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Nugget699 · 03-27-2020, 12:35 AM

3. The 1895 Season

SUPER LIGAN
The 1895 Super Ligan season was the first season of professional baseball within the Koana Islands. It began on 5th of April 1895 and concluded on the 6th September the same year. Each of the 10 member clubs played the other 16 times over four, four-game series, twice at home and twice away, for a total of 144 games.

The competition was won by the

Ny Aucklanda Warlocks, finishing 16 games clear of the

Humoor Hawks having overtaken them on the 6th of June and never relinquishing top spot for the rest of the year.

The season wasn't without controversy though, as Viksida Bombers owner Alexander Mednick accused Warlocks owner Vilgot Forsberg of cheating prior to the start of the season when he snapped up 22-year old stud hurler André Westermark from under the noses of both Humoor and Viksida in early January and then poached Petter Solheim - who had spent time in the United States plying his trade on the mound in the National League - from Omfattandestad, having already signed a contract with the Titans.

"It's all nonsense," said Forsberg when approached by The Koanian Dagbladet prior to the season start.

"We are in a competitive league and winning is all that matters.

"Maybe some of the other teams should do a better job in providing wages that benefit the players abilities".

The early suspicions of cheating by the leagues founder were quickly forgotten when on Opening Day Westermark was pulled from the game against Jonestan after 5 and a third innings, giving up 9 hits and 7 earned runs in a 7-6 loss. A month into the season and Humoor had already built up a five game lead in the pennant race, ahead of the power-hitting side of Vizhune and Conneaut two games further back with Ny Aucklanda.

However, the Warlocks slow start hid their true talent, as they went on a storming run in the month of June, winning 25 of 28 games - including a 21-2 drubbing of Omfattandestad where seven hits went yard - to start the month of July a whopping 10 games clear of the Vipers, who had overtaken Humoor days earlier. So dominant was Ny Aucklanda's season, the Warlocks finished the season with a home series against Humoor where they dropped three games to the runners-up, preventing a possible 19-game advantage.

André Westermark was completely dominant all season despite the Opening Day hiccup, finishing with a 20-3 record and an ERA of just 2.04 with a WHIP of 0.80. His performances saw him win the Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards, whilst he finished third in the MVP Award behind Lage Jensen of Embleton and team-mate Knud Grano who blasted 61 Homers during the season.

The

Conneaut Centurions finished third where they lingered for much of the year, never really challenging for the pennant. CF Alfons Boden led the way for The Hundreds, leading the league in batting average and hits and finishing with a slash line of .374/.429/.576 with 22 HRs, 80 RBIs and 114 Runs. To cap off a great season for the outfielder, he also stole 27 bases. 1896 could be a difficult year for Conneaut however, with Starter Sebastian Mathisson (who had two complete game shutouts during the year) signing a four-year deal with cross-state rivals Vizhune at the completion of the season.

It was a strange year for the

Vizhune Vipers who relied heavily on the power hitting from David Olsen and Mats Skovhus who both hit 57 home-runs during the season. LF Jon Aberg led the team with a slashline of .316/.448/.557 whilst Lage Gulliksson pitched admirably, going 16-9 with a 2.69 ERA, striking out 233 and walking just 62.

Embleton Gunners will be wondering what went wrong during the year, propping up the standings for much of the second-half of the year, despite CF Lage Jensen picking up MVP for his astonishing year where he led the league in OBP (.463), Slugging (.764), OPS, WAR and Stolen Bases with 40. Following a 12-1 loss to Vizhune on the final day, General Manager Leo Aune was sacked along with Elias Karinsson at Viksida, with both finding work at the two expansion teams joining next season.

Following the season,

Omfattandestad Titans owner Kalle Thunberg vowed to spend "more than the other teams combined" to bring the pennant to the capital city after witnessing Forsberg's Ny Aucklanda Warlocks buy their way to the Championship. He wasted no time, snatching up Third Baseman free agent Tore Thern to a 5-year deal from Embleton in October, before taking a gamble on 37-year old Peder Castren, a RF who played for Sandford Stad and finished with a slashline of .330/.412/.641.

The popularity of the Super Ligan was better than expected and league Commissioner Thomas Petersson announced plans to expand the league immediately with two new teams. With Körsbärstad Devils still not in a position to turn professional, Petersson invited the Skeppsbyggaren Baseboll Klub based in Ängelar to join for 1896. The team, owned by Kristoffer Forsbrand - a prominent ship builder - and supported feverishly by ship builders and fishermen alike seemed an obvious choice, although there was some resistance from Blidområde's owner Linus Castren who claimed the Super Ligan didn't want "dirty, blue-collar builders to be seated next to the cultural elite during games". He was ultimately out-voted 10-1 at the Expansion vote. Kristoffer Forsbrand renamed the team the

Ängelar Armada in keeping with the English nicknames.

Mattias Svan and his

Grenada Kings were the second team voted to join the league, narrowly missing out on being one of the Original 10 last year. However, Svan insisted his brothers team, the Safir Kust Klub be granted entry the following year which was voted in favour at the owners meeting 6-4, only Humoor Hawks Svenbjom Engen abstained.

