The National Pastime: The United States Baseball Federation rises

[KCRoyals15]

1971

“How Does Galveston Do It?” pondered a Sporting News headline in its August, 1971 edition. “The city was the fourth-largest in Texas at the time it was ravaged by a deadly hurricane in 1900, killing thousands, flattening nearly the entire city, and becoming the namesake for the team that has thrived on Galveston island since becoming a founding member of the Texas League in 1903. The disaster aside, the then-thriving port city seemed like a perfectly fine place to harbor a franchise in the fledging circuit.”

“Nearly seven decades later, the landscape could hardly be more different. Much of the industry dried up decades ago, moving inland to relatively safer Houston while hurricanes still periodically batter the low-lying sandbar. The city’s last major advantage over its much-larger nearby metropolis was quashed in the 1950’s: the tawdry, illicit vice of gambling and houses of ill-repute that stubbornly and defiantly stayed in business until being forcefully shuttered for good by the state.”

“What’s left? A city that is smaller than several nascent suburbs of Dallas and Houston, even smaller than San Angelo, the unassuming West Texas town that is home to the Galveston Hurricanes’ minor league affiliate. The island still sees some tourist activity, some port activity, and some local business largely boosted by the affluent Moody family—the namesake of Moody National Bank.”

“On the surface, the situation in Galveston appears similar to other mid-sized towns throughout the United States that are simply trying to stay above water (metaphorically or not), though with one glaring difference: Galveston is home to one of the very best baseball clubs in the country. In a town of some 62,000, a 31,000-seat, state-of-the-art stadium is rising on the north end of the island, set to open in 1972."

"The bulk of the $36-million facility will be funded by the Galveston Hurricanes, giving a clear indication to the baseball world that the franchise is as healthy as ever and intends on staying put in what is far and away the smallest market in the United States Baseball Federation. Logic would say such a club should have died long before the Texas League’s ascension to major-league status in 1955 due to the added financial strains of big-league operation. Nonetheless not only do the Hurricanes survive against all odds, but they are robust both financially and on the field, with the talent and ambition to win a National Championship and the financial muscle to make it legitimately possible…”

The 1971 season got underway and the New England League was treated to a couple of solid races. In the New England League, New York tied for first along with the Philadelphia Quakers, who were celebrating the opening of their (and the Philly A’s) new home, Veterans Stadium. Buffalo, meanwhile, took a close third, just two games back. The Midwest Association saw Milwaukee take their third consecutive pennant, finishing three games ahead of Cleveland, who nonetheless snapped a nine-year playoff drought.



Once October hit, Philadelphia took down New York in six games to open things up. Cleveland, meanwhile, pulled off a minor upset of Milwaukee in a seven-game series. The Spiders once more went to seven games in the Conference Championship, where they defeated the Quakers to earn their first conference title in 13 years.

The Southern Conference featured a familiar sight, with Jacksonville finishing first and Miami in second, the fourth straight year those two teams finished 1-2 and Jacksonville’s seventh-straight playoff bid overall. For the third year in a row, the Louisville Colonels won the Western League, while the Omaha Golden Spikes fended off St. Louis in a thrilling race to finish second, clinching their first playoff berth in 11 years.



In the postseason, Jacksonville made quick work of their in-state rivals, downing Miami in five games. Likewise, Louisville took care of business, overcoming Omaha in six games. In the Conference Championship, the Colonels came through in a big way, taming the Tars for their second consecutive Southern Conference Championship.

The Pacific Coast League saw a tight race for the top, with Seattle and Sacramento finishing in a dead heat, though the Rainiers, in for the ninth year in a row, won a one-game playoff for the regular-season PCL title. San Diego finished third to punch their sixth-straight playoff ticket, while Portland slipped in two games ahead of San Francisco to reach the postseason for the first time in eight years.



The semifinals saw both series go the distance, with Sacramento outlasting San Diego in a seven-game match. The other one was much more surprising, as the Portland Beavers downed Seattle in seven games to send the defending champions home early. The Beavers were not done, sending the Solons off in five games to earn their first PCL title since 1962.

As has regularly been the case, the Texas League once more saw no dominant teams, as San Antonio had the best season with a rather modest 93 wins. Fort Worth finished with 90 victories, edging Dallas for the North Division crown, though both teams were heading to October. Meanwhile, with the Missions taking the South, Galveston’s streak of six-straight division titles came to an end, though the Hurricanes fended off Houston by a couple game to earn their ninth playoff berth in a row.



The Hurricanes promptly showed that it didn’t matter how they got to the playoffs as long as they got in, as the swept San Antonio out in the Division Finals. Over in the North, Fort Worth took care of their crosstown Rivals, drubbing Dallas in five games. The long-tortured Panthers finally got over the hump in the finals, taking down Galveston in six games to earn their first Texas League title as a big-league club and their TL title at all since 1906—ending a 65-year drought.

With the title drought over, Fort Worth carried that momentum into the national tournament, where the Fort Worth Panthers (TL) defeated the Portland Beavers (PCL) in the semifinals. On the other side, the Louisville Colonels (SOU) defeat the Cleveland Spiders (NOR) to set up the finals. With all the cards on the table, the Louisville Colonels (SOU) defeat the Fort Worth Panthers (TL), 4-2 to give the Colonels their second National Championship and first since 1943.



Just two years after saying goodbye to all-time great Aaron Vergara, Milwaukee welcomed another star on the left side of the infield with the 1969 debut of Mark Oxford. In his third season, the 24-year-old had firmly cemented himself as a star in the making, slashing .321/.403/.477 with 198 hits 107 runs, 27 doubles, 9 triples, 17 homers, 70 RBI, and 33 stolen bases, in addition to excellent defense at shortstop, earning him his first Northern Conference MVP award.

Four years prior, Milwaukee acquired right-hander Hunter Dellaripa in a very peculiar way. A solid arm, the Philadelphia A’s dealt him directly to the independent Bakersfield Conquistadors in the Southwest League on July 5, 1967, getting two players back. The very next day, the Black Hawks purchased Dellaripa’s contract for the default Southwest League purchase price of $10,000. Becoming a strong piece in the Milwaukee staff, the 35-year-old was at his strongest in ’71, going 16-8 with a conference-leading 2.14 ERA, striking out 125 batters in 236.0 innings to win Pitcher of the Year.

A pair of longtime Northern sluggers reached 400 home runs this year, starting with Toronto’s Justin Watts, who hit his historic blast in May 16. On the final day of August, Eric Weed of New York reached that benchmark as well.

After breaking out with 32 homers in his first season as a starter in 1970, 25-year-old first baseman George Turner erupted in his fourth season in St. Louis the following year. Turner led the Southern Conference in all three triple-slash categories, slashing .357/.427/.620, with a conference-high 222 hits, 125 runs, and 143 RBI. He also added 38 doubles, 10 triples, 35 homers, and 19 stolen bases. All-in-all, it was an easy choice for his first MVP.

For the second time in three seasons, Kansas City right-hander Matt Peterson took home Pitcher of the Year honors. The 31-year-old went 19-9 with a conference-best 2.48 ERA, striking out 204 batters in 257.2 innings, while leading the South with 14 complete games.

Though he was done winning MVP awards, Jacksonville’s Steve Bishop continued to play at an MVP level, bashing 33 homers and 102 RBI in just 113 games. On April 29, he became the first non-PCL player (and just the third overall) to connect for his 500th career home run.

The Pacific Coast League was once more dominated by a familiar subject. Seattle’s Joseph Miller only hit .244, but he won his seventh home run title with 43, and also drove in a league-leading 114 runs, while even adding a career-high 17 stolen bases to earn his record seventh MVP award.

Sacramento lefty Mannuel Aldrama bounced back and forth between the majors and minors over much of his first six big-league seasons. However, he put it all together in his age-28 season, going 22-13 with a 2.42 ERA, striking out 218 batters and throwing a league-leading five shutouts in 304.1 innings, earning PCL Pitcher of the Year.

Early in the season, Seattle’s Jarrett Messing joined a small circle of elites by connecting for his 3,000th hit on March 13. Meanwhile, another Seattle mainstay, Griffin Searle, moved on from the Rainiers last winter after 21 seasons after wanting to keep playing while Seattle wished to move on following the 1970 campaign. The 44-year-old's final season was a dud, though, as Searle hit just .131 in part-time duty for the Memphis Chicks and was released in mid-August to end his career. Nonetheless, his 22-year run came to a close with 654 home runs (all but two in the PCL), the highest total in USBF history to that point. He also topped 2,000 RBIs (2,074), still the most in big-league history and finished just 19 hits shy of 3,000 for his career.

In the Texas League, 24-year-old Houston second baseman Ronnie Moles was coming into his own and in his third season, he won the TL batting title, slashing .319/.387/.463 with 183 hits, 94 runs, 33 doubles, 10 triples, 10 homers, and 82 RBI to earn MVP honors.

His teammate, Dean Poch, won 21 games with a 2.56 ERA in his first year in Houston in ’69, then fell off considerably in 1970. This year, though, he bounced back, going 24-8 with a 2.59 ERA to lead the TL in wins, while also working 274.1 innings, including a league-high 17 complete games and 6 shutouts. That all was more than enough to earn the 33-year-old the Pitcher of the Year trophy.

This year, the PCL elected a steady slugger to the Hall of Fame:

OF Danny Quinones (1950-65), 75.3%

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Three of the four playoff teams in the American Baseball League were the usual suspects: Pittsburgh won 111 games, San Jose 107, and Pittsburgh 102. But crashing the party in the West was the Hawaii Islanders. In Trey Skipper’s second season the job, he led the Islanders to a 27-game turnaround, jolting the franchise from the doldrums of 17-straight losing seasons (most of them in Vancouver) to make the playoffs.

On the other side, Spokane went 78-84, their first losing season in 18 years in the ABL. That paled in comparison to Albuquerque, though, who set a new ABL standard for futility with a 37-125 record—a record so putrid that the franchise announced before the end of the season that they would be going out of business at the close of the campaign.

In the postseason, the defending champion Newark Eagles upset Pittsburgh in the first round, knocking off the Ironmen in six games. Meanwhile, the Isles pulled a bigger upset of San Jose in a six-game triumph. Hawaii had one more upset in tow, as the Islanders clipped the wings of the Eagles decisively, sweeping Newark to hoist the American Cup for the first time in franchise history.

One key to Hawaii’s turnaround was the aggressive (and lopsided) trade for reigning MVP Dusty Frailey, who sparked the top of the lineup by slashing .336/.374/.420 with a league-leading 221 hits, 106 runs, 38 doubles, 3 homers, 74 RBI, and 16 steals. He became the first known player in professional baseball history to win MVP honors in consecutive years in the same league, but different teams.

On the mound, another Islander repeated as Pitcher of the Year, as Chris Wallace won his fifth ABL POTY trophy. The 36-year-old went 24-7 with a 1.71 ERA leading the ABL in both marks, while striking out 312 batters in 242.0 innings. Tragically, despite being at the top of his game, Wallace’s career hit a screeching halt just four starts into the 1972 season, when an elbow injury ended his career, one in which he set still-standing ABL records with a 2.05 career ERA and 3,508 strikeouts.

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Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Jackson Junebugs, 92-62, defeats Chattanooga
Colonial League: Pittsfield Colonials, 87-53, defeats Hartford
River Valley League: St. Joseph Snakes, 95-45, defeats Peoria
Rocky Mountain League: Billings Mustangs, 73-53, defeats Pueblo
Coastal League: Macon Peaches, 85-69, defeats Richmond (2nd straight)
Northern League: Fargo-Moorhead Indians, 97-43, defeats La Crosse (2nd straight)
Great Lakes League: Youngstown Steelers, 95-45, defeats Harrisburg
Southwest League: Long Beach Earthquakes, 89-66, defeats Las Vegas
Southern Association: Joplin Jaspers, 77-63, defeats Shreveport
Northwest League: Yakima Tomahawks, 88-52, defeats Reno
Can-Am League: Portland Lobsters, 69-57, defeats Manchester
Mid-Atlantic League: Greensboro Patriots, 78-62, defeats Raleigh-Durham
Lone Star League: Lubbock Hubbers, 83-57, defeats Amarillo
Great Plains League: Thunder Bay Timberjacks, 87-53, defeats Lincoln
Florida Coast League: Columbus Catfish, 76-65, defeats West Palm Beach (3rd straight)
Big Sky League: Saskatoon Rivermen, 78-54, defeats Ogden

A pair of excellent races were notable in the minors. In the Can-Am League, the top four teams were all separated by just three games. In the Florida Coast League, the top six teams were separated by just five games to end the regular season, including Columbus and West Palm Beach tied at the top. The Catfish won a one-game playoff for the regular-season crown, then won the league title for the third year in a row.

[KCRoyals15]

1972

“PCL Expansion on the Horizon” declared the Sporting News in February, 1972. “For over 70 years, the Pacific Coast League has held a monopoly on high-caliber west coast baseball, but the brass of the eight-team league has expressed desire to grow."

“The circuit has had no change in membership since the Mission Reds moved north to become the Portland Beavers in 1947 and has fielded exactly eight clubs in each and every season of its existence. With stability in place, there is now the growing sense that this is the time to grow, especially with the Northern Conference at 16 teams, the Southern at 14 clubs, and the Texas League fielding 10 teams.”

“The question is where would the PCL go? Spokane and Hawaii have found success in the American Baseball League, but have questions. Spokane boasts sustained success, but one of the smallest ABL markets. Hawaii has a larger market and a 50,000-seat multi-purpose stadium set to open in 1973, but has only hosted a team for four seasons."

“Perhaps Salt Lake City, which is a further away from the league, but has had success in the ABL, could be on the table. Vancouver would make a natural rival for Seattle, but has had two teams struggle mightily. Similar questions exist about Phoenix. San Jose is very successful in the Bay Area, but PCL rules would allow San Francisco and Oakland to object to a third team in the area.”

“No one has publicly slipped any word about who the front-runner is or what exactly the existing PCL clubs are taking into consideration. We know this: the PCL will field the same eight clubs for a 26th season in a row this summer. Beyond that is anyone’s guess.”

This season was defined by several strong teams dotted around the country, though none more so than in the Northern Conference, where three teams topped 100 wins. The Philadelphia Quakers earned their fourth New England League pennant in five years with 104 victories, comfortably outpacing second-place Brooklyn, who took the second playoff spot. The Midwest Association was dominated by Milwaukee (106 wins) and Toronto (103), who easily took those two playoff berths. Both teams tied franchise records for wins, with the Black Hawks winning their fourth-straight pennant.



In the postseason, Philadelphia withstood a challenge from Brooklyn, holding off the Dodgers in seven games. Milwaukee and Toronto, meanwhile, waged one of the greatest first-round series to date, playing a seven-game battle that the Black Hawks came out victorious in. Milwaukee then took down the Quakers for the Black Hawks’ second conference title in three seasons.

The Southern Conference was not quite as strong, particularly in the Eastern League, where Jacksonville needed only 90 wins to win their fifth-straight pennant. Atlanta finished just one game back, good for second place and their first playoff berth in eight seasons. The Western League had St. Louis win a conference-leading 103 games, while Omaha held off Louisville to take second.



In the Eastern League, Jacksonville made quick work of Atlanta, turning the Crackers into crumbs in a four-game sweep. Meanwhile, Omaha made waves in West when they downed the Browns in six games. The Golden Spikes then beat the tar out of the Tars, sweeping Jacksonville to claim the Southern Conference title.

The Pacific Coast League was dominated in the regular season by a strong Seattle squad that won their fourth-straight regular-season title, while winning their most games (127) since 1943. San Francisco turned in a second-place finish with their best record (118-82) in 28 years. Sacramento reached the playoffs for the sixth year in a row in third, while Los Angeles, despite a losing record, snuck in for the second time in three years, finishing one game ahead of Hollywood.

On the other side, San Diego went 94-106 and finished sixth, posting their first sub-.500 mark in two decades, while Portland absolutely wasted any momentum from their surprise PCL title the previous season, finishing dead last, 51 games out of first place with their worst record in 11 seasons.



One of the bigger shockers in recent seasons occurred in the PCL semifinals, when the Los Angeles Angels stunned the Seattle Rainiers in a seven-game series, winning a postseason series for the first time since 1944. San Francisco also went the distance in the semis, defeating Sacramento. With the path to the title much more clear, the Seals swept the Angels in the PCL Finals, giving San Francisco their second league championship in four seasons.

Like usual, the Texas League saw no dominant teams, starting with the North Division where 85 wins was enough for Oklahoma City to earn the division title, while Dallas finished one game behind, taking the second playoff spot. The South saw El Paso and Galveston each win 93 games, taking the two playoff spots there in what was certainly the stronger division. Galveston christened new brand-new Gulf Stadium by making their tenth-straight playoff appearance, while El Paso’s split division crown was bookended by last-place finishes.



In the North Finals, Dallas defeated Oklahoma City in a very evenly-matched series, with the Lone Stars needing all seven games. Despite finishing the regular season in a dead heat, the playoff matchup between El Paso and Galveston was all Hurricanes in a four-game sweep. Galveston continued their march, defeating Dallas in six games for their second TL title in four years.

In the national tournament, the battle-tested favorite came through in the first round as the Milwaukee Black Hawks (NOR) defeat the Omaha Golden Spikes (SOU), while out west the San Francisco Seals (PCL) defeat the Galveston Hurricanes (TL). The machine continued rolling along as the Black Hawks put the cap on a dream season in an emphatic way. The Milwaukee Black Hawks (NOR) defeat the San Francisco Seals (PCL), 4-0, giving the Black Hawks their second National Championship in four seasons.



Not surprisingly, the North MVP went to the top player on its top team, as Milwaukee shortstop Mark Oxford took the hardware home for the second year in a row. The 25-year-old was arguably at his best, winning his lone batting title (.338), slashing .338/.380/.518 with a conference-leading 220 hits, 106 runs, 33 doubles, 9 triples, 22 homers, 96 RBI, and 36 steals.

Shoh Nakamura spent all of his 30’s in the American Baseball League or Triple-A, but in his 20’s, he spent seven-plus seasons with Cleveland and was an All-Star every full season. This year, he was 19-10 with a 2.31 ERA, leading the conference with 36 starts, striking out 181 in 268.2 innings to win Pitcher of the Year.

Detroit pitcher Juan Osornio enjoyed his best year to date, winning 15 games on a 2.82 ERA, but that was overshadowed by the first Northern Conference perfect game in eight seasons. On August 9, Osornio struck out nine Albany Adirondacks in a 111-pitch gem for the perfecto.

For the second year in a row, St. Louis first baseman George Turner dominated in route to an easy Southern Conference MVP. Turner won his second straight batting title, slashing .366/.430/.625 with conference-high totals of hits (223), runs (113), and RBI (155), the latter not hit in the EBF in a decade. He also added 39 doubles, 8 triples, and 35 homers to bolster his MVP case.

Despite solid results, lefty Danny Cisneros split time between San Diego and Triple-A Yakima in 1971. Shortly before PCL’s Opening Day in ’72, Cisneros was surprisingly cut, only to shortly afterwards land with Washington. In his second season with the Senators, Cisneros went 23-9 with a 2.24 ERA, leading the South in both categories. Cisneros also struck out 178 in 273.1 innings to help win Pitcher of the Year honors.

In the Pacific Coast League, Sacramento’s Orlando Aviles had been a steady contributor for the previous decade and continued to be an offensive force at 33 years. The outfielder slashed .304/.372/.491 with 218 hits, 121 runs, 34 doubles, 32 doubles, a league-leading 123 RBI, and 22 steals to earn his first and only MVP award.

In his second season, 26-year-old Sam Puntenney put together a season for the ages. The Seattle right-hander went 32-5 with a 1.70, leading the PCL in both categories and becoming the first 30-game winner in a decade. Puntenney also led the league in starts (43), innings (344.2), complete games (20), and shutouts (7), while striking out 201 batters. He won PCL Pitcher of the Year with ease.

Though his streak of three straight MVP awards was snapped, Seattle shortstop Joseph Miller won his fourth-straight PCL home run title with 38 round-trippers, including his 500th on May 10, becoming the third hitter in PCL history to hit that benchmark.

In the Texas League, offense was down and pitching was the story of the league. Oklahoma City’s Roy Hendricks had long established himself as the front-runner of that pack, going 16-11, but leading the league with a 1.97 ERA, striking out 205 over 278.1 innings, earning both MVP and Pitcher of the Year, his sixth POTY award.

The longest-tenured player in the Texas League, El Paso third baseman Jared Robinson was still an everyday player at 43 years old in his 24th professional season. On April 9, he collected his 3,000th Texas League hit, becoming the second player in league history to reach that mark. Robinson lasted two more seasons, finally retiring at 45 as the last remaining player from the TL’s first big-league season in 1955. He finished with 3,206 Texas League hits, still the most in league history (2,898 as a big-leaguer), and 3,712 as a professional, fourth-most all-time.

In the Eastern Baseball Federation, one player had their name called to the Hall of Fame:

3B Felipe Meneses (1950-66), 86.7%

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The American Baseball League saw a notable change to the league lineup. After 14 losing seasons in Ohio’s capital and usually finishing near the bottom in attendance, the Columbus Jets threw in the towel and moved southbound, setting up shop in Tennessee as the Nashville Vols. The results were immediate: they posted the franchise’s first winning season.

The league was dominated by two Eastern teams, as Pittsburgh (105 wins) and Newark (99) were the only ABL teams to win over 85 games, easily claiming a pair of playoff spots. The Ironmen won their fourth-straight division title and made the playoffs for the eighth year in a row. The West was much more mediocre, but much more competitive as well. Spokane won their first division title in seven years, while Hawaii needed a one-game playoff to punch their playoff ticket over San Jose, as five West teams finished within six games of each other.

In the postseason, Pittsburgh won what was widely believed to be the true American Baseball Cup finals, winning the East in a five-game set over Newark. Hawaii, meanwhile, swept Spokane to win the West. In the Cup finals, the Islanders pulled a massive upset, downing the Ironmen in a seven-game series to win their second ABL title in a row. Despite a considerably worse regular-season record than the year before, Hawaii shattered the ABL record by drawing 1,866,585 fans in their final season at the crumbling 25,000-seat Termite Palace, leading to legitimate questions on if their new big-league caliber stadium across town would be hosting big-league baseball in the near future.

Once more, Hawaii’s Dusty Frailey rose to the top of the crop. The 27-year-old shortstop won his third MVP in three seasons, taking the ABL batting title (.336) while also leading the league in hits (215) with 107 runs, 42 doubles, 7 triples, 8 homers, 68 RBI, and 25 steals. On the mound, Newark’s Ted Full struggled to establish himself before arriving in Newark in 1970, but at 35 years old, logged a 1.88 ERA in 1971. A year later, the right-hander went 19-12 with an ABL-best 1.85 ERA, striking out 261 in 296.1 innings with 20 complete games and a league-high 6 shutouts, earning Pitcher of the Year.

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Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Mobile Marines, 86-69, defeats Chattanooga
Colonial League: Pittsfield Colonials, 92-48, defeats Worcester (2nd straight)
River Valley League: St. Joseph Snakes, 98-42, defeats Peoria (2nd straight)
Rocky Mountain League: Pueblo Miners, 75-51, defeats Great Falls
Coastal League: Richmond Giants, 97-57, defeats Macon
Northern League: South Bend Silver Sox, 78-62, defeats Fargo-Moorhead
Great Lakes League: Rochester Red Wings, 96-44, defeats Harrisburg
Southwest League: Bakersfield Conquistadors, 99-55, defeats Long Beach
Southern Association: Beaumont Exporters, 82-58, defeats Biloxi
Northwest League: Tacoma Mountaineers, 90-50, defeats Stockton
Can-Am League: London Braves, 68-58, defeats Quebec
Mid-Atlantic League: Raleigh-Durham Tar Heels, 78-62, defeats Charleston (WV)
Lone Star League: Amarillo Gold Sox, 72-69, defeats Rio Grande
Great Plains League: Thunder Bay Timberjacks, 82-59, defeats Lincoln (2nd straight)
Florida Coast League: Daytona Islanders, 77-63, defeats West Palm Beach
Big Sky League: Ogden Railroaders, 73-59, defeats Idaho Falls

A couple of excellent races shaped up in the lower minors. The Lone Star League North had the entire five-team division bunched within seven games, with Amarillo and Lubbock tied at 71-69 for the division crown. The Gold Sox won the one-game playoff, then the LSL title. The Florida Coast League had the top four teams in the league all bunched within four games, though first-place Daytona came through with the league title.

