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Federal League- Upsets, upsets, everywhere! In the Wild Card Round, five of the eight series featured upsets by teams who finished with at least ten fewer wins than their opponent -- and four of the five 100-win teams in the Historic Random Debut League were eliminated in the first round. After a game 1 shutout by Chicago Mules ace Roger Clemens, the Milwaukee Raccoons stormed back and won the next four games, holding Chicago to just three runs in the four losses. Left fielder Pepe Mangual led the Raccoons by hitting .389 with two homers. Southpaw Vean Gregg threw a complete-game three-hitter in Game Three, and Wayne Twitchell threw eight shutout innings for the Raccoons in the decisive Game 5. Closer Steve Hamilton earned three saves with five hitless innings in the series, as the 86-win Raccoons, who needed to win their last five regular season games (including a one-game playoff) just to qualify for the postseason, knocked off the 109-win Mules. The 82-win London Werewolves -- the weakest team in the postseason field -- upset the 93-win Pittsburgh Golden Gorillas in six games, as righthander Joe Engel was 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA and right fielder Trevor Plouffe hit .375 with a homer and 8 RBI's. In the most evenly-matched series of the Wild Card round, the Philadelphia Hawks knocked off the Denver Spikes in six games, led by first baseman Cody Bellinger, who hit .348 with 3 homers, 6 RBI's, and five steals, while rightfielder Braggo Roth hit .304 with three homers of his own, 7 RBI's, and four steals. The Kansas City Mad Hatters upended the 100-win Baltimore Robins in six games as well, erasing an early two-games-to-one deficit, including a wild 13-12 win in Game Five, where the Mad Hatters rallied from an early 10-2 hole. Although the series featured two of the top three pitching staffs in the Frontier League, the offenses exploded early and often. Left fielder Lonnie Smith led all hitters with a .500 average, a homer, five runs scored, and two steals, while right fielder Gabe Kapler hit .423 with a pair of homers and seven RBI's.

In the Divisional Series, the Milwaukee Raccoons won the final three games against the Werewolves to advance, four games to two, as shortstop Shawon Dunston hit .360 with three homers and seven RBI's. Milwaukee third baseman Mickey Klutts hit a tiebreaking homer in the top of the ninth inning of the decisive Game Six. The Philadelphia Hawks easily dispatched the Kansas City Mad Hatters in five games, as Cody Bellinger hit .368 with a homer and five RBI's and catcher Dan Graham ripped three homers and drove in five runs as well. Kansas City's Gabe Kapler took home the series MVP in a losing effort, hitting .632 with 12 hits in five games, including two homers, five RBI's, and four steals. The Philadelphia Hawks knocked off the Raccoons in five games in a deceptively-close League Championship Series, as the five games were decided by a total of seven runs. Backup Philadelphia outfielder Bruce Campbell was the hero, hitting a walk-off pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning of Game Two, and for good measure, hitting another tie-breaking pinch-hit homer in the top off the eleventh inning of the decisive Game Five. In a controversial decision, Campbell was denied series MVP honors in favor of catcher Dan Graham, who led all hitters with eight hits, a .364 average, and he drove in three runs.

Continental League- In a stunning upset, the defending champions, the 111-win Los Angeles Kangaroos, were blasted out of the postseason in five games by their division-mate Phoenix Lizards, as Phoenix scored nine runs in their first three victories while being held to "just" eight runs in the finale. Center fielder Bubba Morton hit .556 with two homers and four RBI's, while Wade Boggs hit .500 with a homer and seven RBI's, and set the table for Shawn Green and shortstop Bob Johnson who drove in eight runs apiece. In the one Wild Card series that truly played to form, the 104-win Las Vegas Aces outclassed the Atlanta Ducks in five games, as 28-game winner Clay Buchholz and Skip Pitlock held the Ducks to two runs on seven hits in the final two games of the series. In a series with multiple dramatic finishes, the Ducks' lone win came on a ninth-inning pinch-hit grand slam by Larry Whisenton, while the Aces advanced on a walk-off homer by Brandon Belt in Game Five. Catcher Hal Smith led a balanced Las Vegas attack by hitting .529 with 5 RBI's. Although the San Antonio Marksmen rode a strong pitching staff and a subpar offense into the postseason, they flipped the script in the Wild Card round, scoring 38 runs in five games (including no less than six in every game), as they handily eliminated the Charlotte Aviators. Second baseman Mark Bellhorn took MVP honors after hitting .429 with a homer, five doubles, 6 runs scored, and 6 RBIs, while center fielder J.D. Drew hit .389 with 2 homers and 6 RBI's. After being shut out in Game One by southpaw Jeff Fassero, the Miami Flamingos pulled out four straight victories to eliminate the 102-win El Paso Armadillos. Catcher Jody Davis led Miami with a .316 average, their lone homer of the series, and seven RBI's, while right fielder Reggie Sanders provided the lone offensive spark for the Armadillos, taking home the MVP award in a losing effort after hitting .350 with four homers and 6 RBI's.

