[FuzzyRussianHat]

Birmingham, winners of the Northern Conference crown twice in the prior three seasons, set a franchise record in 1994 at 110-52. The Bees had the best record in the EBF and earned a fourth consecutive British Isles Division. After missing the playoffs in four straight years, Amsterdam returned to the top spot in the Northwest Division at 100-62. The division had the wild card battle with Brussels (92-70) besting Rotterdam (88-74). The Beavers ended a two-year drought, while the Ravens’ missed the postseason for only the second time in a decade and saw a four-year streak stopped. At 91-71, Hamburg won the North Central Division for the first time since their 1990 pennant. Stockholm (84-78) and Copenhagen (83-79) were the closest competition, while Berlin’s playoff streak ended at three years as they fell below .500.

Copenhagen 1B Mattias Stole had an incredible sophomore season, winning Northern Conference MVP and setting world records along the way. The 24-year old Norwegian lefty had EBF’s fourth Triple Crown for a hitter with a staggering 75 home runs, 183 RBI, and .376 average. Within EBF, this beat Sean Houston’s record-setting 1984 efforts of 72 home runs and 167 RBI. This also set a world record for RBI and was one short of Valor Melo’s 76 home run mark in BSA. Stole’s 183 RBI is still the EBF record as of 2037 and was the world record until 2003. His 75 homers remains third as of 2037. Stole also led the conference in runs (136), hits (239), total bases (503), OBP (.418), slugging (.791), OPS (1.209), wRC+ (223), and WAR (10.8).

Meanwhile, Birmingham’s Lindsey Brampton secured a fourth consecutive Pitcher of the Year. He came close to a Triple Crown, but was second in ERA with a 24-4 record, 2.14 ERA, and 463 strikeouts. The 463 Ks was second-most in a EBF season, two behind his own mark of 465 the prior year. The 26-year old Englishman also led in WHIP (0.78), innings (273.1), quality starts (27), complete games (16), FIP- (49), and WAR (11.7).

In the opening round of the postseason, Birmingham outlasted Hamburg in a five game battle and Amsterdam swept divisional foe Brussels. It was the first Northern Conference Championship for the Anacondas since their 1980s dynasty run, while the Bees earned a shot at a third pennant in four years. Birmingham was successful in repeating as NC champs, although it took a seven-game war that saw the home team win all seven games. The Bees joined the Anacondas as the only Northern Conference franchises to win the pennant thrice in a four year stretch.



The top two teams in the Southern Conference battled for the Southwest Division title. After taking the wild card last year, Barcelona finished first at 101-61 for their first division title since their 1979 European Championship. Lisbon was close behind at 97-65 and extended its playoff streak to four seasons.

Meanwhile, the two massive division title streaks both came to a close. Defending European Champion Zurich had its incredible 21-year stranglehold on the South Central Division thwarted by Rome. The Red Wolves took it at 86-76, beating the Mountaineers by two games. It was Rome’s second playoff spot in four years, taking a wild card in 1991. In the Southeast Division, Munich’s 11-year run was stopped by Zagreb. The Gulls ended a 15-year playoff drought with an 89-73 mark. The Mavericks were two behind and Athens was four back.

Lisbon took the top honors with CF Willy Fierro winning Southern Conference MVP. It was the second MVP for the 29-year old Spaniard, who also won it back in 1989. Fierro led the SC in runs (132), total bases (407), triple slash (.342/.409/.689), OPS (1.098), wRC+ (1920, and WAR (12.7). He also smacked 49 home runs with 130 RBI. His Clippers teammate Daniel Ramires won Pitcher of the Year. Nicknamed “Buddy,” the 31-year old Portuguese righty was in his fourth year with Lisbon. He led in wins (25-10), innings (303), strikeouts (313), complete games (16), and WAR (9.3). His 303 innings tied the EBF single-season record, which stills stands as of 2037. Ramires also had a 3.27 ERA.

Barcelona survived in a five game first round battle with Rome, while Zagreb ousted Lisbon 3-1. It had been a long while since either had been to the Southern Conference Championship with the Bengals’ last berth being 1979 and the Gulls’ being 1975. The finale needed all seven games as well as extra innings in game seven. In the tenth inning of a wild affair, 1B Lionel Wackerlin had the walk off RBI single to win it 11-10 for Barcelona. It was the fifth pennant for the Bengals (1950, 59, 64, 79, 94).



After winning their first European Championship in 1991, Birmingham lost a heartbreaker in 1993 to Zurich with game seven decided 3-2 in 10 innings. The Bees bounced back in 1994, besting Barcelona 4-2 in the 45^th European Championship. Veteran slugger Sean Houston was EBF finals MVP and conference finals MVP, as the 35-year old Scot had 34 hits, 13 runs, 6 home runs, and 12 RBI in 18 playoff starts. The 34 hits was a playoff record which would only get passed once in 2015.



Other notes: Birmingham’s win was also the third ring for RF Jacob “Rowdy” Ronnberg, who had won two as Marseille’s star in the 1980s. The 38-year old had signed with the Bees in the offseason and had his last great season, although he still played two more years. In 1994, Ronnberg became the first EBF batter to reach 2000 runs scored. He also passed Sauncho Fiero as EBF’s hit king, finishing the season with 3460. Ronnberg remained both the EBF hit king and runs leader until 2015.