Baseball America posted an interesting story about an independent baseball pitcher who plays with an artificial hip… and dominates as a pitcher in the Golden League: http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/independent-audit/2009/268611.html
Here’s hoping that affiliated teams find a way to make it work for all parties to everyone’s benefit.
Here is a good story on the “family guys” who play for the York Revolution independent baseball team: http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_12701402
Here is a story of how one player got some advice and ended up going to an independent baseball league when his college career was finished: http://www.jimmyscottshighandtight.com/node/791
Note, however, that for the independent leagues you do not need an agent. While an agent may help, you also can do well for yourself by contacting the individual independent baseball teams and finding out tryout dates.
Also, be sure to have all of your paperwork in order including references, stats, video footage (preferably on a video-sharing site so that you can send a link directly to the manager or director of player operations), and any other documentation such as any evaluations you may have had from a Major League scout.
If you want more information on becoming an independent baseball player then leave a comment on this blog, and I will respond to the questions as they are asked.
You have to give credit to the Tucson Toros for their originality:
If you are a prospective professional baseball player then here is the first posted set of independent baseball tryouts for the 2009 off-season: http://cblproball.com/cgi-bin/forms/tryouts.pl
The Continental Baseball League (with teams in Texas and Louisiana) is holding instructional tryouts, with the potential to be signed to a spring training contract, throughout the U.S. The first is scheduled for September 12-13 in Greensboro, NC and the next is scheduled for September 20 in Plano, TX (just north of Dallas). Check the link for eligibility requirements, registration fees, and additional date/time/location of other tryouts.
Here is an interesting story about a 36 year-old independent baseball player who is still playing: http://www.azstarnet.com/sports/302491
It details some of his odd jobs and careers he has had in order to still stay in the game.
If you are a prospective professional baseball player, or if you have previous independent (or international) professional playing experience, then you may be considering getting instruction and increasing your exposure to professional teams through a fall league or winter league. In the previous post you found out about a Winter league which plays in Arizona. If it is better for you to play in a Fall League then here is information about the Fall league sponsored by the Alexandria Aces of the Continental Baseball League:
http://myacesbaseball.com/lfl/
The league will play its first season starting in September, and it will be called the Louisiana Fall League. If you do not have time to read the information on the link provided then call the Aces at (318) 473-ACES (2237).
If you want to increase your exposure and be notified of other independent baseball tryouts then be sure to join the database which gets your name out to general managers, managers, and league executives across all of the independent baseball leagues. Be sure to click the “I want to play professional baseball link” at:
If you are the former coach or parent of a college baseball player who has finished his eligibility then be sure to click this link for more information: College Baseball Parents And Coaches
If you are a prospective professional baseball player, and you want to improve your chances of getting better (and possibly signed) over the next few months then you may wish to consider participating in one of the for-pay independent baseball fall leagues or winter leagues. Over the next few days, blog posts will appear on how to get involved with these leagues and the benefits of considering each specific one.
To start, I spoke with a representative of the Golden League the other day. He is going to help oversee the Arizona Winter League which is one of the longest-running “Winter Leagues” in independent professional baseball. If you want to play in the Arizona Winter League, or if you want to become an intern and/or join the front office of these teams, then be sure to visit either website to get more information:
More information about pricing, the instructors, and registration information can be found here:
http://www.goldenbaseball.com/playertryoutwinter.aspx?SecID=978
If you want information about many aspects of independent baseball, including useful information ONCE you become a player, be sure to join the appropriate database at http://www.IndependentMinorLeagueBaseball.com and choose the “I want to play professional baseball” link. If you are a parent of a prospective player then choose the option a few lines down, as there is information for you.
Thank you, and more information on other Fall Leagues will be posted soon.
Do you have a tough time explaining to friends and family what an independent baseball team is? If so, here is an article you can send them which should help explain everything from their point of view:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Independent-Baseball-Teams—What-They-Are&id=2535252
Many of the 2009 independent baseball teams have a presence on Facebook.com. Here is a best-efforts list to create an easy-to-use resource where you can find a Facebook presence for every independent professional baseball team.
Note that some of these pages may be “fan” pages, and not officially endorsed or controlled by the actual team. If so, please have a team (or league) representative contact me with the correct Facebook link; and then I will correct the link quickly.
Some pages require to join the “Fan” page, the group, or add a particular team as a “friend” in order to access all of the publicly-available information.
American Association
Atlantic League
Can-Am League
Continental League
Frontier League
Golden League
Northern League
United League
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