2010

Year number five for the American Association in a way marked the end of an era for the league, as it was the final season of split-season play and the last year of a 96-game schedule. Most notably, it was the final year before four more established Northern League franchises came aboard and drastically changed the demographics of the circuit.

2010 was also the final year for the Pensacola Pelicans, who would become the third charter member of the AA to close their doors. In the Pelicans’ case, they would be making room for a Double-A franchise that began play in a new park in 2012.

After rebranding from the Canaries to Pheasants (an experiment that lasted three years) Sioux Falls dominated from the start, claiming the first half North title at a 32-16 mark. The Pheasants also took the second half, holding off hard-charging Wichita by a game. As a result, Lincoln, who nudged out the Wingnuts by a game over the course of the full season, took the second playoff spot, making Wichita the only team in AA history to miss the playoffs by one game in two different ways. Meanwhile, Sioux Falls finished with 63 wins, still a club record to this day.

The South saw Shreveport-Bossier cruise to a first-half crown. Pensacola did not go quietly in that goodnight, as the Pelicans easily cruised to the second-half crown. The Captains charged hard, winning their final 11 games to close within a half-game, though Pensacola still wouldn’t made the playoffs either way in a rather weak division.

The first round was about as close as a sweep could be in the North, as Sioux Falls won all three games by one run and needed extra innings in the final two contests to shake the stubborn Saltdogs. Shreveport-Bossier took a very interesting route in their series, winning the first two games in Pensacola (the final home games in Pelicans history), before Pensacola won the next two in Shreveport and took a three-run lead in the eighth inning of Game 5. The Captains, though, rallied for a walk-off win to send the Pels into history.

Sioux Falls entered the AA Finals with more than half of the league’s Postseason All-Star Team (including the player, both starting pitchers, and the reliever of the year), but Shreveport-Bossier shot down the mighty Pheasants, holding Sioux Falls to just two runs in a stunning sweep, bring the Miles Wolff Cup back to the bayou.

Final Standings (Click on team name for full schedule)

North Division

Team	W	L	Win Pct.	GB	Runs Scored	Runs Allowed	Attend.
Sioux Falls Pheasants-yx	63	33	.656	—	643	450	86,518
Lincoln Saltdogs–z	51	45	.531	12.0	572	566	163,676
Wichita Wingnuts	50	46	.521	13.0	484	454	134,773
Sioux City Explorers	49	47	.510	14.0	530	507	76,549
St. Paul Saints	45	51	.469	18.0	507	552	237,994

South Division

Team	W	L	Win Pct.	GB	Runs Scored	Runs Allowed	Attend.
Shreveport-Bossier Captains-y	58	37	.611	—	553	511	71,468
Pensacola Pelicans-x	49	46	.516	9.0	537	549	50,608
Grand Prairie AirHogs	43	52	.453	15.0	546	585	124,539
Fort Worth Cats	37	56	.398	20.0	457	515	122,062
El Paso Diablos	31	63	.330	26.5	550	690	179,452

y-First half winner x-Second half winner z-Wild card

Playoffs

First Round — SIOUX FALLS WINS 3-0

Date	Score	W	L	SV	Attend.
8/31/10	Lincoln 1 at Sioux Falls 2	B. Rapoza	J. Paduch	A. Cotter	1,159
9/1/10	Lincoln 3 at Sioux Falls 4 (11 innings)	B. Rosen	T. PoVey	–	1,393
9/3/10	Sioux Falls 4 at Lincoln 3 (12 innings)	R. Shaver	T. PoVey	A. Cotter	1,871

First Round — SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER WINS 3-2

Date	Score	W	L	SV	Attend.
8/31/10	Shreveport-Bossier 6 at Pensacola 2	R. Salazar	D. Nathanson	–	1,231
9/1/10	Shreveport-Bossier 8 at Pensacola 4	O. Rodriguez	J. Gothreaux	–	705
9/3/10	Pensacola 6 at Shreveport-Bossier 5	B. Rembisz	R. DiPietro	S. Overbey	883
9/4/10	Pensacola 9 at Shreveport-Bossier 7	D. Nathason	L. Prihoda	S. Overbay	540
9/5/10	Pensacola 6 at Shreveport-Bossier 7	H. Carrasco	S. Overbay	–	562

