How Many Games are Played in a Baseball Season

If you have been to a baseball game or two, you (or your child) probably have wondered if there is a leprechaun with a golden pot containing baseballs handing out an endless supply of pearly white, brand spanking new baseballs.

Well, I can’t confirm or deny the existence of a leprechaun, but I can tell you approximately how many baseballs are used at various levels in baseball.

Table of Contents

• Number of Teams – Youth Baseball
• Number of Teams – Professional Baseball
• Regular Season Games / Playoff Format
• Number of baseballs used in a game

Number of Teams

Before we can figure out how many baseballs are used, we need to know the number of teams and the game schedule.

Youth Baseball Teams

Youth teams can be from a recreation league, travel/tournament leagues and school conferences.

Recreation League Teams

Obviously, the number of teams in youth leagues vary greatly among different regions (LINK TO ARTICLE ABOUT THE IMPORTANT OF FORCING TRAVEL PLAYERS TO PLAY IN REC TO KEEP THE REC PROGRAM ALIVE).

Based on my own experience as a youth league commissioner for Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken, a rough breakdown of the number of teams during a typical spring season is as follows:

• Pre-K and K Tee Ball – 6 to 8 teams
• Farm A (first graders) – 6 to 8 teams
• Farm A & AA (second graders) – 6 to 8 teams
• Minors (third and fourth graders) – 4 to 6 teams
• Majors (fifth and sixth graders) – 6 to 8 teams
• Pony/Seniors (seventh through ninth graders) – 4 to 6 teams
• Babe Ruth (tenth graders through twelfth graders) – 4 to 6 teams

Travel Teams

• Some travel teams participate in a travel league (i.e. USABL) with league’s age division containing 4 to 6 teams
• Travel league also lasts approximately 12 weeks

School Teams (high school or below)

• Number of conferences is dependent on population density and how many school district there are in a state
• For example, New Jersey as 15 school conferences, with each conference containing anywhere from 5 to 14 divisions
• Each division has on average 5 to 30 teams

College Teams

College and Junior College (JUCO) programs are divided into Division I, II and III.

Each classification has to more to do with the scholarship types and dollar amounts each player may receive rather that a player’s actual skill level.

• D1 players may receive full/partial scholarships (depending on the funding level) to cover tuition, books, fees, room and board
• D2 players may receive cull/partial scholarships (depending on the funding level) to cover books and, tuition and fees
• D3 players do not receive any athletic scholarships

Here is a breakdown of the number of teams in each division:

• D1 – 299 teams / 24 conferences
• D2 – 274 teams / 23 conferences
• D3 – 389 teams / 45 conferences
• JUCO D1 – 189 teams / 24 regions / 3 divisions
• JUCO D2 – 118 teams / 24 regions / 3 divisions
• JUCO D3 – 98 teams / 24 regions / 3 divisions

Understanding NCAA College World Series Format

Unlike the NCAA basketball, NCAA CWS playoff format is a bit more complex.

CWS starts off with thirty D-1 conference champions and thirty-four at-large selections, totaling 64 teams.

Regionals

Each team will be assigned to a particular Regionals competition that are held in 16 locations throughout the country.

Each location will consists four teams competing in a double-elimination round. At the end, each Region will produce a single winner.

Super Regionals

16 surviving teams from Regionals competitions will compete at 8 Super Regionals locations through out the country.

Two teams at each Super Regional competition will play a best-of-three series for a berth to the College World Series

College World Series

8 surviving teams from Super Regionals will head to Omaha, Nebraska for the College World Series.

The playoff format consists of two, double-elimination brackets consisting of 4 teams per bracket.

The winners of each bracket meet in the Championship game where they play a best-of-three final to determine the National Champion.

For more in-depth overview, read this excellent article by NBC Sports: Understanding Road to Omaha CWS.

Professional Baseball Leagues

Professional Baseball leagues consist of independent league, minor league (Triple-A, Double-A, High-A, Low-A and Rookie) and of course “The Big Show”, Major League Baseball (MLB)

Independent Baseball League (IBL)

There are seven independent leagues consisting of 73 teams. These leagues are not directly affiliated with MiLB or MLB but the American Association, Atlantic, Frontier and Pioneer Leagues are designated as MLB Partner Leagues which altogether have 47 teams.

