Midwest League 1994

Summary

• Midwest League Champion: Cedar Rapids Kernels (Angels)
• Team with Best Won/Lost Record: Rockford Royals (Royals) 89-50, .640
• Most Valuable Player: Sal Fasano (Rockford/Royals)
• Prospect of the Year: Alex Rodriguez (Appleton/Mariners)
• Manager of the Year: John Mizerock (Rockford/Royals)

• League Attendance: 2,469,999
  • 14 teams in two divisions played a 140 game, split-season schedule.
  • The MWL had teams in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Overview

Composite Record for Each Team

                Nickname        Affiliate    Won Lost  Pct (Rank)
Appleton        Foxes           Mariners     75  64   .540  (4)
Beloit          Snappers        Brewers      76  64   .543  (3)
Burlington      Bees            Expos        55  82   .401 (14)
Cedar Rapids    Kernels         Angels       77  62   .554  (2)
Clinton         LumberKings     Giants       57  82   .410 (13)
Fort Wayne      Wizards         Twins        66  73   .475 (10T)
Kane County     Cougars         Marlins      71  68   .511  (7)
Madison         Hatters         Cardinals    66  73   .475 (10T)
Peoria          Chiefs          Cubs         68  70   .493  (9)
Quad City       River Bandits   Astros       57  81   .413 (12)
Rockford        Royals          Royals       89  50   .640  (1)
South Bend      Silver Hawks    White Sox    72  67   .518  (6)
Springfield     Sultans         Padres       69  71   .493  (8)
West Michigan   Whitecaps       Athletics    74  65   .532  (5)

First Half

Northern Division              Southern Division
Rockford      44 25 .638  ---  Springfield  38 32 .543  ---
Appleton      39 30 .565  5.0  Madison      37 33 .529  1.0
South Bend    38 31 .551  6.0  Peoria       34 35 .493  3.5
Kane County   37 32 .536  7.0  Cedar Rapids 31 38 .449  6.5
Beloit        36 34 .514  8.5  Quad City    29 39 .426  8.0
West Michigan 34 35 .493 10.0  Clinton      28 41 .406  9.5
Fort Wayne    33 36 .478 11.0  Burlington   25 42 .373 11.5

Second Half

Northern Division              Southern Division
Rockford      45 25 .643  ---  Cedar Rapids 46 24 .657  ---
West Michigan 40 30 .571  5.0  Peoria       34 35 .493 11.5
Beloit        40 30 .571  5.0  Springfield  31 39 .443 15.0
Appleton      36 34 .514  9.0  Burlington   30 40 .429 16.0
South Bend    34 36 .486 11.0  Madison      29 40 .420 16.5
Kane County   34 36 .486 11.0  Clinton      29 41 .414 17.0
Fort Wayne    33 37 .471 12.0  Quad City    28 42 .400 18.0

1994 Post Season

Round 1:
Rockford d. West Michigan, 2-0
Cedar Rapids d. Springfield, 2-0

Championship:
Cedar Rapids d. Rockford, 3-1

1994 All-Star Game at Fort Wayne

June 20 at Memorial Stadium.
South 3, North 2
Winning Pitcher: Greg Bobbit (Peoria Chiefs)
Most Valuable Player: Bob Henley (Burlington Bees)

1994 Individual Achievements

Batting

Runs            Ralph Milliard      Kane County       97
Hits            Mike Barger         Appleton         160
Home Runs       Matt Raleigh        Burlington        34
Runs Batted In  Billy McMillon      Kane County      101
Stolen Bases    Earl Johnson        Springfield       80
On Base Pct     Bob Morris          Peoria          .443
Slugging Pct    Matt Raleigh        Burlington      .585
Batting Avg     Carlos Mendez       Rockford        .355

Pitching

Games           Two tied at                           62
Complete Games  Mike Sirotka        South Bend         8
Shutouts        Will Cunnane        Kane County        4
Innings Pitched Mike Sirotka        South Bend       197
Strikeouts      Billy Wagner        Quad City        204
Saves           Jeff Matulevich     Madison           30
Won             Jim Cole            Beloit            18
Earned Run Avg  Will Cunnane        Kane County     1.43

1994 Post Season All-Stars

Catcher                 Sal Fasano      Rockford
First Base              Kevin Millar    Kane County
Second Base             Bob Morris      Peoria
Third Base              Lino Diaz       Rockford
Shortstop               Alex Rodriguez  Appleton
Outfield                Richard Hidalgo Quad City
                        Joe McEwing     Madison
                        Billy McMillon  Kane County
Designated Hitter       Alex Cabrera    Peoria
Left Handed Pitcher     Mike Sirotka    South Bend
Right Handed Pitcher    Jay Witasick    Madison
Reliever                Hank Tagle      South Bend
                        Matt Mantei     Appleton

