2022
For 2022, the American Association made several notable changes: first was the expansion Lake Country DockHounds beginning play out of Oconomowoc, WI to replace the travelling Houston Apollos from 2021.
With the fifth Milwaukee/Chicago-area franchise in the fold, a reshuffling of divisions was necessary and the AA took a radical approach: ditching the North/South alignment that the league has used since returning to two divisions in 2018 and instead shifting to an East and West alignment for the first time in league history. The end result was rather odd: the West featured all six I-29 clubs (Fargo, Kansas City, Lincoln, Sioux City, Sioux Falls, Winnipeg), and the East featured the five Chicago/Milwaukee clubs (Chicago, Gary, Kane County, Lake Country, and Milwaukee)…and Cleburne, because they have to go somewhere.
The playoff format also changed once again: after going from 4 to 6 teams in 2021, the league boosted the playoff field to 8 of the 12 teams, while also giving the caveat of allowing the division champion to choose their first round opponent (i.e. allowing the East Division champion to avoid a trip to Cleburne in the first round).
The season also featured the first American Association All-Star Game since 2019, with the Chicago Dogs hosting the festivities at Impact Field for the first time.
On the field, the East featured a mediocre, but very close race, with all four playoff teams packed within four games of each other, with Chicago and Kane County at the top and Milwaukee one game behind them. Cleburne stumbled to a 6-24 start, but the Railroaders impressively rallied to finish .500 and cruise into the playoffs. The West saw two excellent clubs in Kansas City and Fargo-Moorhead duel to the end, with KC winning the West by a game, with Winnipeg cruising into the playoffs well behind them both. A year after a final-weekend choke by Lincoln sent Sioux City to the playoffs, the Saltdogs flipped the script, winning a tiebreaker with the X’s for the final spot.
Lincoln didn’t last, going two-and-out to Kansas City, but after downing rival Winnipeg, Fargo-Moorhead bounced the defending champions in the West Finals, winning both games in Kansas City. Meanwhile, Chicago elected to avoid a first-round trip to Texas but curiously picked co-division champion Milwaukee, which backfired, as the Milkmen claimed a series win. Cleburne won their first-ever playoff series over Kane County, but lost to Milwaukee in the West Finals.
Fargo-Moorhead and Milwaukee traded wins in four unmemorable games to start the Miles Wolff Cup Finals, but Game 5 was an absolute classic. The RedHawks rallied from five runs down to force extra innings, then took the title on Leobaldo Pina’s walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th. Fargo-Moorhead had their sixth league championship, but it was their first Miles Wolff Cup and their first championship since the final Northern League title in 2010.
Final Standings (Click on team name for full schedule)
East Division
| Team | W | L | Win Pct. | GB | Runs Scored | Runs Allowed | Attend. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Dogs–y | 54 | 46 | .540 | — | 554 | 484 | 191,984 |
| Kane County Cougars-x | 54 | 46 | .490 | — | 580 | 509 | 248,354 |
| Milwaukee Milkmen-x | 53 | 47 | .530 | 1.0 | 587 | 595 | 86,028 |
| Cleburne Railroaders-x | 50 | 50 | .500 | 4.0 | 592 | 604 | 65,062 |
| Gary SouthShore RailCats | 42 | 58 | .420 | 12.0 | 511 | 597 | 152,894 |
| Lake Country DockHounds | 34 | 66 | .340 | 20.0 | 517 | 691 | 93,711 |
West Division
| Team | W | L | Win Pct. | GB | Runs Scored | Runs Allowed | Attend. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Monarchs-y | 65 | 35 | .650 | — | 696 | 486 | 105,302 |
| Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks-x | 64 | 36 | .640 | 1.0 | 585 | 468 | 147,073 |
| Winnipeg Goldeyes-x | 53 | 47 | .530 | 12.0 | 587 | 514 | 163,893 |
| Lincoln Saltdogs-x | 49 | 51 | .490 | 16.0 | 498 | 539 | 144,494 |
| Sioux City Explorers | 49 | 51 | .490 | 16.0 | 496 | 520 | 52,121 |
| Sioux Falls Canaries | 33 | 67 | .330 | 32.0 | 464 | 658 | 59,425 |
Playoffs
East First Round — MILWAUKEE WINS 2-1
| Date | Score | W | L | SV | Attend. |
| 9/7/22 | Chicago 1 at Milwaukee 2 | A.J. Schugel | J. Kinley | R. Benoit | 586 |
| 9/9/22 | Milwaukee 6 at Chicago 8 | T. Lane | P. Gray | K. Marnon | 3,046 |
