[FuzzyRussianHat]

No one was dominant in the European League as 92-70 earned the top seed for Volgograd atop the South Division. It was a nice rebound for the Voyagers, whose seven-year playoff streak was snapped in 2027 at 75-87. Volgograd has won the division seven times in the decade. Samara was second in the division at 86-76, which earned the second wild card for repeat playoff trips.

2020 expansion squad Gomel earned its first playoff berth and won its first North Division title at 90-72. The Griffins edged out defending Eurasian Professional Baseball champ Minsk by one. The 89-73 Miners got the first wild card for their third straight playoff berth. St. Petersburg (83-79) and Kazan (82-70) were the first teams out; both having won wild cards last year. The Polar Bears saw a four-year playoff streak ended despite leading the EL with 641 runs. Gomel allowed the fewest at 492.

Volgograd LF Seriozhenka Gusarov repeated as European League MVP as the 28-year old Russian led in hits (200), total bases (345), average (.328), slugging (.566), OPS (.926), and wRC+ (180). Gusarov added 79 runs, 32 doubles, 13 triples, 29 homers, 78 RBI, and 7.3 WAR. He also hit for the cycle in July against Krasnodar. Prior to the season, the Voyagers extended Gusarov at eight years and $101,300,000.

Gomel’s Araz Aliev won his second Pitcher of the Year in three seasons. The 29-year old Uzebk righty led in strikeouts (397), innings (277.1), K/BB (16.5), complete games (22), shutouts (6), FIP- (34), and WAR (13.98). Aliev added a 22-6 record, 1.98 ERA, and 160 ERA+. He missed the Triple Crown by eight ERA points and one win.

Aliev’s WAR ranked as the fourth-best single-season by an EPB pitcher, just shy of the record 14.17 by Taleh Ismailov from 1956. As of 2037, Aliev’s effort is the 46^th-best season by pitching WAR in all of pro baseball history. He also took second in MVP voting, more than living up to the seven-year, $77,100,000 extension he had received the prior winter.

Gomel ousted the reigning champ Minsk 3-1 in the first round while Volgograd swept Samara. The Griffins were making their first-ever European League Championship Series appearance, while the Voyagers were making their fourth of the decade. Just like in 2020, 22, and 23, Volgograd came away with the pennant. The Voyagers rolled to a 4-1 victory over the Griffins.



Defending Asian League champ Nur-Sultan repeated atop the West Division and took the top seed at 98-64. Perm was five back in the division at 93-69 and got the first wild card, ending a two-year playoff drought. The Setters allowed the fewest runs in the AL at 481.

Krasnoyarsk’s impressive East Division title streak grew to 10 years and their playoff streak went to 11. The 95-67 Cossacks fell three wins short of the top seed, but only won the division by three over Vladivostok. The 92-70 Shibas led in scoring at 654 and got the second wild card for their first-ever playoff trip. It was a nine game drop to the next wild card contenders with Omsk and Novosibirsk both 83-79.

Vladivostok was the last of the 2008 expansion teams to make it to the postseason. With Gomel’s berth in 2028, that left Khabarovsk as the only expansion team of any year yet to advance to the playoffs. The Rockets finished 82-80 in 2028, their first winning season in nine tries. Yekaterinburg notably struggled to 71-91, their first losing campaign since 2020. The Yaks had been to the ALCS four times in the prior five years.

Repeating as Asian League MVP was Vladivostok 1B Erik Farkas. The 29-year old Hungarian lefty led in runs (100), total bases (348), slugging (.576), OPS (.945), wRC+ (182), and WAR (8.2). Farkas added 189 hits, 42 homers, 99 RBI, and a .313 average. The Shibas locked him up prior to the season on an eight-year, $96,500,000 extension.

Pitcher of the Year was Nur-Sultan’s Vardan Aslan, who led in WHIP (0.86), and complete games (20). The 24-year old Uzbek righty had an 18-8 record, 2.00 ERA, 269.2 innings, 301 strikeouts, 153 ERA+, and 7.5 WAR. He was now living up to the #2 overall pick in the 2023 EPB Draft by the Setters.

Vladivostok defeated Nur-Sultan 3-1 in the first round and Perm outlasted Krasnoyarsk 3-2. For the Pitbulls, it was their third Asian League Championship Series of the decade (2021, 2025). However, the Shibas prevailed 4-1 over Perm in their first ALCS trip.



In the 74^th EPB Championship, Vladivostok defeated Volgograd 4-2 to become the 24^th different franchise to win an EPB title. Parity continued for the top spot with nine different champs throughout the 2020s. 1B Nikolai Karjakin was Vladivostok’s top playoff performer and won ALCS MVP. In 15 playoff starts, the 28-year old Russian had 20 hits, 12 runs, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, and 10 RBI.



Other notes: In pitching milestones, Ivan Nikolin became the 31^st to 4000 career strikeouts. Svyatoslav Tyahnybok and Yevgeni Lyubimov were the 59^th and 60^th to 3500 Ks. Lyubimov also became the 60^th to 200 wins. Dimo Antonov became the 19^th reliever to 300 saves.

In hitting milestones, Afzal Koveshnikov and Gleb Korelin became the 29^th and 30^th to reach 2500 hits. Korelin also won his 7^th Silver Slugger at second base. Timofei Averkin won his 10^th Silver Slugger. It was his first as a DH, having won nine in right field previously. LF Brandon Chunchignorov won his 13^th and final Gold Glove, becoming the 3^rd in EPB history to win 13+. CF Robert Albrecht won his 7^th Gold Glove.