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FuzzyRussianHat · 02-02-2025, 05:07 AM

Two-time defending European Champion Dublin again was dominant at 110-52 atop the West Division. The Dinos again were the Northern Conference top seed and earned a fifth consecutive division crown. Dublin has won 109+ games in four of those five seasons. Their offense was especially potent in 2024 with 931 runs scored, breaking Amsterdam’s conference record of 929 from 1986. The Dinos ranked third in all of European Baseball Federation history.

The most competitive division was the Central with Rotterdam winning a fourth straight title at 101-61. The Ravens allowed the fewest runs in the conference by a healthy margin at 538. Rotterdam was only two games better than 99-63 Cologne, who ended a six-year playoff drought as the first wild card. The Copperheads have won 80+ games each year since 2007. Third was 93-69 Hanover, taking the second wild card for repeat playoff berths.

Kharkiv claimed the East Division at 92-70 to end their own six-year playoff drought. Berlin was second at 88-74, finishing tied with the Central’s Amsterdam for the final wild card. The Anacondas defeated the Barons in a one-game playoff to advance. Amsterdam has amazingly earned nine playoff appearances in 12 years; all wild cards.

The first teams out were London (86-76), Hamburg (85-77), Glasgow (83-79), and Frankfurt (82-80). This ended a seven-year playoff streak for the Hammers, although their run of winning seasons grew to 10. For the Monarchs, it was their first winning season in the EBF Elite tier since 2003.

There was a lot of parity at the bottom with Paris (63-99) finishing last and getting relegated. Tallinn (65-97), Manchester (66-96), and Riga (69-93) only narrowly escaped the bottom spot or the 100+ loss threshold. The Poodles had historically been one of EBF’s strongest franchises and had won it all as recently as 2014. They hadn’t won more than 71 games from 2019-24 though and finally couldn’t avoid demotion.

Third-year Hanover LF Felix Timm won Northern Conference MVP. The 2022 Rookie of the Year led in 2024 in home runs (61), total bases (412), and slugging (.703). The 24-year old Austrian added 1.064 OPS, 184 wRC+, 9.5 WAR, 140 RBI, and 117 runs.

The Hitmen also had the Pitcher of the Year with veteran Federico Panesso. The 34-year old Italian lefty was in his fifth season for Hanover after spending his 20s mostly in the European Second League. Panesso won the ERA title at 2.43 and struck out 205 over 226.1 innings with an 18-5 record, 162 ERA+, and 6.1 WAR.

Despite their award wins, Hanover was ousted in the first round 2-1 by Cologne. Kharkiv swept Amsterdam in round one and gave Rotterdam a fierce challenge in round two, although the Ravens escaped 3-2. Top seed Dublin downed the Copperheads 3-1, setting up a rematch in the Northern Conference Championship.

Dublin again was victorious over Rotterdam with their 4-1 win giving the Dinos the conference three-peat and their fourth pennant in five years. They joined Amsterdam, Vienna, and Zurich as the only franchises to earn four finals trips in a five year stretch. The Irish capital now had 11 conference titles, which is tied for the most among all EBF teams along with Zurich.

Three teams fought over the Southern Conference’s top seed with West Division champ Zurich ultimately getting it. The Mountaineers and Central Division champ Munich both finished 106-56, although Zurich had the tiebreaker for the top seed. The Mountaineers picked up their eighth playoff berth in nine years. The defending conference champ Mavericks had to outlast 104-58 Zagreb to take their fourth straight division title.

Both Munich and Zagreb had their playoff streaks extended to five seasons. The Gulls earned their fourth 100+ win season in five years despite being the first wild. The other wild cards came out of a loaded Central Division as well with Rome (96-66) and Palermo (92-70). The first teams out were Valencia, Zaragoza, and Skopje each at 88-74. The Red Wolves ended a nine-year playoff drought while the Priests got their second berth in four years.

Meanwhile the East Division saw Chisinau repeat as champ at 98-64 with Skopje a distant second. The Counts led the conference in scoring with 848 runs while Zaragoza allowed the fewest at 551. By far the conference’s worst team was 51-111 Toulouse, relegated after a four-year run amongst the European Baseball Federation Elite. Tirana (64-98) and Budapest (65-97) were both poor, but avoided the 100+ loss threshold and escaped demotion.

Southern Conference MVP went to Chisinau 1B Theodosio Gaytan in a surprisingly breakout year. The 28-year old Spaniard has posted 5.3 WAR in seven EBF Elite seasons prior, but exploded for a conference-best 9.8 in 2024. Gaytan also led in doubles (44), RBI (134), average (.352), slugging (.693), OPS (1.087), and wRC+ (210). He added 105 runs and 46 homers in his third year with the Counts, earning a seven-year, $172,400,000 extension the following spring.

Munich’s Nejc Novak won his second Pitcher of the Year in three seasons. The 28-year old Slovene righty was the WARlord at 9.0 and led with 54 FIP-. Novak had a 21-8 record in 232 innings, 2.56 ERA, 275 strikeouts, and 145 ERA+. Before the 2024 campaign, Novak inked a six-year, $153,600,000 extension with the Mavericks.

Zagreb edged Rome 2-1 and Chisinau outlasted Palermo 2-1 in the first round. The Gulls then upset Zurich 3-2 in the second round, sending Zagreb to repeat Southern Conference Championship trips and their third in four years. Even more stunning was the Counts not only upsetting Munich on the other side, but sweeping the Mavericks. Only two years prior, Chisinau was playing in the European Second League.

Chisinau earned their first-ever Southern Conference title, knocking out Zagreb 4-2. The Counts became the fourth pennant winner amongst teams that began with the E2L’s 2005 debut along with Zaragoza, Antwerp, and Thessaloniki. The Gulls yet again couldn’t get over the hump, now going 0-3 in four years in the conference final. Zagreb has lost five straight conference finals trips with a title drought back to 1975.

In the 75^th European Championship, Dublin was a heavy favorite over Chisinau and had a shot to be the first-ever three-peat champ in EBF. The Dinos had been the only team previously to win three titles in four years, doing that in 2010-13. Their party was spoiled though as the upstart Counts won decisively 4-1, bringing the cup to Moldova for the first time.

Chisinau became the 29^th different EBF franchise to win it all and Moldova became the 19^th country to have a European champ from their nation. The Counts joined Antwerp (2015) as the only EBF Elite champs that began in E2L in 2005. Conference MVP Theodosio Gaytan was also the MVP of the European Championship and the conference finals MVP. In 17 playoff starts, he had 24 hits, 14 runs, 4 doubles, 4 triples, 5 homers, and 17 RBI. Chisinau’s Cosmin Chivu also notably scored 20 playoff runs, tying the EBF postseason record hit twice before.

Other notes: 2024 featured EBF’s 38^th and 39^th Perfect Games. The first was April 22 by Cologne’s Vladyslav Zaporoshchenko, who struck out 12 against London. The second came from Zagreb’s A.J. Magee on May 16 with 10 Ks over Madrid. It was Magee’s second no-hitter, having also done it in 2017. Hanover’s Jaden Cardoso had 156 RBI, the first to reach 150+ RBI since 2006.

Oslo SS and EBF WARlord Harvey Coyle became the 1st EBF slugger to 900 home runs, the 6^th to 2000 RBI, and the 12^th to 3000 hits. Coyle ended his age 37 season with 197.6 career WAR, putting him in position to join MLB/OBA legend Jimmy Caliw (214.0) and world strikeout king Mohamed Ramos (205.1) in the 200 club. Coyle passed WAB SS Darwin Morris (194.4) and CABA/MLB SP Ulices Montero (191.7) on the world leaderboard with 7.5 WAR in 2024. He had a career worst .782 OPS, but his defense at shortstop was still world class even in his late 30s.

Nicolo Giotto and Johan Almgren became the 19^th and 20^th to reach 1500 runs scored. Nico Tofani was the 41^st to reach 2500 hits. Stefanos Emmanouilidis and Sisto Contreras made the 500 home run club, now 37 players strong. Luther Bowness became the 11^th pitcher to 4000 strikeouts and Forest Campbell became the 27^th to 3500 Ks.

