[Dukie98]

Frontier League: The 101-win Denver Spikes easily dispatched the 86-win Philadelphia Hawks in a six-game series that wasn't quite as close as it looked. Denver left fielder Chris James was named MVP after hitting .320 and slugging .800, with 3 homers and 8 RBI's. Denver center fielder Bob Gallagher popped 3 solo homers, while Bill Hands went 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in 14.1 innings. The outclassed Hawks were led by catcher Scott Hatteberg, who hit .368 with 3 homers and 6 RBI's, and by center fielder Zip Collins who hit .455 with a series-high ten hits. The Buffalo Fighting Elk, a postseason mainstay, outclassed the upstart Ottawa Parliamentarians in six games, holding the powerful Ottawa offense to just one run in each of Buffalo's four victories. Buffalo first baseman Orlando Cepeda took home MVP honors after hitting .304 with 2 homers and 4 RBI's. Second baseman UL Washington hit .292 with 6 RBI's, and southpaw Brett Oberholtzer shut down Ottawa, going 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA. Ottawa was led by catcher Rick Wilkins, who hit .364 with 2 homers and 6 RBI's. The Pittsburgh Golden Gorillas dominated the Milwaukee Raccoons, holding the league's best offense to just 13 runs in 5 games. Pittsburgh ace Smoky Joe Wood took home the hardware after going 2-0 with a 1.12 ERA, including a five-hit shutout in the decisive Game 5. First baseman Boog Powell hit 3 homers and drove in 6 runs, while third baseman Scott Brosius hit .350 with a homer and 6 RBI's of his own. Milwaukee center fielder Eric Davis hit .368 with a homer and 3 RBI's. In the biggest upset of the Wild Card round, the 86-win Minneapolis Penguins, who snuck into the playoffs despite a negative run differential on the season, ousted the 99-win Chicago Mules in 6 games. Minneapolis first baseman Max Muncy led the way, hitting .429 with a homer and 7 RBI's, while catcher Wilson Ramos popped 2 homers with 5 RBI's. Penguins southpaw Zach Duke went 2-0 with a stellar 0.66 ERA, including 7 shutout innings of four-hit ball in a 1-0 victory in Game Six.

In the Division Series, the Buffalo Fighting Elk ousted the Denver Spikes in 7 games. Buffalo jumped out to an early 3-1 lead before Denver won two one-run games to force Game Seven, which Buffalo won in an 8-3 romp. Buffalo left fielder Ken Singleton was named MVP after hitting .409 with 2 homers and 6 RBI's. Teammates Orlando Cepeda and Kevin Orie each blasted a pair of homers apiece. Denver was led by first baseman Phil Clark, who hit .385, and catcher James McCann, who hit .346, each of whom ripped 2 homers and drove in 4 runs. In another upset, the Minneapolis Penguins dominated the Pittsburgh Golden Gorillas, outscoring Pittsburgh 25-8 in a four-game sweep. Minneapolis third baseman Andy Van Slyke was tabbed as MVP after hitting .400 with a homer, 3 RBI's, 4 steals, and 5 runs scored. Left fielder Patsy Dougherty hit .333 with 2 triples and 4 runs scored, including the series-ending run in the bottom of the ninth of Game Four. Pittsburgh right fielder Kevin Bass hit .286 and slugged .571 with a homer and 2 RBI's in a losing effort. Minneapolis's good fortune ran out in the League Championship Series, as Buffalo rallied to take Games Six and Seven to advance to the World Series. Buffalo took Game Six 7-6 in extra innings, winning on a tenth-inning single by right fielder Jim Busby, while taking Game Seven 4-1 behind 7.1 shutout innings of two-hit ball from Brett Oberholtzer coupled with unexpected homers from backup catcher Dan Graham and shortstop Al Bridwell, who had not homered in over 2,000 plate appearances dating back to 2025. Ken Singleton led Buffalo once again, hitting .440 with 3 homers and 8 RBI's, while Bridwell hit .409 and scored 6 runs. Oberholtzer posted a stellar 0.73 ERA in 12.2 innings. Penguins shortstop Orlando Arcia hit .280 with a homer and 3 RBI's in defeat.

