Evansville Triplets

• Location: Evansville, IN
• League: American Association 1970-1984
• Affiliation: Minnesota Twins 1970; Milwaukee Brewers 1971-1973; Detroit Tigers 1974-1984
• Ballpark: Bosse Field

Team History

In 1970 the American Association expanded, putting AAA baseball in Evansville, IN for the first time. A $500 savings certificate was offered to whoever gave the best name for the team - from over 3,000 entries, the name Evansville Triplets was selected. The root of the name was that the team would represent not just Indiana, but also Kentucky and Illinois. In the team's first year, they were greeted to dazzling work by Bert Blyleven for 8 games, including a 17-strikeout contest. Other future stars to pass through over the years included Darrell Porter, Mark Fidrych, Lance Parrish, Howard Johnson, Kirk Gibson and Jack Morris. The team served as a farm club for the Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers. In 15 years, the team finished first just once ('79) but won the division four times ('72, '75, '79 and '81) and the pennant three times ('72, '75 and '79). Managing the last two division winners was Jim Leyland. The small city could not compete with the larger ones in the AA at that time and in '84 the franchise was sold and moved to Nashville where they became the Nashville Sounds.

In 1970, manager Ralph Rowe was away from the team for 14 games to be with his ailing mother. The first 7 games were managed by "The Committee" (as Frank Lane dubbed it) consisting of players Garland Shifflett, Jim Glover, and Hoss Bowlin. The players managed a 3-4 record before Twins' scout Early Wynn came to direct the club for the next 7 games. [1]

Source: "The American Association" by Bill O'Neal

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1970	67-71	7th	Ralph Rowe (60-64) / Interim (3-4) / Early Wynn (interim 4-3)
1971	60-78	8th	Del Crandall
1972	83-57	2nd	Del Crandall (20-17) / Al Widmar (5-2) / Mike Roarke (58-38)	League Champs
1973	66-70	5th	Mike Roarke
1974	68-67	4th	Fred Hatfield
1975	77-59	2nd	Fred Hatfield	League Champs
1976	55-81	8th	Fred Hatfield
1977	65-68	6th	Les Moss
1978	78-58	2nd	Les Moss
1979	78-58	1st	Jim Leyland	League Champs
1980	61-74	5th (t)	Jim Leyland
1981	73-63	3rd	Jim Leyland	Lost in 1st round
1982	68-65	5th (t)	Roy Majtyka
1983	61-75	8th	Gordon Mackenzie
1984	72-82	6th	Gordon Mackenzie