Midwest League History

The 2000s

An overview of Midwest League history between 2000 and the present.

After the chaos and uncertainty of the 1990s, the new century's brought stability and prosperity to the Midwest League.

The decade began with the long-anticipated shift of the Rockford franchise to Dayton, and 2007 saw the transfer of the troubled Battle Creek (Michigan, Southwest Michigan) franchise to Midland (Great Lakes). Except for those blemishes, the decade's story's about new and renovated ballparks: Cedar Rapids, Dayton, Great Lakes, Peoria, and Quad Cities all have new facilities, while Burlington, Clinton, Lansing, and West Michigan have substantially upgraded their yards. Kane County has a major upgrade in queue, while Fort Wayne's building a downtown park. Beloit, too, is pursuing a new stadium, though that project has a history of setbacks.

The Midwest League is thriving. One success indicator is the price of a franchise: When the Waterloo team was sold in the early 1990s, the reported $2 million sale price was widely considered to be outrageous. By the late '90s, the Fort Wayne team was reportedly purchased for a then-record $4.75 million. The current asking price appears to be $7 million....

The Midwest League was a Class A member of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues during this period.