<P> Most major league players start off their careers by working their way up the minor league system, from the lowest (Rookie) to the highest (AAA) classification, with the rare exceptions usually being those players signed from Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball . Since the elimination of the Bonus Rule, only a very small number of amateur players have gone directly into the MLB, including John Olerud, Jim Abbott, and Dave Winfield . The process of a player working his way up through the minor leagues is formally referred by most MLB teams as "player development". However, minor league affiliates are often informally referred to as "farm teams" and a major league player's misfortune of being sent back to the minors is sometimes described as being "farmed out". </P> <P> The farm system as it is recognized today was invented by Branch Rickey, who--as field manager, general manager, and club president--helped to build the St. Louis Cardinals dynasty during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s . When Rickey joined the team in 1916, players were commonly purchased by major league teams from independent, high - level minor league clubs . </P> <P> Rickey, a keen judge of talent, became frustrated when the players he had identified for purchase at the A and AA levels were offered for bid and sold by those independent clubs to wealthier rivals such as the Chicago Cubs and the New York Giants . With the support of Cardinal owner Sam Breadon, Rickey devised a plan whereby St. Louis would purchase and control its own minor league teams from Class D to Class AA (the highest level at the time), thus allowing them to promote or demote players as they developed, and "grow" their own talent . </P> <P> The talent pipeline began at tryout camps that St. Louis scouts conducted throughout the U.S. "From quantity comes quality," Rickey once observed, and, during the 1930s, with as many as 40 owned or affiliated farm teams, the Cardinals controlled the destinies of hundreds of players each year . (The reserve clause then bound players to their teams in perpetuity .) </P>

Where does the term farm team come from