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FuzzyRussianHat · 01-18-2025, 11:25 AM

Both European League division champs repeated and took first by double-digit wins. North Division champ Minsk (103-59) narrowly edged out South Division champ Volgograd (102-60) for the #1 seed. The Miners earned their third berth in four years, while the reigning EL champ Voyagers made it four straight playoff trips. Volgograd led the EL in scoring with 704 runs, followed by Minsk at 684.

For the wild cards, Voronezh (92-70) and Moscow (90-72) advanced while Samara (87-75), St. Petersburg (86-76), and Krasnodar (85-77) missed the cut. Both the Zephyrs and Mules earned their fifth playoff berth of the last seven years. The Polar Bears allowed the fewest runs at 496, followed by Moscow at 518. The Mules have now gone 25 seasons without a losing record. Nizhny Novgorod, who had back-to-back playoff berths, fell off sharply to 70-92.

Volgograd CF Roman Sheshukov won European League MVP for the second time, having also done it in 2020. The 30-year old Russian won his second Gold Glove while leading in RBI (117), total bases (334), slugging (.569), and WAR (9.5). Sheshukov had 88 runs, 42 home runs, .899 OPS, and 170 wRC+. It was a nice bounce-back for him, as he had missed more than two months the prior year to a strained hamstring.

The Voyagers also had the Pitcher of the Year Svyatoslav Tyahnybok, winning the top honor for the fourth time in five years. The 29-year old Ukrainian righty led in wins (22-6) while posting a 2.28 ERA over 260.2 innings, 335 strikeouts, 139 ERA+, and 7.2 WAR. It was actually his lowest WAR of the last five years, which shows how impressive he has been. Tyahnybok signed a five-year, $57,300,000 extension with Volgograd before the 2023 campaign.

Minsk survived a fierce challenge 3-2 against Moscow in the first round, while Volgograd cruised to a sweep of Voronezh. The Voyagers had a shot at their third pennant in four years, while this was the first time since 2011 that the historic powerhouse Miners had made it to the European League Championship Series. The 11 year gap was Minsk’s longest between ELCS berths in franchise history by a healthy margin. The Miners had the home field advantage, but that didn’t slow down Volgograd as the Voyagers cruised to the pennant 4-1.

Krasnoyarsk won the Asian League’s East Division for the fifth straight year and grew their playoff streak to six. The Cossacks were again the top seed, leading all offenses by a healthy margin with 782 runs. Krasnoyarsk set new Eurasian Professional Baseball team records for batting average (.289) and hits (1658). They also had the second-most doubles (316) and tied for the most triples (115) in EPB history. The Cossacks were 20 games better than their closest divisional foe.

Perm picked up the West Division for the fourth year running at 98-64. The Pitbulls and Yekaterinburg both allowed the AL’s fewest runs with 526. The Yaks (91-71) and Chelyabinsk (88-74) got the wild cards with Vladivostok (83-79) as the first team out. The Cadets earned a fifth wild card in a row, while Yekaterinburg ended a decade-long drought. Reigning EPB champ Omsk was a non-factor at 70-92.

Krasnoyarsk DH Timofei Kalinin won Asian League MVP in his sixth season. The 26-year old Russian lefty led in runs (120), homers (50), RBI (113), total bases (367), slugging (.622), OPS (.961), and wRC+ (179). He was only the fifth in EPB history to score 120+ runs in a season. Kalinin added 7.5 WAR and a .300 average.

Pitcher of the Year went to Perm lefty Bassam Zkarneh. The 29-year old Palestinian was in his fourth season with the Pitbulls, coming to Russia in 2020 after five years in the Arab League. Zkarneh led in quality starts (31) and posted a 1.96 ERA over 257.1 innings, 20-8 record, 284 strikeouts, 160 ERA+, and 6.7 WAR. He had one more year with Perm before becoming a journeyman for the next decade, bouncing around between nine teams between EPB and MLB.

Krasnoyarsk survived 3-2 against Chelyabinsk in the first round while Yekaterinburg shocked Perm with a road sweep. The Cossacks earned their sixth Asian League Championship Series trip in eight years, although they had gone 1-4 in their appearances. The Yaks hadn’t made it this far since their 2012 title. The series went all seven games with only home wins, favoring top seed Krasnoyarsk over Yekaterinburg. The Cossacks won their eighth Asian League pennant (1959, 1974, 1982, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2018, 2023).

