Midwest League

The Midwest League was a Class A minor league that began play in 1947 as the Class "D" Illinois State League. In 1949, it changed names to the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League when it added teams outside Illinois, and in 1956, the Midwest League name was adopted. The circuit added three clubs from the defunct Three-I League in 1962, and the following year, it was designated a Class "A" league when the minors restructured their organization. The Clinton, IA franchise is the longest continuous member, having been in the league every year since 1956.

In its final season, 2019, the league operated as an sixteen-team circuit. The 2020 season was cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, then a major reorganization of the minor leagues following the season led to its being disbanded, with 12 of its team being transferred to the new High-A Central segment of the Professional Development League. In a reversal, the High-A Central was re-rebranded as the Midwest League in 2022, reviving the league.

Current Teams, Managers, and Affiliations

East Division				West Division
Team	Manager	Parent Team		Team	Manager	Parent Team
Dayton Dragons	Bryan LaHair	Cincinnati Reds		Beloit Sky Carp	Jorge Hernandez	Miami Marlins
Fort Wayne TinCaps	Brian Esposito	San Diego Padres		Cedar Rapids Kernels	Brian Dinkelman	Minnesota Twins
Great Lakes Loons	Austin Chubb	Los Angeles Dodgers		Peoria Chiefs	Patrick Anderson	St. Louis Cardinals
Lake County Captains	Greg DiCenzo	Cleveland Guardians		Quad Cities River Bandits	Brooks Conrad	Kansas City Royals
Lansing Lugnuts	Philip Pohl	Oakland A's		South Bend Cubs	Lance Rymel	Chicago Cubs
West Michigan Whitecaps	Brayan Pena	Detroit Tigers		Wisconsin Timber Rattlers	Joe Ayrault	Milwaukee Brewers

