Midwest League 1997

Summary

• Midwest League Champion: Lansing Lugnuts (Royals)
• Team with Best Won/Lost Record: West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers) 92-39, .702

• Most Valuable Player: Robert Fick (West Michigan/Tigers)
• Prospect of the Year: Brent Butler (Peoria/Cardinals)
• Manager of the Year: Bruce Fields (West Michigan/Tigers)
• Executive of the Year: Jim Weigel (General Manager, Lansing)

• League Attendance: 2,953,277
  • 14 teams in three divisions played a 140 game, split-season schedule that began on April 4 and ended on August 31. A three-tier post-season playoff determined the league champion.
  • The MWL had teams in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

• Best Big League Career: Robert Fick (West Michigan/Tigers) or Ramon Ortiz (Cedar Rapids/Angels)

Overview

Composite Record for Each Team

                Nickname        Affiliate    Won Lost  Pct (Rank)
Beloit          Snappers        Brewers      60  73   .451 (11)
Burlington      Bees            Reds         72  68   .514  (3)
Cedar Rapids    Kernels         Angels       62  76   .449 (12)
Clinton         LumberKings     Padres       65  71   .478 (10)
Fort Wayne      Wizards         Twins        68  67   .504  (6)
Kane County     Cougars         Marlins      70  68   .507  (5)
Lansing         Lugnuts         Royals       69  68   .504  (7)
Michigan        Battle Cats     Red Sox      70  67   .511  (4)
Peoria          Chiefs          Cardinals    70  69   .504  (8)
Quad City       River Bandits   Astros       59  75   .440 (13)
Rockford        Cubbies         Cubs         66  66   .500  (9)
South Bend      Silver Hawks    Diamondbacks 54  83   .394 (14)
West Michigan   Whitecaps       Tigers       92  39   .702  (1)
Wisconsin       Timber Rattlers Mariners     76  63   .547  (2)

First Half

West         W  L   Pct  GB  Central     W  L   Pct  GB  East          W  L   Pct  GB
Burlington   39 31 .557  --- Wisconsin   40 29 .580  --- West Michigan 46 17 .730  ---
Clinton      33 34 .493  4.5 Rockford    32 32 .500  5.5 Michigan      38 31 .551 11.0
Quad City    26 38 .406 10.0 Beloit      32 32 .500  5.5 Lansing       34 34 .500 14.5
Cedar Rapids 26 43 .377 12.5 Peoria      34 35 .493  6.0 Fort Wayne    32 33 .492 15.0
                             Kane County 33 37 .471  7.5 South Bend    24 43 .358 24.0

First half ended on June 15.

Second Half

West         W  L   Pct  GB  Central     W  L   Pct  GB  East          W  L   Pct  GB
Cedar Rapids 36 33 .522  --- Kane County 37 31 .544  --- West Michigan 46 22 .676  ---
Quad City    33 37 .471  3.5 Wisconsin   36 34 .514  2.0 Fort Wayne    36 34 .514 11.0
Burlington   33 37 .471  3.5 Peoria      36 34 .514  2.0 Lansing       35 34 .507 11.5
Clinton      32 37 .464  4.0 Rockford    34 34 .500  3.0 Michigan      32 36 .471 14.0
                             Beloit      28 41 .406  9.5 South Bend    30 40 .429 17.0

1997 Post Season

Round 1:
 Cedar Rapids d. Burlington, 2-0
 Kane County d. Wisconsin, 2-0
 Fort Wayne d. West Michigan, 2-0
 Lansing d. Michigan, 2-1
Round 2:
 Lansing d. Fort Wayne, 2-0
 Kane County d. Cedar Rapids, 2-0
Championship:
 Lansing d. Kane County, 3-2

1997 All Star Game

June 17 @ Lansing, Michigan
East 7, West 5

          West  000 401 000 - 5  5 1
          East  301 001 001 - 6 11 3

WP: Dennis Stark (Wisconsin/Mariners)
LP: Martin Sanchez (Kane County/Marlins)
MVP: John Barnes (Michigan/Red Sox)

Box Score and Details

MWL changes during the 1996-97 off-season

Franchise changes

• The Burlington Bees changed affiliation (Giants to Reds).
• The South Bend Silver Hawks changed affiliation (White Sox to Diamondbacks) and adopted a new logo.
• The West Michigan Whitecaps changed affiliation (Athletics to Tigers).

Other highlights

Lansing's Olds Park and Michigan's C.O. Brown Stadium expanded their seating capacity.
Community Field in Burlington had its outfield fences moved out.

Sources:

• 1997 NAPBL Orange Book
• The National Association's Baseball News
• USA Today Baseball Weekly
• Baseball America
• The Minor League Baseball website
• Assorted correspondents (especially Rich Hanson)
• 1997 & 1998 Programs/Yearbooks:
  • 1997 South Bend Silver Hawks
  • 1997 West Michigan Whitecaps
  • 1997 & 1998 Michigan Battle Cats
  • 1997 & 1998 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
  • 1997 & 1998 Lansing Lugnuts
  • 1997 & 1998 Quad City River Bandits
  • 1997 & 1998 Burlington Bees
  • 1997 & 1998 Beloit Snappers
  • 1998 Rockford Cubbies