AA

AA may refer to:

People

Places

Military

Organizations and businesses

Minor League Baseball

Minor League Baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball (MLB) and provide opportunities for player development and a way to prepare for the major leagues. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses. Most are members of the umbrella organization known as Minor League Baseball (MiLB), which operates under the Commissioner of Baseball within the scope of organized baseball. Several leagues, known as independent baseball leagues, do not have any official links to Major League Baseball.

Except for the Mexican League, teams in the organized minor leagues are generally independently owned and operated but are directly affiliated with one major league team through a standardized Player Development Contract (PDC). These leagues also go by the nicknames the "farm system", "farm club", or "farm team(s)" because of a joke passed around by major league players in the 1930s when St. Louis Cardinals' general manager Branch Rickey formalized the system, and teams in small towns were "growing players down on the farm like corn."

Double-A (baseball)

Double-A (or Class AA) is the second highest level of play in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) in the United States after Triple-A. There are thirty Double-A teams in three leagues at this classification: Eastern League, Southern League, and the Texas League.

System

The Double-A classification usually hosts developing players that have been part of professional baseball for only a couple of years. These players can get to the Double-A level by earning a promotion from any of the Single-A or Rookie leagues. Players often advance directly to the majors from this level, as the level of competition is higher. This is in contrast to Triple-A, which is typically stocked with minor and major league veterans who have been in the minor league system for a longer period of time. A small handful of players might be placed in Double-A to start, usually veterans from foreign leagues or top prospects out of college. The step up to the Double-A level can be one of the hardest promotions for such players because it is the level at which pitchers need to have a good off-speed pitch in their repertoire. In addition, it is the level where fastball-only hitters need to learn how to hit off-speed pitches, or their hopes of advancing to the majors will diminish. Major League teams sometimes send players to play at the Double-A level to rehabilitate from injuries.