IX. 1899 SEASON
SUPER LIGAN
- The 1899 Super Ligan season was the fifth season of professional baseball within the Koana Islands. It began on 27th of March 1899 and concluded on the 8th September the same year. It was the first season of the Körsbärstad Devils and Thomassmåstad Eagles who became the 13th and 14th teams to join the league.
- The Blidområde Wild clinched their fourth successive Super Ligan title with 110 wins, equalling the record of wins in a season which was set by the Wild last year.
- Neo Olsen was superb on the mound for the Champions, going 17-3, with a league-leading1.93 ERA in 182.1 innings pitched. He also had a 1.03 WHIP, 11.8 K/9 and a WAR of 8.1 which helped claim Pitcher of the Year for the first time.
- Some terrible news during the season was the end of André Westermark's career. The two-time Pitcher of the Year had started the season with four losing decisions in five starts for the Warlocks before a torn UCL on the 21st of April forced him to retire at 27. He leaves a legacy of eight 15+ K games, as well as a no-hitter and a Triple Crown that he achieved in 1895.
- Whilst on the subject of Pitchers, Lage Gulliksson's first game as a Grenada King ended in a shutout, before finishing the year with a 16-5 record from 31 games started. He led the league in Innings Pitched (211.2), Strikeouts (257), and WAR (8.2).
- The loss of Gulliksson hurt Vizhune badly, as they slumped to their worst finish ever in part to some poor performances on the mound. Helmer Petersson led the league in K/9 with 12.0, but Sebastian Mathisson was next best accruing a paltry 4.30 ERA in 31 starts. Mats Hultman was outstanding at First Base once again, claiming his second MVP award for putting up some impressive numbers, including a .343 batting average and a .449 on-base percentage this year while racking up 38 doubles, no triples, 54 home runs, 138 RBIs and 127 runs scored. He received 14 first place votes, as a unanimous winner. Ferdinand Riemer of the Ängelar Armada finished second in voting, while Alfons Boden of the Conneaut Centurions finished third.
- Omfattandestad had a huge change in fortunes this year to finish runners-up, in part due to the breakout season of Rookie 1B Oskar Krantz. The power-hitting 22-year old batted .281 in 116 games this season and finishing with 128 hits, 38 home runs, 105 RBIs and 77 runs scored. His season came to a premature close in early August when he broke his hand, but was still the clear winning of the Rookie of the Year award.
- Simon Falk continued to show why he is fast being known as "The Contact King", when he smashed the hitting streak record of 32 held by Halvar Nilsson. The 29-year old Center Fielder reached on a base hit for 36 consecutive games through the month of April before eventually going hitless against Embleton. To make his season even better, the Sandford Stad Bulldogs lead-off hitter picked up his fifth straight Gold Glove award. He still hasn't hit a home run since 1896, either.
- Halvar Nilsson had another strong year before breaking his elbow in late August, a few days before Blidområde won the title. It'll be his last year at the club as he enters Free Agency for the second time in his career.
- Thomas Petersson announced in late September that next season would be his last before he steps aside. Possible replacements include Kalle Thunberg from Omfattandestad and Vilgot Forsberg from Ny Auckland Warlocks.
- Super Ligan are in advanced talks about merging with the Koanian Baseboll Förbund to form a second division, discussions are on-going.
- The 1899 Baseball Meisterschaft season was the second season of professional baseball in Günsovölk. It began on the 18th of April 1899 and concluded on the 17th September the same year.
- The Shoof Pirates won their second straight title, romping to victory to finish 32 games clear of the chasing pack. Theodor Horn gave opposing pitchers fits by hitting .363 as he collected 182 hits, 33 doubles, 4 triples, 66 home runs and 172 RBIs to clinch Most Valuable Player for the season. He received 8 first place votes, as a unanimous winner. Team-mate Marquart Shafer finished second in the voting, whilst Loring Young of the Hüll Clippers finished third. His 66 homers smashed the previous record set by Loring Young last season of 48 (which he manage to do again this season).
- Volker Lange managed to set a new hitting streak of 28 games whilst playing for the Schönheit Anglers. The 26-year old achieved the feat during the wanning weeks of the season, eventually going hitless against Druten Stadt on the 14th of September.
- Ahnüü finished bottom of the pile this season winning just 56 games in the process, but the major positive for the season was the eventual Rookie of the Year winner, Nisin Riegel. Draft third last December, the Right Fielder carved out a .320 average during the regular season, playing in 135 games and gathering 156 hits in 488 at-bats. Riegel hit 32 home runs while driving in 124 runs and scoring 75 times. He also picked up 42 walks to post a .373 on-base percentage. He finished just ahead of Shoof Pirates rookie Shortstop Jon Sjovold, who led the league in Plate Appearances.
- Whilst on the subject of rookies, last year's first overall pick by Ledigstadt was RF Hank Cooper who finished with solid numbers for the eventual runners-up. In 132 starts, the 23-year old went .295/.360/443 with 153 hits, 81 runs and78 RBIs. He hit a league-leading 19 triples and hit out the park 4 times.
- 39-year old Albrecht Otto got top honours as Pitcher of the Year for his solid work on the mound with the Küstestadt Boxers. He posted a 2.68 ERA with 12 wins, 11 losses, 140 strikeouts and 48 walks in 215 innings, including two straight shutouts in mid-April.
- Despite strong crowd figures, players have started looking towards the Super Ligan for a better pay day. President Marcel Fuhrmann admitted that lopsided scorelines didn't help the fledgling leagues chances of retaining their star players. He went on to outline that a possible expansion team might be needed in Shoof to dilute the talent pool that the Pirates currently hold.