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FuzzyRussianHat · 12-10-2024, 12:09 PM

The realigned Northern Conference was top heavy with four teams winning 100+ games. Defending European Champion Hamburg set a franchise record at 115-47 atop the East Division. They were the first EBF team to win 115 games since Dublin won it all in 2013. The Hammers earned a fourth consecutive division title and their fifth in six years. Hamburg’s 884 runs scored were the most in the European Baseball Federation by a healthy margin.

The only other team to score 800+ was Dublin with 819. The Dinos took the #2 seed at 109-53 atop the West Division. Dublin allowed the fewest runs in the conference at 575 with Hamburg next at 591. Both the Hammers and the Dinos won their divisions by 16+ games. Dublin got their second playoff berth in three years and their first division title since their eight-year streak from 2008-2015.

The weakest division winner was still at an impressive 105-57 in the Central. This was a new franchise best for Frankfurt, who earned a third straight division title. Theirs was the only competitive division with a strong Amsterdam giving chase. The Anacondas secured the first wild card at 100-62. Amsterdam has made the playoffs seven times in the last eight years; all as wild cards despite thrice winning 100+.

Warsaw was 16 games behind Hamburg in the East Division, but their 99-63 was still plenty to take the second wild card and earn repeat playoff berths. The third and final wild card had Manchester (92-70) narrowly beat Rotterdam (91-71). It was their third-ever EBF Elite playoff berth (2007, 2009) with the Crushers just getting promoted back from the European Second League the prior season. The next closest teams were Cologne (85-77) and Prague (84-78).

Getting relegated from the Northern Conference was Copenhagen at 54-108. Despite how top-heavy the NC was, no one else was an 100 game loser. Paris (66-96), Kharkiv (66-96) and Hanover (67-95) were the closest to doom. The Corsairs had won back-to-back titles in 2004-05, but hadn’t seen a winning season since 2007. Copenhagen had narrowly avoided its first relegation until now, winning less than 70 games in four of the last five seasons.

Despite the Lumberjacks’ 72-90 season, Northern Conference MVP went to Leipzig left fielder Dieter Wilhelms, the 2018 Rookie of the Year. He lost half of his sophomore season to torn ankle ligaments, but bounced back expertly in 2020. The 25-year old German led in home runs (57), RBI (126), total bases (422), slugging (.731), OPS (1.131), and wRC+ (209). Wilhelms was fifth in batting average (.355), and second in WAR (9.6).

Rory Moriarty of Warsaw won his second Pitcher of the Year, having previously done it in 2016. The 6’6’’ Englishman led in strikeouts (328) and WHIP (0.90). The 26-year old righty had a 17-8 record over 226.1 innings, 2.43 ERA, 7.5 WAR, and 155 ERA+. Prior to the season, the Wildcats gave Moriarty a seven-year, $92,200,000 extension.

Frankfort swept Manchester in the first round while Amsterdam outlasted Warsaw 2-1. The Anacondas then stunned top seed and reigning champ Hamburg 3-2 in the second round. This sent Amsterdam to the Northern Conference Championship for the first time since their 2016 pennant. Dublin fended off a fierce Frankfurt 3-2, giving the Dinos their first NCC try since 2014.

Dublin would clobber the Anacondas with a surprising sweep for their first pennant since their dynasty run from 2010-13. This was the eighth pennant for the Dinos (1962, 1967, 1968, 1995, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2020). Amsterdam is the only team in the conference with more at nine.

Only two years prior, Naples was playing in the Second League. They escaped and earned an EBF Elite wild card in 2019. In 2020, the Nobles had the Southern Conference’s top record at 106-56 atop the Central Division. They hadn’t won a division title in the top tier since 1999. It wasn’t easy either with Zagreb close behind at 102-60. The Gulls easily had the first wild card to end a 22-year playoff drought. This was a franchise record for Zagreb and their first 100+ win effort since 1974.

Defending conference champ Zurich earned the #2 seed and the second bye, winning the West Division at 103-59. This grew their playoff streak to five seasons, the longest active one in EBF. The Mountaineers also had a competitive fight with Munich at 99-63. The Mavericks got the second wild card for their second playoff berth in three years. Munich scored the most runs in the SC (792) while Zurich allowed the fewest (537).

The East Division was a three team battle with Cluj-Napoca narrowly taking first at 94-68 over Bucharest (93-69) and Budapest (92-70). The Paladins were the prior year’s E2L champ, making an impressive showing in their second shot at the top tier. C-N’s only prior EBF Elite season was an abysmal 42-120 showing in 2008.

