[Dukie98]

Frontier League: After taking the opening game of the Wild Card series, the defending champion Philadelphia Hawks dropped four straight games to the San Francisco Longshoremen -- the only series in the Frontier League which did not go the distance. The Longshoremen held the Hawks' explosive offense to just 13 runs in 5 games, and centerfielder Herm Winningham led the way with a .375 average, a homer, four extra-base hits, and 5 RBI's. In perhaps the most dramatic series in a tremendously competitive round, the London Werewolves upset the Chicago Mules and their dominant pitching staff in seven games, digging themselves out of a 2-0 hole. London erased a 4-0 deficit in a dramatic game 7, winning on a walk-off homer by Mark Grudzielanek. Rookie rightfielder Ichiro Suzuki took home series MVP honors after hitting .500 with 14 hits, a homer, and 7 RBI's, including a 4-for-4 effort in Game 7. The Montreal Knights knocked off the Toronto Predators in seven games, after nearly blowing a 3-1 series lead, and the Knights scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 to win 3-2. Second baseman Ted Lepcio led Montreal with a .345 average and a pair of homers, while Toronto was led by lefthander Lefty Gomez who went 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA, 0.62 WHIP, and 18 strikeouts in 16 innings, including a three-hit shutout in Game One. The Kansas City Mad Hatters, despite scoring just 20 runs in 7 games, upended the Baltimore Robins, with Billy Pierce and Jose Rosado each winning two games, including the crucial Games 6 and 7. Center fielder Jim Rivera led the Mad Hatters with a .409 average, a homer, 3 RBI's, and 6 runs scored. San Francisco knocked off the London Werewolves in six games in the semifinals, as Yu Darvish won both his starts with a 1.13 ERA, 19 strikeouts, and just 7 hits allowed in 16 innings. The Longshoremen were led offensively by shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who hit .455 with a series-high ten hits, two homers and four RBI's, while third baseman Bob Smith hit three homers and drove in 7 runs. Kansas City knocked off Montreal's league-best pitching staff in five games, holding the Knights to just 14 runs in the series, with Rube Foster going 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA, and Jose Rosado and Billy Pierce combined to give up just two runs and five hits in over 14 innings. In the League Championship Series, however, Kansas City's pitching dominance came to an abrupt end, as they surrendered 31 runs to the San Francisco Longshoremen in a four-game sweep. Second baseman Don Wert hit .444 with a homer and 4 RBI's, while Troy Tulowitzki hit .462 and drove in 6 runs.

Continental League: After a dominant 120-win regular season, the Los Angeles Kangaroos narrowly averted disaster, digging themselves in a 3-games-to-1 hole against the El Paso Armadillos before winning the final three games, holding the Armadillos to just two runs. DH Mookie Wilson led the way offensively with 15 hits, a .556 average, four extra-base hits, and three steals, while first baseman Glenn Davis hit .355 with 3 homers and 7 RBI's. Righthander Ken Gables dominated on the mound, with a 0.67 ERA, including eight shutout innings in Game 7. The Miami Flamingos dominated the Houston Pythons in a four-game sweep, holding the Pythons to just eight runs in the series. Brett Tomko took home the MVP trophy after throwing a two-hit shutout, while Brady Anderson hit .308 with 2 homers and 3 RBI's. The New Orleans Crawfish outdueled the San Antonio Marksmen in seven games, after winning the final three games of the series. Catcher Joe Mauer hit .464 with a series-high 13 hits, while Jeff Keppinger hit .385 with two homers and six RBI's. Righthander Gary Nolan won both his starts with a 1.69 ERA. In the final Wild Card series, the Jacksonville Gulls upset the heavily-favored Charlotte Aviators, despite dropping the first three games of the series. Leftfielder Joe Vosmik hit .400 for the Gulls with a homer and 4 RBI's, while rightfielder Bryce Harper hit .364 with a homer and 6 RBI's. In the Divisional Series, the Los Angeles Kangaroos narrowly avoided disaster once again, needing seven games to knock off the Miami Flamingos. Center fielder Larry Bigbie took home MVP honors after hitting .346 with a homer and 6 RBI's, and drawing a bases-loaded walk-off walk in the bottom of tenth inning of Game 7,while right fielder Mike Davis blasted two homers and drove in 8 runs. The magic ran out for the Jacksonville Gulls, who lost in five games to the New Orleans Pelicans, including a dramatic elimination game where the Gulls eliminated an early 10-0 deficit before fading in the ninth inning. New Orleans shortstop Michael Young hit .409 with 5 RBI's, including five hits in the decisive Game Five. In the League Championship Series, Los Angeles righted the ship, knocking off the Crawfish in five games. Ken Gables won two games with 12 shutout innings, and Glenn Davis hit .333 with 3 homers and 7 RBI's to win the series MVP.

World Series: Despite two close calls in the postseason, the Los Angeles Kangaroos entered the all-California series as solid favorites over the San Francisco Longshoremen. Los Angeles started the series with a bang, scoring six first-inning runs off Longshoremen ace Ted Abernathy in a 7-5 Game One victory, highlighted by a three-run Trevor Story homer. The Kangaroos won Game 2 7-3 behind a 17-hit attack, led by three hits apiece from second baseman Joe Panik and catcher J.T. Realmuto, and another Story homer. The Kangaroos pulled out a 1-0 victory in Game Three, as Mike Krukow threw nine shutout innings of four-hit ball, and Larry Bigbie drove in the lone run on a sacrifice fly in the tenth inning. Yu Darvish led the Longshoremen with 8 shutout innings of three-hit ball, striking out 12. The Longshoremen staved off elimination in Game Four, holding off the rampaging Kangaroos 4-2, as Jim Nash surrendered just one run in seven innings, and right fielder Ron Pruitt had two hits and two RBI's. Ken Gables took the loss for Los Angeles -- ending a streak of eleven straight postseason victories dating back to 2014. The Kangaroos eliminated the Longshoremen in Game 5 with a 4-1 win, as Brian Anderson surrendered just one run in seven and a third innings, and Dick Radatz racked up his third save of the Series. Trevor Story was named the World Series MVP after hitting .316 with three homers and seven RBI's, while Joe Panik hit .450 with a series-best nine hits.