• American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) – MLB Partner
  • Number of teams: 12 (6 per division)
  • Level of play: In between High-A and Double-A
  • Note: Players are usually not scouted heavily by Major League teams
• Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) – MLB Partner
  • Number of teams: 10 (6 per division)
  • Level of play: Open classification of play (the highest level of professional baseball other than Major League Baseball)
  • Note: Players are highly experienced professionals (A, AA, AAA) with over 40% having prior MLB service
• Empire Professional Baseball League (EPBL)
  • Number of teams: 6 (no divisions)
  • Level of play: Rookie to Low-A
  • Note: Primarily summer Pro Ball independent Baseball showcase opportunity for players to earn a Professional contract; no salary
• Frontier League – MLB Partner
  • Number of teams: 15 ( 7 teams in the East division, 8 teams in the West division)
  • Level of play: Low-A
  • Note: Oldest independent League
• Pecos League
  • Number of teams: 16 ( 8 teams in the Mountain division, 8 teams in the Pacific West division)
  • Level of play: Rookie
  • Note: Drive to their own away games; little to no pay
• Pioneer League – MLB Partner
  • Number of teams: 10 (5 teams in the Northern Division, 5 teams in the Southern Division)
  • Level of play: Rookie
  • Note: split season format
• United States Professional Baseball League – 4 teams
  • Number of teams:
  • Level of play:
  • Note: not heavily scouted by MiLB/MLB though few players have made it to the Big Show

Minor League Baseball (MiLB)

As of 2021, there are 11 leagues consisting of 120 minor league teams. This works out to be 4 minor leagues for each MLB teams (there are 30 MLB teams)

• Rookie
  • Arizona Complex (Fall) League (a.k.a. Arizona League) – 6 teams
  • Florida Complex (Fall) League – 18 teams
  • Dominican Summer League – 46 teams
• Low-A (Class A low)
  • Low-A East (replaced the South Atlantic State League) – 12 teams
  • Low-A Southeast (replaced the Florida State League) – 12 teams
  • Low-A West (replaced the California League) – 6 teams
• High-A (Class A high)
  • High-A East (replaced the Carolina League) – 12 teams
  • High-A Central (replaced the Midwest League) – 12 teams
  • High-A West (replaced the Northwest League) – 6 teams
• Double-A (Class AA)
  • Northeast (replaced the Eastern League)- 12 teams
  • South (replaced the Southern League) – 8 teams
  • Central (replaced the Texas League) – 10 teams
• Triple-A (Class AAA)
  • Triple-A East (replaced the International League) – 20 teams
  • Triple-A West (replaced the Pacific Coast League) – 10 teams

Major League Baseball (MLB)

• American League (AL) – 15 teams
  • AL East – Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, NY Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays
  • AL Central – Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Guardians (a.k.a. Indians), Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins
  • AL West – Houston Astros, LA Angels, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
• National League (NL) – 15 teams
  • NL East – Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, NY Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington (DC) Nationals
  • NL Central – Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Luis Cardinals
  • NL West – Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, LA Dodgers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants

Youth Baseball – Regular, Playoff, Championship Games

Your League Baseball

The number of regular season games vary among different leagues and towns as well as the total number players registered.

Normally, my league (Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken) tries to schedule 8 regular games for T-ball, Farm A and Farm AA to 10 regular games for older kids in a given season.

Playoff games typically add 3 games at the end of the season (single elimination; if there are odd number of teams, a wildcard game is held with 2 teams with the worst records; top seed team gets a bye)

Some recreation leagues offer both spring and fall baseball programs

Youth Travel Teams

Your Travel league is usually offered during spring only. Travel teams play 1 game per week or 12 games in a season which allows travel teams to play in a weekend tournaments (3-5 games).

Travel teams may just play weekend tournaments (usually a minimum of 3 games plus any playoff games) or play both league and weekend tournament games.

