[Dukie98]

Frontier League: The Boston Minutemen, long an afterthought, dominated the Northeast Division, nearly leading wire-to-wire on their way to a 106-win season. First baseman Steve Garvey led a balanced offense, hitting .333 with 44 homers and 107 RBI's, while center fielder AJ Pollock hit .348 with 20 homers, 91 RBI's, 111 runs scored, and a league-high 234 hits. Mel Stottlemyre went 20-9, while closer Bud Daley - a replacement for oft-injured Kelvim Escobar -- saved 40 games with a 1.03 ERA and a microscopic 0.71 WHIP. The Buffalo Fighting Elk rallied from an uncharacteristic 10-19 start to seize the wild card with 97 wins. Traditionally a slap-hitting franchise, they finished fifth in the league in homers, as four players cleared 25 homers, led by new left fielder Ken Singleton, who hit .317 with 32 homers, 103 RBI's, and a .418 on-base percentage. Once again, Buffalo's mighty pitching staff led the league in ERA, as four starters sported ERA's below 3.00, led by Ray Collins, who went 11-7 with a 2.38 ERA and 1.03 WHIP before undergoing elbow surgery, and Marcus Stroman, who went 14-10 with a 2.59 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. The Detroit Purple Gang jumped out to a double-digit lead in the Great Lakes Division by Memorial Day, and they cruised to the postseason, taking the division by 8 games with 95 wins. Ace Justin Verlander went 18-10 with a 2.68 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, and 263 strikeouts, while veteran righthander Steve Hargan went 18-11 with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. First baseman Del Bissonnette led a powerful offense with 38 homers and 101 RBI's, while left fielder Candy Maldonado hit .306 with 29 homers and 102 RBI's.

The Great Plains Division was the deepest in baseball, with four teams remaining in playoff contention until the final ten days of the season. The St. Louis Pilots narrowly won the division with 95 wins, led by MVP front-runner shortstop Francisco Lindor, who hit .334 with 35 homers, drove in 106 runs, stole 49 bases, slugged .557, and provided Gold Glove-caliber defense. Catcher Gabby Hartnett hit .323 with 38 homers and 105 RBI's, while right fielder Jack Clark hit .302 with 39 homers and 117 RBI's. The Pilots narrowly held off the 93-win Kansas City Mad Hatters, who sported the top offense in the Frontier League. Left fielder Kevin Bass hit .334 with 25 homers and 136 RBI's, while free agent signee Todd Helton hit .310 with 34 homers and 125 RBI's in his maiden campaign. Right fielder Gary Sheffield chipped in by hitting .276 with 29 homers, 104 RBI's, 29 steals, and a league-best 130 runs scored, while lefty Jose Rosado went 19-9 with a 3.53 ERA and 222 strikeouts. Despite losing ace Madison Bumgarner at midseason with an elbow injury, the Minneapolis Penguins still won 92 games to take the final wild card slot. Slugging left fielder Del Ennis hit .295 with 30 homers and 116 RBI's, while third baseman Andy Van Slyke hit 20 homers, stole 51 bases, and scored 98 runs. Rookie southpaw Zach Duke went 19-12 with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Although the Chicago Mules flirted with the postseason after a midseason, they sputtered down the stretch, finishing with just 85 wins, as second baseman Brad Miler ripped 26 homers and 85 RBI's, and lefty Russ Van Atta went 15-9 with a 2.5 ERA. Although the Denver Spikes led the Northwest Division for nearly the entire season, the Calgary Cattle Rustlers forced a tie on the last day of the season with 96 wins apiece before Denver won a one-game playoff. Denver was led once again by star right fielder Mickey Mantle, who hit .346 with 41 homers, 104 RBI's, and scored 123 runs. Righthander Bruce Berenyi went 20-10 with a 2.32 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. Calgary was led by first baseman Kevin Millar, who hit 26 homers and drove in 97 runs, right fielder Mike Mitchell, who hit .341 with 16 homers and 81 RBI's, and righthander Fred Newman, who went 19-9 with a 2.11 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP.

Continental League: The powerful Charlotte Aviators used a league-best offense to soar into the postseason with 109 wins, scoring an incredible 986 runs. Ageless first baseman Ed Morgan hit .388 with 25 homers and 116 RBI's, while Jim Edmonds pounded 44 homers, drove in a league-best 143 runs, and slugged .553. Bill Gogolowski led a deep pitching staff that lacked in star power, going 18-8 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. Charlotte narrowly held off the Jacksonville Gulls, who won 101 games, as third baseman Wade Boggs hit .376 with 11 homers, and right fielder Bryce Harper hit .328 with 36 homers and 116 RBI's. The Virginia Beach Admirals returned to the postseason with 92 wins, as MVP candidate Bill Melton hit .323 with 43 homers and 128 RBI's, while shortstop Eddie Bressoud hit .324 with 24 homers and 107 RBI's. Righthander Joe Gibbon led baseball with a stellar 26-5 record, a 2.19 ERA, and a league-best 0.97 WHIP. The overachieving New Orleans Crawfish won 100 games, as new left fielder Cy Williams blasted 47 homers with 103 RBI's, and shortstop Jean Segura hit .323 with 19 homers, 35 steals, and 95 RBI's. Righthander Heinie Berger went 19-7 with a 2.88 ERA, while free agent signee Jack Chesbro punched his ticket for Cooperstown, going 17-5 with a 2.00 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. The defending champion Nashville Blues overcame the offseason loss of star outfielder Gary Matthews, Sr., winning 97 games, as Greg Luzinski and Brian Jordan combined for 72 homers and drove in 95 runs apiece.
Patrick Corbin paced a league-best pitching staff, going 20-7 with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP, and Bob Shirley went 16-9 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP.

The Oklahoma City Otters returned to the postseason after a one-game hiatus, winning 8 of 11 down the stretch to take the Texas Division by a single game with 89 wins. Slugging leftfielder Khris Davis hit .306 with 36 homers and 114 RBI's, and his stats were nearly duplicated by rookie rightfielder Johnny Rizzo, who hit .305 with 34 homers and 114 RBI's. A deep Otters bullpen led by Dave Giusti, who had 38 saves and a 2.30 ERA, overcame a subpar rotation. On the outside looking in with 88 wins were the El Paso Armadillos, who led the division for a majority of the season. All-star second baseman Joe Gordon paced El Paso with 36 homers and 97 RBI's, while Kerry Wood went 17-6 with a league-best 1.73 ERA and 283 strikeouts, along with a 1.08 WHIP. The Los Angeles Kangaroos' streak of eight straight Southwest Division titles was snapped by the Las Vegas Aces, who won 95 games, clinching the division title on the final day of the season. Third baseman Pablo Sandoval hit ..296 with 23 homers and a team-high 111 RBI's, while Dolph Camilli and Jason Thompson combined for 58 homers and 198 RBI's. Chris Van Cuyk led a deep pitching staff with a 20-8 record, a 3.08 ERA, and 250 strikeouts. Los Angeles returned to the postseason with 94 wins, as do-it-all shortstop Trevor Story hit .305 with 30 homers and 123 RBI's, while free agent signee Gary Matthews, Sr. hit .316 with 27 homers, 85 RBI's, 19 steals, and 117 runs scored. Ace Brett Anderson sported a 21-7 record, including his 200th career victory, with a 3.02 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.