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FuzzyRussianHat · 02-14-2025, 06:22 AM

Only five wins separated the top seed from the two wild cards in the European League for 2025. St. Petersburg took the top seed at 93-69 and repeated as North Division champs. Moscow was second at 88-74, getting one of the wild cards for their ninth playoff berth since 2014. Last year’s EL champ Nizhny Novgorod was a non-factor as they fell to 73-89. The Ninjas allowed the fewest runs in the EL at 484, but also scored the fewest at 490. Minsk also had a surprise losing season at 74-88.

For the fifth straight year, Volgograd won the South Division at 89-73, growing their playoff streak to six. The Voyagers barely repeated with Tel Aviv right behind at 88-74. The Aeros earned a wild card in their sixth season, becoming the first of the 2020 expansion teams to make the postseason. Voronezh and Kazan were the closest wild card competitors at 83-79. Last year’s ELCS runner-up Samara dropped to 77-85. The Zephyrs were the highest scoring team in the EL at 617 runs.

For the second time in four years, the European League’s MVP was also the Pitcher of the Year. St. Petersburg’s Warren Hunter took the honors in 2025 in his EPB debut. The 30-year old Quebecois righty had spent his first nine pro seasons in MLB’s Ottawa with average results. Hunter came from Canada to Russia on a seven-year, $67,400,000 deal and delivered out of the gate.

Hunter led the EL in wins (21-9), ERA (1.70), innings (290.1), and complete games (24). He added 298 strikeouts, 176 ERA+, and 7.0 WAR. While a fine season, it surprised many that he won both awards since Hunter was only fourth in WAR among pitchers. Being the ace on the team with the best record goes a long way with traditionalist voters.

Also of note was Oleh Khmelovskyi winning his sixth Reliever of the Year, the only closer in Eurasian Professional Baseball to achieve the feat. It was his lone year with Voronezh after nine seasons with Kazan, posting a career-best 0.74 ERA. Khmelovskyi would leave for MLB for two years, then was briefly back in EPB for 2028 before retiring at age 36. He became the sixth pitcher in all of baseball history to win six Reliever of the Year trophies.

St. Petersburg cruised to a first round sweep of Tel Aviv while Moscow edged Volgograd 3-2. The Polar Bears had their first European League Championship Series trip since 2022 and the Mules had their first since 2021. Russia’s two largest cities hadn’t met for the pennant since 2006. Moscow rolled to a 4-1 upset of St. Petersburg for their fifth pennant in 11 years. The Russian capital now had 13 European League titles.

Krasnoyarsk was the clear top seed in the Asian League at 101-61, wining their seventh consecutive East Division title. The Cossacks’ playoff streak grew to eight seasons as they led in scoring with 709 runs. Ulaanbaatar was a distant second in the division at 88-74, but that was enough for the first wild card slot. The Boars ended a three-year playoff drought.

A competitive West Division saw Perm first at 90-72 with Chelyabinsk getting the second wild card at 85-77. Ufa (83-79) and defending EPB champ Yekaterinburg (82-80) missed the cut. The Pitbulls earned their fifth division title in six years. For the Cadets, their playoff streak grew to seven seasons, all wild cards. The Yaks fell short despite allowing the fewest runs at 465, under-performing their expected W/L by eight games.

Krasnoyarsk DH Timofei Kalinin won Asian League MVP for the second time in three years. The 28-year old Russian lefty had 46 home runs, 119 RBI, .290/.347/.570 slash, 169 wRC+, and 6.6 WAR. In April, the Cossacks gave their slugger a five-year, $53,800,000 extension.

Chelyabinsk’s Aleksandr Taptykov picked up Pitcher of the Year. It was the third year starting for the 30-year old Russian after spending his first six seasons in relief for the Cadets. Taptykov led in wins (22-9) and posted a 2.09 ERA over 267 innings, 212 strikeouts, 152 ERA+, and 4.1 WAR. He notably had the lowest-ever WAR total by an EPB POTY winner.

Krasnoyarsk cruised to a first round sweep of Chelyabinsk and Perm topped Ulaanbaatar 3-1. Despite both teams’ recent success, they had never met in the Asian League Championship Series before. It was the fourth straight ALCS for the Cossacks and their seventh in eight years. The Pitbulls’ lone trip was their 2021 championship season. In six games, Krasnoyarsk prevailed over Perm for their second pennant in three years and third in eight years. The Cossacks became eight-time Asian League champs overall.

