Nickname Affiliate Won Lost Pct (Rank)
Beloit Snappers Brewers 69 67 .507 (6T)
Burlington Bees Giants 65 73 .471 (11)
Cedar Rapids Kernels Angels 63 72 .467 (12)
Clinton LumberKings Padres 64 70 .478 (10)
Fort Wayne Wizards Twins 69 67 .507 (6T)
Kane County Cougars Marlins 65 68 .489 (9)
Lansing Lugnuts Royals 68 71 .489 (8)
Michigan Battle Cats Red Sox 60 78 .435 (13)
Peoria Chiefs Cardinals 79 57 .581 (1)
Quad City River Bandits Astros 70 61 .534 (4)
Rockford Cubbies Cubs 70 65 .519 (5)
South Bend Silver Hawks White Sox 54 82 .397 (14)
West Michigan Whitecaps Athletics 77 61 .558 (3)
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Mariners 77 58 .570 (2)
Western Division Central Division Eastern Division
Quad City 34 28 .548 --- Wisconsin 46 21 .687 --- West Michigan 38 30 .559 ---
Burlington 34 34 .500 3.0 Peoria 37 29 .561 8.5 Fort Wayne 34 32 .515 3.0
Clinton 31 34 .477 4.5 Kane County 30 33 .476 14.0 South Bend 30 36 .455 7.0
Cedar Rapids 29 38 .433 7.5 Beloit 31 35 .470 14.5 Michigan 31 38 .449 7.5
Rockford 30 36 .455 15.5 Lansing 29 40 .420 9.5
Western Division Central Division Eastern Division
Quad City 36 33 .522 --- Peoria 42 28 .600 --- West Michigan 39 31 .557 ---
Cedar Rapids 34 34 .500 1.5 Rockford 40 29 .580 1.5 Lansing 39 31 .557 ---
Clinton 33 36 .478 3.0 Beloit 38 32 .543 4.0 Fort Wayne 35 35 .500 4.0
Burlington 31 39 .443 5.5 Kane County 35 35 .500 7.0 Michigan 29 40 .420 9.5
Wisconsin 31 37 .456 10.0 South Bend 24 46 .343 15.0
Round 1:
Quad City d. Cedar Rapids, 2-1
Wisconsin d. Peoria, 2-1
West Michigan d. Lansing, 2-1
Rockford d. Beloit, 2-1
Round 2:
Wisconsin d. Quad City, 2-1
West Michigan d. Rockford, 2-0
Championship:
West Michigan d. Wisconsin, 3-1
June 18 at Fox Cities Stadium.
Eastern Teams 10, Western Teams 4
WP: Shannon Stephens (Kane County); LP: Valerio de los Santos (Beloit)
MVP: Jeff Liefer (South Bend), 2-2-2-3 (one double)
Games Mike Kinkade Beloit 135
Jose Cepeda Lansing 135
At Bats Jose Cepeda Lansing 558
Runs Mike Kinkade Beloit 104
Hits Jose Cepeda Lansing 161
Home Runs Larry Barnes Cedar Rapids 27
Runs Batted In Larry Barnes Cedar Rapids 112
Stolen Bases Kerry Robinson Peoria 50
Justin Baughman Cedar Rapids 50
On Base Pct Scott Vieira Rockford .451
Slugging Pct Larry Barnes Cedar Rapids .577
Batting Avg Kerry Robinson Peoria .359
Games Santos Hernandez Burlington 61
Complete Games Valerio de los Santos Beloit 5
Carlos Castillo South Bend 5
Victor Hurtado Kane County 5
Shutouts Nineteen tied at 1
Innings Pitched Juan Pena Michigan 188
Strikeouts Britt Reames Peoria 167
Saves Santos Hernandez Burlington 35
Won Brandon Kolb Clinton 16
Earned Run Avg Britt Reames Peoria 1.90
First Base Larry Barnes Cedar Rapids
Second Base Andy Hall Peoria
Third Base Mike Kinkade Beloit
Shortstop Deivi Cruz Burlington
Outfield Kerry Robinson Peoria
Brian Simmons South Bend
Don Denbow Burlington
Catcher Ramon Hernandez West Michigan
Designated Hitter Jeff Liefer South Bend
Left Handed Pitcher Valerio de los Santos Beloit
Right Handed Pitcher Britt Reames Peoria
Left Handed Reliever Armando Almanza Peoria
Right Handed Reliever Santos Hernandez Burlington
Most Valuable Player Larry Barnes Cedar Rapids
Prospect of the Year Britt Reames Peoria
Manager of the Year Roy Silver Peoria
Executive of the Year Scott Lane West Michigan
1996 League Information
President George Spelius Beloit, WI
