[Dukie98]

Frontier League: The 107-win Seattle Whales outlasted the Cincinnati Spiders, holding the Spiders to just 14 runs in 6 games. Seattle right fielder Sherry Magee was named MVP after hitting .429 with 2 homers, 4 runs scored, and 4 RBI's. Shortstop Dick Bartell hit .350, while star center fielder Lee Mazzilli hit .348 with a homer, and each drove in 3 runs. Mickey Mahler, a spot starter during the season, hurled seven shutout innings in Game 3, while Al Benton allowed just two earned runs in 11 innings, despite getting two no-decisions. Cincinnati was led by first baseman Mike Epstein, who hit .300 with 2 homers and 5 RBI's. The Portland Skunks outlasted the Milwaukee Raccoons in six games, as left fielder Mike Easler hit .458 with 4 homers and 11 RBI's, including a 3-homer showing in Game 4. Right fielder Cliff Floyd hit .346 with 3 homers, while catcher Michael Barrett hit .375 with 2 homers and 7 RBI's. 18-game winner Denny McLain won both his starts with 15 strikeouts and a 3.75 ERA. First baseman Mark Grace led the Raccoons, hitting .333 with 2 homers and 7 RBI's. In a Great Lakes Division showdown, the London Werewolves won the final three games to eliminate the Cleveland Rocks in a six-game series. London locked down Cleveland's offense, holding them to just 12 runs in the series, including two in the final two games. London third baseman Marty Krug took home the hardware after hitting .333 with a Game 6 homer, 3 doubles, and 6 RBI's. Jim Baskette was brilliant, pitching 15 shutout innings and allowing just 8 hits, including allowing just 4 hits in a Game 5 1-0 win. Jamie Brewington went 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA. Hard-luck Jack Peavy went 0-1 for Cleveland despite not giving up an earned run in 12.2 innings and striking out 12. The Boston Minutemen edged their rival Baltimore Robins in another six-game set, as Nolan Arenado buillt on last year's postseason heroices by hitting .364 with 3 homers and 9 RBI's. Boston first baseman Ernie Banks matched Arenado by hitting .316 with 3 homers and 9 RBI's of his own. 21-game winner Bob Spade won both his starts, with a sparkling 1.20 ERA over 15 innings. Right fielder Hal McRae led Baltimore, hitting .444 with a homer, while second baseman Kelly Johnson hit two homers and drove in 3 runs.

In the Division Series, the Seattle Whales outlasted their Northwest Division rival Portland Skunks in seven games, taking Games 6 and 7 to seize the series. Right fielder Sherry Magee earned MVP honors once again, hitting .434 with 2 homers, 8 runs scored, and 6 RBI's. Third baseman Milt Stock hit .379 with 3 round-trippers and 5 RBI's, while catcher Gene Oliver popped 3 homers of his own and drove in 6 runs. Jim Hughes split two decisions despite a 1.23 ERA and 17 whiffs in 14.2 innings. Portland was led by Cliff Floyd, who hit .321 with 3 longballs and 6 RBI's. Boston's explosive offense blasted London, scoring 33 runs in an easy five-game series. Second baseman Sal Bando earned MVP honors after hitting .421 and slugging .789, with a homer, 6 runs scored, and 6 RBI's. Nolan Arenado and Joe DiMaggio each hit over .300 while popping 3 homers apiece. Righthander John Martina went 2-0 with 10 strikeouts in 11 innings. London was led by right fielder Jeff Francoeur, who hit .300 while blasting 3 homers and driving in 5 runs. Seattle dominated Boston in the League Championship Series, scoring 36 runs in 5 games, and taking the final four after dropping the opener. Whales center fielder Lee Mazzilli dominated, hitting .429 with 3 homers, 6 runs scored, and 9 RBI's. Catcher Gene Oliver also hit .429 while blasting 2 longballs and driving in 7 runs. Al Benton led the Seattle pitching staff, pulling out a tight 2-1 win in Game 3 with six strong innings. Joe DiMaggio led Boston by hitting .368 with 3 homers and 7 RBI's in defeat, while Ernie Banks hit .353, blasted 3 round-trippers, and drove in 6 runs.

Continental League: The Washington Ambassadors outlasted the overmatched Oklahoma City Otters in five games, taking the final three matchups. Washington first baseman Lee Stevens earned MVP honors after hitting .333 with 2 homers and 4 RBI's. Center fielder Johnny Groth hit 2 homers, scored 6 runs, and drove in 5 runs. Washington closer Chris Short earned 2 saves, striking out 6 in 5 shutout innings. Otter center fielder Hank Lieber was brilliant, hitting .316 with 4 homers and 5 RBI's. The Atlanta Ducks erased a 3-1 deficit, winning the final three games against the El Paso Armadillos to take the series in seven games El Paso scored just 13 runs in 7 games, including just 2 runs in the final three games. Atlanta second baseman Roberto Alomar was tabbed MVP after hitting .379 with 2 homers, 2 steals, 7 RBI's, and a series-high 11 hits. Catcher Jason LaRue popped 2 longballs and drove in 3 runs. Ron Kline took the win in Game 7, allowing just 2 hits in 7 shutout innings, and posting a 1.38 ERA in two starts. El Paso's Matt Chico allowed just 1 hit in 7 innings in a Game 4 win, while Jordan Zimmermann yielded a 2.35 ERA in 15.1 innings. In a matchup of two of the most explosive offenses in baseball, the Albuquerque Conquistadors outlasted the Houston Pythons in seven games. Albuquerque catcher Tex Erwin earned MVP honors after hitting .296 with 4 homers and an incredible 14 RBI's, including 2 homers and 5 RBI's in Game 2. First baseman George Brett hit .333 with 3 homers and 8 RBI's. Albuquerque's bullpen was brilliant, posting a 2.25 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 28 innings. Slugging centerfielder Ryan Thompson led Houston, pounding 4 homers and driving in 8 runs. In the third seven-game series of the Continental League Wild Card round, the Hartford Huskies edged the Dallas Wildcatters, as second baseman Bill Sweeney hit .419 with 13 hits, 8 runs scored, and 5 steals to take home MVP honors. Center fielder Tris Speaker hit .417 and slugged .625, driving in 4 runs. Rookie righthander John Whitehead posted a 1.38 ERA, including 7 shutout innings in a 5-0 Game 7 victory. Center fielder Jim Busby led Dallas, hitting .394 with 13 hits, a homer, 6 runs scored, 3 steals, and 3 RBI's.

