1976 American Association season

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The 1976 American Association season was the 69th in the league's history, and ended with the Denver Bears winning their first league championship in five years.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

East Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Omaha Royals	78	58	.574	--	Billy Gardner	Kansas City Royals
Iowa Oaks	68	68	.500	10	Loren Babe	Chicago White Sox
Indianapolis Indians	62	73	.459	15½	Jim Snyder	Cincinnati Reds
Evansville Triplets	55	81	.404	23	Fred Hatfield	Detroit Tigers

West Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Denver Bears	86	50	.632	--	Vern Rapp	Montreal Expos
Oklahoma City 89ers	72	63	.533	13½	Jim Bunning	Philadelphia Phillies
Tulsa Oilers	65	70	.481	20½	Ken Boyer	St. Louis Cardinals
Wichita Aeros	56	79	.415	29½	Doc Edwards	Chicago Cubs

Championship Finals

Denver vs. Omaha Date Away Home September 3 Denver 4 Omaha 0 September 4 Denver 4 Omaha 0 September 5 Denver 8 Omaha 9 September 6 Omaha 11 Denver 9 September 7 Omaha 4 Denver 7 September 9 Omaha 5 Denver 6 Denver wins series 4-2

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Mike Easler, Tulsa, .352
• Runs Scored Lonnie Smith, Oklahoma City, 93
• Hits Rick Bosetti, Oklahoma City, 154
• Doubles Luis Alvarado, Tulsa, 38
• Triples Garry Templeton, Tulsa, 15
• Home Runs Roger Freed, Denver, 42
• Runs Batted In Freed, 102
• Stolen Bases Bosetti, 42

Pitching

• Wins Joe Keener, Denver; John Montague, Oklahoma City, 14
• Earned Run Average Joe Henderson, Indianapolis, 2.31
• Winning Percentage Jerry Cram, Omaha, .786
• Complete Games Randy Lerch, Oklahoma City; Montague, 11
• Shutouts Montague, 6
• Strikeouts Lerch, 152
• Saves Roger Nelson, Omaha; Duane Shaffer, Iowa, 16

All-Star Team

• First Base Roger Freed, Denver
• Second Base Steve Staggs, Omaha
• Shortstop Garry Templeton, Tulsa
• Third Base Pat Scanlon, Denver
• Outfield Mike Easler, Tulsa; Sam Ewing, Iowa; Warren Cromartie, Denver; Rick Bosetti, Oklahoma City
• Catcher Steve Patchin, Omaha; Bill Nahorodny, Oklahoma City
• Pitcher Randy Lerch, Oklahoma City; John Montague, Oklahoma City
• Manager Vern Rapp, Denver

References

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

1977 Baseball Guide