League Champions and Award Winners

Year	League Champion	Most Valuable Player Team	Prospect of the Year Team	Manager of the Year Team
1947	Belleville Stags	N/A	N/A	Walter DeFreitas Belleville Stags
1948	West Frankfort Cardinals	N/A	N/A	N/A
1949	Paducah Chiefs	N/A	N/A	N/A
1950	No championship series was held due to bad weather and military call-ups.	N/A	N/A	N/A
1951	Danville Dans	N/A	N/A	N/A
1952	Decatur Commodores	N/A	N/A	N/A
1953	Decatur Commodores	N/A	N/A	N/A
1954	Danville Dans	N/A	N/A	N/A
1955	Dubuque Packers	N/A	N/A	N/A
1956	Paris Lakers	Deacon Jones Dubuque Packers	Arturo Miro Clinton Pirates	Len Okrie Lafayette Red Sox
1957	Decatur Commodores	N/A	N/A	N/A
1958	Waterloo Hawks	Gus Sancimino Kokomo Dodgers	Juan Marichal Michigan City White Caps	Buddy Kerr Michigan City White Caps
1959	Waterloo Hawks	Joel McDaniel Decatur Commodores	Dale Reichert Kokomo Dodgers	Stubby Overmire Decatur Commodores
1960	Waterloo Hawks	Tom Haake Dubuque Packers	Bob Sprout Decatur Commodores	Matt Sczesny Waterloo Hawks
1961	Quincy Giants	Hector Cardenas Dubuque Packers	Dennis Ribant Quad Cities Braves	Buddy Kerr Quincy Giants
1962	Dubuque Packers	Tony Torchia Keokuk Dodgers/ Midwest Dodgers	Barry Shollenberger Waterloo Hawks	Cal Ripken Appleton Foxes
1963	Clinton C-Sox	N/A	N/A	Don Bacon Clinton C-Sox
1964	Fox Cities Foxes	N/A	N/A	N/A
1965	Burlington Bees	N/A	N/A	Gus Niarhos Burlington Bees
1966	Fox Cities Foxes	N/A	N/A	Al Ronning Burlington Bees
1967	Appleton Foxes	N/A	N/A	Alex Cosmidis Appleton Foxes
1968	Quad Cities Angels	N/A	N/A	Jack Krol Cedar Rapids Cardinals
1969	Appleton Foxes	N/A	N/A	Tom Saffell Appleton Foxes
1970	Quincy Cubs	N/A	N/A	Frank Calo Danville Warriors
1971	Quad Cities Angels	N/A	N/A	Joe Sparks Appleton Foxes
1972	Danville Warriors	N/A	N/A	Joe Nossek Danville Warriors
1973	Wisconsin Rapids Twins	N/A	N/A	Bernie Smith Danville Warriors
1974	Danville Warriors	N/A	N/A	Johnny Goryl Wisconsin Rapids Twins
1975	Waterloo Royals	Willie Wilson Waterloo Royals	Willie Wilson Waterloo Royals	John Sullivan Waterloo Royals
1976	Waterloo Royals	Wayne Cato Cedar Rapids Giants	Clint Hurdle Waterloo Royals	Salty Parker Waterloo Royals
1977	Burlington Bees	Paul Molitor Burlington Bees	Paul Molitor Burlington Bees	Denis Menke Burlington Bees
1978	Appleton Foxes	Bill Foley Burlington Bees	Bill Foley Burlington Bees	Gordy Lund Appleton Foxes & Woody Smith Waterloo Indians
1979	Quad City Cubs	Dave Stockstill Wausau Timbers	Dave Stockstill Wausau Timbers	Tom Robson Wausau Timbers
1980	Waterloo Indians	Von Hayes Waterloo Indians	Von Hayes Waterloo Indians	Rick Stelmaszek Wisconsin Rapids Twins
1981	Wausau Timbers	Ed Saavedra Waterloo Indians	Harold Reynolds Wausau Timbers	Gomer Hodge Waterloo Indians
1982	Appleton Foxes	Tom Romano Madison Muskies	Mark Grant Clinton Giants	George Enright Quad Cities Cubs
1983	Appleton Foxes	Curt Ford Springfield Cardinals	Shawon Dunston Quad Cities Cubs	Gomer Hodge Waterloo Indians
1984	Appleton Foxes	Joey Meyer Beloit Brewers	Kurt Stillwell Cedar Rapids Reds	Tom Gamboa Beloit Brewers
1985	Kenosha Twins	Eddie Williams Cedar Rapids Reds	B.J. Surhoff Beloit Brewers	Duffy Dyer Kenosha Twins
1986	Waterloo Indians	Luis Medina Waterloo Indians	Luis Medina (medinlu010 Waterloo Indians & Steve Gasser Kenosha Twins	Gaylen Pitts Springfield Cardinals
1987	Kenosha Twins	Greg Vaughn Beloit Brewers & Todd Zeile Springfield Cardinals	Derek Parks Kenosha Twins	Don Leppert Kenosha Twins
1988	Cedar Rapids Reds	Lenny Webster Kenosha Twins	Tom Gordon Appleton Foxes	Marc Bombard Cedar Rapids Reds
1989	South Bend White Sox	Tom Redington Burlington Braves	Tom Redington Burlington Braves	Dave Miley Cedar Rapids Reds
1990	Quad City Angels	Reggie Sanders Cedar Rapids Reds	Reggie Sanders Cedar Rapids Reds	Don Long Quad City Angels
1991	Clinton Giants	Salomon Torres Clinton Giants	Salomon Torres Clinton Giants	Gary Jones Madison Muskies
1992	Cedar Rapids Reds	Steve Gibralter Cedar Rapids Reds	Steve Gibralter Cedar Rapids Reds	Tom Poquette Appleton Foxes
1993	South Bend White Sox	Joe Biasucci Springfield Cardinals	Johnny Damon Rockford Royals	Jack Mull Clinton Giants
1994	Cedar Rapids Kernels	Sal Fasano Rockford Royals	Alex Rodriguez Appleton Foxes	John Mizerock Rockford Royals
1995	Beloit Snappers	Jesus Ibarra Burlington Bees	Javier Valentin Fort Wayne Wizards	DeMarlo Hale Michigan Battle Cats
1996	West Michigan Whitecaps	Larry Barnes Cedar Rapids Kernels	Britt Reames Peoria Chiefs	Roy Silver Peoria Chiefs
1997	Lansing Lugnuts	Robert Fick West Michigan Whitecaps	Francisco Cordero West Michigan Whitecaps	Bruce Fields West Michigan Whitecaps
1998	West Michigan Whitecaps	Pablo Ozuna Peoria Chiefs	Pablo Ozuna Peoria Chiefs	Billy Gardner Jr. Michigan Battle Cats
1999	Burlington Bees	Aaron McNeal Michigan Battle Cats	Corey Patterson Lansing Lugnuts	Rick Renteria Kane County Cougars
2000	Michigan Battle Cats	Albert Pujols Peoria Chiefs	Albert Pujols Peoria Chiefs	Bruce Fields West Michigan Whitecaps
2001	Kane County Cougars	Adrian Gonzalez Kane County Cougars	Adrian Gonzalez Kane County Cougars	Russ Morman Kane County Cougars
2002	Peoria Chiefs	Jason Stokes Kane County Cougars	Joe Mauer Quad City River Bandits	Todd Claus Cedar Rapids Kernels
2003	Lansing Lugnuts	Prince Fielder Beloit Snappers	Prince Fielder Beloit Snappers	Webster Garrison Kane County Cougars
2004	West Michigan Whitecaps	Brian Dopirak Lansing Lugnuts	Brian Dopirak Lansing Lugnuts	Dave Joppie Kane County Cougars
2005	South Bend Silver Hawks	Carlos Gonzalez South Bend Silver Hawks	Carlos Gonzalez South Bend Silver Hawks	Mark Haley South Bend Silver Hawks
2006	West Michigan Whitecaps	Jeff Baisley Kane County Cougars	Cameron Maybin West Michigan Whitecaps	Matt Walbeck West Michigan Whitecaps
2007	West Michigan Whitecaps	Gorkys Hernandez West Michigan Whitecaps	Clayton Kershaw Great Lakes Loons	Tom Brookens West Michigan Whitecaps
2008	Burlington Bees	Ben Revere Beloit Snappers	Ben Revere Beloit Snappers	Mark Haley South Bend Silver Hawks
2009	Fort Wayne Tincaps	Dee Gordon Great Lakes Loons & Kyle Russell Great Lakes Loons	Dee Gordon Great Lakes Loons	Marty Pevey Peoria Chiefs & Doug Dascenzo Fort Wayne Tincaps
2010	Lake County Captains	Mike Trout Cedar Rapids Kernels	Mike Trout Cedar Rapids Kernels	Juan Bustabad Great Lakes Loons
2011	Quad Cities River Bandits	Rymer Liriano Fort Wayne Tincaps	Rymer Liriano Fort Wayne Tincaps	Mike Redmond Lansing Lugnuts
2012	Wisconsin Timber Rattlers	Kevin Pillar Lansing Lugnuts	Miguel Sano Beloit Snappers	John Tamargo Lansing Lugnuts
2013	Quad Cities River Bandits	Byron Buxton Cedar Rapids Kernels	Byron Buxton Cedar Rapids Kernels	Mark Haley South Bend Silver Hawks
2014	Kane County Cougars	Wynton Bernard West Michigan Whitecaps	Andrew Velazquez South Bend Silver Hawks	Mark Johnson Kane County Cougars
2015	West Michigan Whitecaps	Ryan McBroom Lansing Lugnuts	Gleyber Torres South Bend Cubs	Josh Bonifay Quad Cities River Bandits
2016	Great Lakes Loons	Eloy Jimenez South Bend Cubs	Eloy Jimenez South Bend Cubs	Jimmy Gonzalez South Bend Cubs
2017	Quad Cities River Bandits	Bo Bichette Lansing Lugnuts	Bo Bichette Lansing Lugnuts	Mike Rabelo West Michigan Whitecaps
2018	Bowling Green Hot Rods	Elehuris Montero Peoria Chiefs	Royce Lewis Cedar Rapids Kernels	Craig Albenaz Bowling Green Hot Rods
2019	South Bend Cubs	Alek Thomas Kane County Cougars	Wander Franco Bowling Green Hot Rods	John Shoemaker Great Lakes Loons

