[Dukie98]

Frontier League: Although the pesky London Werewolves split the first four games with the 109-win Chicago Mules, Chicago's firepower proved to be too much, as the Mules prevailed in six games. Catcher Ted Simmons was named MVP after hitting .591 with 13 hits, including 2 homers, 3 doubles, and 10 RBI's. Third baseman Pie Traynor set the table, hitting .480 with a homer, 8 runs scored, and 3 steals. Veteran southpaw Johnny Vander Meer notched two wins with a 3.14 ERA in 14.1 innings. Third baseman Bill Madlock led London, hitting .462 with 3 homers, 5 RBI's, and 8 runs scored. The St. Louis Pilots dispatched the Calgary Cattle Rustlers in five games, with veteran first baseman Joe Adcock earning MVP honors after hitting .364 and slugging .818, with 3 homers and 6 RBI's. Utilityman Marwin Gonzalez hit .455 with 10 hits, a homer, and 5 RBI's, while shortstop Chris Owings hit .391 and drove in 3 runs while swiping 2 bags. Brian Matusz hurled 7.1 shutout innings in a Game 2 win, yielding just 4 hits. First baseman Carlos Lee led Calgary, hitting .476 with a round-tripper and 3 RBI's. Reliever Seung-Hwan Oh was the goat, taking 3 losses while yielding 7 earned runs and 3 homers. The Milwaukee Raccoons erased a 2-1 deficit while ousting the Detroit Purple Gang in 6 games. Star right fielder Larry Walker took home the hardware, hitting .500 with a homer, 4 RBI's, and 7 runs scored. Center fielder Abraham Almonte hit .348 with a longball and 5 RBI's. Righthander Bill Singer went 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA, posting a tremendous 20-1 strikeout-walk ratio in 16 innings. Third baseman Nolan Arenado hit .417 with 2 homers and 4 RBI's for Detroit in a losing effort, while first baseman Julio Franco also hit .417, with a homer and 2 RBI's. In a major upset, the 89-win San Francisco Longshoremen ousted the 104-win Buffalo Fighting Elk in seven games, winning the final three games by a combined 4 runs. San Francisco right fielder Vladimir Guerrero earned MVP honors after hitting .357 with 3 homers and 5 RBI's, including a tiebreaking ninth inning homer in Game 6. First baseman Mike Epstein hit .310 with 5 RBI's. Righthander George Mullin went 1-0 with a 1.32 ERA in 13.2 innings. First baseman Don Hurst led Buffalo, hitting .304 and slugging .870 with 4 homers and 6 RBI's, while right fielder Cleon Jones hit .360, smacking 3 homers and driving in 7 RBI's. Tris Speaker had a nightmare series for Buffalo, going 3 for 30, without scoring or driving in any runs.

In a Division Series matchup of Great Plains Division rivals, the St. Louis Pilots ousted the Chicago Mules in 6 games, holding the explosive Mules offense to just 18 runs in 6 games. Joe Adcock took home another MVP trophy, hitting .286 with 2 homers and a series-best 9 RBI's. Right fielder Elijah Dukes hit .333, popping a homer and driving in a pair of runs, while Marwin Gonzalez drilled 2 homers and drove in 6 runs. St. Louis's bullpen was brilliant, yielding just 4 runs and 14 hits in 26 innings. First baseman Jimmie Foxx hit .304 with 2 round-trippers and 3 RBI's for Chicago, while reliever Bob Shawkey hurled 5 innings of one-hit shutout relief. The Milwaukee Raccoons dominated the San Francisco Longshoremen, surrendering just 11 runs in a five-game victory, outhomering the Longshoremen 11-2. Larry Walker took home another MVP trophy after hitting .300 with 3 homers and 8 RBI's. Left fielder Don Baylor smacked 3 solo shots and scored 5 runs. Bill Singer continued his brilliant postseason run, posting two more wins while yielding a 1.17 ERA and a 17-1 strikeout-walk ratio. Righthander Fred Beebe hurled 7 innings of two-hit ball, fanning 10, in a Game 3 no-decision for San Francisco, while first baseman Mike Epstein smacked two solo homers. Despite being outhomered 9-2, the St. Louis Pilots won the League Championship Series, ousting Milwaukee in 5 games to make their first World Series in franchise history. Pilots catcher Patsy Gharrity earned MVP honors after hitting .421 with 5 doubles, 5 RBI's, and 6 runs scored. Utilityman Marwin Gonzalez hit .375 and plated 3 runs, while left fielder Dwayne Hosey added a homer and drove in 6 runs. Tex Pruiett hurled 8 shutout innings in a Game 2 win, fanning 10 while yielding just 3 hits. First baseman Rico Brogna hit 3 homers and drove in 4 runs in a losing effort for Milwaukee, while catcher Mike Zunino and center fielder Abraham Almonte each popped a pair of homers.

Continental League: After falling in a 2-1 hole, the Dallas Wildcatters stormed back to take the final three games, ousting the 109-win Charlotte Aviators. Left fielder Zack Wheat took home MVP honors after hitting .292 and slugging .875, with 4 homers and 11 RBI's, including a postseason record 8 RBI's in Game 4. Catcher Joe Azcue hit .333 with a longball and 4 RBI's, while right fielder Geoff Jenkins smacked a homer and drove in 5 runs. Tom Milone led an underwhelming pitching staff, earning a Game 4 win with 6.1 innings while allowing 3 runs. Catcher Tony Pena led Charlotte, hitting .400 with 3 homers and 10 RBI's. The Virginia Beach Admirals dominated the potent Houston Pythons offense, yielding just 11 runs in a five-game victory. Admirals center fielder Jay Johnstone was tabbed MVP after hitting .478 with 2 homers and drove in 3 runs. Third baseman Mike Schmidt hit .455, pounding 2 homers and driving in 7 runs, while first baseman Eric Hinske smacked a pair of homers and drove in 5 runs. Although Chris Carpenter did not register a victory, he posted a 2.40 ERA in 15 innings, and the Admirals' bullpen allowed just 1 run in 10 innings. Right fielder led Houston, hitting .471 with 3 doubles in a losing effort. The top-ranked pitching staff of the New Orleans Crawfish held the explosive Anaheim Antelopes in check, prevailing in six games. Crawfish first baseman George Brett hit .379 with a homer and 8 RBI's, while second sacker Jose Altuve hit .355 with a round-tripper, 5 RBI's, and 6 runs scored. Third baseman Dave Hollins blasted 3 jacks and drove in 8 runs. Rosy Ryan notched 2 wins, yielding a 1.59 ERA while whiffing 21 hitters in 17 innings. Anaheim center fielder Dale Murphy earned MVP honors in a losing effort, after hitting .444 with 5 homers and 12 RBI's. In a back-and-forth series, the El Paso Armadillos edged the Phoenix Lizards, winning Game 7 in extra innings on a bases-loaded walk by Jason Tyner after a Butch Hobson homer in the bottom of the ninth sent the game to extra innings. El Paso catcher Victor Martinez earned MVP honors, hitting .440 with 4 homers and 7 RBI's. Center fielder Joe DiMaggio smacked 4 homers and drove in 6 runs, while first baseman Rafael Palmeiro hit .300 with 3 homers and 8 RBI's. Randy Johnson went 2-0, posting a 2.00 ERA, and earned the win in relief in Game 7. Right fielder Billy Conigliaro led Phoenix, hitting .321 with 4 homers and driving in 9 runs. El Paso hit an incredible 18 homers in the 7-game series.

After dropping the first two games to the Virginia Beach Admirals, the Dallas Widlcatters stormed back to take the series in seven games. Dallas first baseman Chris Shelton was tabbed MVP after blasting 5 homers and driving in 8 runs. Catcher Joe Azcue hit .370, drilling a homer and plating 7 runs. Right fielder Geoff Jenkins hit .345, smacking a homer and driving in 3 runs. Joe Presko notched a 3.09 ERA in 11.2 innings, despite 2 no-decisions; Wilbur Wood won both his starts despite a bloated 7.15 ERA. Catcher Tyler Houston led Virginia Beach, hitting .310 and slugging .621, with 2 homers and 5 RBI's. In a back-and-forth League Championship Series featuring division rivals, the Dallas Wildcatters upset the El Paso Armadillos in seven games. Dallas left fielder Zack Wheat was named MVP after hitting .429 and slugging .643, with a homer, 3 doubles, 5 RBI's, and 2 steals. Right fielder Geoff Jenkins hit .367 with a homer and 4 RBI's. DH Jim Russell and first baseman Chris Shelton each drilled a pair of homers and drove in 5 runs. Reliever Mark Clear hurled 4 perfect innings, fanning 5. El Paso was led by right fielder Benny Kauff, first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, and DH Rougned Odor, each of whom smacked three homers in a losing effort, while Jesse Foppert hurled a no-hitter in Game 6.

