Ten years ago I lived in a city that had an “A” baseball team. At that time, the players were making $600/month.
It has to be a tough ride to get to the majors.
Who has spent the longest time, in the minors, before they reached the big league?
Well, if you trust Wikipedia, John Lindsey is, having spent 16 years in the minors before making it to the Bigs.
The cite that wikipedia links to says, it is longer that any other current player, so it’s possible someone spent more time in the past:
There’s at least one player on this list of Oldest MLB Rookies that also played 16 years in the minors.
Lee Riley spent 18 years in the minors before his MLB debut for the 1944 Phillies. But back then, a minor league salary was one you could live on; Riley spend another four years in the minors after his cup of coffee.
If you mean “non-MLB,” there are the Negro League players who took years to make it to the majors. Satchel Paige pitched for 18 seasons before getting his chance in MLB.
The question asks about players who spent many years in the minors before making the Show. Are there players who spent their entire careers in the minors?
Sure, *most *of them never make the majors, something like 97% AIUI.
There is such a thing as a “career minor leaguer”, who keeps plugging ahead and hoping but just lacks the skills, or has no other attractive career prospects and just enjoys the game and the camaraderie too much, or perhaps is preparing for a future coaching career, or whatever.
I have no idea what the record is, but Noah Hall is an example of a guy who played into his 30s without reaching the majors: