Inter-American League

From BR Bullpen

The Inter-American League was one of the shortest-lived minor leagues of the 1970s. Founded in 1979 after being organized by Bobby Maduro, the league shrank from six teams to four then folded on June 30 of that year. Problems included expensive plane fares for the international flights needed and rainouts eliminating 70 games from the schedule. Also, only Caracas had a television deal and only three teams had full-season radio contracts, limiting finances. The league was not able to sustain itself fiscally. The teams were the:

• Caracas Metropolitanos in Venezuela
• Maracaibo Petroleros de Zulia in Venezuela
• Miami Amigos in the USA
• Panama Banqueros in Panama
• Puerto Rico Boricuas in San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Santo Domingo Azucareros in the Dominican Republic

The league leaders were:

• Jim Tyrone, .364 batting average
• Wayne Tyrone, 8 homers
• Mike Wallace, 11 wins
• Ron Martinez, 0.89 ERA

The league was a AAA circuit