[Dukie98]

Frontier League: The heavily-favored Buffalo Fighting Elk had a tougher-than-expected time with the overachieving Pittsburgh Golden Grizzlies, as they required a full seven games to win the series, led by first baseman Jose Abreu, who ripped 16 hits, including 2 homers and 6 RBI's. After dropping game 1, the hard-hitting Denver Spikes won four straight from the Cleveland Rocks, scoring at least seven runs in all four victories, as Mickey Mantle hit .550 with 2 homers and 6 RBIs, and center fielder Billy Hatcher and third baseman Tommy Glaviano also hit two homers apiece. The Baltimore Robins and Minneapolis Penguins alternated wins, with the Robins prevailing in seven games, as right fielder Leon Durham ripped six homers and drove in 11 runs. The Robins won a dramatic game 7 by a 5-3 score, as second baseman Benny McCoy hit a two-run double on a 3-2 pitch with two outs in the eleventh inning to score the tiebreaking runs. The Kansas City Mad Hatters controlled the league-best offense of the 100-win Vancouver Viceroys, holding them to just 18 runs in six games. They were led by series MVP Jim Rivera, who hit .400 with two homers and four RBI's. In the Divisional Series, the Denver Spikes, led by Mickey Mantle, who hit .480 and slugged .760, outlasted the Buffalo Fighting Elk in seven games. The Spikes prevailed despite a tremendous series by Buffalo catcher Dave Nilsson, who hit .414 with six homers and 12 RBI's. Denver won game 7 6-2 by scoring four runs in the top of the ninth inning. Kansas City dominated Baltimore with a balanced teamwide performance, winning four games to one, as they were led by rookie third baseman Joe Leonard, who hit .412 with a homer and a team-high 7 RBI's. In the League Championship Series, the Spikes rode an unexpectedly strong pitching performance to erase a three-games-to-one deficit, as they held the Mad Hatters to just 16 runs in 7 games. Denver pulled out a dramatic victory in game 7, as Kent Hrbek hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the thirteenth inning -- his third of the series -- to break a 1-1 tie.

Continental League: The Phoenix Lizards knocked off the defending champion Washington Ambassadors in seven games, led by second baseman Marcus Giles, who hit .414 with a homer and five RBI's. Center fielder Colby Rasmus hit .481 with two homers and 10 RBI's for Washington. The Los Angeles Kangaroos outlasted the New Orleans Crawfish in 6 games, despite dropping 14-inning and 13-inning contests to the Crawfish. Southpaw Brett Anderson went 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA for the Kangaroos, and shortstop Simon Nicholls hit .375 with a .467 on-base percentage. After dropping the first game to the Anaheim Antelopes, the Charlotte Aviators took the next four games, led by catcher Bill Freehan, who hit .545 with 3 homers and 8 RBI's. Aviators DH Mickey Tettleton hit a game-winning homer in the 16th inning of game 4. The El Paso Armadillos unexpectedly swept their division-mates, the 99-win Dallas Wildcatters, holding the powerful Dallas offense to just 10 runs in four games, while catcher John Wockenfuss ripped 3 homers and drove in 7 runs. In the Division Series, the Phoenix Lizards prevailed in six games over the Los Angeles Kangaroos, as DH Greg Norton hit .444 and drilled 4 homers with 8 RBI's. El Paso's league-best pitching staff grounded the Aviators, surrendering just seven runs in a five-game series. First baseman Frank Chance took home the MVP trophy after hitting .353 with a homer. The Armadillos' pitching staff continued their lights-out October, holding the Lizards' offense, ranked second in the Continental League, to just 13 runs over 6 games. El Paso second baseman Ken Oberkfell took home the MVP trophy after hitting .348 for the series, while Hank Wyse went 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA, and closer Hong Chih-Kuo racked up three saves over 8 shutout innings with 11 strikeouts.

World Series: The World Series presented a matchup of contrasting styles, as the Denver Spikes ranked second in the Frontier League in offense, while El Paso sported the top-ranked pitching staff in the Continental League -- but the Armadillos finished 20th in the league in runs scored, and a lowly 47th in the majors in home runs. Denver prevailed in a dramatic game 1: although the Armadillos tied the game with 3 runs in the top of the ninth inning, led by a bases-loaded double by shortstop Deivi Cruz, the Spikes won on a walk-off single in the 12th inning by third baseman Tommy Glaviano. El Paso dominated game 2 6-1, as Armadillos Jerry Royster, Evar Swanson, and Cruz combined for six doubles. Denver's Rube Bressler won a pitcher's duel in Game 3, 3-1, despite a three-hitter by El Paso's Sheriff Blake. El Paso tied the series in a dramatic game 4, 3-2, winning on a walk-off pinch-hit double by backup catcher Tommy Clarke. The Armadillos seized control of the series in game 5, erasing an early 3-0 deficit, as they pounded the Spikes 11-4 as Ken Oberkfell and John Wockenfuss had 3 hits apiece, and left fielder Roosevelt Brown drove in four runs. Game 6 was a nail-bited, as El Paso won 2-1, with Oberkfell driving in both runs, and Hank Wyse and Hong-Chih Kuo combining for a five-hitter. Wyse ended the postseason 6-0 with a sparkling 1.33 ERA, while Kuo went 1-0 with six saves and a brilliant 0.52 ERA in 17 postseason innings. Oberkfell earned his second MVP trophy in two series, after hitting .474 with a .632 slugging percentage and 4 RBI's.