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Three of the four teams that made the postseason the prior year in the EPB European League earned another berth in 1963. Moscow had the best overall record at 111-53 to win the North Division, giving the Mules a third straight playoff berth. Kyiv claimed the South Division at 107-55, making it seven in eight years for the Kings. Kazan was the first wild card at 108-54 with the 1961 Soviet Series champs back in after missing the prior year. The final wild card went to defending champion Minsk at 103-59, continuing their streak as the only team to make the playoffs each of EPB’s first nine seasons. Prague had a franchise best 98-64, but couldn’t keep up ultimately in the wild card race.

Moscow had the league MVP and the Pitcher of the Year in 1963. 2B Anton Kirilenko won back-to-back MVPs as the 35-year old Belarusian was again the WARlord, this time at 10.3. He added 43 home runs, 101 RBI, and a .302 average. Taleh Ismailov was Pitcher of the Year for the second time, having won it with Irkutsk back in 1956. The 35-year old Kazakh righty had the best ERA at 1.73, 10.1 WAR, and 281 strikeouts over 260 innings.



A competitive Asian League had Omsk with the best record, earning their first-ever playoff berth with a 101-61 mark atop the North Division. Bishkek edged Almaty for the South Division title with the Black Sox earning their first playoff berth at 97-65. The Assassins were one back at 96-66, taking the first wild card for back-to-back playoff berths. The second wild card went to Ufa, another team getting its first taste of the postseason. The Fiends finished at 95-67. Last year’s Asian League champ Chelyabinsk dropped to 85-77 and started a decade-long playoff drought.

Despite being last in their division, Ulaanbaatar had the league MVP in a breakout season for CF Amam Charyyew. A 25-year old Turkmen nicknamed “Mad Dog,” Charyyew had the second-ever EPB Triple Crown season for a hitter with a .318 average, 55 home runs, and 122 RBI. The 55 dingers was one shy of the single-season mark. He added 112 runs, a league-best .713 slugging, 1.077 OPS, 220 wRC+, and 9.8 WAR. Omsk had the Pitcher of the Year Arutyun Lezjov. A 29-year old Russian, he was the leader in wins at 28-4, plus had the most innings (302.2), and complete games (28). He added a 1.81 ERA, 350 strikeouts, and 11.6 WAR. The 28 wins tied a single-season EPB record (Taleh Ismailov, 1956) which held until Haxhi Maho got 29 in 1990.

Both European League first round playoff series went all five games with the division champs surviving challenges from wild cards; Moscow beat Minsk and Kyiv topped Kazan. The Kings then rolled to a sweep of the Mules in the ELCS, giving Kyiv its third league title. In the Asian League, Ufa upset Omsk in four in the first round and Almaty knocked off Bishkek 3-1. The Assassins bested the Fiends 4-2 in the ALCS for Almaty’s second league title. In the 1963 Soviet Series, the Kings clobbered the Assassins in five games, making the Ukrainian capital the first team to win three overall titles (1958, 1959). 3B Paul Stelea was the Soviet Series MVP with the 35-year old having joined the Kings that offseason as a free agent. In 14 playoff games, he had 15 hits, 6 runs, 3 home runs, and 9 RBI.





Other notes: Sebastian Weiss had the eighth EPB perfect game on June 24 for Bratislava, striking out 10 against Kazan. It was his second no-hitter of the year, having K’d eight and walked one against Prague in April. Theo Siitonen became the first closer in EPB to reach 300 career saves. SS Leonard Szuster of Minsk won his seventh and final Gold Glove. MVP Anton Kirilenko at 2B and 3B Pavlo Kolesnik became seven time Silver Slugger winners, joining catcher Lassi Luhta as the only to do so to date.