Bucharest’s 93-69 narrowly gave them the final wild card by one over Budapest, three over Palermo, and five over Lisbon. The Broncos got their third playoff berth in five years. All four division champs from the prior year missed the playoffs with the Priests faring the best. Thessaloniki (82-80), Belgrade (78-84), and Madrid (71-91) each had their issues. The Tritons saw a three-year playoff streak snapped.

The Southern Conference was bottom heavy with four teams finishing with 100+ wins and suffering demotion. Bratislava fared the worst at 49-113 having just escaped E2L the prior year after seven seasons. Zaragoza (55-107), Varna (58-104), and Chisinau (60-102) also suffered doom. Rome (65-97) and Malta (66-96) both narrowly escaped their own relegations.

The Gold Hawks were the biggest shock, considering they made their EBF Elite debut with a conference title in 2013. The prior year was their first-ever losing season at 72-90, but the further plummet ended Zaragoza’s run at eight years. The Counts came up in 2012 and had a 2016 playoff berth, but hadn’t finished above .500 otherwise. The Vigilantes made it five seasons in the top tier and peaked at only 70 wins.

Zagreb swept the Southern Conference’s top awards with 1B Aleksandr Parts taking MVP honors. The 26-year old stocky Estonian led in hits (225), runs (126), total bases (393), stolen bases (117), triple slash (.372/.440/.650), OPS (1.090), wRC+ (201), and WAR (10.7). Parts had the top power numbers despite only 24 home runs, thanks to his 38 doubles and 29 triples. The Gulls rewarded Parts handsomely in the offseason with an eight-year, $119,700,000 extension.

His Zagreb teammate A.J. Magee won his fourth Pitcher of the Year with previous wins in 2014, 2017, and 2018. He was only the sixth in EBF history to win POTY 4+ times. The 30-year old lefty from Northern Ireland led in wins (25-5), innings (283), quality starts (29), and complete games (13). Magee added a 2.10 ERA, 274 strikeouts, 183 ERA+, and 8.3 WAR. In the spring of 2021, the Gulls also opened their pocketbook for Magee on a six-year, $106,800,000 extension.

Despite their award winners, Zagreb was bounced 2-0 by Munich in the first round. Cluj-Napoca ousted their fellow Romanian squad Bucharest 2-1 on the other side. Zurich held home field over the Paladins 3-1 in the second round to keep their repeat bid intact. Meanwhile the Mavericks upset top seed Naples 3-1, giving Munich a chance at its second pennant in three years.

The Mavericks kept rolling and ousted the defending champ Mountaineers 4-1 in the Southern Conference Championship. Munich became eight-time conference champs (1951, 1952, 1971, 1988, 1991, 2001, 2018, 2020). That is tied for fourth most Vienna while Zurich (11), Barcelona (10), and Madrid (9) are ahead.

The 71^st European Championship was the first finals encounter between Dublin and Munich despite both teams’ relative successes. The Mavericks prevailed 4-2 over the Dinos to become three-time EBF champs (1952, 1988, 2020). They were the ninth different champion in as many years and the third different German team to win it all in that stretch. Despite being on the losing side, Dublin LF Theofilos Psarras was the finals MVP. In 15 playoff games, the 27-year old Greek lefty had 25 hits, 15 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, 9 RBI, and 12 stolen bases.

Other notes: Jiri Lebr became EBF’s all-time hit king and finished the season at 3791, passing Francisco Cruz’s 3720. Cruz managed to hold the top spot for all of two years. The 39-year old Lebr broke it with Warsaw, joining after a 17-year run with Budapest. Munich’s Domas Mickus had a 35-game hitting streak, the ninth-longest in EBF history. Thessaloniki’s Giacomo Farina also posted a 30-game hit streak in 2020. Antwerp’s offense drew only 248 walks all season, a new Northern Conference low.

Harvey Coyle and Blazej Swierczewski became the 7^th and 8^th members of the 700 home run club. Injuries kept Coyle out for two months and ended his 12-year streak of Gold Gloves at shortstop. Jean-Luc Tapie joined them and 15 others with 600 home runs. Tapie also picked up his seventh Silver Slugger and his fourth in right field. Gianfranco Marinis was the 25^th pitcher with 3500 strikeouts and Sokratis Sfirakis was the 37^th to 200 wins. Ivan Marchenko won his seventh Gold Glove and his second as a shortstop. The other five were at second base.

Promotion/Relegation: Five teams lost 100+ games and thus were relegated, immediately forcing a notable shift right after realignment. Copenhagen, Bratislava, Zaragoza, Chisinau, and Varna were the teams to be demoted. Getting promoted were E2L finalists Reykjavik and Skopje, semifinalists Toulouse and Helsinki, and the next best record team Wroclaw.

The unique alignment of the teams involved forced a number of shifts, much to the dismay of the teams who wanted the realignment to partially avoid this issue. See the image below for the changes that were made.

