Triple-A World Series
Triple-A World Series | |
---|---|
Status | Defunct |
Location(s) | Varies (see prose) |
Years active | 4 |
Inaugurated | Sept 15–19, 1983 (Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, Kentucky, United States) |
Most recent | Sept 18–21, 2000 (Cashman Field, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States) |
Participants | League champions of the Triple-A baseball leagues |
Organized by | Minor League Baseball |
The Triple-A World Series was an interleague postseason championship series between the league champions of the affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball to determine an overall champion of the classification held in 1983 and from 1998 to 2000.
The 1983 Triple-A World Series was held as a round-robin tournament involving the champions of the American Association (AA), International League (IL), and Pacific Coast League (PCL) at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. A combination of low attendance and the three league presidents being unable to agree on a more suitable location resulted in the cancellation of a proposed 1984 series. Following the disbandment of the AA after the 1997 season, the Triple-A World Series was revived as a contest between the IL and PCL from 1998 to 2000. Held at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nevada, the series was discontinued after three years of poor attendance.
Two of the four Triple-A World Series were won by International League teams, and two were won by Pacific Coast League teams. The
History
Previous postseason series
Periodically from 1904 to 1975, the champions from the top-classification leagues of
Triple-A World Series (1983)
During the
Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky, was selected as the site for the first Triple-A World Series because its Cardinals had set the all-time minor league attendance record that season.[5] Through 65 games, total attendance was 1,052,438 people, for an average of over 16,000 per game.[6] The series was to be televised on ESPN.[7]
The 1983 Triple-A World Series was played from September 15–19. The total attendance for all four dates was 26,914 people, for an average of 6,728 per game.[8] League officials believed something needed to be done to boost the series' popularity and attendance. They considered ensuring the home team's participation, playing the series before the Labor Day holiday, and moving to a new location.[9] PCL president Bill Cutler proposed moving the series to Las Vegas for 1984.[10] The IL supported this move, but the AA wanted to keep it in Louisville. Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn, who felt uneasy about playing games in Las Vegas due to the presence of legalized gambling, cancelled the series in April 1984 after the three Triple-A presidents could not come to an agreement as to its location.[11] There was not another postseason meeting of these minor leagues until 1988, when the International League and the American Association held the first Triple-A Classic, a best-of-seven series played in conjunction with the Triple-A Alliance. The Triple-A Classic continued as an annual event until league owners voted to end the Triple-A Alliance after 1991.[1][12]
Triple-A World Series in Las Vegas (1998–2000)
On July 9, 1997, Triple-A owners voted for a realignment plan that resulted in the American Association disbanding and its teams being absorbed by the International League and Pacific Coast League in 1998.
The 1998 Triple-A World Series was played in four games from September 21–25. The average attendance was 3,368 people per game.[18] Attendance at the 1999 series, played in five games from September 20–25, improved slightly to 4,002 per game.[18] The average attendance at the four-game 2000 series, held from September 18–21, dropped to an all-time low of 2,311.[19][20][21][22]
Before the 2000 Triple-A World Series, IL and PCL officials entered into negotiations with officials from Las Vegas about continuing the event beyond the original three-year deal. At the same time, they also explored other possible neutral sites for future games, including
Ultimately, the Triple-A World Series was discontinued, and the International League and the Pacific Coast League returned to ending their seasons after the crowning of their own champions. No other postseason meetings between the leagues occurred until 2006 with the creation of the
