List of Midwest League champions

The Midwest League of Minor League Baseball is one of three High-A baseball leagues in the United States. It was previously known as the Illinois State League from 1947 to 1948 and as the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League form 1949 to 1955, but has been the Midwest League since 1956 (with the exception of 2021 when known as the High-A Central). A league champion is determined at the end of each season. Champions have been determined by postseason playoffs, winning the regular season pennant, or being declared champion by the league office. For 2019, eight teams qualified for the postseason: the first- and second-half winners within each division, Eastern and Western, and wild card teams (the teams with the best second-place record) from each half in each division. Teams within each division met in a best-of-three quarterfinal round. The winners met in a best-of-three semifinal series to determine division champions. Then, the Eastern and Western division winners played a best-of-five series to determine a league champion.[1] As of 2022, the winners of each division from both the first and second halves of the season meet in a best-of-three division series, with the winners of the two division series meeting in a best-of-three championship series.[2]

League champions

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Score and finalist information is only presented when postseason play occurred. The lack of this information indicates a declared league champion.
Year Champion Series Finalist
1947 Belleville Stags NA (Belleville won both halves)
1948 West Frankfort Cardinals 3–0 Mattoon Indians
1949 Paducah Chiefs 4–3 Mattoon Indians
1950[a] Centralia Sterlings NA (Finals Cancelled - weather)
1951 Danville Dans 2–0 Mount Vernon Kings
1952 Decatur Commodores 3–1 Hannibal Stags
1953 Decatur Commodores 3–2 Paris Lakers
1954 Danville Dans 3–0 Clinton Pirates
1955 Dubuque Packers 3–0 Mattoon Phillies
1956 Paris Lakers 3–1 Dubuque Packers
1957 Decatur Commodores 2–0 Clinton Pirates
1958 Waterloo Hawks 3–2 Michigan City White Caps
1959 Waterloo Hawks NA (Waterloo won both halves)
1960 Waterloo Hawks NA (Waterloo won both halves)
1961 Quincy Giants 3–2 Waterloo Hawks
1962 Dubuque Packers 3–1 Waterloo Hawks
1963 Clinton C-Sox NA (Clinton won both halves)
1964 Fox Cities Foxes 1–0 Clinton C-Sox
1965 Burlington Bees NA (Burlington won both halves)
1966 Fox Cities Foxes 2–1 Cedar Rapids Cardinals
1967 Appleton Foxes 2–0 Wisconsin Rapids Twins
1968 Quad City Angels 2–1 Decatur Commodores
1969 Appleton Foxes NA (Appleton won both halves)
1970 Quincy Cubs 2–0 Quad Cities Angels
1971 Quad City Angels 2–1 Appleton Foxes
1972 Danville Warriors 2–0 Appleton Foxes
1973 Wisconsin Rapids Twins 2–1 Danville Warriors
1974 Danville Warriors 2–1 Appleton Foxes
1975 Waterloo Royals 2–0 Quad Cities Angels
1976 Waterloo Royals 2–0 Quad Cities Angels
1977 Burlington Bees 2–0 Waterloo Indians
1978 Appleton Foxes 2–1 Burlington Bees
1979 Quad City Cubs 2–1 Waterloo Indians
1980 Waterloo Indians 2–1 Quad City Cubs
1981 Wausau Timbers 2–0 Quad City Cubs
1982 Appleton Foxes 2–1 Madison Muskies
1983 Appleton Foxes 3–1 Springfield Cardinals
1984 Appleton Foxes 3–2 Springfield Cardinals
1985 Kenosha Twins 3–1 Peoria Chiefs
1986 Waterloo Indians 3–0 Peoria Chiefs
1987 Kenosha Twins 3–1 Springfield Cardinals
1988 Cedar Rapids Reds 3–1 Kenosha Twins
1989 South Bend White Sox 3–0 Springfield Cardinals
1990 Quad City Angels 3–1 South Bend White Sox
1991 Clinton Giants 3–1 Madison Muskies
1992 Cedar Rapids Reds 3–2 Beloit Brewers
1993 South Bend White Sox 3–1 Clinton Giants
1994 Cedar Rapids Kernels 3–1 Rockford Royals
1995 Beloit Snappers 3–0 Michigan Battle Cats
1996 West Michigan Whitecaps 3–1 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
1997 Lansing Lugnuts 3–2 Kane County Cougars
1998 West Michigan Whitecaps 3–1 Rockford Cubbies
1999 Burlington Bees 3–2 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
2000 Michigan Battle Cats 3–0 Beloit Snappers
2001[b] Kane County Cougars 1–0 South Bend Silver Hawks
2002 Peoria Chiefs 3–1 Lansing Lugnuts
2003 Lansing Lugnuts 3–0 Beloit Snappers
2004 West Michigan Whitecaps 3–2 Kane County Cougars
2005 South Bend Silver Hawks 3–2 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
2006 West Michigan Whitecaps 3–1 Kane County Cougars
2007 West Michigan Whitecaps 3–2 Beloit Snappers
2008[c] Burlington Bees 2–0 South Bend Silver Hawks
2009 Fort Wayne TinCaps 3–0 Burlington Bees
2010 Lake County Captains 3–2 Clinton LumberKings
2011 Quad Cities River Bandits 3–0 Lansing Lugnuts
2012 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 3–1 Fort Wayne TinCaps
2013 Quad Cities River Bandits 3–0 South Bend Silver Hawks
2014 Kane County Cougars 3–0 Lake County Captains
2015 West Michigan Whitecaps 3–2 Cedar Rapids Kernels
2016 Great Lakes Loons 3–1 Clinton LumberKings
2017 Quad Cities River Bandits 3–0 Fort Wayne TinCaps
2018 Bowling Green Hot Rods 3–1 Peoria Chiefs
2019 South Bend Cubs 3–0 Clinton LumberKings
2020 None (season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic)[3]
2021 Quad Cities River Bandits[4] 3–2 Cedar Rapids Kernels
2022 South Bend Cubs 2–1 Lake County Captains
2023 Cedar Rapids Kernels 2–1 Great Lakes Loons
2024 Lake County Captains 2–1 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

