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47-579: Over a four-year period, the AA and IL had an interleague partnership called the Triple-A Alliance in which they played an interlocking schedule during the regular-season. After the leagues held separate playoffs to determine their champions, each winner met in the best-of-seven Triple-A Classic to determine an overall champion. The partnership and the Triple-A Classic were discontinued after

94-618: A Triple-A team that played in the American Association from 1955 to 1962, the Pacific Coast League from 1963 to 1968, and the American Association again from 1969 to 1992. They played their home games at Mile High Stadium . The Zephyrs won the American Association championship on seven occasions: 1957, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1983, and 1991. They also won the 1957 Junior World Series and

141-525: A fastball to win the game and give Indianapolis a 4–2 series win. Third baseman Tim Hulett, who had a batting average of .286 with 6 RBIs, was selected as the series MVP. The Indianapolis Indians qualified for the 1989 Triple-A Classic, their second appearance in the series, by winning the AA championship versus the Omaha Royals, 3–2. The Richmond Braves qualified by winning the IL championship against

188-557: A 4–4 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning when Mark Bailey drove in Alonzo Powell for the decisive run. Game Six remained scoreless until the Indians collected three unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth. The Red Wings got a run in the top of the ninth, to make the score 3–1. Then, with the go-ahead run at home plate, runners at first and second base, two outs, and a 2–2 count, Tom Waddell struck out Carl Nichols with

235-511: A best-of-five series between division winners. The leagues' champions then met to determine an Alliance champion in the Triple-A Classic , a best-of-seven series. In the 1988 Classic, the AA's Indianapolis Indians defeated the IL's Rochester Red Wings , 4–2. Over the course of the season, the AA led with 187 interleague wins to the IL's 131 wins. Both leagues reported increases in regular and postseason attendance during

282-638: A best-of-five series to determine a league champion. The league champions went on to compete in a best-of-seven series, the Triple-A Classic, to determine an overall champion. All four Triple-A Classics were won by American Association teams, including two by the Indianapolis Indians. Denver Zephyrs The Denver Zephyrs (formerly the Denver Bears ) were a Minor League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado , United States. They were

329-535: A complete game and allowed only 2 runs on 8  hits while his team scored 10 runs on 16 hits in a 10–2 Indians win. Paul Noce led the scoring with three RBIs collected in a bases-loaded triple in the eighth. Indianapolis evened the series with an 11–8 win in Game Four. The Indians' Darryl Motley and Tim Hulett each had three RBIs in the high-scoring affair. Indianapolis made it three-straight victories with an 8–4 Game Five win. The Indians broke

376-602: A hit until the fifth inning. Columbus threatened in the ninth, but reliever Tim Fortugno retired the last two batters with the bases loaded. The Zephyrs took a two-game lead with a 13–1 victory in Game Two. William Suero collected three RBIs and came around to score three runs. Though the Zephyrs managed only four hits, Denver won Game Three, 3–2. Game Four was postponed after the Clippers' uniforms and equipment did not reach

423-479: A one-time event following poor attendance and the leagues being unable to decide on a suitable location for future events. The Triple-A Alliance , an interleague partnership between the eight teams of the American Association (AA) and the eight teams of the International League (IL), was formed in 1987 at the annual Triple-A fall meeting. The Triple-A Pacific Coast League , located primarily in

470-552: A spot in the 1990 Triple-A Classic by winning the AA championship over the Nashville Sounds , 3–2. The Rochester Red Wings qualified for their second Classic by winning the IL championship against the Columbus Clippers, 3–2. The first three games were to be held at Rochester's Silver Stadium, and the rest of the series was to be played at Omaha's Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium . Rochester took Game One, 4–3, behind

517-504: A total of 40 interleague games in their 142-game schedules in 1988. The Triple-A Pacific Coast League , located primarily in the Western United States, chose not to participate due to the difficulties and high costs associated with travel to cities in the other leagues. The AA and IL were each organized into two four-team divisions, East and West. At the end of the season, each league determined its own champion in

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564-662: The Kansas City Blues were forced to relocate after the American League 's Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City, Missouri , to become the Kansas City Athletics . Although naming a team for its uniform color had been popular in the 19th century, it was not fashionable in the 20th. As Denver had no connection to the original Blues, and in recognition of the new location in the Rockies ,