# Name Hometown
2 Pat Riley Rohnert Park, CA
3 Mike VanVleet Battle Creek, MI
3 Justin Klemm Brentwood, NY
4 Mark Hutchison Kansas City, MO
5 Jeff Spedoske Lansing, MI
6 John Lomavaya Tempe, AZ
7 Mark Winters Pleasant Plains, IL
8 Jon Wolfe Dallas, TX
9 Pat McGinnis Joliet, IL
10 Brian McCraw Port St. Lucie, FL
11 Dennis Schenkenberger Aurora, CO
12 Tim Clougherty Raleigh, NC
12 Chris Guccione Lakewood, CO
14 Scott Griggs Scottsdale, AZ
15 Bill Haze Scottsdale, AZ
16 Mark Carlson Joliet, IL
16 Brian Knight Helena, MT
Ramon Armendariz Oceanside, CA
Pairings:
Riley-Schenkenberger
Klemm-Spedoske
Hutchison-McGinnis
Hutchison-Armendariz
Lomavaya-McCraw
Haze-Griggs
Clougherty-Carlson
Winters-Wolfe
Guccione-Knight
1996 Team Information
Joined
MWL President GM
Beloit 1982 Dennis Conerton Jeff Nelson
Burlington 1962 David Walker Chuck Heeman
Cedar Rapids 1962 Wally Krouse Jack Roeder
Clinton 1956 Wally Schilling Leasa Brown
Fort Wayne 1993 Mike Tatoian
Kane County 1991 Bill Larsen
Lansing 1996 Jim Weigel
Michigan 1995 William Collins, Jr Tim Cullen
Peoria 1983 Pete Vonachen Rocky Vonachen
Quad City 1960 Richard Holtzman Chris Holvoet
Rockford 1988 Mark McGuire Mike Holmes
South Bend 1988 John Baxter
West Michigan 1994 Dennis Baxter Scott Lane
Wisconsin 1962 John Wollner Mike Birling
Manager Coaches
Beloit Luis Salazar Bill Campbell* John Mallee
Burlington Glenn Tufts Keith Comstock* Juan Lopez
Cedar Rapids Tom Lawless Steve Renko* Charlie Romero
Clinton Mike Ramsey Scipio Spinks*
Fort Wayne Dan Rohn Stu Cliburn* Jose Baez
Kane County Lynn Jones Brian Peterson* Matt Winters
Lansing Brian Poldberg Mike Mason* Curtis Wilkerson
Michigan Tommy Barrett Bill Moloney* Pookie Bernstine
Peoria Roy Silver Ray Searage*
Quad City Jim Pankovits Don Alexander Joe Pittman*
Rockford Steve Roadcap Alan Dunn* John Pierson
South Bend Dave Keller Curt Hasler* Rance Mulliniks
West Michigan Mike Quade Bert Bradley* Gil Lopez
Wisconsin Mike Goff Pat Rice* Joaquin Contreras
*pitching coaches
Stadium Capacity Attendance
Beloit Harry Pohlman Field 3,501 73,552
Burlington Community Field 3,500 52,726
Cedar Rapids Veterans Memorial Stadium 6,000 127,379
Clinton Riverview Stadium 3,400 57,120
Fort Wayne Memorial Stadium 6,000 226,740
Kane County (Geneva, IL) Philip B Elfstrom Stadium 7,400 436,076
Lansing Oldsmobile Park 10,000 538,325
Michigan (Battle Creek) C.O. Brown Stadium 6,200 161,520
Peoria Pete Vonachen Stadium 6,200 187,283
Quad City (Davenport, IA) John O'Donnell Stadium 5,500 209,513
Rockford Marinelli Field 4,300 102,479
South Bend Stanley Coveleski Stadium 5,000 214,721
West Michigan (Grand Rapids) Old Kent Park 10,000 547,401
Wisconsin (Appleton) Fox Cities Stadium 5,600 233,797
MWL changes during the 1995-96 off-season
League changes
The League adjusted its divisional structure. The Eastern and Central Divisions now had 5 teams, and the Western Division had 4.
Franchise change
- The Sultans of Springfield became the Lansing Lugnuts.
Other highlights
Lansing's Oldmobile Park was new.
West Michigan expanded Old Kent Park.
Sources:
- 1996 Yearbooks for Battle Cats, Lugnuts
- 1996 Whitecaps Media Guide
- Baseball America's 1997 Almanac
- Joe Hulsebus' MWL Web Page [now sadly retired]
- Lansing State Journal
- USA Today Baseball Weekly
- Baseball America
- National Association WebPage
- Minor League mail list
|
![[Search]](/graphics/bsearch.jpg){kind=small}