Cities Represented

Illinois

• Danville, IL:
  • Danville Warriors 1970-1974
  • Danville Dodgers 1975-1976
  • Danville Suns 1982
• Decatur, IL:
  • Decatur Commodores 1956-1974
• Geneva, IL:
  • Kane County Cougars 1991-2019
• Mattoon, IL:
  • Mattoon Phillies 1956, moved from Mississippi-Ohio Valley League
  • Mattoon Athletics 1957
• Paris, IL:
  • Paris Lakers 1956-1959, moved from Mississippi-Ohio Valley League
• Peoria, IL:
  • Peoria Suns 1983
  • Peoria Chiefs 1984-2019
• Quincy, IL:
  • Quincy Giants 1960-1961
  • Quincy Jets 1962-1963
  • Quincy Gems 1964
  • Quincy Cubs 1965-1973
• Rockford, IL:
  • Rockford Expos 1988-1992
  • Rockford Royals 1993-1994
  • Rockford Cubbies 1995-1998
  • Rockford Reds 1999
• Springfield, IL:
  • Springfield Cardinals 1982-1993
  • Springfield Sultans 1994-1995

Indiana

• Fort Wayne, IN:
  • Fort Wayne Wizards 1993-2019
• Kokomo, IN:
  • Kokomo Dodgers 1956-1961
• Lafayette, IN:
  • Lafayette Red Sox 1956-1957
• Michigan City, IN:
  • Michigan City White Caps 1956-1959
• South Bend, IN:
  • South Bend White Sox 1988-1993
  • South Bend Silver Hawks 1994-2019

