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Amsterdam won the Northwest Division for the second time in three years and took the EBF Northern Conference’s #1 seed at 102-60. Paris, last year’s division winner, was a very distant second at 83-79. The British Isles Division was intense with Birmingham earning a sixth consecutive division title at 97-65. Glasgow at 95-67 took the wild card, ending a five-year playoff drought. Defending conference champ Dublin was two back on the Highlanders at 93-69, seeing their repeat hopes dashed. After back-to-back losing seasons, Berlin returned to the North Central Division perch at 90-72. The Barons were two games ahead of Stockholm and six ahead of defending division champ Copenhagen.

Northern Conference MVP went to Amsterdam LF Kenneth Hammer. The 30-year old Dane led in total bases (383), triple slash (.368/.409/.656), OPS (1.065), and wRC+ (198). Hammer added 8.8 WAR, 41 home runs, and 122 RBI in his final year of European baseball, as he left for MLB and San Diego in the offseason. Injuries would in part cause Hammer’s MLB run to be unremarkable.

Birmingham’s Lindsey Brampton won an impressive sixth consecutive Pitcher of the Year. The 28-year old Englishman earned his second straight Triple Crown season and broke his own single-season strikeout record with 489 Ks, a 24-5 record, and 2.25 ERA over 268 innings. 489 strikeouts remains the EBF all-time record as of 2037 with the top five seasons all belonging to Brampton. He also led in WHIP (0.84), FIP- (49), and WAR (11.0). Brampton joined Jean-Luc Roch as the only two-time Triple Crown winners in EBF.

Both first round playoff series went all five games with Amsterdam outlasting Berlin and Birmingham edging Glasgow. The Anacondas got their second Northern Conference Championship appearance in three years, while the Bees earned a fourth straight and their fifth in six years. Birmingham reclaimed the top spot by taking the series 4-2 over Amsterdam, giving the Bees their fourth pennant of the 1990s (91, 93, 94, 96). It is their fifth conference title overall.



Barcelona narrowly had the Southern Conference’s best record at 95-67. The Bengals won the Southwest Division for their third playoff berth in four years. Both South Central Division champ Zurich and Southeast Division winner Zagreb finished at 94-68. The Mountaineers were repeat division winners with their 23rd playoff berth in 24 seasons. The Gulls got their second berth in three years. In the wild card race, defending European Champion Lisbon barely took the wild card to prolong their playoff streak to six seasons. At 85-77, the Clippers were two games ahead of Munich, three better than Athens, and four ahead of Naples.

Lisbon two-way start Daniel Ramires was a repeat Southern Conference MVP. On the mound, the 33-year old Portuguese righty led in wins (21-7) and strikeouts (301), posting a 2.74 ERA, 276.1 innings, and 8.4 WAR., while winning a fifth Gold Glove on the mound. At the plate and in the outfield, Ramires had 5.6 WAR in 129 games, 144 hits, 24 home runs, and a .325/.387/.589 slash. He also barely missed Pitcher of the Year, bested in that race by Barcelona’s Anders Maurstad. The 27-year old Norwegian was in his third season as a Bengal, leading in WAR (9.2), WHIP (0.93), shutouts (6), and innings pitched (289.2). Maurstad had 273 strikeouts, a 19-8 record, and 2.49 ERA.

Barcelona survived a five game challenge in the first round from divisional foe Lisbon, ending the Clippers’ repeat bid. Zagreb edged Zurich in five, setting up a rematch of the 1994 Southern Conference Championship. Just as two years ago, it was the Bengals beating the Gulls. Barcelona won the series 4-1 to become six-time conference champs (1950, 59, 64, 79, 94, 96).



The 47th European Championship would be a rematch of the 45th edition, which had Birmingham beating Barcelona 4-2. The Bengals would get revenge and take the 1996 title in a seven game showdown. It is the fourth ring for Barcelona, who also won it all in 1959, 64, and 79. CF Lucas Ortega was finals MVP, posting 20 hits, 13 runs, 8 home runs, and 20 RBI in 17 playoff starts.



Although his Bees were defeated, Lindsey Brampton set postseason records for WAR (2.23) and strikeouts (75). As of 2037, no other EBF pitcher has topped 60 strikeouts or 2+ WAR in a playoff run. Brampton didn’t have run support, going 2-3 despite a 1.96 ERA over 41.1 innings. Interestingly enough, his teammate Miroslav Pahor set a playoff record with six wins. He did this as a closer, going 6-2 with 2 saves in 12 playoff appearances with a 4.08 ERA.

Other notes: Brampton had two games with 22 strikeouts, both against Glasgow. This tied the record he set last year in 10 innings, but this year’s games were over nine and 8.1. There have been eight EBF games with 21 or more strikeouts, seven by Brampton. Sean Houston became the fifth batter to 3000 career hits and the fifth to 700 home runs. He would play one more season, ending with 3269 hits and 752 home runs. This put him fourth in homers and third in hits at retirement.