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This was a one-time event, however, and there was not another post-season meeting of these minor leagues until 1988-1991 when the International League and the American Association held the Triple-A Classic . More recently, a revived Triple-A World Series was held from 1998-2000 between the International League and the Pacific Coast League, matching Triple-A Baseball's two league champions in a best-of-five series to determine the true Triple-A Champion. The Triple-A World Series, played at beautiful Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nevada during the third week of September , was televised live worldwide on ESPN2 . The event was a sponsorship success, with companies such as the Las Vegas Convention And Visitors Authority , The Money Store , Cox Communications , and the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino using the event as a springboard for a promotion presence in the 30 League markets. Additional hospitality events including dinner cruises, fabulous Las Vegas shows, cocktail parties, and golf outings, made the vent memorable for sponsor guests, fans, players, and executives alike. 1983 TRIPLE-A WORLD SERIES The three league champions in 1983 were the Tidewater Tides of the International League, the Denver Bears of the American Association, and the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League. Tidewater had defeated the Richmond Braves 3 games to 1 to win their league's championship Governors' Cup . Denver defeated the Louisville Redbirds 4 games to 0 to win their league title, and Portland swept the Albuquerque Dukes in 3 games to take the PCL crown. Held in Louisville, Kentucky , Tidewater ended up winning the tournament and the World Series, with a 3-1 round robin record. With a 2-2 record, Portland finished second, and Denver finished at 1-3 in third place. This format for a post-season crown was not continued again, and this was the last time all three leagues faced each other in the same season. 1998 LAS VEGAS TRIPLE-A WORLD SERIES New Orleans Zephyrs (PCL) 3, Buffalo Bisons (IL) 1 MVP - Lance Berkman , OF, New Orleans (.467 avg., 3 HR, 6 RBI)
The New Orleans Zephyrs hit eight home runs to defeat the Buffalo Bisons 3 games to 1 in this battle of former American Association rivals. Left-hander John Halama went the distance for the Zephyrs in Game One, striking out nine and Daryle Ward hit a pair of home runs as New Orleans won the inaugural game. James Betzold , Phil Hiatt , and Jeff Manto each had a pair of RBI as the Bisons evened the series with a Game Two victory. Ken Ramos and Marc Ronan hit back-to-back homers in the bottom of the eighth inning of Game Three as New Orleans rallied for a 3-2 victory. Lance Berkman drove in six runs on three home runs and a single while Casey Candaele scored three runs as the New Orleans Zephyrs won Game Four to win the inaugural Las Vegas Triple-A World Series. Manto had three hits and three RBI in a losing effort. Buffalo defeated the Durham Bulls 3 games to 2 to advance to the World Series and New Orleans defeated the Calgary Cannons 3 games to 2 to advance. 1999 LAS VEGAS TRIPLE-A WORLD SERIES Vancouver Canadians (PCL) 3, Charlotte Knights (IL) 2 MVP - Terrence Long , OF, Vancouver (.429 avg., 9 hits, 10 RBI)
The Vancouver franchise capped its final season in Canada with a Triple-A World Series Title defeating the Charlotte Knights in 5 games. Eric Christopherson drove in Chad Mottola in the bottom of the 9th inning to lead Charlotte in a Game One victory. Terrence Long drove in three runs as the Canadians tied the series with a 5-4 Game Two win. Jon Garland struck out eight, allowing no earned runs, and Jeff Abbott , Jeff Liefer , and Luis Raven homered as the Knights won Game Three, 4-2. Jeff Ball , Mario Encarnacion , and Long each drove in two runs as Vancouver scored two in the bottom of the eighth inning to win Game Four 9-7. Tilson Brito had a pair of homers for Charlotte. Behind Mark Mulder 's complete game seven-hitter in Game Five, Vancouver blasted Charlotte 16-2 to win the 2nd Annual Triple-A World Series. Long drove in 4 runs, while Jose Ortiz and Roberto Vaz had 3 RBI apiece for the Canadians. Charlotte defeated the Durham Bulls 3 games to 1 to advance to the World Series and Vancouver defeated the Oklahoma RedHawks 3 games to 1 to advance. 2000 LAS VEGAS TRIPLE-A WORLD SERIES Indianapolis Indians (IL) 3, Memphis Redbirds (PCL) 1 MVP - Santiago Perez , SS, Indianapolis (.462 avg., 2 HR, 3 RBI, 4 runs)
The Indianapolis Indians became the first IL club to capture a Las Vegas Triple-A World Series Championship, topping Memphis in 4 games. Lyle Mouton totaled four RBI as Indianapolis rolled to an 8-3 Game One victory. Game Two was as climactic as any in Triple-A World Series history. Memphis tied the score in the top off the 9th off of IL All-Star closer Bob Scanlan , but the Tribe's Creighton Gubanich led off the bottom of the frame with a walk-off home run to give Indianapolis a 3-2 win and 2-0 series lead. Memphis climbed back into the series with a Game Three win, as Larry Sutton hit two home runs to help the Redbirds erase an early two run deficit. Indianapolis ace left-hander Horacio Estrada pitched a gem for the Tribe in Game Four, allowing two runs in the first inning, then holding Memphis scoreless for the next seven frames as the Indians won the series with a 9-2 victory. Indianapolis defeated the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons 3 games to 2 to advance to the World Series and Memphis defeated the Salt Lake Stingers 3 games to 1 to advance. END OF THE TRIPLE-A WORLD SERIES Just a few months after apparently sealing the deal on a revised version of the Triple-A World Series for 2001, it was announced the event would be placed on indefinite hiatus. The event, introduced in 1998 after the realignment of Triple-A from three leagues to two, had been held at Las Vegas' Cashman Field for the last three years as a best-of-five series between the champions of the International League and Pacific Coast League. Attendance was sparse, however. Games were held on weekdays and even included two noon games played in 100-degree heat during last year's series. Fans of the participating teams barely had enough time to make plans to attend the event. During the 2000 event, average paid attendance hit a three-year low of 2,311. Despite the efforts of the city's convention bureau, it wasn't an easy task to get vacationers and conventioneers away from the casinos and into the ballpark to watch players they might never had heard of. ESPN2's television ratings for the 2000 series were low, especially when compared to the night games of the first two years when the time difference was past the bedtime of most fans on the East Coast. At the end of the original three-year deal, a new plan hastily was hammered out to buy the event time to work out a better situation for 2002. It was decided that the event would be cut from a five-day midweek event to a best-of-three series to be played Friday through Sunday. It was hoped that this arrangement would allow baseball fans from all over to make plans for a brief and enjoyable vacation in advance. Meanwhile, plans also were in the works to try to move the event to a new site in 2002. Options initially included Cooperstown, New York , home of the National Baseball Hall Of Fame . That proposal was supported by the IL owners, but shot down by the PCL owners. Despite the attraction of baseball history and charm, Doubleday Stadium is small, old, has no lights and is not anywhere near Triple-A standards. Other ideas on tap were allowing venues to bid on the event on a year-by-year basis, or finding a way to move the event to the two home parks of the teams involved. The latter idea was the one that has been most ardently embraced by players, fans and the PCL. But it also posed the most logistical problems because of the lack of preparation time, especially for a three-game series that could include teams from opposite corners of the country. There has also been hostility from the Major Leagues regarding the Triple-A World Series because it would interfere with late-season pennant races and detract attention away from them in terms of television viewer attendance and especially player availability. Since the final Triple-A World Series in 2000, the International League and the Pacific Coast League have returned to crowning their champions at the end of the season like normal, and no plans are on the horizon to rekindled a post-season match-up. |
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