Independent baseball leagues were established in Japan after the decline of the industrial league because of the recession in the 1990′s and confusion about the reorganization of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in 2004. Though four leagues have been inaugurated up to now, their management situation is not strong and several teams face a crisis situation.
    This paper discusses a future view of community-based small sports businesses and a strategy for sustenance through comparison of minor league business in Japan and North America, based on fieldwork carried out in 2009 from a perspective that considered independent baseball leagues that have attracted attention in recent years and farm leagues of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as “Minor Leagues” .
    This paper introduces the marketing strategies of MLB utilizing farm teams, and the management of 3A class minor league baseball teams linked to the activation strategy of the franchise city and current states of minor league business differentiated from major league business as an amusement commodity. Furthermore, problems about independent leagues in Japan not yet established as sport businesses are presented.
    For the development of minor league business in Japan in the future, it will be necessary to evaluate the commercial value of the NPB’ s farm team and improve cooperation with independent leagues as the talent reservoir.
     Considering the decline of corporate sports, the reduction of participants due to falling birthrate, the decrease in popularity of baseball and the subsidy reduction to Olympic sports by journalizing of national projects, the environments surrounding sports in Japan at present are becoming more severe. Though it seems that the role of minor leagues as starting points for the local activation of sports and as receivers of athletes after graduation as well as player supply sources for the top leagues will grow in the future, in these situations a clear view of the future cannot be drawn yet.