1996 American Association season

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The 1996 American Association season was the 89th in the league's history, and ended with the Oklahoma City 89ers winning their first league championship since 1992. As in the 1992 season, the 89ers won the championship the year after finishing last.

The league decided to split back into two divisions, while keeping the previous four-team playoff format.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

East Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Buffalo Bisons	84	60	.583	-	Brian Graham	Cleveland Indians
Indianapolis Indians	78	66	.542	6	Dave Miley	Cincinnati Reds
Nashville Sounds	77	67	.535	7	Rick Renick	Chicago White Sox
Louisville Redbirds	60	84	.417	24	Joe Pettini	St. Louis Cardinals

West Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Omaha Royals	79	65	.549	-	Mike Jirschele	Kansas City Royals
Oklahoma City 89ers	74	70	.514	5	Greg Biagini	Texas Rangers
Iowa Cubs	64	78	.451	14	Ron Clark	Chicago Cubs
New Orleans Zephyrs	58	84	.408	20	Tim Ireland	Milwaukee Brewers

Playoffs

	First Round					Championship Finals
	E1	Buffalo Bisons	2
	E2	Indianapolis Indians	3
						E2	Indianapolis Indians	1
						W2	Oklahoma City 89ers	3
	W1	Omaha Royals	1
	W2	Oklahoma City 89ers	3

First Round

Buffalo vs. Indianapolis Date Away Home September 4 Buffalo 2 Indianapolis 5 September 5 Buffalo 3 Indianapolis 5 September 6 Indianapolis 3 Buffalo 4 11 innings September 7 Indianapolis 0 Buffalo 6 September 8 Indianapolis 4 Buffalo 1 Indianapolis wins series 3-2

Omaha vs. Oklahoma City Date Away Home September 4 Omaha 11 Oklahoma City 5 September 5 Omaha 2 Oklahoma City 3 September 6 Oklahoma City 4 Omaha 0 September 8 Oklahoma City 7 Omaha 5 10 innings Oklahoma City wins series 3-1

Championship Finals

Indianapolis vs. Oklahoma City Date Away Home September 11 Indianapolis 3 Oklahoma City 4 September 12 Indianapolis 2 Oklahoma City 3 September 13 Oklahoma City 3 Indianapolis 5 September 14 Oklahoma City 4 Indianapolis 2 Oklahoma City wins series 3-1

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Dmitri Young, Louisville, .333
• Runs Scored Young, 90
• Hits Luis Ortiz, Oklahoma City, 159
• Doubles Lee Stevens, Oklahoma City, 37
• Triples Roberto Mejia, Indianapolis, 9
• Home Runs Stevens, 32
• Runs Batted In Nigel Wilson, Buffalo, 95
• Stolen Bases Curtis Goodwin, Indianapolis, 40

Pitching

• Wins Scott Ruffcorn, Nashville, 13
• Earned Run Average Rick Helling, Oklahoma City, 2.96
• Complete Games Joe Roa, Buffalo, 5
• Shutouts Five tied with 2
• Strikeouts Helling, 157
• Saves Rich Batchelor, Louisville, 28

All-Star Team

• First Base Dmitri Young, Louisville
• Second Base Casey Candaele, Buffalo
• Shortstop Damian Jackson, Buffalo
• Third Base Eduardo Pérez, Indianapolis
• Outfield Brian Giles, Buffalo; Jeff Abbott, Nashville; Nigel Wilson, Buffalo
• Catcher Kelly Stinnett, New Orleans
• Designated Hitter Lee Stevens, Oklahoma City
• Right-Handed Pitcher Rick Helling, Oklahoma City
• Left-Handed Pitcher Brian Anderson, Buffalo
• Relief Pitcher Jaime Bluma, Omaha

Sources

1997 Baseball Almanac

External Links

1996 AA - The Baseball Cube