School Teams (high school or below)

The total number of games played on a school team depends on your school conference and how man teams belong to that particular conference (number change every year)

In general:

• Middle School – plays approximately 30+ games + playoff
• High School – plays approximately 45+ games

College Teams

• Maximum of 56 games per NCAA, with schools in the colder region playing slightly less number of games
• The season usually starts early in Feb (for those in warmer regions) lasting 15 weeks

Professional Baseball – Regular, Playoff, Championship Games

IBL, American Association of Professional Baseball

• Region: Mid-west
• Season: late April to late September
• Number of Divisions: 2 (North, South)
• Number of Games per Team: 100
• Playoff: wild card, 1 game (#2 seed s #3 from each division)
• Divisional Championship: Best-of-three
• AAPB Championship: Best-of-five
• Official Website: https://aabaseball.com/

IBL, Atlantic League of Professional Baseball

• Regions: Northeast
• Season: late April to late September
• Number of Divisions: 2
• Number of Teams: 10
• Number of Games: 126
• Playoff: wild card (1 game), divisional (best of three)
• ALPB Championship: Best-of-five
• Official Website: https://www.atlanticleague.com/

IBL, Empire Professional Baseball League

• Regions: New England region
• Season: late April to late September
• Number of Divisions: none
• Number of Teams: 6
• Number of Games: Approximately 50 to 65 games
• Playoff: Top 4 teams in the final standings advance; one, single elimination game between #1 and #4 seed; best-of-three between #2 and #3 seeds
• EPL Championship: Best-of-three
• Official Website: https://empireproleague.com/

IBL, Frontier League

• Regions: Upper Mid-west / New England regions
• Season: late April to late September
• Number of Divisions: 2 (East and West)
• Number of Teams: 15 (7 teams in East; 8 teams in West)
• Number of Games: Approximately 50 to 65 games
• Playoff: Top 4 teams in the final standings advance; one, single elimination game between #1 and #4 seed; best-of-three between #2 and #3 seeds
• FBL Championship: Best-of-three
• Official Website: https://frontierleague.com/

IBL, Pecos League

IBL, Pioneer League – MLB Partner

IBL, United Shore Professional Baseball League

Rookie Dominican Summer League (DSL)

• Season: June to late August
• Number of Divisions: 6
• Number of Teams: 46
• Number of Games: 72
• Playff Format: Single-elimination
• DSL Championship: Best-of-three

Rookie – Arizona Complex League (ACL)

• Season: late June to mid-September
• Number of Divisions: 2
• Number of Teams: 18
• Number of Games: 60
• Playoff Format: Single-elimination
• AZL Championship: Best-of-three
• Official Website: About Us – Arizona Complex League, MLB

Rookie – Florida Complex League (FCL)

• Season: June to late mid-September
• Number of Divisions: 3
• Number of Teams: 18
• Number of Games: 60 (South division); 57 (East & North divisions)
• Playoff Format: Three division winners plus a wild-card team participates in the playoff games. The division winner with the best regular-season record (#1 seed) plays the wild card team (#4 seed). The remaining two division winners play each other.
• Rookie FCL Championship: Best-of-three
• Official Website: About Us – Florida Complex League, MLB

Minor League, Low-A (Class A)

• Regions: National
• Season: Late March / Early April through Late September
• Number of Divisions: 3
• Number of Games: 132 regular-season games
• Playoff Format: Split-season
• Low-A Championship: Best-of-five
• Official Website: https://www.milb.com/events/playoffs/#low-a

Minor League, High-A (Class A+ or Class A Advanced)

• Regions: National
• Season: Late March / Early April through Late September
• Number of Divisions: 3
• Number of Games: 132 regular-season games
• Playoff: Split-season
• High-A Championship: Best-of-five
• Official Website: https://www.milb.com/events/playoffs/#high-a

Minor League, Double-A (Class AA)

• Regions: National
• Season: Late March / Early April through Late September
• Number of Divisions: 3
• Number of Games: 138 regular-season games
• Playoff Format: Split-season
• Double-A Championship: Best-of-five
• Official Website: https://www.milb.com/events/playoffs/#double-a

Minor League, Triple-A (Class AAA)

• Regions: National
• Season: Late March / Early April through Late September
• Number of Divisions: 2
• Number of Games: 144 regular-season games
• Playoff Format: All teams play in the 10 postseason games (Triple-A Final Stretch)
• Triple-A League Championship: Best-of-five
• Official Website: https://www.milb.com/events/playoffs/

Reference Links

• How long does a baseball game last?
• Different Types of Baseballs for Different Ages
• National Junior College Athletic Association – Divisional structure
• Dominican Summer League, MLB
• Florida Complex League – wikipedia
• College Baseball 101 – SB Nation
• Independent Baseball League – Wikipedia
• American Association of Baseball (independent league; MLB partner)
• Atlantic League Professional Baseball (independent league)
• Empire Professional Baseball League (independent league)
• Frontier League History (independent league)
• History of Pecos League (independent league)