OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

FuzzyRussianHat · 07-04-2024, 06:17 PM

Fresh of their first European Championship, Kyiv had the EBF Northern Conference’s best record at 104-58. This gave the Kings a fourth straight playoff berth and their third straight North Central Division title. It was not an easy division to win with Warsaw at 99-63 and Kharkiv at 96-66. Both earned wild cards with the Killer Bees ending a three-year playoff drought. The Wildcards picked up their fourth appearance in five years.

The other first round bye went to Amsterdam at 98-64 atop the Northwest Division. The Anacondas ended a four-year playoff drought and were 13 games better than both Brussels and Cologne. Paris, last year’s division champ and conference finalist, dropped to 81-81.

In the British Isles Division, Manchester and Dublin tied for first at 94-68. The one-game tiebreaker went to the Crushers, who became the first of the four 2000 expansion teams to earn a playoff berth. The Dinos saw their divisional three-peat bid thwarted and also fell two games behind Kharkiv for the second wild card.

In the Northeast Division, Copenhagen took first at 90-72, seven games better than Stockholm. This was the eighth straight division title for the Corsairs. At the bottom, both Riga and London stunk it up at 55-107. The Monarchs were lucky that in 2006, the rule where any 100+ loss team was relegated didn’t exist yet. That rule started in 2007 though, demoting both London and the Roosters. Riga had been relegated in 2005 and promoted back in 2006, but was relegated again.

Northern Conference MVP was Warsaw 1B Alan Dikov. The 27-year old Russian led in runs (122), home runs (61), RBI (137), total bases (431), slugging (.739), OPS (1.165), and wRC+ (215). Dikov had 10.2 WAR and a .365 batting average, falling six points short of a Triple Crown. The Wildcats made sure to keep him in the Polish capital, giving Dikov an eight-year, $75,400,000 extension in the offseason.

Prague’s Ondrej Simurka won Pitcher of the Year and became the tenth EBF pitcher to earn a Triple Crown. The 30-year old Slovak righty had an inspirational comeback story, having missed nearly all of 2006 to a torn rotator cuff. In 2007, Simurka had a 19-6 record, 1.66 ERA, and 352 strikeouts over 260.1 innings. He also had a conference-best 0.81 WHIP, 26 quality starts, 21 complete games, 7 shutouts, 57 FIP-, and 9.6 WAR.

Plus, he won a Gold Glove and posted a .309/.340/.511 slash over 104 plate appearances. Sadly, Simurka’s baseball story had a tragic end. In spring training 2008, he tore his rotator cuff again and never returned to the game. In eight years, he had a 92-75 record, 2.98 ERA, 1539.2 innings, 2020 strikeouts, 126 ERA+, 77 FIP-, and 44.0 WAR.

In the first round of the playoffs, Warsaw swept Copenhagen 2-0 and Manchester topped Kharkiv 2-0. The top seeds prevailed in round two with Amsterdam sweeping the Crushers 3-0 and Kyiv downing the Wildcats 3-1. The Anacondas hadn’t been to the Northern Conference Championship since 1996. They couldn’t hold up against the defending champs as the Kings took it 4-1. Counting their EPB dominance, Kyiv has 13 pennants to their name.

The best record in EBF was a tie at 105-57 between Bratislava and Vienna, both fighting for the East Central Division title. The Blue Falcons won the one-game playoff to claim top seed and force the Vultures into a wild card. This was a franchise record for Bratislava, whose only other playoff appearance in history was their Southern Conference runner-up in 2003. Vienna grew its playoff streak to five years with a fifth consecutive 100+ win season.

The #2 seed was defending conference champ Barcelona, who won a third straight Southwest Division. The Bengals were 96-66, besting Madrid by three games. At 93-69, the Conquistadors finished one ahead of Budapest to take the second wild card. Madrid was back in the playoffs after having their seven-year streak ended the prior season.

Munich’s playoff streak grew to seven as they won the South Central Division at 92-70. Zurich’s playoff run ended at three years as they were six back at 86-76. Yerevan at 83-79 repeated as the winners of the weak Southeast Division. They were four games better than Tbilisi and six ahead of Bucharest.