611-591: The Syracuse Chiefs , 3–2. The first three games were to be held at Indianapolis' Owen J. Bush Stadium before the remainder of the series shifted to The Diamond in Richmond. Indianapolis opened the series with a 7–4 win in Game One. They took the lead in the bottom of the third inning on a three-run home run by Razor Shines and did not relinquish. Game Two was halted after four innings due to rain, with

658-456: The winter meetings to make a final decision. However, that September at the Triple-A fall meeting, the IL voted 4–3, with one abstention, to terminate the alliance, while the AA was unanimous in wishing to continue. A combination of poor attendance, travel costs, and difficulty in drawing up season schedules were all factors in their decision to end the partnership. The final Triple-A Classic

705-521: The 12th when the Royals' Chito Martínez drove in the winning run for a 5–4 win. The Royals won Game Four, in which the two teams combined for 33 hits, 9–7. Omaha scored four runs in the first inning of Game Five, which would be all they needed. The Royals won the game, 9–3, and the Triple-A Classic, 4–1. Omaha first baseman Russ Morman was selected as the series MVP for his .571 average with 3 home runs and 9 RBIs. The Denver Zephyrs qualified for

752-455: The 1970s to the mid-1980s, producing such players as Andre Dawson , Tim Wallach , Warren Cromartie , Tim Raines , Graig Nettles , Terry Francona , Wallace Johnson , Danny Morris , Pat Rooney , and Bill Gullickson . Denver players Richie Scheinblum (1971), Cliff Johnson (1973), Roger Freed (1976), Frank Ortenzio (1977), and Randy Bass (1980) were league MVPs. The managing careers of both Billy Martin and Felipe Alou began with

799-653: The 1988 Triple-A Classic by winning the AA championship over the Omaha Royals , 3–1. The Rochester Red Wings won the IL championship and a series berth by defeating the Tidewater Tides , 3–1. The first three games were to be held at Rochester's Silver Stadium , while the remaining games were to be played at Indianapolis' Owen J. Bush Stadium . In Game One, Rochester defeated Indianapolis, 3–2. The Indians led 2–0 until

846-530: The 1989 Triple-A Classic. The IL narrowly won the regular interleague series, 178–170. Each league set new attendance records with over five million people visiting Alliance ballparks. Commissioner Harold Cooper retired after the season and was succeeded by Randy Mobley who had served as administrator of the Alliance and the International League for the past two seasons. In 1990, the Alliance

893-588: The 1991 Triple-A Classic . Denver, Colorado , had been the home of numerous minor league baseball teams dating back to 1885 with an unnamed team of the Colorado State League . Off and on from 1901 to 1954, the city was represented by the Denver Bears of the Western League . In 1955, the Class A Bears were replaced by a Triple-A team of the American Association . This came about when

940-575: The 1991 Triple-A Classic by winning the AA championship over the Buffalo Bisons , 3–2. The Columbus Clippers secured their spot by sweeping the Pawtucket Red Sox , 3–0, to win the IL championship. The first three games were scheduled to be held at Denver's Mile High Stadium before the remainder of the series moved to Columbus' Cooper Stadium . Denver took Game One, 5–2, behind the starting pitching of Mark Kiefer , who did not allow

987-521: The 1991 season due to poor attendance, high travel costs, and the difficulty of drawing up season schedules. All four Triple-A Classics were won by American Association teams. The Indianapolis Indians won the first two series held in 1988 and 1989, the Omaha Royals won in 1990, and the Denver Zephyrs won the final series in 1991. Periodically from 1904 to 1975, the champions from the top-classification leagues of Minor League Baseball met in

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1034-489: The AA and an IL-record 2,958,482—six of eight IL teams had below-average attendances when hosting interleague teams. The combination of poor attendance, travel costs, and difficulty in drawing up season schedules were all factors in their decision to end the partnership. The final Triple-A Classic was won by the AA's Denver Zephyrs , 4–1, versus the Columbus Clippers . The IL bested their AA opponents, 139–99, in

1081-477: The AA champion's ballpark and the remaining games at that of the IL champion. Home-field advantage continued to alternate each year. On July 9, 1991, at the Triple-A All-Star Game, International League team owners voted, 5–3, to discontinue interleague play with the American Association after the season. Randy Mobley, alliance commissioner and president of the AA, persuaded the IL to wait until