The 69^th Eurasian Professional Baseball Championship was the first to go all seven games since 2019. Volgograd outlasted Krasnoyarsk to secure their first title, becoming the 23^rd different franchise to win the EPB trophy. The Voyagers were the fourth expansion team to pull it off, joining Rostov, Krasnodar, and Perm.

Second-year LF Seriozhenka Gusarov was finals MVP, making 15 playoff starts with 20 hits, 11 runs, 3 doubles, 7 homers, and 19 RBI. He was two away from the EPB playoff RBI record. Pitcher of the Year Svyatoslav Tyahnybok also notably set a new record with 59 strikeouts, breaking the previous high of 56 by three guys in the 1990s. Tyahnybok had a 2.92 ERA over 40 innings in the playoffs.

Other notes: Nizhny Novgorod’s Jafar Kholov drew 121 walks to set a new EPB single-season record. Krasnoyark’s Roman Rudenko had 51 doubles, becoming only the fourth in EPB to reach 50+. The mark was last reached in 1965. Evhen Kononenko of Ufa was the sixth in EPB to strike out 21+ in a game, fanning 21 in 9.1 innings versus Omsk on July 1. 2023 was the first season since 2015 without a no-hitter in EPB.

In milestones, Igor Gorbatyuk became the 3^rd to reach 1500 runs scored. Nikolay Kargopolcev and Evgeny Kiselev became the 8^th and 9^th to get to 1500 RBI. Yuriy Isakov and Yevhen Berkhamov were the 25^th and 26^th to reach 2500 hits. DH Pavel Khuzin won his 9^th Silver Slugger. It was his 2^nd as a DH with seven at 2B.

1B Artur Sagdatullin won his 15^th and final Gold Glove. He became only the 7^th in all of pro baseball history to win 15 GGs. Sagdatullin was the only EPB player to achieve the feat and the 2^nd to do it at first base (BSA’s D.J. Del Valle won 16 at 1B). LF Brandon Chunchignorov won his 8^th Gold Glove.