[KCRoyals15]

1973

Speculation ran rampant throughout the 1972 season and that November it finally became official: the Pacific Coast League would expand for the first time in league history. The conversation was contentious as Denver, Hawaii, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Jose, Spokane, and Vancouver all expressed interest in joining (or re-joining) the big-league ranks, though Denver, Phoenix, and Vancouver all were eliminated rather quickly based on less-than-stellar recent results.

Salt Lake City and Hawaii became the favorites, though a wild card emerged when the two Bay Area clubs, San Francisco and Oakland, both unexpectedly approved a San Jose club, which suddenly moved the Gulls into the conversation. The Spokane Indians, very successful in a small market, were then brought into the discussion as for a brief time, it appeared that four new franchises would be admitted into the PCL. In the end, though, support for four additional teams was tepid at best, and so the discussion shifted back to two teams.

Spokane quickly fell off the table and San Jose was now a shoo-in. The final vote came down to Hawaii or Salt Lake City. The Bees seemed to be the favorite, but one key hold-up swung the vote: pristine Aloha Stadium would be opening in 1973 in Honolulu, while Salt Lake City would be stuck in outdated Derks Field for the foreseeable future. Once the votes were counted, the new members of the PCL were announced on November 11, 1972: the Hawaii Islanders and San Jose Gulls. In turn, the new ten-team circuit split into two divisions:

Pacific Coast League


With the new-look United States Baseball Federation, the season got underway. In the Northern Conference, the Albany Adirondacks and Philadelphia Quakers finished in a dead heat atop the New England League, with the Adirondacks finishing at the top for the first time in 14 seasons. The Midwest Association, meanwhile, was dominated by the defending National Champion Milwaukee Black Hawks, who won their fifth straight pennant and set a new Eastern Baseball Federation record by going 119-43. Toronto won 96 games in a distance, but comfortable, second place to earn the other playoff spot.



The Black Hawks were overwhelming favorites to put the stamp on their dynasty with a second straight National Championship. Instead, they failed to make it out of the first round. Toronto pulled a stunner of the upset, as perhaps the greatest team in USBF history was bounced in seven games in the Conference Semifinals. Meanwhile, Philadelphia and Albany also went seven games, with the Quakers coming out on top. The Maple Leafs appeared to use all they could to vanquish Milwaukee, as Philadelphia won the Northern Conference in a relatively-easy five-game series, their first conference title in eight years.

The Southern Conference had two pretty clear-cut playoff races mostly bereft of drama. Jacksonville won their sixth-straight Eastern League pennant (and ninth playoff appearance in a row overall) by five games over Washington, who made their first playoff appearance in seven years. The Western League was taken by St. Louis for the second year in a row with a Conference-best 103 wins. Louisville finished a comfortable second at 99 wins to earn their fifth playoff bid in six seasons. Kansas City finished a distant fourth, but was boosted by the opening of the brand-new Truman Sports Complex to replace aging Municipal Stadium.



The EL playoffs saw a first-round upset as Washington took down Jacksonville in seven games to punch their ticket to the conference finals. St. Louis, meanwhile, took care of business, knocking off Louisville in five games. The Browns continued to be a buzz saw, slicing through the Senators in a thorough four-game sweep to earn the Southern Conference crown for the first time since 1966.

In the new-look PCL, Seattle finished atop the North Division (after winning the PCL regular-season crown the previous four years), while Sacramento pushed them, finishing a close second to earn a playoff bid. The two newcomers crashed the South, meanwhile, as San Jose won the division in their inaugural big-league season, and Hawaii finished second.

On the other side, the bottom continued to fall out in Portland. Just two years removed from a surprise PCL title, the Beavers lost 133 games, posting the worst season by a PCL club since 1930 and finishing 53 games out of first place.



In the postseason, Sacramento surprised the class of the league by bouncing Seattle in five games. Meanwhile, second-place Hawaii also dispatched the division winner quickly, taking out San Jose in five games. The PCL Finals were also a walkover, as Sacramento swept Hawaii to emphatically snap the longest title drought in the PCL. The Solons had not won a league title as a major-league club, snapping a 53-year drought with their first Pacific Coast League championship since 1920.

The Texas League had not seen much in the way of truly dominant teams in recent years, though that changed this season, as Oklahoma City (85 wins in ’72) exploded for a Texas League-record 110 wins, running away with the North. Dallas and Fort Worth tied for second at .500, with the Panthers winning the one-game playoff for second. In the South, Galveston punched their 11th playoff ticket in a row with a division title, with Houston finishing second to reach the playoffs for the first time in four years.



Similar to the record-breaking Milwaukee club in the Northern Conference, Oklahoma City couldn’t parlay a historic regular season into postseason success, as the Indians were shockingly and swiftly bounced in a five-game semifinal defeat to Houston. Galveston survived a challenge from Fort Worth to win a seven-game series setting up a rivalry matchup for the title. The Buffaloes got the better of their Gulf rivals, defeating Galveston in five games to earn their first Texas League crown in seven years.

That set up a national tournament with some unexpected participants. In their first tournament, the Sacramento Solons (PCL) defeat the Houston Buffaloes (TL) to move on, while an upset saw the Philadelphia Quakers (NOR) defeat the St. Louis Browns (SOU). With all the cards on the table, the Philadelphia Quakers (NOR) defeat the Sacramento Solons (PCL), 4-2 to earn their first National Championship since 1934 and second overall.



Amidst their incredible 119-win season, it’s no surprise that a Milwaukee player won Northern Conference MVP and for the third consecutive season, it was shortstop Mark Oxford. Though not quite as good as his ’72 season, Oxford slashed .336/.401/.466 with 202 hits, 106 runs, 27 doubles, 15 homers, 70 RBI, and 42 steals to earn the award.

Four years after being named PCL Pitcher of the Year, Philadelphia Quakers ace Chris Gose took home the Southern Conference POTY honor. Gose was dealt over from San Diego mid-season in 1972 and the Quakers were more than thrilled, as Gose went 19-9 with a 2.49 ERA in 36 starts in his first full season in Philly. Gose logged 292.1 innings and struck out 167 batters as he became the first pitcher to win POTY trophies both in the Eastern Baseball Federation and a separate major league (PCL or TL).

Quakers outfielder Tom Clark was nearly fifteen years removed from his lone MVP trophy in 1959, but the 37-year-old was still productive. Amidst a 23-homer, 98-RBI season (which also included the last of his ten Great Gloves), Clark launched his 400th career homer on June 5.

St. Louis first baseman George Turner did not add a third-straight Southern Conference batting title, but he did slash .328/.391/.572 with 199 hits and led the conference in runs (106) and RBI (105) for a third year in a row. He also added 36 doubles, 11 triples, 30 homers, and 29 stolen bases, good enough for his third-straight MVP trophy. It would be the final MVP for the 27-year-old, though he remained a power/speed force for the Browns for another decade.

After a rocky rookie year in 1971, Omaha right-hander Ben Watkins grew into his own the following season, then followed it up with another stellar year in ’73. The 23-year-old went 16-8 with a 2.34 ERA, leading the Southern Conference with 234 strikeouts over 268.2 innings, taking home Pitcher of the Year honors for the only time in a long and fruitful 19-year big-league career.

Watkins’ teammate, 38-year-old Steve Arnold, continued to slug, blasting a conference-high 34 homers, including the 400th longball of his career on April 15.

Over in the Pacific Coast League, Seattle shortstop Joseph Miller hit just .232 in a season where he turned 37 midway through the year. However, in his last hurrah he blasted 52 homers and drove in 149, best in the PCL. It was Miller’s ninth and final home run total and his sixth and final RBI title, as well as his sixth 50-homer season. The end result was Miller’s eighth and final MVP, most in PCL history.

On the hill, Sacramento southpaw Pedro Torres was instrumental in the Solons’ title run, going 20-11 with a 2.05 ERA, leading the PCL in ERA for the third time in five years, while also leading in starts (43) for the third year in a row, as well as logging the most innings (334.1) and shutouts (8), while striking out 216 batters. That earned him a deserving Pitcher of the Year award, which was his high point in Sacramento, as after a slow start, he was dealt to Toronto midway through 1974, pitching well for another decade while the Solons got back three warm bodies and slipped into the second division shortly after.

San Francisco’s Dan Maher was about at the end of the rope, but the 41-year-old made history with his 3,000th PCL hit (his 3000th big-league hit came the previous season). Criminally underrated, Maher won three batting titles, led the PCL in hits twice, and in triples seven times, finishing with 245 career triples, most of any player to debut after World War II. However, he never took home an MVP award in his 18-year career. Interestingly enough, Maher was traded away by Galveston partway through his first big-league season, making him a rare mistake by the Hurricanes amidst their extended run of dominance.

In the Texas League, Oklahoma City’s record-breaking club swept all four major awards, with the headliner being 26-year-old German Orozco, who took MVP and Rookie of the Year. In his debut season, Orozco slashed .347/.388/.553 with 192 hits, 87 runs, 23 doubles, 29 homer, and a league-leading 114 RBI, far and away the best year of his ten-year career.

Once more, Indians ace Roy Hendricks was named Pitcher of the Year, his second in a row and eighth overall. The 33-year-old was still going strong, going 16-6 with a 2.21 ERA, striking out 162 in 248.1 innings.

The Eastern Baseball Federation sent one of their best ever to the Hall of Fame, as the Federation's all-time leader in home runs (479), RBI (1,827) and runner-up in hits (3,331) got the call:

3B Aaron Vergara (1949-67), 98.9%

---



The American Baseball League once again was shaken up, as the Hawaii Islanders and San Jose Gulls departed. In response, two franchises were added, both in the West Division, as the Anaheim Amigos and Vancouver Mounties were established.

Once the games got underway, Pittsburgh dominated once more, winning 110 games and their fifth-straight division title, as well as their ninth postseason appearance in a row. Newark comfortably finished second in the East to take the other playoff spot. In the West, there was also virtually no race to speak of, as Salt Lake City and Spokane were the only teams over .500, with both winning over 90 games to take the two playoff spots. The Bees made their first playoff appearance in a decade. Pittsburgh swept Newark in the first round, while Salt Lake City also swept aside Spokane. In another non-competitive series, the Bees blew past the Ironmen in five games for their second American Baseball Cup.

Pittsburgh took the two major awards, with 26-year-old Jeff Gaude becoming the highest-profile catcher to ever win an MVP award, slashing .313/.386/.472 with 154 hits, 42 doubles, 12 homers, and 72 RBI. In an odd curiosity, established Ironmen ace Ryan Harris only made 30 appearances and 22 starts (no clue why), but went 12-7 with league-leading 1.83 ERA, striking out 241 batters in 202.0 innings. After several POTY-worthy seasons, Harris arguably had a worse season that the previous four, but finally got his trophy.

---

Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Montgomery Generals, 88-67, defeats Jackson
Colonial League: Reading Keystones, 82-58, defeats Pittsfield
River Valley League: St. Joseph Snakes, 82-58, defeats Peoria (3rd straight)
Rocky Mountain League: Billings Mustangs, 78-48, defeats Great Falls
Coastal League: Columbia Roosters, 90-65, defeats Columbia
Northern League: La Crosse Loggers, 91-49, defeats Fargo-Moorhead
Great Lakes League: Rochester Red Wings, 96-44, defeats Harrisburg (2nd straight)
Southwest League: Bakersfield Conquistadors, 94-60, defeats Long Beach (2nd straight)
Southern Association: Ft. Smith Pioneers, 77-63, defeats Shreveport
Northwest League: Salem Senators, 107-48, defeats Victoria
Can-Am League: Ottawa Capitals, 70-56, defeats Waterbury
Mid-Atlantic League: Raleigh-Durham Tar Heels, 81-59, defeats Atlantic City
Lone Star League: Rio Grande White Wings, 76-64, defeats Amarillo
Great Plains League: Thunder Bay Timberjacks, 90-50, defeats St. Paul (3rd straight)
Florida Coast League: St. Petersburg Saints, 80-60, defeats West Palm Beach
Big Sky League: Saskatoon Rivermen, 74-58, defeats Missoula

The Northwest League saw an epic race, as Salem won 107 games, while Victoria won 106, with the Salem Senators coming away with both the regular-season and postseason title.

[KCRoyals15]

1974

In just four years, the Hawaii Islanders transformed from a struggling American Baseball League side to a Pacific Coast League champion in their first season as a big league club, with a brand-new ballpark.

His work done in Honolulu, Trey Skipper departed the islands and moved to the mainland—4,800 miles away to Baltimore, where he would take over a Baltimore Terrapins team that was bleeding money and had not made the postseason since 1955.

In the Northern Conference, the New England League had three rather even teams, with the defending champion Philadelphia Quakers finishing at the top for the fourth year in a row, tied with Manhattan, who reached the postseason for the first time in seven years. Albany pushed hard, but finished third, three games out

The Midwest Association saw another dominant season from Milwaukee, won won ten less games than '73...but still went 109-53 for their sixth MWA pennant in a row (and fifth with over 100 wins). Toronto won 92 games to finish a distant second for the third year in a row, reaching the postseason.



In the postseason, Milwaukee avenged their first-round defeat from a season ago, defeating Toronto in six games. Manhattan, meanwhile, swept aside Philadelphia in a four-game rout. The Yankees kept it up in the conference finals, upsetting the Black Hawks in a rather swift five-game set.

In the Southern Conference, the Omaha Golden Spikes dominated the Western League with a franchise-record 108 wins, while St. Louis finished a comfortable second to take the other playoff spot, their third playoff appearance in a row. In the Eastern League, Washington won their first pennant since 1961, but the real story was their rivals in Baltimore, as the Terrapins improved by 34 games, nearly quadrupled attendance to a USBF-record 2,431,087 fans, and made the playoffs for the first time in 19 seasons, out-pacing Miami by one game.



Omaha avoided the upset in the divisional round, taking down St. Louis in six games. Meanwhile, Baltimore's stunning turnaround came to an end at the hands of Washington, who defeat the Terps in six games. The Senators then upset the Golden Spikes in six games, earning their first conference title since 1958.

The Pacific Coast League had a truly interesting season. Eight of the ten PCL clubs finished at or above .500. The two teams that didn't, though...were historically bad. Portland lost 133 games in 1973, only to lose 138 games in '74. Los Angeles was even worse, going 61-139 to match the worst season (1930 Mission Reds) in the PCL's big-league era.

At the top of the divisions, Seattle won the North, finishing first for a sixth year in a row and reaching the playoffs for a 12th-straight season. Sacramento finished second, making their seventh-straight playoff appearance by edging out Oakland by one game. In the South, Hawaii had the best record (121-79), while San Jose finished a comfortable second.



In the playoffs, Seattle was pushed to the limit by Sacramento, but defeated the Solons in seven games. The South saw Hawaii defeat San Jose in six games, then the Islanders completed their conquest of the mainland for a second year in a row, wiping away the Rainiers in a four-game sweep for the PCL crown.

Down in Texas, the North Division was very even, with four teams within three games, though that led to Fort Worth finishing first at 82-80. One year after winning 110 games, Oklahoma City sank to 80 wins, but squeaked into the playoffs one game ahead of Dallas and Tulsa. The South was dominated by defending champion Houston, who won a franchise-record 104 games and their first division title in a decade. Galveston finished second with 97 wins, making the playoffs for the 12th year in a row.



In the South, Houston brushed aside Galveston in five games, while Fort Worth defeated OKC in six games. Despite being 22 games worse in the regular season, the Panthers pulled a big upset, downing the Buffaloes in six games to win their second Texas League title in four seasons.

With the national tournament field set, the Manhattan Yankees (NOR) defeat the Washington Senators (SOU) in the east. Further west, the Hawaii Islanders (PCL) defeat the Fort Worth Panthers (TL) to set up a classic matchup of long-time powerhouse vs. pesky upstart. It was the upstart getting it done, as the Hawaii Islanders (PCL) defeat the Manhattan Yankees (NOR), 4-0 to give the Isles their first National Championship.



Just like his team in the standings, Milwaukee shortstop Mark Oxford continued to dominate MVP voting, being named best in the Northern Conference for a fourth year running. Oxford slashed .319/.392/.463 with 199 hits, 109 runs, 34 doubles, 7 triples, 14 homers, 78 RBI, and a career-high 63 stolen bases.

On the mound, another Black Hawk takes home Pitcher of the Year. Milwaukee's Willie Molina won 24 games in 1973 but no hardware, though his '74 season was excellent as well, going 21-8 with a conference-best 2.46 ERA, while logging 266.2 innings. The 34-year-old was a reliable weapon for the entire 70' in Milwaukee after being traded midway through 1970 in a crippling mistake made by Indianapolis.

In the Southern Conference, Luke Taylor had been an established power bat in Omaha, including 50 homers in 1971. This season saw him slash .310/.409/.581 with 169 hits, 118 runs, and a conference-leading 41 homers and 124 RBI, allowing him to sew up his first and only MVP award.

Right-hander Antonio Rodriguez was atrocious (6.51 ERA in 74.2 innings) in 1971 with the American Baseball League's 125-loss Albuquerque Dukes. After the team folded, the 22-year-old signed with Louisville and amazingly posted a 3.61 ERA as a big-league rookie. In 1974, the now-24-year-old went 15-5 with a conference-low 2.00 ERA, striking out 182 in 180.1 innings, winning Pitcher of the Year despite starting just 24 games, which ultimately ruffled some feathers.

Atlanta's Zach Harrington was something of an ageless wonder, still posting an .849 OPS in 112 games as a 45-year-old. The oldest player in the country also blasted 14 homers, including the 500th of his career in the early part of the season, becoming the fifth player in USBF history to hit that milestone.

In the Pacific Coast League, a 29-year-old rookie absolutely took the league by storm, as Hawaii's Brad Duty won the Triple Crown, slashing .347/.420/.623 (all league bests) with 52 homers and 166 RBI, while also adding 36 doubles, and leading the PCL with 251 hits and 147 runs. It was a landslide victory for a historic campaign.

Seattle lefty Mike Kaufman had a strong fourth season, going 18-12 with a 2.76 ERA, striking out 177 over 280.2 innings, while leading the league with six shutouts as he earned Pitcher of the Year.

Kauffman's batterymate, Jason Flores, was a unicorn by any sense. At 42 years old, Flores was still catching every day (152 starts) and on July 19, he slapped his 3,000th career hit—an unthinkable milestone for a catcher. Flores would play past his 45th birthday, ultimately playing 23 big-league seasons and a record 27 professional campaigns, catching all the way to the bitter end.

Like the PCL, the Texas League was ruled by an older rookie. A former Mexican League star, Danny Meza crossed the border and the 28-year-old's first year with the Austin Wranglers saw him slash .306/.384/.538 with 176 hits, a league-leading 39 doubles, with 31 homers and 104 RBI to earn MVP honors.

Starting to slow down slightly at 34 years old, Oklahoma City's Roy Hendricks won a somewhat surprising ninth Pitcher of the Year award. Despite going just 14-12, Hendricks logged a 2.56 ERA with 173 strikeouts in 257.0 innings to take the trophy.

---



For the first time since 1968, the American Baseball League East had a new champion, as the Newark Eagles (101 wins) edged Pittsburgh by a game, with the Eagles making their fifth-straight playoff appearance and the Ironmen made their tenth-straight appearance, winning 100 games for the seventh year in a row. Salt Lake City clipped Spokane to win the West, a repeat of the previous year's race.

The playoff race was overshadowed by rampant speculation on major ABL shakeup the following year, with the overwhelming belief that the Ironmen had outgrown the league. Amidst this backdrop, Pittsburgh out-dueled Salt Lake City in seven games, while Spokane upset Newark in the first round. The Ironmen then took down the Indians in six games to claim Pittsburgh's first league championship of any kind.

Despite the thin air of Colorado, Denver's Kyle Thibodeaux failed to homer for a third year in a row. However, he won the ABL batting title, slashing .346/.394/.424, while leading the league in hits (211) and steals (70) and adding 89 runs, 31 doubles, and 8 triples, winning MVP. On the mound, Newark's Ted Full won Pitcher of the Year for the second time in three years. The 38-year-old went 22-7 with a 2.04 ERA, leading the ABL in wins and strikeouts (284) over 295.2 innings.

The Eastern Baseball Federation sent a Southern Conference stalwart and five-time Pitcher of the Year to the Hall of Fame:

RHP Allen Staub (1957-68), 97.7%

The PCL also sent the USBF's all-time leader in home runs (654), and RBIs (2,074) to the Hall:

1B Griffin Searle (1950-71), 86.9%

---

Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Knoxville Pioneers, 94-60, defeats Montgomery
Colonial League: Worcester Tornadoes, 82-58, defeats Hartford
River Valley League: Peoria Distillers, 86-54, defeats Dayton
Rocky Mountain League: Ft. Collins Grizzlies, 72-54, defeats Great Falls
Coastal League: Wilmington Blue Rocks, 93-61, defeats Macon
Northern League: La Crosse Loggers, 83-57, defeats Fargo-Moorhead (2nd straight)
Great Lakes League: Harrisburg Senators, 102-38, defeats Rochester
Southwest League: Albuquerque Dukes, 85-69, defeats Long Beach
Southern Association: Biloxi Pilots, 82-58, defeats Springfield
Northwest League: Bellingham Mariners, 95-59, defeats Reno
Can-Am League: Quebec Carnavals, 75-51, defeats Waterbury
Mid-Atlantic League: Raleigh-Durham Tar Heels, 85-55, defeats Altoona (3rd straight)
Lone Star League: Waco Twisters, 74-67, defeats Midland-Odessa
Great Plains League: Thunder Bay Timberjacks, 85-55, defeats St. Paul (4th straight)
Florida Coast League: Orlando Rays, 73-67, defeats St. Petersburg
Big Sky League: Regina Giants, 75-57, defeats Missoula

For 40 years, the River Valley League was dominated by either the Evansville Bees (18 championships) or Peoria Distillers (11 titles) and frequently both of them, as only one season (1962) from 1935-74 didn't see one of them in the RVL championship series (13 featured both of them). Evansville's runs of 28 finals appearances in 34 years ended in 1970, while this year marked the end of Peoria's current era of prosperity (10 finals appearances in 11 years).

[KCRoyals15]

1975

Over the first three-quarters of a century, the Chicago Cyclones (dating back to their days in Columbus) and Memphis Chicks (also dating back to their days in Richmond) had struggled the vast majority of the time. When the decision was made to send both teams to the American Baseball League for the 1975 season, few people were surprised. Many believed the move was long overdue.

On the other hand, the Indianapolis Hoosiers were one of the more successful teams of the first half of the 20th century, making 19 playoff appearances and winning three National Championships. However, their last championship was in 1951 and their most recent playoff berth two years after that. Losses and debts mounted as their attendance and place in the standings sank. With little other choice, the Hoosiers slinked off to the ABL.

Meanwhile, a team that was in no danger or dropping down, Jacksonville, dropped their outdated nickname of Tars and picked a new moniker to more accurately reflect the city's gateway to the Sunshine State, becoming the ]Jacksonville Suns.

In return, another American Baseball League powerhouse made a well-deserved move up to the major leagues. The Pittsburgh Ironmen, winners of the ABL the year before, were back in the big leagues after an 11-year absence, going to the Southern Conference, while the loss of two Northern teams left both conferences at 14 teams each.

In the Northern Conference, the City of Brotherly Love dominated the New England League, as the Philadelphia Athletics emerged from a 19-year playoff drought to with their first pennant since 1954, with their fellow Veterans Stadium dwellers, the Quakers, taking second for their fourth playoff bid in five years.

The Midwest Association was won by Detroit, while the Buffalo Bisons moved over from the NEL and in their first year in the MWA took second, the first playoff appearance in six years for either squad. Meanwhile, Milwaukee finished third, their first October at home since 1968.



In the first round, both Philadelphia teams emerged victorious, as one defeated Detroit in seven games, while the other took down Buffalo in six games (EDITOR'S NOTE: I have no clue which Philly team beat who). In a seven-game series played solely at The Vet, the Quakers won their second Conference Championship in three seasons.

In the Southern Conference, the Eastern League once more saw Washington and Baltimore finish 1-2, while the Pittsburgh Ironmen crashed the Western League and won the pennant in their first year, winning 101 games while St. Louis finished second one game back.



Playing in a postseason series for the first time as a big-league squad since 1900, Pittsburgh didn't last long, bowing out in six games to Baltimore, while St. Louis waxed Washington in a five-game series. The Terrapins then bounced the Browns in six games to take the Southern Conference, ending a 52-year conference title drought dating back to 1923.

The Pacific Coast League had an odd year, with four teams over .500 in the South balancing out another terrible Los Angeles team (134 losses), while Oakland won the North with a modest record (108-92), with the rest of the division below .500. Nonetheless, the Oaks reached the playoffs for the first time in 11 years, while Sacramento slipped in at 99-101, one game ahead of Seattle, who spent the playoffs at home for the first time since 1962. The South, meanwhile, had Hawaii and San Jose at the top for the third year in a row.



Hawaii took advantage of the favorable matchup and took down Sacramento in six games to win their semifinal matchup, while San Jose battled with Oakland for seven games, but ultimately the Gulls came out on top. The two strongest teams wound up in the PCL Finals, and for the second year in a row, the title stayed out on the islands, as Hawaii took the PCL crown in seven games.

In the Texas League, the North saw Dallas win the division with a franchise-record 99 wins, while Wichita snapped a streak of 12 straight losing (and playoff-less) seasons with 90 wins to take second. The South saw Galveston win the division as the only winning team in that division, making their 13th-straight playoff appearance. El Paso finished second at 80-82, backing into the postseason.



In the first round, Wichita took down Galveston in six games, which was also how many games El Paso needed to net a huge upset over Dallas. The Aeros then took care of business in the Lone Star Series, giving Wichita their first TL title since 1958.

In the national tournament, things started off with the Philadelphia Quakers (NOR) defeating the Baltimore Terrapins (SOU). Meanwhile, the Hawaii Islanders (PCL) defeat the Wichita Aeros (TL). Searching for a repeat, the former kingdom received their riches for a second year in a row, as the Hawaii Islanders (PCL) defeat the Philadelphia Quakers (NOR), 4-1 for the National Championship, handing the Isles their second championship in a row, making them the first repeat champions since San Diego in 1967-68.



Despite his squad missing the playoffs, for a record fifth year in a row, Mark Oxford of Milwaukee took home Northern Conference MVP honors. Oxford slashed .332/.379/.470 with a conference-leading 213 hits, 112 runs, 36 doubles, 8 triples, 12 homers, 64 RBI, and 60 stolen bases, while also taking home his first Great Glove.

Amidst the Philadelphia A's resurgence, a new ace emerged as 26-year-old Omar Marrero went 17-10 with a conference-best 2.10 ERA, striking out 162 batters in 269.2 innings, tossing 13 complete games and a conference-high 6 shutouts, earning his his first Pitcher of the Year.

In the Southern Conference, St. Louis centerfielder Noah Williams was already an established star, but the 30-year-old put together a strong all-around season with a .307/.371/.467 slash line, 175 hits, 97 runs, 25 doubles, 9 triples, 16 homers, 72 RBI, and 47 stolen bases to earn MVP honors.

Meanwhile in Washington, 25-year-old Alan Church fully emerged as an ace in his fourth season, going 18-7 and leading the South with a 1.99 ERA and 213 strikeouts, logging 239.2 innings and a conference-high five shutouts in his first Pitcher of the Year campaign.

As he did as a rookie, Hawaii's Brad Duty won the PCL Triple Crown, becoming the only player in major league history to win back-to-back Triple Crowns. Duty slashed .356/.442/.639 (leading the PCL in all three marks) with 48 homers and 145 RBI, while whacking 237 hits and 36 doubles, and leading the PCL with 148 runs, earning his second MVP in a row.

On the mound, Oakland workhorse Roger Hughes was at his best. The 30-year-old veteran went 23-13 with a 3.53 ERA, leading the PCL in starts (43), innings (344.1), complete games (19), and shutouts (4), while striking out 209 batters, leading the Oaks to a division title and earning Pitcher of the Year.

At 38 years old, Seattle's Joseph Miller played in just 71 games and hit only nine homers, but his blast on March 22 was the 600th of his career, becoming the second player in USBF history to reach that mark.

Just like the PCL, the Texas League also featured a Triple Crown winner, as El Paso rookie Daniel Alcaraz became the first one in the TL's big-league history. Alcaraz slashed .339/.394/.590 with 31 homers and 110 RBI, while also ripping 210 hits and 38 doubles, plus a league-leading 126 runs and 12 triples, in addition to 25 stolen bases. The 26-year-old ended his debut season with both Rookie of the Year and MVP.

At 34 years old, Dallas righty Mike Chisum had long been a reliable and very good pitcher (13-time All-Star). However, he took things a step further, going 24-5 with a 2.23 ERA, leading the Texas League in both categories, striking out 131 in 258.0 innings as he earned the only Pitcher of the Year honor of his long career.

The Pacific Coast League inducted a pair of longtime stars into the Hall of Fame, both of whom retired with more than 3,000 hits:

3B Will McAfee (1953-71), 92.8%
1B Kirby Minthorn, (1946-66), 84.1%

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With a net addition of two teams, going back up to 14 teams, the American Baseball League elected to move to a three-division model, something no other league has tried before, with all three division winners and one wild card reaching the postseason.

Spokane, Salt Lake City, and Newark all took division titles, while Phoenix finished two games clear in the wild card, reaching the postseason for the first time in the ABL and the first time in any league since 1954. The Firebirds, though, lost in seven games to Spokane, while Newark defeated Salt Lake City in six. The Indians then downed the Eagles in a seven-game set, giving Spokane the American Baseball Cup for the fifth time.

Phoenix's Dave Langone already owned a Texas League MVP award (in 1965), and a decade later, the 38-year-old who stuck with the Firebirds slshed .297/.420/.551, ripping 158 hits, 91 runs, and blasted 37 homers with 92 RBI, taking ABL MVP and becoming the first player to win MVP in both the ABL and a major league. On the mound, 24-year-old Salt Lake City hurler Graham Hodge took Pitcher of the Year, going 19-4 with a 1.94 ERA and striking out 219 in 218.1 innings over his third professional season.

--

Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Montgomery Generals, 88-66, defeats Mobile
Colonial League: Pittsfield Colonials, 86-54, defeats Syracuse
River Valley League: Toledo Mud Hens, 81-59, defeats St. Joseph
Rocky Mountain League: Butte Copper Kings, 67-59, defeats Pueblo
Coastal League: Columbia Roosters, 85-70, defeats Richmond
Northern League: Fargo-Moorhead Indians, 99-41, defeats Sioux City
Great Lakes League: Harrisburg Senators, 107-33, defeats Rochester
Southwest League: Modesto Growers, 93-61, defeats Albuquerque
Southern Association: Biloxi Pilots, 79-61, defeats Springfield (2nd straight)
Northwest League: Stockton Condors, 92-62, defeats Tacoma
Can-Am League: Springfield Spinners, 72-54, defeats Quebec
Mid-Atlantic League: Trenton Tartans, 80-60, defeats Greensboro
Lone Star League: Lubbock Hubbers, 77-63, defeats Amarillo
Great Plains League: St. Paul Saints, 89-51, defeats Rockford
Florida Coast League: Columbus Catfish, 86-54, defeats St. Petersburg
Big Sky League: Saskatoon Rivermen, 67-66, defeats Twin Falls

The Harrisburg Senators were the dominant team of the early 70's in the Great Lakes League, culminating in setting the league record for wins (107) this season

[KCRoyals15]

1976

In just two seasons in Baltimore, Trey Skipper had taken the Terrapins from the brink of insolvency to a conference champion breaking attendance records.

With the Mr. Fix It reputation held by his father firmly in place for him as well, Trey went off to clean up another mess. This time, he would be tasked with turning around a team with no winning seasons in 12 years at the major league level: the Tampa Tarpons.

In the summer of '76, the entire country was swept up in Bicentennial fever, and the entire Northern Conference was being swept up by the Milwaukee Black Hawks, who threatened their Eastern Baseball Federation record of 119 wins from three seasons ago, but settled for a still-impressive 115-47 to win the Midwest Association for the seventh time in eight seasons.

The other MWA playoff squad was Buffalo, who finished a very distant second, 31 games back. The New England League once more featured both Philadelphia teams. In a reverse of the previous season, the Quakers finished first, with the Athletics one game back. Manhattan pushed hard, but finished two games out of the postseason.



The home of Independence Hall, Philadelphia would not be the backdrop of a championship parade, as both Philly teams were bounced in the first round, both in excruciating fashion. The Quakers were upset by Buffalo in seven games, while the A's pushed Milwaukee to the brink, but also lost in seven games. The Black Hawks then took care of Buffalo in six games to win the conference.

The Southern Conference also featured a dominant squad, as the Baltimore Terrapins won a franchise-record 108 games to win the Eastern League pennant for the first time since 1954. Washington finished four games in front of Miami to take the second playoff spot. The Western League was won by Louisville for the first time in five seasons, as the Colonels held off Pittsburgh, who finished a game back to take second.



In the postseason, Washington started off with a mild upset over Louisville, winning a seven-game series. Baltimore then bested Pittsburgh in a six-game set. In a Battle of the Beltway, the Terrapins claimed their second-straight Conference Championship, sinking the Senators in seven games.

The Pacific Coast League saw the standings return to a much more normal state this season, led by Seattle dominating en route to a comfortable North Division win, the perfect way to christen their new home, the domed King County Stadium, better known as the Kingdome, to which they attracted a PCL-record 2,460,703 fans.

The second North Division playoff team was San Francisco, who easily snagged the second spot for their first playoff berth in four seasons. In the South, once again the division was dominated by Hawaii and San Jose, who in their fourth big-league seasons both made the playoffs for the fourth year in a row, tying for the division lead at 114-86.



In the first round, San Jose swept aside San Francisco, while Seattle and Hawaii waged a seven-game battle that went the way of the Rainiers. The Gulls and Rainiers then squared off, and San Jose took the seven-game battle, giving the Gulls their first PCL title.

That left the Texas League, where Oklahoma City won the North, three games ahead of Dallas, who outlasted Wichita for the second playoff spot. The South was taken by Austin, who exploded for 97 wins and their first playoff berth in nine seasons as a big-league club. San Antonio finished a comfortable second to reach the playoffs for the first time in five years.



In the first round, Dallas dealt Austin an upset in a six-game series. Oklahoma City then took down San Antonio in five games. In the Lone Star Series, the Indians turned out the lights on the Lone Stars, winning a five-game series for OKC's first title since 1955—the Texas League's first big-league season.

In the National Tournament, the Eastern Baseball Federation finalists were a pair of heavyweights, and the heavier one came out in front, as the Milwaukee Black Hawks (NOR) defeat the Baltimore Terrapins (SOU). The other side saw an upset as the Oklahoma City Indians (TL) defeat the San Jose Gulls (PCL). OKC was looking for the Texas League's first National Championship in a decade, but it was not to be, as the Milwaukee Black Hawks (NOR) defeat the Oklahoma City Indians (TL), 4-1, as Milwaukee did what their historic 1973 team couldn't do: win their third National Championship, all in the last eight seasons.



The two biggest awards in the Northern Conference were unsurprisingly swept by Milwaukee. For the record-breaking sixth year in a row, Black Hawks shortstop Mark Oxford took MVP honors, as the 29-year-old slashed .329/.375/.445 with 208 hits, 104 runs, 21 doubles, 13 triples, 9 homers, and 81 RBI, while swiping 62 bases and winning a Great Glove.

Lefty Trevor Bedford spent most of his career flying under the radar with Toronto, but was traded to Milwaukee at 33-years-old late in 1973. Now with a juggernaut, Bedford shined, winning a league-high 21 games in '75, then going 22-6 with a 2.08 ERA as a 36-year-old this season, leading the North in both categories, while striking out 154 in 259.2 innings. This turned out to be the final full season for Bedford, putting a perfect cap on an 18-year career that would soon end with a Hall of Fame plaque.

First baseman Bill Krolikowski spent the first three seasons of his career as an uninspiring backup for bad New Orleans teams. He then was dealt to Miami, where he immediately blossomed in his first year there, winning the Southern Conference batting title, slashing .352/.413/.590 with 218 hits, 98 runs, 46 doubles, 33 homers, and 115 RBI to win MVP. Usually trading away MVPs comes back to bite teams, but Krolikowski faded pretty quickly after that, while New Orleans ended up with outfielder Ryan Castillo, who would become a seven-time All-Star later on.

Speaking of bad trades, Washington ace Danny Cisneros had done nothing but made San Diego regret trading him in 1970, as he went 25-7 with a 2.31 ERA, leading the South in wins, ERA, starts (36), and innings (288.2), earning his second Pitcher of the Year award in a landslide. It would be his last POTY award, but Cisneros still had another decade of quality innings left for the Senators, retiring just three wins shy of 300 for his big-league career.

In his penultimate season, 41-year-old Jacksonville second baseman Steve Bishop was unquestionably out of gas, hitting just .243 with 7 homers in 58 games. These were the final homers of his career, though he crushed his 600th career round-tripper on April 5, becoming the third player in USBF history, and the first outside the PCL, to reach that benchmark.

In the PCL, San Francisco signed top amateur prospect Javon Beavers, and the 23-year-old went nuts in his first pro season, slashing .349/.450/.470, winning the batting title, racking up 236 hits, 122 runs, a league-leading 42 doubles, 17 triples, 2 homers, 79 RBI, and 54 steals, earning PCL Rookie of the Year and MVP honors.

Four years after his first Pitcher of the Year trophy, Seattle's Sam Puntenney took his second, going 24-8 with a 2.33 ERA in the first of three-straight seasons leading the PCL in wins. Puntenney also logged 304.2 innings and 17 complete games.

In his sophomore season, Austin first baseman Chris Rosenberg became the Texas League's second-straight Triple Crown winner, slashing .355/.468/.569 (leading the league in all three marks, with 27 homers and 112 RBI. He added 195 hits, 37 doubles, and a league-leading 116 runs to take home MVP honors.

Dallas righty Bryan Belk came over from Oakland before the 1973 season in a lopsided trade, which really bore fruit for the Lone Stars this season, when he went 21-10 with a 2.35 ERA, leading the TL in both marks. He added 140 strikeouts over 272.1 innings to win his first Pitcher of the Year.

Southpaw Carlos Pena had a long and great career for El Paso and Dallas and was still going strong at 34 years old. Amidst a league-leading 262 strikeouts (his tenth TL strikeout title), Pena picked up his 3,000th strikeout on July 29.

The Eastern Baseball Federation sent a three-time MVP winner to the Hall of Fame this year:

OF Larry Meyer (1952-63), 77.4%

The PCL, meanwhile, inducted a pair of very decorated multi-time MVP winners:

3B Marcus Hale (1955-72), 98.2%
OF Jarrett Messing, 97.5%

---



The American Baseball League shook things up this season, as after just one season in the league, Memphis gave up and dropped down to the Triple-A Southeastern League. In their place, the Richmond Giants were promoted from the Coastal League.

In the aftermath of this, I have NO clue what happened. Somehow, the ABL generated a schedule missing the Newark Eagles and by the time I noticed it, the season had already started. So somehow the Eagles did not play this season. I don't even know how to write that into the storyline. As a result, everyone else ended up with 147-150 games instead of 162. Very, very strange.

In the games that were played, Nashville reached the postseason or the first time with an East Division title, while Salt Lake City and Phoenix claimed division crowns. Spokane took the wild card. Phoenix took down Spokane in the first round, while Nashville defeated Salt Lake City, both series in six games. The Firebirds then vanquished the Vols in six to win their first American Baseball Cup.

It was an unimpressive offensive season in the ABL, and the MVP being Spokane's Ian Pryor reflected that. Pryor slashed /267/.411/.487 with a league-leading 96 runs, 27 homers, 81 RBI, and a league-high 115 walks. Pitcher of the Year Brad Bryson of Nashville went 14-8 with a 2.80 ERA over 231.2 innings.

Of note, the American Baseball League became the first league to adopt a designated hitter, doing so this season. It did not help right away.

---

Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Chattanooga Lookouts, 94-60, defeat Greenville
Colonial League: Worcester Tornadoes, 85-55, defeat Binghamton
River Valley League: Toledo Mud Hens, 80-61, defeats St. Joseph (2nd straight)
Rocky Mountain League: Butte Copper Kings, 75-51, defeats Pueblo (2nd straight)
Coastal League: Savannah Cardinals, 92-62, defeats Winston-Salem
Northern League: Fargo-Moorhead Indians, 90-50, defeats Cedar Rapids (2nd straight)
Great Lakes League: Rochester Red Wings, 84-56, defeats Flint
Southwest League: Santa Barbara Foresters, 99-55, defeat Bakersfield
Southern Association: Biloxi Pilots, 85-55, defeats Shreveport (3rd straight)
Northwest League: Tacoma Mountaineers, 94-60, defeats Stockton
Can-Am League: Springfield Spinners, 70-56, defeats Quebec (2nd straight)
Mid-Atlantic League: Atlantic City Aces, 83-67, defeats Trenton
Lone Star League: San Angelo Colts, 81-59, defeats Lubbock
Great Plains League: Madison Black Wolves, 85-55, defeats St. Paul
Florida Coast League: St. Petersburg Saints, 82-58, defeats Columbus
Big Sky League: Calgary Cannons, 77-56, defeats Ogden

[KCRoyals15]

1977

"A Dynasty Turned to a Dud" screamed the headline of an article in the United States Baseball Federation preview edition of Sports Illustrated. "As ironic as it is for a franchise located in the heart of the motion picture and television capital of the world, the Los Angeles Angels have seemingly done nothing but fizzle out since the dawn of the television age, having scratched out just two winning seasons and four playoff appearances since 1951."

"The last four seasons have been the worst, with just 61, 66, 65, and 65 wins in those campaigns. Those would be poor marks in the Eastern Baseball Federation or the Texas League, with their 162-game schedules. But those paltry win totals were accrued across a 200-game trek, resulting in a trail of despair within the organization."

"'I wouldn't say it's a hopeless situation,' said one anonymous club official. 'But the problems are so numerous that it's hard to pick one area in particular to address, because let's be honest, everything needs to be addressed.'"

"What's the fix? Well, the Angels are trying a new manager. Paul Zendajas lasted less than two years, now longtime Seattle Rainiers bench coach Herman Sorensen will give it a shot. Having been the right-hand man for five straight first-place teams, he's seen firsthand what a winner looks like.

"He also knows what it takes to build one. Already, he has publicly told reporters that he'll need a bigger budget to try to attract young talent, but the belt will be tight; the club has been consistently losing money and season ticket sales are on track to be at their lowest total since 1945."

"Given the results over the past quarter-century, most of Chavez Ravine's 56,000 seats are expected to be empty on a nightly basis, as has been the case for most of the stadium's first fifteen seasons. But Sorensen sees a way forward."

"'Teams have dug out of worse holes,' Sorensen said. 'Including this one. Why not do it again?'"

For the third year in a row, it was all Philadelphia in the New England League, as the Athletics won a Northern Conference-high 103 games, with the Quakers four games back. The Midwest Association once again was dominated by Milwaukee, who won their eighth pennant in nine years, coasting to an 11-game cushion over second-place Buffalo, who outlasted rival Toronto by three games to make the playoffs for the third-straight season.



In the postseason, the two Philly squads squared off at Veterans' Stadium, and the Quakers came out on top in a decisive five-game series, while Milwaukee took care of Buffalo in a six-game set. The Black Hawks then took down the Quakers, giving Milwaukee back-to-back conference titles and five in 12 years.

In the Southern Conference, the Washington Senators reached the playoffs for the fifth year in a row by winning the Eastern League pennant. After 91 losses the previous season, the Atlanta Crackers surprised by winning 95 games, taking second and making the postseason for the first time in five years, outlasting upstart Tampa by four games.

In the Western League, Pittsburgh's return to the majors continued to be successful, as the Ironmen won the league to make it three playoff appearances in three seasons. They flipped places with last year's WL pennant winner, Louisville, who finished four games back in second to punch their playoff ticket for the 7th time in 10 years.



The Division Finals saw little in the way of drama or surprises, as Washington defeated Atlanta in five games. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh swept away Louisville. The Ironmen stayed hot, as they downed Washington in six games for their first Conference Championship.

In the Pacific Coast League, the biggest story was the resurgence of longtime powerhouse San Francisco, who finished atop the North (their first finish at the top since 1948) and posted their best record (123-77) since 1930. Seattle finished a distant second, three games clear of Sacramento, to reach the postseason for the second year in a row.

Like with Pittsburgh in the South, a promotion from the American Baseball League has not stopped Hawaii and San Jose. The Gulls took the division for the second year in a row, the Isles took second, meaning both teams have gobbled up every South Division playoff spot in their five years in the PCL.



In the Division Finals, both top seeds took care of business. San Francisco had little trouble with Seattle, disposing the Rainiers in five games. A series that was expected to be much closer in the South indeed was, as San Jose dueled Hawaii for seven games, with the Gulls emerging victorious. The Seals, though, turned the Gulls into a bunch of feathers, winning in five games to earn their first PCL title in five seasons.

The Texas League belonged to the Dallas Lone Stars, who won a
franchise-record 105 games, punching their third playoff ticket in a row as they finished 15 games ahead of defending champion Oklahoma City, who was back in the postseason for the seventh time in nine years. In the South, Galveston lost a 13-year playoff streak last year, but returned to the top of the division. El Paso finished just 81-81, but they sneaked into second one game ahead of San Antonio, their second time in three years that they've made the playoffs with a non-winning record.



In the first round, the Texans gave the Hurricanes all they could handle, but Galveston won a seven-game series. Dallas, meanwhile, took care of Oklahoma City in a six-game set. The Lone Stars and Hurricanes tangled for an epic seven-game series, but Dallas emerged on top, winning their first TL title since 1968 and third overall as a big-league franchise.

In the national tournament, the first round featured a bit of an upset as defending National Champion Milwaukee was bounced by a first-time participant, as the Pittsburgh Ironmen (SOU) defeat the Milwaukee Black Hawks (NOR). Dallas was strong this year, but San Francisco was stronger, as the San Francisco Seals (PCL) defeat Dallas Lone Stars (TL). In a classic upstart-verse-established power, the Seals would be denied their fifth title, as the Pittsburgh Ironmen (SOU) defeat the San Francisco Seals (PCL), 4-3 to lift the Ironmen to their first National Championship in franchise history.



The greatest award run in USBF history continued as Mark Oxford of Milwaukee continued to crank out one great season after another. The 30-year-old shortstop slashed .304/.367/.501 with 190 hits, a conference-leading 127 runs, 30 doubles, 6 triples, and set career highs with 27 homers and 100 RBI, while also stealing 60 bases. All-told, it was the seventh-straight MVP for Oxford.

Two years prior, Omar Marrero of the Philadelphia A's had a great season to win Pitcher of the Year. In winning his second POTY trophy, he arguably had a better one, going 22-5 with a 2.10 ERA, leading the North in both marks. He also struck out 162 in 257.2 innings.

Tom Clark of the Philadelphia Quakers was still going strong, blasting 26 homers at 41 years old, with his penultimate blast on September 24th being the 500th of his career, becoming the third EBF hitter and the sixth in USBF history to reach that benchmark.

In the Southern Conference, the Birmingham Barons were a failing franchise, but they struck gold in the form of outfielder Mario Gonzalez, who won Rookie of the Year in '76, then a year later was even batter, slashing .333/.438/.569 with 180 hits, 98 runs, 26 doubles, a conference-best 18 triples, 22 homers, and 89 RBI, earning MVP honors. He didn't play in a Barons uniform after that, as the Barons dealt him to Washington, where crippling knee and ankle injuries ruined the next two seasons and permanently hampered him, but the PR damage was a final blow to the club...