1994 Awards

Most Valuable Player    Sal Fasano      Rockford
Prospect of the Year    Alex Rodriguez  Appleton
Manager of the Year     John Mizerock   Rockford
Executive of the Year   Scott Lane      West Michigan

1994 League Information

Officers

President  George Spelius   Beloit, WI

Umpires

#  Name                 Hometown
 2 Michael Schuck       Selma, IN
 3 John Creek           Kalamazoo, MI
 4 Dan Gnadt            Moorhead, MN
 5 Scott Higgins        Bremerton, WA
 6 Troy Blades          Nova Scotia, Canada
 7 Mark Esau            Concordia, KS
 8 Alfonso Marquez      Fullerton, CA
 9 Stephen Willard      Pickerington, OH
14 Daryn Fredrickson    Hallock, MN
20 Ron Kulpa            Florissant, MO
26 Charles Morrison     Loxahatcee, FL
   Steve Rackley
   Jason Gibbons
   Mike Fichter         Lansing, IL
   Scott Bayley
   Mark Carlson

Known Pairs

Schuck-Rackley
Willard-Bayley
Rackley-Carlson
Gibbons-Fichter
Blades-Esau

More information about the umpire crews (any year) is certainly welcome.

1994 Team Information

Leadership

                Joined
                MWL    President               GM
Appleton        1962   John Wollner            Frank Gahl
Beloit          1982   Dennis Conerton         Steve Kretz
Burlington      1962   Dave Walker             Ryan Richeal
Cedar Rapids    1962   Wally Krouse            Jack Roeder
Clinton         1956   Ed Nemmers              Kevin Temperly
Fort Wayne      1993                           Mike Tatoian
Kane County     1991                           Bill Larsen
Madison         1994                           Tom O'Reilly
Peoria          1983   Pete Vonachen           Pete Vonachen
Quad City       1960                           Dan Kable
Rockford        1988   Mark McGuire            Mike Holmes
South Bend      1988   John Baxter             John Tull
Springfield     1982   Tom Dickson             Jay Brazeau
West Michigan   1994   Dennis Baxter           Scott Lane

Coaching Staff

                Manager          Coaches
Appleton        Carlos Lezcano   Juan Eichelberger*
Beloit          Wayne Krenchicki Steve Foucault*    Jon Pont
Burlington      Lorenzo Bundy    Jeff Fischer*      Steve Alonzo
Cedar Rapids    Tom Lawless      Joe Georger*       Charlie Romero
Clinton         Jack Mull        Steve Lienhard*    Glenn Tufts
Fort Wayne      Jim Dwyer        Stu Cliburn*
Kane County     Lynn Jones       Brian Peterson*    Rod Allen
Madison         Joe Cunningham   Ray Searage*
Peoria          Steve Roadcap    Alan Dunn*         Joe Tanner
Quad City       Steve Dillard    Gary Lucas*        Cesar Cedeno
Rockford        John Mizerock    Tom Burgmeier*     Cliff Pastornicky
South Bend      Mike Gellinger   Jaime Garcia*      Pat Roessler      Jim Reinebold
Springfield     Ed Romero        Saul Saltero*
West Michigan   Jim Colborn      Gil Patterson*

*pitching coaches

Ballparks

                             Stadium                  Capacity Attendance
Appleton                     Goodland Field            4,000       76,281
Beloit                       Harry C Pohlman Field     3,000       60,650
Burlington                   Community Field           3,500       83,927
Cedar Rapids                 Veterans Memorial Stadium 6,000      137,795
Clinton                      Riverview Stadium         3,000       62,317
Fort Wayne                   Memorial Stadium          6,000      266,670
Kane County (Geneva, IL)     Philip B Elfstrom Stadium 4,800      417,744
Madison                      Warner Park               3,275       69,060
Peoria                       Pete Vonachen Stadium     6,200      176,703
Quad City (Davenport, IA)    John O'Donnell Stadium    5,200      260,471
Rockford                     Marinelli Field           4,300       70,527
South Bend                   Stanley Coveleski Stadium 5,000      258,424
Springfield                  Lanphier Park             5,000       54,218
West Michigan (Grand Rapids) Old Kent Park             5,500      475,212

MWL changes during the 1993-94 off-season

Franchise changes

• Clinton LumberKings changed name (from Giants).
• Madison Hatters moved (from Springfield) and changed names (from Cardinals).
• South Bend Silver Hawks changed name (from White Sox).
• Sultans of Springfield moved (from Waterloo) and changed name (from Diamonds). This move occurred in April, shortly before the season began.
• West Michigan Whitecaps moved (from Madison) and changed name (from Muskies).

Other highlights

West Michigan's Old Kent Park was new.

Sources:

• 1994 Yearbooks for Kernels, Whitecaps, Silver Hawks
• Cougars Yearbook (Jon Mielke)
• USA Today Baseball Weekly
• Baseball America
• Baseball America's 1995 Almanac
• Carrie Packard (Clinton assistant GM)
• Branson White's Rookie Season