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The Pacific Coast League of Minor League Baseball is one of two Triple-A baseball leagues in the United States. A league champion is determined at the end of each season. Champions have been determined by post-season playoffs, winning the regular season pennant, or being declared champion by the league office. Currently, the Northern and Southern Division champions within each conference (American and Pacific) meet in a best-of-five series to determine conference champions. Then, the American and Pacific Conference champions play a best-of-five series to determine a league champion.
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History
League champions have been determined by different means since the Pacific Coast League's formation in 1903. With few exceptions, most PCL champions from 1903 to 1927 were simply the regular season pennant winners. However, a few seasons during this time did feature a post-season championship series to crown a champion. The Governor's Cup, the league's first championship trophy, was first awarded to the San Francisco Seals in 1928. With the exception of the 1932 to 1934 seasons, during which no post-season play occurred, this was the start of consistent post-season play. These initial championship series consisted of a two-team best-of-seven games series.
Post-season play expanded to include four teams in a best-of-seven contest in 1936. The top four teams in the league competed in best-of-seven semi-final rounds, with the winners of each semi-final playing each other in a best-of-seven championship round for the Governor's Cup. Financial problems resulted in the championship series of 1951 and 1954 being shortened to best-of-three games contests. League financial concerns also forced the cancellation of the 1950, 1952, and 1953 post-seasons; the regular season pennant winners were declared champions.
The PCL did away with post-season play and the awarding of the Governor's Cup from 1955 to 1962. The trophy itself was placed in a Los Angeles museum, later sold to a collector, and subsequently stolen—its current whereabouts unknown. A number of other trophies have been awarded to championship teams in later years during which post-season play resumed. The one given from the 1980s and 1990s was four feet tall and incorporated three full-size baseball bats and a glove. One design from the mid-1990s resembled Major League Baseball's Commissioner's Trophy issued to World Series champions. Since 1998, the trophy is an engraved glass wedge fixed to a wooden base.
When three former American Association teams were absorbed into the PCL in 1963, the league split into two divisions, whereas there were previously no divisions, and the winners of each division met in a best-of-seven series to determine a champion. Six teams were added to the PCL's ten when the American Association completely dissolved prior to the 1998 season. With a sixteen-team circuit, the league was split into two eight-team conferences each consisting of two four-team divisions. The Northern and Southern Division champions within each conference (American and Pacific) meet in a best-of-five series to determine conference champions. Then, the American and Pacific Conference champions play a best-of-five championship series to determine a league champion.