| 9/10/22 | Milwaukee 3 at Chicago 1 | F. Bartow | A.J. Kullman | R. Benoit | 2,269 |
East First Round — CLEBURNE WINS 2-1
| Date | Score | W | L | SV | Attend. |
| 9/7/22 | Kane County 1 at Cleburne 3 | K. McCarthy | V. Worley | N. Gardewine | 1,545 |
| 9/9/22 | Cleburne 4 at Kane County 6 | J. Fuentes | K. Hilton | R. Tapani | 1,268 |
| 9/10/22 | Cleburne 7 at Kane County 3 | J. Lucas | J. Fox | – | 1,162 |
West First Round — KANSAS CITY WINS 2-0
| Date | Score | W | L | SV | Attend. |
| 9/7/22 | Kansas City 5 at Lincoln 2 | M. Hall | G. Minier | A. Valdez | 704 |
| 9/9/22 | Lincoln 3 at Kansas City 8 | J. Martinson | G. Delano | – | 1,432 |
West First Round — FARGO-MOORHEAD WINS 2-1
| Date | Score | W | L | SV | Attend. |
| 9/7/22 | Fargo-Moorhead 3 at Winnipeg 6 | L. Bourassa | K. McGovern | – | 2,116 |
| 9/9/22 | Winnipeg 3 at Fargo-Moorhead 8 | T. Grauer | C. Davis | – | 1,630 |
| 9/10/22 | Winnipeg 3 at Fargo-Moorhead 7 | J. Jones | T. Strobel | – | 796 |
East Finals — MILWAUKEE WINS 2-0
| Date | Score | W | L | SV | Attend. |
| 9/12/22 | Milwaukee 5 at Cleburne 2 | A.J. Schugel | K. Bullard | B. Holmes | 1,002 |
| 9/14/22 | Cleburne 1 at Milwaukee 2 | R. Zimmerman | K. Hilton | R. Benoit | 854 |
West Finals — FARGO-MOORHEAD WINS 2-1
| Date | Score | W | L | SV | Attend. |
| 9/12/22 | Kansas City 5 at Fargo-Moorhead 2 | B. Glowicki | R. Birlingmair | A. Valdez | 742 |
| 9/14/22 | Fargo-Moorhead 8 at Kansas City 5 | B. Stover | J. Rhoades | A. DuBord | 1,378 |
| 9/15/22 | Fargo-Moorhead 4 at Kansas City 1 | P. Wigginton | J. Miller | A. DuBord | 406 |
Miles Wolff Cup Finals — FARGO-MOORHEAD WINS 3-2
| Date | Score | W | L | SV | Attend. |
| 9/17/22 | Fargo-Moorhead 1 at Milwaukee 7 | A.J. Schugel | K. McGovern | – | 1,065 |
| 9/18/22 | Fargo-Moorhead 7 at Milwaukee 3 | D. Feldman | B. Holmes | – | 705 |
| 9/20/22 | Milwaukee 2 at Fargo-Moorhead 7 | T. Grauer | R. Zimmerman | L. Lind | 1,501 |
| 9/21/22 | Milwaukee 3 at Fargo-Moorhead 0 | C. Young | P. Wigginton | R. Benoit | 1,537 |
| 9/22/22 | Milwaukee 8 at Fargo-Moorhead 9 (10 innings) | A. DuBord | F. Bartow | – | 1,236 |
Finals MVP: Leobaldo Pina (Fargo-Moorhead) — .318/.375/.409, 7 H, 3 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, walk-off single in Game 5
Award Winners
| Player of the Year | Max Murphy (Winnipeg) 100 G, .308/.360/.600, 124 H, 17 2B, 31 HR, 97 RBI |
| Pitcher of the Year | Matt Hall (Kansas City) 10-2, 1.10 ERA, 14 G, 82.0 IP, 113 K, 1.012 WHIP |
| Rookie Hitter of the Year | Daniel Lingua (Gary SouthShore) 96 G, .271/.351/.419, 97 H, 23 2B, 6 HR, 48 RBI, 29 SB |
| Rookie Pitcher of the Year | Tyler Grauer (Fargo-Moorhead) 10-5, 3.51, 21 G, 125.2 IP, 103 K, 1.21 WHIP |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Chase Harris (Sioux City) 80 G, .988 Fld%, 2 errors in 171 chances, 7 OF assists |
| Manager of the Year | Chris Coste (Fargo-Moorhead) 64-36 record, Miles Wolff Cup champions |
Postseason All-Stars
| Catcher | Ryan Lidge (Chicago) 95 G, .322/.426/.481, 108 H, 60 R, 17 2B, 12 HR, 80 RBI |
| First Base | David Washington (Winnipeg) 99 G, .272/.365/.564, 100 H, 62 R, 17 2B, 30 HR, 80 RBI |
| Second Base | Grant Kay (Chicago) 100 G, .296/.381/.542, 110 H, 67 R, 24 2B, 21 HR, 67 RBI |
| Third Base | Leobaldo Pina (Fargo-Moorhead) 95 G, .346/.401/.504, 129 H, 66 R, 33 2B, 8 HR, 67 RBI |
| Shortstop | Raul Navarro (Winnipeg) 91 G, .335/.392/.470, 124 H, 75 R, 24 2B, 6 HR, 51 RBI, 18 SB |
| Outfield | Jimmy Kerrigan (Kane County) 100 G, .304/.372/.595, 121 H, 80 R, 31 2B, 27 HR, 89 RBI |
| Outfield | Max Murphy (Winnipeg) 100 G, .308/.360/.600, 124 H, 76 R, 17 2B, 31 HR, 97 RBI |
| Outfield | Zach Nehrir (Cleburne) 95 G, .314/.397/.541, 119 H, 81 R, 25 2B, 17 HR, 72 RBI, 35 SB |
| Designated Hitter | Drew Ward (Fargo-Moorhead) 82 G, .345/.467/.584, 102 H, 64 R, 20 2B, 17 HR, 48 RBI |
| Starting Pitcher | Matt Hall (Kansas City) 10-2, 1.10 ERA, 14 G, 82.0 IP, 113 K, 1.012 WHIP |
| Relief Pitcher | Alex DuBord (Fargo-Moorhead) 2-2, 2.83 ERA, 37 G, 23 SV, 41.1 IP, 50 K, 1.331 WHIP |
All-Star Game
July 12, 2022 at Impact Field – Rosemont, IL
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| West | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 1 |
| East | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 1 |
Attendance: 4,143 Box Score
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