Midwest League 1986

Summary

• Midwest League Champion: Waterloo Indians (Indians)
• Team with Best Won/Lost Record: Springfield Cardinals (Cardinals) 87/53, .621

• Most Valuable Player: Luis Medina (Waterloo/Indians)
• Prospects of the Year: Luis Medina (Waterloo/Indians) and Steve Gasser (Kenosha/Twins)
• Manager of the Year: Gaylen Pitts (Springfield/Cardinals)
• Executive of the Year: Jim Peterson (General Manager, Waterloo)

• League Attendance: 1,224,068
  • 12 teams in 3 divisions played a 140 game schedule.
  • The MWL had teams in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

• Best Big League Career: Larry Walker (Burlington/Expos)

Overview

Springfield and Madison dominated the MWL during the 1986 season, then let Waterloo waltz through the championship playoff. Waterloo's Luis Medina had a very strong season and won the MVP prize, and shared the Prospect of the Year with Kenosha's Steve Gasser.

This season produced a fine, fine crop of future major leaguers: Larry Walker, Walt Weiss, Mark Grace, Greg Swindell, Melido Perez, and Omar Vizquel all played here. You could build a fairly strong team around that core.

Long-time MWL president Bill Walters passed away on February 10. Power was shared by the three VPs during the season, with Ed Larson as acting president; George Spelius succeeded to office after a September vote.

Composite Record for Each Team

                Nickname  Affiliate Won Lost  Pct (Rank)
Appleton        Foxes     White Sox  56  83  .403 (11)
Beloit          Brewers   Brewers    70  69  .504  (6)
Burlington      Expos     Expos      69  71  .493  (8)
                           (ten players were contributed by the Royals)
Cedar Rapids    Reds      Reds       70  70  .500  (7)
Clinton         Giants    Giants     63  76  .453  (9)
Kenosha         Twins     Twins      46  92  .333 (12)
Madison         Muskies   Athletics  86  54  .614  (2)
Peoria          Chiefs    Cubs       77  63  .550  (4)
Quad City       Angels    Angels     62  78  .443 (10)
Springfield     Cardinals Cardinals  87  53  .621  (1)
Waterloo        Indians   Indians    78  62  .557  (3)
Wausau          Timbers   Mariners   73  66  .525  (5)

Divisional Record

Northern
Madison      86 54 .614  ---  
Wausau       73 66 .525 12.5  
Appleton     56 83 .403 29.5  
Kenosha      46 92 .333 39.0  

Central
Waterloo     78 62 .557  --- 
Beloit       70 69 .504  7.5
Cedar Rapids 70 70 .500  8.0 
Clinton      63 76 .453 14.5

Southern
Springfield  87 53 .621  ---
Peoria       77 63 .550 10.0
Burlington   69 71 .493 18.0
Quad City    71 78 .443 25.0

1986 Post-Season

 Round 1:
 Waterloo d. Madison, 2-0
 Peoria d. Springfield, 2-0

 Championship:
 Waterloo d. Peoria, 3-0

1986 All Star Game

Played July 7 at Beloit
Northern Division 4, Southern Division 2
MVP: Mark Howie, Madison (3-1-3-2)

1986 League Changes

• Burlington Expos: Changed affiliations and nickname (from Rangers to Expos).

Sources

• Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Durham: Baseball America, 1997)
• 1986 Baseball Blue Book
• 1987 Baseball America Statistics Report
• 1987 Sporting News Guide
• 1989 Midwest League Record Book
• 1991 & 1995 Midwest League Yearbook