World Series: The matchup of the Dallas Wildcatters and the St. Louis Pilots was guaranteed to result in a first-time champion. Despite losing All-Star third baseman Chipper Jones for the season with a torn finger tendon in late July, the Pilots stormed through the Frontier League, dropping just four games in three rounds. Ultimately, after the two squads split the first four games, St. Louis prevailed in six games.

St. Louis jumped out to an early series lead, winning Game 1 3-0, as first baseman Joe Adcock hit a two-run homer, and Tex Pruiett hurled 6.1 shutout innings to earn the win over Milt Wilcox. Dallas second sacker Bobby Adams and shortstop Jerry Lumpe smacked three hits apiece. St. Louis took control of the series in Game 2, winning 5-1. Although the Wildcatters took a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning, the Pilots stormed back with 5 runs in the sixth through eighth innings. Brian Matusz earned the win, yielding just one run in six innings while fanning six, while Wilbur Wood took a hard-luck loss, surrendering just two unearned runs in six innings. Shortstop Chris Owings homered, doubled, and drove in three runs, while Adcock mashed another solo homer. Right fielder Geoff Jenkins and third baseman Doug DeCinces had two singles apiece for Dallas in a losing effort. Dallas's bats erupted in Game 3, cruising to a 10-3 win, as Jenkins smacked two homers and drove in five runs. Zack Wheat drilled three hits, including a triple and a double, and drove in 2 runs. Wildcatters hurler Joe Presko earned the win over Ray Crone. Pilots right fielder Elijah Dukes smacked a two-run homer in the ninth inning, after the game was out of hand.

Dallas evened the series in Game 4, pulling out a 5-4 victory. Wheat drilled two solo homers, including a tiebreaking blast in the eighth inning, while DeCinces ripped a two-run single. Veteran Tom Milone gave up just two runs in 5.2 innings for Dallas, outdueling Jaime Navarro, who gave up 4 runs in 7 innings. Adcock and Charlie Gehringer each homered for St. Louis, while Owings drilled two hits, including a triple. Dallas appeared poised to seize control of the series in Game 5, taking a 5-1 lead into the seventh inning, but St. Louis came back, scoring 3 in the seventh and 2 more runs in the ninth inning, with Gehringer smacking a game-tying triple. Gehringer had four hits on the day and drove in 2 runs, while center fielder Curtis Goodwin had two hits and scored two runs. Dallas was led by Wheat and shortstop Jerry Lumpe, who drove in two runs apiece. Milt Wilcox yielded just 2 runs in 6.1 innings, but was betrayed by his bullpen. St. Louis clinched the series in Game 6, bookending its Game 1 victory with another 3-0 triumph. Catcher Patsy Gharrity tripled and singled, driving in a run, while Owings ripped a double and scored a run. Brian Matusz was brilliant for the Pilots, yielding just a single hit in seven near-perfect innings while fanning 8, and Samuel Gervacio notched the save with two shutout innings. Wilbur Wood had another hard-luck outing, surrendering just 1 earned run in 7.1 innings. Dallas mustered just three singles all game -- and all three runners were subsequently erased on double plays.

Owings was a surprise MVP selection after leading St. Louis with a .381 average, slugging .810 , with 4 doubles, a triple, a homer and 6 RBI's. Gehringer hit .350 and slugged .800 with a homer, 2 triples, 4 RBI's, and 2 steals. Adcock drilled 3 homers and plated 4 runs. Many observers thought Brian Matusz warranted MVP honors after going 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA in 13 innings, yielding just 6 hits. Tex Pruiett was solid, posting a victory and a 3.09 ERA in 11.2 innings. Jenkins led Dallas in defeat, hitting .400 with 2 homers and 5 RBI's. Lumpe hit .381, while Wheat hit .304 with 2 round-trippers and drove in 6 runs.