1984 American Association season

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The 1984 American Association season was the 77th in the league's history, and ended with the Louisville Redbirds winning their first league championship.

The league went back to a single-division, eight team setup this year while keeping the four-team playoff format from 1983 and expanding all rounds to best-of-seven series.

The Redbirds and Wichita finished the season tied, so a one-game playoff took place September 4 in Louisville, KY for the fourth and final playoff spot. Louisville won 3-0, and this result is reflected in the standings below.

This would be the final season for both the Evansville Triplets and Wichita Aeros. The Wichita franchise would be sold and moved to Buffalo, while Evansville would be sold and moved to Nashville.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold .

	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Indianapolis Indians	91	63	.591	--	Buck Rodgers	Montreal Expos
Iowa Cubs	80	74	.519	11	Jim Napier	Chicago Cubs
Denver Bears	79	75	.513	12	Vern Law/Adrian Garrett	Chicago White Sox
Louisville Redbirds	79	76	.510	12½	Jim Fregosi	St. Louis Cardinals
Wichita Aeros	78	77	.503	13½	Gene Dusan	Cincinnati Reds
Evansville Triplets	72	82	.468	19	Gordon Mackenzie	Detroit Tigers
Oklahoma City 89ers	70	84	.455	21	Tom Burgess/Rusty Gerhardt	Texas Rangers
Omaha Royals	68	86	.442	23	Gene Lamont	Kansas City Royals

Playoffs

	First Round					Championship Finals
	1	Indianapolis Indians	2
	4	Louisville Redbirds	4
						4	Louisville Redbirds	4
						3	Denver Bears	1
	2	Iowa Cubs	1
	3	Denver Bears	4

First Round

Indianapolis vs. Louisville Date Away Home September 5 Louisville 5 Indianapolis 1 September 6 Louisville 1 Indianapolis 0 September 7 Louisville 0 Indianapolis 6 September 8 Indianapolis 0 Louisville 10 September 9 Indianapolis 7 Louisville 6 September 10 Indianapolis 1 Louisville 2 Louisville wins series 4-2

Iowa vs. Denver Date Away Home September 4 Denver 8 Iowa 3 September 5 Denver 9 Iowa 0 September 6 Denver 1 Iowa 3 September 7 Iowa 2 Denver 5 September 8 Iowa 1 Denver 3 Denver wins series 4-1

Championship Finals

Louisville vs. Denver Date Away Home September 11 Denver 6 Louisville 5 September 12 Denver 2 Louisville 4 September 13 Denver 4 Louisville 5 September 14 Louisville 6 Denver 5 September 15 Louisville 10 Denver 8 Louisville wins series 4-1

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Tom Dunbar, Oklahoma City, .337
• Runs Scored Vince Coleman, Louisville, 97
• Hits Alan Knicely, Wichita, 190
• Doubles Mel Simons, Evansville, 41
• Triples Daryl Boston, Denver, 19
• Home Runs Joe Hicks, Iowa, 37
• Runs Batted In Knicely, 126
• Stolen Bases Coleman, 101

Pitching

• Wins Reggie Patterson, Iowa, 14
• Earned Run Average Chris Welsh, Indianapolis, 3.01
• Complete Games Steve Baker, Louisvilla; Keith Creel, Omaha; Danny Jackson, Omaha, 10
• Shutouts Four tied with 3
• Strikeouts Tom Browning, Wichita, 160
• Saves Rick Grapenthin, Indianapolis, 18

All-Star Team

• First Base Alan Knicely, Wichita
• Second Base Scotty Earl, Evansville
• Shortstop José Uribe, Louisville
• Third Base Jose Castro, Denver
• Outfield Daryl Boston, Denver; Vince Coleman, Louisville; Tom Dunbar, Oklahoma City
• Catcher Kevin Buckley, Oklahoma City; Russ Stephans, Omaha
• Designated Hitter Gary Rajsich, Louisville
• Right-Handed Pitcher Rick Grapenthin, Indianapolis
• Left-Handed Pitcher Joe Hesketh, Indianapolis

References

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

1985 Baseball Guide

External Links

1984 AA - The Baseball Cube