03-27-2020, 12:35 AM	#5
Nugget699 Major Leagues Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Sydney Posts: 444	3. The 1895 Season SUPER LIGAN The 1895 Super Ligan season was the first season of professional baseball within the Koana Islands. It began on 5th of April 1895 and concluded on the 6th September the same year. Each of the 10 member clubs played the other 16 times over four, four-game series, twice at home and twice away, for a total of 144 games. The competition was won by the Ny Aucklanda Warlocks, finishing 16 games clear of the Humoor Hawks having overtaken them on the 6th of June and never relinquishing top spot for the rest of the year. The season wasn't without controversy though, as Viksida Bombers owner Alexander Mednick accused Warlocks owner Vilgot Forsberg of cheating prior to the start of the season when he snapped up 22-year old stud hurler André Westermark from under the noses of both Humoor and Viksida in early January and then poached Petter Solheim - who had spent time in the United States plying his trade on the mound in the National League - from Omfattandestad, having already signed a contract with the Titans. "It's all nonsense," said Forsberg when approached by The Koanian Dagbladet prior to the season start. "We are in a competitive league and winning is all that matters. "Maybe some of the other teams should do a better job in providing wages that benefit the players abilities". The early suspicions of cheating by the leagues founder were quickly forgotten when on Opening Day Westermark was pulled from the game against Jonestan after 5 and a third innings, giving up 9 hits and 7 earned runs in a 7-6 loss. A month into the season and Humoor had already built up a five game lead in the pennant race, ahead of the power-hitting side of Vizhune and Conneaut two games further back with Ny Aucklanda. However, the Warlocks slow start hid their true talent, as they went on a storming run in the month of June, winning 25 of 28 games - including a 21-2 drubbing of Omfattandestad where seven hits went yard - to start the month of July a whopping 10 games clear of the Vipers, who had overtaken Humoor days earlier. So dominant was Ny Aucklanda's season, the Warlocks finished the season with a home series against Humoor where they dropped three games to the runners-up, preventing a possible 19-game advantage. André Westermark was completely dominant all season despite the Opening Day hiccup, finishing with a 20-3 record and an ERA of just 2.04 with a WHIP of 0.80. His performances saw him win the Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards, whilst he finished third in the MVP Award behind Lage Jensen of Embleton and team-mate Knud Grano who blasted 61 Homers during the season. The Conneaut Centurions finished third where they lingered for much of the year, never really challenging for the pennant. CF Alfons Boden led the way for The Hundreds, leading the league in batting average and hits and finishing with a slash line of .374/.429/.576 with 22 HRs, 80 RBIs and 114 Runs. To cap off a great season for the outfielder, he also stole 27 bases. 1896 could be a difficult year for Conneaut however, with Starter Sebastian Mathisson (who had two complete game shutouts during the year) signing a four-year deal with cross-state rivals Vizhune at the completion of the season. It was a strange year for the Vizhune Vipers who relied heavily on the power hitting from David Olsen and Mats Skovhus who both hit 57 home-runs during the season. LF Jon Aberg led the team with a slashline of .316/.448/.557 whilst Lage Gulliksson pitched admirably, going 16-9 with a 2.69 ERA, striking out 233 and walking just 62. Embleton Gunners will be wondering what went wrong during the year, propping up the standings for much of the second-half of the year, despite CF Lage Jensen picking up MVP for his astonishing year where he led the league in OBP (.463), Slugging (.764), OPS, WAR and Stolen Bases with 40. Following a 12-1 loss to Vizhune on the final day, General Manager Leo Aune was sacked along with Elias Karinsson at Viksida, with both finding work at the two expansion teams joining next season. Following the season, Omfattandestad Titans owner Kalle Thunberg vowed to spend "more than the other teams combined" to bring the pennant to the capital city after witnessing Forsberg's Ny Aucklanda Warlocks buy their way to the Championship. He wasted no time, snatching up Third Baseman free agent Tore Thern to a 5-year deal from Embleton in October, before taking a gamble on 37-year old Peder Castren, a RF who played for Sandford Stad and finished with a slashline of .330/.412/.641. The popularity of the Super Ligan was better than expected and league Commissioner Thomas Petersson announced plans to expand the league immediately with two new teams. With Körsbärstad Devils still not in a position to turn professional, Petersson invited the Skeppsbyggaren Baseboll Klub based in Ängelar to join for 1896. The team, owned by Kristoffer Forsbrand - a prominent ship builder - and supported feverishly by ship builders and fishermen alike seemed an obvious choice, although there was some resistance from Blidområde's owner Linus Castren who claimed the Super Ligan didn't want "dirty, blue-collar builders to be seated next to the cultural elite during games". He was ultimately out-voted 10-1 at the Expansion vote. Kristoffer Forsbrand renamed the team the Ängelar Armada in keeping with the English nicknames. Mattias Svan and his Grenada Kings were the second team voted to join the league, narrowly missing out on being one of the Original 10 last year. However, Svan insisted his brothers team, the Safir Kust Klub be granted entry the following year which was voted in favour at the owners meeting 6-4, only Humoor Hawks Svenbjom Engen abstained.