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FuzzyRussianHat · 01-06-2025, 04:59 AM

Minsk returned to the top spot in the EPB European League standings for the first time since 2009. The Miners finished 104-58 to win the North Division and earn their second playoff berth in three years. Volgograd repeated as South Division champ at 100-62 and earned a third straight playoff berth. The Voyagers were league leaders in runs scored (717) with Minsk close behind (705). Both teams were 100+ runs ahead of the rest of the EL.

Both wild cards came from the North Division with Nizhny Novgorod at 91-71 and St. Petersburg at 87-75. The Ninjas earned back-to-back wild cards and allowed the fewest runs at 508. The Polar Bears ended a 15-year postseason drought, while reigning EL champ Moscow had their four-year streak ended. Voronezh also had a three-year run snapped, finishing 81-81 along with the Mules. For Moscow, the .500 finish was their first non-winning season since 1998.

No position players in the European League had above 7 WAR, opening up the MVP race to pitchers. Minsk’s Nehor Pomerantz took advantage, winning both MVP and Pitcher of the Year in his third season. The 24-year old Israeli lefty led in wins at 24-3, adding a 1.70 ERA, 232.2 innings, 314 strikeouts, 190 ERA+, and 8.3 WAR. Pomerantz was the first pure pitcher to win MVP in Eurasian Professional Baseball since Matvey Ivanov in 2002.

Pomerantz was a surprising choice since he was fourth in WAR among pitchers. Three-time defending POTY Svyatoslav Tyahnybok of Volgograd was the leader in WAR (11.2) and strikeouts (378), but missed the top five in ERA at 2.37. St. Petersburg’s Jack Burge had the best ERA at 1.46, which was the lowest qualifying season since 2006. However, he missed the final month of the year to a torn flexor tendon that sadly largely derailed his remaining career.

St. Petersburg shocked top seed Minsk 3-2 in the first round, giving the Polar Bears their first European League Championship Series trip since 2006. Volgograd rolled to a sweep of Nizhny Novgorod. The Voyagers claimed their second pennant in three years, besting the Polar Bears 4-3. That extended St. Petersburg’s pennant drought to 45 seasons, the longest active drought in EPB.

Krasnoyarsk was miles ahead of the competition in the Asian League, winning their third straight East Division title and earning a fifth playoff berth in a row. The Cossacks cruised to 106-56 while no other AL teams got above 90 wins. Krasnoyarsk led in scoring at 723 runs and allowed the second fewest at 549. Omsk allowed the fewest runs at 484.

Six teams were within six games of the other three playoff spots. Five of those teams were in the West Division, won by defending EPB champ Perm at 89-73. The Pitbulls secured a third straight division title, although it was a big drop from their prior 100+ win campaigns. The Otters took the first wild card at 86-76, ending Omsk’s four-year playoff drought.

For the second wild card, Chelyabinsk (84-78) squeaked by 83-79 efforts by Ufa, Yekaterinburg, and Vladivostok. The Cadets snagged a fourth wild card in a row. Ulaanbaatar was down at 80-82, ending their bid for a third straight wild card. For the Shibas, 83-79 was the first winning campaign of their so-far unimpressive tenure. The other three 2008 expansion teams have each made it to the LCS already.

Asian League MVP went to Yekaterinburg LF Brandon Chunchignorov. In his seventh season, the 30-year old Mongolian lefty also won his seventh consecutive Gold Glove. Chunchignorov led in runs (95), OBP (.393), slugging (.636), OPS (1.029), wRC+ (189), and WAR (9.7). He added 43 home runs and 125 RBI.

Omsk’s Mark Luo won Pitcher of the Year in his EPB debut. The 33-year old Chinese righty had won the award previously in CLB for Shantou in 2019. With the Otters, he led in ERA (1.62), WHIP (0.76), K/BB (20.0), and quality starts (28). Luo added 9.5 WAR, 272.1 innings, 260 strikeouts, and an 18-8 record.

Krasnoyarsk downed Chelyabinsk 3-1 in the first round while Omsk ousted Perm 3-1. The Cossacks earned their fifth Asian League Championship Series trip in seven years, while it was the Otters’ first since 2017. Krasnoyarsk was the huge favorite, but Omsk shocked them in a seven-game classic. The Otters earned their first pennant since 2014 and their eighth overall. The Cossacks have gone 1-4 in their recent ALCS trips and have gone 0-3 with home field advantage. This was also the first time since 2004 that both the ALCS and ELCS went all seven games.

In the 68^th EPB Championship, Omsk kept their unlikely run rolling by upsetting Volgograd 4-2. This was the third title for the Otters (2010, 2014, 2022) and gave the Asian League a fifth straight title over the European League. It also kept a run of wild card success going, as six of the last seven champs have been wild cards with three of them doing it despite winning fewer than 90 regular season games.

Veteran journeyman 1B Markus Lohmus won finals MVP in his third season with the Otters. The 34-year old Estonian had started in the European Second League, then spent eight years as a backup in Africa for Johannesburg. In 17 playoff starts, Lohmus posted 24 hits, 9 runs, 6 doubles, 5 RBI, and 9 stolen bases.

Other notes: Krasnoyark’s Yevgeni Lyubimov threw EPB’s 33^rd Perfect Game, the first one since 2005. On August 30, he struck out 12 in the effort against Ufa. That had been the longest gap between perfect games in EPB history and the next wouldn’t come until 2031.

Sergei Stoev became the 19^th member of the 500 home run club. Tayyar Abdualiyev and Nikolay Kargopolcev became the 23^rd and 24^th to reach 2500 career hits. 1B Artur Sagdatullin won his 13^th Gold Glove, joining RF German Daugelo as the only EPB players to win the award 13+ times at any spot. LF Yuriy Isakov and DH Pavel Khuzin both won their 8^th Silver Sluggers. It was Khuzin’s first as a DH, having won his prior seven at second base.

01-06-2025, 04:59 AM	#1951
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,898	2022 in EPB Minsk returned to the top spot in the EPB European League standings for the first time since 2009. The Miners finished 104-58 to win the North Division and earn their second playoff berth in three years. Volgograd repeated as South Division champ at 100-62 and earned a third straight playoff berth. The Voyagers were league leaders in runs scored (717) with Minsk close behind (705). Both teams were 100+ runs ahead of the rest of the EL. Both wild cards came from the North Division with Nizhny Novgorod at 91-71 and St. Petersburg at 87-75. The Ninjas earned back-to-back wild cards and allowed the fewest runs at 508. The Polar Bears ended a 15-year postseason drought, while reigning EL champ Moscow had their four-year streak ended. Voronezh also had a three-year run snapped, finishing 81-81 along with the Mules. For Moscow, the .500 finish was their first non-winning season since 1998. No position players in the European League had above 7 WAR, opening up the MVP race to pitchers. Minsk’s Nehor Pomerantz took advantage, winning both MVP and Pitcher of the Year in his third season. The 24-year old Israeli lefty led in wins at 24-3, adding a 1.70 ERA, 232.2 innings, 314 strikeouts, 190 ERA+, and 8.3 WAR. Pomerantz was the first pure pitcher to win MVP in Eurasian Professional Baseball since Matvey Ivanov in 2002. Pomerantz was a surprising choice since he was fourth in WAR among pitchers. Three-time defending POTY Svyatoslav Tyahnybok of Volgograd was the leader in WAR (11.2) and strikeouts (378), but missed the top five in ERA at 2.37. St. Petersburg’s Jack Burge had the best ERA at 1.46, which was the lowest qualifying season since 2006. However, he missed the final month of the year to a torn flexor tendon that sadly largely derailed his remaining career. St. Petersburg shocked top seed Minsk 3-2 in the first round, giving the Polar Bears their first European League Championship Series trip since 2006. Volgograd rolled to a sweep of Nizhny Novgorod. The Voyagers claimed their second pennant in three years, besting the Polar Bears 4-3. That extended St. Petersburg’s pennant drought to 45 seasons, the longest active drought in EPB. Krasnoyarsk was miles ahead of the competition in the Asian League, winning their third straight East Division title and earning a fifth playoff berth in a row. The Cossacks cruised to 106-56 while no other AL teams got above 90 wins. Krasnoyarsk led in scoring at 723 runs and allowed the second fewest at 549. Omsk allowed the fewest runs at 484. Six teams were within six games of the other three playoff spots. Five of those teams were in the West Division, won by defending EPB champ Perm at 89-73. The Pitbulls secured a third straight division title, although it was a big drop from their prior 100+ win campaigns. The Otters took the first wild card at 86-76, ending Omsk’s four-year playoff drought. For the second wild card, Chelyabinsk (84-78) squeaked by 83-79 efforts by Ufa, Yekaterinburg, and Vladivostok. The Cadets snagged a fourth wild card in a row. Ulaanbaatar was down at 80-82, ending their bid for a third straight wild card. For the Shibas, 83-79 was the first winning campaign of their so-far unimpressive tenure. The other three 2008 expansion teams have each made it to the LCS already. Asian League MVP went to Yekaterinburg LF Brandon Chunchignorov. In his seventh season, the 30-year old Mongolian lefty also won his seventh consecutive Gold Glove. Chunchignorov led in runs (95), OBP (.393), slugging (.636), OPS (1.029), wRC+ (189), and WAR (9.7). He added 43 home runs and 125 RBI. Omsk’s Mark Luo won Pitcher of the Year in his EPB debut. The 33-year old Chinese righty had won the award previously in CLB for Shantou in 2019. With the Otters, he led in ERA (1.62), WHIP (0.76), K/BB (20.0), and quality starts (28). Luo added 9.5 WAR, 272.1 innings, 260 strikeouts, and an 18-8 record. Krasnoyarsk downed Chelyabinsk 3-1 in the first round while Omsk ousted Perm 3-1. The Cossacks earned their fifth Asian League Championship Series trip in seven years, while it was the Otters’ first since 2017. Krasnoyarsk was the huge favorite, but Omsk shocked them in a seven-game classic. The Otters earned their first pennant since 2014 and their eighth overall. The Cossacks have gone 1-4 in their recent ALCS trips and have gone 0-3 with home field advantage. This was also the first time since 2004 that both the ALCS and ELCS went all seven games. In the 68^th EPB Championship, Omsk kept their unlikely run rolling by upsetting Volgograd 4-2. This was the third title for the Otters (2010, 2014, 2022) and gave the Asian League a fifth straight title over the European League. It also kept a run of wild card success going, as six of the last seven champs have been wild cards with three of them doing it despite winning fewer than 90 regular season games. Veteran journeyman 1B Markus Lohmus won finals MVP in his third season with the Otters. The 34-year old Estonian had started in the European Second League, then spent eight years as a backup in Africa for Johannesburg. In 17 playoff starts, Lohmus posted 24 hits, 9 runs, 6 doubles, 5 RBI, and 9 stolen bases. Other notes: Krasnoyark’s Yevgeni Lyubimov threw EPB’s 33^rd Perfect Game, the first one since 2005. On August 30, he struck out 12 in the effort against Ufa. That had been the longest gap between perfect games in EPB history and the next wouldn’t come until 2031. Sergei Stoev became the 19^th member of the 500 home run club. Tayyar Abdualiyev and Nikolay Kargopolcev became the 23^rd and 24^th to reach 2500 career hits. 1B Artur Sagdatullin won his 13^th Gold Glove, joining RF German Daugelo as the only EPB players to win the award 13+ times at any spot. LF Yuriy Isakov and DH Pavel Khuzin both won their 8^th Silver Sluggers. It was Khuzin’s first as a DH, having won his prior seven at second base. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)