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Two-time defending World Series champ Philadelphia won their third straight Eastern League title, going 106-56. Hartford was a strong second at 102-60, the first playoff berth for them since 1935. Last year’s EL wild card Baltimore fell to 87 wins. Cincinnati took the Midwest League for back-to-back series, winning it at 98-64. Omaha was again the wild card, earning a fourth straight playoff berth. The Hawks at 91-71 finished one game better than Minneapolis.

Moose two-way player Jared Lee won back-to-back MVPs. As a pitcher, the 25-year old Lee had 4.7 WAR and led in strikeouts at 241. As a left fielder, he added 5.6 WAR, 32 home runs, 92 RBI, and a .326 average. Kansas City’s Bray Spalding in his third year grabbed Pitcher of the Year, leading the National Association in WAR (8.5), innings (268.2) and FIP- (67).

In the first round, Philadelphia defeated Omaha and Hartford knocked off Cincinnati; both in four games. The 1943 NACS went to the Phillies in six games over the Huskies, giving Philadelphia a third straight National Association title.



The Southern League was a three-team battle at the top between Charlotte, Dallas, and Houston. The Canaries and Dalmatians tied for first at 91-71 with the Hornets two behind. The tiebreaker went to Dallas for back-to-back league titles, while Charlotte gets their eight playoff berth in the last 11 years. Five teams were within five games of first in the Western League in 1943. Albuquerque at 98-64 took the title for the first time since 1936. Vancouver and Los Angeles tied for second at 95-68, both two games ahead of Calgary and San Diego. In a one-game playoff for the wild card spot, the Volcanoes defeated the Angels.

The MVP and Pitcher of the Year both went to Dallas. In his second season, LF Conrad Mill picked up MVP with an American Association best 1.060 OPS, .642 slugging, and 179 wRC+. He had 7.3 WAR, 40 home runs, and 118 RBI. 26-year old Brentley Suka won the Pitcher of the Year with a 21-1 record, 2.92 ERA, 247 strikeouts, 24 complete games, and 8.0 WAR. Also of note, San Diego’s Victor Porter won back-to-back Reliever of the Year, setting an AA record with 6.0 WAR for the award winner at 1.41 ERA and 39 saves.

In the first round, Dallas survived Vancouver in five games and Albuquerque topped Charlotte in four games. In the AACS, Dallas defeated Albuquerque in six games, giving the Dalmatians back-to-back American Association titles and their fourth overall. The 1943 World Series of a rematch of the prior year with the same ultimate result; Philadelphia over Dallas, this time in six games. The Phillies join the 1910-12 Houston Hornets as the only teams to three-peat as MLB champion. Philadelphia now has five World Series titles, behind only the Hornets at six.





Other notes: 10-time Mexican League MVP Kiko Velazquez made his MLB debut with Las Vegas and at age 36, led the AA with 140 RBI. Albuquerque’s Bill Tan set a single season record with 93 stolen bases in his second season. As of nearly a century later, he would be the only MLB player to crack 90+ in a season and would hold four of the eight instances of someone stealing 80+.

Buffalo’s Dale Brooks became the 15^th MLB player to 3000 career hits. Brooks also Joined the 1500 RBI club along with Caleb Yang and Kent Price. Yang also made it to 1500 runs scored. Atlanta’s Patrick Iannazzo became the 12^th pitcher to 250 career wins. Houston’s Rovaldis Arvelo became the second to 400 career saves, passing Jim Klattenburger for the top spot on the all-time leaderboard.