effectively operates as a single league and as such it constitutes one of the major professional sports leagues of North America.

Major League Baseball is controlled by an agreement that has undergone several incarnations since 1876, then called the NL Constitution, with the most recent revisions being made in 2005.

Major League Baseball, under the direction of its Commissioner, Bud Selig, hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts. As is the case for most North American sports leagues, the 'closed shop' aspect of MLB effectively prevents the yearly promotion and relegation of teams into the Major League by virtue of their performance.

MLB as well maintains a unique, controlling relationship over the sport, including most aspects of minor league baseball. This is due in large part to a 1922 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Federal Baseball Club v. National League which declared baseball is not considered interstate commerce (and therefore not subject to federal antitrust law), despite baseball's own references to itself as an "industry" rather than a "sport."

The production/multimedia wing of MLB is New York-based MLB Advanced Media, which oversees MLB.com and all 30 of the individual teams' websites. Its charter states that MLB Advanced Media holds editorial independence from the League itself, but it is indeed under the same ownership group and revenue-sharing plan. MLB Productions is a similarly-structured wing of the league, focusing on video and traditional broadcast media.

Historical major leagues

In 1969, the official centennial of professional baseball, the Special Baseball Records Committee appointed by Major League Baseball recognized six "major leagues" in history, four defunct and two still in operation.

1876: National League (National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs)
1882-1891: American Association
1884: Union Association
1890: Players League
1901: American League
1914–1915: Federal League

Some researchers contend that some other leagues deserve "major league" status, too.

1871–1875: National Association of Professional Base Ball Players or National Association (NA)
1900: The first year of the American League
1920–1948: significant Negro Leagues

Indeed, the Official Encyclopedia of Baseball published in 1951 and revised since then recognized the NA as a major league. But a new Baseball Encyclopedia project made possible by the digital computer promised publication of far more detailed playing records.

In general, the SBRC ruled that the other leagues kept playing records inconsistently or lacked significant direct impact on the major leagues.

Specifically, the following can be said of these leagues:

The National Association was the direct precursor of the NL, six of whose eight charter members came from the NA of 1875, and it is generally considered the first professional league. The standard position is that it was a "transitional" organization not quite up to major league standards. The NL was a wholly new entity that took the best of the NA and imposed a discipline that was lacking in the failed NA.
The AL of 1900 was located in four only of the eight cities it would be occupy in the following year. It accepted minor status and did not conduct raids on major league rosters. That changed in 1901.

The Negro Leagues are the toughest call. Some historians have labeled their time the era of "shadow ball", a segregated parallel to the (all-white) major leagues. The fact that many young players were able to enter MLB in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and have immediate impact, argues for major status in one sense. On the other hand, it may be argued that the Negro Leagues were closer in quality of play to the highest levels of minor league ball such as the Pacific Coast League. It is a debate that has no clear resolution, which is why most historians are content to simply regard them as a category unto themselves.

At the same time, some historians question whether the Union Association of 1884 should be considered "major", because it had only one major-league caliber team (St. Louis) and several clubs failed during the season mid-season, others taking their places. Beside that MLB recognition which the Unions enjoy as a matter of fact, any argument for major status rests chiefly on the Union Association's direct impact on the other majors, due to roster-raiding. None of the "non-major" other leagues listed here could make that claim.

The Sporting News, a weekly established in 1886 and later an important publisher of books, did not recognize the Federal League of 1914-1915 for almost ninety years.

Other major baseball leagues

Numerous major professional baseball leagues exist throughout the world. The most prominent of these and the most directly comparable to Major League Baseball in real terms (number of teams, organization, funding and caliber of play) are the Central League and Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball. Many Japanese baseball teams have played and continue to play exhibition games against their American counterparts, and a number of players have career numbers in both the Japan Professional Baseball League and Major League Baseball.

Total World Series Championships

Team	Titles
New York Yankees	26
St. Louis Cardinals	10
Oakland Athletics (five as Philadelphia Athletics)	9
Boston Red Sox	6
Los Angeles Dodgers (one as Brooklyn Dodgers)	6
Cincinnati Reds	5
Pittsburgh Pirates	5
San Francisco Giants (all as New York Giants)	5
Detroit Tigers	4
Atlanta Braves (one each as Boston Braves and Milwaukee Braves)	3
Baltimore Orioles	3
Chicago White Sox	3
Minnesota Twins (one as Washington Senators)	3
Chicago Cubs	2
Cleveland Indians	2
Florida Marlins	2
New York Mets	2
Toronto Blue Jays	2
Arizona Diamondbacks	1
Kansas City Royals	1
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	1
Philadelphia Phillies	1

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