American Association Finals — SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER WINS 3-0

Date	Score	W	L	SV	Attend.
9/7/10	Sioux Falls 1 at Shreveport-Bossier 3	O. Rodriguez	B. Moore	H. Carrasco	431
9/8/10	Sioux Falls 1 at Shreveport-Bossier 3	R. DiPietro	C. Salberg	H. Carrasco	544
9/10/10	Shreveport-Bossier 4 at Sioux Falls 0	R. Salazar	R. Rodriguez	H. Carrasco	1,248

Award Winners

Player of the Year	Beau Torbert (Sioux Falls) 95 G, .394/.434/.684, 155 H, 79 R, 38 2B, 24 HR, 100 RBI
Right-Handed Pitcher of the Year	Ben Moore (Sioux Falls) 11-8, 3.10 ERA, 20 G, 133.2 IP, 126 K, 1.152 WHIP
Left-Handed Pitcher of the Year	Chris Salberg (Sioux Falls) 11-1, 2.08 ERA, 20 G, 127.0 IP, 81 K, 1.354 WHIP
Rookie of the Year	Chase Porch (Pensacola) 70 G, .286/.332/378, 81 H, 38 R, 14 2B, 4 HR, 40 RBI
Manager of the Year	Steve Shirley (Sioux Falls) 63-33 record, Finals appearance

Postseason All-Stars

Catcher	Lou Palmisano (Pensacola) 84 G, .347/.459/.585, 102 H, 65 R, 22 2B, 16 HR, 64 RBI
First Base	Brandon Sing (Sioux Falls) 95 G, .349/.482/.702, 116 H, 87 R, 32 2B, 27 HR, 73 RBI, 78 BB
Second Base	Hector Bernal (El Paso/St. Paul) 85 G, .331/.409/.469, 113 H, 52 R, 19 2B, 8 3B, 4 HR, 53 RBI
Third Base	Trevor Lawhorn (Sioux Falls) 91 G, .292/.352/.499, 102 H, 54 R, 20 2B, 16 HR, 65 RBI
Shortstop	David Espinosa (Grand Prairie) 95 G, .351/.464/.519, 127 H, 86 R, 22 2B, 6 3B, 9 HR, 59 RBI, 13 SB
Outfield	Beau Torbert (Sioux Falls) 95 G, .394/.434/.684, 155 H, 79 R, 38 2B, 24 HR, 100 RBI
Outfield	Reggie Abercrombie (Sioux Falls) 88 G, .328/.364/.586, 118 H, 89 R, 19 2B, 22 HR, 90 RBI, 34 SB
Outfield	Greg Porter (Grand Prairie) 93 G, .379/.444/.611, 144 H, 79 R, 28 2B, 20 HR, 87 RBI
Designated Hitter	Christopher Garcia (Shreveport-Bossier) 94 G, .383/.490/.597, 134 H, 71 R, 31 2B, 14 HR, 90 RBI, 76 BB
Right-Handed Pitcher	Ben Moore (Sioux Falls) 11-8, 3.10 ERA, 20 G, 133.2 IP, 126 K, 1.152 WHIP
Left-Handed Pitcher	Chris Salberg (Sioux Falls) 11-1, 2.08 ERA, 20 G, 127.0 IP, 81 K, 1.354 WHIP
Relief Pitcher	Aaron Cotter (Sioux Falls) 2-0, 3.16 ERA, 37 G, 25 SV, 37.0 IP, 44 K, 1.189 WHIP

All-Star Game

July 27, 2010 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium – Wichita, KS

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
South	2	0	1	2	0	7	0	0	0	12	15	1
North	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	3	7	2