1998 Women's Pro Fastpitch season
The 1998 Women's Pro Fastpitch season was the second season of professional softball for the Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF). The 66-game season was divided into two-halves, with the winner of each half meeting in a championship series.[1][2]
| 1998 WPF Season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's Pro Fastpitch |
| Sport | softball |
| Duration | May 29, 1998 - September 5, 1998 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN2 |
| 1998 WPF Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Desarie Knipfer Cal Poly-SLO |
| Picked by | Georgia Pride |
| Regular Season | |
| Regular Season Champions | 1st Half: Carolina Diamonds 2nd Half: Orlando Wahoos |
| Season MVP | Crystl Bustos Orlando Wahoos |
| WPF Championship | |
| Champions | Orlando Wahoos |
| Runners-up | Carolina Diamonds |
| Finals MVP | Alleah Poulson Orlando Wahoos |
Teams, cities and stadiums
| Team | City | Stadium |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Diamonds | Gastonia, North Carolina | Sims Legion Park[3] |
| Durham Dragons | Durham, North Carolina | Durham Athletic Park[4] |
| Georgia Pride | Columbus, Georgia | South Commons Softball Complex[5] |
| Orlando Wahoos | Winter Park, Florida | Alfond Stadium at Rollins College[6] |
| Tampa Bay FireStix | Tampa, Florida | Red McEwen Field [7] |
| Virginia Roadsters | Hampton, Virginia | War Memorial Stadium[8] |
Milestones and Events
Two WPF teams announced that they would play their games in different stadiums during the 1998 season: the Carolina Diamonds moved to Sims Legion Park in Gastonia, North Carolina, and the Georgia Pride announced that they would play their home games at South Commons Softball Stadium in Columbus, Georgia.
Changes for 1998 included a revision of the playing rules (43-foot pitching distance, 60-foot base distances), an expanded national television schedule (eight games on ESPN2), and the league's first all-star game, to be played at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio on July 14.[9]
Player Acquisition
College Draft
The 10-round 1998 WPF Draft was held December 6, 1997 in Palm Springs, CA. Georgia Pride selected pitcher Desarie Knipfer of Cal Poly as the first overall pick.[1][10]
League standings
Source:[11]
| Team | GP | W | L | Pct. | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando Wahoos | 66 | 42 | 24 | .626 | - | 2nd Half Champion |
| Georgia Pride | 66 | 36 | 30 | .545 | 6 | |
| Carolina Diamonds | 65 | 34 | 31 | .523 | 7.5 | 1st Half Champion |
| Durham Dragons | 63 | 31 | 32 | .492 | 9.5 | |
| Tampa Bay FireStix | 66 | 27 | 39 | .409 | 15 | |
| Virginia Roadsters | 64 | 25 | 39 | .391 | 16 | |
WPF Championship Series
The 1998 WPF Championship Series was held at Sims Legion Park in Gastonia, North Carolina September 4–5. The winners of each half of the season met in a best-of-three series to determine the champion.
| 1998 WPF Championship Series Orlando Wahoos defeat Carolina Diamonds 2–0 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Score | Series (ORL-CAR) | ||||
| 1 | September 4 | Orlando Wahoos 8, Carolina Diamonds 0 | 1–0 | ||||
| 2 | September 5 | Orlando Wahoos 8, Carolina Diamonds 2 | 2–0 | ||||
| 1998 WPF Championship Series MVP | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | |
| Alleah Poulson | Orlando Wahoos | |
Annual awards
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Crystl Bustos | Orlando Wahoos |
| Hitter of the Year | Crystal Boyd | Georgia Pride |
| Home Run Champions | Monica Armendarez | Carolina Diamonds |
| Crystal Boyd | Georgia Pride | |
| Crystl Bustos | Orlando Wahoos | |
| Pitcher of the Year | Kaci Clark | Orlando Wahoos |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Shama Wilson | Georgia Pride |
| Coach of the Year | Sharron Backus | Orlando Wahoos |
| General Manager of the Year | Lorie Baran | Carolina Diamonds |
WPF All-Star Game
After the completion of the 1997 WPF season, the league circulated a questionnaire to players. At the suggestion of players on that questionnaire, the league scheduled an All-Star Game for the 1998 season.[13]
The game was played on July 14 in Akron, OH at Firestone Stadium, televised on July 20 on ESPN2. The game was contested by a "Stars" team that played a "Stripes" team. The Stars team included players from the Diamonds, Dragons and Roadsters, while the Stripes were composed of players from the Pride, FireStix and Wahoos.[14] The Stars beat the Stripes by an 8-1 score, in front of a crowd of 3,873.[15]
Following is an incomplete listing of the All-Star rosters:
| 1998 WPF STARS All-STARS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | WPF Team | Position |
| COACHES | ||
| All-Star Head Coach | ||
| 1998 WPF STRIPES ALL-STARS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | WPF Team | Position |
| Dee Dee Weiman-Garcia[13] | Tampa Bay FireStix | P |
| Amy Putnam[13] | Georgia Pride | C |
| Crystal Bustos[14] | Orlando Wahoos | |
| Chelo Lopez[14] | Georgia Pride | |
| Jennifer Parker[14] | Tampa Bay FireStix | OF |
| COACHES | ||
| All-Star Head Coach | ||
References
- AC (15 August 2014). "Archive for the 'Women's Professional Softball League' Category". Fun While It Lasted. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- "1998 Women's Professional Fastpitch League Brochure". Box.com. 1 February 1998. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- "Directions to the Game". www.carolinadiamonds.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 1999. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- "Durham Dragon News". DurhamDragons.com. Archived from the original on 7 December 1998. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- "TWO SENIOR SOFTBALL PAYERS DRAFTED BY THE WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL SOFTBALL LEAGUE". Official Site of Mizzou Athletics. 8 December 1998. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- Shannon Rose (7 November 1998). "Orlando Wahoos Disband". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- Scott Massey (22 June 2000). "FireStix look for second league title". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- "Front Office". www.virginiaroadsters.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 1999. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- "WPSL History". ProSoftball.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 1999. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- "1998 Women's Professional Fastpitch Draft Selections". Box.com. 8 December 1998. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- Steve Dimitry (31 December 2007). "Fast Pitch Softball History". Angelfire. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- Bruce Wolfe (September 1998). "Orlando Wahoos Win 2nd-Straight WPF Champion" (PDF). NFCA Fastpitch Delivery. p. 1. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- Ken Berger (14 July 1998). "Women's Pro Fastpitch softball league to hold All-Star Game". Ocala Star-Banner. p. 9. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- "Lopez, Bustos, Parker in All-Star Game". LATimes.com. 3 July 1998. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- "NPF History". ProFastpitch.com. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 5 June 2016.