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FuzzyRussianHat · 01-18-2025, 06:35 PM

Reigning European Champion Dublin was again dominant, taking the Northern Conference’s top seed at 114-48 atop the West Division. The Dinos won their fourth consecutive division title and led the entire European Baseball Federation with 872 runs. Rotterdam gave them an impressive run for the top seed, crushing the Central Division at 110-52. The Ravens earned a third straight division title and allowed the conference’s fewest runs at 544.

The East Division had a two-team battle with Hamburg (98-64) edging out Berlin (97-65). The Hammers won their seventh straight division title and got their eighth playoff berth in nine years. The Barons picked up their second wild card in five years. It was a seven game drop to the next contenders for the remaining two wild cards.

Advancing were Hanover (90-72) and Edinburgh (89-73), while just missing were Leipzig (88-74) and Frankfurt (85-77). For the Hitmen, it was their first-ever playoff berth or winning season in seven years amongst the EBF Elite. The Enforcers picked up back-to-back wild cards. Cologne (83-79), Kharkiv (83-79), and Warsaw (82-80) were the other teams above .500. Notably Amsterdam, a wild card last year, fell to 77-85. It was only their second losing season since 2009.

Three teams suffered relegation in the Northern Conference with 100+ loss campaigns. Helsinki and Reykjavik were both abysmal at 54-108, while Sheffield only narrowly fell below the cut line at 61-101. Paris at 66-96 was close, but survived. The Honkers and Raccoons both lasted only three years in their return to the top tier. The Steelhounds had an eight-year tenure and a division title in 2017, but had been below .500 consistently otherwise.

Oslo was an unremarkable 81-81, but the legend of shortstop Harvey Coyle continued to grow. At age 36, he became EBF’s first-ever nine-time MVP and became the league’s new career home run king. Coyle hadn’t been MVP since winning eight from 2009-17, but he had continued to play at a high level. He became the seventh player in pro baseball history to win 9+ MVPs. In 2023, the switch-hitting Englishman won his 13th Silver Slugger.

Coyle led in home runs (60), RBI (133), slugging (.737), OPS (1.112), and wRC+ (198). He added 108 runs, .307 average, and 12.1 WAR. It was his eighth time leading in homers and his tenth season worth 12+ WAR. Coyle ended the year with 878 home runs, passing Jack Kennedy’s EBF record 875 that had stood since 1995. Coyle was already EBF’s WARlord and grew that tally to 190.1, becoming only the fifth in baseball history to breach 190. 2023 also saw Coyle’s second cycle of his career. He also finished the season at 1987 RBI, 1694 runs, and 2863 hits.

Pitcher of the Year was Antwerp’s Isak Alsaker in his seventh year starting for the Airedales. The 28-year old Norwegian lefty led in ERA (2.17), innings (256.2), WHIP (0.85), and quality starts (26). Alsaker had a 16-9 record, 275 strikeouts, 175 ERA+, and 6.1 WAR. Antwerp would trade Alsaker to Rotterdam in the offseason, then he’d sign in 2025 to a six-year, $135 million deal with Dublin.

Berlin edged Hanover 2-1 in the first round and Hamburg swept Edinburgh. The powerhouse top seeds prevailed in round two, although Dublin needed all five games to outlast the Barons. Rotterdam meanwhile defeated the Hammers 3-1. The Dinos made their fourth consecutive Northern Conference Championship with a shot at their third pennant in four years. For the Ravens, this was their deepest run since 2003.

With 114 wins versus 110 wins, it was perhaps the most stacked conference final in EBF history. It lived up to the hype with an incredible seven game clash that saw Dublin defeat Rotterdam to repeat. This was the second time the Dinos had won three pennants in four years, having also done it from 2010-13. It was the tenth Northern Conference crown for the Irish capital, passing Amsterdam for the most.

Zagreb destroyed the Southern Conference competition at 113-49, earning a fourth consecutive playoff berth and their second Central Division title in four years. The Gulls led the conference in runs with 861 and led all of EBF with 539 runs allowed. Zagreb’s offense had 137 triples, one short of the EBF team record. The Gulls broke their own franchise record for wins set two years prior at 108-54. They were 19 wins ahead of the next best team on the conference.

The West Division was especially intense with four teams ending the regular season within three wins of each other. Two Central division teams made for an even tighter wild card race with six teams separated by four wins. Munich won the division at 94-68, beating Zurich by one game and both Seville and Milan by three. The Mavericks won their third consecutive division title and grew their playoff streak to four.

The Mountaineers and the Central Division’s Brno were both 93-69, taking the first two wild cards. Zurich got its seventh playoff berth in eight years while the Bandits got their second in three years. For the final spot, Seville and Milan tied at 91-71 with Palermo just missing at 90-72. The Stingrays defeated the Maulers in the tiebreaker game to take the last spot. It was an impressive return for Seville, who won the European Second League title the prior year.