01-18-2025, 11:25 AM	#1988
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,892	2023 in EPB Both European League division champs repeated and took first by double-digit wins. North Division champ Minsk (103-59) narrowly edged out South Division champ Volgograd (102-60) for the #1 seed. The Miners earned their third berth in four years, while the reigning EL champ Voyagers made it four straight playoff trips. Volgograd led the EL in scoring with 704 runs, followed by Minsk at 684. For the wild cards, Voronezh (92-70) and Moscow (90-72) advanced while Samara (87-75), St. Petersburg (86-76), and Krasnodar (85-77) missed the cut. Both the Zephyrs and Mules earned their fifth playoff berth of the last seven years. The Polar Bears allowed the fewest runs at 496, followed by Moscow at 518. The Mules have now gone 25 seasons without a losing record. Nizhny Novgorod, who had back-to-back playoff berths, fell off sharply to 70-92. Volgograd CF Roman Sheshukov won European League MVP for the second time, having also done it in 2020. The 30-year old Russian won his second Gold Glove while leading in RBI (117), total bases (334), slugging (.569), and WAR (9.5). Sheshukov had 88 runs, 42 home runs, .899 OPS, and 170 wRC+. It was a nice bounce-back for him, as he had missed more than two months the prior year to a strained hamstring. The Voyagers also had the Pitcher of the Year Svyatoslav Tyahnybok, winning the top honor for the fourth time in five years. The 29-year old Ukrainian righty led in wins (22-6) while posting a 2.28 ERA over 260.2 innings, 335 strikeouts, 139 ERA+, and 7.2 WAR. It was actually his lowest WAR of the last five years, which shows how impressive he has been. Tyahnybok signed a five-year, $57,300,000 extension with Volgograd before the 2023 campaign. Minsk survived a fierce challenge 3-2 against Moscow in the first round, while Volgograd cruised to a sweep of Voronezh. The Voyagers had a shot at their third pennant in four years, while this was the first time since 2011 that the historic powerhouse Miners had made it to the European League Championship Series. The 11 year gap was Minsk’s longest between ELCS berths in franchise history by a healthy margin. The Miners had the home field advantage, but that didn’t slow down Volgograd as the Voyagers cruised to the pennant 4-1. Krasnoyarsk won the Asian League’s East Division for the fifth straight year and grew their playoff streak to six. The Cossacks were again the top seed, leading all offenses by a healthy margin with 782 runs. Krasnoyarsk set new Eurasian Professional Baseball team records for batting average (.289) and hits (1658). They also had the second-most doubles (316) and tied for the most triples (115) in EPB history. The Cossacks were 20 games better than their closest divisional foe. Perm picked up the West Division for the fourth year running at 98-64. The Pitbulls and Yekaterinburg both allowed the AL’s fewest runs with 526. The Yaks (91-71) and Chelyabinsk (88-74) got the wild cards with Vladivostok (83-79) as the first team out. The Cadets earned a fifth wild card in a row, while Yekaterinburg ended a decade-long drought. Reigning EPB champ Omsk was a non-factor at 70-92. Krasnoyarsk DH Timofei Kalinin won Asian League MVP in his sixth season. The 26-year old Russian lefty led in runs (120), homers (50), RBI (113), total bases (367), slugging (.622), OPS (.961), and wRC+ (179). He was only the fifth in EPB history to score 120+ runs in a season. Kalinin added 7.5 WAR and a .300 average. Pitcher of the Year went to Perm lefty Bassam Zkarneh. The 29-year old Palestinian was in his fourth season with the Pitbulls, coming to Russia in 2020 after five years in the Arab League. Zkarneh led in quality starts (31) and posted a 1.96 ERA over 257.1 innings, 20-8 record, 284 strikeouts, 160 ERA+, and 6.7 WAR. He had one more year with Perm before becoming a journeyman for the next decade, bouncing around between nine teams between EPB and MLB. Krasnoyarsk survived 3-2 against Chelyabinsk in the first round while Yekaterinburg shocked Perm with a road sweep. The Cossacks earned their sixth Asian League Championship Series trip in eight years, although they had gone 1-4 in their appearances. The Yaks hadn’t made it this far since their 2012 title. The series went all seven games with only home wins, favoring top seed Krasnoyarsk over Yekaterinburg. The Cossacks won their eighth Asian League pennant (1959, 1974, 1982, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2018, 2023). The 69^th Eurasian Professional Baseball Championship was the first to go all seven games since 2019. Volgograd outlasted Krasnoyarsk to secure their first title, becoming the 23^rd different franchise to win the EPB trophy. The Voyagers were the fourth expansion team to pull it off, joining Rostov, Krasnodar, and Perm. Second-year LF Seriozhenka Gusarov was finals MVP, making 15 playoff starts with 20 hits, 11 runs, 3 doubles, 7 homers, and 19 RBI. He was two away from the EPB playoff RBI record. Pitcher of the Year Svyatoslav Tyahnybok also notably set a new record with 59 strikeouts, breaking the previous high of 56 by three guys in the 1990s. Tyahnybok had a 2.92 ERA over 40 innings in the playoffs. Other notes: Nizhny Novgorod’s Jafar Kholov drew 121 walks to set a new EPB single-season record. Krasnoyark’s Roman Rudenko had 51 doubles, becoming only the fourth in EPB to reach 50+. The mark was last reached in 1965. Evhen Kononenko of Ufa was the sixth in EPB to strike out 21+ in a game, fanning 21 in 9.1 innings versus Omsk on July 1. 2023 was the first season since 2015 without a no-hitter in EPB. In milestones, Igor Gorbatyuk became the 3^rd to reach 1500 runs scored. Nikolay Kargopolcev and Evgeny Kiselev became the 8^th and 9^th to get to 1500 RBI. Yuriy Isakov and Yevhen Berkhamov were the 25^th and 26^th to reach 2500 hits. DH Pavel Khuzin won his 9^th Silver Slugger. It was his 2^nd as a DH with seven at 2B. 1B Artur Sagdatullin won his 15^th and final Gold Glove. He became only the 7^th in all of pro baseball history to win 15 GGs. Sagdatullin was the only EPB player to achieve the feat and the 2^nd to do it at first base (BSA’s D.J. Del Valle won 16 at 1B). LF Brandon Chunchignorov won his 8^th Gold Glove. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)