The regular season of the Mid-West Winter League has come to an end. It could have not come any sooner for my poor Traverse City Tigers who crashed from first to last over the 1989 season; Going from 96-66 to 56-106 -- a forty game difference!
Enough about my team for now (that's for another post), The Fort Worth Panthers won the American League East from last year's World Champions, the Chicago Demolition. Last season, the Demolition won the division by 40 games, this year they will still go to the playoffs as one of the A.L. Wild Card teams, with a 105-57 record. The Panthers won the east by 7 games, going 112-50. The Demolition will be shooting for their 3rd World Title in four years, they won it all in 1986 & 1988 -- and their 4th overall (The won their first in 1972).
The Panthers are no strangers to playoff success, they won three straight World Championships in the MWWL from 1982-1984 -- The only team to three-peat in the history of the league.
With all of the off-season moves by both the Detroit Stars and Mexico City Chihuahuas, it's not a surprise that they were the top two teams in the American League West. Detroit (106-56) edged Mexico City (104-58) by 2 games for the division title. The Stars won their 5th Division title, first in 4 years -- their 106 wins was the most since their peak-era late 70's teams, in which they won three straight divisions (1977-1979). They went to the World Series in 1978 & 1979 -- winning it all in 1978 over the Long Beach Titans. The Chihuahuas return to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus, and their best season in franchise history.
In the National League, the battles for the division titles were not anywhere as close as the American League teams. The Manhattan Gas Hornets won their third straight division title, by winning the N.L. East with a 111-51 record. The N.L. West was won by the Steel City Sluggers with a MWWL best record of 117-45. For the Sluggers, it was their second consecutive division title; Manhattan will be trying for their 2nd MWWL title in 3 years.
The race for the two National League Wild Cards is where the excitement was, as it came between three to four teams. In the end, the N.L. East's Valdosta Bombers (94-68) and N.L. West's Clovis Cougars (93-69) moved on to the playoffs, as the Michigan Marauders (N.L. East) just missed out at 92-70 -- with the Germantown Grays further back at 83-79. The Cougars had their most successful season in their three-year history, improving each year.
There was six 100-game winners & six 100-game losers during the season.
The A.L. Division Series Matchups
Chicago Demolition @ Detroit Stars
Mexico City Chihuahuas @ Fort Worth Panthers
The N.L. Division Series Matchups
Clovis Cougars @ Steel City Sluggers
Valdosta Bombers @ Manhattan Gas Hornets
Love it!
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