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34-537: 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 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

68-657: A wrongful termination lawsuit against the Tigers. In 2023, Bass was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame , by way of the experts division, and receiving 78.6% of the vote. Bass is also famous in Japan for the " Curse of the Colonel ". Following the 1985 Central League Pennant victory, revelers celebrated by calling off the names of team members one by one. At each name, a fan who looked like that player would jump into

102-646: 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 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

136-526: A home run), or "Hanshin Bus crashes" (if he slumped), which would have a negative impact on the corporate image of Hanshin Bus. After his 1988 retirement, Bass became active in community projects to promote baseball in his native state, while continuing to make trips to Japan as a cultural ambassador. Bass was elected to the Oklahoma Senate as a Democrat in 2004. He was re-elected in 2006, defeating Ed Petersen in

170-553: 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 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

204-614: A single season, but finished the year with 54. In the last game of the season, the pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants – then managed by Oh – intentionally walked Bass each time, seemingly to prevent him from having a chance to equal or break the record. Bass was released by the Tigers in November 1988 after he returned to the United States as his son Zach was diagnosed with brain cancer and was claimed to have "not given permission to return to

238-667: Is known in Japan as Bāsu ( バース , pronounced [baːsɯ] ) . The Hanshin Tigers requested the change because the corporate owner of the team, Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., directly owned a bus line (Hanshin Bus) during Bass' playing career. Because "bus" is also transcribed in Japanese as basu ( バス ) , the Tigers' management worried that Japanese newspapers might create headlines such as "Hanshin Bus unstoppable" (if he made consecutive hits), "Hanshin Bus explodes" (if he hit

272-488: The 1982 season, Bass signed with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball 's Central League , who made him their starting first baseman. Bass is often credited with single-handedly turning around the fortunes of the Tigers, which ultimately resulted in the team's pennant run and Japan Series title in 1985 . Bass adapted quickly to Japanese pitching, hitting 35 home runs in his first season in 1983, and became

306-738: 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 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

340-976: The Indianapolis Indians (12); the Columbus Red Birds (10); the Minneapolis Millers (9); the St. Paul Saints (8); the Denver Zephyrs (7); the Kansas City Blues (6); the Milwaukee Brewers (5); the Omaha Royals (4); the Evansville Triplets and Louisville Redbirds (3); the Oklahoma City 89ers and Tulsa Oilers (2); and the Buffalo Bisons , Iowa Cubs , Springfield Redbirds , and Toledo Mud Hens (1). The American Association , which

374-890: The Montreal Expos for Lamont Harris in April 1979. In August 1980, the Expos traded Bass to the San Diego Padres for John D'Acquisto . The Texas Rangers acquired Bass from the Padres on waivers in May 1982. In his six seasons in the Major Leagues (divided among five teams), he was never an everyday player, usually coming off the bench to pinch hit . Bass posted a .212 batting average in 325 at-bats with nine home runs and 42 runs batted in in 130 games played . After his contract expired following

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408-460: The Oklahoma Senate . Bass made his MLB debut in 1977, playing with five different teams over six seasons. He moved to NPB in 1983, signing with the Hanshin Tigers , whom he led to a Japan Series title in 1985. Bass twice won the batting Triple Crown in NPB and still holds the highest single-season batting average . He is considered one of the greatest American players in Japanese baseball history, and

442-482: The 1962 season, but it was reorganized in 1969. After crowning that year's pennant winner as champion, it divided its teams into two divisions, and the division champions played for the league title from 1970 to 1980. A variety of postseason playoff formats were used over the next 17 seasons before the league disbanded for a final time following the 1997 campaign. The Louisville Colonels won 15 American Association championships, more than any other team, followed by

476-469: 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 , 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

510-672: 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

544-659: The Democrats in the Oklahoma Senate, succeeding the outgoing Sean Burrage . The 12 member caucus had initially named John Sparks as the new minority leader in February, but reversed their decision. The reason for this was not given, since caucuses happen behind closed doors and legislators do not publicly discuss matters, but it was speculated that it was because of an opinion piece Sparks wrote in The Journal Record supporting

578-460: The States" by the team, despite Bass having recorded evidence of the contrary. The general manager of the Tigers, Shingo Furuya, committed suicide after negotiating with Bass over the company's liability for the medical expenses for his son. Bass's contract, at the time, also stated that the Tigers were contractually obligated to pay for Bass's family's medical expenses. After that, Bass decided to file

612-432: The Tigers' star slugger for several seasons. He won four consecutive league batting titles; in 1986, he nearly became the first player in Japan to bat .400, finishing the season with a .389 average, a record that still stands, despite Ichiro Suzuki 's formidable challenges to it in 1994 and 2000 . Bass won consecutive batting Triple Crowns (1985 and 1986). In 1985, he challenged Sadaharu Oh 's record of 55 home runs in

646-513: 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

680-639: The arrival of the Colorado Rockies expansion team of the National League in 1993. After 39 seasons of play, the Zephyrs relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana , after the 1992 season where they continued as the New Orleans Zephyrs . List of American Association (1902%E2%80%931997) champions The American Association was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the United States from 1902 to 1962 and from 1969 to 1997. A champion

714-551: The best-of-seven. The circuit permanently disbanded after the 1997 season. The final American Association championship was won by the Buffalo Bisons , who defeated the Iowa Cubs , 3–0. Specific General Randy Bass Randy William Bass (born March 13, 1954) is an American politician and former baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and served in

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748-463: The championship in a best-of-seven series. The first playoff championship was won by the Columbus Red Birds , who defeated the Minneapolis Millers , 4–2, in 1933. Similar playoffs were held in 1934, but the league returned to recognizing the regular-season pennant winner as champion in 1935. The American Association adopted the Shaughnessy playoff system in 1936. Under this expanded playoff format,

782-534: The division champions and a series between the wild card teams, the winners would play for the league championship. Still in others, the league played without divisions, and the top four teams qualified for the playoffs. In these scenarios, the first round consisted of a series between the first and fourth-place teams and between the second and third-place teams, with the winners competing for the league title. Most rounds during this period were best-of-five series, though some final rounds and fewer semifinals were sometimes

816-760: The filthy Dōtonbori canal. For Bass, someone threw a life-sized model of Colonel Sanders , the mascot of Kentucky Fried Chicken and the only close-at-hand likeness of a bearded American, into the river. The statue disappeared and is said to have caused the team's subsequent decade-long dismal performance in the Central League . The Tigers would go on to beat the Seibu Lions to win the 1985 Japan Series , their only Japan Series title until 2023 . Bass would win Japan Series MVP . Although Bass' surname would conventionally be transcribed Basu ( バス ) in Japanese, he

850-420: The four teams with the highest winning percentage competed for the championship. From 1936 to 1962, the first round typically consisted of a series between the first and third-place teams and a series between the second and fourth-place teams, though other seedings were occasionally used. The winners of these semifinals then faced one another for the championship. With few exceptions, each series during this period

884-602: The general election. He was again re-elected in 2010 and 2014, running unopposed in the former, and unchallenged in the latter. In the Senate, he served as the co-chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee Natural Resources and Regulatory Services. He also sat on the Appropriations, Retirement and Insurance, General Government and Judiciary Committees. On April 10, 2014, Bass was named minority leader of

918-604: The seventh round of the 1972 MLB draft out of Lawton High School . He signed with the Twins rather than attend college. Bass made his MLB debut as a first baseman in 1977 . He was blocked at first base by Rod Carew and ran out of options after the 1977 season. In April 1978, the Twins sold Bass outright to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens , who sold him to the Triple-A Omaha Royals . The Royals traded Bass to

952-536: The team had been a member of the American Association since the league's inception 60 years before, it 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

986-446: The winners of each division met in a best-of-seven series (sometimes five) to determine a champion. Across the league's last 17 seasons, 1981 to 1997, three different postseason formats were utilized. Some seasons ended with the East and West Division champions facing off in a single round. Some saw wild card berths awarded to the second-place team from each division. After a series between

1020-467: Was determined at the end of each season. From 1902 to 1932 and in 1935, champions were the regular-season pennant winners—the team with the best win–loss record at the conclusion of the regular season. In 1933 and 1934, the top two teams competed in a postseason series to determine a champion. The Shaughnessy playoff system , in which the top four teams qualified for postseason play, was adopted from 1936 to 1962. The American Association dissolved after

1054-549: Was founded in 1902, determined a league champion at the end of each season. Champions from 1902 to 1932 were simply the regular-season pennant winners—the team with the best win–loss record at the conclusion of the regular championship season. The first league champions were the Indianapolis Indians , who won by two games over the Louisville Colonels in 1902. The first championship playoffs were held in 1933. The top two teams, based on winning percentage , competed for

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1088-535: Was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023. From 2005 to 2019, Bass represented the 32nd district in the Oklahoma Senate as a member of the Democratic Party . Bass attended Lawton High School and was named all-state in baseball and football. He received college football scholarship offers from Kansas State University and the University of Oklahoma . The Minnesota Twins selected Bass in

1122-589: Was now located too far east. In 1969, the franchise returned to the American Association. The Denver Bears had some good teams from 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

1156-550: Was the best-of-seven games. The first four-team playoff was won in 1936 by the Milwaukee Brewers , who defeated Indianapolis, 4–1. The circuit disbanded after the 1962 season, but was reorganized for 1969. The first champions in this second iteration of the league were the regular-season pennant winners. The Omaha Royals won by virtue of a six-game lead over the Tulsa Oilers . The American Association divided its teams into two divisions, East and West, in 1970. From 1970 to 1980,

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