They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate.

[2] They played their home games at Sec Taylor Stadium, which opened in 1947 and was located at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers.

[3] Many future Major League Baseball stars such as sluggers Bill McNulty, Hall of Famer Harold Baines, Pat Tabler, and 1971 Cy Young and MVP Award winning left-handed pitcher Vida Blue spent time with the Oaks.

They won the East Division that season with an 83–53 record, earning a spot in the best-of-seven American Association championship playoffs,[7] but they were defeated by the Tulsa Oilers, 4–3.

Iowa teams of the 1980s often finished high in the standings but were unable to qualify for the championship playoffs,[2] the only exceptions being in 1983 and 1984 when they earned spots in the semi-finals but were eliminated by Denver both years.

Jay Howell, who struck out 139 batters on the way to a 13–4 record and a 2.36 ERA,[15] won the AA Most Valuable Pitcher Award.

[9][16] Another Cub outfielder, Joe Carter, won the 1983 Rookie of the Year Award after stealing 40 bases and hitting .307 with 22  homers.

[18] Following a dismal 1992 campaign in which the Cubs went 51–92,[19] they rebounded to win the 1993 Western Division title at 85–59 under manager Marv Foley.

[21] An eleventh-inning walk-off home run by Iowa's Tuffy Rhodes ended the game and gave the Cubs their first league title.

[8][21] Outfielder Eduardo Zambrano garnered the American Association Most Valuable Player Award after collecting 115 RBI and hitting 32 home runs with a .303 average.

[25] In 2007, catcher Geovany Soto, with a .353 average, 26 home runs, and 109 RBI, won the PCL Most Valuable Player Award.

[32] In 2015, right-hander Carlos Pimentel won the PCL Pitcher of the Year Award after achieving a 12–6 record with 118 strikeouts and a 2.95 ERA.

[26][33] The Cubs returned to the postseason in 2019 having won the division with a 75–65 record,[34] but they were eliminated by the Round Rock Express in the American Conference series.

[40] On May 9, the Cubs tossed the league's first no-hitter when Shelby Miller, Tommy Nance, Brad Wieck, and Ryan Meisinger combined to no-hit Indianapolis, 2–0, in Des Moines.

[41] Pitchers Justin Steele, Scott Effross, and Dillon Maples threw the league's second no-hitter in the first game of a seven-inning doubleheader against the St. Paul Saints on July 11, a 1–0 home win.

[43] No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner.

[46] In 2022, the Triple-A East became known as the International League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.