Iowa

• Burlington, IA:
  • Burlington Bees 1962-1981, 1993-2019
  • Burlington Rangers 1982-1985
  • Burlington Expos 1986-1987
  • Burlington Braves 1988-1990
  • Burlington Astros 1991-1992
• Cedar Rapids, IA:
  • Cedar Rapids Red Raiders 1962-1964
  • Cedar Rapids Cardinals 1965-1972
  • Cedar Rapids Astros 1973-1974
  • Cedar Rapids Giants 1975-1979
  • Cedar Rapids Reds 1980-1992
  • Cedar Rapids Kernels 1993-2019
• Clinton, IA:
  • Clinton Pirates 1956-1958, moved from Mississippi-Ohio Valley League
  • Clinton C-Sox 1959-1965
  • Clinton Pilots 1966-1976
  • Clinton Dodgers 1977-1979
  • Clinton Giants 1980-1993
  • Clinton Lumberkings 1994-2019
• Davenport, IA, Bettendorf, IA, Moline, IL, & Rock Island, IL:
  • Davenport Braves 1960
  • Quad Cities Braves 1961
  • Quad Cities Angels 1962-1978
  • Quad Cities Cubs 1979-1984
  • Quad City Angels 1985-1991
  • Quad City River Bandits 1992-2003
  • Swing of the Quad Cities 2004-2007
  • Quad Cities River Bandits 2008-2019
• Dubuque, IA:
  • Dubuque Packers 1956-1967, moved from Mississippi-Ohio Valley League, 1974-1976
  • Midwest Dodgers 1962
  • Dubuque Royals 1968
• Keokuk, IA:
  • Keokuk Cardinals 1958-1961
  • Keokuk Dodgers 1962
• Waterloo, IA:
  • Waterloo Hawks 1958-1969
  • Waterloo Royals 1970-1976
  • Waterloo Indians 1977-1988
  • Waterloo Diamonds 1989-1993

Kentucky

• Bowling Green, KY:
  • Bowling Green Hot Rods 2010-2019, moved from South Atlantic League

Michigan

• Battle Creek, MI:
  • Michigan Battle Cats 1995-2002
  • Battle Creek Yankees 2003-2004
  • Southwest Michigan Devil Rays 2005-2006
• Grand Rapids, MI:
  • West Michigan Whitecaps 1994-2019
• Lansing, MI:
  • Lansing Lugnuts 1996-2019
• Midland, MI:
  • Great Lakes Loons 2007-2019

Ohio

• Dayton, OH:
  • Dayton Dragons 2000-2019
• Eastlake, OH:
  • Lake County Captains 2010-present, moved from South Atlantic League

Wisconsin

• Appleton, WI:
  • Appleton Foxes 1962, 1967-1994
  • Fox Cities Foxes 1963-1966
  • Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 1995-2019
• Beloit, WI:
  • Beloit Brewers 1982-1994
  • Beloit Snappers 1995-2019
• Kenosha, WI:
  • Kenosha Twins 1984-1992
• Madison, WI:
  • Madison Muskies 1982-1993
  • Madison Hatters 1994
• Wausau, WI:
  • Wausau Mets 1975-1978
  • Wausau Timbers 1979-1990
• Wisconsin Rapids, WI:
  • Wisconsin Rapids Senators 1963
  • Wisconsin Rapids Twins 1964-1983

Alumni

Hall of Famers

• Harold Baines, 1977, Appleton Foxes
• Orlando Cepeda, 1955, Kokomo Giants (MOVL)
• Carlton Fisk, 1968 Waterloo Hawks
• Pat Gillick 1960, Appleton Foxes
• Goose Gossage, 1970, 1971 and 1974 Appleton Foxes
• Trevor Hoffman, 1991 Cedar Rapids Reds
• Travis Jackson 1960, Manager Davenport Braves
• Greg Maddux, 1985 Peoria Chiefs
• Juan Marichal, 1958 Michigan City White Caps
• Edgar Martinez, 1984 Wausau Timbers
• Joe Mauer, 2002 Quad Cities River Bandits, 2014 Cedar Rapids Kernels
• Paul Molitor, 1977 Burlington Bees
• David Ortiz, 1996 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
• Ryne Sandberg, MGR: 2007-2008 Peoria Chiefs
• Ted Simmons, 1967 Cedar Rapids Cardinals
• Bruce Sutter, 1973 Quincy Cubs
• Larry Walker, 1986 Burlington Expos
• Earl Weaver, 1948, West Frankfort Cardinals (ISL)

