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[edit]

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[edit]

  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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Batting[edit]

Pitching[edit]

All-Star Team[edit]

References[edit]

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

1982 Baseball Guide

External Links[edit]

1981 AA - The Baseball Cube