Midwest League 2008

Summary

• Midwest League Champion: Burlington Bees (Royals)
• Team with Best Won/Lost Record: Clinton LumberKings (Rangers) 78-59, .569

• Most Valuable Player: Ben Revere (Beloit/Twins)
• Prospect of the Year: Ben Revere (Beloit/Twins)
• Manager of the Year: Mark Haley (South Bend/Diamondbacks)
• Executive of the Year: Paul Barbeau (Great Lakes)

• League Attendance: 3,602,687
  • 14 teams in two divisions played a 140 game, split-season schedule which began on April 3 and ended on September 1. A three-tier post-season playoff determined the league champion.
  • The MWL had 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        71  67   .514  (8)
Burlington         Bees            Royals       73  65   .529  (4)
Cedar Rapids       Kernels         Angels       72  66   .522  (6T)
Clinton            LumberKings     Rangers      78  59   .569  (1)
Dayton             Dragons         Reds         66  72   .478 (11)
Fort Wayne         Wizards         Padres       71  69   .507 (10)
Great Lakes        Loons           Dodgers      54  85   .388 (14)
Kane County        Cougars         Athletics    72  66   .522  (6T)
Lansing            Lugnuts         Blue Jays    76  64   .543  (3)
Peoria             Chiefs          Cubs         60  78   .435 (12)
Quad Cities        River Bandits   Cardinals    68  66   .507  (9)
South Bend         Silver Hawks    Diamondbacks 76  63   .547  (2)
West Michigan      Whitecaps       Tigers       72  65   .526  (5)
Wisconsin          Timber Rattlers Mariners     56  80   .412 (13)

First Half

West          W  L  Pct   GB   East           W  L  Pct   GB
Clinton      41 26 .612  ---   Lansing       39 31 .557  ---
Kane County  39 29 .574  2.5   West Michigan 37 31 .544  1.0
Beloit       36 32 .529  5.5   Fort Wayne    37 33 .529  2.0
Quad Cities  33 31 .516  6.5   South Bend    33 36 .478  5.5
Cedar Rapids 32 36 .471  9.5   Great Lakes   30 39 .435  8.5
Wisconsin    31 35 .470  9.5   Dayton        28 40 .412 10.0
Peoria       30 38 .441 11.5  
Burlington   30 39 .435 12.0  

First half ended on June 15.

Second Half

West          W  L  Pct   GB   East           W  L  Pct   GB
Burlington   43 26 .623  ---   South Bend    43 27 .614  ---
Cedar Rapids 40 30 .571  3.5   Dayton        38 32 .543  5.0
Clinton      37 33 .529  6.5   Lansing       37 33 .529  6.0
Beloit       35 35 .500  8.5   West Michigan 35 34 .507  7.5
Quad Cities  35 35 .500  8.5   Fort Wayne    34 36 .486  9.0
Kane County  33 37 .471 10.5   Great Lakes   24 46 .343 19.0
Peoria       30 40 .429 13.5   
Wisconsin    25 45 .357 18.5   

2008 Post-Season

  Round 1:
South Bend d. West Michigan, 2-1
Dayton d. Lansing, 2-0
Cedar Rapids d. Clinton, 2-0
Burlington d. Kane County, 2-0
 Round 2:
Burlington d. Cedar Rapids, 2-0
South Bend d. Dayton, 2-0
 Championship:
Burlington d. South Bend, 2-0

Playoff ended after two games and Burlington declared champion due to inclement weather.

2008 All Star Game

June 17 @ Midland (Great Lakes), Michigan
West 5, East 4 (10 innings)

         West    200 110 000 1 - 5 12 0
         East    003 010 000 0 - 4 10 1

WP: Blake Parker (Peoria/Cubs)
LP: Miguel Ramirez (Great Lakes/Dodgers)
MVP: Tim Smith (Clinton/Rangers)

Box Score and Details

2008 League Changes

• Quad Cities River Bandits: New ownership group; name change (from Swing of the Quad Cities); new uniforms; ballpark renamed to Modern Woodmen Park (from John O'Donnell Stadium).

Other Highlights

• Lansing Lugnuts: Significant ballpark renovations.

Sources

• Baseball America
• 2008 Baseball America Directory
• 2008 Baseball Blue Book
• 2009 Baseball America Almanac
• 2009 Emerald Guide to Baseball
• Team websites
• The Minor League Baseball website
• Assorted correspondents
• 2008 & 2009 Programs/Yearbooks:
  • 2008 & 2009 Lansing Lugnuts
  • 2008 Clinton LumberKings