Like in the North, the South had a pitcher win their second Pitcher of the Year in three seasons. This time it was Washington's Alan Church. Church went 24-6 with a 2.28 ERA, leading the conference in wins and strikeouts (274) while logging 284.0 innings.

In the PCL, Ricardo Palmer took a long time to stick, being released by Spokane (ABL) in 1968 and San Diego in 1972, then being picked up, then traded by Austin to San Jose that same year...only for the Gulls to immediately release him, then purchase his contract from an independent team three months later. Finally, San Jose gave him a chance and the outfielder blossomed, culminating in a massive 1977 season. Palmer slashed .338/.434/.667 with 214 hits, a league-leading 132 runs, 37 doubles, and 59 homers, tied for second-most in league history, along with 162 RBI, earning him MVP honors. Amazingly, Hawaii's Brad Duty (the MVP runner-up), also slugged 59 homers and drove in 164 runs to lead the league.

Left-hander Austin May would become known as a journeyman later in his career, but as a young man he was a workhorse ace for San Diego. The 25-year-old southpaw went 21-13 with a league-leading 3.20 ERA, leading the league in starts (43) and strikeouts (245) while logging 323.0 innings to earn his only Pitcher of the Year award for his 19-year career.

In the Texas League, Dallas' Josh White won his third batting title, hitting .357 (slashing .357/.395/.525) while also leading the TL 224 hits (his fourth time doing so) and 41 doubles, while adding 10 triples, 15 homers, and career-high 111 RBI to earn the only MVP of his 21-year career.

This was the last truly great season for a legend, as Oklahoma City's Roy Hendricks won his national-record tenth TL Pitcher of the Year award, going 19-11 with a 2.73 ERA, striking out 164 over 270.2 innings. The 37-year-old already incredibly returned good-as-new from a severe elbow injury in 1975, but a severe shoulder injury the following June would completely end his days as an effective pitcher.

This year, the Eastern Baseball Federation sent a pair of standout outfielders to the Hall of Fame:

OF John Kelly (1952-66), 82.2%
OF Eli Harrington (1954-71), 80.4%

Meanwhile, the Texas League had begun Hall of Fame voting nearly a decade earlier, but no one had come particularly close to earning induction until this season, when fittingly, the first two big-league stars in Texas earned their call to the Hall:

OF Joel Zielinski (1951-71), 99.4%
3B John Schellhammer (1953-71), 97.9%

---



With the American Baseball League schedule back to normal (and the Newark Eagles actually playing games again), the Eagles won the East Division, while Indianapolis and Spokane won the other two divisions. For the Hoosiers, it was their first postseason appearance since 1953. Salt Lake City won a one-game playoff over Nashville for the wild card, the Bees' fifth-straight playoff trip.

In the postseason, Salt Lake City upset Spokane in a seven-game series in the first round, while Newark bounced Indianapolis in five games. The Eagles then soared over Salt Lake City, buzzing the Bees in a four-game sweep to earn their second ABL title and first in seven years.

Spokane's Aaron Carson enjoyed a breakout rookie season, slashing .297/.370/.469 with 174 hits, 90 runs, 29 doubles, 12 triples, 16 homers, and 73 RBI, while adding 35 steals to earn MVP honors (oddly enough, he did not earn Rookie of the Year). Salt Lake City acquired seven-time Northern Conference All-Star Oscar Mendez from Cleveland in mid-1976 and the move paid immediate dividends. The 33-year-old went 18-12 with a 2.49 ERA and led the ABL with 216 strikeouts in 296.2 innings in his first full year with the Bees, earning Pitcher of the Year.

---

Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Mobile Marines, 89-65, defeats Baton Rouge
Colonial League: Pittsfield Colonials, 86-54, defeats Worcester
River Valley League: St. Joseph Snakes, 85-55, defeats Peoria
Rocky Mountain League: Rapid City Goldpanners, 69-57, defeats Pueblo (2nd straight)
Coastal League: Augusta Rebels, 96-58, defeats Savannah
Northern League: Fargo-Moorhead Indians, 94-46, defeats Sioux City (3rd straight)
Great Lakes League: Harrisburg Senators, 87-53, defeats Rochester
Southwest League: Albuquerque Dukes, 88-66, defeats Santa Barbara
Southern Association: Corpus Christi Gunslingers, 79-61, defeats Joplin
Northwest League: Salem Senators, 91-63, defeats Tacoma
Can-Am League: Waterbury Pipers, 80-46, defeats Utica
Mid-Atlantic League: Greensboro Patriots, defeat Roanoke
Lone Star League: Lawton Miners, 76-64, defeats Rio Grande
Great Plains League: Salina Blue Jays, 77-63, defeats Madison
Florida Coast League: Columbus Catfish, 84-56, defeats St. Petersburg
Big Sky League: Calgary Cannons, 70-62, defeats Idaho Falls (2nd straight)

[KCRoyals15]

1978

"'The American Way' is a phrase often used to describe the freedom of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; the ability to manifest one's own direction in life," said April's edition of The Sporting News. "The American Way also gives hope to the down-and-out that better days are ahead and that they are capable of improving their lot in life."

"In that sense, the American Way applies to the United States Baseball Federation in that the one-foot-in, one-foot-out nature of the American Baseball League. While the ABL doesn't quite fit the mold of either a major league or minor league circuit, its status as a purgatory of sorts has nonetheless provided a boost to several clubs."

"This spring, the ABL will play its twenty-fifth season. Of the twelve clubs that took the field in the loop's inaugural 1954 campaign, five of them are currently major-league franchises. A sixth, the Pittsburgh Ironmen, arrived a decade later and after a stay of eleven seasons went right back to the big leagues."

"Of course, those Ironmen, winners of one solitary pennant in their first 64 seasons of fruitless big-league play before slinking to the Americans, have spent nearly all of the last three seasons at the top of the standings, culminating in their first National Championship. They're not alone either, as the Miami Gators (1964), and Brooklyn Dodgers (1970) also won national titles following stays in the ABL."

"That, of course, does not even mention a seventh American Baseball expat, the Hawaii Islanders, an original charter member of the ABL in Vancouver, who flailed for fourteen seasons, gave up, moved to the islands, then began winning, moved to the Pacific Coast League, and won National Championships in 1974 and '75—their second and third big-league seasons."

"More are likely coming. Newark and Salt Lake City appear to have outgrown their current home. New Haven could return to the majors with a better facility. A half-dozen other clubs could be in the running in half a decade. Meanwhile, several of major league clubs are struggling, some for decades—but not the ones who took The American Way."

With rumors of more league shakeup on the horizon, the games went on. In the Northern Conference, the Albany Adirondacks won a franchise-record 99 games to win their first New England League pennant in five years, while the Philadelphia A's finished two games back to make their fifth playoff appearance in a row. The Midwest Association was won by Milwaukee for the ninth time in ten years, as they topped 100 wins for the third year in a row. The Chicago Whales, meanwhile, snapped a 13-year playoff drought by slipping two games ahead of Detroit into second place.



In the postseason, Philadelphia started off with an upset of Milwaukee in seven games, while Albany did not extend Chicago the courtesy of a lengthy stay, sweeping the Whales in four games. The Adirondacks then aced their test against the A's, earning Albany their first Conference Championship in a decade.

In the Southern Conference, the Eastern League had a competitive four-team race that ultimately saw Washington finish first, earning their sixth-straight postseason bid. Norfolk finished two games back, one game ahead of Baltimore to snap a 32-year playoff drought dating back to 1946.

The Western League also saw a pair of postseason drought end. The New Orleans Pelicans had struggled at the gate until moving into the Louisiana Superdome in 1975. The team struggled mightily the first three seasons there, but the finances shored up, and the Pelicans exploited that to win 100 games and the pennant, their first winning season and playoff berth in a dozen years. The Kansas City Blues had gone a franchise-record nine years without a playoff appearance, but finished three games ahead of Pittsburgh to punch their ticket.



The postseason began with New Orleans defeating Norfolk in six games. A pair of tight series followed as Washington downed Kansas City in seven games, then the Senators downed the Pelicans in seven games to lift Washington to their second Conference Championship in five years.

The story in the Pacific Coast League was the San Francisco Seals, who won 130 games, the most by a PCL team in 24 years, finishing well ahead of second-place Seattle. The South was won by Hawaii, who punch their sixth playoff ticket in a row. Los Angeles made a valiant push, improving 32 games to reach .500, but finished three games behind San Diego, who earned their first playoff berth since 1971.



In the first round, Hawaii downed Seattle in a seven-game series, while San Francisco got everything but the kitchen sink from San Diego, but emerged victorious in seven games. The PCL Championship was much less dramatic, as the Seals downed the Isles in five games to earn their second-straight PCL title.

The Texas League saw a very odd trajectory for the Wichita Aeros, who won 90 and 86 games in 1975-76, only to bottom out at 56-106 in '77. The Aeros then improved by a staggering 42 games, winning the North at 97-65, tied for their best record ever. Dallas was the only other North team above .500, winning 96 games to easily take second. The South had El Paso on top for the first time in six years, three games ahead of San Antonio, who boxed out Galveston by a game for the last playoff spot.



Both second-place teams got the job done in convincing fashion once October rolled around, as San Antonio swept El Paso, then Dallas ended Wichita's dream season with a five-game victory. The Lone Stars then took the Lone Star Series in six games, repeating as TL champs.

In a national tournament of three familiar customers and an upstart, things got started as the Washington Senators (SOU) defeat the Albany Adirondacks (NOR), while the San Francisco Seals (PCL) defeat the Dallas Lone Stars (TL). In the final, it was all Seals, as the
San Francisco Seals (PCL) defeat the Washington Senators (SOU), 4-0, with San Francisco earning their fifth National Championship, but their first since 1948.



Another year, another Mark Oxford Northern Conference MVP, as the Milwaukee shortstop amazingly won his eighth one in a row. This time, he slashed .323/.373/.503 with 199 hits, 100 runs, 25 doubles, 7 triples, 24 homers, 9 RBI, and 47 steals, winning a Great Glove to go on top of it.

At the front of the rotation leading Albany's resurgence was 32-year-old Justin Kittinger. In his fourth season after being acquired from San Francisco, the righty went 20-8 with a 2.14 ERA, leading the North in ERA and striking out 153 in 244.1 innings.

One year after his 500th home run, 42-year-old Philadelphia Quakers outfielder Tom Clark stroked his 3,000th hit on August 31, becoming the first (and so far, only) player to reach both of those benchmarks in a career.

Norfolk's revival was led by third-year outfielder Ethan Kearse. The 26-year-old slashed .346/.408/.604 with 196 hits, 97 runs, 33 doubles, 35 homers, and 104 RBI, earning the Southern Conference MVP nod.

There was little surprise on the pitching side, where Washington's Alan Church won his third Pitcher of the Year in four years and his second in a row. This time it was with a Triple Crown, as the 28-year-old went 22-10 with a 2.58 ERA and 248 strikeouts, while also leading the South with 276.0 innings, and 36 starts to earn the trophy.

In the PCL, Hawaii's Brad Duty had a historic season in 1977 without an MVP, but followed it up with another one. The 33-year-old blasted 61 homers, the third 60-homer season in USBF history. All told, he slashed .286/.356/.612 with the 61 round-trippers and 141 RBI, leading the PCL in homers and RBI for the fifth year in a row, earning his third MVP.

On the mound, 24-year-old San Francisco rookie Chris Carroll shined, going 21-9 with a 2.45 ERA, striking out 177 in 308.0 innings to earn Pitcher of the Year honors for the National Champions.

Seattle's Dave Heying may have been the best pitcher of the 70's to not win a Pitcher of the Year trophy, making nine All-Star teams and winning 251 games for the Rainiers, but no POTY awards. However, in the midst of another fine season (21-14, 2.82 ERA), Heying fired the eighth perfect game in PCL history, retiring all 27 Los Angeles Angels on July 15, striking out 12 in a 101-pitch masterpiece, which is still the most recent perfect game in the PCL.

Another Rainier, Joseph Miller, reached the end of the line. Playing the final game of his 17 big-league seasons at 42 years old, Miller slugged 13 games in his final campaign, finishing his career with 677 longballs, the all-time United States Baseball Federation record...as well as a record 2,750 strikeouts.

In the Texas League, El Paso's Daniel Alcaraz led the charge for El Paso's division title, slashing .309/.389/.551 with 184 hits, 97 runs, 28 doubles, 15 triples, 29 homers, 117 RBI, and 19 steals. That was enough for the 29-year-old to earn his second MVP in four years.

For the second time in three years, Dallas' Brian Belk was best on the bump, earning Pitcher of the Year after going 18-10 with a 2.78 ERA, logging 271.2 innings and 16 complete games to earn the hardware.

Oklahoma City's Roy Hendricks suffered a debilitating shoulder injury in early June, but before then, the right-hander fanned his 3,000th career batter on April 19, becoming the second pitcher in Texas League history to reach that mark.

One player went into the Hall of Fame, and it came from the Pacific Coast League:

1B John DeNoia (1952-68), 84.3%

---



The American Baseball League did not feature as many dominant (or really bad) teams as it often does, though Newark won 100 games. Spokane and the Chicago Cyclones took the other two divisions, with the Cyclones fending off two teams to reach the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. In their third year in the ABL, Richmond earned the wild card. Spokane started off the postseason with six-game series win over Chicago, while Newark bounced Richmond in five games. The Eagles then slipped past the Indians in seven games for their second-straight American Baseball Cup.

Newark's Mike Boettner cleaned up on the awards front in surprising fashion. A journeyman who went 193-215 in 22 professional seasons, Boettner out of nowhere went 20-9 with a 1.99 ERA in 280.0 innings at 36 years old, leading the ABL in wins and ERA. In a year win no clear-cut stars, Boettner won both Pitcher of the Year and MVP, the only major awards of his entire career.

---

Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Chattanooga Lookouts, 88-66, defeats Baton Rouge
Colonial League: Pittsfield Colonials, 97-43, defeats Worcester (2nd straight)
River Valley League: St. Joseph Snakes, 88-52, defeats Evansville (2nd straight)
Rocky Mountain League: Ft. Collins Grizzlies, 78-48, defeats Butte
Coastal League: Augusta Rebels, 102-52, defeats Savannah (2nd straight)
Northern League: Fargo-Moorhead Indians, 97-43, defeats La Crosse (4th straight)
Great Lakes League: Rochester Red Wings, 89-51, defeats Youngstown
Southwest League: Long Beach Earthquakes, 85-69, defeats Albuquerque
Southern Association: Corpus Christi Gunslingers, 76-64, defeats Beaumont (2nd straight)
Northwest League: Reno High Rollers, 94-60, defeats Bellingham
Can-Am League: Ottawa Capitals, 73-53, defeats Utica
Mid-Atlantic League: Asheville Tourists, 80-60, defeats Altoona
Lone Star League: Rio Grande White Wings, 75-65, defeats Laredo
Great Plains League: Madison Black Wolves, 79-61, defeats St. Paul
Florida Coast League: Pensacola Privateers, 77-63, defeats Huntsville
Big Sky League: Calgary Cannons, 75-57, defeats Missoula (3rd straight)

[KCRoyals15]

1979

As expected, following the 1978 season two more American Baseball League teams were promoted back to the major leagues. The two-time defending ABL champions, the Newark Eagles were returning to the Northern Conference (New England League) after 15 years in the ABL. The Salt Lake City Bees were charter members of the ABL, but were heading back up to the Southern Conference (Western League) after a quarter-century. Of the 48 major league clubs fielded in 1979, nine of them were now former ABL sides.

In return, the ABL received the Birmingham Barons, who made just one playoff appearance in 37 big-league seasons. The Boston Pilgrims also made the descent following a truly wretched 79-season span with just two playoff bids, plus just one winning season in the last 23 years and a stunning active streak of 22 seasons drawing less than one million fans.

With the re-tooled league lineup, the Northern Conference saw the New England League return to Philadelphia's control, with the Quakers taking the pennant and the Athletics in second. The Midwest Association, meanwhile, was taken by Milwaukee, their 10th pennant in 11 years, with Buffalo, the only other above-.500 team in the league, taking second with an 83-79 record.



In the first round, Buffalo pulled off an upset of Milwaukee, while the Athletics fought off their rivals at the Vet, defeating the Quakers in seven games. The Philadelphia A's had another dramatic series win in them, taking the Northern Conference Championship over the Bisons in seven games, winning their first conference title in their 80 seasons of play.

In the Southern Conference, once more the Washington Senators dominated, winning a club-record 105 games and their third Eastern League pennant in a row. After a pair of close calls, the Tampa Tarpons finished a comfortable second to earn their first playoff bid in 16 big-league seasons. The Western League was home to a great three-team race that saw Kansas City win their first pennant since 1958, finishing one game ahead of second-place Salt Lake City, who made the playoffs in their first season back in the majors by edging Pittsburgh by one game.



In the playoffs, the Blues buzzed the Bees in six games, as Kansas City advanced to face Tampa, who upset Washington in a seven-game tilt. The Tarpons continued their first playoff run in emphatic fashion, sweeping KC to earn their first Conference Championship.

The Pacific Coast League was notable for the North Division being unusually strong, with the top four records in the league all being in that grouping. San Francisco ran away with the division by 19 games, with Seattle finishing second to take the other playoff spot. The South featured just two teams with winning record: 102-98 Hollywood and 101-99 San Diego, who claimed the playoff spots. The Stars' division title was their first playoff bid in 11 seasons.



In the Division Finals, San Diego took down Hollywood in six games, while the Rainiers stunned the Seals in a convincing four-game sweep. Seattle then finished the deal, pushing past the Padres in a seven-game series to allow Seattle to finish the decade the way it started: with a PCL Championship.

The Texas League had a season where no one team was very dominant (no one over 93 wins) or all that terrible (no one over 92 losses). In a reverse from last year, Dallas took the North, while Wichita slipped in one game ahead of Fort Worth to take second. In the South, El Paso won their second division title in a row, with Austin earning their second playoff bid in 12 years as a big-league club.



The first round featured a pair of upsets, as El Paso started off by taking down El Paso in a seven-game battle. The Lone Stars were dull and dim in Texas as Wichita shut down Dallas in five games, then hog-tied the Wranglers in a four-game sweep as they soared to a Texas League title, their second in five seasons.

With the last four teams decided, another test was aced by the A's as the Philadelphia Athletics (NOR) defeat the Tampa Tarpons (SOU), bringing the Tarpons' first national tournament to an end. On the other side, the Seattle Rainiers (PCL) defeat the Wichita Aeros (TL), then backed things up further. With the cards all on the table, the Seattle Rainiers (PCL) defeat the Philadelphia Athletics (NOR), 4-1, ascending to the mountaintop with their fourth National Championship and first since 1965.



History was made as Milwaukee's Mark Oxford set a United States Baseball Federation record with his ninth Northern Conference MVP—all consecutively. Oxford slashed .312/.366/.458 with 195 hits, 103 runs, 27 doubles, 19 homers, 83 RBI, and 52 stolen bases to take the crown. It turned out to be the 32-year-old's final MVP, but he continued to play at a high level for nearly another decade.

En route to the Philadelphia A's first conference championship, Omar Marrero claimed his third (and final) Pitcher of the Year award. The lefty led the North in wins for the third year in a row, going 19-5 with a 2.71 ERA, striking out 132 in 248.2 innings.

Also in Philly, Quakers outfielder Tom Clark finally hung it up at 43 years old, racking up 3,042 hits and 516 home runs, which was the most in Northern Conference history at the time of his retirement.

In the Southern Conference, Kansas City's pennant was spearheaded in large part by center fielder Austin Wohlgemuth. The 25-year-old rookie slashed .327/.408/.505 with 194 hits, 116 runs, 32 doubles, 10 triples, 18 homers, 88 RBI, and a conference-leading 74 steals to earn MVP and Rookie of the Year honors.

Before the 1978 season, Trey Skipper made a blockbuster deal, swapping two starters to Washington and bringing two starters back to Tampa. For all of his good work for the Tarpons, that deal was probably his worst, as Washington unequivocally won that trade. One of their returning pitchers was lefty Mark Overton, who was just 22 with six big-league starts under his belt at the time of the trade. In his second season in the nation's capital, Overton went 21-11 and led the South with a 2.42 ERA, 282.2 innings, 16 complete games, and 6 shutouts, while striking out 178 to earn Pitcher of the Year.

Norfolk third baseman Mike Thompson was in his penultimate season at 38 years old, but on August 21, he slugged his 500th home run, the fourth player in Eastern Baseball Federation history to reach that total.

San Francisco's Javon Beavers won the Pacific Coast League MVP with a great rookie season in 1976. Three years later, he was back for more, slashing .367/.471/.512, winning his third batting title, also leading the PCL with 237 hits, 150 runs, 17 triples, and 71 steals, while adding 42 doubles, 6 homers, and 75 RBI to easily take his second MVP trophy.

Beavers' teammate Chris Carroll made it two Pitcher of the Year trophies in two years, going 21-7 with a league-leading 2.41 ERA as a sophomore, striking out 195 and logging 284.1 innings to take the crown.

In the Texas League, Fort Worth's Ramon Lugo took several years to get his feet under him after debuting at 20 years old in 1975. In his fifth season, everything click, as he slashed .321/.390/.555 with 195 hits, 101 runs, 29 doubles, 7 triples, 33 homers, and 85 RBI, while adding 33 steals to win his first MVP trophy.

Matt Detrick spent his entire 20-year career in El Paso and many stellar moments, but he was at his best in 1979, as the 26-year-old went 20-6 with a 2.78 ERA, leading the TL in ERA while logging 269.0 innings and striking out 129, racking up a league-high four shutouts as well. That was enough for the righty to earn the only Pitcher of the Year trophy of his long career.

Three years after becoming the first Texas League pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts, Dallas' Carlos Pena became the first major league pitcher in any league to reach 3,500 strikeouts, doing so on April 17 in a season where the southpaw led the TL with 215 strikeouts, his record tenth and final time leading the league in that mark.

---



The American Baseball League took in the Boston Pilgrims and Birmingham Barons, but they also added two expansion teams, the Columbus Clippers and Syracuse Chiefs. Despite now being at 16 teams, the ABL elected to keep their unusual three-division format.

The East was far and away the most competitive with three 90-win teams, with New Haven winning and Nashville earning the wild card, two games ahead of Richmond. The Chicago Cyclones won the Central for the second year in a row, while expansion Syracuse finished a surprising second. Spokane was the only over-.500 team in a bad West, winning their third division title in a row. In the postseason, Chicago defeated Nashville in seven games, while Spokane battled for seven games but took down New Haven. The Indians then pulled another upset, winning another seven-game set to knock off Chicago for their sixth American Baseball Cup.

Award voting was very, very weird this season. First, Nashville's 25-year-old shortstop Gustavo Salinas took MVP honors, slashing .306/.354/.443 with 182 hits, 84 runs, 30 doubles, 9 triples, 11 homers, 78 RBI and just 19 strikeouts over 154 games. Next, Indianapolis' Enrique Contreras led the ABL in ERA at 2.16, was just 13-13 with an uninspiring 128 strikeouts in 250.0 innings, earning a very surprising Pitcher of the Year over several other deserving candidates.

---

Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Mobile Marines, 101-53, defeat Knoxville
Colonial League: Binghamton Smokers, 102-38, defeats Pawtucket
River Valley League: Evansville Bees, 95-45, defeat Fort Wayne Westerns
Rocky Mountain League: Rapid City Goldpanners, 77-49, defeat Cheyenne
Coastal League: Columbia Roosters, 90-64, defeats Savannah
Northern League: Duluth-Superior Dukes, 80-60, defeats Fargo-Moorhead
Great Lakes League: Rochester Red Wings, 93-47, defeats Erie
Southwest League: Modesto Growers, 81-74, defeats Las Vegas
Southern Association: Beaumont Exporters, 83-57, defeats Springfield
Northwest League: Reno High Rollers, 97-57, defeats Bellingham (2nd straight)
Can-Am League: Utica Blue Sox, 74-52, defeats Springfield
Mid-Atlantic League: Roanoke Red Hawks, 83-57, defeats Asheville
Lone Star League: Lawton Miners, 81-59, defeats Rio Grande
Great Plains League: Rockford Metros, 91-49, defeats Madison
Florida Coast League: Orlando Rays, 78-62, defeats St. Petersburg
Big Sky League: Edmonton Elks, 74-58, defeats Missoula

That Southwest League had one of the greatest parity seasons in professional baseball history, as Las Vegas and Modesto tied for first at just 81-73. Just one team (68-86 Bakersfield) finished more than seven games out, with six teams finishing within 4 1/2 games of first, a margin that only grew with Las Vegas winning a one-game playoff for the top seed, though Modesto got the last laugh with a league title.

[KCRoyals15]

1980

In four years in Tampa, Trey Skipper successfully breathed new life into an organization that struggled to find its footing at the major league level. After a Southern Conference championship in 1979, he stepped away to make a curious career move: going back to the American Baseball League.

"Denver is a baseball town and this is a market that has been sadly unsuccessful for most of its history. I think we can do some incredible things here," said the youngest Skipper. "My father won a little here and I look forward to winning a little more."

With that, Trey Skipper was the new boss of the Denver Bears, where indeed, his father Skipper Jr. piloted from 1952-55. Other than a surprise second-place divisional finish two years prior, there was little success to build off of, and the Bears had lost 104 games the previous year. Their last playoff berth (and only one since 1914), was Skipper Jr.'s 1954 squad.

The 80's got underway and the Northern Conference saw some shake-up. The Philadelphia Quakers won the New England League, while the Newark Eagles won 91 games in their second season back in the majors, taking second place and earning their first big-league playoff spot since 1948. To the surprise of no one, Milwaukee won the Midwest Association, their fifth-straight pennant behind 109 wins. Taking second, though, was Toronto, in the field for the first time in six years.



The postseason saw surprises on both sides, as Newark dealt Philadelphia a quick exit, bouncing the Quakers in five games. Toronto then followed up with a big upset of Milwaukee, knocking out the Black Hawks in six games. The Maple Leafs charged on, taking down the Eagles in five games for their first Conference Championship since 1967.

In the Southern Conference, two extremely strong teams went toe-to-toe in the Eastern League. The playoff race was effectively over in May as Tampa and Washington both finished 30 games above the pack, with the pair both finished 107-55; a franchise record for wins for both teams. The Western League saw Pittsburgh return to the top after a couple autumns at home, and Salt Lake City squeaked out a playoff berth by a single game for the second year in a row, this time freezing out Kansas City.



In the first round, Washington drew Pittsburgh and the Senators were pushed hard, but the men in the capital got it done with a seven-game series win. Salt Lake City then took on an old ABL rival in Tampa, and dealt the Tarpons a big upset with a five-game series win. The Bees then stung the Senators in six games, earning their first Conference Championship since the move to Utah nearly three decades prior.

The Pacific Coast League once again had a North Division that was much stronger than the South, but this time it was take to an extreme. Only three teams in the PCL had a winning record and all of them were in the North.

Seattle and San Francisco finished comfortably 1-2 in the North, while the PCL South suffered the dubious feat of becoming the first division in USBF history to have every team finish below .500. At 99-101, the San Diego Padres were division champions. At just 94-106, Los Angeles earned the second playoff bid, their first in eight years.



Scorned for their clear weaknesses during the season, the San Diego Padres put it all behind them and shocked San Francisco in the first round, sweeping the Seals. Seattle, meanwhile, took care of business, defeating Los Angeles in six games. The Rainiers wised up in the Finals, defeating the Padres in six games to earn back-to-back PCL titles.

The Texas League's best teams were in the North, where Fort Worth cruised to a league-high 98 wins and Dallas wasn't too far behind, with the two Metroplex rivals earning the playoff spots. For Dallas, it was their sixth-straight bid, while Fort Worth ended a five-year drought. The South saw 86-win Austin scrape past El Paso, edging the Texans by a game, though the West Texas team still earned their fourth-straight playoff bid.



In October, Fort Worth began things with a hard-fought seven-game series win over El Paso, while Austin downed Dallas in six games. The Wranglers then upset the favored Panthers, taking a bite out of the big cats with a five-game series win, lifting the Wranglers to their first Texas League championship.

Prior to the season, the Texas League was skewered in a scathing editorial by a major East Coast newspaper, harping primarily on their paltry two National Championships (last in 1966) and 11 of their last 13 champions not even making it to the championship series.

A newcomer to the national tournament, the Salt Lake City Bees (SOU) defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs (NOR) in the first round. With something to prove, the Austin Wranglers (TL) defeat the Seattle Rainiers (PCL) in a huge upset over the defending champions. With a guarantee of a first-time champion, the upstarts from Texas finished the job, as the Austin Wranglers (TL) defeat the Salt Lake City Bees (SOU), 4-2 to vindicate the Texas League and win Austin's first national title.



For the first time since 1970, the Northern Conference had a new MVP, as Scott Hewitt of the Philadelphia Quakers earned the nod. Hewitt was normally a .250 hitter (his career mark), but this year out of nowhere, he slashed .307/.412/.603 with 173 hits, 110 runs, and led the North with 38 homers and 123 RBI, adding 23 stolen bases as well.

History was made in Newark as Antonio Nevarez earned Pitcher of the Year honors. The reason why? Nevarez became the first reliever in USBF history to earn a POTY nod. Moved to the bullpen the year prior, Nevarez went on to earn four Reliever of the Year nods, though he earned the big one this season, going 6-5 with a 1.07 ERA, leading the North in games (73) and saves (39). He struck out 65 over 92.2 innings to take the award.

The Southern Conference was ruled by Washington shortstop John Crow, who narrowly missed an MVP in 1976, but got the job done four years later. The 29-year-old slashed .299/.397/.458 with 180 hits, 115 runs, 27 doubles, 6 triples, 19 homers, 91 RBI, and 23 steals to take home his lone MVP award of an excellent 16-year run in the nation's capital.

His teammate, meanwhile, won plenty of hardware, as Senators ace Alan Church took his fourth Pitcher of the Year award. Leading the South in wins for the fourth year in a row, Church went 25-6 with a 2.72 ERA, leading the conference in innings (288.0) and complete games (16), though his 235 strikeouts did not lead the lead after doing so the last five seasons. Nonetheless, the choice was easy.

In the Pacific Coast League, the Los Angeles Angels may have been mocked for being 12 games below .500 and still backing into the playoffs, but the play of their third-year shortstop Mario Alaniz was no joking matter. The 25-year-old slashed .338/.394/.478 with 242 hits, 36 doubles, 7 triples, 17 homers, 84 RBI, 21 steals, and the first of his five Great Glove Awards at short, earning MVP honors.

Meanwhile, a front-runner's ace earned hardware, as Seattle's Wayne Floreani had a memorable third big-league season. The 25-year-old native of Maine went 28-9 with a 2.84 ERA, leading the PCL in wins, innings (330.0) and shutouts (5), while logging 13 complete games and 228 strikeouts to earn his only Pitcher of the Year trophy.

In the Texas League, Fort Worth's Josh Paver was a late bloomer who didn't reach the majors until he was 28 years old. However, in his first full season, the Panthers' second baseman slashed .295/.359/.512 with 182 hits, 101 runs, 37 doubles 29 homers, 92 RBI, and 24 steals, good enough to earn MVP honors.

Another Panther, lefty Oscar Rodriguez took several years to stick, but finally did this season. The soft-tosser only struck out 105 in 257.0 innings, going 15-10 with a 2.77 ERA to earn Pitcher of the Year.

In the Eastern Baseball Federation, a criminally-underrated lefty got his deserved due:

LHP Ryan Guevara (1959-74), 76.7%

Meanwhile, the Texas League's all-time hits leader (3,206) got the call to the Hall:

3B Jared Robinson (1953-74), 92.5%

---



With a more-balanced 16-team alignment, the American Baseball League changed from three divisions to four divisions of four teams each, the first league in the country to make such a change (and still the only one to try it). The playoff format also expanded from four teams to eight, with the top two finishers in each division guaranteed a spot. With an extra playoff round, the first two playoff series were shortened to best-of-five with the Finals remaining best-of-seven.

Richmond, Spokane, and Chicago took division titles handily, though imbalance saw the Central have Nashville and Columbus tie for first at 81-81, with both getting in to the field. Meanwhile, New Haven and Denver earned wild cards fair-and-square (the latter squeezing out 89-win Indianapolis by a game), while 76-win Phoenix edged Anaheim by a game to earn the second bid in the West.

In the playoffs, wild cards New Haven, Denver, Columbus, and Phoenix all earned first-round wins over their divisional winners, with each series besides Columbus' sweep lasting the full five games. The Semifinals saw Denver down New Haven and Phoenix upset Columbus, both in four games. The Bears, though, ended the Firebirds' magical run with a seven-game triumph for the American Baseball Cup, their first championship of any kind, as Trey Skipper's magic worked immediate wonders in his first season in the Mile High City.

Though Phoenix had a lackluster regular season, third baseman Paul Coleman slashed .286/.383/.529 in his second season, racking up 169 hits, 96 runs, 33 doubles, a league-leading 36 homers, and 88 RBI, earning a somewhat surprising MVP trophy. In 1978, Chicago traded for longtime Miami ace CJ Noll on a buy-low deal with immediate payoff. Rebounding to form, the 32-year-old went 21-9 in 1980, with a 2.81 ERA, leading the league in wins, innings (282.1), strikeouts (217), complete games (21), and shutouts (4) to take home Pitcher of the Year.

---

The minor leagues saw major upheaval, as a combination of club discontent, and a desire for big-league clubs to better concentrate minor league affiliates caused significant league alignment shifts. Several teams switched leagues for geographic or political reasons, while some independent teams in otherwise affiliated leagues departed.

In the end, the Great Lakes League (largely affiliated) saw enough defections that is had little choice but to close its doors after 61 years of operation, while a new, fully independent league popped up in the Midwest. When the dust settled, seven existing leagues were affected, with a total of 22 teams changing leagues, plus two more, the Trenton Tartans and Flint Vehicles, folding. An eighth circuit, the Heartland League would emerge, made up entirely of existing independent teams finding refuge from other circuits:

Heartland League
Cedar Rapids (from Northern )
Evansville Bees (from River Valley)
Madison Black Wolves (from Great Plains)
Quad Cities Trappers (from Northern)
Rockford Metros (from Great Plains)
Sioux City Cornhuskers (from Northern)
Sioux Falls Packers (from Northern)
Youngstown Steelers (from Great Lakes)



Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Mobile Marines, 89-65, defeats Baton Rouge (2nd straight)
Colonial League: Binghamton Smokers, 78-62, defeats Scranton-Wilkes Barre (2nd straight)
River Valley League: Rochester Red Wings, 83-57, defeats Charleston (WV) (3rd straight, 1st in RVL)
Rocky Mountain League: Great Falls Explorers, 67-59, defeats Pueblo
Coastal League: Winston-Salem Twins, 102-52, defeats Charleston (SC)
Northern League: Thunder Bay Timberjacks, 93-47, defeats St. Paul
Southwest League: Santa Barbara Foresters, 87-67, defeats Las Vegas
Southern Association: Beaumont Exporters, 77-63, defeats Corpus Christi (2nd straight)
Northwest League: Stockton Condors, 82-62, defeats Tacoma
Can-Am League: Utica Blue Sox, 71-55, defeats Springfield (2nd straight)
Mid-Atlantic League: Asheville Tourists, 79-61, defeats Worcester
Lone Star League: Rio Grande White Wings, 79-61, defeats Waco
Great Plains League: Lincoln Lions, 77-63, defeats St. Joseph
Florida Coast League: Columbus Catfish, 72-68, defeats Daytona
Big Sky League: Regina Giants, 69-63, defeats Missoula
Heartland League: Rockford Metros, 82-59, defeats Sioux City (2nd straight, 1st in HL)

Due to significant team movement, two teams, Rochester and Rockford, won league titles in consecutive years in different leagues, something that had never happened in minor league baseball before this season.

Additionally, a great dynasty came to an end in the new-look Northern League. The Fargo-Moorhead Indians saw a streak of ten-straight finals appearances and 20 in the 21 years come to an end, a stretch that netted them 14 Northern League titles.

[KCRoyals15]

1981

With new teams emerging as powerful forces, optimism was high that overall parity in the United States Baseball Federation would be improving throughout the 1980's.

That belief was first put to the test in the Northern Conference where a pair of unusual suspects were atop the New England League, the Albany Adirondacks winning, followed by Newark in second. The Midwest Association, meanwhile, once more featured the Milwaukee wrecking crew at 109 wins, winning their sixth pennant in a row and 12th in 13 years. Defending Conference Champion Toronto finished second.



In the first round, Milwaukee took care of Newark in six games, while Albany took down Toronto, also in a six-game set. The Adirondacks then pulled off a big upset, downing Milwaukee in seven games to give Albany their second conference title in four years.

The Southern Conference, meanwhile, saw a tight race in the Eastern League, where Jacksonville snapped a string of five-straight losing seasons with a surprise pennant, their first playoff bid in eight years. Washington and Tampa were tied for second two games back, but the Senators claimed the one-game playoff to earn their ninth-straight postseason trip.

The Western League was much more cut-and-dry, with Kansas City exploding for 107 wins (their most since 1923) to easily win the pennant. Pittsburgh finished a cozy second, reaching the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years.



The postseason, meanwhile, featured a significant upset, as Washington walloped Kansas City in five games in the first round. Pittsburgh then swept Jacksonville, but they were no match for the upset-minded Senators, who took down the Ironmen in seven games for their third Conference Championship in eight years.

In the Pacific Coast League, the talk of the league was the Seattle Rainiers, who set an all-time major league record with 141 wins, posting a 141-59 record. With the most wins by a PCL team since 1923 (they joined the majors in 1926), the Rainiers finished 20 games ahead of second-place San Francisco. The South featured San Diego winning the division by seven games over Hawaii, with the two squads taking the postseason spots.



In the postseason, all those regular-season wins did no good for Seattle, as the Rainiers were toppled by San Francisco in six games. San Diego also defeated Hawaii in six games. In the finals, it was San Diego's turn for an upset, and the Padres sank the Seals in five games for their first PCL title since 1968.

The Texas League featured two very close races, starting in the North where Wichita edged Fort Worth by two games. The South featured the two best teams, with El Paso winning the division and Galveston finishing one game back (four games ahead of Austin) for the other playoff spot.



In the postseason, Fort Worth overtook Wichita in six games, while El Paso took care of Galveston in five. The Texans then flexed their muscles, overpowering the Panthers in six games to finally end decades of playoff frustration. In their 18th playoff appearance as a major-league team, the Texans at last earned their first Texas League title as a big-league club and first overall since 1948.

Washington was no stranger to the postseason, but was still a surprise in the national tournament, but their run continued, as the Washington Senators (SOU) defeat the Albany Adirondacks (NOR). Meanwhile, a first-time participant was not in the mood for a short run, as the El Paso Texans (TL) defeat the San Diego Padres (PCL). The boys from the West Texas town of El Paso then capped off their dream season in style, as the El Paso Texans (TL) defeat the Washington Senators (SOU), 4-3, giving El Paso it's first National Championship and the Texas League's second in a row after just two in 25 years.



When they returned to the major leagues in 1979, Newark beefed up it's roster and one addition was third baseman Peter Fredette. In his third season, the 28-year-old slashed .325/.402/.466 with a Conference-leading 201 hits, 101 runs, 33 doubles, 6 triples, 14 homers, 74 RBI, and 38 steals to take home his first Northern Conference MVP.

Meanwhile, also in 1979, Milwaukee made a mid-season deal with Hawaii to acquire Isles ace Jorge Esquivel. Two years later, the 34-year-old had his best season, going 23-7 with a 1.97 ERA, leading the conference in both marks, while striking out 154 in 260.2 innings to earn Pitcher of the Year.

The Southern Conference, meanwhile, was ruled by Kansas City ace Jose Lopez. The 24-year-old phenom had a season to remember, going 24-7 with 2.25 ERA, leading the conference in wins, while also striking out an Eastern Baseball Federation-record 289 batters over 264.1 innings while walking just 22. For his efforts he took home both Pitcher of the Year and MVP.

Louisville outfielder Shane McLaughlin never won an MVP award, but the 12-time All-Star was rock-solid over 19 years with Louisville. In his penultimate, he stroked his 3,000th career hit on September 19, becoming the seventh hitter in EBF history to do so.

Though Seattle dominated the season, it was San Francisco centerfielder Aaron Navarro who dominated the MVP voting in the Pacific Coast League. The 24-year-old slashed .303/.374/.529 with 219 hits, 117 runs, 28 doubles, 9 triples, and led the PCL with 39 homers and 169 RBI, the latter mark the most by a big-league hitter since 1955. He also added 36 steals, taking the hardware home.

Meanwhile, a Seattle hurler took home the pitching hardware. 24-year-old rookie lefty Jamie Evans stormed onto the scene with a Triple Crown as a rookie, going 27-7 with a 2.14 ERA and 246 strikeouts, while also logging a league-leading 340.1 innings. Amazingly, he did not win Rookie of the Year (Hawaii's Andrew Hairston did).

Of note, San Francisco's Javon Beavers set a PCL record with his fifth batting title (in six years), leading the loop with a .334 mark.

In the Texas League, the National Champion El Paso Texans were led by Daniel Alcaraz, who won his third MVP award by slashing .316/.364/.606 with 187 runs, a league-leading 111 runs, 24 doubles, 14 triples, and a TL-tops 40 home runs and 135 RBI.

On the hill, Dallas' Bryan Belk was named best on the bump, also for a third time, going 21-7 with a 2.46 ERA, leading the Texas League in wins and complete games (13), while logging 256.1 innings.

The Eastern Baseball Federation had a busy Hall of Fame induction weekend, sending a pair of men who spent their entire 20-year careers as teammates on the Milwaukee Black Hawks, plus a Southern Conference hitter who reach 3,000 hits, and another who nearly did, but also bashed over 500 homers:

1B Justin Watts (1956-75), 98.6%
OF Zack Harrington (1954-75), 98.1%
C Brent Murphy (1948-70), 84.3%
C Ramon Coca (1956-75), 77.4%

In addition, the Texas League inducted a slick-fielding, late-blooming first baseman who made up for it by staying productive well into his 40's:

1B Josh Pinedo (1952-67), 85.9%

---



In the American Baseball Legaue, the four-division setup again caused some chaos. Denver, Nashville, Vancouver, and Boston won their divisions (though the Mounties were just 81-81), while Chicago, Columbus, Richmond, and a 78-win Spokane won a tiebreaker over Anaheim to get the last spot. Most notably, Boston reach the postseason for just the third time in their 82-year history (first since 1953) and Denver had their best year ever and drew a still-standing ABL-record 2,694,929 fans.

In the first round, three of the four series were three-game sweeps, with Nashville's five-game win over Columbus the exception. Richmond, Denver, and Spokane also moved on. Denver defeated Richmond, and Spokane upset Nashville, both in five games, putting a sub-.500 team in the ABL finals again. Once again, though, Denver ended the Cinderella story, defeating the Indians in six games to boost the Bears to their second-straight American Baseball Cup.

To the surprise of many, Denver's Joe Floyd was not MVP in 1980, but a year later, he left no doubt, slashing .363/.402/.544 with a league-high 255 hits, 50 doubles, and 138 RBI, while also adding 105 runs and 25 homers. His doubles and RBI totals set (since-broken) ABL records, while his hit total is still the best in league history. Unfortunately, Floyd was already 31 and ripped up his knee early the following year, which hampered him for three years before finally emerging as a productive part-time player in St. Louis in 1985. However, his days as an everyday player abruptly ended.

Another Bear, righty Justin Baker, made history as the first ABL reliever to win Pitcher of the Year. Baker went 17-5 with a 1.59 ERA in 68 games out of the bullpen, earning 23 saves and striking out 118 batters in 124.1 innings. The Bears moved him to the rotation the following season and he nearly won POTY again (he finished second), posting four solid seasons as a starter later on.

---

Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Baton Rouge Cajuns, 89-65, defeats Jackson
Colonial League: Pittsfield Colonials, 84-56, defeats Harrisburg
River Valley League: Grand Rapids Griffins, 80-60, defeats Erie
Rocky Mountain League: Rapid City Goldpanners, 69-58, defeats Ft. Collins
Coastal League: Charlotte Hornets, 86-68, defeat Augusta
Northern League: Appleton Foxes, 90-50, defeat Green Bay
Southwest League: Modesto Growers, 87-67, defeat Santa Barbara
Southern Association: Corpus Christi Gunslingers, 83-58, defeats Beaumont
Northwest League: Tacoma Mountaineers, 118-36, defeats Stockton
Can-Am League: Ottawa Capitals, 70-56, defeats Springfield
Mid-Atlantic League: Greensboro Patriots, 82-58, defeats Allentown
Lone Star League: Lubbock Hubbers, 80-60, defeats Rio Grande
Great Plains League: Peoria Distillers, 80-60, defeats Salina
Florida Coast League: Fort Lauderdale Flamingos, 74-66, defeats Columbus
Big Sky League: Regina Giants, 67-65, defeats Missoula (2nd straight); entire Can. finished ahead of entire Amer.
Heartland League: Madison Black Wolves, 76-64, defeats Youngstown

Several leagues had very tight races, with the Rocky Mountain League having four teams within three games of the top, the Coastal League had five teams within four games, and the Florida Coast League ended up with three teams separated by a game for their last playoff spot.

One oddity occurred for the first time in baseball history. In the Big Sky League, the entire Canadian Division finished above .500 and the entire American Division was below .500 (four teams each).

Lastly, the Tacoma Mountaineers put together one of the greatest minor league teams of all-time, going 118-36 to win the Northwest League. Outside of the early PCL that played 200 games, the Mountaineers set a minor league record for wins, surpassing the long-standing 117-23 mark by the 1900 New Orleans Pelicans. Tacoma averaged 5.9 runs per game (.277/.384/.399 team slash), while posting a team ERA of 2.60 and led the NWL in just about everything on both sides of the ball, outscoring opponents 910-459.

[KCRoyals15]

1982

Trey Skipper's first two years in Denver were nothing shy of a rousing success. Attendance and team offense records were smashed as the Bears won American Baseball League titles in both seasons.

As it turns out, those would be Trey's only years in Denver. For this next move, he stayed in the ABL, though it was an unusual move for the Skipper family: he was joining a team coming off a playoff berth.

The Boston Pilgrims had just snapped their 28-year playoff drought with an ABL East division title, but attendance still lagged and the team was still losing money. Trey Skipper's job would be to finally make Beantown fall in love with baseball again.

In the summer of 1982, the Northern Conference saw the Philadelphia A's return to the top of the New England League after a couple Octobers at home. They were joined by second-place Newark, making their third postseason appearance in a row. The Midwest Association, meanwhile, had big news. The Detroit Wolverines won their first pennant in seven years, with Toronto finishing just one game back, meaning Milwaukee's string of six-straight pennants and 12 playoff appearances in 13 years was over.



In the postseason, Detroit got things off to a rousing start by sweeping aside Newark in four games. Toronto, meanwhile, trounced Philly in a five-game decision. The Maple Leafs then dueled with the Wolverines for seven games, but Toronto came out on top as the Leafs earned their second Conference Championship in three years.

The Southern Conference was notable for two excellent teams. Washington won the Eastern League with 106 wins, while Tampa edged out Norfolk by a game for second. The Western League was won by 104-win Kansas City, while St. Louis finished a distant second, earning their first playoff bid in seven years.



In the first round, Washington waxed St. Louis in a five-game series, while Kansas City took care of business in six games against Tampa. With the two juggernauts facing off, the Blues were too much for the Senators, as KC won a five-game set to earn their first Conference Championship since 1955.

The Pacific Coast League had a very interesting year. Seattle, San Francisco, and San Diego won 131, 130, and 130 games, respectively. No other PCL teams finished over .500. In the North this was no issue, with the Rainiers and Seals waltzing in, but while San Diego won the South, 96-104 San Jose finished second, as the Gulls backed in for the final playoff spot.



There would be no massive upsets as San Jose was quickly swept out by Seattle, with San Diego and San Francisco tangled for six games, with the Padres coming out on top. The Padres and Rainiers then matched up for the PCL title, and in a classic series between two great teams, San Diego came out on top in a seven-game battle, repeating as PCL champs.

That left the Texas League, where the Dallas Lone Stars were the only winning team in the North, taking the division title while Wichita held off Fort Worth by a game and Oklahoma City by three to back in at 78-84. In the South, defending National Champion El Paso had the league's top record at 94-68, while Galveston finished second for the second year in a row.



Like in the PCL, the clear weakest playoff team, Wichita, was bounced quickly, losing in five games to El Paso. Dallas the downed Galveston in five games, then upset the Texans in the Lone Star Series, giving the Lone Stars their first league title in four years.

With a long-time power back in the national tournament after a long absence, the Kansas City Blues (SOU) defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs (NOR) to open up play, while at the same time a Texas League club pulled off a big upset, as the Dallas Lone Stars (TL) defeat the San Diego Padres (PCL). The TL was now looking for their third-straight National Championship with their third different club, and they got it handily, as the Dallas Lone Stars (TL) defeat the Kansas City Blues (SOU), 4-1 for Dallas' first National Championship.



Newark's Kyle King fit the mold of a hulking slugger, standing 6-7 and 235 pounds, but he could do it all, and the third-year first baseman did so, slashing .327/.402/.636 with 199 hits, 106 runs, and leading the Northern Conference with 57 doubles, 43 homers, and 139 RBI. His doubles tally was the highest by an EBF hitter since 1938. King also was a great defender, winning the third of ten-straight Great Glove awards. He took home another award as well: the Northern Conference MVP.

Detroit righty Miguel Lopez seemed to get lost among pitchers on better teams, but the 29-year-old shined as he led the Wolverines to a pennant. Already in his tenth season, Lopez went 25-6 with a 2.46 ERA, leading the North in wins and ERA while striking out 151 in 263.2 innings. It was a true outlier for Lopez, who never won more than 16 games in any other year, or led the conference in anything else (besides starts), but he was rock solid (nine-time All-Star) over a fruitful 20-year career.

Jared Wilson made eight All-Star teams and won six home run titles, but was mostly forgotten on a national stage as he toiled away on mostly bad Chicago Whales teams for 15 years. The 36-year-old, though, reached 500 homers on his final blast of the season on September 26, becoming the seventh player in USBF history to do so.

In the Southern Conference, Norfolk finished one game out of the postseason, but it wasn't third baseman Ken Heavner's fault. The 24-year-old had a huge second season, slashing .342/.436/.452 with 204 hits, 102 runs, 6 homers, 55 RBI, and leading the conference with 17 triples and 72 stolen bases to earn MVP honors.

Washington ace Alan Church missed the first five months of the 1981 season with a shoulder injury, but came back healthy in '82. At 32 years old, Church went 16-6 and led the South with a 2.35 ERA and 232 strikeouts, his sixth and final strikeout crown. In the process, he won his fifth and final Pitcher of the Year. Church missed some more time in later years, but still appeared to have something left in the tank when he retired at 36 in 1986.

Speaking of retirement, Louisville's Shane McLaughlin hung it up after 19 stellar seasons, retiring with 3,068 hits over his sterling career.

Seattle southpaw Jamie Evans took the PCL by storm in his exceptional rookie season in 1981, and his sophomore campaign was just as good, if not even better. The 25-year-old went 28-7 with a 2.06 ERA, leading the PCL in wins, ERA, starts (43), innings (359.0, strikeouts (260), complete games (15), and shutouts (7), winning the Triple Crown and Pitcher of the Year for the second year, and also took home PCL MVP honors, the first pitcher to do so since 1956.

Barely six months after being signed in 1975, Miami dealt minor league outfielder Steve Johnston to Galveston for a pitcher who won 17 games in four years on South Beach. Despite mashing in the minors, it took Johnston a bit to crack the lineup, but he was a star when he did, and as a 25-year-old in 1982, he slashed .346/.471/.600, winning the Texas League batting title, and leading the league with 110 runs, while adding 198 hits, 30 doubles, 10 triples, 32 homers, 101 RBI, and 26 steals, taking home MVP honors.

In the winter of 1980, Dallas shipped a forgettable second baseman and a decent starter who had a few good seasons in his new home in Portland, receiving in return 31-year-old workhorse Oscar Mondragon, who had worked five strong years for the Beavers. Portland thought he was over the hill. They were wrong. In his second year in Dallas, the righty went 20-10 with a 3.18 ERA, striking out 135 and leading the TL in innings (282.2), starts (36), and shutouts (4), taking home Pitcher of the Year for the first time.

The Hall of Fame wasn't quite as busy as last year, but did elect a pair of EBF studs, including a six-time MVP who became the Hall's first-ever unanimous inductee:

OF Cory Gilmore (1960-76), 100%
OF Jon Keys (1962-74), 75.9%

Not to be outdone, the PCL elected the all-time national home run leader with 677 and an eight-time MVP:

SS Joseph Miller (1962-78), 98.1%

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For the third time in the American Baseball League's three years in a four-division format, a team won a division at exactly 81-81. This time it was Trey Skipper's Boston team winning the East, while much stronger clubs in Anaheim, Birmingham, and Chicago won the other three divisions. For Anaheim, it was their first-ever playoff bid, while Birmingham got in for the first time since 1954. Chicago won a league-high 111 games. Spokane, Denver, and Nashville were deserving wild cards, though New Haven snuck in with 79 wins out of a weak East, while Vancouver was stuck home with 90 wins in a very strong West.

On the other side of the coin, the Minneapolis Millers moved out of a dilapidated and cold Metropolitan Stadium, but they lost a franchise-record 118 games in their first year inside the Metrodome. Another perennially terrible team tried to change their luck with a new name, as Cincinnati dropped the Tigers moniker to become the Cincinnati Buckeyes adopting the name their former rivals in Cleveland ditched nearly a half-century prior. It didn't work, as they lost 106 games.

The first round of the playoffs saw three series going the full five games, with Boston, Nashville, and Spokane winning, while Denver upset Chicago in four games as three wild cards won the first round. Boston was the lone division winner left, and they ended Denver's quest for a three-peat in the semis, while Nashville beat Spokane, both in four games. The Vols then ended the Pilgrims' quest, as Nashville had their first American Baseball Cup.

Not surprisingly, the major awards were all swept by Chicago, with 23-year-old first baseman Marco Geronimo taking MVP and Rookie of the Year, slashing .291/.368/.561 with 163 hits, a league-high 110 runs, 25 doubles, an ABL-best 40 homers, and 117 RBI. Third-year righty Luke Venezia was Pitcher of the Year, as the 24-year-old went 24-5 with a 2.82 ERA over 265.0 innings, leading the ABL in wins.

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Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Montgomery Generals, 86-68, defeats Baton Rouge
Colonial League: Harrisburg Senators, 85-55, defeats Pittsfield
River Valley League: Erie Sailors, 93-48, defeats Rochester
Rocky Mountain League: Cheyenne Bulls, 72-54, defeats Billings
Coastal League: Columbia Roosters, 98-56, defeats Charlotte
Northern League: La Crosse Loggers, 82-58, defeats St. Paul
Southwest League: Long Beach Earthquakes, 91-63, defeats Modesto
Southern Association: Little Rock Travelers, 78-63, defeats Joplin
Northwest League: Reno High Rollers, 82-73, defeats Tacoma
Can-Am League: Portland Lobsters, 85-41, defeats Ottawa
Mid-Atlantic League: Altoona Engineers, 77-63, defeats Worcester
Lone Star League: Midland-Odessa Panthers, 81-59, defeats Rio Grande
Great Plains League: Peoria Distillers, 77-63, defeats Salina (2nd straight)
Florida Coast League: Daytona Islanders, 79-61, defeats St. Petersburg
Big Sky League: Saskatoon Rivermen, 70-63, defeats Regina
Heartland League: Youngstown Steelers, 75-65, defeats Evansville

A few oddities took place, one of which was a rare tight race in the Southeastern League, where four teams finished within three games of first place. In the Can-Am League, Portland went a league-record 85-41, resulting in them and second-place Ottawa being the only two teams in an eight-league circuit with a winning record.

Lastly, the Big Sky League last year had the entire Canadian Division finish ahead of the entire American Division. It wasn't far off from happening again this year, though the entire eight-team circuit finished just 9 1/2 games apart, including races to the last day for the final two playoff spots.

[KCRoyals15]

1983

When the 1983 season got underway, the majority of the major leagues were more competitive than normal and there were less dominant teams than normal, leading up to an exciting summer.

In the Northern Conference, there was one dominant team and it was the Newark Eagles, who won 106 games to easily take the Eastern League, their fourth playoff appearance in a row. However, Albany and the Philadelphia A's needed a 163rd game to decide second place, with the Adirondacks taking the tiebreaker. The Midwest Association saw Cleveland take the pennant for their first playoff appearance in a dozen years, but first pennant since 1947. Detroit finished second, edging out Milwaukee by two games for the final playoff spot.



In the postseason, Albany got off to a roaring start, sweeping Cleveland in the semifinals. Newark, meanwhile, took care of business, downing Detroit in six games. The Eagles then firmly showed who the better team was, beating down the Adirondacks in a four-game sweep to win their first Conference Championship since the conference split and first big-league title since their 1941 Eastern Baseball Federation Championship.

The Southern Conference had no dominant teams, with nobody winning more than 92 games. Washington won 91 contests, finishing three games up on Norfolk, as both squads reached the playoffs from the Eastern League. It was the Senator's 11th playoff bid in a row and Norfolk's first in five years. In the Western League, Kansas City won their third-straight pennant, but New Orleans and Pittsburgh tied for second. The Pelicans took the 163rd contest, earning their first playoff trip in five seasons.



In the first round, the two top seeds took care of business, with Kansas City taking down Norfolk in five games and Washington doing the same with New Orleans, though in six contests. The greatest non-politicial dynasty in D.C. history continued as the Senators knocked off the Blues in seven games for their fourth Conference Championship in a decade.

While the rest of the country was far from dominant, the Pacific Coast League struggled with the same problem as the year prior: three dominant teams and almost nothing else. Seattle (125-75) outlasted San Francisco (123-77) to win the North, with both teams heading to October. San Diego won a league-best 128 games to cakewalk to the South title, while Los Angeles, 30 games back at 98-102, backed into the final playoff spot by finishing two games up on Hollywood.



The first round series were both sweeps, one surprising (San Francisco over San Diego) and one...not so much (Seattle over Los Angeles). With the two dominant North teams in the finals, the Rainiers sunk the Seals in six games, Seattle's third PCL title in five years.

Down in Texas, the Fort Worth Panthers won the North at a league-best 97-65, ten games ahead of Dallas, who held off Wichita for their eighth playoff bid in nine years. The South saw Galveston with their first division crown in six years, unseating El Paso, who finished three games back, but still reached the playoffs for the seventh year in a row.



In the first round, Fort Worth took out El Paso in seven games, while the Galveston Hurricanes also battled for seven games, before downing Dallas. The Hurricanes then blew right through Ft. Worth, pounding the Panthers in five games for Galveston's first TL title in 11 years.

In the national tournament, one of the two favorites got off a strong start, as the Newark Eagles (NOR) defeat the Washington Senators (SOU). The other co-favorite went down, though, as the Galveston Hurricanes (TL) defeat the Seattle Rainiers (PCL), guaranteeing a first-time National Champion. Galveston was looking to become the fourth-straight champ out of the Texas League, but it was not to be, as the Newark Eagles (NOR) defeat the Galveston Hurricanes (TL), 4-2 to win their first National Championship.



Two years after winning first Northern Conference MVP, Newark's Peter Fredette earned his second as he anchored the National Championship squad. The 30-year-old third baseman slashed .319/.381/.502 with 199 hits, a conference-high 117 runs, 28 doubles, 13 triples, 20 homers, 108 RBI, and 26 steals to take the trophy.

Lefty Hugh Marcotte spent the majority (17 years) of his 23-year pro career with Brooklyn, and despite pitching for a last-place team, the 26-year-old went 16-7 with a conference-best 2.59 ERA, working 222.2 innings to earn Pitcher of the Year, the only one of his long career.

Long removed from his days as a three-time Pitcher of the Year in the late 60's in the PCL, Albany's Kevin Corbett was still chugging along, posting 257.1 innings with a 3.11 ERA at 41 years old. In his 20th pro season Corbett earned his 300th win (and 200th for Albany) on July 2, becoming the first 300-game winner since 1941.

In the Southern Conference, a Hawaiian outfielder born in New Jersey dominated in Kansas City, as 26-year-old Penekiko Omaroo slashed .303/.377/.541, with 186 hits, 31 doubles, 29 home runs, 112 RBI, 31 steals, and conference-leading totals of 124 runs and 14 triples, taking home MVP honors.

Two years after taking home Pitcher of the Year and MVP, Blues righty Jose Lopez put together another strong year. The 26-year-old went 20-9 with a 3.24 ERA and 264 strikeouts in 255.2 innings, leading the South in wins and strikeouts. It was the first of four straight years Lopez would lead the conference in K's, putting him on track to blow past 3,000 strikeouts, but he came up just short after falling off hard after his 32nd birthday.

In the Pacific Coast League, San Francisco centerfielder Aaron Navarro won his second MVP in three years, slashing .323/.408/.552 with 218 hits, 142 runs, 37 doubles, 9 triples, 33 homers, a league-high 145 RBI, and 58 stolen bases to easily win the voting.

Another year, another Pitcher of the Year crown for Seattle's Jamie Evans, his third in a row. The Rainier ace went 27-10 with a 2.02 ERA, leading the PCL in wins, ERA, innings (343.2), complete games (21), and shutouts (6), while striking out 260. It was his third year in a row leading the PCL in wins, ERA, and innings, while he fell 20 strikeouts short of his third-straight Triple Crown.

Four years after his first Texas League MVP, Ft. Worth's Ramon Lugo won his second, slashing .328/.399/.639, while pounding out 189 hits, scoring 112 runs, and racking up 21 doubles, a league-high 16 triples, 42 homers, and 123 RBI, while stealing 33 bases, earning his award with ease.

For a second year in a row, Dallas' Oscar Mondragon was named king of the hill, going 17-13 with a league-leading 2.96 ERA, striking out 138 over a league-leading 273.1 innings, also tossing a league-high 11 complete games.

Though he never won a Pitcher of the Year award, Galveston's Phil Easton had a legendary career that came to an end this season. The rock-solid righty pitched 21 years on Galveston Island, winning 269 games and logging 4424.1 innings (both second all-time at his retirement) and a league-record 655 starts (since broken). He also set a still-standing Texas League record by being named to 17 All-Star teams.

The Eastern Baseball Federation send the Federation's all-time home run leader, plus an under-appreciated first baseman to the Hall of Fame:

2B Steve Bishop (1959-77), 96.9%
1B Tim Dubberke (1953-72), 76.5%

Meanwhile, the PCL inducted an ironman catcher who reache dup over 3,200 hits in 23 years behind the plate:

C Jason Flores (1955-77), 88.5%

Finally, the Texas League sent a slick-fielding (seven Great Gloves) with over 2,600 hits to the Hall, who also was the last Hall of Fame inductee to debut in the TL while it was still a minor league:

SS Bobby Lopez (1953-73), 75.7%

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For the second year in a row, an American Baseball League team changed it's name, as New Haven looked to update their updated Weavers moniker that was once befitting of the former mill town, settling on the more modern New Haven Knights.

On the field, three of the four division winners (Richmond, Nashville, and Denver) all won at least 100 games, with Denver boasting the highest-scoring ABL offense (937 runs) of all time. Spokane, meanwhile, won a very competitive West with 89 wins. For the first time under the eight-team playoff bracket, all four wild cards (Boston, Anaheim, Birmingham, and Chicago) were above .500.

In the first round, Boston, Denver, Birmingham, and Anaheim all moved on, with Denver being the only division champ to survive an upset bid. Both semifinals went the full five games, with Boston upsetting Denver and Anaheim downing Birmingham. In an unlikely finals matchup, the Pilgrims said adios to the Amigos, earning the first league championship in the 84-year history of the franchise.

Nashville rookie Luis Acosta came on extremely strong, going 22-9 with a 2.22 ERA, leading the ABL in wins and striking out a league-high 312 batters in 276.0 innings earning a sweep of MVP and Pitcher of the Year awards. Oddly enough, he did not win Rookie of the Year somehow.

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Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Jackson Junebugs, 87-67, defeats Montgomery
Colonial League: Pawtucket Patriots, 83-57, defeats Pittsfield
River Valley League: Erie Sailors, 95-45, defeats Charleston (WV) (2nd straight)
Rocky Mountain League: Billings Mustangs, 77-49, defeats Cheyenne
Coastal League: Wilmington (DE) Blue Rocks, 87-67, defeats Charlotte
Northern League: St. Paul Saints, 88-52, defeats La Crosse
Southwest League: Santa Barbara Foresters, 85-69, defeats Albuquerque
Southern Association: Joplin Jaspers, 79-61, defeats Biloxi
Northwest League: Tacoma Mountaineers, 92-63, defeats Reno
Can-Am League: Ottawa Capitals, 69-58, defeats Springfield
Mid-Atlantic League: Altoona Engineers, 77-63, defeats Worcester
Lone Star League: Rio Grande White Wings, 87-53, defeats Lubbock
Great Plains League: Peoria Distillers, 78-62, defeats South Bend (3rd straight)
Florida Coast League: Daytona Islanders, 79-61, defeats St. Petersburg (2nd straight)
Big Sky League: Ogden Railroaders, 76-56, defeats Calgary
Heartland League: Quad Cities Trappers, 80-60, defeats Madison

A couple leagues featured extremely tight races, starting with the Southern Association, where five teams within six games of first place. Not to be outdone, the Can-Am League had three teams finish a game apart at the top (including two tied) and six teams with 6 1/2 games of the top.

Lastly, the Big Sky League, split evenly between Canadian and American teams, saw U.S. teams win six of the first eight titles. However, the Canucks turned the tables, with a Canadian team winning ten-straight BSL titles, a streak that finally ended with Ogden's title this season.

[KCRoyals15]

1984

The year was 1984, but fortunately nothing Orwellian was going on this season, just the 85th season of USBF play, including the historic 30th season of the Texas League at the big-league level.

In the Northern Conference, the Newark Eagles won the New England League, earning their fifth-straight playoff birth. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Quakers and Manhattan tied for second, but the Quakers took the playoff for their first playoff spot in four years. The Midwest Association saw Detroit won 105 games, their most since 1940, to take the pennant, their third playoff spot in a row. Cleveland finished second to take the last playoff spot.



In the postseason, defending National Champion Newark started off their title defense by bouncing Philadelphia in five games. At the same time, Detroit was taking care of Cleveland in six games. The Wolverines, though, were too much for the Eagles, winning in six games to give Detroit their first Conference Championship since winning it all in 1950.

The Southern Conference featured a pair of 100-win teams, with Norfolk winning that many games for the first time since 1942 and won their first Eastern League pennant since 1946. Washington pushed hard, but settled for a comfortable second two games back, reaching the playoffs for the 12th year in a row. Kansas City won the Western League for the fourth year in a row with 101 wins, while St. Louis finished second four games back.



Norfolk started off their postseason journey well, defeating St. Louis in five games, while Kansas City also dispatched Washington quickly, sinking the Senators in five games. The Conference Championship went the distance, but the Blues came out on top, knocking off the Admirals to win their second conference title in three years.

The Pacific Coast League didn't have as stark difference in competitiveness as the last two years, but still had one juggernaut. Seattle took the North, with San Francisco filing in behind them, as each made their ninth playoff appearance in a row. In the South, San Diego posted the best season in franchise history, going 139-61 to win the South for the fifth year in a row, winning it by a staggering 46 games over Hawaii, who limped into second place (and therefore the playoffs) at 93-107.



in the postseason, the Islanders did not have a historic upset in them, as Seattle swept them in four games. Meanwhile, San Diego got a battle from San Francisco, but the Friars got the job done in seven games. The Padres then survived another push from the Rainiers, sending Seattle home with a six-game series win, San Diego's third PCL title in four years.

In the Texas League, Dallas made their third playoff appearance in a row, winning the North by two games over Fort Worth, setting up an all-Metroplex semifinal. In the South, Austin won 103 games, their most as a big-league team, and El Paso won a franchise-record 100 contests. This was the first season in TL history that two teams won 100 games.



The Texas League playoffs saw Fort Worth down their crosstown rivals in five games, while Austin vanquished El Paso in a seven-game battle that observers called the true Texas League championship. However, it wasn't the real one, as a motivated Fort Worth squad turned around and waxed Austin in five games to win their first league title in a decade. It also gave the Texas League six different league champions in the last six years—impressive for a ten-team league.

In the national tournament, three leagues were represented by heavyweights and two of them squared off right away, with the Detroit Wolverines (NOR) defeating the Kansas City Blues (SOU) at the same time that the top team in the country took care of business, as the San Diego Padres (PCL) defeat the Fort Worth Panthers (TL). With the top two regular-season records facing off, the Friars were too much, as the San Diego Padres (PCL) defeat the Detroit Wolverines (NOR), 4-2 to give the Padres their first National Championship since 1968 and their fourth overall.



For Newark's division-winner, third baseman Peter Fredette starred once more, winning his third Northern Conference MVP in four years. The 31-year-old slashed .312/.389/.525 with 189 hits, 104 runs, 26 doubles, 11 triples, 27 homers, 102 RBI, and 26 stolen bases as he collected the trophy in back-to-back years.

In a year devoid of a true dominant pitcher, a rather surprising Pitcher of the Year emerged: New York left-hander Alex Martinez. The 25-year-old, who made his only All-Star team this year, went 16-10 with a conference-best 2.09 ERA, striking out 135 in 250.0 innings. It was the highlight of a career where Martinez went just 84-93 as a big-leaguer.

Milwaukee shortstop Mark Oxford finally started to slow down after his seemingly-endless run of MVP-caliber seasons. The 37-year-old in his 16th season stroked his 3,000th hit on May 13, a lofty total that he was nowhere near done adding on to.

In the Southern Conference, Norfolk's historic season was led by outfielder John Schob. The 26-year-old already in his fifth season slashed .353/.441/.542 with 201 hits, 114 runs, 24 doubles, a conference-leading 18 triples, 16 homers, 86 RBI, and 63 steals, earning the only MVP of a career that could've easily had a few more.

Like the North, the South also saw a surprise Pitcher of the Year from a non-playoff team. Miami's Mark Culler was just 16-15, but led the conference in ERA (2.75), starts (36), and innings (265.1), while striking out 206 batters. Culler also had a middling career, going just 76-98 in nine big-league seasons.

New Orleans' Ryan Castillo had a strong injury-marred year, batting .343 with 27 homers in just 100 games. The most notable thing he did, though, was crushing a quartet of homers on July 5 against Atlanta, the fifth four-homer game in major league history and the first since 1969.

The Pacific Coast League had a superstar rookie crash onto the scene, as San Diego's historic year was power in large part by 24-year-old centerfielder Justin Arnold. He slashed .306/.415/.575 in his debut campaign, with 211 hits, 148 runs, 37 doubles, 11 triples, led the PCL with 42 homers and 149 RBI, and added 45 steals, easily earning Rookie of the Year and MVP.

On the mound, Seattle's Jamie Evans had already dominated his first three seasons, but this season was his magnum opus. The lefty went 31-3 with a 2.22 ERA, leading the PCL in wins, ERA, innings (344.0), complete games (19) and shutouts (9) while striking out 288 batters and becoming the most recent 30-game winner in professional baseball.

In the Texas League, El Paso outfielder Lance Corle had a 36-at bat cup of coffee in 1983. In his first full season, the 23-year-old logged a historic season, slashing .298/.386/.612 with 161 hits, 114 runs, 29 doubles, and led the league where 47 homers and a (since-broken) league-record 153 RBI, taking home MVP and Rookie of the Year.

On the mound, Dallas lefty Tony Dominguez had been generally solid over his first eight big-league seasons, but the 29-year-old hit his peak in year number nine, going 18-8 and led the TL with a 2.31 ERA and 236 strikeouts over 233.1 innings, earning the only Pitcher of the Year of his 17-year career.

The Texas League said goodbye to another Dallas pitcher, lefty Carlos Pena, who pitched his 20th and final season. Pena finished his career with 4,182 strikeouts, the most of any big-league pitcher ever.

In a quiet year on the Hall of Fame front, the Eastern Baseball Federation sent a stunningly consistent first baseman to the Hall:

1B Matt Schomberg (1959-74), 85.2%

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In the American Baseball League, Boston, Vancouver, Nashville, and Denver took division crowns, with the Vols leading the pack with 101 wins. Richmond, Spokane, Columbus, and Chicago took the wild card spots. On the other side, Cincinnati's already-wretched franchise hit a new low, bottoming out at 40-122, their third 100-loss season in a row.

In the playoffs, every division winner except Vancouver advanced, with Boston, Denver, Nashville, and Spokane moved on, with all four series going four games. In the semis, Denver swept Boston in three, while Nashville took down Spokane in Spokane in four. In the finals, the Vols vaulted to the top, downing the Bears in seven games for Nashville's second American Baseball Cup in three seasons.

Denver's high-powered offense was led by Derrick Raney, who led the ABL in homers and RBI as a rookie, then did the same thing this season, slashing .260/.360/.560 with 49 homers and 129 RBI, also ripping 153 hits and 27 doubles, and scoring a league-high 111 runs. For the second-straight season, Nashville's Luis Acosta took Pitcher of the Year, going 19-10 with a league-leading 2.42 ERA, striking out 260 over 253.0 innings.

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Southeastern League: Memphis Chicks, 84-70, defeats Savannah
Colonial League: Pittsfield Colonials, 81-59, defeats Reading
River Valley League: Erie Sailors, 81-59, defeats Charleston (WV) (3rd straight)
Rocky Mountain League: Pueblo Miners, 77-49, defeats Billings
Coastal League: Wilmington (DE) Blue Rocks, 88-66, defeats Charlotte (2nd straight)
Northern League: St. Paul Saints, 81-59, defeats Green Bay (2nd straight)
Southwest League: Santa Barbara Foresters, 103-51, defeats Modesto (2nd straight)
Southern Association: Little Rock Travelers, 82-58, defeats Biloxi
Northwest League: Reno High Rollers, 103-51, defeats Bellingham
Can-Am League: Portland Lobsters, 76-50, defeats Utica
Mid-Atlantic League: Worcester Tornadoes, 79-61, defeats Allentown
Lone Star League: Midland-Odessa Panthers, 77-63, defeats San Angelo
Great Plains League: South Bend Silver Hawks, 79-62, defeats Salina
Florida Coast League: St. Petersburg Saints, 75-66, defeats Huntsville
Big Sky League: Regina Giants, 65-67, defeats Calgary
Heartland League: Cedar Rapids Reds, 75-65, defeats Sioux City

The lower reaches of the minors had a pair of exciting races, with the Florida Coast League seeing three teams within one game for second place. St. Petersburg and Daytona tied for second and the Saints won the playoff, then beat Huntsville for the title.

In the newest circuit, the Heartland League, Sioux City won the league, but five teams were within five games of second, with Cedar Rapids emerging ahead of the pack and eventually winning the league.

[KCRoyals15]

1985

Back when there was Springsteen, Madonna, and way before Nirvana, there were repeats, dominance, and a few tight races in between. Then there were two teams in a final duel, which turned out to be pretty cool. That's how fans were preoccupied, in 19, 19, 1985.

In the Northern Conference, Newark won their third straight New England League pennant, just edging out the Philadelphia Quakers, who took second. For the second year in a row, Detroit won the Midwest Association, while Cleveland punched a playoff ticket for the third-straight season.



In the postseason, Detroit, started things off with a six-game series win over Cleveland, while Newark ripped through the Quakers as if they were a bowl of oats, sweeping Philadelphia. The Eagles continued their hot play, disposing the Wolverines in six games to win their second Conference Championship in three years.

In the South, Norfolk took their second Eastern League pennant in a row, finishing four games of Washington, who cruised into second to snag their 13th playoff berth in a row. The Western League saw New Orleans win an EBF-high 100 games for the pennant, while Kansas City finished second.



In October, Kansas City and New Orleans battled for seven games, ending with the Blues pulling off the first-round upset. Norfolk, meanwhile, took care of Washington in six games. The Admirals were more than admirable, sweeping Kansas City to secure the franchise's first Conference Championship.

The Pacific Coast League featured two runaway dynasties. In the North, it was Seattle winning 136 games, finishing 27 games ahead of Sacramento, who edged out San Francisco by three games to earn their first playoff spot in a decade.

The South featured San Diego going a jaw-dropping 141-59, the most wins in USBF history, while also becoming the first team to even top 3 million fans, with 3,128,541 customers clicking through the turnstiles. The Padres pummeled their division, finishing a record 53 games ahead of second-place Hollywood. In a division with the best team of all-time, the Stars became the worst playoff participant of all-time at 88-112, backing into their first playoff spot in seven years.



In the playoffs, Sacramento dealt Seattle a first-round upset, rupturing the Rainiers in six games. Meanwhile, Hollywood put up an admirable fight, but lost in six games to San Diego. The Solons did not have a second upset in them, as the Padres' wrecking crew took their fourth PCL title in five years in a six-game clash.

That left the Texas League, where the Dallas Lone Stars won the North with a league-high 99 wins, making the playoffs for the 10th time in 11 years. Wichita finished second to punch their first playoff ticket in three years. The South was a two-horse race that ended with El Paso edging out Austin by a nose (one game), with both teams heading to the postseason.



In the first round, an evenly-matched series between El Paso and Austin went the distance, with the Wranglers coming out on top. The North was the opposite, with Dallas sweeping Wichita. The well-rested Lone Stars were too much, defeating Austin in six games to hand Dallas their fourth Texas League title in nine years.

In the national tournament, the first trip for Norfolk was a quick one, as the Newark Eagles (NOR) defeat the Norfolk Admirals (SOU) in the first round, while the juggernaut out west kept rolling, as the San Diego Padres (PCL) defeat the Dallas Lone Stars (TL). For the second time in USBF history, the last two National Champions matched up in the championship series, but one of the best teams of all-time was too much, as the San Diego Padres (PCL) defeat the Newark Eagles (NOR), 4-2 to finish off a historic trek and repeat as National Champions, their fifth overall.



Detroit second baseman Jaylen Williams was already a .300 hitter and speed merchant for several years, but in the mid-80's, he kicked his production into another gear. After batting .350 in 1984, the 29-year-old slashed .372/.424/.495, winning the Northern Conference batting title and also leading with 245 hits, 133 runs, and 81 steals, while adding 26 doubles, 8 triples, 13 homers, and 76 RBI, easily winning his first MVP.

Right-hander John Tishler was a middling arm at best over 4½ mediocre seasons in Hawaii (52-75, 5.00 ERA). In mid-1984, he was traded to Newark and immediately the Eagles unlocked something and he flipped into an ace overnight. The following year, he was 18-8 with a conference-low 2.69 ERA, leading the North with 186 strikeouts in 254.1 innings, earning Northern Conference Pitcher of the Year.

In the Southern Conference, Jacksonville slugger Aaron Wolford led the conference in homers the first four years of his career. After failing to do so in 1984, he slashed .269/.330/.571 with a conference-best 51 homers and 125 RBI, posting the first 50-homer season in the South in 14 years and taking home the MVP trophy.

Norfolk's 25-year-old Taiwanese rookie Ming-Ah Zhu took the lead by storm, going 23-8 with a 2.61 ERA as a rookie, leading the South in both marks and striking out 154 in 238.1 innings to take home Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year. However, things went south very fast. Despite no discernable injuries, Zhu lost his rotation spot two years later, and threw his final MLB pitch just four years later, retiring with nearly half of his 47 big-league wins coming in his memorable rookie campaign.

The Pacific Coast League was completely overwhelmed by a rookie slugger from Seattle named Marco Adams. The 25-year-old first baseman won the PCL Triple Crown with an unfathomable .392/.464/.724 slash line (all league highs) and led the PCL with 280 hits, 62 homers, and 186 RBI, while adding 47 doubles and 166 runs. Adams tied the PCL record for homers, set still-standing records for slugging, OPS (1.188) and total bases (517), while his .392 average was the best since 1929 and his 186 RBI the most since 1930. All-told it was a laughably easy MVP (and Rookie of the Year) vote.

On the mound, it remained the Jamie Evans show as the Rainiers' lefty won his fifth Pitcher of the Year award. For the fifth-straight year, he led the PCL in wins and innings, going 26-9 in 329.1 innings, though his 3.01 didn't league the league (the first time he didn't), while he struck out 320 batters and led the PCL with 15 complete games and 7 shutouts. it would be the final award for the 28-year-old, who won 28 games in 1986 (along with a career-high 329 strikeouts), but then began fading in his 30's, retiring at 36 in 1992.

In the Texas League, Dallas ace Oscar Mondragon paced his championship club with his best year. He went 24-6 with a 1.96 ERA in 288.2 innings, leading the TL in all three categories, while adding 146 strikeouts and a league-leading 12 complete games and 5 shutouts. That effort earned him both his third Pitcher of the Year and an MVP award.

It was a banner year for longtime Fort Worth stalwart Manuel Barrientos, who was still humming along at 41 years old in his 19th season. On April 16, he earned his 250th career win, but the more notable accomplishment was picking up his 3,000th strikeout in his final start of the season on October 4, becoming the third (and most recent) TL pitcher to hit that mark.

The Eastern Baseball Federation had the busiest Hall of Fame weekend to date. Those elected included the only player with 3,000 hits and 500 homers, a rubber-armed righty, a slugger who barely missed 500 homers, a catcher who hit .302 lifetime while winning a record 16 Great Gloves, and the first reliever ever elected:

OF Tom Clark (1958-79), 96.7%
SP Willie Molina (1963-79), 83.5%
1B Steve Arnold (1958-76), 77.3%
C Andrew Garman (1957-76), 77.2%
RP Terry Schroeder (1964-76), 75.8%

Not to be outdone, the Pacific Coast League inducted a pair of new Hall of Famers as well, including a member of the 3,000-hit club:

OF Dan Maher (1956-73), 77.0%
OF Orlando Aviles (1961-75), 75.0%

---



In the American Baseball League, Boston, Spokane, and Birmingham won division titles, the latter with a franchise-record 102 wins. Denver then took the North with 114 wins, the second-most in ABL history. Richmond, Anaheim, Columbus, and Chicago took the wild cards, though Anaheim was .500 and Richmond was just 74-88, the worst playoff team in ABL history.

With many lopsided series, the first round was very uncompetitive, with three sweeps, and the other series going four games. However, all three sweeps were handed out by the wild card teams, with Boston being the only division winner to move on, joining Columbus, Anaheim, and Chicago. Both semifinals went the full five games, with Boston and Columbus coming out on top. The Pilgrims then emerged on top in a five-game series, earning their second American Baseball Cup in three years.

Birmingham first baseman Cale Ball did not debut until he was 29, he starred from the start. In his second season, he slashed .297/.420/.514 with 171 hits, 106 runs, 32 doubles, 29 homers, and 106 RBI, earning MVP. For the third year in a row, Nashville's Luis Acosta won Pitcher of the Year, going 19-12 with a 2.47 ERA, leading the ABL with 304 strikeouts and 38 starts in 270.0 innings.

---

Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Savannah Cardinals, 82-72, defeat Memphis
Colonial League: Pittsfield Colonials, 85-55, defeats Reading (2nd straight)
River Valley League: Charleston (WV) Coal Sox, 89-51, defeats Grand Rapids
Rocky Mountain League: Ft. Collins Grizzlies, 79-47, defeats Butte
Coastal League: Charleston (SC) Cannons, 90-64, defeats Wilmington (DE)
Northern League: Green Bay Giants, 81-59, defeats Appleton Foxes
Southwest League: Modesto Growers, 98-56, defeats Santa Barbara
Southern Association: Little Rock Travelers, 75-65, defeats Springfield (2nd straight)
Northwest League: Yakima Tomahawks, 102-52, defeats Tacoma
Can-Am League: Portland Lobsters, 77-49, defeats Utica (2nd straight)
Mid-Atlantic League: Allentown Brewers, 82-58, defeats Roanoke
Lone Star League: Rio Grande White Wings, 84-56, defeats Laredo
Great Plains League: Topeka Hawks, 73-67, defeats Lincoln
Florida Coast League: Columbus Catfish, 73-67, defeats Daytona
Big Sky League: Regina Giants, 72-61, defeats Ogden (2nd straight)
Heartland League: Madison Black Wolves, 88-52, defeats Cedar Rapids

[KCRoyals15]

1986

Trey Skipper had successfully re-invigorated a pair of longtime-downtrodden (one very longtime) American Baseball League franchises in Denver and Boston and after four years and two championships in Beantown, he stepped away, going 359-289 (.554) in his tenure and making the playoffs each season.

Speculation ran rampant that Trey was ready to return to the major leagues—and no shortage of big-league clubs across the country were lining up to hire him. However, he was known as a fixer-upper and he decided to stay in the ABL for his biggest fix yet.

"This is the worst team in the country and I get to manage it," Trey Skipper said at his introductory press conference. "The opportunity for the greatest turnaround in American baseball history exists here today and is not one to be taken lightly."

Where would that opportunity exist? The Cincinnati Buckeyes, losers of 117 games in 1985 and 122 the year prior. Their last winning season was 1957 and their only playoff berths were in the first years of the United States Baseball Federation (1900) and ABL (1954), which the team did not build off at all. Their attendance record was a paltry 768,000 and the club last turned a profit two decades ago (1965).

Trey Skipper (and his father and grandfather) had both taken over awful situations time and time again. But this was different. This was truly the worst starting situation you could come up with.

The Northern Conference was dominated by the Newark Eagles, who won 105 games and their fourth-straight New England League pennant. Taking second, 12 games back, were the Brooklyn Dodgers, who earned their first playoff bid in 14 years. Over in the Midwest Association, Detroit won their third pennant in a row, five games ahead of Buffalo, who nonetheless earned their first playoff spot in seven years.



In the postseason, Both first-round series ended in upsets, with Brooklyn downing Detroit in five games, and Buffalo besting Newark in a seven-game series. In the finals, the Bisons ducked the Dodgers' blows, emerging victorious in six games, winning their first Conference Championship in a quarter-century.

The Southern Conference saw a familiar juggernaut roll on, as Washington won the Eastern League by four games over Baltimore to earn their 14th-straight playoff berth, while New Orleans rolled to a (major league) franchise-record 111 wins to win the Western League by 20 games.



EDITOR'S NOTE: 1986 was the first year after I migrated the game from OOTP 22 up the chain to 25. Some stuff got messed up and for some reason, only in the Southern Conference, the playoffs were reverted to one round only, robbing Baltimore of their first playoff bid since 1976 and Salt Lake City's first since 1980. This got fixed in time for the 1988 season.

In the Conference Championship between two powerhouses, the perennial one got the upper hand, as the Washington Senators won their fifth conference title in 13 years to cap off a dynasty spanning nearly a decade and a half.

The Pacific Coast League continued to see the problem that persisted much of the decade: utter dominance by Seattle (won the North by 26 games) and San Diego (+34 games in the South). San Francisco and Oakland were the only other PCL teams over .500 and earned the other playoff berths.



EDITOR'S NOTE: PCL playoffs were also screwed up, resulting in two wild cards, regardless of division and the North getting a third playoff team This got fixed for 1988.

In the first round, Oakland pulled off a stunner of an upset, knocking off San Diego in a sweep to abruptly end the Padres' quest for a third-straight National Championship. Seattle then took down San Francisco in six games, then ruined the entire Bay Area's winter by defeating Oakland in five games to win their fourth PCL title in eight years.

Down in the Texas League, Fort Worth snuck one game past Tulsa to win the North, with both teams punching playoff tickets. For Tulsa, it was their first playoff berth since 1969. In the South, El Paso coasted to 98 wins and the division title to earn their tenth-straight playoff berth. Austin finished 15 games back in second, limping in for the third year in a row.



In the Division Finals, Fort Worth disposed of Tulsa in five games, while El Paso was tested by Austin, but ultimately took down the Wranglers in seven games. The Texans had a much easier time in the finals, putting down the Panthers in five for El Paso's first title in five seasons.

In the national tournament, Buffalo's first in a quarter-century, their trek would end quickly as the Washington Senators (SOU) defeat the Buffalo Bisons (NOR). On the other side, an upset was dealt, as the El Paso Texans (TL) defeat the Seattle Rainiers (PCL). With the cards on the table, the boys from Texas had the winning hand, as the El Paso Texans (TL) defeat the Washington Senators (SOU), 4-1 for the Texans' second National Championship.



In the Northern Conference, Newark's veteran outfielder Jeff Hutchins found his power stroke. The 33-year-old slashed .287/.367/.557 with 177 hits, 123 runs, 23 doubles, 47 homers, and 123 RBI, setting career highs in just about everything on his way to his only MVP award.

On the hill, Brooklyn's resurgence was aided in part due to the work of third-year righty Ben Keeton. The 24-year-old went 18-9 with a 3.04 ERA, striking out 167 in 248.2 innings to earn Pitcher of the Year. For whatever reason, though, despite no injuries, Keeton fell off quickly and was out of the majors at 30 years old.

Detroit third baseman Dave Crimmins was one of the top players in the 70's, but was stone-walled in MVP voting by Mark Oxford's historic run of nine-straight trophies. However, Crimmins had a similarly great career and on August 30, the 39-year-old stroked his 3,000th career hit.

In the Southern Conference, a big driver behind New Orleans' record year was first baseman Mario Zuniga. The 25-year-old bopper slashed .319/.426/.653 with a conference-high 52 homers and 141 RBI, while adding 181 hits and 30 doubles, as well as leading the South with 131 runs scored, earning him his first MVP.

Seven years after Washington lefty Mark Overton earned his first Pitcher of the Year, he earned his second and last one. The 31-year-old southpaw went 17-9 with a 2.46 ERA over 248.2 innings to earn the trophy.

Baltimore slugger Eric Davis crushed 52 homers to tie Zuniga for the conference lead and took home Rookie of the Year. Most notable, he blasted four longballs against Miami on August 15, the sixth four-homer game in major league history, though just over two years after the most recent.

Overton's longtime teammate, lefty Alan Church, called it quits after 15 big-league season at just 36 years old despite being healthy and generally effective all season, bringing and end to the career of the five-time Pitcher of the Year.

In the Pacific Coast League, Seattle centerfielder Justin Arnold had an insane 1985 (.326, 49 homers, 175 RBI), but finished runner-up to an even better season. This year, though, he was back on top with his second MVP trophy, slashing .326/.443/.627 and leading the PCL with 49 homers, 146 RBI, and 153 runs, while added 220 hits, 38 doubles, 9 triples, and a career-high 78 stolen bases.

San Francisco righty Noah Long had a great rookie year in 1982, then basically missed all of '83 due to a pair of serious injuries. However, he fully recovered and in his fifth season he went 23-13 with a PCL-leading 2.17 ERA, while also leading the league in starts (44), innings (345.0), complete games (16), and shutouts (6), while striking out a career-high 269 batters. That was more than enough to earn him his only Pitcher of the Year trophy.

Sacramento shortstop Kyle Page toiled mostly in obscurity, but he toiled very well, and in his 17th season, the 41-year-old stroked his 3,000th career hit on May 25.

Maybe the greatest defensive corner outfielder in the game's history (14 Great Gloves in right field), Galveston's John Fleshman didn't usually hit a whole lot. This year, though, everything clicked at the plate, and he slashed .306/.405/.576 with 177 hits, a league-high 124 runs, 36 doubles, 38 homers, and 113 RBI, setting career highs in nearly every single category and earning Texas League MVP, the only one of his career.

Prior to 1980, El Paso swung a trade to acquire right-hander J.J. Alexander from Jacksonville, where he had three strong years. The Texans got the better end of that deal, as Alexander posted seven strong seasons. The last season in that run was a 19-10 campaign in which the 34-year-old led the TL in wins and strikeouts (167) and posted a 3.73 ERA over 231.2 innings, earning Pitcher of the Year honors.

The Eastern Baseball Federation sent a pair of former Pitchers of the Year to the Hall of Fame, including a three-time winner:

SP Bill Lively (1964-80), 98.0%
SP Trevor Bedford (1962, '64-80), 75.6%

Meanwhile, the undisputed king of Texas League pitching got the call, as the record ten-time Pitcher of the Year came just one vote shy of jsut the second unanimous selection to any USBF Hall of Fame:

SP Roy Hendricks (1961-80), 99.7%

---



In the American Baseball League, the circuit elected to scrap the four-division set-up and go to two divisions, with the top four in each division making the playoffs, while all series returned to best-of-seven. The ABL also chose to name separate award winners for each division.

In the East, Boston won the division by one game over Birmingham, with the Barons, Nashville, and Columbus filling out the playoff spots there, with the Clippers slipping in one game ahead of Richmond. In the West, Denver won the division, with Chicago and Spokane next in line. Indianapolis and Vancouver tied for fourth at a mediocre 75-87, and Indy won the tiebreaker, slipping into the field.

In the postseason, Columbus upset Boston in a sweep, while Nashville also swept Birmingham. The top two seeds moved on in the West with Denver beating Indy in six and Chicago surviving seven games with Spokane. The Vols then took the down the Clippers in six to win the East and Denver did the same vs. Chicago in the West. Nashville then beat the Bears in six for their third American Baseball Cup.

In the East, Boston first baseman Dane Kruse had a rookie year to remember, becoming the first (and still only) ABL hitter to win a Triple Crown, slashing .350/.420/.604 (all league bests) with 35 homers and 141 RBIs, along with 198 hits and 95 runs. The 22-year-old won MVP and Rookie of the Year. Nashville righty Luis Acosta won his fourth Pitcher of the Year in a row, winning the pitching Triple Crown by going 20-6 with a 2.45 ERA, and 274 strikeouts, leading the league in all those categories over his 257.1 innings.

Out West, Denver's Blake Gross slashed .332/.399/.488, winning the West batting crown and leading the division in hits (204) and runs (105), along with 26 doubles, 14 triples, 14 homers, 55 RBI, and 28 steals to win MVP. Chicago lefty Steve Richards went 17-8 with a 2.31 ERA over 253.1 innings, striking out 205 to earn Pitcher of the Year.

---

A new minor league entered the baseball world, as the Atlantic Coast formed, overlapping with much of the Mid-Atlantic League on the Eastern seaboard:

Atlantic Coast League



Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Memphis Chicks, 107-47, defeats Baton Rouge
Colonial League: Reading Keystones, 82-59, defeats Lowell
River Valley League: Erie Sailors, 92-48, defeats Grand Rapids
Rocky Mountain League: Great Falls Explorers, 68-58, defeats Ft. Collins
Coastal League: Winston-Salem Twins, 88-67, defeats Greenville
Northern League: La Crosse Loggers, defeats Appleton
Southwest League: Santa Barbara Foresters, 97-57, defeats Long Beach
Southern Association: Corpus Christi Gunslingers, 85-55, defeats Springfield (2nd straight)
Northwest League: Yakima Tomahawks, 83-71, defeats Salem (2nd straight)
Can-Am League: Utica Blue Sox, 78-48, defeats London
Mid-Atlantic League: Altoona Engineers, 83-57, defeats Asheville; 7 teams within 7 games of 2nd place
Lone Star League: Amarillo Gold Sox, 77-63, defeats Rio Grande
Great Plains League: Lincoln Lions, 91-49, defeats Des Moines
Florida Coast League: St. Petersburg Saints, 77-64, defeats Daytona
Big Sky League: Regina Giants, 73-59, defeats Ogden (3rd straight)
Heartland League: Quad Cities Trappers, 93-47, defeats Sioux Falls
Atlantic Coast League: Wilmington (NC) Waves, 60-61, defeats Potomac; entire Carolina Division below .500

The ACL had an interesting debut season, as the entire Carolina Division was below .500, with Wilmington and Spartanburg tied for first at 59-61. Wilmington won the playoff, then upset 77-43 Potomac for the title.