Championship wins by team

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Active Midwest League teams appear in bold.

Wins Team Championship years
9 Fox Cities Foxes/Appleton Foxes/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1984, 2012
9 Waterloo Hawks/Royals/Indians/Lansing Lugnuts 1958, 1959, 1960, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1986, 1997, 2003
8 Quad City Angels/Cubs/River Bandits 1968, 1971, 1979, 1990, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2021
6 Decatur Commodores/Wausau Timbers/Kane County Cougars 1952, 1953, 1957, 1981, 2001, 2014
6 West Michigan Whitecaps 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2015
5 South Bend White Sox/Silver Hawks/Cubs 1989, 1993, 2005, 2019, 2022
4 Burlington Bees 1965, 1977, 1999, 2008
4 Cedar Rapids Reds/Kernels 1988, 1992, 1994, 2023
4 Wisconsin Rapids Twins/Kenosha Twins/Fort Wayne TinCaps 1973, 1985, 1987, 2009
2 Clinton C-Sox/Giants 1963, 1991
2 Danville Dans 1951, 1954
2 Danville Warriors 1972, 1974
2 Dubuque Packers 1955, 1962
2 Lake County Captains 2010, 2024
2 Quincy Giants/Cubs 1961, 1970
2 Michigan Battle Cats/Great Lakes Loons 2000, 2016
1 Belleville Stags 1947
1 Beloit Snappers 1995
1 Bowling Green Hot Rods 2018
1 Centralia Sterlings 1950
1 Paducah Chiefs 1949
1 Paris Lakers 1956
1 Peoria Chiefs 2002
1 West Frankfort Cardinals 1948

Notes

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  • a Centralia was declared champion after inclement weather and military call-ups forced the cancellation of the playoffs.[5]
  • b Kane County was declared champion after the playoffs were cancelled in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, which caused a stoppage in professional baseball.[6]
  • c Burlington was declared champion after inclement weather forced the playoffs to be cut short.[7]

References

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  • "Midwest League Champions". Midwest League. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  • "Midwest League Seasons". Midwest League Guide. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  1. ^ "Playoff Procedures". Midwest League. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  2. ^ "MiLB Playoff Procedures". MiLB.com. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  3. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved". Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  4. ^ Avallone, Michael (September 27, 2021). "Quad Cities Claim First High-A Central Championship". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  5. ^ "1950 Mississippi-Ohio Valley League". Midwest League Guide. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  6. ^ "2001 Midwest League". Midwest League Guide. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  7. ^ "2008 Midwest League". Midwest League Guide. Retrieved August 14, 2017.