02-02-2025, 05:07 AM	#2031
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,892	2024 in EBF Two-time defending European Champion Dublin again was dominant at 110-52 atop the West Division. The Dinos again were the Northern Conference top seed and earned a fifth consecutive division crown. Dublin has won 109+ games in four of those five seasons. Their offense was especially potent in 2024 with 931 runs scored, breaking Amsterdam’s conference record of 929 from 1986. The Dinos ranked third in all of European Baseball Federation history. The most competitive division was the Central with Rotterdam winning a fourth straight title at 101-61. The Ravens allowed the fewest runs in the conference by a healthy margin at 538. Rotterdam was only two games better than 99-63 Cologne, who ended a six-year playoff drought as the first wild card. The Copperheads have won 80+ games each year since 2007. Third was 93-69 Hanover, taking the second wild card for repeat playoff berths. Kharkiv claimed the East Division at 92-70 to end their own six-year playoff drought. Berlin was second at 88-74, finishing tied with the Central’s Amsterdam for the final wild card. The Anacondas defeated the Barons in a one-game playoff to advance. Amsterdam has amazingly earned nine playoff appearances in 12 years; all wild cards. The first teams out were London (86-76), Hamburg (85-77), Glasgow (83-79), and Frankfurt (82-80). This ended a seven-year playoff streak for the Hammers, although their run of winning seasons grew to 10. For the Monarchs, it was their first winning season in the EBF Elite tier since 2003. There was a lot of parity at the bottom with Paris (63-99) finishing last and getting relegated. Tallinn (65-97), Manchester (66-96), and Riga (69-93) only narrowly escaped the bottom spot or the 100+ loss threshold. The Poodles had historically been one of EBF’s strongest franchises and had won it all as recently as 2014. They hadn’t won more than 71 games from 2019-24 though and finally couldn’t avoid demotion. Third-year Hanover LF Felix Timm won Northern Conference MVP. The 2022 Rookie of the Year led in 2024 in home runs (61), total bases (412), and slugging (.703). The 24-year old Austrian added 1.064 OPS, 184 wRC+, 9.5 WAR, 140 RBI, and 117 runs. The Hitmen also had the Pitcher of the Year with veteran Federico Panesso. The 34-year old Italian lefty was in his fifth season for Hanover after spending his 20s mostly in the European Second League. Panesso won the ERA title at 2.43 and struck out 205 over 226.1 innings with an 18-5 record, 162 ERA+, and 6.1 WAR. Despite their award wins, Hanover was ousted in the first round 2-1 by Cologne. Kharkiv swept Amsterdam in round one and gave Rotterdam a fierce challenge in round two, although the Ravens escaped 3-2. Top seed Dublin downed the Copperheads 3-1, setting up a rematch in the Northern Conference Championship. Dublin again was victorious over Rotterdam with their 4-1 win giving the Dinos the conference three-peat and their fourth pennant in five years. They joined Amsterdam, Vienna, and Zurich as the only franchises to earn four finals trips in a five year stretch. The Irish capital now had 11 conference titles, which is tied for the most among all EBF teams along with Zurich. Three teams fought over the Southern Conference’s top seed with West Division champ Zurich ultimately getting it. The Mountaineers and Central Division champ Munich both finished 106-56, although Zurich had the tiebreaker for the top seed. The Mountaineers picked up their eighth playoff berth in nine years. The defending conference champ Mavericks had to outlast 104-58 Zagreb to take their fourth straight division title. Both Munich and Zagreb had their playoff streaks extended to five seasons. The Gulls earned their fourth 100+ win season in five years despite being the first wild. The other wild cards came out of a loaded Central Division as well with Rome (96-66) and Palermo (92-70). The first teams out were Valencia, Zaragoza, and Skopje each at 88-74. The Red Wolves ended a nine-year playoff drought while the Priests got their second berth in four years. Meanwhile the East Division saw Chisinau repeat as champ at 98-64 with Skopje a distant second. The Counts led the conference in scoring with 848 runs while Zaragoza allowed the fewest at 551. By far the conference’s worst team was 51-111 Toulouse, relegated after a four-year run amongst the European Baseball Federation Elite. Tirana (64-98) and Budapest (65-97) were both poor, but avoided the 100+ loss threshold and escaped demotion. Southern Conference MVP went to Chisinau 1B Theodosio Gaytan in a surprisingly breakout year. The 28-year old Spaniard has posted 5.3 WAR in seven EBF Elite seasons prior, but exploded for a conference-best 9.8 in 2024. Gaytan also led in doubles (44), RBI (134), average (.352), slugging (.693), OPS (1.087), and wRC+ (210). He added 105 runs and 46 homers in his third year with the Counts, earning a seven-year, $172,400,000 extension the following spring. Munich’s Nejc Novak won his second Pitcher of the Year in three seasons. The 28-year old Slovene righty was the WARlord at 9.0 and led with 54 FIP-. Novak had a 21-8 record in 232 innings, 2.56 ERA, 275 strikeouts, and 145 ERA+. Before the 2024 campaign, Novak inked a six-year, $153,600,000 extension with the Mavericks. Zagreb edged Rome 2-1 and Chisinau outlasted Palermo 2-1 in the first round. The Gulls then upset Zurich 3-2 in the second round, sending Zagreb to repeat Southern Conference Championship trips and their third in four years. Even more stunning was the Counts not only upsetting Munich on the other side, but sweeping the Mavericks. Only two years prior, Chisinau was playing in the European Second League. Chisinau earned their first-ever Southern Conference title, knocking out Zagreb 4-2. The Counts became the fourth pennant winner amongst teams that began with the E2L’s 2005 debut along with Zaragoza, Antwerp, and Thessaloniki. The Gulls yet again couldn’t get over the hump, now going 0-3 in four years in the conference final. Zagreb has lost five straight conference finals trips with a title drought back to 1975. In the 75^th European Championship, Dublin was a heavy favorite over Chisinau and had a shot to be the first-ever three-peat champ in EBF. The Dinos had been the only team previously to win three titles in four years, doing that in 2010-13. Their party was spoiled though as the upstart Counts won decisively 4-1, bringing the cup to Moldova for the first time. Chisinau became the 29^th different EBF franchise to win it all and Moldova became the 19^th country to have a European champ from their nation. The Counts joined Antwerp (2015) as the only EBF Elite champs that began in E2L in 2005. Conference MVP Theodosio Gaytan was also the MVP of the European Championship and the conference finals MVP. In 17 playoff starts, he had 24 hits, 14 runs, 4 doubles, 4 triples, 5 homers, and 17 RBI. Chisinau’s Cosmin Chivu also notably scored 20 playoff runs, tying the EBF postseason record hit twice before. Other notes: 2024 featured EBF’s 38^th and 39^th Perfect Games. The first was April 22 by Cologne’s Vladyslav Zaporoshchenko, who struck out 12 against London. The second came from Zagreb’s A.J. Magee on May 16 with 10 Ks over Madrid. It was Magee’s second no-hitter, having also done it in 2017. Hanover’s Jaden Cardoso had 156 RBI, the first to reach 150+ RBI since 2006. Oslo SS and EBF WARlord Harvey Coyle became the 1st EBF slugger to 900 home runs, the 6^th to 2000 RBI, and the 12^th to 3000 hits. Coyle ended his age 37 season with 197.6 career WAR, putting him in position to join MLB/OBA legend Jimmy Caliw (214.0) and world strikeout king Mohamed Ramos (205.1) in the 200 club. Coyle passed WAB SS Darwin Morris (194.4) and CABA/MLB SP Ulices Montero (191.7) on the world leaderboard with 7.5 WAR in 2024. He had a career worst .782 OPS, but his defense at shortstop was still world class even in his late 30s. Nicolo Giotto and Johan Almgren became the 19^th and 20^th to reach 1500 runs scored. Nico Tofani was the 41^st to reach 2500 hits. Stefanos Emmanouilidis and Sisto Contreras made the 500 home run club, now 37 players strong. Luther Bowness became the 11^th pitcher to 4000 strikeouts and Forest Campbell became the 27^th to 3500 Ks. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)