Congratulations to the 3rd seeded Buffalo Bison, managed by John Duke, who defeated, manager Rob Milinkovich and his 1st seeded Woodland Warlocks, in a tightly contested 5 game series. 3 of the games were decided by 1 run, with another ended by a walk off 3-run homer. Since we adopted our 3 division setup and new playoff format in 2000, Buffalo’s victory breaks a run of 10 different teams and managers as champions in the previous 10 seasons, as the Bison are the first club to win 2 NABC crowns since 2000. The games were played via phone, as, once again, this season all playoff games were contested via either a phone or chat connection. Thanks to all playoff managers for completing games promptly.

For Buffalo manager Duke, in his thirty-second season at the helm of the Bison, this was the 3^rd World Series title in 6 WS attempts, plus the twenty-first appearance in the playoffs. Buffalo’s previous titles were won in 1980 and 2003. For manager Milinkovich and the defending NABC champion Woodland franchise, this was the second World Series appearance and fourth playoff appearance overall.

In the series, Woodland captured the opening game, but Buffalo roared back to win the next 4 to complete the stunning upset of the Warlocks, who had by far and away the best regular season record in the NABC. Over the course of the post-season, the Bison offense was led by Russ Branyan (.292, 6 homers, 12 RBI), Carlos Gonzalez (.273, 5 triples, 11 RBI) and Lyle Overbay (.300, 5 runs). Roy Halladay started 6 games and posted a 3-0 record with a 1.88 ERA. For Woodland, Derrek Lee (.235, 2 homers, 8 RBI) was the most consistent run producer, while Felix Hernandez went 3-1 with a 2.10 ERA in 4 starts. Finally, the Bison won 12 of 15 post-season games, with an unreal 8-1 mark in 1-run decisions.

Congratulations to both John and Rob for making it to the finals, and thanks to all NABC managers for another great year!