(Steve Potter and I are teammates on a book planned for early 2021, “Life In The Minors, 5th annual Phillies Minor League Digest.” The book includes capsules of the 115 teams in Phillies Minor League history plus other features and rare photographs.)

The Phillies' first Minor League affiliate was in Hazleton, Pa., 1934-36, the Mountaineers, one of eight teams in the New York-Penn League, then a Class A league. They had no affiliate in 1937 but two the next year: the Montgomery (Ala.) Rebels (Class B, Southern League) and the Centreville (Md.) Colts (Class D, Eastern Shore League).

• Phillies alumni

The greatest number of Phillies Minor League teams was 15 in both 1948 and 1949. Baseball had 59 leagues and 448 Minor League teams in 1949, an all-time high.

Since Hazleton, the Phillies have had affiliates in communities scattered across the country and Canada. The five longest tenured:

Reading (Pa.)
Phillies have had a working agreement with Reading since 1967. Fifty-three years is the longest affiliation in AA and AAA ball ... 1967 ballpark: Municipal Stadium (above, Reading Eagle photo) ... First manager: Frank Lucchesi ... From 1967 through 2012 they were the Reading Phillies. Since 2013, the Fightin Phils ... Four Hall of Famers wore Reading uniforms: Robin Roberts' last pro game (1967), shortstop Mike Schmidt’s pro debut (1971), manager Jim Bunning (1972) and then-shortstop Ryne Sandberg (1980) ... Eastern League MVPs include 1B Greg Luzinski (1970), 1B Ryan Howard (2004) ... Rookies of the year include 1B Pat Burrell (1999), Howard, 1B Rhys Hoskins (2016).

Clearwater (Fla.)
35 years ... In 1985 the Phillies became an ongoing member of the Florida State League when they established a team in Clearwater ... They played as the Clearwater Phillies until the 2004 season, when they became the Clearwater Threshers, coinciding with the move from Jack Russell Memorial Stadium to what is now known as Spectrum Field ... Ramon Aviles was the first manager; Ricky Jordan wa on that club . . . Mike Schmidt managed in 2004.

Gulf Coast League Phillies, Clearwater
22 years . . . In 1984, the Phillies placed a team in the Gulf Coast League, a short-season Rookie league for young prospects not advanced enough for higher classifications ... Games were played at Carpenter Complex, which opened in 1967 ... Manager Roly deArmas ... Phillies dropped out of the GCL until 1999 ... Manager that year, Ramon Aviles; Brett Myers made his pro debut that summer ... Phillies began fielding two teams in 2018, Phillies East and Phillies West. Games occasionally played at Spectrum Field.

Spartanburg (S.C.)
22 years ... In 1963 the Spartanburg Phillies were born as an A-level member of the Western Carolinas League, switched to the South Atlantic League concurrent with the league’s 1980 name change. The Spartanburg franchise also changed its name to the Traders (1980), Spinners (1983) and Suns (1984) before reverting to the Phillies in 1986 ... Final season with Phillies, 1994 ... Ballpark: Duncan Park ... First manager, Lou Kahn ... Among the many who made their debut over the years in Spartanburg was shortstop Larry Bowa, who went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in his first game against a hard-throwing RHP on the Lexington Mets, Nolan Ryan, in 1966.

Batavia (N.Y.)
For 20 seasons, Batavia was home to a Phillies Minor League team, in 1967 and then in a 19-year stint from 1988-2006. The 1967 club was known as the Trojans. The Phillies returned in 1988 as the Clippers before changing to the Muckdogs 10 years later ... First managers: Max Lanier (1967), Don McCormack (1988) ... Ballpark: The new Dwyer Stadium opened in 1996, replacing the original park that was built in 1937. It was initially called State Street Park. During World War II the name was changed to MacArthur Stadium after Gen. Douglas MacArthur in an act of patriotism. Before the 1973 season the stadium found its final name, Dwyer Stadium, after Edward D. Dwyer, a long-time team president who was instrumental in keeping the team in Batavia ... Most notable alumni who made pro debuts for the Muckdogs: Chase Utley (2000) hit .307 in his pro debut with two homers, 22 RBIs in 40 games, and Ryan Howard (2001), who hit .272 with six homers and 35 RBIs in 48 games.

Next in line
Lakewood (N.J.) Blue Claws (19)
Williamsport (Pa.) Crosscutters (18)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) Red Barons (18)
Pulaski (Va.) Counts/Phillies (13)
Allentown (Pa.) Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (12)
Bradford, (Pa.) Blue Wings (12)
Schenectady (N.Y.) Blue Jays (12)