1128-499: The Alliance voted at the 1990 Winter Meetings to contract its interleague schedule to save on travel expenses. The 144-game 1991 schedule eliminated games between the AA West and IL East. On July 9, 1991, at the Triple-A All-Star Game, International League team owners voted, 5–3, to discontinue interleague play with the American Association after the season. Despite an overall increase in attendance—a minor-league record 4,093,525 for

1175-433: The Alliance's first year. The partnership was subsequently extended through 1991. In order to cut down on the amount of travel required by the two-day series often scheduled in the 1988 season, the 1989 slate was expanded to 146 games with 44 interleague games per team, increasing most interleague series to three games. The Indianapolis Indians repeated as Alliance champions, defeating the IL's Richmond Braves , 4–0, in

1222-540: The American Association scheduled the Bears for a home game every year. It was on these nights that the Bears drew the largest crowds in minor league baseball history. On July 4, 1982, the Bears drew an all-time minor league record of 65,666 for a game against the Omaha Royals , breaking their own record of 59,691 set on July 4 of the previous year. The Triple-A Bears were affiliated with the New York Yankees at

1269-639: The Bears. The team won the Association's championship with some regularity, topping the league in 1971, 1976, 1977, 1981, and 1983. The 1980 Bears were recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time . In 1984, the team name was changed to the Denver Zephyrs, after the famous passenger train . Barry Larkin (1986) was league MVP while with the Zephyrs, as were Greg Vaughn (1989), Jim Olander (1991), and Jim Tatum (1992). ESPN broadcaster Orestes Destrade also played for

1316-420: The IL in 1919. Officials from the IL voted to discontinue the series after 1975 due to their playoff teams being weakened by major league call-ups, the unavailability of some stadiums late in the year, high travel expenses, and low attendance, which led to low revenue for team owners. A Triple-A World Series was held in 1983 as a round-robin tournament between the champions of all three leagues, but this became

1363-445: The Indians leading 5–2. After a nearly four-hour delay, it was postponed and rescheduled for the next day as a day-night doubleheader . The Alliance's rules allowed for completing suspended games from the point they were stopped, but Alliance commissioner Harold Cooper ruled that it did not apply to playoff games. As a result, the game would be played over from the start. In the replayed Game Two, Richmond got out to an early 2–0 lead in

1410-628: The Omaha Royals won in 1990, and the Denver Zephyrs won the final series in 1991. Each year, one player from the winning team was recognized for their outstanding play in the series and given the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. Triple-A Alliance The Triple-A Alliance was an interleague partnership between the American Association (AA) and International League (IL) Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball from 1988 to 1991. The two leagues played an interlocking schedule consisting of 40 to 44 interleague games per team. At

1457-545: The Triple-A Alliance and Classic a success, the Alliance approached Major League Baseball about continuing the Classic for three years. Permission was granted, and the interleague partnership was extended through 1991. Major League Baseball, however, refused to allow the series to be televised so as not to compete with their own televised pennant race games. The first three games of the 1989 Classic were scheduled for

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1504-433: The Western United States, chose not to participate due to the difficulties and high costs associated with travel to cities in the other leagues. Beginning in 1988, each league held separate playoffs after their regular-seasons to determine their own champions, with the winners meeting in the Triple-A Classic, a best-of-seven series to determine an Alliance champion. The 1988 Triple-A Classic was approved for only one year with

1551-459: The Zephyrs. On June 3, 1987, Zephyrs player Joey Meyer hit the longest verified home run in American professional baseball history at 582 feet. The Zephyrs' only championship under the new nickname was the 1991 American Association title. They went on to win the 1991 Triple-A Classic against the International League 's Columbus Clippers , 4–1. Major League Baseball came to Denver with

1598-464: The bat of Chris Hoiles , who hit a three-run home run in the first inning. Carrying a 4–3 lead into the ninth inning of Game Two, it looked like the Red Wings would make it two wins in a row until the Royals rallied for four runs on the way to a 7–4 victory. Omaha's Russ Morman singled to tie the game, and Tommy Hinzo tripled in two runs for the lead. Game Three remained tied, 4–4, until the top of

1645-474: The bottom of the eighth inning, when the Red Wings' Ken Landreaux tied the game with a two- run home run . Craig Worthington hit the game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth. Rochester took a 2–0 series lead by winning Game Two, 5–0. Landreaux collected four of his team's five RBIs with a third-inning grand slam . Pete Harnisch pitched a complete game shutout for the Red Wings. In Game Three, Indianapolis starting pitcher Randy Johnson tossed

