1997 American Association season

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The 1997 American Association season was the 90th in the league's history, and ended with the Buffalo Bisons winning their first league championship since the 1961 Bisons won the International League's Governors' Cup. The Bisons had lost their previous three AA championship series.

After the season, the AA was folded into the Pacific Coast League and International League due to Triple-A expansion and the desire to limit travel costs.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

East Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Buffalo Bisons	87	57	.604	-	Brian Graham	Cleveland Indians
Indianapolis Indians	85	59	.590	2	Dave Miley	Cincinnati Reds
Nashville Sounds	74	69	.517	12½	Tom Spencer	Chicago White Sox
Louisville Redbirds	58	85	.406	28½	Gaylen Pitts	St. Louis Cardinals

West Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Iowa Cubs	74	69	.517	-	Tim Johnson	Chicago Cubs
New Orleans Zephyrs	74	70	.514	½	Matt Galante/Steve Swisher	Milwaukee Brewers
Oklahoma City 89ers	61	82	.427	13	Greg Biagini	Texas Rangers
Omaha Royals	61	83	.424	13½	Mike Jirschele	Kansas City Royals

Playoffs

	First Round					Championship Finals
	E1	Buffalo Bisons	3
	E2	Indianapolis Indians	2
						E1	Buffalo Bisons	3
						W1	Iowa Cubs	0
	W1	Iowa Cubs	3
	W2	New Orleans Zephyrs	0

First Round

Buffalo vs. Indianapolis Date Away Home September 3 Buffalo 3 Indianapolis 5 September 4 Buffalo 4 Indianapolis 3 September 5 Indianapolis 11 Buffalo 7 September 6 Indianapolis 2 Buffalo 9 September 7 Indianapolis 2 Buffalo 6 Buffalo wins series 3-2

Iowa vs. New Orleans Date Away Home September 3 Iowa 6 New Orleans 1 September 4 Iowa 5 New Orleans 3 September 5 New Orleans 1 Iowa 4 Iowa wins series 3-0

Championship Finals

Buffalo vs. Iowa Date Away Home September 8 Iowa 1 Buffalo 2 September 9 Iowa 3 Buffalo 6 September 10 Buffalo 5 Iowa 4 10 innings Buffalo wins series 3-0

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Magglio Ordóñez, Nashville, .329
• Runs Scored Jeff Abbott, Nashville, 88
• Hits Ordóñez, 172
• Doubles Richard Hidalgo, New Orleans, 37
• Triples Alex Ramirez, Buffalo, 8
• Home Runs Richie Sexson, Buffalo, 31
• Runs Batted In Bubba Smith, Oklahoma City, 94
• Stolen Bases Miguel Cairo, Iowa, 40

Pitching

• Wins John Halama, New Orleans, 13
• Earned Run Average Halama, 2.58
• Complete Games Three tied with 4
• Shutouts Three tied with 2
• Strikeouts C.J. Nitkowski, New Orleans, 141
• Saves Scott Service, Omaha, 24

All-Star Team

• First Base Richie Sexson, Buffalo
• Second Base Miguel Cairo, Iowa
• Shortstop Damian Jackson, Buffalo-Indianapolis
• Third Base Aaron Boone, Indianapolis
• Outfield Magglio Ordóñez, Nashville; Jeff Abbott, Nashville[ Bruce Aven, Buffalo
• Catcher Eli Marrero, Louisville
• Designated Hitter Bubba Smith, Oklahoma City
• Right-Handed Pitcher Giovanni Carrara, Indianapolis
• Left-Handed Pitcher John Halama, New Orleans
• Relief Pitcher Marc Pisciotta, Iowa

Sources include 1998 Baseball Almanac

External Links

1997 AA - The Baseball Cube