Recipients of Major League Baseball Major Awards

14 Midwest League Alumni have won a total of 19 Most Valuable Player Awards:

• Orlando Cepeda (1955, Kokomo) (MOVL) 1967 NL
• Denny McLain (1962, Clinton) 1968 AL
• Vida Blue (1968, Burlington) 1971 AL
• Larry Walker (1986, Burlington)1997 NL
• Alex Rodriguez (1994, Appleton) 3-time AL
• Albert Pujols (2000, Peoria) 3-time NL (2005, 2008, 2009)
• Miguel Cabrera (2001, Kane County) 2-time AL (2012, 2013)
• Justin Morneau (2001, Quad Cities) 2006 AL
• Joey Votto (2003-2004, Dayton) 2010 NL
• Clayton Kershaw (2007, Great Lakes) 2014 NL
• Josh Donaldson (2008, Peoria) 2015 AL
• Ryne Sandberg (MGR: 2007-2008, Peoria)1984 NL MVP
• Mike Trout (2009–10, Cedar Rapids) 2014 AL MVP
• Joe Mauer (2014, Cedar Rapids) 2009 AL MVP

14 Midwest League Alumni have won a total of 20 Cy Young Awards:

• Bob Turley (1948, Belleville) (ISL) 1958 AL
• Denny McLain (1962,Clinton) 1968-1969 AL
• Sparky Lyle (1964, Appleton) 1977 AL
• Vida Blue (1968, Burlington) 1971 AL
• Bruce Sutter (1973, Quincy) 1979 NL
• LaMarr Hoyt (1978, Appleton) 1983 AL
• Orel Hershiser (1979, Clinton) 1988 NL
• Greg Maddux (1985, Peoria) 4-time NL (1992-1995)
• Rick Sutcliffe (1991, Peoria) 1984 NL
• Johan Santana (1998, Quad Cities); (1999, Michigan) 2004 & 2006 AL
• Jake Peavy (2000, Fort Wayne) 2007 NL
• Brandon Webb (2000, South Bend)2006 NL
• Félix Hernández (2003, Wisconsin) 2013 AL
• Clayton Kershaw (2007, Great Lakes) 3-time NL (2011, 2013, 2014)

30 Midwest League Alumni have won the Rookie of the Year Award:

• Orlando Cepeda (1955, Kokomo Giants|(MOVL) 1958 NL
• Gary Peters (1957, Dubuque) 1963 AL
• Don Schwall (1958, Waterloo) 1961 AL
• Tommy Agee (1961, Dubuque) 1966 AL
• Gary Matthews (1969, Decatur) 1973 NL
• Butch Metzger (1972, Decatur) 1976 NL
• John Montefusco (1973, Decatur) 1975 NL
• Steve Sax (1979, Clinton) 1982 NL
• Ron Kittle (1980, Clinton) 1983 AL
• Chris Sabo (1983, Cedar Rapids) 1988 NL
• Jerome Walton (1987, Peoria) 1989 NL
• Pat Listach (1988, Beloit) 1992 AL
• Eric Hinske (1998, Rockford) 2002 AL
• Marty Cordova (1990, Kenosha) 1995 AL
• Rick Sutcliffe (1991, Peoria) 1979 NL
• Ben Grieve (1995, West Michigan) 1998 AL
• Carlos Beltran (1996, Lansing) 1999 AL
• Chuck Knoblauch (1989, Kenosha) 1991 AL
• Albert Pujols (2000, Peoria) 2001 NL
• Jason Bay (2001, Clinton) 2004 NL
• Dontrelle Willis (2002, Kane County) 2003 NL
• Huston Street (2004, Kane County) 2005 AL
• Nomar Garciaparra (2005, Peoria) 1997 AL
• Andrew Bailey (2007, Kane County) 2009 AL
• Kerry Wood (2005, 2007, Peoria) 1998 NL
• Neftali Feliz (2008, Clinton) 2010 AL
• Scott Williamson (2008, Peoria) 1999 NL
• Wil Myers (2010, Burlington Bees) 2013 NL
• Carlos Correa (2013, Quad Cities) 2015 AL

Other Notables

• Terry Francona 1992, Manager South Bend Silver Hawks
• Jim Leyland, 1972-1973, 1975 Manager Clinton Giants
• Joe Maddon, 1976 Quad City Angels, Manager 1984 Peoria Chiefs
• Charlie Manuel, 1983 Manager Wisconsin Rapids Twins
• Chuck Tanner, 1963-1964 Manager, Quad City Angels

Further Reading

• Dave Hoekstra: Cougars and Snappers and Loons (Oh My!): A Midwest League Field Guide, Can't Miss Press, Elgin, IL, 2009.

External Links

• Midwest League: Home
• Midwest League Reference Book