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Defending European League champ Warsaw and Kyiv were again their division’s leaders. The Kings this time had the top overall record at 103-59, earning a fourth consecutive South Division. The Wildcats finished 102-60 to repeat as North Division winners and extend their playoff streak to seven seasons. Minsk’s EPB-record playoff streak increased to 14 seasons as they took the first wild card at 98-64. Kazan at 96-66 secured the second wild card, topping Bucharest by three games and Kharkiv by six. The Crusaders snapped a six-year playoff drought.

Warsaw’s Mahammad Tagiyev won his second European League MVP. The 31-year old Ukrainian left fielder won his fifth Gold Glove and won the batting title at .311. Tagiyev also had 8.8 WAR, a .912 OPS, and 31 home runs. Kyiv’s Artem Makarevich earned repeat Pitcher of the Year honors and a was only a few strikeouts shy of a Triple Crown with 392 Ks, a 24-5 record, and 1.56 ERA The 31-year old Belarusian lefty also led the EL in WHIP (0.73), K/BB (10.6), quality starts (33), FIP- (42), and WAR (12.5).

The division champs prevailed in the first round of the playoffs as Kyiv swept Kazan and Warsaw topped Minsk 3-1. The Wildcats earned a third consecutive appearance in the European League Championship Series, while it was the third in four years for the Kings. Like their battle two years prior, the ELCS went all seven games. Unlike the 1992 edition, Warsaw came out on top and earned repeat pennants.



Defending EPB champ and two-time defending Asian League champ Irkutsk improved their record to a franchise-best 109-53 atop the North Division. Almaty at 97-65 assumed the South Division for their fourth straight playoff berth and third division title in that stretch. Four teams fought over the two wild card spots with Bishkek (92-70) and Novosibirsk (91-71) advancing while Tashkent and Tbilisi were both one short at 90-72. The Nitros extended their playoff streak to four years with six appearances in seven seasons. The Black Sox ended a three-year postseason drought.

American right fielder Jonas Swiatkowski was the Asian League MVP. The 34-year old was in his third year with Bishkek after having a decade as a decent starter in MLB primarily with Boston. Swiatkowski led the league in walks drawn (68), OBP (.366), OPS (.986), and wRC+ (184). He added 7.2 WAR and 35 home runs. Tashkent’s Frantisek Kasa was Pitcher of the Year in only his second full season. The 23-year old Czech lefty led in ERA (1.59), FIP- (42) and WAR (11.8). He added 390 strikeouts over 266.2 innings with a 19-4 record; only one win and 20 Ks from a Triple Crown.

Irkutsk ousted Novosibirsk 3-1 in the first round, while Bishkek upset Almaty with a road sweep. The Ice Cats earned a chance to three-peat as Asian League champs, while the Black Sox got back to the ALCS for the first time since their impressive run of eight berths from 1980-90. Irkutsk was the heavy favorite, but Bishkek stunned them and earned the upset 4-2. It was the ninth pennant for the Black Sox, the most of any AL team.



With the 40th Eurasian Professional Baseball Championship, the title came to Poland for the first time. Warsaw beat Bishkek 4-2 to get their first title, dropping the Black Sox to 2-7 all-time in the championship. Although Bishkek lost, Jonas Swiatkowski was finals MVP with 17 hits, 9 runs, 6 home runs, and 14 RBI over 15 playoff starts. With the Wildcats’ win, 17 of EPB’s 32 teams have taken the title.



Other notes: Irkutsk’s Orel Mastinsky had a 22 strikeout game against Dushanbe on April 12. This tied Arutyun Lezjov’s single-game record from 1962, but notably Mastinsky’s came in nine innings compared to the 11.1 needed by Lezjov. Dushanbe’s Micah Hewitt became the eighth EPB batter to hit four home runs in a game. Both Igor Bury and Pavel Bely reached 4500 career strikeouts, making it 10 EPB pitchers to hit that mark. Bely also became the seventh pitcher to 250 wins. CF Jose Rodriguez won his seventh Gold Glove.