Very good article!
http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-indepen ... 1440381696
In 1994, Bill Lee was interviewing to become commissioner of an independent baseball league when he faced a pointed question: Why would you want this job when the leagues going to be out of business in a year?
I said, Well, if I take it, I hope its not. It better not be, recalls Mr. Lee, an unpretentious former minor-league and independent-league player.
Twenty-one years later, he is still the commissioner, and the Frontier League is now the oldest active independent baseball league in the country. But the question still sits in the back of Mr. Lees mindand hovers over independent teams everywhere.
Independent baseball is an umbrella term for any league not affiliated with Major League Baseballthe 30 MLB teams and their minor-league farm clubs. The quality of play in independent leagues is comparable to that in the affiliated minors, but thats where the similarities end.