The third division title went to 92-70 Chisinau in the East, topping last year’s division champ Skopje by nine. The Counts also notably had just returned to the top tier, earning promotion as the E2L runner-up in 2022. Notably absent from the 2023 playoff field was 2022 conference champ Naples, as the Nobles struggled to 71-91.

Both Cluj-Napoca and Dnipro got demoted, falling exactly at the cut line of 62-100. Toulouse (65-97) and Malta (66-96) were both close, but survived. With that, there would be a hefty five team turnover for 2024. The Paladins won a division title in 2020 upon their EBF Elite debut, but fell after that. The Defenders lasted only two seasons in the top tier, having won the 2021 E2L title.

Zagreb’s dominance extended to the top awards, including a repeat and the third Southern Conference MVP in four years for Aleksandr Parts. The 29-year old Estonian first baseman led in hits (221), total bases (383), triple slash (.388/.451/.673), OPS (1.125), wRC+ (201), and WAR (10.5). His OBP was the sixth-best single season and his batting average the seventh-best to that point. Parts also had 32 doubles, 32 triples, 22 homers, 107 RBI, and 93 stolen bases. Parts opted out of his current deal after the 2025 season to sign a new heftier six-year, $158,400,000 deal with Zagreb.

A.J. Magee won his sixth Pitcher of the Year, joining Hall of Famers Lindsey Brampton and Jean-Luc Roch as the only aces to do it in EBF. The 33-year old Northern Irishman led in wins (23-5), innings (255.1), and WAR (7.5). Magee added 2.71 ERA, 226 strikeouts, and 146 ERA+. Magee became the 39^th member of the 200 win club and won his second Gold Glove. He would pitch only two more seasons before calling it quit after an impressive 14-year run in Croatia.

Zurich edged Brno 2-1 in the first round and Chisinau topped Seville 2-0. Zagreb cruised to a round two sweep of the Mountaineers, while Munich survived 3-2 over the Counts. The Gulls grabbed their second Southern Conference Championship trip in four years, while the Mavericks earned a fourth straight trip. Zagreb had the top seed in their 2021 encounter, but Munich prevailed in five games.

The Gulls were trying to end a 47-year pennant drought and were the heavy favorite. However, their season would be one of the great disappointments as Munich again had their number for a 4-1 victory. The Mavericks won their fourth SC pennant in six years (2018, 2020, 2021, 2023) and their tenth overall.

The 74^th European Championship was a rematch of 2020, which had seen a 4-2 Munich win over Dublin. Despite both teams making their tenth finals appearance, that was their only prior finals encounter. The Dinos got revenge over the Mavericks 4-2 to repeat as EBF’s best. Dublin now had seven European Championship wins (1962, 1967, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2022, 2023), leading all teams. Munich moved to 4-6 in their finals trips.

Two-way player Krystian Flasza was the finals MVP in his third season for Dublin. After six seasons with Krakow, the 32-year old from Poland was traded to the Dinos for the 2021 season. In the playoffs he tossed 34.2 innings with a 3.38 ERA and 20 strikeouts. At the plate, Flasza played 18 games with 10 hits, 4 runs, 3 homers, and 7 RBI. Dinos reliever Ruslan Zinchenko also notably set an EBF record with 14 appearances, posting a 1.99 ERA, 7 saves, and 28 strikeouts in 22.2 innings.

Other notes: In a farewell season for Dublin, Gianfranco Marinis had an 11-4 record, 3.90 ERA, and 103 strikeouts in 159.1 innings. That was enough to finish with a 302-225 record, passing Jean-Luc Roch’s 300 for the all-time wins mark. Marinis became the 38^th in world history to crack 300 wins mainly via impressive durability, as he had a career 3.77 ERA and 103 ERA+. Marinis also became the 10^th EBF ace with 4000 strikeouts. He retired the EBF leader in innings (4939), starts (607), and hits allowed (5269). As of 2037, he ranks 27^th among all pitchers in innings.

Hamburg’s Max Gerlach broke his own single-season record for on-base percentage with .468, topping the previous best of .462 from 2020. Gerlach’s 2023 ranks 24^th in world history as of 2037. Emanuel Koch became the 12^th reliever to 300 career saves. Johan Almgren became the 19^th member of the 600 home run club. LF Coniglio Branca won his 7^th Gold Glove. Finals MVP Krystian Flasza won his 7^th Silver Slugger as a pitcher.

Promotion/Relegation: There was massive movement with five teams promoted and five relegated based on 2023’s results. Leaving the EBF Elite were Sheffield, Reykjavik, Helsinki, Cluj-Napoca, and Dnipro. Earning promotion from the European Second League were Zaragoza, Tallinn, Riga, Nottingham, and Thessaloniki. Below are the divisional shifts for 2024.