12-10-2024, 12:09 PM	#1872
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,892	2020 in EBF The realigned Northern Conference was top heavy with four teams winning 100+ games. Defending European Champion Hamburg set a franchise record at 115-47 atop the East Division. They were the first EBF team to win 115 games since Dublin won it all in 2013. The Hammers earned a fourth consecutive division title and their fifth in six years. Hamburg’s 884 runs scored were the most in the European Baseball Federation by a healthy margin. The only other team to score 800+ was Dublin with 819. The Dinos took the #2 seed at 109-53 atop the West Division. Dublin allowed the fewest runs in the conference at 575 with Hamburg next at 591. Both the Hammers and the Dinos won their divisions by 16+ games. Dublin got their second playoff berth in three years and their first division title since their eight-year streak from 2008-2015. The weakest division winner was still at an impressive 105-57 in the Central. This was a new franchise best for Frankfurt, who earned a third straight division title. Theirs was the only competitive division with a strong Amsterdam giving chase. The Anacondas secured the first wild card at 100-62. Amsterdam has made the playoffs seven times in the last eight years; all as wild cards despite thrice winning 100+. Warsaw was 16 games behind Hamburg in the East Division, but their 99-63 was still plenty to take the second wild card and earn repeat playoff berths. The third and final wild card had Manchester (92-70) narrowly beat Rotterdam (91-71). It was their third-ever EBF Elite playoff berth (2007, 2009) with the Crushers just getting promoted back from the European Second League the prior season. The next closest teams were Cologne (85-77) and Prague (84-78). Getting relegated from the Northern Conference was Copenhagen at 54-108. Despite how top-heavy the NC was, no one else was an 100 game loser. Paris (66-96), Kharkiv (66-96) and Hanover (67-95) were the closest to doom. The Corsairs had won back-to-back titles in 2004-05, but hadn’t seen a winning season since 2007. Copenhagen had narrowly avoided its first relegation until now, winning less than 70 games in four of the last five seasons. Despite the Lumberjacks’ 72-90 season, Northern Conference MVP went to Leipzig left fielder Dieter Wilhelms, the 2018 Rookie of the Year. He lost half of his sophomore season to torn ankle ligaments, but bounced back expertly in 2020. The 25-year old German led in home runs (57), RBI (126), total bases (422), slugging (.731), OPS (1.131), and wRC+ (209). Wilhelms was fifth in batting average (.355), and second in WAR (9.6). Rory Moriarty of Warsaw won his second Pitcher of the Year, having previously done it in 2016. The 6’6’’ Englishman led in strikeouts (328) and WHIP (0.90). The 26-year old righty had a 17-8 record over 226.1 innings, 2.43 ERA, 7.5 WAR, and 155 ERA+. Prior to the season, the Wildcats gave Moriarty a seven-year, $92,200,000 extension. Frankfort swept Manchester in the first round while Amsterdam outlasted Warsaw 2-1. The Anacondas then stunned top seed and reigning champ Hamburg 3-2 in the second round. This sent Amsterdam to the Northern Conference Championship for the first time since their 2016 pennant. Dublin fended off a fierce Frankfurt 3-2, giving the Dinos their first NCC try since 2014. Dublin would clobber the Anacondas with a surprising sweep for their first pennant since their dynasty run from 2010-13. This was the eighth pennant for the Dinos (1962, 1967, 1968, 1995, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2020). Amsterdam is the only team in the conference with more at nine. Only two years prior, Naples was playing in the Second League. They escaped and earned an EBF Elite wild card in 2019. In 2020, the Nobles had the Southern Conference’s top record at 106-56 atop the Central Division. They hadn’t won a division title in the top tier since 1999. It wasn’t easy either with Zagreb close behind at 102-60. The Gulls easily had the first wild card to end a 22-year playoff drought. This was a franchise record for Zagreb and their first 100+ win effort since 1974. Defending conference champ Zurich earned the #2 seed and the second bye, winning the West Division at 103-59. This grew their playoff streak to five seasons, the longest active one in EBF. The Mountaineers also had a competitive fight with Munich at 99-63. The Mavericks got the second wild card for their second playoff berth in three years. Munich scored the most runs in the SC (792) while Zurich allowed the fewest (537). The East Division was a three team battle with Cluj-Napoca narrowly taking first at 94-68 over Bucharest (93-69) and Budapest (92-70). The Paladins were the prior year’s E2L champ, making an impressive showing in their second shot at the top tier. C-N’s only prior EBF Elite season was an abysmal 42-120 showing in 2008. Bucharest’s 93-69 narrowly gave them the final wild card by one over