2019

For the third year in a row, the American Association welcomed an expansion team into the fold, though for the second straight season it was at the expense of another team going out of business. After 11 incredible seasons of on-field success, the Wichita Wingnuts ceased operations to clear the way for a new Triple-A ballpark to be built on the previous site of Lawrence-Dumont Stadium for the 2020 season.

Entering the fray would be the Milwaukee Milkmen, who would be moving into a new ballpark in Franklin, Wisconsin…except that the ballpark was not ready for Opening Day. The Milkmen would be forced to play their first three home series in Kokomo, Indiana in front of comically small crowds before finally moving into Routine Field in mid-June.

On the field, the North saw an impressively strong division with four legitimate contenders and the league’s three best records. St. Paul barely edged out Fargo-Moorhead for the division crown, while Kansas City claimed their first-ever division crown in the South. The T-Bones stormed back from 10 games back of Cleburne with a month to play to knock the Railroaders out (and also scoot Sioux City into the postseason).

In September, Sioux City bounced the defending champion T-Bones, while St. Paul stormed back from a 2-0 series deficit (and a 4-0 hole in Game 3) to stun Fargo-Moorhead, then swept the X’s for their first championship since the 2004 Northern League crown. The Saints, appropriately, celebrated with a one-block-long championship parade that lasted all of three minutes.

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	64	36	.640	—	550	452	394,970
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks-x	63	37	.616	1.5	568	429	161,857
Chicago Dogs	59	41	.590	5.0	589	481	166,672
Winnipeg Goldeyes	57	43	.570	7.0	530	482	195,787
Gary SouthShore RailCats	40	59	.404	23.5	413	475	167,887
Milwaukee Milkmen	38	62	.380	26.0	364	473	59,459*

South Division

Team	W	L	Win Pct.	GB	Runs Scored	Runs Allowed	Attend.
Kansas City T-Bones-y	58	42	.580	—	496	468	156,068
Sioux City Explorers-x	57	43	.570	1.0	498	440	51,618
Cleburne Railroaders	57	43	.570	1.0	594	450	78,624
Lincoln Saltdogs	40	59	.404	17.5	399	480	168,394
Sioux Falls Canaries	38	62	.380	20.0	535	629	114,452
Texas AirHogs	28	72	.280	30.0	354	641	59,471

*Milwaukee began season in Kokomo, IN while awaiting stadium completion
Attendance: 697 (14 games) in Kokomo, 58,762 in Milwaukee (36 games)

Playoffs

North Division Series — ST. PAUL WINS 3-2

Date	Score	W	L	SV	Attend.
9/4/19	St. Paul 2 at Fargo-Moorhead 3	R. Williams	C. Lee	G. Broussard	1,075
9/5/19	St. Paul 3 at Fargo-Moorhead 4	M. Tamburino	L. Beck	G. Broussard	1,176
9/7/19	Fargo-Moorhead 4 at St. Paul 6	J. Jess	S. Kessay	T. Kiest	3,062
9/8/19	Fargo-Moorhead 0 at St. Paul 1	T. Kiest	J.R. Bunda	–	1,608
9/10/19	Fargo-Moorhead 7 at St. Paul 9	K. Kowalczyk	G. Broussard	T. Kiest	2,263

South Division Series — SIOUX CITY WINS 3-1

Date	Score	W	L	SV	Attend.
9/4/19	Kansas City 12 at Sioux City 8	H. Smith	C. Sierra	–	691
9/5/19	Kansas City 0 at Sioux City 11	E. Karch	J. Mesa Jr.	–	618
9/7/19	Sioux City 8 at Kansas City 3	P. Tago	T. Collier	–	1,275
9/8/19	Sioux City 5 at Kansas City 2 (13 innings)	M. Pobereyko	A. DiPiazza	–	402

American Association Finals — ST. PAUL WINS 3-0

Date	Score	W	L	SV	Attend.
9/11/19	St. Paul 12 at Sioux City 3	J. Jess	E. Karch	–	773
9/12/19	St. Paul 3 at Sioux City 2	K. Kowalczyk	T. Falwell	T. Kiest	844
9/14/19	Sioux City 3 at St. Paul 6	J. Jess	T. Jord	T. Kiest	5,353

Finals MVP: Chesny Young (St. Paul) — .400/.500/.800, 4 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI

Award Winners

Player of the Year	Keon Barnum (Chicago) 98 G, .311/.395/.635, 116 H, 26 2B, 31 HR, 90 RBI
Pitcher of the Year	Mitch Lambson (Winnipeg) 13-4, 3.11 ERA, 21 G, 4 CG, 150.2 IP, 133 K, 1.235 WHIP
Rookie of the Year	Mike Hart (Sioux Falls) 78 G, .291/.386/.491, 80 H, 17 2B, 11 HR, 41 RBI
Defensive Player of the Year	Yhoxian Medina (Fargo-Moorhead) 84 G, .986 Fld%, 5 errors in 354 chances at SS
Manager of the Year	Jim Bennett (Fargo-Moorhead) 63-37 record, playoff berth, 12-game improvement

Postseason All-Stars

Catcher	John Nester (Cleburne) 85 G, .277/.342/.505, 89 H, 55 R, 23 2B, 16 HR, 63 RBI
First Base	Keon Barnum (Chicago) 98 G, .311/.395/.635, 116 H, 26 2B, 31 HR, 90 RBI
Second Base	Alay Lago (Sioux Falls) 92 G, .339/.386/.531, 125 H, 58 R, 30 2B, 13 HR, 57 RBI, 14 SB
Third Base	Chase Simpson (Cleburne) 98 G, .272/.390/.536, 99 H, 64 R, 32 2B, 20 HR, 93 RBI, 72 BB
Shortstop	Nate Samson (Sioux City) 99 G, .324/.368/.453, 131 H, 60 R, 24 2B, 6 HR, 67 RBI, 21 SB
Outfield	Tim Colwell (Fargo-Moorhead) 100 G, .321/.376/.447, 130 H, 71 R, 24 2B, 5 HR, 54 RBI, 20 SB
Outfield	Dan Motl (St. Paul) 97 G, .328/416/.421, 120 H, 74 R, 14 2B, 4 HR, 42 RBI, 24 SB
Outfield	Victor Roache (Chicago) 97 G, .309/.397/.583, 112 H, 67 R, 25 2B, 24 HR, 79 RBI
Designated Hitter	Brady Shoemaker (St. Paul) 98 G, .319/.454/.541, 114 H, 70 R, 25 2B, 18 HR, 71 RBI
Starting Pitcher	Mitch Lambson (Winnipeg) 13-4, 3.11 ERA, 21 G, 4 CG, 150.2 IP, 133 K, 1.235 WHIP
Relief Pitcher	Geoff Broussard (Fargo-Moorhead) 1-2, 1.81 ERA, 42 G, 28 SV, 44.2 IP, 47 K, 1.231 WHIP

All-Star Game

July 23, 2019 at CHS Field – St. Paul, MN

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
South	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	5	1
North	0	0	0	1	1	1	2	2	X	6	11	1