Midwest League

The Midwest League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the Midwestern United States. Six teams formed the Illinois State League in 1947, but they changed their name to the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League when a team in Paducah, Kentucky was added. In 1956, with the addition of Iowa teams, the league became known as the Midwest League.

The league plays a 140-game schedule that begins in April and ends in early September. Since 2000 it has been divided into an Eastern Division and a Western Division, with four teams from each division (the winners of each half of the season and one or two runners-up) qualifying for the first round of playoffs. The first two rounds of playoffs are best-of-three series; the league championship series is a best-of-five.

Current member teams:

• Battle Creek Yankees - Eastern Division
• Beloit Snappers - Western Division
• Burlington Bees - Western Division
• Cedar Rapids Kernels - Western Division
• Clinton LumberKings - Western Division
• Dayton Dragons - Eastern Division
• Fort Wayne Wizards - Eastern Division
• Kane County Cougars - Western Division
• Lansing Lugnuts - Eastern Division
• Peoria Chiefs - Western Division
• Swing of the Quad Cities - Western Division
• South Bend Silver Hawks - Eastern Division
• West Michigan Whitecaps - Eastern Division
• Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - Western Division

Links:

• http://www.midwestleague.com (official website)
• http://www.mwlguide.com (A Fan's Guide to the Midwest League)