[Dukie98]

Frontier League: The Buffalo Fighting Elk, who led the Frontier League with 98 wins, squared off against the Seattle Whales, who clinched a playoff spot on the last day of the season with just 87 wins, and who had just a +10 run differential for the season. The series proved to be a mismatch -- just not as expected, as Seattle won the last four games after dropping Game 1. Rookie catcher Brian McCann was named series MVP after hitting .400 with 2 homers and 4 RBI's -- including a game-tying homer off Tom Henke in the 9th inning of Game 5; teammate Mike Marshall followed with a series-clinching homer two pitches later. Seattle left fielder Heinie Manush slugged .550 and led all hitters with 6 RBI's for the series. The Vancouver Viceroys erased a 2-0 and a 3-2 deficit to upset the Detroit Purple Gang in seven games. Left fielder Willie Wilson led all hitters, setting the table with a .455 average, 6 RBI's, 5 steals, and 8 runs scored, including six multi-hit games. Vancouver centerfielder Larry Doby hit .357 with 2 homers and a series-high 8 RBI's, while Detroit left fielder Mel Hall hit .423 with 2 homers and 6 RBI's. The Kansas City Mad Hatters nearly squandered a 3-1 series lead to the two-time defending champion Calgary Cattle Rustlers, before pulling out a dramatic Game 7 with a 5-4 victory, as series MVP Moises Alou ripped a two-run eighth-inning triple off Calgary stopper Dick Radatz. For the series, Alou hit .346 with a homer and 6 RBI's, while ageless shortstop Jose Reyes hit .286 with 3 homers and 6 RBI's. Kansas City's Lefty Williams went 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA, while Calgary ace Fred Newman won both of his starts with a 1.29 ERA. In the lone Frontier League series that played out to form, the Omaha Falcons swept the overmatched Philadelphia Hawks, winning each game by a progressively larger margin. Omaha shortstop Eddie Bressoud took home the hardware after hitting .429 and slugging .786 with a homer and 7 RBI's, while JD Drew hit .357 with 2 homers and 7 RBI's of his own. Philadelphia's bats were silenced, scoring just six runs in the series, and Omaha's Jamie Brewington took a three-hit shutout into the ninth inning of Game Four.

In the Division Series, the Seattle Whales dominated their division rival Vancouver Viceroys, holding Vancouver to just 9 runs in five games. Seattle first baseman Mike Marshall hit .450 with 3 homers and 6 RBI's, including a series-clinching three-run blast in the bottom of the 13th inning of Game 5, while second baseman Clint Barmes hit .400 with a homer and 6 RBI's as well. Seattle's Larry Benton sported a 1.35 ERA in 13 innings, while Brandon Maurer allowed just one hit in seven innings in Game 4. The Kansas City Mad Hatters upended the Omaha Falcons in five games, taking three straight one-run games to open up an insurmountable lead. Kansas City right fielder Jay Gibbons was named MVP after hitting .400 with a homer and 4 RBI's, while George Earnshaw won both his starts and sported a 1.26 ERA, allowing just 6 hits in 14-plus innings. Omaha center fielder JD Drew had a disastrous series, going just 1-for-18. In the League Championship Series, the unheralded Seattle Whales continued their romp through the Frontier League, winning their third-straight playoff series in 5 games. Left fielder Heinie Manush won MVP honors after hitting .476 with a homer and 3 RBI's, while Marshall matched him, hitting .474 with a homer and 3 RBI's of his own. Although he had two no-decisions, Dontrelle Willis yielded a stingy 1.42 ERA. Kansas City was led by third baseman George Kell, who hit .476 with four multi-hit games in the five-game series.

Continental League: In a matchup of two teams with decade-long playoff droughts, the Anaheim Antelopes made quick work of the Birmingham Steelers, scoring 28 runs on their way to a 4-game sweep. Five separate Antelopes topped .400, led by series MVP Ron Santo, who hit .471 with 2 homers and 5 RBI's, and by right fielder Jerry Mumphrey, who hit .533 with 4 steals and 4 runs scored. First baseman Carlos Pena led Birmingham, hitting .438 with a homer and 5 RBI's. The Charlotte Aviators, who were upset in the first round four of the past five years, narrowly avoided disaster, winning Games 6 and 7 against the upstart Austin Mustangs to advance. Center fielder Tommie Agee was named MVP after hitting .429 with a homer, 4 RBI's, and 3 steals, while third baseman Kevin Mitchell and DH Tommy Glaviano each ripped two homers and drove in 8 runs apiece. Catcher Benito Santiago paced the Mustangs with a .448 average, 2 homers, and 6 RBI's. The Nashville Blues bounced the Washington Ambassadors in six games, including the final three. Left fielder Ben Paschal led all hitters with 12 hits, a .500 average, 2 homers, 6 RBI's, and 3 steals, while catcher Craig Wilson slugged .950 with 3 homers and 5 RBI's. Dave Ferriss led a talented Nashville pitching staff with 2 wins and a 2.57 ERA, while Washington's Rheal Cormier threw a two-hit shutout in Game 3. In a back-and-forth series,the Jacksonville Gulls outlasted the Hartford Huskies in seven games. Jacksonville left fielder Larry Herndon, a perennial postseason hero, took MVP honors after hitting .286 and slugging .536, with a homer and 7 RBI's. Dizzy Trout made a strong push for the hardware, winning Game 7 and posting a 0.66 ERA in 13.2 innings, while teammate Ray Sadecki went 1-0 with 1.56 ERA.

