Midwest League 1998

Summary

• Midwest League Champion: West Michigan (Tigers)
• Team with Best Won/Lost Record: West Michigan (Tigers) 83-57, .593

• Most Valuable Player: Pablo Ozuna (Peoria/Cardinals)
• Prospect of the Year: Pablo Ozuna (Peoria/Cardinals)
• Manager of the Year: Billy Gardner, Jr. (Michigan/Red Sox)
• Executive of the Year: Mike Birling (General Manager, Wisconsin)

• League Attendance: 2,892,327
  • 14 teams in three divisions played a 140 game, split-season schedule which began on April 9 and ended on September 7. A three-tier post-season which included two wild card selections determined the league champion.
  • The MWL had teams in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

• Best Big League Career: Shea Hillenbrand (Michigan/Red Sox)

Overview

Composite Record for Each Team

                Nickname        Affiliate    Won Lost  Pct (Rank)
Beloit          Snappers        Brewers      64  75   .460 (12)
Burlington      Bees            Reds         63  77   .450 (13)
Cedar Rapids    Kernels         Angels       71  69   .507  (8T)
Clinton         LumberKings     Padres       65  73   .471 (11)
Fort Wayne      Wizards         Twins        79  61   .564  (2T)
Kane County     Cougars         Marlins      69  71   .493 (10)
Lansing         Lugnuts         Royals       71  69   .507  (8T)
Michigan        Battle Cats     Red Sox      79  61   .564  (2T)
Peoria          Chiefs          Cardinals    72  68   .514  (6)
Quad City       River Bandits   Astros       77  62   .554  (4)
Rockford        Cubbies         Cubs         71  68   .511  (7)
South Bend      Silver Hawks    Diamondbacks 40 100   .286 (14)
West Michigan   Whitecaps       Tigers       83  57   .593  (1)
Wisconsin       Timber Rattlers Mariners     72  65   .526  (5)

First Half

West         W  L   Pct  GB  Central     W  L   Pct  GB  East          W  L   Pct  GB
Quad City    40 31 .563  --- Wisconsin   39 30 .565  --- West Michigan 43 29 .597  ---
Cedar Rapids 40 32 .556  0.5 Kane County 36 36 .500  4.5 Fort Wayne    41 31 .569  2.0
Burlington   36 36 .500  4.5 Beloit      35 36 .493  5.0 Lansing       37 35 .514  6.0
Clinton      30 40 .429  9.5 Peoria      34 38 .472  6.5 Michigan      36 36 .500  7.0
                             Rockford    32 39 .451  8.0 South Bend    21 51 .292 22.0

First half ended on June 21.

Second Half

West         W  L   Pct  GB  Central     W  L   Pct  GB  East          W  L   Pct  GB
Quad City    37 31 .544  --- Rockford    39 29 .574  --- Michigan      43 25 .632  ---
Clinton      35 33 .515  2.0 Peoria      38 30 .559  1.0 West Michigan 40 28 .588  3.0
Cedar Rapids 31 37 .456  6.0 Wisconsin   33 35 .485  6.0 Fort Wayne    38 30 .559  5.0
Burlington   27 41 .397 10.0 Kane County 33 35 .485  6.0 Lansing       34 34 .500  9.0
                             Beloit      29 39 .426 10.0 South Bend    19 49 .279 24.0

1998 Post Season

Round 1:
West Michigan d. Michigan, 2-1
Rockford d. Wisconsin, 2-1
Clinton d. Quad City, 2-1
Fort Wayne d. Peoria, 2-1

Round 2:
West Michigan d. Clinton, 2-0
Rockford d. Fort Wayne, 2-0

Championship:
West Michigan d. Rockford, 3-1

1998 All Star Game

June 23 @ Clinton, Iowa
West 7, East 4

          line score unavailable

WP: Tom Shearn (Quad City/Astros)
LP: Matt Miller (West Michigan/Tigers)
MVP: Ross Gload (Kane County/Marlins)

Box Score and Details

MWL changes during the 1997-98 off-season

Franchise changes

• No team moves, name changes, or affiliation changes.

Other highlights

West Michigan's Old Kent Park added about 120 seats.
Wisconsin's Fox Cities Stadium added 888 seats.

Sources:

• 1998 NAPBL Orange Book
• The National Association's Baseball News
• USA Today Baseball Weekly
• Baseball America
• The Minor League Baseball website
• Assorted correspondents
• 1998 & 1999 Programs/Yearbooks:
  • 1998 & 1999 Michigan Battle Cats
  • 1998 & 1999 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
  • 1998 & 1999 Lansing Lugnuts
  • 1998 Quad City River Bandits
  • 1998 Burlington Bees
  • 1998 Beloit Snappers
  • 1998 Rockford Cubbies
  • 1999 Clinton LumberKings
  • 1999 Fort Wayne Wizards