Fleet Conference
Memphis Red Sox (88-74) v New York Black Yankees (87-75)
Best of seven, Red Sox with home-field advantage.
It has been some time in the wilderness for these two clubs who dominated the first half of last decade with a pair of titles each but then ran aground, with just the MeSox' 1980 playoff appearance between them over the past four seasons.
And it looks a fairly even match-up although I'm just giving the edge to Memphis in five hard-fought games.
The Red Sox get a tight 6-5 Game 1 win behind Barney Morris but the BYs bounce back the next day, levelling the series with a 9-4 win that is closer than the score indicates and.
Game 3 is a ripper, with the visiting Red Sox scoring singles in the top 7th, 8th, 9th and then 10th to eke out a famous 6-5 win, only for Game 4 to be its equal in drama and opposite in result with the Black Yankees coming all the way back from 0-6 to 8-6.
Louis Dula gets the BYs' noses in front again with a fine 3-hit shutout but back in Memphis the Red Sox force a decider with a 4-2 win behind Nip Winters and then take the series with a most anticlimactic 9-0 blowout.
Red Sox catcher Anderson Pryor wins the MVP.
Weldy Conference
Detroit Motown Stars (94-68) v Hilldale Athletics (90-72)
Best of seven, Motown Stars with home-field advantage.
No idea what happened last season, but the MoStars have quickly rebounded to post their third 94-68 season around the anomaly of 1983. They were challenged this season but fought hard and prevailed and they'll need all that grit here against a really dangerous Hilldale outfit looking for the club's first title in 15 years.
A dream matchup to get this series underway with Triple Crown-winner Gene Collins going head-to-head with legend-in-the-making Satchel Paige. Collins pitches five no-hit innings and his MoStars eventually prevail 7-2 but the Athletics square it up 5-4 in Game 2 with Dick Redding the winner and Cristobal Torriente's 4-for-5 / 3 RBI effort just not enough.
A comeback 7-4 win in the first game in Hilldale sees the home side edge ahead and they double their advantage with another win the following day but can't close it out at home with Detroit keeping the series alive by dint of a tough 5-3 win.
They win again to send us to a winner-takes-all Game 7 with Gene Collins in the W column for a second time and in the end just have a little too much polish, advancing to the WS with a 3-1 win.
Cristobal Torriente takes home his 4th playoff MVP award.