Continental League: Although the Virginia Beach Admirals jumped out to an early lead, the heavily-favored Charlotte Aviators -- winners of four consecutive Continental League pennants -- stormed back to advance in 6 games. Charlotte catcher Gus Triandos popped 3 homers and drove in 8 runs to take home MVP honors. Star third baseman Bill Melton hit .304 with 2 homers and 4 RBI's, and Larry Jaster went 2-0 with 14.2 shutout innings, allowing just 10 baserunners, and he prevailed 2-0 in the decisive Game Six. Virginia Beach was led by star left fielder Heinie Manush and catcher Bobby Estalella, each of whom had a homer and 3 RBI's. The Phoenix Lizards made their long-awaited return to the postseason a triumphant one, as they ousted the Nashville Blues in six games, allowing just four runs in the final three games of the series. Phoenix righthander Alex Fernandez dazzled, going 2-0 with an 0.56 ERA, allowing just 5 hits in 16 innings, including a one-hit 1-0 shutout in Game Seven, where he took a perfect game into the seventh inning. Phoenix was led offensively by shortstop Larry Brown, who hit .350 with a homer and three runs scored. Remarkably, Phoenix advanced despite receiving virtually no production from its big bats, as Kevin Mitchell, Erubiel Durazo, and Michael Cuddyer drove in just two runs combined, and second baseman Jose Altuve hit just .160. Nashville's Vern Ruhle went 2-0 and threw 16 shutout innings, becoming the first player in HRDL history to achieve an ERA of 0.00 for a postseason consisting of more than 15 innings. In the most evenly-matched series of the first round, the Albuquerque Conquistadors earned the first series win in franchise history, edging their division rival Anaheim Antelopes in seven games. Albuquerque third baseman Frank Baker earned MVP honors after hitting .458 with a .582 on-base percentage and drove in 4 runs. Second sacker Ryne Sandberg hit .370 with a homer ,7 RBI's, and 7 steals. Albuquerque righthander Steve Rogers won both his starts, including Game 7, and posted a 1.88 ERA. Anaheim was led by all-star right fielder Jerry Mumphrey, who hit .367 and slugged .600, with a homer, 4 RBI's, and 6 runs scored. The 106-win El Paso Armadillos were pushed to the limit by the 92-win Jacksonville Gulls before prevailing in seven games -- pulling out Game Seven 1-0, as Wayne Garland outdueled Dizzy Trout in a game featuring just seven hits. El Paso DH Hack Miller took home the hardware after hitting .370 with a homer and 5 RBI's, while left fielder Frank Howard hit .296 with 4 RBI's. Southpaw Dontrelle Willis went 2-0 with a 1.84 ERA and 13 strikeouts. Jacksonville was led by rookie shortstop Luis Aparicio, who hit .333 with a homer, 2 RBI's, and 4 runs scored, while Trout pitched 11 innings without allowing an earned run.

Although Phoenix upended Charlotte in Game One of the Division Series, they quickly crashed to earth, scoring just 9 runs as Charlotte swept the next four games. Charlotte rightfielder Candy Maldonado took home MVP honors after hitting .333 with 3 homers and 5 RBI's. DH Trevor Story also ripped three homers, including a tiebreaking blast in the ninth inning of Game Four. Larry Cheney threw a five-hit shutout for the Aviators in Game Two. Phoenix was led once again by shortstop Larry Brown, who hit .400 and slugged .600, and by Jose Altuve, who hit .368 with 3 steals. Albuquerque's magic ran out, as they were ousted in six games by the El Paso Armadillos. El Paso second baseman Joe Gordon dominated, hitting an incredible .632 with 4 homers and 5 RBI's. First baseman Gil Hodges hit .280, pounding 4 homers of his own and driving in 9 runs. Dontrelle Willis dazzled again, going 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA in 17 innings. The Conquistadors were led by Frank Baker, who hit .450 with 4 doubles and 4 runs scored, and righthander Scott MacRae, who went 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA in 12 innings. In a dramatic League Championship Series, the Armadillos survived a slew of injuries to their pitching staff, as they lost twin aces Tex Carleton and Jordan Zimmermann, but still knocked off the Aviators in six games, thus ending Charlotte's streak of four straight pennants. Despite the injuries, El Paso's league-best pitching staff held Charlotte to just 11 runs in 6 games. El Paso shortstop Don Kessinger was a surprise MVP pick, hitting .440 with 4 RBI's, and left fielder Frank Howard hit .440 as well. DH Hack Miller and center fielder Gorman Thomas each pounded two homers, with Thomas's blasts each coming in a 10-1 Game Six romp. Although Wayne Garland was just 1-1, he posted a 1.17 ERA and a stellar 15-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 15.1 innings. Charlotte's Bobby Grich and Michael Conforto hit .316 and .300, respectively, each with a homer and 3 RBI's.

World Series: The El Paso Armadillos, having outlasted the Charlotte Aviators, were heavy favorites over the offensively-challenged Buffalo Fighting Elk, whom they had outscored by 210 runs over the course of the season. But Buffalo battered a shorthanded El Paso pitching staff, as ace Tex Carleton blew out an elbow tendon in Game One and would miss not only the rest of the series, but likely all of 2029. In a significant upset, Buffalo easily prevailed in five games, surrendering just two runs in each of its four wins.

In Game One, Buffalo second baseman UL Washington launched a grand slam off Carleton, as the Fighting Elk coasted to a 6-2 victory. Although Bob Grim started for Buffalo, he was yanked in the fifth inning, and long reliever Tom Earley posted three solid innings for his fourth win of the postseason. El Paso's injury woes continued in Game Two, as Dontrelle Willis was pulled after two inning, and reliever Wilbur Wood also exited early, but not before surrendering a 2-run blast to Ken Singleton. Buffalo's Lee Meadows went 8 innings, allowing just 5 hits in another 6-2 victory. Game Three appeared to be more of the same: Singleton went yard again, and Buffalo pulled out a third-straight 6-2 victory, as Brett Overholtzer yielded just five hits and one earned run in 7 innings. El Paso staved off elimination in Game Four, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead on their way to a 5-2 win, as Gorman Thomas and Bryce Harper homered. Jake Arrieta earned the win with six solid innings. But Buffalo clinched the series with a 4-2 win in Game Five, scoring four unearned runs off Dontrelle Willis, as El Paso third baseman Jack Brohamer made three errors. Buffalo right fielder Peter Bourjos gave the Fighting Elk the lead for good with a two-run triple off Willis.

Singleton took home the hardware for the third straight series, hitting .438 with 2 homers and 3 RBI's. UL Washington also had a strong series, hitting .375 and slugging .875, with a homer and 4 RBI's. Frank Howard led El Paso with a .333 average, and remarkably, was one of four Armadillos with exactly one homer and 2 RBI's.