Midwest League 2009

Summary

• Midwest League Champion: Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres)
• Team with Best Won/Lost Record: Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres) 94-46, .671

• Most Valuable Players: Dee Gordon & Kyle Russell (both Great Lakes/Dodgers)
• Prospect of the Year: Dee Gordon (Great Lakes/Dodgers)
• Managers of the Year: Doug Dascenzo (Fort Wayne/Padres) & Marty Pevey (Peoria/Cubs)
• Executive of the Year: Mike Nutter (Fort Wayne TinCaps)

• League Attendance: 3,629,038
  • 14 teams in two divisions played a 140 game, split-season schedule which began on April 9 and ended on September 7. 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: It will be a few years....

Overview

Composite Record for Each Team

                   Nickname        Affiliate    Won Lost  Pct (Rank)
Beloit             Snappers        Twins        57  83   .407 (13)
Burlington         Bees            Royals       64  75   .460  (8)
Cedar Rapids       Kernels         Angels       78  60   .565  (5)
Clinton            LumberKings     Mariners     69  68   .504  (7)
Dayton             Dragons         Reds         59  80   .424 (11)
Fort Wayne         TinCaps         Padres       94  46   .671  (1)
Great Lakes        Loons           Dodgers      81  59   .579  (3T)
Kane County        Cougars         Athletics    76  64   .543  (6)
Lansing            Lugnuts         Blue Jays    54  84   .391 (14)
Peoria             Chiefs          Cubs         81  57   .587  (2)
Quad Cities        River Bandits   Cardinals    61  78   .439  (9)
South Bend         Silver Hawks    Diamondbacks 59  78   .431 (10)
West Michigan      Whitecaps       Tigers       81  59   .579  (3T)
Wisconsin          Timber Rattlers Brewers      58  81   .417 (12)

First Half

West          W  L   Pct   GB  East            W  L   Pct   GB
Kane County   41 29 .586  ---  Fort Wayne      45 25 .643  ---
Cedar Rapids  40 30 .571  1.0  West Michigan   43 27 .614  2.0
Clinton       40 30 .571  1.0  Great Lakes     40 30 .571  5.0
Peoria        38 31 .551  2.5  Dayton          28 42 .400 17.0
Wisconsin     34 36 .486  7.0  South Bend      27 41 .397 17.0
Quad Cities   30 40 .429 11.0  Lansing         26 43 .377 18.5
Burlington    29 41 .414 12.0  
Beloit        27 43 .386 14.0

First half ended on June 21.

Second Half

West          W  L   Pct   GB  East            W  L   Pct   GB
Peoria        43 26 .623  ---  Fort Wayne      49 21 .700  ---
Cedar Rapids  38 30 .559  4.5  Great Lakes     41 29 .586  8.0
Burlington    35 34 .507  8.0  West Michigan   38 32 .543 11.0
Kane County   35 35 .500  8.5  South Bend      32 37 .464 16.5
Quad Cities   31 38 .449 12.0  Dayton          31 38 .449 17.5
Clinton       29 38 .433 13.0  Lansing         28 41 .406 20.5
Beloit        30 40 .429 13.5
Wisconsin     24 45 .348 19.0

2009 Post-Season

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

2009 All Star Game

June 23 @ Clinton, Iowa
East 6, West 3

        East  001 400 100 - 6 12 1
        West  000 100 100 - 3  8 0

WP: Anthony Bass (Fort Wayne/Padres)
LP: Tyler Chatwood (Cedar Rapids/Angels)
MVP: Sawyer Carroll (Fort Wayne/Padres)

Box Score and Details

2009 League Changes

• Fort Wayne TinCaps: Name change (from Wizards); new uniforms; new ballpark (Parkview Field).
• Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: Affiliation change (from Mariners to Brewers).
• Clinton LumberKings: Affiliation change (from Rangers to Mariners).

Other Highlights

• Kane County Cougars: Elfstrom Stadium has been substantially rebuilt.

Sources

• Baseball America
• 2009 Baseball America Directory
• 2009 Baseball Blue Book
• 2010 Baseball America Almanac (well, when it arrives....)
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• Team websites
• The Minor League Baseball website
• Assorted correspondents
• 2009 Programs/Yearbooks:
  • 2009 Lansing Lugnuts