The St. Louis Cardinals farm system consists of six Minor League Baseball affiliates across the United States and in the Dominican Republic.
The longest affiliation in team history was the 37-year relationship with the Texas League's Houston Buffaloes from 1919 to 1942 and 1946 to 1958.
Geographically, St. Louis' closest domestic affiliate is the Peoria Chiefs, which are approximately 146 miles (235 km) away.
[2] Prior to the 1963 season, Major League Baseball (MLB) initiated a reorganization of Minor League Baseball that resulted in a reduction from six classes to four (Triple-A, Double-A, Class A, and Rookie) in response to the general decline of the minors throughout the 1950s and early-1960s when leagues and teams folded due to shrinking attendance caused by baseball fans' preference for staying at home to watch MLB games on television.
[2] The current structure of Minor League Baseball is the result of an overall contraction of the system beginning with the 2021 season.