In a tight Division Series, where only one game was decided by more than two runs, the Charlotte Aviators outlasted the Anaheim Antelopes in six games, advancing to the League Championship Series for the first time in their distinguished history. First baseman Rick Renick led a high-scoring Charlotte attack, hitting .348 with 3 homers and 8 RBI's, while second baseman Brent Gates hit .391 and scored five runs. Anaheim third baseman Larry Parrish hit .348 with 3 homers and an incredible 14 RBI's, including two 4-RBI outings, while Antelope catcher Joe Ferguson hit .409 with 3 homers and 6 RBI's. The Nashville Blues stormed back to erase a 3-1 deficit, winning the final three games in a dramatic seven-game series. Nashville second baseman Paul Serna took home MVP honors after hitting .320 with 3 homers and 6 RBI's, while teammate Greg Luzinski hit .357 with a homer and 5 RBI's. Bob Shirley sported a 1.17 ERA, pitching into the ninth inning in a clutch Game 6 win. Second baseman Everett Scott paced Jacksonville with 12 hits and a .414 average. In the League Championship Series, Charlotte and Nashville traded victories in a seven-game series, with Charlotte advancing to their first World Series in franchise history. Charlotte DH Tommy Glaviano was named MVP after hitting .435 with 2 homers, including a tie-breaking blast in the eighth inning of Game 7. Charlotte's Kevin Mitchell and Jim Edmonds bopped two homers apiece, while righthander Roger Clemens went 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA.

World Series: On paper, it appeared to be yet another mismatch, as the heavily-favored Aviators and their +207 run differential squared off against the offensively-challenged Whales, who finished last in baseball with just 540 runs scored on the season. But that's why they play the games, as Seattle averaged over six runs a game to knock off the favored Aviators in six games. Charlotte took Game 1 5-4, coming from behind as Tommy Glaviano hit a seventh-inning homer to take the lead. Larry Benton went the distance in defeat for Seattle, while Charlotte pulled starter Hank Robinson in the fifth inning despite allowing a single run. Seattle scored six first-inning runs off Brian Lawrence in Game 2, on their way to a 10-3 romp, as second baseman Clint Barmes homered, doubled, and drove in 5 runs, and shortstop Eddie Miller went 3-for-3 with 2 RBI's. Seattle won Game 3 by a 6-3 tally, with Dontrelle Willis going seven solid innings for the win, and Barmes hitting a three-run homer off Wayne Garland.

Charlotte rebounded in Game 4 to tie the series at 2, as Trevor Story homered twice and drove in five runs as the Aviators won 7-5. Roger Clemens gave up just one hit -- a two-run double by Heinie Manush -- in 6.1 innings to notch the win over Clayton Richard. Seattle won a dramatic Game 5 6-4 in 10 innings to seize control of the series. After Charlotte tied the game in the 9th inning off closer Milo Candini, Seattle first baseman Mike Marshall hit a two-out walk-off homer in the tenth off Frank DiPino. Seattle clinched the series in a 6-2 Game 6 victory, as southpaw Bruce Hurst surrendered just 3 hits in 7 innings, and Marshall hit his 8th homer of the postseason. Right fielder Pat Duncan pounded his 11th double of the postseason, ranking second all-time. In a controversial decision, Seattle left fielder Heinie Manush was named MVP after hitting .455 with 5 RBI's, 2 steals, and 6 runs scored. Barmes hit .333 with 2 homers and a team-high 9 RBI's, while Marshall pounded 2 homers and drove in 8 runs. Charlotte was led by slugging third baseman Kevin Mitchell, who hit .435 and slugged .739, but drove in just a single run - and that, on a solo homer