Semi-pro

Semi-pro, which is short for semi-professional, is a form of amateur baseball in which some players may receive modest financial compensation for playing the game. These include advantages in kind such as access to free lodging or employment, which would disqualify these players from being considered amateurs in the strict sense, or even a small salary (but usually far from a living wage). This allows teams to recruit some of the better amateur players available by offering them some advantages, without incurring the costs inherent to playing a fully professional form of the game.

William Roush, father of Hall of Famer, Edd Roush, with a semi-pro team in the 1880s

In the United States, the National Baseball Congress includes both fully amateur and semi-pro teams, and abroad many of the European leagues are organized on a semi-pro basis.