Inter-American League

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

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

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
  • Caracas Metropolitanos (VEN)
  • Panama Banqueros (PAN)
  • Puerto Rico Boricuas (PUR)
  • Petroleros de Zulia (VEN)
  • Miami Amigos (USA)
  • Santo Domingo Azucareros (DOM)

Final standings
ClubsWLW/L % GB  Managers
Miami Amigos5121  .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

References
  • Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles (1997). Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-96-371898-3
  • "The Over-the-Hill League". Sports Illustrated. June 4, 1979. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  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.
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