MiLB announces Triple-A national championship series

Minor League Baseball announced the Las Vegas Aviators will host the inaugural Triple-A Triple Championship Weekend from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, at Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin, Nevada.

The three-game series will begin with the division winners of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League squaring off for the league championship at 10:05 p.m. Sept. 30.

The International League division winners will meet the following day to determine the International League champion at 9:05 p.m.

The two league champions will play at 7:05 p.m. Oct. 2 to crown the overall Triple-A national champion.

“This new playoff system to determine an overall champion will create an exciting finish to the Triple-A season,” said Morgan Sword, Major League Baseball’s Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations. “We appreciate the Las Vegas Aviators hosting this inaugural event and we look forward to an exciting weekend of championship-caliber baseball at one of MiLB’s premier ballparks.”

Las Vegas Ballpark was to host the 2020 Triple-A National Championship Game before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the season.

“We’re very excited to host the Triple-A Triple Championship weekend as Las Vegas Ballpark was built to host events like this,” Aviators President & Chief Operations Officer Don Logan said. “It will be great to bring our Triple-A brethren together and crown a champion in this new and exciting format.”

Since the Triple-A National Championship Game’s inception in 2006, the Pacific Coast League has won nine of the 15 winner-takeall games against the International League, with the Sacramento River Cats defeating the Columbus Clippers 4-0 in the most recent Championship Game in 2019.

The Durham Bulls had the overall best record among the 30 Triple-A teams in 2021, but a traditional postseason was not scheduled due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

The national championship team will receive a cash prize to be split among its players.