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End Of Season, But Not End Of Baseball

Tonight’s Triple-A Championship game between the Memphis Redbirds and Durham Bulls will mark the end of play for all Minor League teams across every level of play.  Many players will enjoy the time off before the start of Spring Training.  Some will hire personal trainers to keep them in shape, others will focus a majority of their time to work and earn enough money to allow them to come back next year and play in their respective farm system (where they make barely enough to survive on).

For those players who continue to play in the offseason, some will play in their organization’s Fall Instructional League.  There are also players who have been invited to play in one of the prestigious Fall/Winter leagues.  There are the Arizona Fall League (AFL), Puerto Rican Winter League, Dominican Winter League, Mexican Pacific League, and Venezuelan Winter League.  These are the leagues recognized by Major League Baseball.  In addition to the leagues mentioned, there are a few that have recently sprouted and are hoping to attract talented players to their offerings.

The Florida Winter Baseball League (FWBL) has four teams that cater to Rookie and Single A level ballplayers.  The leagues listed above attract many higher level players.  The FWBL started only a year ago, and will start play in October this year.  Competition will last until January.  Sixty games will be played, with opening day scheduled for October 30.

There have also been rumors that a Junior Arizona Fall League will be developed in the future.  In the meantime, players on the West Coast who were not invited to the AFL may want to look into what people are calling the Advanced Instructional League and the Arizona Parallel League.  Several Farm Directors have put together this makeshift league, which will play all of its games in Arizona.  Play begins two days from now and ends on October 16.  Most players will be taken from Class A and Double A squads.  Only players from the following organizations are invited to participate: Royals, Rangers, Padres, Mariners, Reds, Indians, Dodgers, and White Sox.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.