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American Association
CLICK HERE FOR THE 2011 AMERICAN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS AND STATISTICS The American Association is one of the great names in the history of professional baseball leagues in the United States. The first American Association was formed in 1902 as an independent minor league for the larger cities in the midwestern area of the U.S. and for the next half century the league was arguably the most influential minor league in all of baseball. Great players such as Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and more starred in league ballparks. Due to economic pressure, the league folded in 1963 only to return in 1969 as an affiliated AAA league largely due to expansion of Major League Baseball and the need for more AAA farm teams. The league remained fairly stable until 1997 when minor league baseball decided to realign and the American Association would again be dropped. In the fall of 2005, the possibility of a revival of the American Association was discussed. Teams from two independent leagues, the Northern League and the Central League proposed coming together to form a “super” independent league. Two of the cities in the discussions, St. Paul and Ft. Worth, had been members of the old American Association, and the geography was similar to that of original league. With the history and precedent set by its namesake, the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball Leagues was formed on October 11, 2005. The expectations were strong for the new league, and the name “American Association” was again part of the great history of professional baseball. In 2008, Wichita rejoined the league as an expansion team along with Grand Prairie, TX. In October 2010, four teams, the Gary SouthShore RailCats, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, Kansas City T-Bones and Winnipeg Goldeyes were admitted for play in the 2011 season giving the American Association 14 teams broken up into three divisions: North, Central and South. In 2012, the expansion Laredo Lemurs will join the American Association as a member of the South Division. Fort Worth and Shreveport will not play in 2012, leaving the league with 13 teams. The Can-Am League, managed by the same office, will play interleague games against American Association teams for the first time in 2012. The RailCats will play four home interleague games against the Newark Bears from June 7-10 and make an 11-game road trip East to play against Can-Am competition from July 12-22.
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