Set us as preferredThe checklist to launch an independent minor league baseball team is long and daunting. Here’s a new one: If minor league baseball is all about affordability, how do you compete against a nearby major league team that might undercut you on pricing? Voices Shaikin: Cultural exchange: In Irvine, a new minor league team with Asian fanfare (and fan fare) A minor league team plans to launch in Irvine next year, and the entrepreneur behind it is pitching it as a way to provide fans with a taste of Asian baseball. That infuriated Angels fans, of course, since their team has baseball’s longest playoff drought — 12 years, counting this one. AdvertisementThe traditional minor league team operates far from the shadow of a major league team.