2020
To call it anything short of a miracle would be selling it short. In a summer where basically everything was cancelled, the American Association managed to play something resembling a championship season with fans in the stands—a feat that no other league in North America pulled off in 2020.
Of course, the season looked a lot different: just 6 of 12 teams competed and only 60 games were played instead of the normal 100. The season also didn’t begin until July 3. But only one player tested positive for COVID and the only cancellation was a doubleheader due to rain in the final weekend of the season. Somehow, someway, the AA pulled it off.
Cleburne, Gary SouthShore, Kansas City, Lincoln, Sioux City, and Texas all took the season off (Texas never came back), while Winnipeg couldn’t cross the border, so they were stationed in Fargo, shacked up with archrival Fargo-Moorhead. Sioux Falls also hosted St. Paul for the first month of the year before the Saints returned home in August. Chicago was originally slated to share Milwaukee for the summer, but the Dogs received clearance to come home shortly before Opening Day. Due to tiny crowds in Fargo, Winnipeg wound up moving three August “home” series to their opponent’s venues in Chicago and Milwaukee.
The top two teams squared off in the only best-of-seven series in AA history, with Milwaukee overtaking Sioux Falls late in the season, while homeless Winnipeg was in playoff position for much of the year before a late 11-game losing streak sunk them down to fourth.
In the AA Finals, Milwaukee won the first three games of the series en route to a 4-1 series victory to claim the Miles Wolff Cup in just their second year of existence.
Final Standings (Click on team name for full schedule)
| Team | W | L | Win Pct. | GB | Runs Scored | Runs Allowed | Attend. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Milkmen-x | 34 | 26 | .567 | — | 262 | 235 | 34,395 |
| Sioux Falls Canaries-x | 31 | 27 | .534 | 2.0 | 342 | 351 | 28,931 |
| St. Paul Saints | 30 | 30 | .500 | 4.0 | 311 | 314 | 31,824* |
| Winnipeg Goldeyes | 29 | 31 | .483 | 5.0 | 294 | 296 | 15,315^ |
| Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks | 28 | 32 | .467 | 6.0 | 286 | 286 | 33,506 |
| Chicago Dogs | 26 | 32 | .448 | 7.0 | 304 | 317 | 35,179 |
*St. Paul played 12 home games in Sioux Falls due to COVID-19 restrictions
Attendance: 5,323 (12 games) in Sioux Falls; 26,501 (18 games) in St. Paul
^Winnipeg played all 30 home games in Fargo, Milwaukee, and St. Paul
Attendance: 6,430 (21 games) in Fargo, 4,385 (6 games) in Milwaukee, 4,500 (3 games in St. Paul)
Cleburne, Gary SouthShore, Kansas City, Lincoln, Sioux City, and Texas all sat out the season due to COVID-19.
Playoffs
American Association Finals — MILWAUKEE WINS 4-1
| Date | Score | W | L | SV | Attend. |
| 9/12/20 | Sioux Falls 6 at Milwaukee 11 | R. Kussmaul | T. Herron | – | 1,117 |
| 9/13/20 | Sioux Falls 0 at Milwaukee 2 | J. Kipper | R. Flores | P. Gray | 1,215 |
| 9/15/20 | Milwaukee 10, Sioux Falls 5 | M. Smith | R. Fritze | – | 538 |
| 9/16/20 | Milwaukee 3 at Sioux Falls 5 | J. Zokan | T. Dillard | – | 475 |
| 9/17/20 | Milwaukee 4, Sioux Falls 1 | D. Holmberg | T. Herron | – | 391 |
Finals MVP: Zach Nehrir (Milwaukee) — .389/.500/.889, 7 H, 5 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI
Award Winners
| Player of the Year | Adam Brett Walker (Milwaukee) 57 G, .268/.320/.609, 59 H, 42 R, 22 HR, 50 RBI |
| Pitcher of the Year | Mike Devine (St. Paul) 4-3, 2.58 ER, 12 G, 80.1 IP, 89 K, 1.033 WHIP |
| Rookie of the Year | Peyton Gray (Milwaukee) 3-0, 0.00 ERA, 30 G, 14 SV, 32.0 IP, 56 K, 0.750 WHIP |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Michael Crouse (Chicago) 58 G, .987 Fld%, 2 errors in 153 chances in CF |
| Brett Vertigan (Milwaukee) 60 G, 1.000 Fld%, 142 errorless chances in CF | |
| Manager of the Year | Rick Forney (Winnipeg) 29-31 record, kept road team in first place for over half a season |
Postseason All-Stars
| Catcher | Chris Chinea (St. Paul) 57 G, .293/.331/.444, 70 H, 31 R, 24 2B, 4 HR, 37 RBI |
| First Base | Kyle Martin (Winnipeg) 60 G, .301/.370/.566, 68 H, 40 R, 10 2B, 16 HR, 51 RBI |
| Second Base | Edwin Arroyo (Chicago) 57 G, .300/.379/.418, 66 H, 34 R, 14 2B, 4 HR, 23 RBI |
| Third Base | Damek Tomscha (Sioux Falls) 55 G, .320/.367/.537, 74 H, 36 R, 12 2B, 10 HR, 49 RBI |
| Shortstop | Andrew Ely (Sioux Falls) 58 G, .295/.382/.484, 72 H, 55 R, 15 2B, 9 HR, 30 RBI |
| Outfield | Logan Landon (Sioux Falls) 56 G, .333/.383/.526, 76 H, 37 R, 12 2B, 10 HR, 43 RBI |
| Outfield | Mikey Reynolds (St. Paul) 54 G, .332/.386/.529, 79 H, 36 R, 18 2B, 7 HR, 28 RBI |
| Outfield | Adam Brett Walker (Milwaukee) 57 G, .268/.320/.609, 59 H, 42 R, 22 HR, 50 RBI |
| Designated Hitter | Drew Ward (Fargo-Moorhead) 58 G, .335/.407/.633, 73 H, 42 R, 24 2B, 17 HR, 45 RBI |
| Starting Pitcher | Mike Devine (St. Paul) 4-3, 2.58 ER, 12 G, 80.1 IP, 89 K, 1.033 WHIP |
| Relief Pitcher | Peyton Gray (Milwaukee) 3-0, 0.00 ERA, 30 G, 14 SV, 32.0 IP, 56 K, 0.750 WHIP |
AABaseballFan.com 