[FuzzyRussianHat]

In the European Baseball Federation’s Northern Conference, none of the 1958 playoff teams made it back. The British Isles Division went to Dublin at 94-68 for their second-ever playoff berth, defeating Birmingham by six games. In the Northwest Division, Brussels earned their first-ever playoff berth by narrowly taking the title at 95-67. They were one ahead of 94-68 Amsterdam, who took the wild card for their eight playoff berth. In the North Central Division, Stockholm was first at 95-67, giving them eight playoff berths as well. Hamburg was second at 90-72 and defending European Champ Berlin was 88-74, both missing out on the division title and a wild card.

Rotterdam at 88-74 also missed out of the postseason, but the Ravens had both the conference MVP and Pitcher of the Year. 1B Troy “Knuckles” Bataille was MVP with the 26-year old Frenchman leading the conference in home runs (50), OBP (.410), slugging (.652), OPS (1.063) and wRC+ (222), while adding 10.1 WAR and 108 RBI. Trent Addams won Pitcher of the Year for the second straight year. The 27-year old Scot was one win short of back-to-back Triple Crown seasons, posting a 19-3 record with 14 saves as well, 1.49 ERA over 223 innings, 342 strikeouts, a 31 FIP- and 11.1 WAR.



The best record overall in the EBF came from Zagreb, winning the Southern Conference’s Southeast Division at 102-60 for their second-ever playoff berth. Defending conference champion Zurich at 89-73 won the South Central Division for their fifth playoff berth in six years.

Meanwhile, the Southwest Division and wild card race was a tight one. Barcelona and Lisbon finished tied at 91-71 atop the division, both four games better than Madrid and Marseille. Athens in the Southeast Division also finished 91-71, requiring a Bengals/Clippers tiebreaker game for the division title, followed by the loser against the Anchors for the wild card. Barcelona beat Lisbon to earn the division and their first playoff spot since 1953. Then in the wild card tiebreaker, Athens ousted the Clippers, giving the Anchors back-to-back playoff appearances.

Southern Conference MVP went to Zagreb 3B Fragiskos Fakas. The 28-year old Greek was the SC leader in runs (126), hits (214), average (.343), slugging (.675), OPS (1.044), wRC+ (197), and WAR (11.7). Pitcher of the Year went to 25-year old Athens ace Mijusko Popovic. The right-handed Serbian was the SC lead in wins (24), innings (290.2), and quality starts (27). He also had a 2.69 ERA, 266 strikeouts, and 6.3 WAR.

In the first round of the EBF playoffs, Stockholm topped Amsterdam in four games, Brussels swept Dublin, Zurich upset Zagreb 3-2, and Barcelona bested Athens in five. The Northern Conference Championship saw the Swordsmen prevail in six games over the Beavers, giving Stockholm a second conference crown in three years. The Southern Conference Championship had the Bengals beat the Mountaineers 4-2, giving Barcelona their second conference title (1950). The Bengals earned their first European Championship ring, dropping the Swordsmen in five games. This is the second time the title has gone to a Spanish team with Madrid taking it in 1955.





Other notes: Gabriel Staudt became the first EBF hitter to 1000 career RBI. Ken Jacob and Richard Hackl were the first to 300 career saves. Orion McIntyre became the first to 400 home runs and Elih Cruz became the second to 2500 strikeouts. CF Mercury Hand won his ninth and final Gold Glove.