Moscow and Krasnoyarsk had become familiar foes in the EPB Championship. The first battle came in 1974, a 4-1 Mules win. Then in 2005, the Cossacks earned their own 4-1 series win. Round three in 2009 was a 4-2 Moscow victory. The 71^st EPB Championship was the fourth encounter and the least competitive as Krasnoyarsk evened the series with a sweep.

The Cossacks are now a four-time champ, having also won in 1982 and 2018. Third-year CF Giordano Fanucchi was finals MVP. The 28-year old Italian started 13 playoff games with 11 hits, 3 runs, 2 doubles, 1 homer, and 2 RBI. Krasnoyarsk were the sixth different team to win the EPB title in six years.

Other notes: Igor Gorbatyuk finished the season with 1655 runs scored, passing Zaur Kadirov’s 1619 to become EPB’s all-time leader. The three-time MVP played one more partial season with Moscow, finishing with 1669 runs, 2810 hits, 390 doubles, 169 triples, 501 homers, 1537 RBI, 1348 walks, 1033 stolen bases, and 102.9 WAR. At retirement, Gorbatyuk was also a top ten player with the 3^rd-most walks and ninth-most hits. He also held a bad #1 spot, getting caught stealing 890 times.

Prior to 2025, Igor Urban was the only player in EPB in the 3000 hit club with 3044. In 2025, he was joined by both Evgeny Kiselev (3013) and Tayyar Abdualiyev (3002). It was the final season for both, keeping Urban’s top mark narrowly intact.
Nikolay Kargopolcev became the 3^rd member of the 700 home run club, finishing his age 38 season with 724 dingers and 1713 RBI. He was in striking distance of Konrad Mazur’s HR record of 740 and Ivan Mushailov’s RBI record of 1755.

Sergei Stoev became the 11^th member of the 600 home run club and Kaysar Alkhasov was the 11^th pitcher to 250 wins. LF Brandon Chunchignorov won his 10^th Gold Glove and RF Jaraslau Lyashenko won his 8^th. RF Timofei Averkin won his 7^th Silver Slugger as did Bakhityar Dolukhanov. It was Dolukhanov’s first at second base after winning six times at shortstop.