Two teams were relegated from the Southern Conference with the new 100+ loss rule. Rome at 53-109 earned the last place drop, while 54-108 Odessa also got the boot. Tirana very nearly made it five teams relegated in total, but just barely survived at 63-99.

Marseille LF Jean-Luc Tapie in his first full season earned Southern Conference MVP. Nicknamed “Sugar Bear,” the 22-year old Frenchman led in home runs (54), walks (70), total bases (404), slugging (.711), OPS (1.116), and wRC+ (201). Tapie added 8.8 WAR, 115 RBI, a .327 average, and 117 runs. Tapie would become the long-term face of the Musketeers franchise, a fitting heir to the throne previously held by Jacob Ronnberg.

Vienna’s Steffen Neumann won his fourth straight Pitcher of the Year and became the only player in EBF history with three Triple Crown seasons. The 28-year old German lefty had a 20-5 record, 2.37 ERA, and 311 strikeouts over 254.1 innings. He also led in WHIP (0.94), K/BB (8.4), quality starts (28), FIP- (59), and WAR (9.3). The Vultures tried their hardest to keep Neumann, but MLB teams were ready to make him the richest pitcher in the world as he entered free agency for 2008. Neumann would sign a seven-year, $86,600,000 deal with Los Angeles, ending a magnificent run in the EBF.

Vienna survived 2-1 against Yerevan and Madrid topped Munich 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs. As the lone wild card to advance, the Vultures drew their divisional rival Bratislava in round two with the Blue Falcons winning a classic battle 3-2. Meanwhile, Barcelona edged Madrid 3-2 to keep their repeat bid alive. Bratislava had home field advantage, but couldn’t win their first Southern Conference Championship as the Bengals took the series 4-2. This was the eighth pennant for Barcelona.

The 58^th European Championship was the second time in EBF history that there was a finals rematch, joining Amsterdam versus Zurich from 1983-84. Kyiv was the favorite to repeat, but Barcelona got revenge and took the series 4-1. The Bengals became five-time European champs (1959, 64, 79, 96, 07), tying Amsterdam and Rotterdam for the most.

1B Yvonnick Bello had an impressive postseason, winning MVP of the finals and the Southern Conference Championship. The 24-year old French lefty in 16 starts had 24 hits, 12 runs, 8 home runs, and 17 RBI. Barcelona brought the title back to Spain for the first time since Madrid’s 1999 win.

Other notes: EBF’s 30^th and 31^st Perfect Games were thrown in 2007. On March 24, Dublin’s Bilal Radic fanned eight against Rotterdam. On August 15, London’s Max McArthur did it with five strikeouts versus Paris. Rome’s Augie Mora had a 36-game hit streak, the seventh-longest in EBF history. RF Pierre Durand won his seventh Gold Glove. Two-way player Atanas Kalkanov won his eighth Silver Slugger.

Dublin’s Sergio Cipolla had 133 stolen bases, falling two short of Carsten Dal’s single season record. Speaking of Dal, he became the 24^th player to reach 2500 career hits. He also finished the year with 1457 stolen bases, firmly the EBF all-time leader. Dal became the world leader the
next year and retired the all-time steals king after the 2015 season with 1995.

Promotion/Relegation: For the first time, four teams were to be relegated with four promoted. Rome, Odessa, Riga, and London were those banished to the Second League. The E2L finalists Thessaloniki and Frankfurt moved up, as did conference finalists Antwerp and Cluj-Napoca. The Drifters and Roosters ended up in the E2L Eastern Conference, while the Monarchs and Red Wolves ended up in the Western Conference.

As for the new EBF Elite alignment, there was the awkward void of the six-team British Isles Division only having five teams from the named region. By default, Antwerp was placed with that group to avoid other shuffling. Frankfurt was placed in the North Central Division, while Hamburg was swapped from the North Central to the Northeast Division to fill Riga’s spot. That division also was renamed for 2008 to the Baltic Sea Division.

The Southern Conference saw more smooth transitions as Cluj-Napoca took Rome’s spot in the South Central Division and Thessaloniki replaced Riga in the Southeast Division.

07-04-2024, 06:17 PM	#1397
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,786	2007 in EBF Fresh of their first European Championship, Kyiv had the EBF Northern Conference’s best record at 104-58. This gave the Kings a fourth straight playoff berth and their third straight North Central Division title. It was not an easy division to win with Warsaw at 99-63 and Kharkiv at 96-66. Both earned wild cards with the Killer Bees ending a three-year playoff drought. The Wildcards picked up their fourth appearance in five years. The other first round bye went to Amsterdam at 98-64 atop the Northwest Division. The Anacondas ended a four-year playoff drought and were 13 games better than both Brussels and Cologne. Paris, last year’s division champ and conference finalist, dropped to 81-81. In the British Isles Division, Manchester and Dublin tied for first at 94-68. The one-game tiebreaker went to the Crushers, who became the first of the four 2000 expansion teams to earn a playoff berth. The Dinos saw their divisional three-peat bid thwarted and also fell two games behind Kharkiv for the second wild card. In the Northeast Division, Copenhagen took first at 90-72, seven games better than Stockholm. This was the eighth straight division title for the Corsairs. At the bottom, both Riga and London stunk it up at 55-107. The Monarchs were lucky that in 2006, the rule where any 100+ loss team was relegated didn’t exist yet. That rule started in 2007 though, demoting both London and the Roosters. Riga had been relegated in 2005 and promoted back in 2006, but was relegated again. Northern Conference MVP was Warsaw 1B Alan Dikov. The 27-year old Russian led in runs (122), home runs (61), RBI (137), total bases (431), slugging (.739), OPS (1.165), and wRC+ (215). Dikov had 10.2 WAR and a .365 batting average, falling six points short of a Triple Crown. The Wildcats made sure to keep him in the Polish capital, giving Dikov an eight-year, $75,400,000 extension in the offseason. Prague’s Ondrej Simurka won Pitcher of the Year and became the tenth EBF pitcher to earn a Triple Crown. The 30-year old Slovak righty had an inspirational comeback story, having missed nearly all of 2006 to a torn rotator cuff. In 2007, Simurka had a 19-6 record, 1.66 ERA, and 352 strikeouts over 260.1 innings. He also had a conference-best 0.81 WHIP, 26 quality starts, 21 complete games, 7 shutouts, 57 FIP-, and 9.6 WAR. Plus, he won a Gold Glove and posted a .309/.340/.511 slash over 104 plate appearances. Sadly, Simurka’s baseball story had a tragic end. In spring training 2008, he tore his rotator cuff again and never returned to the game. In eight years, he had a 92-75 record, 2.98 ERA, 1539.2 innings, 2020 strikeouts, 126 ERA+, 77 FIP-, and 44.0 WAR. In the first round of the playoffs, Warsaw swept Copenhagen 2-0 and Manchester topped Kharkiv 2-0. The top seeds prevailed in round two with Amsterdam sweeping the Crushers 3-0 and Kyiv downing the Wildcats 3-1. The Anacondas hadn’t been to the Northern Conference Championship since 1996. They couldn’t hold up against the defending champs as the Kings took it 4-1. Counting their EPB dominance, Kyiv has 13 pennants to their name. The best record in EBF was a tie at 105-57 between Bratislava and Vienna, both fighting for the East Central Division title. The Blue Falcons won the one-game playoff to claim top seed and force the Vultures into a wild card. This was a franchise record for Bratislava, whose only other playoff appearance in history was their Southern Conference runner-up in 2003. Vienna grew its playoff streak to five years with a fifth consecutive 100+ win season. The #2 seed was defending conference champ Barcelona, who won a third straight Southwest Division. The Bengals were 96-66, besting Madrid by three games. At 93-69, the Conquistadors finished one ahead of Budapest to take the second wild card. Madrid was back in the playoffs after having their seven-year streak ended the prior season. Munich’s playoff streak grew to seven as they won the South Central Division at 92-70. Zurich’s playoff run ended at three years as they were six back at 86-76. Yerevan at 83-79 repeated as the winners of the weak Southeast Division. They were four games better than Tbilisi and six ahead of Bucharest. Two teams were relegated from the Southern Conference with the new 100+ loss rule. Rome at 53-109 earned the last place drop, while 54-108 Odessa also got the boot. Tirana very nearly made it five teams relegated in total, but just barely survived at 63-99. Marseille LF Jean-Luc Tapie in his first full season earned Southern Conference MVP. Nicknamed “Sugar Bear,” the 22-year old Frenchman led in home runs (54), walks (70), total bases (404), slugging (.711), OPS (1.116), and wRC+ (201). Tapie added 8.8 WAR, 115 RBI, a .327 average, and 117 runs. Tapie would become the long-term face of the Musketeers franchise, a fitting heir to the throne previously held by Jacob Ronnberg. Vienna’s Steffen Neumann won his fourth straight Pitcher of the Year and became the only player in EBF history with three Triple Crown seasons. The 28-year old German lefty had a 20-5 record, 2.37 ERA, and 311 strikeouts over 254.1 innings. He also led in WHIP (0.94), K/BB (8.4), quality starts (28), FIP- (59), and WAR (9.3). The Vultures tried their hardest to keep Neumann, but MLB teams were ready to make him the richest pitcher in the world as he entered free agency for 2008. Neumann would sign a seven-year, $86,600,000 deal with Los Angeles, ending a magnificent run in the EBF. Vienna survived 2-1 against Yerevan and Madrid topped Munich 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs. As the lone wild card to advance, the Vultures drew their divisional rival Bratislava in round two with the Blue Falcons winning a classic battle 3-2. Meanwhile, Barcelona edged Madrid 3-2 to keep their repeat bid alive. Bratislava had home field advantage, but couldn’t win their first Southern Conference Championship as the Bengals took the series 4-2. This was the eighth pennant for Barcelona. The 58^th European Championship was the second time in EBF history that there was a finals rematch, joining Amsterdam versus Zurich from 1983-84. Kyiv was the favorite to repeat, but Barcelona got revenge and took the series 4-1. The Bengals became five-time European champs (1959, 64, 79, 96, 07), tying Amsterdam and Rotterdam for the most. 1B Yvonnick Bello had an impressive postseason, winning MVP of the finals and the Southern Conference Championship. The 24-year old French lefty in 16 starts had 24 hits, 12 runs, 8 home runs, and 17 RBI. Barcelona brought the title back to Spain for the first time since Madrid’s 1999 win. Other notes: EBF’s 30^th and 31^st Perfect Games were thrown in 2007. On March 24, Dublin’s Bilal Radic fanned eight against Rotterdam. On August 15, London’s Max McArthur did it with five strikeouts versus Paris. Rome’s Augie Mora had a 36-game hit streak, the seventh-longest in EBF history. RF Pierre Durand won his seventh Gold Glove. Two-way player Atanas Kalkanov won his eighth Silver Slugger. Dublin’s Sergio Cipolla had 133 stolen bases, falling two short of Carsten Dal’s single season record. Speaking of Dal, he became the 24^th player to reach 2500 career hits. He also finished the year with 1457 stolen bases, firmly the EBF all-time leader. Dal became the world leader the next year and retired the all-time steals king after the 2015 season with 1995. Promotion/Relegation: For the first time, four teams were to be relegated with four promoted. Rome, Odessa, Riga, and London were those banished to the Second League. The E2L finalists Thessaloniki and Frankfurt moved up, as did conference finalists Antwerp and Cluj-Napoca. The Drifters and Roosters ended up in the E2L Eastern Conference, while the Monarchs and Red Wolves ended up in the Western Conference. As for the new EBF Elite alignment, there was the awkward void of the six-team British Isles Division only having five teams from the named region. By default, Antwerp was placed with that group to avoid other shuffling. Frankfurt was placed in the North Central Division, while Hamburg was swapped from the North Central to the Northeast Division to fill Riga’s spot. That division also was renamed for 2008 to the Baltic Sea Division. The Southern Conference saw more smooth transitions as Cluj-Napoca took Rome’s spot in the South Central Division and Thessaloniki replaced Riga in the Southeast Division. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)