1692-500: The end of each season, an Alliance champion was determined in the Triple-A Classic , a best-of-seven postseason series. The Triple-A Alliance, with Harold Cooper as its commissioner, was formed on October 1, 1987, at the annual Triple-A fall meeting in Hollywood, Florida . Under the partnership, the 8 teams of the American Association and the 8 teams of the International League would play each other 5 times for

1739-446: The first, but Indianapolis scored four runs in the fifth and held the lead for a 4–3 victory. The Indians also won the nightcap by a score of 4–3. In Game Four, Indianapolis scored five runs in the fifth inning to erase a 3–0 Braves lead on the way to a 7–4 win, a four-game sweep, and their second Triple-A Classic title. Outfielder Darryl Motley was selected as the series MVP after he hit .371 with 6 RBIs. The Omaha Royals secured

1786-471: The outset, with Ralph Houk managing many players who would reach the majors and play in the World Series . The team had some early success, winning the American Association championship in 1957. League MVPs in this period included Marv Throneberry in 1956 and Steve Boros in 1960. Although the team had been a member of the American Association since the league's inception 60 years before, it

1833-424: The postseason to determine a champion amongst them. The Little World Series (1904–1931) and Junior World Series (1932–1975) usually consisted of a best-of-seven (or eight) series modeled on the World Series of Major League Baseball . Most often, it was held between the champions of the International League (IL) and the American Association (AA), though the Pacific Coast League (PCL) participated in place of

1880-426: The provision that it not be televised. The first three games were scheduled to be held at the International League champion's ballpark, while the fourth and any additional necessary games were to be played at the American Association champion's stadium. The AA's Indianapolis Indians defeated the IL's Rochester Red Wings , 4–2. Total attendance for the six-game-series was 24,602, an average of 4,100 per game. Deeming

1927-477: The regular season. After four years of interleague competition, the American Association's record stood at 637–618. Over the all-time interleague series, American Association teams won 637 games, 19 more than the International League's 618 wins. The AA won the 1988 and 1990 regular season series, while the IL won the 1989 and 1991 series. At the end of the season, the first-place team in each league's divisions faced off against one another in

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1974-399: The stadium in time for the game. Played the next night, Columbus won Game Four, 10–1, with the crucial runs being scored in the first inning on a ground rule double by John Ramos and a groundout by Torey Lovullo . In an extra-innings Game Five, Denver's William Suero reached second base on a two-base error , advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jim Olander , and scored what would be

2021-455: The team became known as Bears. The new Denver team played at what became known later as Mile High Stadium , but was originally known as Bears Stadium, after the team. This ballpark was one of the largest venues in history to host minor league baseball on a routine basis, and had the additional draw of being in one of the largest minor league markets at the time. For many years, the biggest crowds were on Independence Day fireworks nights, and

2068-422: The winning run on a ground out by Carmen Castillo in the top of the 11th. Denver held on to the lead, winning the game, 5–4, and the Classic, 4–1. Zephyrs starter Mark Kiefer, who earned the win in Game One and stuck out 10 batters over eight innings, was named the series MVP. All four Triple-A Classics were won by American Association teams. The Indianapolis Indians won the first two series held in 1988 and 1989,

2115-510: Was a Midwestern circuit, so for the 1963 season, the Bears transferred to the Pacific Coast League . The mid-1960s Bears included such future big-leaguers as César Tovar and Ted Uhlaender , but lacked overall success. It also turned out that with the PCL otherwise all but confined to the actual Pacific Coast , Denver was now located too far east. In 1969, the franchise returned to the American Association. The Denver Bears had some good teams from

2162-401: Was operated under the same 146-game schedule with 44 interleague contests per team. At the 1990 Triple-A Classic, the AA's Omaha Royals defeated the IL's Rochester Red Wings, 4–1. The AA won the regular season with 181 wins to the IL's 170. Facing the possibility of increased costs to be incurred under a new Professional Baseball Agreement between Major and Minor League Baseball teams,

2209-482: Was won by the AA's Denver Zephyrs , 4–1, versus the Columbus Clippers . Six years later, Triple-A owners voted for a realignment plan that resulted in the American Association disbanding and its teams being absorbed by the International League and Pacific Coast League after the 1997 season. This paved the way for a revival of the Triple-A World Series in 1998. The Indianapolis Indians qualified for

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