American Association of Independent Professional Baseball

The American Association of Independent Professional Baseball,based in Durham, North Carolina, is a professional baseball league founded in 2005 and independent of Major League Baseball (MLB). It operates in the states of Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and the Canadian province of Manitoba, mostly in cities not served by MLB teams or their minor league affiliates. The American Association was founded in October 2005 when Northern League teams left that league. Following the folding of the Central Baseball League, five teams from that league joined with the four former Northern League franchises, and to even things out an expansion team was placed in St. Joseph, Missouri. The league began play in 2006, with a 96-game schedule. The 2012 season, schedule has been increased to one hundred games which will feature five teams from the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. These teams include; Newark Bears, New Jersey Jackals, Rockland Boulders, Québec Capitales and the Worcester Tornadoes.

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball

The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball is a professional, independent baseball organization located primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, especially the greater metropolitan areas of the Northeast megalopolis. It operates in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either. The Atlantic League requires cities to have the market for a 4,000 to 7,500-seat ballpark and for the facility to be maintained at or to exceed AAA standards. When Atlantic League professionals are signed by MLB clubs, they usually start in their AA or AAA affiliates. In 1998, the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball played its inaugural season. The creation of the league was the result of the New York Mets' objection to Frank Boulton's proposal to move the former Albany-Colonie Yankees to Long Island. The Mets objected to the move because of its territorial rights to the region. Boulton, a Long Island native, decided to create a new league that would have a higher salary cap for its players and a longer season than most of the other independent baseball organizations. He modeled the Atlantic League after the older Pacific Coast League, with facilities that exceed AAA-level standards. Boulton also emphasized signing players of Major League Baseball experience for all Atlantic League teams, raising the level of play above other independent leagues. The teams are: Lancaster Barnstormers, Somerset Patriots, Sugar Land Skeeters, York Revolutions, Bridgeport Bluefish, Camden Rivershark, Long Island Ducks, and Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. 

Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball

The Association is usually referred to as the Can-Am League. This was also the name of the Canadian-American League, which operated between 1936 and 1951. The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, based in Durham, North Carolina, is a professional, independent baseball league located in the Northeastern United States and the Canadian province of Quebec. It operates in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either. The level of play is comparable to that in Class A leagues. The Can-Am League schedule is a relatively short-season, with mid level salary caps to help keep league costs to a minimum. Several league policies serve to prevent dominance by owners who can out-spend their opposition:A league salary cap is a maximum amount that can be spent on the entire player roster. Teams may apportion it among players as they see fit. Certain players are given coaching duties, by which to earn additional pay. A maximum salary cap for a rostered player is about four thousand dollars every 1 to 2 months, varying on the roster size. However most players make about 2 to 3 thousand dollars every month. There are some rostered players that make the max every 2 months. There are no players in the league that makes 4000 in 1 month or less. Rosters are limited to 22 players once the regular season begins. An additional two players can be on the disabled list (which is referred to on some published rosters as the disabled/inactive list, and is sometimes used to ensure that a player under contract that a team does not wish to use is unavailable to opponents).League roster rules give each player an LS (Length of Service) rating, based on the number of full years the player has played professionally: Rookie, LS-1 through LS-5, and Veteran. Teams can carry at most four veterans and must carry at least five rookies. Some published rosters state the LS rating of each player. The teams include: New Jersey Jackals, Newark Bears, Québec Capitals, Rockland Boulders, and Worcester Tornados.

Frontier League

The Frontier League, based in Sauget, Illinois, is a professional, independent baseball organization located in the Midwestern United States, Western Pennsylvania, and Southern Ontario. It operates mostly in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either. Though not part of the official minor league system, its level of play is considered to be comparable to low A-level. The league was formed in 1993, and is the oldest currently running independent league. Teams in the Frontier League must recruit and sign their own players, which usually consist of undrafted college players or one-time prospects who have been released by their teams. Frontier League rules limit teams to three "veterans" (those with three or more years of professional experience), two two-year players and seven one-year players (those with at least 150 professional at-bats or 50 innings pitched). The other half of the 24-man roster is confined to rookies. Players cannot be older than 27 as of January 1. Pay in the Frontier League is minimal, as each team has a salary cap of $72,000, and the league minimum is set at $600 per month. Due to the low pay, players typically live with host families. The teams consist off: Evansville Otters, Florence Freedom, Lake Erie Crushers, London Rippers, Southern Illinois Miners, Traverse City Beach Bums, Washington Wild Things, Gateway Grizzlies, Joliet Slammers, Normal CornNelters, River City Rascals, Rockford RiverHawks, Schaumburg Boomers, and Windy City Thunderbolts.

North American League

The North American League (officially known as the North American Baseball League) is an independent baseball league that began play in the 2011 season. The league consists of a merger of three independent leagues, the Northern League of Illinois, United League Baseball of Texas, and the Golden Baseball League based in the Western United States and Western Canada. The league's chairman of the board is Dave Kaval, former CEO of Diamond Sports and Entertainment (owners of the now-defunct GBL), league president is Brian MacInnes and main board member is James C. Peters. To keep travel costs from being a financial issue for the teams, the league plays in a division structure where teams play 75% of their 96-game schedule within their division and make just one lengthy roadtrip of 12 games outside their division. The league concludes the season with divisional playoffs followed by a North American Championship Series. The teams consist off: Hawaii Stars, Na Koa Ikaika Maui, San Rafael Pacifics, Sonoma County Grapes, Abilene Prairie Dogs, Edinburg Roadrunners, Fort Worth Cats, McAllen Thunder, Rio Grande Vally WhiteWings, and San Angelo Colts.

Pecos League

The Pecos League is an independent professional baseball league Headquartered in Houston, Tx. which operates in cities in desert mountain regions throughout New Mexico, Southern Colorado and West Texas. Pecos Teams play in cities that do not have Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either. The Pecos League is where the Land of Enchantment meets the Lone Star State. The league's high power offenses are fueled by high altitudes and smaller ballparks. The Pecos League is home to high altitude baseball where our average elevation is 4870. Our players come from all over the US and all over the world and are a combination of rising stars, falling stars, shooting stars and athletes with stars in their eyes. Our communities take tremendous pride in their teams. The Pecos League has promoted 63 players to higher independent and affiliated teams in the summer of 2011 and off season of 2011-2012.

The teams are: Las Cruces Vaqueros, Trinidad Triggers, Roswell Invaders, Alpine Cowboys, White Sands Pupfish, and Santa Fe Fuego.