Budapest, three over Palermo, and five over Lisbon. The Broncos got their third playoff berth in five years. All four division champs from the prior year missed the playoffs with the Priests faring the best. Thessaloniki (82-80), Belgrade (78-84), and Madrid (71-91) each had their issues. The Tritons saw a three-year playoff streak snapped. The Southern Conference was bottom heavy with four teams finishing with 100+ wins and suffering demotion. Bratislava fared the worst at 49-113 having just escaped E2L the prior year after seven seasons. Zaragoza (55-107), Varna (58-104), and Chisinau (60-102) also suffered doom. Rome (65-97) and Malta (66-96) both narrowly escaped their own relegations. The Gold Hawks were the biggest shock, considering they made their EBF Elite debut with a conference title in 2013. The prior year was their first-ever losing season at 72-90, but the further plummet ended Zaragoza’s run at eight years. The Counts came up in 2012 and had a 2016 playoff berth, but hadn’t finished above .500 otherwise. The Vigilantes made it five seasons in the top tier and peaked at only 70 wins. Zagreb swept the Southern Conference’s top awards with 1B Aleksandr Parts taking MVP honors. The 26-year old stocky Estonian led in hits (225), runs (126), total bases (393), stolen bases (117), triple slash (.372/.440/.650), OPS (1.090), wRC+ (201), and WAR (10.7). Parts had the top power numbers despite only 24 home runs, thanks to his 38 doubles and 29 triples. The Gulls rewarded Parts handsomely in the offseason with an eight-year, $119,700,000 extension. His Zagreb teammate A.J. Magee won his fourth Pitcher of the Year with previous wins in 2014, 2017, and 2018. He was only the sixth in EBF history to win POTY 4+ times. The 30-year old lefty from Northern Ireland led in wins (25-5), innings (283), quality starts (29), and complete games (13). Magee added a 2.10 ERA, 274 strikeouts, 183 ERA+, and 8.3 WAR. In the spring of 2021, the Gulls also opened their pocketbook for Magee on a six-year, $106,800,000 extension. Despite their award winners, Zagreb was bounced 2-0 by Munich in the first round. Cluj-Napoca ousted their fellow Romanian squad Bucharest 2-1 on the other side. Zurich held home field over the Paladins 3-1 in the second round to keep their repeat bid intact. Meanwhile the Mavericks upset top seed Naples 3-1, giving Munich a chance at its second pennant in three years. The Mavericks kept rolling and ousted the defending champ Mountaineers 4-1 in the Southern Conference Championship. Munich became eight-time conference champs (1951, 1952, 1971, 1988, 1991, 2001, 2018, 2020). That is tied for fourth most Vienna while Zurich (11), Barcelona (10), and Madrid (9) are ahead. The 71^st European Championship was the first finals encounter between Dublin and Munich despite both teams’ relative successes. The Mavericks prevailed 4-2 over the Dinos to become three-time EBF champs (1952, 1988, 2020). They were the ninth different champion in as many years and the third different German team to win it all in that stretch. Despite being on the losing side, Dublin LF Theofilos Psarras was the finals MVP. In 15 playoff games, the 27-year old Greek lefty had 25 hits, 15 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, 9 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. Other notes: Jiri Lebr became EBF’s all-time hit king and finished the season at 3791, passing Francisco Cruz’s 3720. Cruz managed to hold the top spot for all of two years. The 39-year old Lebr broke it with Warsaw, joining after a 17-year run with Budapest. Munich’s Domas Mickus had a 35-game hitting streak, the ninth-longest in EBF history. Thessaloniki’s Giacomo Farina also posted a 30-game hit streak in 2020. Antwerp’s offense drew only 248 walks all season, a new Northern Conference low. Harvey Coyle and Blazej Swierczewski became the 7^th and 8^th members of the 700 home run club. Injuries kept Coyle out for two months and ended his 12-year streak of Gold Gloves at shortstop. Jean-Luc Tapie joined them and 15 others with 600 home runs. Tapie also picked up his seventh Silver Slugger and his fourth in right field. Gianfranco Marinis was the 25^th pitcher with 3500 strikeouts and Sokratis Sfirakis was the 37^th to 200 wins. Ivan Marchenko won his seventh Gold Glove and his second as a shortstop. The other five were at second base. Promotion/Relegation: Five teams lost 100+ games and thus were relegated, immediately forcing a notable shift right after realignment. Copenhagen, Bratislava, Zaragoza, Chisinau, and Varna were the teams to be demoted. Getting promoted were E2L finalists Reykjavik and Skopje, semifinalists Toulouse and Helsinki, and the next best record team Wroclaw. The unique alignment of the teams involved forced a number of shifts, much to the dismay of the teams who wanted the realignment to partially avoid this issue. See the image below for the changes that were made. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)