01-18-2025, 06:35 PM	#1989
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,891	2023 in EBF Reigning European Champion Dublin was again dominant, taking the Northern Conference’s top seed at 114-48 atop the West Division. The Dinos won their fourth consecutive division title and led the entire European Baseball Federation with 872 runs. Rotterdam gave them an impressive run for the top seed, crushing the Central Division at 110-52. The Ravens earned a third straight division title and allowed the conference’s fewest runs at 544. The East Division had a two-team battle with Hamburg (98-64) edging out Berlin (97-65). The Hammers won their seventh straight division title and got their eighth playoff berth in nine years. The Barons picked up their second wild card in five years. It was a seven game drop to the next contenders for the remaining two wild cards. Advancing were Hanover (90-72) and Edinburgh (89-73), while just missing were Leipzig (88-74) and Frankfurt (85-77). For the Hitmen, it was their first-ever playoff berth or winning season in seven years amongst the EBF Elite. The Enforcers picked up back-to-back wild cards. Cologne (83-79), Kharkiv (83-79), and Warsaw (82-80) were the other teams above .500. Notably Amsterdam, a wild card last year, fell to 77-85. It was only their second losing season since 2009. Three teams suffered relegation in the Northern Conference with 100+ loss campaigns. Helsinki and Reykjavik were both abysmal at 54-108, while Sheffield only narrowly fell below the cut line at 61-101. Paris at 66-96 was close, but survived. The Honkers and Raccoons both lasted only three years in their return to the top tier. The Steelhounds had an eight-year tenure and a division title in 2017, but had been below .500 consistently otherwise. Oslo was an unremarkable 81-81, but the legend of shortstop Harvey Coyle continued to grow. At age 36, he became EBF’s first-ever nine-time MVP and became the league’s new career home run king. Coyle hadn’t been MVP since winning eight from 2009-17, but he had continued to play at a high level. He became the seventh player in pro baseball history to win 9+ MVPs. In 2023, the switch-hitting Englishman won his 13th Silver Slugger. Coyle led in home runs (60), RBI (133), slugging (.737), OPS (1.112), and wRC+ (198). He added 108 runs, .307 average, and 12.1 WAR. It was his eighth time leading in homers and his tenth season worth 12+ WAR. Coyle ended the year with 878 home runs, passing Jack Kennedy’s EBF record 875 that had stood since 1995. Coyle was already EBF’s WARlord and grew that tally to 190.1, becoming only the fifth in baseball history to breach 190. 2023 also saw Coyle’s second cycle of his career. He also finished the season at 1987 RBI, 1694 runs, and 2863 hits. Pitcher of the Year was Antwerp’s Isak Alsaker in his seventh year starting for the Airedales. The 28-year old Norwegian lefty led in ERA (2.17), innings (256.2), WHIP (0.85), and quality starts (26). Alsaker had a 16-9 record, 275 strikeouts, 175 ERA+, and 6.1 WAR. Antwerp would trade Alsaker to Rotterdam in the offseason, then he’d sign in 2025 to a six-year, $135 million deal with Dublin. Berlin edged Hanover 2-1 in the first round and Hamburg swept Edinburgh. The powerhouse top seeds prevailed in round two, although Dublin needed all five games to outlast the Barons. Rotterdam meanwhile defeated the Hammers 3-1. The Dinos made their fourth consecutive Northern Conference Championship with a shot at their third pennant in four years. For the Ravens, this was their deepest run since 2003. With 114 wins versus 110 wins, it was perhaps the most stacked conference final in EBF history. It lived up to the hype with an incredible seven game clash that saw Dublin defeat Rotterdam to repeat. This was the second time the Dinos had won three pennants in four years, having also done it from 2010-13. It was the tenth Northern Conference crown for the Irish capital, passing Amsterdam for the most. Zagreb destroyed the Southern Conference competition at 113-49, earning a fourth consecutive playoff berth and their second Central Division title in four years. The Gulls led the conference in runs with 861 and led all of EBF with 539 runs allowed. Zagreb’s offense had 137 triples, one short of the EBF team record. The Gulls broke their own franchise record for wins set two years prior at 108-54. They were 19 wins ahead of the next best team on the conference. The West Division was especially intense with four teams ending the regular season within three wins of each other. Two Central division teams made for an even tighter wild card race with six teams separated by four wins. Munich won the division at 94-68, beating Zurich by one game and both Seville and Milan by three. The Mavericks won their third consecutive division title and grew their playoff streak to four. The Mountaineers and the Central Division’s Brno were both 93-69, taking the first two wild cards. Zurich got its seventh playoff berth in eight years while the Bandits got their second in three years. For the final spot, Seville and Milan tied at 91-71 with Palermo just missing at 90-72. The Stingrays defeated the Maulers in the tiebreaker game to take the last spot. It was an impressive return for Seville, who won the European Second League title the prior year. The third division title went to 92-70 Chisinau in the East, topping last year’s division champ Skopje by nine. The Counts also notably had just returned to the top tier, earning promotion as the E2L runner-up in 2022. Notably absent from the 2023 playoff field was 2022 conference champ Naples, as the Nobles struggled to 71-91. Both Cluj-Napoca and Dnipro got demoted, falling exactly at the cut line of 62-100. Toulouse (65-97) and Malta (66-96) were both close, but survived. With that, there would be a hefty five team turnover for 2024. The Paladins won a division title in 2020 upon their EBF Elite debut, but fell after that. The Defenders lasted only two seasons in the top tier, having won the 2021 E2L title. Zagreb’s dominance extended to the top awards, including a repeat and the third Southern Conference MVP in four years for Aleksandr Parts. The 29-year old Estonian first baseman led in hits (221), total bases (383), triple slash (.388/.451/.673), OPS (1.125), wRC+ (201), and WAR (10.5). His OBP was the sixth-best single season and his batting average the seventh-best to that point. Parts also had 32 doubles, 32 triples, 22 homers, 107 RBI, and 93 stolen bases. Parts opted out of his current deal after the 2025 season to sign a new heftier six-year, $158,400,000 deal with Zagreb. A.J. Magee won his sixth Pitcher of the Year, joining Hall of Famers Lindsey Brampton and Jean-Luc Roch as the only aces to do it in EBF. The 33-year old Northern Irishman led in wins (23-5), innings (255.1), and WAR (7.5). Magee added 2.71 ERA, 226 strikeouts, and 146 ERA+. Magee became the 39^th member of the 200 win club and won his second Gold Glove. He would pitch only two more seasons before calling it quit after an impressive 14-year run in Croatia. Zurich edged Brno 2-1 in the first round and Chisinau topped Seville 2-0. Zagreb cruised to a round two sweep of the Mountaineers, while Munich survived 3-2 over the Counts. The Gulls grabbed their second Southern Conference Championship trip in four years, while the Mavericks earned a fourth straight trip. Zagreb had the top seed in their 2021 encounter, but Munich prevailed in five games. The Gulls were trying to end a 47-year pennant drought and were the heavy favorite. However, their season would be one of the great disappointments as Munich again had their number for a 4-1 victory. The Mavericks won their fourth SC pennant in six years (2018, 2020, 2021, 2023) and their tenth overall. The 74^th European Championship was a rematch of 2020, which had seen a 4-2 Munich win over Dublin. Despite both teams making their tenth finals appearance, that was their only prior finals encounter. The Dinos got revenge over the Mavericks 4-2 to repeat as EBF’s best. Dublin now had seven European Championship wins (1962, 1967, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2022, 2023), leading all teams. Munich moved to 4-6 in their finals trips. Two-way player Krystian Flasza was the finals MVP in his third season for Dublin. After six seasons with Krakow, the 32-year old from Poland was traded to the Dinos for the 2021 season. In the playoffs he tossed 34.2 innings with a 3.38 ERA and 20 strikeouts. At the plate, Flasza played 18 games with 10 hits, 4 runs, 3 homers, and 7 RBI. Dinos reliever Ruslan Zinchenko also notably set an EBF record with 14 appearances, posting a 1.99 ERA, 7 saves, and 28 strikeouts in 22.2 innings. Other notes: In a farewell season for Dublin, Gianfranco Marinis had an 11-4 record, 3.90 ERA, and 103 strikeouts in 159.1 innings. That was enough to finish with a 302-225 record, passing Jean-Luc Roch’s 300 for the all-time wins mark. Marinis became the 38^th in world history to crack 300 wins mainly via impressive durability, as he had a career 3.77 ERA and 103 ERA+. Marinis also became the 10^th EBF ace with 4000 strikeouts. He retired the EBF leader in innings (4939), starts (607), and hits allowed (5269). As of 2037, he ranks 27^th among all pitchers in innings. Hamburg’s Max Gerlach broke his own single-season record for on-base percentage with .468, topping the previous best of .462 from 2020. Gerlach’s 2023 ranks 24^th in world history as of 2037. Emanuel Koch became the 12^th reliever to 300 career saves. Johan Almgren became the 19^th member of the 600 home run club. LF Coniglio Branca won his 7^th Gold Glove. Finals MVP Krystian Flasza won his 7^th Silver Slugger as a pitcher. Promotion/Relegation: There was massive movement with five teams promoted and five relegated based on 2023’s results. Leaving the EBF Elite were Sheffield, Reykjavik, Helsinki, Cluj-Napoca, and Dnipro. Earning promotion from the European Second League were Zaragoza, Tallinn, Riga, Nottingham, and Thessaloniki. Below are the divisional shifts for 2024. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)