02-14-2025, 06:22 AM	#2067
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,899	2025 in EPB Only five wins separated the top seed from the two wild cards in the European League for 2025. St. Petersburg took the top seed at 93-69 and repeated as North Division champs. Moscow was second at 88-74, getting one of the wild cards for their ninth playoff berth since 2014. Last year’s EL champ Nizhny Novgorod was a non-factor as they fell to 73-89. The Ninjas allowed the fewest runs in the EL at 484, but also scored the fewest at 490. Minsk also had a surprise losing season at 74-88. For the fifth straight year, Volgograd won the South Division at 89-73, growing their playoff streak to six. The Voyagers barely repeated with Tel Aviv right behind at 88-74. The Aeros earned a wild card in their sixth season, becoming the first of the 2020 expansion teams to make the postseason. Voronezh and Kazan were the closest wild card competitors at 83-79. Last year’s ELCS runner-up Samara dropped to 77-85. The Zephyrs were the highest scoring team in the EL at 617 runs. For the second time in four years, the European League’s MVP was also the Pitcher of the Year. St. Petersburg’s Warren Hunter took the honors in 2025 in his EPB debut. The 30-year old Quebecois righty had spent his first nine pro seasons in MLB’s Ottawa with average results. Hunter came from Canada to Russia on a seven-year, $67,400,000 deal and delivered out of the gate. Hunter led the EL in wins (21-9), ERA (1.70), innings (290.1), and complete games (24). He added 298 strikeouts, 176 ERA+, and 7.0 WAR. While a fine season, it surprised many that he won both awards since Hunter was only fourth in WAR among pitchers. Being the ace on the team with the best record goes a long way with traditionalist voters. Also of note was Oleh Khmelovskyi winning his sixth Reliever of the Year, the only closer in Eurasian Professional Baseball to achieve the feat. It was his lone year with Voronezh after nine seasons with Kazan, posting a career-best 0.74 ERA. Khmelovskyi would leave for MLB for two years, then was briefly back in EPB for 2028 before retiring at age 36. He became the sixth pitcher in all of baseball history to win six Reliever of the Year trophies. St. Petersburg cruised to a first round sweep of Tel Aviv while Moscow edged Volgograd 3-2. The Polar Bears had their first European League Championship Series trip since 2022 and the Mules had their first since 2021. Russia’s two largest cities hadn’t met for the pennant since 2006. Moscow rolled to a 4-1 upset of St. Petersburg for their fifth pennant in 11 years. The Russian capital now had 13 European League titles. Krasnoyarsk was the clear top seed in the Asian League at 101-61, wining their seventh consecutive East Division title. The Cossacks’ playoff streak grew to eight seasons as they led in scoring with 709 runs. Ulaanbaatar was a distant second in the division at 88-74, but that was enough for the first wild card slot. The Boars ended a three-year playoff drought. A competitive West Division saw Perm first at 90-72 with Chelyabinsk getting the second wild card at 85-77. Ufa (83-79) and defending EPB champ Yekaterinburg (82-80) missed the cut. The Pitbulls earned their fifth division title in six years. For the Cadets, their playoff streak grew to seven seasons, all wild cards. The Yaks fell short despite allowing the fewest runs at 465, under-performing their expected W/L by eight games. Krasnoyarsk DH Timofei Kalinin won Asian League MVP for the second time in three years. The 28-year old Russian lefty had 46 home runs, 119 RBI, .290/.347/.570 slash, 169 wRC+, and 6.6 WAR. In April, the Cossacks gave their slugger a five-year, $53,800,000 extension. Chelyabinsk’s Aleksandr Taptykov picked up Pitcher of the Year. It was the third year starting for the 30-year old Russian after spending his first six seasons in relief for the Cadets. Taptykov led in wins (22-9) and posted a 2.09 ERA over 267 innings, 212 strikeouts, 152 ERA+, and 4.1 WAR. He notably had the lowest-ever WAR total by an EPB POTY winner. Krasnoyarsk cruised to a first round sweep of Chelyabinsk and Perm topped Ulaanbaatar 3-1. Despite both teams’ recent success, they had never met in the Asian League Championship Series before. It was the fourth straight ALCS for the Cossacks and their seventh in eight years. The Pitbulls’ lone trip was their 2021 championship season. In six games, Krasnoyarsk prevailed over Perm for their second pennant in three years and third in eight years. The Cossacks became eight-time Asian League champs overall. Moscow and Krasnoyarsk had become familiar foes in the EPB Championship. The first battle came in 1974, a 4-1 Mules win. Then in 2005, the Cossacks earned their own 4-1 series win. Round three in 2009 was a 4-2 Moscow victory. The 71^st EPB Championship was the fourth encounter and the least competitive as Krasnoyarsk evened the series with a sweep. The Cossacks are now a four-time champ, having also won in 1982 and 2018. Third-year CF Giordano Fanucchi was finals MVP. The 28-year old Italian started 13 playoff games with 11 hits, 3 runs, 2 doubles, 1 homer, and 2 RBI. Krasnoyarsk were the sixth different team to win the EPB title in six years. Other notes: Igor Gorbatyuk finished the season with 1655 runs scored, passing Zaur Kadirov’s 1619 to become EPB’s all-time leader. The three-time MVP played one more partial season with Moscow, finishing with 1669 runs, 2810 hits, 390 doubles, 169 triples, 501 homers, 1537 RBI, 1348 walks, 1033 stolen bases, and 102.9 WAR. At retirement, Gorbatyuk was also a top ten player with the 3^rd-most walks and ninth-most hits. He also held a bad #1 spot, getting caught stealing 890 times. Prior to 2025, Igor Urban was the only player in EPB in the 3000 hit club with 3044. In 2025, he was joined by both Evgeny Kiselev (3013) and Tayyar Abdualiyev (3002). It was the final season for both, keeping Urban’s top mark narrowly intact. Nikolay Kargopolcev became the 3^rd member of the 700 home run club, finishing his age 38 season with 724 dingers and 1713 RBI. He was in striking distance of Konrad Mazur’s HR record of 740 and Ivan Mushailov’s RBI record of 1755. Sergei Stoev became the 11^th member of the 600 home run club and Kaysar Alkhasov was the 11^th pitcher to 250 wins. LF Brandon Chunchignorov won his 10^th Gold Glove and RF Jaraslau Lyashenko won his 8^th. RF Timofei Averkin won his 7^th Silver Slugger as did Bakhityar Dolukhanov. It was Dolukhanov’s first at second base after winning six times at shortstop. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)