After dropping the first two games of the Division Series to the Atlanta Ducks, the Washington Ambassadors stormed back to win the next four games to advance to the League Championship Series. Center fielder Johnny Groth took home the hardware, hitting .346 with 3 homers and 7 RBI's. Righthander Mace Brown went 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings, and earned the win in the clinching Game 6. Slugging left fielder Jim Greengrass led a middling Atlanta offense, hitting .320 with 2 homers and 3 RBI's. The Albuquerque Conquistadors dominated the Hartford Huskies in a four-game sweep,as George Brett earned MVP honors after hitting .400 with a homer and a series-high 7 RBI's. Right fielder Brian Asseltine hit .353 with 2 homers and 4 RBI's, including a walk-off homer in Game 2. Bob Gibson hurled five shutout innings in Game 2. Hartford right fielder David Murphy hit .357 with a pair of solo homers in defeat. Albuquerque dominated the 103-win Ambassadors in the League Championship Series, winning easily in five games. Catcher Tex Erwin earned his second trophy of the postseason,hitting four jacks and driving in 9 runs. Third baseman Frank Baker and left fielder Hank Edwards each hit .350, scoring a combined seven runs. Conquistador long reliever Charlie Hough allowed just one hit in five shutout innings, while Bob Gibson went 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in 9.1 innings. Washington third baseman Wayne Gross led the way, hitting .450 with a homer and 4 RBI's in a losing effort.

World Series: Although the 107-win Seattle Whales had won all four of their prior World Series appearances, they were only mild favorites over the slugging Albuquerque Conquistadors. In a dramatic seven-game series, Albuquerque pulled the upset, ending the Frontier League's streak of six straight series wins. Albuquerque catcher Tex Erwin continued his magical postseason streak, earning MVP honors yet again, as he tied Jody Davis's postseason record with 12 homers and shattered his record for postseason RBI's with 35 -- a feat all the more remarkable in light of the fact that the Conquistadors played only 9 games in the Divisional Series and League Championship Series.

Albuquerque took Game 1 6-3, as the Conquistadors erased an early 3-0 deficit, as Erwin hit a three-run homer, and George Brett ripped a two-run double in the eighth inning to break the game open. Albuquerque's Rich Gale went seven solid innings for the win, and Francisco Cordero earned a two-inning save. Seattle's Lee Mazzilli had 3 hits, including 2 doubles and a steal. Seattle pulled even in Game 2, 5-1, as Al Benton yielded just one run on four hits in seven innings to outduel Al Santorini. First baseman Daric Barton hit a solo homer for Seattle. The Whales appeared to take control of the series in Game 3, winning 3-2 in 10 innings, as second baseman Jim Gilliam singled in third baseman Milt Stock for the tiebreaking run. Seattle's Kyle Snyder gave the Whales six solid innings of two-run ball. Albuquerque's Frank Baker, Tex Erwin, and Brian Asselstine each had two hits in defeat. Albuquerque evened the series with a 9-3 blowout win in Game 4, as Otis Lambeth yielded just 2 runs in 7 innings. Frank Baker had three hits, including a homer, and scored 3 runs, while Erwin homered and drove in 4 runs.

Albuquerque regained momentum in Game 5, winning 3-1 as Rich Gale outdueled Seattle's Mickey Mahler. Brett and Erwin each blasted solo shots for Albuquerque, while third baseman Milt Stock had 3 hits for Seattle. Seattle squared the series in Game 6, as Al Benton hurled 7 shutout innings to reduce his postseason ERA to 0.89. Seattle's Sherry Magee popped four hits, including a homer, and also stole a base. Frank Baker had two hits, including a double, for the Conquistadors.

Game 7 was a pitchers duel between Bob Gibson and Kyle Snyder. Gibson hurled five shutout innings, striking out 4, before turning teh game over to the bullpen. Snyder gave the Whales six brilliant shutout innings -- but unfortunately, he pitched a seventh, as Erwin broke a scoreless tie with a longball, and Vic Power followed with a two-run blast two batters later. Francisco Cordero pitched two shaky innings for the save, as Jim Gilliam made the final out with two men on base.

Erwin was an easy choice for MVP. In addition to establishing the single-season postseason marks for homers and RBI's, he hit .423 and slugged .962, blasting 4 homers and driving in 10 runs. Hank Edwards hit .333 with a round-tripper. Lee Mazzilli led Seattle, hitting .360 and driving in 4 runs while stealing 3 bases. Al Benton posted a 2-0 record with a 0.64 ERA in 14 innings for the Whales in a losing effort.