Two other leagues were very bunched together, as the entire eight-team Rocky Mountain League was separated by only 11 games, with no one better than 69-57, nor worse than 58-68. The Mid-Atlantic League had Altoona win the league by 11 games, but the other seven teams were bunched just seven games apart between 72-68 and 65-75.

[20_range]

Could you do a little primer on how to set something like this us, and how you manage player creation/acquisition across the leagues? I've been looking for a structure for my next save, which I envisioned as a major league comprising cities in all the "baseball countries" (US, Canada, Mexico, Korra, Japan, Cuba, Ven, DR) and then an independent league for the rest of the world.

After keeping up with your thread, dividing it into four major leagues (East US, Western US, Caribbean and Korea/Japan) with independents below feels like the best solution.

[KCRoyals15]

Well, for an undertaking like this one, there's no good way to set it up lol.

I started it off with the 32-team USBF as one major league, while gradually adding minor leagues. All minor leagues were 100% independent for about 40 years, then some became affiliated. I gave each MLB team one minor league affiliate for simplicity. The independent teams all allow contract purchases at reasonable prices (in 2003, these range from $20,000-50,000 depending on league)

As the game evolved, I eventually split it off into four separate major leagues joined by a league association for the National Championship. This is definitely messy from a record-keeping perspective and I'd be hesitant to recommend it by any means. With that said, if you go by country, it probably would be fine, unless guys change leagues/countries.

As thing stand now, here's how I have it:
-4 major leagues (52 total teams)
-1 independent "tweener" league (16 teams; not quite MLB, not quite minors. I'll move teams up/down between MLB and here)
-8 affiliated minor leagues (68 total teams, all classified as Triple-A)
-10 independent leagues (86 total teams, all classified as Single-A or Double-A)

I have no amateur draft and no Rule 5 draft. All new players are created free agents. I did set up each league to create its own free agents to ensure a sufficient player pool and set the age parameters to 18-22 (a couple minor leagues I have at 24-25 so you get the handful of older rookies).

Trading is set up so you can trade with any league, so we sometimes see MLB teams trade with independent teams. I have no great way to stop this since I have multiple major leagues.

My tweener league has arbitration every year and free agency after 8 years. My major leagues have arbitration every year, but no free agency, though arbitration allows expensive/not worth it players to hit FA more often than you'd think. All independent minors have players hit FA every year (with extensions on).

I think this covers the nuts and bolts of it! Good luck!

[KCRoyals15]

1987

"How do you achieve the impossible?" asked Sports Illustrated in their April 1987 issue. "Perhaps no one in the sporting world is more qualified to answer than question that Trey Skipper, the second-year skipper of the Cincinnati Buckeyes and third generation fixer of impossible situations. Well, maybe merely bad, if not impossible."

"'Every situation that others see as hopeless, I see as opportunity," said Skipper. "When you tear it down to the studs, it leaves you a blank canvas to create something no one ever has before.'"

"This canvas is cracked and peeling, barely held up by a teetering easel that probably should have collapsed long ago. That easel of course being the perilous financial shape of a perennially near-bankrupt club. It's hard to pay your bills when you lose 100 games are are struggling to draw a paltry half a million customers to your 50,000-seat stadium."

"Year one under the Skipper regime was successful in that last department; the Buckeyes drew 1,493,092 fans, nearly doubling the franchise's previous record. Ticket prices were slashed. Payroll went up. There was reason to come out to the ballpark."

"Except the team lost 104 games. And lost money. It wasn't as many losses nor as much lost money as previous seasons, but to the cynic who had seen decades and decades of putrid ball, it was just another season like the others."

"Skipper has slimmed the payroll slightly as season ticket sales are down considerably from 1986's record high. Amateur free agent signings are basically nil, with aggressive pursuit of the trading block being the preferred method of player acquisition."

"Neutral observers of the American Baseball League believe that the Buckeyes will be better. How much better? Current predictions have them pegged around .500, in contention for a playoff spot."

"'Finishing .500 would be a nice start,' said Skipper, "but why stop there? We want to reach the playoffs and hoist the American Baseball Cup.'"

"'If you're going to set goals, you might as well set the biggest ones.'"

In the Northern Conference, the New England League was weaker, but very competitive. Four teams were within six games of first place, with Newark winning the league at 91-71 and the Philadelphia Quakers outlasting Brooklyn and Manhattan for second. The Midwest Association saw the Detroit Wolverines win 100 games and their fourth-straight pennant, finishing five games ahead of Milwaukee, who returned to the postseason after a five-year absence.



In the postseason, Philadelphia dealt Detroit a big upset, knocking off the Wolverines in seven games. Meanwhile, Newark also pulled an upset, taking down Milwaukee, also in a seven-game set. In the finals, Newark folded up Philly in a five-game series to win their third Conference Championship in five seasons.

In the Southern Conference, Norfolk survived a push from Baltimore, finishing two games ahead of the Terrapins to claim the Eastern League title. Washington finished third, ending a record streak of 14-straight playoff appearances for the Senators. In the Western League, Kansas City finished eight games clear of New Orleans. (EDITOR'S NOTE: as outlined in the previous installment, I exported the game to OOTP 25 before 1986 and it messed up playoffs in some leagues, eliminating a round in the SC before I noticed and fixed it for 1987. Both years, Baltimore finished second and got screwed by my own lapse ).



In the Southern Conference Championship, Norfolk and Kansas City went the distance, though in the end the Admirals came out on top, winning their second conference title in three seasons.

The PCL saw a return to rather normal records, with no team better than 116-84. San Francisco won the North by six games over Sacramento, while Seattle snapped up another playoff spot. San Diego was the only team over .500 in the South and the only playoff team from that division, earning their tenth playoff trip in a row.



The first round was anticlimactic as both higher seeds won in five games, with San Diego disposing of Seattle and San Francisco taking care of Sacramento. The Finals were a little more interesting and in the end, the Seals were able to deny the Padres a three-peat, earning their first PCL crown nine years with a six-game triumph.

That left Texas, where Fort Worth repeated in the Texas League North with a league-high 98 wins. Tulsa finished second and punched a playoff ticket for the second year in a row. Austin won the South to earn their fourth-straight playoff bid. Galveston was three games back in second, making the field for the first time in four years.



In the playoffs, Fort Worth took care of business, greasing the Oilers in five games, while Galveston and Austin strung out a full seven-game series, with the Hurricanes coming out ahead. In the Lone Star Series, Galveston gashed Austin in a five-game series, lifting the Hurricanes to their second title in five seasons.

In the national tournament, the Norfolk Admirals (SOU) defeat the Newark Eagles (NOR) to pick up their first-ever series win in the tournament. On the other side, the Galveston Hurricanes (TL) defeat the San Francisco Seals (PCL), ensuring a first-time National Champion would be crowned. That champion would be from Texas, as the Galveston Hurricanes (TL) defeat the Norfolk Admirals (SOU), 4-1 to win their first National Championship. That title capped off a golden era of Texas League where four different franchises won five championships in an eight-year span—all coming after winning just two in their first 25 years as a big-league circuit.



For the second time in three years, Detroit's Jaylen Williams was best in the North. The 31-year-old second baseman slashed .357/.415/.529, winning the batting title and also leading the conference with 220 hits, 126 runs, 50 doubles, and 87 stolen bases, in addition to 10 triples, 12 homers, and 70 RBI to take home MVP honors.

In 1985, Williams won MVP, and Newark's John Tischler won Pitcher of the Year. Like Williams, Tischler repeated the feat two years later, going 15-8 with a 3.31 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 250.0 innings to earn his second and final Pitcher of the Year crown.

Finally starting to slow down some at 40 years old, Milwaukee's Mark Oxford hit two major milestones this season. Around July 4, he surpassed Sam Melendez's four-decade-old mark of 3,483 career hits for the Eastern Baseball Federation record. A few weeks later, on July 18, he reached 3,500 hits, becoming just the second major leaguer, joining Bryan Kunkel in the PCL, to reach that milestone.

In the South, New Orleans' Mario Zuniga wasn't quite as dominant as the prior season, but the burly slugger slashed .282/.417/.581 with 156 hits, 106 runs, 31 doubles, a conference-high 45 homers, and 121 RBI to win his second-straight MVP.

St. Louis' Roger Brand led the South with 18 losses in 1985, then lost 19 more games with a 4.41 ERA in '86. In '87, though, he was a totally different pitcher, going 19-12 with a conference-leading 2.42 ERA, striking out 204 batters (more than double the year before) over 263.2 innings to earn Pitcher of the Year and rejuvenate a sputtering career.

One year after Washington ace Alan Church retired, his longtime second-in-command Danny Cisneros also hung it up. The 40-year-old needed eight wins this season to reach 300 for his career, but could muster only five, retiring with 297 major league victories.

Two years prior, Seattle's Marco Adams had tied the USBF home run record with 62 homers as a rookie. This year, he took it to a new level, winning the Pacific Coast League Triple Crown for the second time, slashing .332/.405/.657 and setting a new national record with 63 homers, to go along with 187 RBI. He also led the PCL with 246 hits and added 137 runs and 50 doubles, easily earning his second MVP.

San Francisco righty Todd Coley created a huge burst onto the scene, going 24-5 with a 2.55 ERA as a rookie, leading the PCL in both. The 25-year-old also struck out 268 batters in 314.0 innings, earning Pitcher of the Year.

His El Paso squad may have missed the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, but it was not the fault of Lance Corle. The 26-year-old outfielder slashed .331/.437/.696 with 180 hits, a league-leading 133 runs, 35 doubles, and tied a 29-year-old league record of 51 home runs, driving in 117 runs as well. Corle also set a Texas League record by slugging .696 as he earned his second TL MVP.

Over in Fort Worth, 24-year-old George Hauptli hit his stride at 24 years old. The Panthers' lefty went 21-10 with a 3.23 ERA and 237 strikeouts, leading the TL in all three marks to win the Triple Crown, while also working 264.1 innings to win Pitcher of the Year.

The Eastern Baseball Federation inducted a pair of new Hall of Famers, including by a speed merchant who nearly reached 3,000 hits, plus a pair of underrated outfielders; one on a great team, one on a not-great team:

1B Mario Carbajal (1964-82), 96.9%
OF Zach Gill (1959, '61-77), 78.8%
OF Ken Booker (1962-80), 76.6%

The Texas League, meanwhile, voted in a righty who survived a career-threatening injury in his prime to retire with the third-most wins in TL history:

SP Mike Chisum (1963-81), 92.3%

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In the American Baseball League, Nashville won the East, one game of Birmingham. Meanwhile, Cincinnati improved by 37 games to finish third at 95-67 and earn just the third playoff spot in franchise history, with Columbus taking the final playoff spot. The West saw Vancouver win the division with a franchise-record 94 wins, followed by Denver and Spokane. Chicago and Indianapolis each went 78-84, but after the Hoosiers won a 163rd game last year, they lost this one, and Chicago earned the last spot.

The first round saw both top seeds move on in five-game triumphs, while Cincinnati edged Birmingham in seven games and Vancouver beat Chicago in six. In the semis, Cincinnati shocked Nashville in a four-game sweep, while Vancouver knocked out Spokane in six games. With a first-time champion assured, the Buckeyes pulled out a seven-game thriller to earn the first championship of any kind in the cursed franchise's history.

Postgame, Trey Skipper referenced the Sports Illustrated article from preseason: "I told that magazine before the season why not aim for a championship? Well, this is why we aim higher."

A pair of Barons cleaned up the East's awards, with first baseman Chris Reyes slashing .331/.401/.508, leading the East in batting, hits (204), runs (115), doubles (42), and steals (89), while adding 8 triples, 17 homers, and 74 RBI to take home MVP. On the mound, righty Isaiah Brown went 23-4 with a 2.43 ERA, leading the ABL in wins and ERA while striking out 192 in 270.0 innings to earn Pitcher of the Year.

In the West, very few hitters stood out, and so the MVP wound up with Vancouver's Matt Place, who slashed .295/.370/.559 with 134 hits, 90 runs, 28 homers, and 98 RBI. On the mound, it was another Mountie, 29-year-old righty Eric Caporale who took home Pitcher of the Year, going 18-7 and led the West with a 2.57 ERA, striking out 199 in 251.2 innings.

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Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Memphis Chicks, 93-61, defeats Knoxville (2nd straight)
Colonial League: Binghamton Smokers, 80-61, defeats Reading
River Valley League: Akron Rubbermen, 88-52, defeats Erie
Rocky Mountain League: Billings Mustangs, 72-54, defeats Rapid City
Coastal League: Winston-Salem Twins, 99-55, defeats Wilmington (DE) (2nd straight)
Northern League: Thunder Bay Timberjacks, 102-38, defeats Fargo-Moorhead
Southwest League: Modesto Growers, 90-64, defeats Santa Barbara
Southern Association: Beaumont Exporters, 80-60, defeats Little Rock
Northwest League: Stockton Condors, 82-73, defeats Tacoma
Can-Am League: Quebec Carnavals, 69-60, defeats Ottawa
Mid-Atlantic League: Worcester Tornadoes, 76-64, defeats Altoona
Lone Star League: Lawton Miners, 81-59, defeats San Angelo
Great Plains League: Lincoln Lions, 84-56, defeats Peoria (2nd straight)
Florida Coast League: St. Petersburg Saints, 79-61, defeats Columbus (2nd straight)
Big Sky League: Twin Falls Timbers, 75-57, defeats Calgary
Heartland League: Cedar Rapids Reds, 76-64, defeats Quad Cities
Atlantic Coast League: Wilmington (NC) Waves, 71-49, defeats Lynchburg (2nd straight)

One very tight race occurred in the Can-Am League, where six teams all finished within four games. Quebec and Ottawa finished tied at the top and played a one-game playoff for the regular-season title. Ottawa won that game, but the Carnavals came back to win the championship series.

[KCRoyals15]

1988

After the playoff formats got messed up the last couple seasons, I went in and fixed those, so everything is consistent going forward!

In 1988, the Northern Conference was treated to a pair of close races, with the Brooklyn Dodgers winning their first New England League pennant in 18 years, followed two games behind by the Philadelphia Quakers. Over in the Midwest Association, the Toronto Maple Leafs made their first playoff appearance in six years and won the MWA for the first time since 1967. Three games back was Detroit, who made their seventh-straight playoff appearance.



In the postseason, Philadelphia dispatched Brooklyn in six games, while Toronto tamed Detroit in five games. The Quakers had an upset brewing in the Northern Championship series and they successfully served in, knocking out the Maple Leafs in a five-game set to win their first Conference Championship in 13 years.

In the Southern Conference, the Eastern League was treated to two heavyweights trading blows. In the end, Norfolk won a franchise-record 105 games, finishing four games ahead of 101-win Jacksonville, while two other teams won 91 games (on the other end, Atlanta went 44-118, the worst big-league season in decades). The Western League was much weaker, but even closer, with New Orleans and St. Louis tied for first at 88-74, edging out Kansas City by two games to take the playoff spots.



In the postseason, Jacksonville and Norfolk's duel lived up to expectations, with the Suns emerging in a seven-game thriller. Meanwhile, New Orleans downed St. Louis, also in seven games. The Southern Championship also went the distance and the Pelicans pulled off a big upset to win their first-ever Conference Championship and first title overall as a big-league franchise.

The Pacific Coast League saw San Francisco win the North, with Seattle seven games back in second, taking the two playoff spots as the only above-.500 teams in the division. In the South, San Diego won their ninth division title a row and league-high 124 games. Hawaii, meanwhile, had their first winning season in seven years and earned their first playoff spot in four season, finishing second.



In the Division Series, San Francisco held serve, dispatching the Rainiers in five games. Meanwhile, Hawaii pushed hard, but San Diego came away with a seven-game victory. The Seals then slapped around the Padres, coming away with a five-game series victory to repeat as PCL champions.

The Texas League had Fort Worth win the North as the only above-.500 team, resulting in Tulsa slipping into the playoffs at 80-82. In the South, Austin and Galveston were the two best teams in the league, winning 95 and 93 games to take the two playoff spots. For the Wranglers, it was their fifth playoff berth in a row.



In the first round, Galveston overwhelmed Austin to down the Wranglers in five games. Meanwhile, Fort Worth survived a seven-game test from Tulsa. In the Lone Star Series, though, the Panthers were the stronger team, upsetting the Hurricanes in six games to win their second TL title in five years.

The national tournament was filled with questions due to surprise winners in nearly every league. In the first round, New Orleans' first-ever tournament appearance was a brief one as the Philadelphia Quakers (NOR) defeat the New Orleans Pelicans (SOU). On the other side, the new title favorite took care of business, as the San Francisco Seals (PCL) defeat the Fort Worth Panthers (TL). With the path seemingly clear, the Seals came through, as the San Francisco Seals (PCL) defeat the Philadelphia Quakers (NOR), 4-2 to win their sixth National Championship and their first in a decade.



In the Northern Conference, Detroit's Jaylen Williams wasn't quite as good as his incredible three previous seasons, but was still excellent. The 31-year-old slashed .309/.368/.428 with 190 hits, 99 runs, 39 doubles, 8 triples, 6 homers, and 74 RBI while stealing 55 bases to take home his third MVP in four years.

A very late bloomer, Phil Anthon didn't debut until he was 30 and two clubs (Chicago and Oakland) gave up on him in his first 1½ years in the majors. Finding a home with the Philadelphia Quakers in mid-1984, Anthon found success, leading the conference in wins in 1985. In '88, the 35-year-old went 18-10 with a 2.92 ERA, striking out 158 batters in 261.2 innings to win Pitcher of the Year.

Baltimore's 23-year-old rookie Mike Compton made his presence known with authority, slashing .330/.449/.703 with 182 hits, 125 runs, and a Southern Conference-best 55 homers and 152 RBI. He even added 24 steals. Compton tied the Eastern Baseball Federation record for homers and recorded the most RBI by an EBF hitter in 16 years, making it an easy choice for not just Rookie of the Year, but MVP as well.

New Orleans also had a rookie made a quick early impression, as first-year righty Arnold Noles went 20-8 with a 2.84 ERA, leading the South in innings (276.0), strikeouts (242), complete games (15), and shutouts (3) to earn Pitcher of the Year.

Jose Sierra had an unremarkable major league career, going 46-39 with a 4.52 ERA in five years with Miami. However, in the midst of his best season (14 wins and a 4.15 ERA, Sierra had the game of his life on July 17, setting down all 27 Washington Senators, striking out six and throwing just 79 pitches to record the first major league perfect game in a decade.

For the second year in a row and third time overall, it was Marco Adams dominating the Pacific Coast League. He slashed .296/.362/.583 with 224 hits, 128 hits, 45 doubles, and a league-leading 55 homers and 175 RBI to take home MVP number three.

The pitching side also saw a repeat winner, as San Francisco's ace Todd Coley made it two Pitcher of the Year trophies in two years, winning the Triple Crown as he went 25-6 with a 2.42 ERA and 244 strikeouts. He also led the PCL with 313.0 innings pitched in his award-winning campaign.

In the Texas League, San Antonio third baseman Frank Aguero thrived after arriving in a trade with Cincinnati before the 1987 season. He didn't match his 44-homer, 131-RBI output from the prior year, but he did slash .311/.414/.551 with 30 homers and a TL-leading 107 RBI and 118 runs scored, earning MVP. As it turns out, the 36-year-old was at the end of the line, as he struggled out of the gate the following year before a knee injury in early June ended his career.

Dallas ace Oscar Mondragon was approaching the end, but he still had one more front-line season left in him. The 38-year-old went 18-9 with a TL-best 2.67 ERA, striking out 164, working 273.1 innings to lead the league for the eighth (and final) year in a row, also leading the league in complete games (8) and shutouts (3) for the final time as he won his fourth and final Pitcher of the Year award.

Across town, Fort Worth's Manuel Barrientos went out as a Texas League champion. The oldest player in baseball, he pitched his last game just after his 45th birthday, but not before earning his 300th win on August 21, becoming the only pitcher in the Texas League's big-league era to do so. He capped off his 23-year career as the loop's major-league leader in wins (302), starts (731), and innings (4,978.2), though he never was a Pitcher of the Year winner.

The Eastern Baseball Federation elected to the Hall of Fame a member of the 3,000-hit club and another man who came painfully close to the 500-homer plateau:

OF Shane McLaughlin (1964-82), 90.3%
1B Glen Pinkowski (1960, '62-80), 82.6%

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In the American Baseball League, Birmingham took the East, with four tightly-packed teams (four games of separation total) behind them. Columbus and Nashville took the next two spots, then Cincinnati edged Boston by a game for the last spot. In the West, Denver won their fifth division title in six years, with Vancouver and Spokane filing in behind them. Chicago was just 77-85, but finished two games head of Phoenix for fourth.

In the playoffs, The top two seeds advanced with ease in the East, while the West had top-seeded Denver surviving a seven-game scare from Chicago, and Spokane knocking off Vancouver. The Semifinals featured a five-game Columbus win over Cincinnati and Spokane upsetting Denver in six games. The Clippers then defeated the Indians in six games for the American Baseball Cup, their first title.

Birmingham shortstop Daniel Wells had a mediocre career, but the 33-year-old had his best season, slashing .276/.343/.490 with 157 hits, 94 runs, 25 doubles, and led the East with 29 homers, while driving in 91 runs and stealing 20 bases to earn MVP. Nashville's Luis Acosta, meanwhile, went 14-12 with a 3.10 ERA, leading the ABL with 231 strikeouts over 269.2 innings, winning his fifth and final Pitcher of the Year before his deteriorating command hampered his career.

In the West, Chicago's Brian Pfeiff had a rookie year to remember, slashing .350/.418/.538 and stroking 209 hits (all ABL highs) with 105 runs, 45 doubles, 8 triples, 17 homers, 96 RBI, and 21 steals. The 23-year-old won Rookie of the Year and MVP, which was followed by antoher good year in '89 and a torrid start to 1990, before his career was ruined by two devastating leg injuries that ruined three straight seasons and prevented him from being an everyday player again. In his third season, Denver's Jim Puricelli went 23-6 with a 2.85 ERA and 240 strikeouts, leading the ABL in the first two marks and finishing second in punchouts, earning Pitcher of the Year.

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Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Jackson Junebugs, 98-56, defeats Savannah
Colonial League: Binghamton Smokers, 78-62, defeats Pawtucket (2nd straight)
River Valley League: Akron Rubbermen, 92-48, defeats Grand Rapids (2nd straight)
Rocky Mountain League: Billings Mustangs, 70-56, defeats Butte (2nd straight)
Coastal League: Winston-Salem Twins, 104-50, defeats Wilmington (DE) (3rd straight)
Northern League: La Crosse Loggers, 81-59, defeats St. Paul
Southwest League: Modesto Growers, 80-75, defeats Santa Barbara (2nd straight)
Southern Association: Biloxi Pilots, 81-59, defeats Springfield
Northwest League: Tacoma Mountaineers, 95-59, defeats Reno
Can-Am League: Springfield Spinners, 69-57, defeats Portland
Mid-Atlantic League: Asheville Tourists, 80-60, defeats Raleigh-Durham
Lone Star League: Lubbock Hubbers, 90-50, defeats San Angelo
Great Plains League: Salina Blue Jays, 85-55, defeats South Bend
Florida Coast League: Fort Lauderdale Flamingos, 78-62, defeats Columbus
Big Sky League: Idaho Falls Fireballs, 73-59, defeats Missoula
Heartland League: Sioux Falls Packers, 80-60, defeats Quad Cities
Atlantic Coast League: Lynchburg Ferrymen, 67-53, defeats Fayetteville

The Southwest League was won handily by Santa Barbara (15 games). However, a tremendous race for second unfolded, as five teams finished within four games, with Modesto and Bakersfield tied at 79-75. Modesto won the one-game tiebreaker, then upset the Santa Barbara for the title.