1948 to 1957
From 1948 to 1957, the Illinois State/Mississippi-Ohio Valley/Midwest Leagues contested a single division and played split seasons. Four teams qualified for the playoffs each year. There was some year-to-year experimentation with the playoff format.
Playoff Playoff Format
Year Champion Best Record Teams Rd 1 Champ
1948 West Frankfort West Frankfort 4 3 of 5 3 of 5
1949 Paducah Centralia 4 3 of 5 4 of 7
1950 --- Centralia 4 3 of 5 ---
playoff cancelled due to weather and military callups
1951 Danville Paris 4 2 of 3 2 of 3
1952 Decatur Danville 4 3 of 5 3 of 5
1953 Decatur Decatur 4 3 of 5 3 of 5
1954 Danville Decatur 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1955 Dubuque Dubuque 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1956 Paris Paris 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1957 Decatur Kokomo 4 2 of 3 2 of 3
Reporting note:
Up to 1955, the ISL & the M-OV seem to have called the team with the most wins the Pennant Winner. Beginning with the first MWL season (1956), the league evidently stopped tracking this category.
1958 to 1970
From 1958 to 1970, the Midwest League played a split season with a single division. At most, two teams qualified for the playoff: During this period, the playoff was between the teams who won each half; if one team won both halves, no playoff was held as the champion was clear. The league continued to experiment with the playoff format.
Playoff Playoff
Year Champion Best Record Teams Format
1958 Waterloo Kokomo 2 3 of 5
Kokomo didn't win either half-season race
1959 --- Waterloo 1
Waterloo won both halves
1960 --- Waterloo 1
Waterloo won both halves
1961 Quincy Waterloo 2 3 of 5
1962 Dubuque Waterloo 2 3 of 5
1963 --- Clinton 1
Clinton won both halves
1964 Fox Cities Fox Cities 2 1 of 1
1965 --- Burlington 1
Burlington won both halves
1966 Fox Cities Cedar Rapids 2 2 of 3
1967 Appleton Appleton 2 2 of 3
1968 Quad City Decatur 2 2 of 3
1969 --- Appleton 2
Appleton won both halves
1970 Quincy Quincy 2 2 of 3
Quad City and Decatur tied for second half champion;
QC won a 1-game playoff
1971 to 1981
The Midwest League split into two divisions from 1971 to 1981; they continued to play a split season. There were divisional playoffs between the half-season winners; then the divisional champs played for the league championship. Four qualifying spots were available, but teams who won both half-seasons were awarded byes in the first playoff round.
Playoff Playoff Format
Year Champion Best Record Teams Rd 1 Champ
1971 Quad Cities Appleton 3 1 of 1 2 of 3
Appleton had a first-round bye
1972 Danville Appleton 3 1 of 1 2 of 3
Danville had a first-round bye
1973 Wisconsin Rapids Clinton 4 2 of 3 2 of 3
1974 Danville Wisconsin Rapids 4 2 of 3 2 of 3
1975 Waterloo Waterloo 2 2 of 3
Waterloo and Quad Cities had first-round byes
first round was skipped
1976 Waterloo Waterloo 3 1 of 1 2 of 3
Waterloo had a first-round bye
1977 Burlington Waterloo 3 1 of 1 2 of 3
Waterloo had a first-round bye
1978 Appleton Appleton 4 2 of 3 2 of 3
1979 Quad City Waterloo 4 2 of 3 2 of 3
1980 Waterloo Waterloo 4 2 of 3 2 of 3
1981 Wausau Wausau 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1982 to 1987
Beginning with the 1982 season, the Midwest League had three divisions. The split season was dropped, and a wild card qualifier was added to fill the fourth playoff slot. After the first two-division season, the league finally settled on a playoff format.
Playoff Playoff Format
Year Champion Best Record Teams Rd 1 Champ
1982 Appleton Madison 4 2 of 3 2 of 3
1983 Appleton Appleton 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1984 Appleton Appleton 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1985 Kenosha Appleton 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1986 Waterloo Springfield 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1987 Kenosha Springfield 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1988 to 1994
From 1988 to 1994, the MWL returned to a two-division, split-season format. Four teams qualified for the playoffs; second-half runners up were qualified if a team won both half-season championships.
Playoff Playoff Format
Year Champion Best Record Teams Rd 1 Champ
1988 Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1989 South Bend South Bend 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1990 Quad City Cedar Rapids 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1991 Clinton Clinton 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1992 Cedar Rapids Quad City 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1993 South Bend Clinton 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1994 Cedar Rapids Rockford 4 2 of 3 3 of 5
1995 to 1999
The League split into 3 divisions prior to the 1995 season, and continued with a split season. This created 8 playoff slots, all of which were filled; second-half runners up qualified if a team won both halves. Half-season champions played each other for a divisional championship, and a fictional "wild card" division champion was contested. A third round was added to the playoff format.
Playoff Playoff Format
Year Champion Best Record Teams Rd 1 Rd 2 Champ
1995 Beloit Beloit 8 2 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 5
1996 West Michigan Peoria 8 2 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 5
1997 Lansing West Michigan 8 2 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 5
1998 West Michigan West Michigan 8 2 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 5
1999 Burlington Kane County 8 2 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 5
2000 to present
The MWL returned to two divisions for the 2000 season, and continued the split season. Two half-champions and two wild cards (divisional runners up) qualified from the first half season, with four additional teams (two from each division) qualifying based on second half standings. The first two playoff rounds are played to determine the Divisional Champions (both rounds are best-of-three). The Divisional Champions meet for a best-of-five Championship Series.
Playoff Playoff Format
Year Champion Best Record Teams Rd 1 Rd 2 Champ
2000 Michigan West Michigan 8 2 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 5
2001 Kane County Kane County 8 2 of 3 2 of 3 1 of 1
championship series ended after 1 game due to terrorist
activity of September 11, 2001
2002 Peoria Peoria 8 2 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 5
2003 Lansing Kane County 8 2 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 5
2004 Kane County West Michigan 8 2 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 5
2005 South Bend South Bend 8 2 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 5
2006 West Michigan West Michigan 8 2 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 5
2007 West Michigan West Michigan 8 2 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 5
Much of this information is also presented on MWLguide.com's League Championship Page. The pages have somewhat different emphases, and each contains information which doesn't fit well on the other.
This page originated as the September 6, 1999, Midwest League Tidbit on the Midwest League Mailing List.
Sources
Miles Wolff & Lloyd Johnson; Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Durham: Baseball America, 1997)
Midwest League: 1999 [& 2000] Media Guide & Record Book
Neither source, alone, contains everything you need to know about this series. In fact, I still have questions about some of these things, though I'm certain the facts on this listing are correct.
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