Midwest League 2000

Summary

• Midwest League Champion: Michigan Battle Cats (Astros)
• Team with Best Won/Lost Record: West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers) 88-52, .629

• Most Valuable Player: Albert Pujols (Peoria/Cardinals)
• Prospects of the Year: Albert Pujols (Peoria/Cardinals) and Austin Kearns (Dayton/Reds)
• Manager of the Year: Bruce Fields (West Michigan/Tigers)
• Executive of the Year: Robert Murphy (President, Dayton)

• League Attendance: 3,268,473
  • 14 teams in two divisions played a 140 game, split-season schedule which began on April 6 and ended on September 4. A three-tier post-season playoff determined the league champion.
  • The MWL had teams in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

• Best Big League Career: Albert Pujols (Peoria/Cardinals)

Overview

Composite Record for Each Team

                Nickname        Affiliate    Won Lost  Pct (Rank)
Beloit          Snappers        Brewers      71  64   .526  (5)
Burlington      Bees            White Sox    51  88   .367 (14)
Cedar Rapids    Kernels         Angels       53  86   .381 (13)
Clinton         LumberKings     Reds         71  69   .507  (9)
Dayton          Dragons         Reds         70  67   .511  (7)
Fort Wayne      Wizards         Padres       72  65   .526  (6)
Kane County     Cougars         Marlins      74  65   .532  (4)
Lansing         Lugnuts         Cubs         70  68   .507  (8)
Michigan        Battle Cats     Astros       82  56   .594  (2)
Peoria          Chiefs          Cardinals    63  74   .460 (11)
Quad City       River Bandits   Twins        64  75   .460 (10)
South Bend      Silver Hawks    Diamondbacks 60  78   .435 (12)
West Michigan   Whitecaps       Tigers       88  52   .629  (1)
Wisconsin       Timber Rattlers Mariners     78  60   .565  (3)

First Half

Western Division

West          W  L   Pct   GB  East          W  L   Pct   GB
Beloit        41 26 .612   --- West Michigan 44 26 .629   ---
Wisconsin     38 30 .559   3.5 Fort Wayne    36 31 .537   6.5
Quad City     37 32 .536   5.0 Lansing       36 32 .529   7.0
Kane County   36 33 .522   6.0 Michigan      34 34 .500   9.0
Clinton       33 37 .471   9.5 Dayton        31 36 .463  11.5
Peoria        30 39 .435  12.0 South Bend    28 40 .412  15.0
Burlington    29 40 .420  13.0 
Cedar Rapids  26 43 .377  16.0 

First half ended on June 18.

Second Half

West          W  L   Pct   GB  East          W  L   Pct   GB
Wisconsin     40 30 .571   --- Michigan      48 22 .686   ---
Kane County   38 32 .543   2.0 West Michigan 44 26 .629   4.0
Clinton       38 32 .543   2.0 Dayton        39 31 .557   9.0
Peoria        33 35 .485   6.0 Fort Wayne    36 34 .514  12.0
Beloit        30 38 .441   9.0 Lansing       34 36 .486  14.0
Quad City     27 43 .386  13.0 South Bend    32 38 .457  16.0
Cedar Rapids  27 43 .386  13.0
Burlington    22 48 .314  18.0

2000 Post Season

Round 1:
Beloit d. Clinton, 2-1
Wisconsin d. Kane County, 2-1
Dayton d. West Michigan, 2-1
Michigan d. Fort Wayne, 2-1

Round 2:
Beloit d. Wisconsin, 2-1
Michigan d. Dayton, 2-0

Championship:
Michigan d. Beloit, 3-0

2000 All Star Game

June 20 @ Geneva (Kane County), Illinois
West 5, East 3

          East     101 000 100 - 3  6 1
          West     000 004 10x - 5 10 3

WP: Bryan Moore (Kane County/Marlins)
Sv: Juan Padilla (Quad City/Cardinals)
LP: John Webb (Lansing/Cubs)
MVP: Matt Padgett (Kane County/Marlins)

Box Score and Details

MWL changes during the 1999-2000 off-season

Franchise changes

• The Dayton Dragons moved (from Rockford) and changed nicknames (from Reds).

Other highlights

Dayton's Fifth Third Field was new.
Kane County's Elfstrom Stadium had major off-season improvements, including 1544 new seats.
There was construction at Burlington's Community Field, and South Bend's Coveleski Stadium had significant work on the playing field.

Dayton's home opener was delayed to accomodate construction problems. The resulting schedule adjustments resulted in 71 scheduled home dates in Dayton, and 69 for Clinton.

Sources:

• USA Today Baseball Weekly
• Baseball America
• Team websites
• The Minor League Baseball website
• Assorted correspondents
• 2000 & 2001 Programs/Yearbooks:
  • 2000 & 2001 Michigan Battle Cats
  • 2000 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
  • 2000 South Bend Silver Hawks
  • 2001 Burlington Bees
  • 2001 Quad City River Bandits