In the Division Series, the Phoenix Lizards upended another 100+ win juggernaut, knocking off the Las Vegas Aces in seven games, including winning the final two must-win games on the road. Phoenix first baseman Merv Connors was the surprise hero, hitting .483 and slugging .793 with two homers and 13 RBI's. Teenager Dennys Reyes outdueled Cy Young frontrunner Clay Buchholz in the decisive Game Seven. Meanwhile, the vaunted San Antonio pitching staff held the Miami Flamingos in check, surrendering just eight runs in a five-game victory. Phil Niekro took home the series MVP award after throwing a six-hit shutout in Game Two, and Matt Harvey took a shutout into the ninth inning of Game Five before passing the baton to Alexi Ogando. Phoenix's deep offense proved to be too much for San Antonio in the League Championship Series, however, prevailing in six games despite another brilliant outing by Harvey, where he allowed just three hits in eight shutout innings. Phoenix DH Monk Sherlock led the way with a .370 average and 4 RBI's, while left fielder Jefry Marte hit two homers and had a series-high 6 RBI's. Right fielder Michael Tucker led the Marksmen with a .364 average, two homers, and 4 RBI's in a losing effort.

World Series The Philadelphia Hawks, featuring a high-octane offense in their maiden postseason appearance, were moderately favored over the similarly explosive Phoenix Lizards, who had already dispatched opponents with 111, 104, and 95 regular season wins despite a middling 87-75 regular season record. Phoenix stole Game One 2-1 in an unexpected pitcher's duel, as teenage postseason sensation Dennys Reyes gave up just two hits in 5.2 innings, while Roy Patterson gave up just a single run for Philadelphia. Phoenix, however, took the lead for good on an eighth-inning single by shortstop Bob Johnson. Philadelphia returned the favor in Game Two, winning 3-1, as Tom Underwood and Tom Henke combined on a three-hitter (although one was a solo homer by Phoenix starter Mel Stottlemyre). Phoenix reseized the series lead, winning Game Three 6-2, as Shawn Green blasted a three-run first-inning homer. Phoenix opened up a 3-1 series lead by blasting the Hawks in Game Four, 9-5, as the Lizards broke open a pitchers' duel by scoring four runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh, as first baseman Merv Connors drove in five runs with a homer and a bases-loaded double. With Philadelphia's season resting in the balance, Roy Patterson threw a four-hit shutout, winning 5-0, as Dan Graham broke a scoreless tie with a three-run homer in the seventh inning. Philadelphia came from behind in Game Six, winning 6-4, erasing a two-run deficit in the sixth inning and taking the lead in the eighth after back-to-back triples by backup outfielder Don Buddin and second baseman Tillie Shafer. In an explosive Game Seven, Philadelphia erased an early 5-1 deficit, and the Hawks held on for an 8-7 victory, as right fielder Braggo Roth ripped three hits, including a homer and a double, and Tom Henke closed out the game with three shutout innings, allowing only a single hit. Roth was named series MVP, after hitting .444 with a homer, four doubles, four RBI's, and four steals. Patterson led the pitching staff, giving up just a single earned run in 15 innings (0.59 ERA), and Henke threw seven shutout innings to earn a win and two saves. All-star third baseman Wade Boggs led Phoenix with 12 hits, a .444 average, a homer, and seven runs scored.