Results
† | Indicates home team |
---|
1983 Triple-A World Series
The
In Game One, Tidewater defeated Denver, 7–1, behind the pitching performances of
On the third day of competition, the Tides' Dwight Gooden pitched a complete game four-hitter in Game Four as Tidewater defeated Denver, 4–2.[32] In Game Five that evening, Tidewater downed Portland, 6–3, with help from Ron Gardenhire, who drove in three runs.[32] Going into the last day of the series, Tidewater held a 3–1 lead after playing all four of their games. Portland, at 2–1, could force a playoff for the Triple-A World Series title with a win over Denver in Game Six. In a close back-and-forth contest, Denver defeated Portland, 5–4, with Marv Foley scoring twice and driving in two runs.[33]
The Tidewater Tides (IL, 3–1) won the series against the Portland Beavers (PCL, 2–2) and Denver Bears (AA, 1–3).[8] Tidewater first baseman Gary Rajsich was selected as the Triple-A World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP). Over the series, he accumulated a .583 batting average with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs.[34]
Game | Date | Winning team (MLB affiliation) | League | Score | Losing team (MLB affiliation) | League | Attendance | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 15 | Tidewater Tides (NYM )
|
IL | 7–1 | Denver Bears† (CWS )
|
AA | 8,154 | [30] |
2 | September 16 (1) | Portland Beavers (PHI) | PCL | 11–8 | Tidewater Tides† (NYM )
|
IL | 7,234 | [31] |
3 | September 16 (2) | Portland Beavers† (PHI) | PCL | 3–2 | Denver Bears (CWS )
|
AA | 7,234 | [31] |
4 | September 18 (1) | Tidewater Tides† (NYM )
|
IL | 4–2 | Denver Bears (CWS )
|
AA | 6,344 | [32] |
5 | September 18 (2) | Tidewater Tides (NYM )
|
IL | 6–3 | Portland Beavers† (PHI) | PCL | 6,344 | [32] |
6 | September 19 | Denver Bears† (CWS )
|
AA | 5–4 | Portland Beavers (PHI) | PCL | 5,182 | [33] |
Tidewater won the series, 3–1. |
1998 Triple-A World Series
The
In Game One, New Orleans won against Buffalo, 7–2. Zephyrs starting pitcher John Halama retired 19 of the first 21 Bisons batters he faced, and Daryle Ward scored the first four runs with two 2-run home runs.[37] Buffalo evened the series with a 9–2 win in Game Two. James Betzold, Phil Hiatt, and Jeff Manto collected two RBIs each.[38] In Game 3, New Orleans regained the series lead with a 3–2 win in which Ken Ramos and Marc Ronan hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the eighth inning putting the Zephyrs ahead.[39] New Orleans won a decisive Game 4 behind the bat of Lance Berkman, who hit three home runs and drove in six, in the 12–6 victory.[40] Berkman, a left fielder, was voted the series MVP after he hit .467 with 3 home runs and 6 RBIs.[41]
Game | Date | Winning team (MLB affiliation) | League | Score | Losing team (MLB affiliation) | League | Attendance | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 21 | New Orleans Zephyrs (HOU )
|
PCL | 7–2 | CLE )
|
IL | 4,142 | [37] |
2 | September 22 | CLE )
|
IL | 9–2 | New Orleans Zephyrs (HOU )
|
PCL | 4,090[42] | [38] |
3 | September 24 | New Orleans Zephyrs† (HOU )
|
PCL | 3–2 | CLE )
|
IL | — | [39] |
4 | September 25 | New Orleans Zephyrs (HOU )
|
PCL | 12–6 | CLE )
|
IL | 2,855[43] | [40] |
New Orleans won the series, 3–1. |
1999 Triple-A World Series
The
In Game One, Vancouver reached the middle of the seventh inning with a 5–1 lead behind starting pitcher Mark Mulder.[46] Charlotte tied the game, 5–5, in the bottom of the eighth, and walked-off with a 6–5 win after Eric Christopherson drove in Chad Mottola in the bottom of the ninth with a slow infield hit.[46] In Game Two, Vancouver tied the series with a 5–4 win, with Terrence Long driving home Mike Neill with a triple in the fifth inning for the winning run.[47] In Game Three, the Knights' Jon Garland struck out eight Canadians, allowing no earned runs, and Jeff Abbott and Jeff Liefer each homered off of Vancouver's Barry Zito, in a 4–2 victory.[48] Vancouver answered with a 9–7 win in Game Four in which Joe Espada drove in Eric Martins for the key run in the eighth to send the series to the full five games.[49] Vancouver won Game 5 and the series with a 16–2 rout over Charlotte.[50] Mulder pitched a complete game, allowing two runs on seven hits, and Long and Roberto Vaz led the scoring with three RBIs apiece.[51] Center fielder Terrence Long, who hit .429 with 9 hits and 10 RBIs, was selected as the series MVP.[41]
