1982 American Association season

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The 1982 American Association season was the 75th in the league's history, and ended with the Indianapolis Indians winning their first league championship since 1971.

Omaha and Wichita ended the season tied, so a one-game playoff took place August 30 in Wichita, KS for the Western Division title. The Royals won 3-0, and this result is reflected in the standings below.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

East Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Indianapolis Indians	75	61	.551	--	George Scherger	Cincinnati Reds
Iowa Cubs	73	62	.541	1½	Jim Napier	Chicago Cubs
Louisville Redbirds	73	62	.541	1½	Joe Frazier	St. Louis Cardinals
Evansville Triplets	68	65	.511	5½	Roy Majtyka	Detroit Tigers

West Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Omaha Royals	71	66	.518	--	Joe Sparks	Kansas City Royals
Wichita Aeros	70	67	.511	1	Felipe Alou	Montreal Expos
Denver Bears	68	67	.504	2	Rich Donnelly	Texas Rangers
Oklahoma City 89ers	43	91	.321	26½	Ron Clark/Cot Deal/Tony Taylor	Philadelphia Phillies

Championship Finals

Indianapolis vs. Omaha Date Away Home August 31 Omaha 3 Indianapolis 6 September 1 Omaha 1 Indianapolis 0 September 2 Omaha 0 Indianapolis 8 September 3 Indianapolis 2 Omaha 1 September 4 Indianapolis 4 Omaha 6 September 5 Indianapolis 8 Omaha 2 Indianapolis wins series 4-2

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Roy Johnson, Wichita, .367
• Runs Scored Mel Hall, Iowa, 116
• Hits Ron Johnson, Omaha, 166
• Doubles Hall, 34
• Triples Pat Tabler, Iowa, 11
• Home Runs Ken Phelps, Wichita, 46
• Runs Batted In Phelps, 141
• Stolen Bases Gary Redus, Indianapolis, 54

Pitching

• Wins Ralph Citarella, Louisville, 15
• Earned Run Average Jay Howell, Iowa, 2.36
• Complete Games Juan Berenguer, Evansville; Al Olmsted, Louisville, 9
• Shutouts Five tied with 2
• Strikeouts Mike Smithson, Denver, 144
• Saves Victor Cruz, Denver; Brad Lesley, Indianapolis, 14

All-Star Team

• First Base Ken Phelps, Wichita
• Second Base Tom Lawless, Indianapolis
• Shortstop Kelly Paris, Louisville
• Third Base Pat Tabler, Iowa
• Outfield Mel Hall, Iowa; Roy Johnson, Wichita; Ron Johnson, Omaha
• Catcher Al Benton, Iowa; Tom Wieghaus, Wichita
• Designated Hitter Mike Calise, Louisville
• Right-Handed Pitcher Jay Howell, Iowa
• Left-Handed Pitcher Bob Tufts, Omaha
• Manager Rick Renick, Nashville

References

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

1983 Baseball Guide

External Links

1982 AA - The Baseball Cube