1969 American Association season

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The 1969 American Association season was the 62nd in the league's history, and ended with the Omaha Royals winning the league championship.

Travel expenses were too high for two Triple-A leagues, so the AA was reorganized for a third go-around in 1969. In addition, major league expansion that year helped increase the number of Triple-A teams needed. Indianapolis and Denver returned to the fold along with Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Des Moines and Omaha. Allie Reynolds became president of the "new" league, which introduced the DH to professional baseball. The league honored Reynolds by giving out the annual Allie Reynolds Award to the top pitcher in the circuit.

Final standings

Pennant winners in bold.

	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Omaha Royals	85	55	.607	-	Jack McKeon	Kansas City Royals
Tulsa Oilers	79	61	.564	6	Warren Spahn	St. Louis Cardinals
Indianapolis Indians	74	66	.529	11	Vern Rapp	Cincinnati Reds
Iowa Oaks	62	78	.448	23	Jim Williams	Oakland Athletics
Oklahoma City 89ers	62	78	.448	23	Cot Deal	Houston Astros
Denver Bears	58	82	.414	27	Don Heffner	Minnesota Twins

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Bernie Carbo, Indianapolis, .359
• Runs Scored George Spriggs, Omaha, 103
• Hits Minnie Mendoza, Denver, 194
• Doubles Carbo; Jim Holt, Denver, 37
• Triples Fred Rico, Omaha, 20
• Home Runs Danny Walton, Oklahoma City, 25
• Runs Batted In Walton, 119
• Stolen Bases Spriggs, 46

Pitching

• Wins Sal Campisi, Tulsa; Jerry Reuss, Tulsa, 13
• Earned Run Average Ron Cook, Oklahoma City, 3.11
• Complete Games Chris Zachary, Omaha; Paul Splittorff, 11
• Shutouts Bill Short, Indianapolis; Dennis Ribant, Indianapolis/Tulsa, 3
• Strikeouts Reuss, 151
• Saves Pat House, Oklahoma City, 16

All-Star Team

• First Base John Mayberry, Oklahoma City
• Second Base Luis Alcaraz, Omaha
• Shortstop Jim Driscoll, Iowa
• Third Base Minnie Mendoza, Denver
• Outfield Bernie Carbo, Indianapolis; George Spriggs, Omaha; Danny Walton, Oklahoma City
• Catcher Ted Simmons, Tulsa
• Utility Man Mike de la Hoz, Indianapolis
• Pitcher Chris Zachary, Omaha; Bill Short, Indianapolis
• Manager Jack McKeon, Omaha

References

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors. Baseball America, 1993.

1970 Baseball Guide