The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. A champion has been determined at the end of each season since the league was formed in 1903. Through 1927, champions were usually the regular-season pennant winners—the team with the best

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

at the conclusion of the regular season. From 1928 to 1954, postseason

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

were the predominant method of determining champions. Participants from 1936 to 1954 were the four teams with the highest

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

s. After a period of postseason dormancy, the playoffs returned in 1963 along with the advent of a divisional alignment. From 1963 to 1977, the winners of each of two divisions vied for the championship. The league operated using a

split season A split season is a schedule format implemented in a variety of sports leagues. The season is divided into two parts, with the winners of both halves playing each other at the end for the overall championship. Split seasons are usually found in sp ...

format from 1978 to 1997, with the winners of each half facing off for the right to play for the PCL crown. From 1998 to 2020, the league was split into two conferences of two divisions each. The division winners within each conference met to determine conference champions, and those winners competed for the league championship. The 2021 winner was the team with the best regular-season record. As of 2022, the league championship is determined by a single-game playoff at a neutral location between the East and West division winners, with the winner meeting the champion of the International League in the

Triple-A National Championship Game The Triple-A National Championship Game is a single interleague postseason baseball game between the league champions of the two affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball (MiLB)—the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast Lea ...

. The San Francisco Seals won 14 Pacific Coast League championships, more than any other team, followed by the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

(12) and the

Albuquerque Dukes The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. History The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Frank ...

and

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

(8). Among active PCL franchises, the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

have seven championships, the most of all teams, followed by the

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 ...

(5) and the

Las Vegas Aviators The Las Vegas Aviators, formerly known as the Las Vegas 51s and Las Vegas Stars, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Summerlin South, Nevada ...

and

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ba ...

(2).

History

Pre-playoff era (1903–1927)

The Pacific Coast League was founded in 1903. A league champion has been determined at the end of each season. With few exceptions, champions from 1903 to 1927 were simply the regular-season pennant winners—the team with the best

at the conclusion of the regular championship season. The first league champions were the

, who won by games over the Sacramento Senators in 1903. The 1904 and 1905 seasons were contested as

s. Under this format, the schedule was split into two parts. The team with the best record at the end of the first season won the first pennant. Standings were then reset so that all clubs had clean records to begin the second season. If the first season winner also won the second season, they were declared the league champion. If a different team won the second season, the two winners would meet in a playoff series to determine the champion. The Tacoma Tigers, winners of the first half of the 1904 season, won the first PCL playoff championship by defeating Los Angeles, who tied with Tacoma for the best record in the second half, 5–4–1, in a best-of-ten-games series. Roles were reversed in 1904 as Los Angeles bested Tacoma, 5–1. The only other playoffs during this period occurred in 1918. After two PCL cities,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, passed "work or fight" laws to aid the effort to win

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, league directors voted to suspend the season after the games of July 14. A postseason series between the first-place

Vernon Tigers The Vernon Tigers were a Minor League Baseball team that represented Vernon, California in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1909 to 1925. The team won back-to-back PCL pennants in 1919 and 1920. The Tigers, together with the Sacramento Solons ...

and second-place Los Angeles was held to decide the champion. Los Angeles won, 4–2.

Rise and fall of the Governors' Cup (1928–1962)

Playoffs were held briefly from 1928 to 1931, again involving a split season with the winners of each half meeting in a best-of-seven series to determine champions. In 1928, the San Francisco Seals defeated the Sacramento Senators, 4–2, to win the first Governors' Cup. The Seals and future winners of the playoffs were awarded a trophy cup named in recognition of the three states with PCL teams at the time:

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. The league returned to recognizing pennant winners as champions from 1932 to 1935. The Governors' Cup playoffs were revived and expanded from 1936 to 1954. Utilizing the

Shaughnessy playoff system The Shaughnessy playoff system is a method of determining the champion of a sports league that is not in a divisional alignment. This format is also known as the Argus finals system. It involves the participation of the top four teams in the league ...

, the top four teams in the league, based on

, competed for the championship. The first round typically consisted of a best-of-seven series between the first and fourth-place teams and a series between the second and third-place teams. The winners of these semifinals then faced one another for the championship in a best-of-seven series. The first four-team Governors' Cup was won in 1933 by the

, who defeated the Oakland Oaks, 4–1. Financial problems resulted in the cancellation of the playoffs in 1950, 1952, and 1953 and the shortening of the final round to best-of-three series in 1951 and 1954. The last Governors' Cup, awarded in 1954, was won by Oakland, who swept San Francisco for the title. Postseason play and the awarding of the Governors' Cup was discontinued from 1955 to 1962. During this time, regular-season pennant winner were declared champions. The trophy itself was placed in the Helms Athletic Foundation Museum in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in 1954, sold to a collector when the museum closed, and was subsequently stolen. A number of other trophies have been awarded to championship teams in later years during which postseason play occurred. The one given in the 1980s and early 1990s was four feet tall and incorporated three full-size baseball bats and a glove. One design from the mid-1990s resembled

's Commissioner's Trophy issued to

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

champions. From 1998 to 2019, the trophy was an engraved glass wedge fixed to a wooden base.

Divisional era (1963–present)

The Pacific Coast League divided its teams into two divisions for the first time in 1963 after absorbing three teams from the former

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

, which had disbanded after the previous season. From 1963 to 1977, the winners of each division met in a best-of-seven series (sometimes five) to determine a champion. The playoffs were expanded to include two wild card teams in 1978. The winners of each division faced the second-place team in their own division, and the winners of these semifinals then played for the PCL championship, with each series being the best-of-five games. From 1979 to 1997, the PCL adopted a split season format while maintaining its divisional alignment. Typically, the first and second-half champions within each division played a semifinal series to decide division champions. The winners of these then played for the league championship. In some instances, a team that won both halves of the season received a bye into the championship round, while in others the team in that division with the second-place full-season record was awarded a wild-card berth and became the first-place team's opponent. The divisional round began as a best-of-three contest, but it was expanded to the best-of-five in 1983. The championship round was usually contested as a best-of-five series, but it became the best-of-seven in some seasons. The PCL expanded again in 1998 when the American Association, which had been revived in 1969, dissolved for a final time after the 1997 season. The league was then split into two eight-team conferences consisting of two four-team divisions. The division winners within each conference met in a best-of-five series to determine conference champions. Then, the conference winners played a best-of-five series to decide the league champion. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The Pacific Coast League ceased operations before the 2021 season in conjunction with

's (MLB) reorganization of Minor League Baseball. In place of the league, MLB created the Triple-A West, a circuit divided into two divisions of four teams each. Prior to the 2022 season, MLB renamed the Triple-A West the Pacific Coast League, and it carried on the history of the PCL prior to reorganization. Rather than hold playoffs for its championship, the Triple-A West's 2021 title was awarded to the team with the best regular-season record. The

won this championship by two games ahead of the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metr ...

. In 2022, the winners of each division, East and West, will meet in a single game to determine the league champion.

Champions

Wins by team

''Active Pacific Coast League teams appear in bold.''

Notes

References

Specific General * * * {{Pacific Coast League champions

Champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

Pacific Coast Pacific Coast League champions