Midwest League 1997

Average Team Ages

This page compares the ages of the players composing the teams of the 1997 Midwest League.

Baseball favors talent; baseball rewards technique. Team performance in the Midwest League is largely a product of two variables: How talented are the players? How old are they? At this level, age is a measure of experience and a clue about training. This page gives clues about the relative levels of experience in the League's teams. It also contains important clues about the farm systems of our teams' major league affiliates.

                               Pitchers    Hitters    Team

League Average                   21.5       21.5      21.5

Western Division
Burlington Bees           CIN    22.2 (1)   23.2 (1)  22.6 (1)
Cedar Rapids Kernels      ANA    21.5 (8T)  22.7 (2)  22.1 (2)
Clinton LumberKings       SF     21.7 (3T)  21.3 (8T) 21.5 (5T)
Quad City River Bandits   HOU    20.9 (13T) 21.9 (4)  21.4 (7T)

Central Division
Beloit Snappers           MIL    21.3 (11)  21.7 (5)  21.5 (5T)
Kane County Cougars       FLA    21.6 (5T)  21.0 (12) 21.3 (9T)
Peoria Chiefs             STL    21.8 (2)   21.4 (7)  21.6 (4)
Rockford Cubbies          CUB    21.5 (8T)  21.2 (10) 21.4 (7T)
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers SEA    21.4 (10)  21.3 (8T) 21.3 (9T)

Eastern Division
Fort Wayne Wizards        MIN    21.7 (3T)  20.6 (13) 21.1 (12)
Lansing Lugnuts           KC     21.6 (5T)  22.1 (3)  21.9 (3)
Michigan Battle Cats      BOS    21.6 (5T)  20.5 (14) 21.0 (13T)
South Bend Silver Hawks   ARI    20.9 (13T) 21.1 (11) 21.0 (13T)
West Michigan Whitecaps   DET    21.2 (12)  21.5 (6)  21.3 (9T)

Ages are in "years", which are calculated as of July 1, 1997. Rankings show the oldest teams as (1) and the youngest as (14) [or (13T)].

This data is derived from each team's roster in early May of 1997. I figured the roster from the stats listings published on the USA Today website. (This makes the assumption that those listed approximate the team's roster.) Ages for players were determined from easily-available sources, and averaged. A few players were missed; most of those weren't on anyone's roster last season.