Midwest League 2005

Summary

• Midwest League Champion: South Bend Silver Hawks (Diamondbacks)
• Team with Best Won/Lost Record: South Bend Silver Hawks (Diamondbacks) 84-56; .600

• Most Valuable Player: Carlos Gonzales (South Bend/Diamondbacks)
• Prospect of the Year: Carlos Gonzales (South Bend/Diamondbacks)
• Manager of the Year: Mark Haley (South Bend/Diamondbacks)
• Executive of the Year: Dave Walker (President, Burlington)

• League Attendance: 3,468,775
  • 14 teams in two divisions played a 140 game, split-season schedule which began on April 7 and ended on September 5. A three-tier post-season playoff was used to determine the league champion.
  • The MWL has 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        69  71   .493  (8)
Burlington         Bees            Royals       65  75   .464 (11T)
Cedar Rapids       Kernels         Angels       65  75   .464 (11T)
Clinton            LumberKings     Rangers      71  69   .507  (6)
Dayton             Dragons         Reds         60  79   .432 (14)
Fort Wayne         Wizards         Padres       65  75   .464 (11T)
Kane County        Cougars         Athletics    67  72   .482 (10)
Lansing            Lugnuts         Blue Jays    70  69   .504  (7)
Peoria             Chiefs          Cubs         68  72   .486  (9)
Quad Cities        Swing           Cardinals    72  67   .518  (5)
South Bend         Silver Hawks    Diamondbacks 84  56   .600  (1)
Southwest Michigan Devil Rays      Devil Rays   72  67   .518  (4)
West Michigan      Whitecaps       Tigers       73  67   .521  (3)
Wisconsin          Timber Rattlers Mariners     76  63   .547  (2)

First Half

West           W  L   Pct   GB East               W  L   Pct   GB
Wisconsin      39 31 .557  --- South Bend         41 29 .586  ---  
Clinton        38 32 .543  1.0 Fort Wayne         38 32 .543  3.0  
Quad Cities    36 33 .522  2.5 Lansing            37 32 .536  3.5  
Peoria         35 35 .500  4.0 Southwest Michigan 33 36 .478  7.5  
Burlington     34 36 .486  5.0 West Michigan      33 37 .471  8.0
Beloit         33 37 .471  6.0 Dayton             30 40 .429 11.0
Kane County    31 38 .449  7.5
Cedar Rapids   30 40 .429  9.0   

First half ended on June 19.

Second Half

West           W  L   Pct   GB East               W  L   Pct   GB
Wisconsin      37 32 .536  --- South Bend         43 27 .614  ---
Beloit         36 34 .514  1.5 West Michigan      40 30 .571  3.0
Kane County    36 34 .514  1.5 Southwest Michigan 39 31 .557  4.0
Quad Cities    36 34 .514  1.5 Lansing            33 37 .471 10.0
Cedar Rapids   35 35 .500  2.5 Dayton             30 39 .435 12.5
Clinton        33 37 .471  4.5 Fort Wayne         27 43 .386 16.0
Peoria         33 37 .471  4.5 
Burlington     31 39 .443  6.5 

2005 Post-Season

 Round 1:
South Bend d. Southwest Michigan, 2-0
Clinton d. Quad Cities, 2-0
West Michigan d. Fort Wayne, 2-0
Wisconsin d. Beloit, 2-1  
 Round 2:
South Bend d. West Michigan, 2-0
Wisconsin d. Clinton, 2-0
 Championship:
South Bend d. Wisconsin, 3-2

2005 All Star Game

June 21 @ Peoria, Illinois
East 4, West 2

         East    030 100 000 -  4 13 0
         West    000 001 100 -  2 12 0

WP: A.J. Shappi (South Bend/Diamondbacks)
Sv: Matt Varner (Fort Wayne/Padres)
LP: Luis Cota (Burlington/Royals)
MVP: Jereme Milons (South Bend/Diamondbacks)

Box Score and Details

2005 League Changes

• Southwest Michigan Devil Rays: Name change (from Battle Creek Yankees) and affiliation change (from Yankees to Devil Rays).
• Swing of the Quad Cities: Affiliation change from Twins to Cardinals.
• Lansing Lugnuts: Affiliation change from Cubs to Blue Jays.
• Beloit Snappers: Affiliation change from Brewers to Twins.
• Peoria Chiefs: Affiliation change from Cardinals to Cubs.

Other Highlights

Sources

• Baseball America
• 2005 Baseball America Directory
• 2005 Baseball Blue Book
• 2006 Baseball America Almanac
• 2006 Sporting News Baseball Guide
• Team websites
• The Minor League Baseball website
• Assorted correspondents
• 2005 & 2006 Programs/Yearbooks:
  • 2005 & 2006 Lansing Lugnuts
  • 2005 & 2006 Southwest Michigan Devil Rays
  • 2005 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers