Midwest League 2004

Summary

• Midwest League Champion: West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers)
• Team with Best Won/Lost Record: Kane County Cougars (Athletics) 83-56; .597

• Most Valuable Player: Brian Dopirak (Lansing/Cubs)
• Prospect of the Year: Brian Dopirak (Lansing/Cubs)
• Manager of the Year: Dave Joppie (Kane County/Athletics)
• Executive of the Year: Mike Nutter (Fort Wayne Wizards)

• League Attendance: 3,505,556
  • 14 teams in two divisions played a 140 game, split-season schedule which began on April 8 and ended on September 6. A three-tiered post-season playoff determined the league champion.
  • The MWL had teams in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

• Best Big League Career: It will be a few years....

Overview

Composite Record for Each Team

                Nickname        Affiliate    Won Lost  Pct (Rank)
Battle Creek    Yankees         Yankees      71  68   .511  (9)
Beloit          Snappers        Brewers      72  68   .514  (7T)
Burlington      Bees            Royals       56  84   .400 (13)
Cedar Rapids    Kernels         Angels       75  64   .540  (4T)
Clinton         LumberKings     Rangers      74  64   .536  (6)
Dayton          Dragons         Reds         48  92   .343 (14)
Fort Wayne      Wizards         Padres       72  68   .514  (7T)
Kane County     Cougars         Athletics    83  56   .597  (1)
Lansing         Lugnuts         Cubs         77  63   .550  (2T)
Peoria          Chiefs          Cardinals    75  64   .540  (4T)
Quad Cities     Swing           Twins        68  68   .500 (10)
South Bend      Silver Hawks    Diamondbacks 77  63   .550  (2T)
West Michigan   Whitecaps       Tigers       69  70   .496 (11)
Wisconsin       Timber Rattlers Mariners     57  82   .410 (12)

First Half

West           W  L   Pct   GB East            W  L   Pct   GB
Kane County    43 26 .623  --- South Bend      42 28 .600  ---  
Cedar Rapids   42 27 .609  1.0 Lansing         38 32 .543  4.0  
Peoria         38 31 .551  5.0 Battle Creek    33 36 .478  8.5  
Beloit         38 32 .543  5.5 Fort Wayne      33 37 .471  9.0
Clinton        35 33 .515  7.5 West Michigan   29 40 .420 12.5  
Quad Cities    33 33 .500  8.5 Dayton          27 43 .386 15.0  
Wisconsin      31 38 .449 12.0
Burlington     22 48 .314 21.5 

First half ended on June 20.

Second Half

West           W  L   Pct   GB East            W  L   Pct   GB
Kane County    40 30 .571  --- West Michigan   40 30 .571  ---
Clinton        39 31 .557  1.0 Fort Wayne      39 31 .557  1.0
Peoria         37 33 .529  3.0 Lansing         39 31 .557  1.0
Quad Cities    35 35 .500  5.0 Battle Creek    38 32 .543  2.0
Beloit         34 36 .486  6.0 South Bend      35 35 .500  5.0
Burlington     34 36 .486  6.0 Dayton          21 49 .300 19.0
Cedar Rapids   33 37 .471  7.0
Wisconsin      26 44 .371 14.0

2004 Post-Season

 Round 1:
Clinton d. Cedar Rapids, 2-0
South Bend d. Fort Wayne, 2-0
Kane County d. Peoria, 2-1
West Michigan d. Lansing, 2-1  
 Round 2:
Kane County d. Clinton, 2-0
West Michigan d. South Bend, 2-0
 Championship:
West Michigan d. Kane County, 3-2

2004 All Star Game

June 22 @ Cedar Rapids, Iowa
West 6, East 3

         East    001 020 000 -  3  4 2
         West    010 050 00X -  6 11 0

WP: Ryan Feierabend (Wisconsin/Mariners)
Sv: Jairo Garcia (Kane County/Athletics)
LP: Dirk Hayhurst (Fort Wayne/Padres)
MVP: Mitch Maier (Burlington/Royals)

Box Score and Details

2004 League Changes

• The Swing of the Quad Cities changed their name (from Quad City River Bandits) and rebuilt John O'Donnell Stadium.

Other Highlights

• The Dayton Dragons replaced the scoreboard at Fifth Third Field.

Sources

• Baseball America
• 2004 Baseball America Directory
• 2004 Baseball Blue Book
• 2005 Baseball America Almanac
• 2005 Sporting News Baseball Guide
• Team websites
• The Minor League Baseball website
• Assorted correspondents
• 2004 & 2005 Programs/Yearbooks:
  • 2004 Battle Creek Yankees
  • 2004 West Michigan Whitecaps
  • 2004 & 2005 Lansing Lugnuts
  • 2004 Beloit Snappers
  • 2005 Southwest Michigan Devil Rays
  • 2005 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers