[Hendu Style]

The 1980's were rolling along, with a nod to the past, and a look to the future. The future clearly belonged to Hank Wilkinson. The Emerald Bay lefty followed up his first Stormy Boyd season with a repeat performance in 1987, fanning 396 batters in 251 innings, while going 21-10 with a 2.37 ERA. He was also getting a grip on his control, walking 76 batters that season, compared to 81 in '86, and 101 in '85.

While Wilkinson was the future, and present, for that matter when it came to pitchers, Whiskey Flowers was without peer in the hitting department. The pride of Northgate was padding his Hall of Fame resume as he entered his mid-30's, hitting a SBL-best .343 during the 1987 season, while clubbing 28 homeruns and driving in 110 RBI. He was closing in quick on 500 homers and 3000 hits for his career.

Wally Johnstone had reached one of those milestones, and he was rewarded with a Hall of Fame induction for that in 1987. Splitting time predominantly with Motor City and Freeport in a 17-year career, Johnstone retired #3 all-time in homeruns with 517. But at the end of the day, baseball players aren't remembered for homeruns or strikeouts. They are remembered for championships. And in 1987, no team was better than the Sim City Capitols. Led by the league's leading hitter -- Gemeda Kamade's .334 -- and the Colonial's top strikeout artist -- Alex Branum's 276 -- the Caps fended off the Dullsville Ducks in the '87 CLCS, and then got a measure of revenge by beating the Emerald Bay Tritons in the Sim Series.

Perhaps the biggest story of baseball in 1987, though, was the booming business of the game. Teams were making money hand over fist, and paying their players accordingly. Arcopolis pitcher Ray Pleasant topped a list of seven millionaire players that season. Salaries were on the rise in the SBL, and so were the expectations of the owners doling out those millions of dollars.