1977 American Association season

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The 1977 American Association season was the 70th in the league's history, and ended with the Denver Bears winning their second straight league championship. Denver defeated the Omaha Royals once again in the championship finals.

Before the season began, the Tulsa Oilers moved to New Orleans and became the New Orleans Pelicans. Due to the rental costs of the Superdome, the team was moved to Springfield, MO after the season.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

East Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Omaha Royals	76	59	.563	--	John Sullivan	Kansas City Royals
Indianapolis Indians	72	64	.529	4½	Roy Majtyka	Cincinnati Reds
Evansville Triplets	65	68	.489	10	Les Moss	Detroit Tigers
Iowa Oaks	61	75	.449	15½	Joe Sparks	Chicago White Sox

West Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Denver Bears	71	65	.522	--	Jim Marshall	Montreal Expos
Wichita Aeros	68	64	.515	1	Harry Dunlop	Chicago Cubs
Oklahoma City 89ers	70	66	.515	1	Cal Emery/Bill Connors/Mike Ryan	Philadelphia Phillies
New Orleans Pelicans	57	79	.415	14	Lance Nichols	St. Louis Cardinals

Championship Finals

Omaha vs. Denver Date Away Home September 2 Omaha 7 Denver 6 September 3 Omaha 10 Denver 4 September 4 Omaha 3 Denver 6 September 5 Denver 7 Omaha 2 September 6 Denver 10 Omaha 5 September 7 Denver 6 Omaha 4 Denver wins series 4-2

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Jim Dwyer, Wichita, .332
• Runs Scored Dwyer, 113
• Hits Dwyer, 154
• Doubles Dwyer, 38
• Triples Bombo Rivera, Denver, 14
• Home Runs Frank Ortenzio, Denver, 40
• Runs Batted In Ortenzio, 126
• Stolen Bases Willie Wilson, Omaha, 74

Pitching

• Wins Gary Lance, Omaha, 16
• Earned Run Average Jack Kucek, Iowa, 2.54
• Winning Percentage Dennis Lamp, Wichita, .733
• Complete Games Three tied with 10
• Shutouts Lance; Greg Shanahan, Omaha, 4
• Strikeouts Larry Landreth, Denver, 134
• Saves Oscar Zamora, Wichita, 17

All-Star Team

• First Base Frank Ortenzio, Denver
• Second Base Fred Andrews, Oklahoma City; Rudy Meoli, Indianapolis
• Shortstop Stan Papi, Denver
• Third Base Dave Cripe, Omaha
• Utility Mike Adams, Wichita
• Outfield Benny Ayala, New Orleans; Jim Dwyer, Wichita; Clint Hurdle, Omaha; Willie Wilson, Omaha
• Catcher Lance Parrish, Evansville; Craig Perkins, Omaha
• Pitcher Dennis Lamp, Wichita; Jim Wright, Oklahoma City
• Manager Jim Marshall, Denver

References

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

1978 Baseball Guide