Inter-American League

Last updated
Inter-American League
Sport Minor league baseball
Founded1978
FounderRoberto Maduro
First season1979
CeasedJune 30, 1979
No. of teamsSix (first half)
Four (second half)
Country Flag of the United States.svg United States
Flag of Panama.svg Panama
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Puerto Rico
Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Dominican Republic
Flag of Venezuela.svg Venezuela
Last
champion(s)
Miami Amigos
Official websiteNone

The Inter-American League was a high-level circuit in Minor league baseball that lasted only three months before folding during the 1979 season.

Contents

The league was conceived both as an official Triple-A minor league circuit and member of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues. It was composed of six clubs unaffiliated with Major League Baseball farm systems.

The Inter-American loop was headed by Bobby Maduro, former owner of the Triple-A Havana Sugar Kings and a longtime scout and front-office executive active in Latin American countries and Major League Baseball.

A 130-game regular season was planned, while the six teams were located in the United States, Panama, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela(2). The league featured several well-known MLB veterans, with rosters averaging players between 26-29 years of age. [1]

But the new circuit was barely able to complete half its schedule, fatally wounded by "under-capitalized owners, internecine rivalries among Caribbean baseball powers, tropical monsoons, and unreliable air travel." [2]

On June 17, 1979, the Panama and Puerto Rico teams disbanded, leaving the league with only four clubs. Thirteen days later, the entire league folded. The Miami Amigos, led by future Major League manager Davey Johnson, were in first place with a 51–21 mark (.708) when the Inter-American League shut down. [3]

List of teams

Final standings

ClubsWLW/L % GB Managers
Miami Amigos 5121  .708      Davey Johnson
Caracas Metropolitanos3727  .578  10  Jim Busby
Santo Domingo Azucareros3829  .567  10½  Mike Kekich
Petroleros de Zulia3136  .463  17½  Luis Aparicio
  Gustavo Gil
  Pat Dobson
Panama Banqueros1536  .294  25½  Willy Miranda
Puerto Rico Boricuas1639  .291  26½  José Santiago

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References

  1. Inter-American League page at Information at Baseball Reference
  2. Fun While It Lasted.com
  3. "New AAA League Struggles to Live". The Indiana Gazette. May 5, 1979. p. 7. Retrieved January 14, 2021.

Bibliography