Kansas City Claims Best Record for Fourth Time in Six Years, Seeks Third Crown in that Span; Kane County Goes for ‘Threepeat’
MOORHEAD, Minn., September 9, 2026 – The 2026 American Association’s 100-game Regular Season is history, and eight clubs will now vie for the Miles Wolff Cup, with the postseason beginning tonight across the circuit with best-of-three Division Series matchups. All postseason broadcasts are available free for live viewing on AABaseball.tv as well as all AAPB television partners. Please see the local broadcast schedule for select listings for games of the week in team markets.
Here are 10 (or so) Things to Know about the AAPB this week:
- As Division winners, Milwaukee (East) and Kansas City (West) had the right to select their first-round opponents from among the other three qualifiers in their respective divisions. The Milkmen (58-42) chose No. 4 Cleburne (49-51), while the Monarchs (59-41) picked No. 4 Sioux Falls (50-50), which earned the final West slot by a single game over Sioux City.
- Kansas City vs. Sioux Falls notebook:
- This marks the fourth time in six years that the Monarchs have posted the league’s best record. They won AAPB championships in 2021 and 2023 during that span.
- Sioux Falls has advanced to the postseason four straight years
- The teams have met once before in the Miles Wolff Cup playoffs, with Kansas City taking a 2-0 Division Series win in 2023.
- This year’s season series has been one-sided, with K.C. winning 11 of the 12 meetings, with a 100-37 run differential.
- The Canaries will try to re-create their first-round upset from 2025, when they upended Sioux City in the first round.
- (W2) Winnipeg (54-46) vs. (W3) Fargo-Moorhead (53-47) notebook:
- This will be the third postseason meeting between the teams, with F-M winning the 2022 Division Series and Winnipeg claiming the 2012 Semifinals.
- Dating back to pre-AAPB days, This will be the 13th postseason series between the franchises. Winnipeg won series in 1997, 1999, and 2001, while Fargo-Moorhead prevailed in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, and 2009 while members of the Northern League.
- The RedHawks are making their sixth straight Miles Wolff Cup playoff appearance.
- Winnipeg missed the playoffs last year, but a 12 1/2-game improvement put them back in for 2026.
- Winnipeg won the season series by a slim 7-6 margin, and holds home field advantage in the series after recording the league’s best home mark at 34-17.
- Milwaukee vs. Cleburne notebook:
- The teams have met once before in the postseason, a 2-0 triumph by Milwaukee in 2022.
- Both teams improved greatly on their respective 2025 records, with the Milkmen 12 games better than last year and Cleburne six to the good.
- The Milkmen swept a three-game set from the Railroaders in late August to even the season series at 6-6.
- The series features the top two pitching staffs – and the Milkmen boast the ERA leader and Pitcher of the Year Jhordany Mezquita.
- (W2) Lake Country (56-44) vs. (W3) Kane County (54-45) notebook:
- Kane County won the only postseason matchup between the clubs, a 2 game to none verdict in 2024, the first of their back-to-back titles as they seek a “three-peat.”
- No team has won three straight AAPB titles since the league’s formation in 2026. Fort Worth (2006-2007) and Winnipeg (2016-2017) were the previous repeat champs.
- Kane County has been to the postseason for five straight years, while Lake Country marks its third consecutive berth.
- The DockHounds won seven of the 12 matchups during the regular season.
- Lake Country’s Joshua Mears ended the season as the decisive home run (38) and RBI (112) champ, besting F-M’s José Sermo by five dingers and eight RBI, setting league records in both categories. Mears was fifth in batting (.343), behind teammate Dom Johnson, who hit in 21 straight games and 29 of 30 to close the regular season to finish at a blistering .381 and take the crown by 24 points over Tripp Clark of Fargo-Moorhead.
- Sioux City’s Zach Willeman paced the circuit with 125 strikeouts, while Mezquita’s 2.90 ERA and 12 wins were league bests.
- The Sioux City Explorers set a new league record for stolen bases in a season Saturday night breaking their own mark of 275 set last season.
- The Lincoln Saltdogs set a franchise record for runs in one game, by defeating the Sioux Falls Canaries, 22-11, at Sioux Falls Stadium, Sunday.
- The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, in conjunction with the Wahpeton Daily News, awarded 21 ticket vouchers to readers ages 6-12 through its Hawkeyes’ Bookworm program.
- Media interest in the AAPB remains strong. Some of the recent articles on teams include:
- The Winnipeg Free Press previewed the Goldeyes’ first-round matchup with Fargo-Moorhead.
- KTIV didn’t want fans to forget about the Explorers’ season-ending 20-run outburst that included seven home runs.
- DakotaNewsNow previewed the Canaries vs. Kansas City series.
- Milwaukee’s ABC affiliate WSIN-TV ran this piece on Milkmen slugger Griffin Doersching’s comeback from a pulmonary embolism to All-Star status.
- The Bermuda News updated local readers on the progress of native Adam Hall with Winnipeg.
About the American Association
The American Association of Professional Baseball (www.aabaseball.com) and (www.aabaseball.tv) is a Major League Baseball Partner League that operates in nine states and one Canadian province. Formed in 2006, the league consists of twelve member clubs with many beginning play in 1993. Through the 2025 season, 483 player contracts have been transferred to MLB organizations. In addition, 60 AAPB alumni have reached the Majors, including 17 participating in 2025.
– AAPB –
Contact:
Joe Favorito, joefavorito2@gmail.com, 917-566-8345
Jerry Milani, jerry@jerrymilani.com, 917-797-5663
