[Dukie98]

Frontier League - After a disappointing regular season, which culminated in blowing a sizable division lead to their rival Baltimore Robins, the Buffalo Fighting Elk sputtered into the postseason to face off against the Kansas City Mad Hatters, winners of a league-best 101 games and owners of the top pitching staff in the Frontier League. The matchup proved to be a mismatch -- only the Fighting Elk swept the Mad Hatters, holding Kansas City to nine runs in four games. Buffalo first baseman Jose Abreu won series MVP after hitting .389 with two homers. Buffalo won game 4 in dramatic fashion, as backup second baseman Alex Kampouris hit a walk-off homer in his lone at-bat of the series. Baltimore outlasted the Minneapolis Penguins in six games, as rookie sensation Willson Contreras hit .435 with two homers and 9 RBI's, and Clay Buchholz sported a 1.29 ERA. The San Francisco Longshoremen shut down the powerful London offense, holding the Werewolves to just 13 runs in 6 games and a lone homer. Catcher Earl Smith hit .429 and scored five runs, while rookie Ted Abernathy had a 1.64 ERA in two starts. The Denver Spikes dominated the Cleveland Rocks, shutting them out in the first three games, and outscoring Cleveland 26-1 for the series, while Mickey Mantle hit .688, and Kent Hrbek ripped three homers and drove in seven runs. In the Division Series, Baltimore outlasted the rival Fighting Elk in six games, as Rick Monday hit .450, and Leon Durham blasted three homers, including a tie-breaking moonshot in the seventh inning of the decisive Game Six. Denver came from behind, winning the last three games to eliminate the San Francisco Longshoremen in six games, as shortstop Donnie Hill hit .391 with two homers and eight RBI's, and southpaw Rube Bressler won both his starts and sported a stellar 1.17 ERA. In the League Championship Series, Baltimore held the powerful Denver offense in check, winning easily in five games, and surrendering just seven runs in their four victories. Leon Durham took home the hardware after hitting .318 with two homers -- including one in the thirteenth inning of Game One -- while Clay Buchholz continued his strong postseason by allowing just a single earned run in 14.2 innings, including a complete game 3-1 victory in the clinching Game Five.

Continental League - The heavily-favored Los Angeles Kangaroos, winners of 110 games, struggled to put away the 87-win Atlanta Ducks in six games. Second baseman Joe Panik hit .500 with a homer, 4 RBI's, and 7 walks, southpaw Brett Anderson pitched sixteen innings without allowing an earned run, and closer Dick Radatz struck out nine Ducks in six shutout innings while earning three saves. The upstart Miami Flamingos upended the seasoned Washington Ambassadors in six games, as rookie center fielder Bobby Thomson hit .522 with seven RBI's, and Tuffy Rhodes broke a tie with a series-ending walk-off homer off Mike Timlin in Game Six. In the most dramatic series of the wild card round, the defending champion El Paso Armadillos wiped out a 3-1 deficit to the Charlotte Aviators by sweeping the final three games, led by catcher Tommy Clarke, who hit .520 with a homer and 8 RBI's, and Sheriff Blake, who won both his starts with a 1.72 ERA. The San Antonio Marksmen won a tight six-game series over the upset-minded New Orleans Crawfish, breaking a tie with four runs in the top of the ninth of Game Five, and winning Game Six in ten innings. Right fielder Michael Tucker was named MVP after hitting .409 with two homers and 5 RBI's, while center fielder JD Drew hit .450 with a homer and 3 RBI's. In the Divisional Series, Los Angeles easily dispatched the Miami Flamingos in five games, despite dropping the opener. Kangaroos shortstop Simon Nicholls led all hitters with a .455 average and four runs scored, while Miami outfielders Brady Anderson and Bobby Thomson combined for five homers. In a Texas Division showdown, El Paso outlasted San Antonio in another seven-game classic, with Hank Wyse outdueling Ted Blankenship for a 1-0 win in Game Six, and the Armadillos held on for a 6-4 victory in Game Seven. Catcher Tommy Clarke took home another series MVP trophy after hitting .320 and scoring three runs. The Armadillos' luck ran out in the League Championship Series, as the Los Angeles Kangaroos eliminated them in six games. The Kangaroos surrendered just 11 runs in six games, as they won the first three games, and then after dropping two pitchers' duels, won a 14-2 laugher in the finale. Gary Sheffield led the way, hitting .400 with two homers and 9 RBI's, and Mike Krukow threw two complete-game victories with a 1.00 ERA.

World Series - Although the Los Angeles Kangaroos won 19 more games than the Baltimore Robins during the regular season, Baltimore entered the series on a roll, having dominated Denver's league-leading offense in the League Championship Series. Los Angeles, however, immediately laid down the law in Game One, as Ken Gables threw a no-hitter, dominating the Robins in a 4-0 victory. The Kangaroos won Game Two 7-5, behind homers from Adam Duvall and Larry Bigbie. Baltimore salvaged Game 3, winning 4-2 as Clay Buchholz outdueled Mike Krukow. Los Angeles reasserted control in Game Four, ripping 16 hits on their way to a 5-3 win, as Gary Sheffield homered and Dick Allen ripped two doubles. The Kangaroos clinched the Series in Game Five with a 3-1 victory, as Gables went seven strong innings, and both Allen and Sheffield homered. Gables was an easy choice for series MVP, going 2-0 against Baltimore with a 0.56 ERA and just five hits allowed in 16 innings. Sheffield led the Kangaroos' hitters with six postseason homers and 19 RBI's