1999 Women's Pro Softball League Season
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The 1999 Women's Professional Softball League season was the third season of professional fastpitch softball for the league named Women's Professional Softball League (WPSL). In 1997 and 1998, WPSL operated under the name Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF).


Milestones and Events

After the 1998 season, the WPF (Women's Pro Fastpitch) changed its name to Women's Professional Softball League season (WPSL). WPSL Commissioner/CEO John Carroll said the change should improve the league's name recognition, as "The term 'softball' is more readily recognized by our mass audience than the term 'fastpitch'," Carroll said. "We believe the name change will result in higher public recognition. It will allow people to identify with the sport we play, rather than our style of play." Also, two-time WPF Champion Orlando Wahoos folded, and their roster was assigned to the expansion Akron Racers. On December 22, Centenary College of
Shreveport, LA Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...
softball coach
Michael Bastian Michael Bastian (born October 13, 1965), is an American fashion designer known for his work at Brooks Brothers, GANT, and his eponymous brand. He was the CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year in 2011. As of December 2020, Bastian was the creat ...
was hired as the full-time head coach of the Racers.
The other full-time WPSL coaches were Willie Rucker for the Carolina Diamonds, Judy Martino for the Durham Dragons, Cindy Bristow for the Georgia Pride,
Linda Derk Linda is an English feminine given name, derived from the Spanish word , meaning "pretty." Linda may also refer to: Names * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) ...
for the Tampa Bay FireStix, and
Terri Pearson Terri is an alternative spelling of Terry. It is a feminine given name and is also a diminutive for Teresa. Notable people with the name include: *Terri Allard (born 1962), American country/folk singer/songwriter * Terri S. Armstrong, American s ...
for the Virginia Roadsters. On March 23, the Durham Dragons introduced Bill Miller as general manager, replacing Dena Lambert. The WPSL cancelled all preseason games, citing that many draft picks and free agents would be participating in the Women's College World Series. On July 16, Georgia's Desarie Knipfer pitched the second perfect game in WPSL history, beating the Dragons 6-0.


Teams, cities and stadiums


Player Acquisition


College Draft

On December 5, 1998 the 1999 WPSL Senior Draft was held in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Durham Dragons selected 3B Isonette Polonius of
East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...
with the first pick.


Notable Transactions


League standings

Source:


WPSL Championship

The 1999 WPSL Championship Series was held at
Firestone Stadium Firestone Stadium is a softball stadium in Akron, Ohio, U.S. The stadium was dedicated on July 25, 1925, by Harvey S. Firestone, the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. It was owned and operated by the Firestone company until it wa ...
in
Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...
August 24-8. The top three teams on the standings qualified. The second- and third-place teams, the Racers and Roadsters, played a best-of-three semifinal series. The semifinal winner, the Racers, played the first-place team, the FireStix, in a best-of-three final series.


Annual awards

Source:


1999 WPSL All-Star Game

The 1999 WPSL All-Star Game was played on June 13 in
Plant City, FL Plant City is an incorporated city in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, approximately midway between Brandon and Lakeland along Interstate 4. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 39,764 at the 2020 census. Despite ma ...
at
Plant City Stadium Plant City Stadium is a stadium in Plant City, Florida with a capacity of about 6,000. It was built in 1988 as the new spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds, who had previously trained at Al Lopez Field in nearby Tampa, Florida, Tampa for ...
, televised on July 29 later on
ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...
. The game feature 30 players split between two teams, one called the "WPSL Stars" and the other "WPSL Stripes." The Stars included players from the Akron Racers, Durham Dragons and Virginia Roadsters, and the Stripes were made up of Carolina Diamonds, Georgia Pride and Tampa Bay FireStix. The WPSL Stars beat the WPSL Stripes by a score of a 5-4. Roadsters catcher Scia Maumausolo hit a game-winning home run in the eighth inning and was named the game's Most Valuable Player. Following are the All-Star rosters:


Statistical Leaders

Source:


Batting

BATTING TOP 10 (MINIMUM 158 PLATE APPEARANCES) HOME RUNS RBI STOLEN BASES TEAM BATTING HITS DOUBLES TRIPLES ON-BASE PERCENTAGE SLUGGING PERCENTAGE EXTRA-BASE HITS RUNS SCORED


Pitching

PITCHING TOP 10 (MINIMUM 66 IP) WINS SAVES STRIKEOUTS TEAM PITCHING GAMES COMPLETE GAMES SHUTOUTS INNINGS PITCHED LOSSES WALKS HOME RUNS ALLOWED


References


External links

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See also

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List of professional sports leagues This is a list of professional sports leagues. A sports league is a professional body that governs the competition of its teams. They make the rules for competition and behavior and disciplines its members as necessary. This is done through a s ...
*
List of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada This article features a listing of all professional sports teams based in the United States and Canada, in addition to teams from other countries that compete in professional leagues based in the two countries. Baseball Major League Baseb ...
Softball in the United States Pro Softball League season Soft