1998 Triple-A World Series

The 1998 Triple-A World Series was the first meeting between the champions of the Pacific Coast League and International League in a postseason series. The New Orleans Zephyrs won their first Pacific Coast League title since moving from Denver in 1992, while the Buffalo Bisons won the International League's Governors' Cup for the first time since 1961. Both teams had come from the recently-dissolved American Association.

The two teams split the first couple games, with wins by New Orleans' John Halama and Buffalo's Mike Matthews. In game 3, Buffalo led 2-1 with two outs in the 8th. Chris Nichting then allowed a homer to 31-year-old AAA veteran Ken Ramos. Jeff Datz replaced Nichting with Jimmy Hamilton, who yielded a solo homer to Marc Ronan, who had been a back-up for 1998. Bob Scanlan got the win.

Game four was more one-sided as Lance Berkman homered 3 times in a 12-6 New Orleans victory.

The entire series was played at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, NV. Lance Berkman was named series MVP. He hit .467 with 6 runs, 6 RBI and 3 homers. Ronan went 7 for 14 with a homer and 4 RBI. In a losing cause, Jeff Manto was 8 for 15 with 2 doubles, a homer and 5 RBI.

New Orleans vs. Buffalo Date Away Home September 21 Buffalo 2 New Orleans 7 September 22 New Orleans 2 Buffalo 9 September 24 Buffalo 2 New Orleans 3 September 25 New Orleans 12 Buffalo 6 New Orleans wins series 3-1

Sources include 1999 Baseball Almanac

External Links

Triple-A World Series history – Triple-A Baseball.com

Triple-A World Series history – Wikipedia