2016

After trotting out a odd 13-team lineup in three of the past four seasons and staging interleague contests with the Can-Am League to keep the balanced scheduled, the American Association trimmed its lineup to 12 teams and ditched interleague play. After attendance dropped precipitously again in 2015, the Amarillo Thunderbirds ceased operations—sort of. They merged with another struggling organization, the Grand Prairie AirHogs, and the newly-rechristened Texas AirHogs would fill the gap in a way not seen before or since: they played 25 games apiece in Grand Prairie and Amarillo.

Instability and financial pressures would be a black eye on the South Division all season, as in addition to Texas, Laredo’s attendance continued to fall off a cliff in what proved to be their final season and Joplin posted the lowest full-season attendance in AA history while barely making it through their second (and final season).

On the field, St. Paul and Wichita tied for the league’s best record, winning division crowns in the process, while Sioux City fell 21 wins shy of their 2015 total, but still snuck in two games ahead of Gary SouthShore and Lincoln in a mediocre, but competitive Central Division. Winnipeg, meanwhile, played (and won) one more game than Laredo (the Goldeyes held the tiebreaker anyways), taking the wild card spot.

In the postseason, Wichita scored 32 runs in the final three games of a first-round series win over Sioux City, while Winnipeg played a very tight five-game series against St. Paul, winning the final two games on the road. The Goldeyes repeated the act in the Finals, falling behind 2-1 before winning the final two games in Wichita to earn their second AA crown.

Final Standings (Click on team name for full schedule)

North Division

Team	W	L	Win Pct.	GB	Runs Scored	Runs Allowed	Attend.
St. Paul Saints-y	61	39	.610	—	571	471	413,482
Winnipeg Goldeyes-x	58	42	.580	3.0	594	511	231,206
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks	52	48	.520	9.0	543	480	180,345
Sioux Falls Canaries	40	60	.400	21.0	450	573	125,591

Central Division

Team	W	L	Win Pct.	GB	Runs Scored	Runs Allowed	Attend.
Sioux City Explorers-y	54	46	.540	—	572	515	68,278
Gary SouthShore RailCats	52	48	.520	2.0	466	461	163,519
Lincoln Saltdogs	52	48	.520	2.0	421	424	169,750
Kansas City T-Bones	42	58	.420	12.0	430	521	213,165

South Division

Team	W	L	Win Pct.	GB	Runs Scored	Runs Allowed	Attend.
Wichita Wingnuts-y	61	39	.610	—	581	481	150,929
Laredo Lemurs	57	42	.576	3.5	486	399	41,955
Joplin Blasters	36	64	.360	25.0	447	572	31,001
Texas AirHogs	34	65	.180	26.5	411	564	44,282*

*Split home games between Grand Prairie and Amarillo
Attendance: 26,561 (25 games) in Grand Prairie, 17,721 (25 games) in Amarillo

Playoffs

First Round — WINNIPEG WINS 3-2

Date	Score	W	L	SV	Attend.
9/8/16	St. Paul 1 at Winnipeg 0	M. Hamburger	M. O’Brien	R. Rodebaugh	3,015
9/9/16	St. Paul 7 at Winnipeg 9	E. Carl	R. Coe	W. Abreu	2,453
9/10/16	Winnipeg 2 at St. Paul 3	R. Rodebaugh	K. Anderson	–	5,023
9/11/16	Winnipeg 5 at St. Paul 4	V. Capellan	R. Rodebaugh	W. Abreu	2,442
9/12/16	Winnipeg 3 at St. Paul 1	M. O’Brien	M. Hamburger	W. Abreu	2,445

First Round — WICHITA WINS 3-1

Date	Score	W	L	SV	Attend.
9/7/16	Wichita 5 at Sioux City 6 (10 innings)	R. Wort	F. Reed	–	542
9/8/16	Wichita 9 at Sioux City 3	A. Boshers	C. Forsythe	–	597
9/10/16	Sioux City 0 at Wichita 13	J. Pratt	J. Kuebler	–	1,022
9/11/16	Sioux City 5 at Wichita 10	M. Devine	R. Roibal		1,020

American Association Finals — WINNIPEG WINS 3-2

Date	Score	W	L	SV	Attend.
9/13/17	Wichita 0 at Winnipeg 5	E. Carl	T. Brown	–	3,490
9/14/17	Wichita 9 at Winnipeg 2	A. Boshers	K. McGovern	–	3,532
9/16/17	Winnipeg 5 at Wichita 7	E. Medina	M. O’Brien	F. Reed	1,237
9/17/17	Winnipeg 5 at Wichita 4	E. Carl	T. Kane	W. Abreu	1,017
9/19/17	Winnipeg 11 at Wichita 4	K. McGovern	A. Boshers	–	1,013

Award Winners

Player of the Year	Nate Samson (Sioux City) 100 G, .350/.424/.483, 30 2B, 6 HR, 68 RBI, 31 SB
Pitcher of the Year	Lindsey Caughel (Lincoln) 6-3, 2.09 ERA, 19 G, 2 CG, 124.2 IP, 120 K, 1.003 WHIP
Rookie of the Year	Matt Chavez (Wichita) 68 G, .359/.421/.633, 93 H, 42 R, 23 2B, 16 HR, 61 RBI
Defensive Player of the Year	Jose Gonzalez (Gary SouthShore) 63 G, .979 Fld%, 9 errors, 34% caught stealing at C
Manager of the Year	Greg Tagert (Gary SouthShore) 52-48 record, seven-game improvement

Postseason All-Stars

Catcher	Luis Alen (Lincoln) 95 G, .297/.379/.404, 105 H, 41 R, 11 2B, 9 HR, 53 RBI
First Base	David Rohm (Winnipeg) 98 G, .339/.398/.464, 1124 H, 58 R, 19 2B, 7 HR, 71 RBI
Second Base	Brett Wiley (Kansas City) 95 G, .305/.365/.426, 111 H, 46 R, 23 2B, 5 HR, 45 RBI
Third Base	Josh Mazzola (Fargo-Moorhead) 100 G, .259/.349/.459, 101 H, 72 R, 18 2B, 20 HR, 78 RBI
Shortstop	Nate Samson (Sioux City) 100 G, .350/.424/.483, 30 2B, 6 HR, 68 RBI, 31 SB
Outfield	Willie Cabrera (Joplin/Winnipeg) 89 G, .318/.389/.518, 108 H, 58 R, 17 2B, 17 HR, 77 RBI
Outfield	Keury De La Cruz (Fargo-Moorhead) 99 G, .316/.341/.515, 137 H, 76 R, 32 2B, 18 HR, 72 RBI, 19 SB
Outfield	Alonzo Harris (St. Paul) 93 G, .307/.352/.488, 120 H, 67 R, 16 2B, 15 HR, 58 RBI, 43 SB
Designated Hitter	Curt Smith (Lincoln) 82 G, .331/.403/.548, 104 H, 50 R, 17 2B, 17 HR, 60 RBI
Starting Pitcher	Lindsey Caughel (Lincoln) 6-3, 2.09 ERA, 19 G, 2 CG, 124.2 IP, 120 K, 1.003 WHIP
Relief Pitcher	Ryan Rodebaugh (St. Paul) 3-2, 1.85 ERA, 38 G, 23 SV, 39.0 IP, 52 K, 0.949 WHIP

All-Star Game

August 2, 2016 at CHS Field – St. Paul, MN

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