wˌaɪl ðeɪ spˈɛnt mˈoʊst əv ðɛɹ jˈɪɹz æz ɐn ˌɪndᵻpˈɛndənt wɪðˌaʊt fˈɔːɹməl mˈeɪdʒɚ lˈiːɡ bˈeɪsbɔːl tˈiːm ɐfˌɪlɪˈeɪʃən, ðɛɹ pɹˈaɪmɚɹi ɐfˌɪlɪˈeɪʃənz wɜː wɪððə sənt. lˈuːi kˈɑːɹdɪnəlz ænd lˈeɪɾɚ ðə sˌæn fɹænsˈɪskoʊ dʒˈaɪənts, wɪð ˈaɪsəlˌeɪɾᵻd ɐfˌɪlɪˈeɪʃənz wɪððə dɪtɹˈɔɪt tˈaɪɡɚz, ʃᵻkˈɑːɡoʊ kˈʌbz ænd fɪlɐdˈɛlfiə fˈɪliz.
While they spent most of their years as an independent without formal major league baseball team affiliation, their primary affiliations were with the St. Louis Cardinals and later the San Francisco Giants, with isolated affiliations with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies.