1981 American Association season

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The 1981 American Association season was the 74th in the league's history, and ended with the Denver Bears winning their first league championship since 1977. The playoff format was expanded to include the top two teams in each division, as well.

After the season, the Springfield Redbirds would move to Louisville.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

East Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Evansville Triplets	73	63	.537	--	Jim Leyland	Detroit Tigers
Springfield Redbirds	66	70	.485	7	Tommy Thompson	St. Louis Cardinals
Indianapolis Indians	62	74	.456	11	Jim Beauchamp	Cincinnati Reds
Iowa Oaks	53	82	.393	19½	Roy Hartsfield/Randy Hundley	Chicago Cubs

West Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Omaha Royals	79	57	.581	--	Joe Sparks	Kansas City Royals
Denver Bears	76	60	.559	3	Felipe Alou	Montreal Expos
Oklahoma City 89ers	69	67	.507	10	Jim Snyder	Philadelphia Phillies
Wichita Aeros	65	70	.481	13½	Rich Donnelly	Texas Rangers

Playoffs

	First Round					Championship Finals
	E1	Evansville Triplets	1
	W2	Denver Bears	3
						W1	Omaha Royals	0
						W2	Denver Bears	4
	W1	Omaha Royals	3
	E2	Springfield Redbirds	2

First Round

Evansville vs. Denver Date Away Home August 28 Evansville 4 Denver 2 August 29 Evansville 4 Denver 6 August 30 Denver 15 Evansville 4 August 31 Denver 7 Evansville 5 Denver wins series 3-1

Omaha vs. Springfield Date Away Home August 28 Omaha 7 Springfield 4 August 29 Omaha 5 Springfield 8 August 30 Springfield 5 Omaha 2 August 31 Springfield 1 Omaha 5 September 1 Springfield 7 Omaha 9 Omaha wins series 3-2

Championship Finals

Omaha vs. Denver Date Away Home September 2 Omaha 3 Denver 4 September 3 Omaha 4 Denver 9 September 4 Omaha 3 Denver 10 September 5 Denver 2 Omaha 1 Denver wins series 4-0

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Mike Richardt, Wichita, .354
• Runs Scored Bob Dernier, Oklahoma City, 105
• Hits Manny Castillo, Omaha, 182
• Doubles Mike Gates, Denver, 36
• Triples Terry Francona, Denver, 9
• Home Runs George Bjorkman, Springfield, 28
• Runs Batted In Dan Briggs, Denver, 110
• Stolen Bases Dernier, 72

Pitching

• Wins Bryn Smith, Denver, 15
• Earned Run Average Larry Pashnick, Evansville, 2.89
• Complete Games Smith, 9
• Shutouts Pashnick, 4
• Strikeouts Dave LaPoint, Springfield, 129
• Saves Dennis Lewallyn, Wichita, 25

All-Star Team

• First Base Dave Hostetler, Denver
• Second Base Mike Richardt, Wichita
• Shortstop Ryne Sandberg, Oklahoma City
• Third Base Manny Castillo, Omaha
• Outfield Dan Briggs, Denver; Terry Francona, Denver; Bob Dernier, Oklahoma City; Paul Householder, Indianapolis
• Catcher George Bjorkman, Springfield; Dave Van Gorder, Indianapolis
• Utility Mike Gates, Denver; Len Matuszek, Oklahoma City
• Pitcher Mike Jones, Omaha; Dennis Lewallyn, Wichita; Jeff Schattinger, Omaha; Bryn Smith, Denver
• Manager Joe Sparks, Omaha

References

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

1982 Baseball Guide

External Links

1981 AA - The Baseball Cube