Game | Date | Winning team (MLB affiliation) | League | Score | Losing team (MLB affiliation) | League | Attendance | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 20 | Charlotte Knights† (CWS) | IL | 6–5 | Vancouver Canadians (OAK) | PCL | 5,092 | [52] |
2 | September 21 | Vancouver Canadians† (OAK) | PCL | 5–4 | Charlotte Knights (CWS) | IL | 5,590 | [53] |
3 | September 23 | Charlotte Knights† (CWS) | IL | 4–2 | Vancouver Canadians (OAK) | PCL | 3,910 | [54] |
4 | September 24 | Vancouver Canadians† (OAK) | PCL | 9–7 | Charlotte Knights (CWS) | IL | 3,132 | [55] |
5 | September 25 | Vancouver Canadians (OAK) | PCL | 16–2 | Charlotte Knights† (CWS) | IL | 2,284 | [51] |
Vancouver won the series, 3–2. |
2000 Triple-A World Series
The
In Game One, Lyle Mouton led the Indianapolis offense with four RBIs and a three-run home run in the seventh inning on the way to an 8–3 Indians win.[19] Both teams scored in the first inning of Game Two, and the score remained knotted at 1–1 until the bottom of the eighth when Indianapolis's Santiago Pérez drove in Chris Jones for a 2–1 lead. Bob Scanlan, the IL saves leader, came in the ninth to close the game. Memphis lead-off hitter Albert Pujols drew a walk and eventually scored the tieing run on Keith McDonald's base hit. Tied 2–2 in the bottom of the ninth, the Indians' Creighton Gubanich hit a walk-off home run to give Indianapolis a 3–2 win and a 2–0 series lead.[20] Memphis staved off elimination with an 11-4 Game Three victory behind the bat of Larry Sutton, who hit two home runs.[21] In Game Four, Indianapolis' Horacio Estrada allowed two runs in the first inning and then pitched seven scoreless frames before Scanlan came in to close out the game with the Indians winning, 9–2, and taking the series, 3–1.[22] Shortstop Santiago Pérez, who hit .462 with 2 home runs, 3 RBIs, and 4 runs, was selected as the series MVP.[41]
Game | Date | Winning team (MLB affiliation) | League | Score | Losing team (MLB affiliation) | League | Attendance | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 18 | Indianapolis Indians (MIL) | IL | 8–3 | Memphis Redbirds† (STL) | PCL | 1,939 | [19] |
2 | September 19 | Indianapolis Indians† (MIL) | IL | 3–2 | Memphis Redbirds (STL) | PCL | 3,202 | [20] |
3 | September 20 | Memphis Redbirds† (STL) | PCL | 11–4 | Indianapolis Indians (MIL) | IL | 2,103 | [21] |
4 | September 21 | Indianapolis Indians† (MIL) | IL | 9–2 | Memphis Redbirds (STL) | PCL | 1,999 | [22] |
Indianapolis won the series, 3–1. |
Overall
Two of the four Triple-A World Series were won by International League teams, and two were won by Pacific Coast League teams. The Tidewater Tides (IL) won the initial 1983 series. The New Orleans Zephyrs (PCL) won in 1998, and the Vancouver Canadians (PCL) won in 1999. The Indianapolis Indians (IL) won the final series in 2000. IL and PCL teams tied in the all-time series with two wins apiece. The only American Association team to participate lost in their only series appearance.[1]
Year | Winning team (MLB affiliation) | League | Score | Losing team (MLB affiliation) | League | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1983 | Tidewater Tides (NYM ) |
IL | 3–1 | PCL AA |
[1] | |
1998 | New Orleans Zephyrs (HOU ) |
PCL | 3–1 | CLE ) |
IL | [1] |
1999 | Vancouver Canadians (OAK) | PCL | 3–2 | Charlotte Knights (CWS) | IL | [1] |
2000 | Indianapolis Indians (MIL) | IL | 3–1 | Memphis Redbirds (STL) | PCL | [1] |
Most Valuable Player Award
One player from the winning team was recognized for their outstanding play in the series and was given the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award.
Year | Player | Team (MLB affiliation) | League | Position | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1983 | Gary Rajsich | Tidewater Tides (NYM ) |
IL | First baseman | [34] |
1998 | Lance Berkman | New Orleans Zephyrs (HOU ) |
PCL | Left fielder | [41] |
1999 | Terrence Long | Vancouver Canadians (OAK) | PCL | Center fielder | [41] |
2000 | Santiago Pérez | Indianapolis Indians (MIL) | IL | Shortstop | [41] |
Notes
See also
References
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{{cite web}}
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- ^ "2000 International League Standings". Stats Crew. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
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