1979 American Association season

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The 1979 American Association season was the 72nd in the league's history, and ended with the Evansville Triplets winning the league championship. It was the first title for the Triplets since 1975.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

East Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Evansville Triplets	78	58	.574	--	Jim Leyland	Detroit Tigers
Springfield Redbirds	73	63	.537	5	Hal Lanier	St. Louis Cardinals
Iowa Oaks	69	67	.507	9	Tony LaRussa/Joe Sparks	Chicago White Sox
Indianapolis Indians	67	69	.493	11	Roy Majtyka	Cincinnati Reds

West Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Oklahoma City 89ers	72	63	.533	--	Lee Elia	Philadelphia Phillies
Omaha Royals	65	71	.478	7½	Gordon Mackenzie	Kansas City Royals
Denver Bears	62	73	.459	10	Jack McKeon	Montreal Expos
Wichita Aeros	57	79	.419	15½	Jack Hiatt	Chicago Cubs

Championship Finals

Evansville vs. Oklahoma City Date Away Home September 1 Evansville 8 Oklahoma City 4 September 2 Evansville 2 Oklahoma City 10 September 3 Evansville 1 Oklahoma City 7 September 4 Oklahoma City 8 Evansville 9 12 innings September 5 Oklahoma City 3 Evansville 9 September 6 Oklahoma City 3 Evansville 7 Evansville wins series 4-2

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Keith Smith, Springfield, .350
• Runs Scored Lonnie Smith, Oklahoma City, 106
• Hits Manny Castillo, Springfield, 169
• Doubles Keith Moreland, Oklahoma City; John Poff, Oklahoma City,34
• Triples Art Gardner, Denver, 11
• Home Runs Karl Pagel, Wichita, 39
• Runs Batted In Pagel, 123
• Stolen Bases German Barranca, Omaha, 75

Pitching

• Wins Dewey Robinson, Iowa, 13
• Earned Run Average Bruce Berenyi, Indianapolis, 2.82
• Complete Games Bill Atkinson, Denver, 11
• Shutouts Berenyi, 3
• Strikeouts Berenyi, 136
• Saves John Littlefield, Springfield, 10

All-Star Team

• First Base Randy Bass, Denver
• Second Base Fred Frazier, Iowa
• Shortstop Ron Oester, Indianapolis
• Third Base Manny Castillo, Springfield
• Outfield Karl Pagel, Wichita; Bobby Molinaro, Iowa; Keith Smith, Springfield
• Catcher Keith Moreland, Oklahoma City; Bruce Kimm, Evansville
• Utility Leon Durham, Springfield; Jim Cox, Denver
• Pitcher Dewey Robinson, Iowa; Gary Beare, Oklahoma City
• Manager Jim Leyland, Evansville

References

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

1980 Baseball Guide

External Links

1979 AA - The Baseball Cube