1983 American Association season

BR minors page

The 1983 American Association season was the 76th in the league's history, and ended with the Denver Bears winning their second league championship in three years. The Bears would go on to finish third in the Triple-A World Series.

Also, the Louisville Redbirds became the first minor-league team to draw one million fans in total attendance.

This was the final season for the Evansville Triplets.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

East Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Louisville Redbirds	78	57	.571	-	Jim Fregosi	St. Louis Cardinals
Iowa Cubs	71	65	.522	7½	Jim Napier	Chicago Cubs
Indianapolis Indians	64	72	.471	14½	Roy Hartsfield	Cincinnati Reds
Evansville Triplets	61	75	.449	17½	Gordon Mackenzie	Detroit Tigers

West Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Denver Bears	73	61	.545	-	Jim Mahoney	Chicago White Sox
Oklahoma City 89ers	66	69	.489	7½	Tom Burgess	Texas Rangers
Wichita Aeros	65	71	.478	9	Felipe Alou	Montreal Expos
Omaha Royals	64	72	.471	10	Joe Sparks	Kansas City Royals

Playoffs

	First Round					Championship Finals
	E1	Louisville Redbirds	3
	W2	Oklahoma City 89ers	2
						E1	Louisville Redbirds	0
						W1	Denver Bears	4
	W1	Denver Bears	3
	E2	Iowa Cubs	1

First Round

Louisville vs. Oklahoma City Date Away Home September 2 Oklahoma City 3 Louisville 2 September 3 Oklahoma City 1 Louisville 2 September 4 Louisville 6 Oklahoma City 8 September 5 Louisville 16 Oklahoma City 2 September 6 Louisville 4 Oklahoma City 2 Louisville wins series 3-2

Denver vs. Iowa Date Away Home September 2 Iowa 15 Denver 2 September 3 Iowa 11 Denver 12 11 innings September 4 Denver 9 Iowa 5 September 5 Denver 5 Iowa 3 Denver wins series 3-1

Championship Finals

Louisville vs. Denver Date Away Home September 7 Denver 1 Louisville 0 September 8 Denver 9 Louisville 5 September 9 Denver 9 Louisville 4 September 10 Louisville 2 Denver 3 Denver wins series 4-0 and advances to Triple-A World Series

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Mike Stenhouse, Wichita, .355
• Runs Scored Mike Fuentes, Wichita, 96
• Hits Dallas Williams, Indianapolis, 168
• Doubles Steve Hammond, Omaha; Bill Nahorodny, Evansville, 37
• Triples Tito Landrum, Louisville, 12
• Home Runs Carmelo Martinez, Iowa, 31
• Runs Batted In Jim Adduci, Louisville, 101
• Stolen Bases Tom Lawless, Indianapolis, 46

Pitching

• Wins Fernando Arroyo, Denver, 14
• Earned Run Average Craig Eaton, Evansville, 2.64
• Complete Games Mark Dacko, Evansville, 9
• Shutouts Five tied with 2
• Strikeouts Greg Harris, Indianapolis, 146
• Saves Victor Cruz, Oklahoma City, 14

All-Star Team

• First Base Mike Stenhouse, Wichita
• Second Base Dan Rohn, Iowa
• Shortstop Curtis Wilkerson, Oklahoma City
• Third Base Fritz Connally, Iowa
• Outfield Mike Fuentes, Wichita; Dave Stegman, Denver; Joe Carter, Iowa
• Catcher Joel Skinner, Iowa
• Designated Hitter Bill Nahorodny, Evansville
• Right-Handed Pitcher Dan Larson, Iowa
• Left-Handed Pitcher Rich Barnes, Denver

References

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

1984 Baseball Guide

External Links

1983 AA - The Baseball Cube