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FuzzyRussianHat · 04-03-2025, 06:43 AM

Four teams fought for the Northern Conference’s top seed across two divisions and were separated by only two wins. Nantes, who debuted in the European Baseball Federation’s Elite Tier with a wild card in 2027, secured the West Division and top spot at 105-57. Hanover at 104-58 won the Central Division to grow their playoff streak to six. It was their first-ever division title in the top tier. The second place finishers both were 103-59 with Manchester in the West and three-time defending EBF champ Rotterdam in the Central.

The Crushers led the entire EBF with 840 runs scored while the Ravens allowed the fewest in the NC at 575. It was Manchester’s second-ever playoff berth (2020), while Rotterdam grew their streak to eight years. It was the seventh year running that the Ravens won 100+ games. Glasgow at 98-64 in the West got the third wild card for back-to-back berths.

Kharkiv and Stockholm tied at 93-69 atop the East Division with the Killer Bees winning the tiebreaker game to advance. This grew Kharkiv’s playoff streak to five and was their fourth division title of the run. The Swordsmen were five wins short in the wild card race. The next closest teams were Cologne (91-71) and Frankfurt (89-73). Notably Dublin fell to 75-87, their first losing season since 2017 and only their second losing campaign since 2004.

Northern Conference MVP went to Nantes LF Freddie Iwan, who was the WARlord at with 9.6. The 25-year old Welsh lefty had 221 hits, 107 runs, 35 doubles, 10 triples, 30 homers, 90 RBI, 50 stolen bases, a .376/.413/.624 slash, 1.036 OPS, and 180 wRC+. He also hit for the cycle in June against Glasgow. The Trappers gave Iwan a five-year, $118,400,000 extension in the offseason, although he ultimately opted out and left for Munich in 2031.

Pitcher of the Year went to Manchester’s David Ruiz, who led in WAR (8.0), WHIP (0.94), K/BB (12.8), quality starts (27), and FIP- (61). The 27-year old Spaniard had a 18-6 record in 231 innings, 261 ERA, 269 strikeouts, and 151 ERA+. The Crushers gave Ruiz a four-year, $62 million extension in the offseason.

Also notable was closer Edward Slomka winning his third Reliever of the Year with Nantes, leading with 45 saves. The 34-year old Pole made his EBF return after a three-year MLB excursion. Slomka’s previous ROTY wins came in 2019 and 2021 for Thessaloniki.

In the first round, Kharkiv edged Glasgow 2-1 and Rotterdam outlasted Manchester 2-1. Both top seeds held in round two with Hanover surviving in five against the Killer Bees and Nantes sweeping the Ravens. This ended Rotterdam’s four-peat bids and marked the first time since 2022 that they didn’t make the Northern Conference Championship. Both Hanover and Nantes earned their first-ever NCC appearance. The Hitmen would pull off the 4-2 road victory over the Trappers and became the sixth original E2L team to make it to the final.

The Southern Conference wasn’t nearly as top heavy with only 104-58 Munich with triple-digit wins. The Mavericks won a loaded Central Division to grow their division title streak to eight seasons and playoff streak to nine. Munich won 100+ games for the sixth time in that run and allowed the fewest runs in EBF at 554. Their offense also set a new conference team record with 297 doubles.

All three wild cards came from the Central with Ljubljana (96-66), Palermo (95-67), and Bratislava (92-70) advancing. Defending conference champ Zagreb was fifth in the division at 84-78, ending their playoff streak at eight seasons. The Gulls did still extend their streak of winning seasons to 11 years. Both Munich and Rotterdam are tied for the longest active such streak at 12.

For the Juggernauts, this was their first-ever playoff berth in their 12 seasons in the EBF Elite. Ljubljana had only just posted their first winning season in 2027 at 83-79. The Priests picked up their third wild card in five years. The Blue Falcons had just made it back to the EBF Elite, having won the Second League Championship in 2027. It was Bratislava’s first playoff berth in the top tier since 2007.

The #2 seed went to West Division champ Barcelona at 95-67, earning back-to-back division crowns. Marseille led in scoring at 782 runs, but their 90-72 record was five short in the division race and two away for the third wild card. In the East Division, Odesa (87-75) outlasted Chisinau (85-77) to end the Counts’ five-year hold on the division crown. This was the first-ever playoff trip for the Drifters, who joined EBF in a 2000 expansion.

Repeating as MVP was 1B Matt Gomez, although he was now with Marseille. He won in 2027 with Zaragoza, but left the Gold Hawks for free agency and got eight years and $204,800,000 from the Musketeers. The 27-year old Spaniard led in runs (121), OBP (.434), and WAR (10.3). Gomez had 201 hits, 41 doubles, 33 homers, 111 RBI, and 1.037 OPS.

Munich’s Nejc Novak won his third Pitcher of the Year, having previously won in 2022 and 2024. The 32-year old Slovene righty led in ERA (1.66), quality starts (23), and FIP- (61). It was only the third time in the 2000s that a qualifying pitcher had an ERA below 1.70. Novak’s mark ranks 29^th as of 2037. He also had a 20-4 record, 10 saves, 233 innings, 244 strikeouts, 224 ERA+, and 7.6 WAR.

The first round had Bratislava over Odesa 2-1 and Ljubljana over Palermo 2-0. Top seed Munich bested the Blue Falcons 3-1 to earn their fourth straight trip to the Southern Conference Championship. Perhaps even more impressive, it was the ninth time in eleven years that the Mavericks were playing for the pennant; a run only rivaled by Zurich during their record 21-year playoff streak.

A newcomer approached though as Ljubljana shocked Barcelona 3-2 in the second round for a conference finals trip in their first-ever playoff appearance. The Juggernauts gave a valiant effort, but couldn’t keep the magic going as Munich prevailed 4-2. The Mavericks won their sixth pennant since 2018 and their 12^th overall, now tied with the Mountaineers for the most finals trips.

The 79^th European Championship was the second all-German matchup, joining Munich’s 2021 win over Hamburg. For the first time since 2015, the finale needed all seven games. Hanover won the war of attrition over the Mavericks, becoming the 30^th different franchise to win it all. The Hitmen joined Antwerp (2015) and Chisinau (2024) as the only champs that began as European Second League teams back in 2005.

Finals MVP went to LF Felix Timm in his seventh year with Hanover. The 28-year old Austrian and 2024 conference MVP had 17 playoff starts with 18 hits, 12 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, and 19 RBI. He had committed the prior spring to an eight-year, $200 million extension with the Hitmen. Five different teams from Germany now have a European Championship as Hanover joined Munich, Berlin, Cologne, and Hamburg.

Other notes: Kharkiv’s Danut Alecandrescu had the 17^th four home run game in EBF history versus Brno on September 13. Max Gerlach, Stefanos Emmanoulidis, and Zeljko Siladjdzic each reached 1500 runs scored, a mark now met by 26 in EBF. Gerlach and Theofilos Psarras became the 31^st and 32^nd to 1500 RBI. Siladjdzic became the 46^th to reach 2500 hits. Christian Brunner became the 40^th member of the 500 home run club and won his 7^th Silver Slugger at 3B. Slawomir Boguski became the 28^th pitcher to 3500 strikeouts,

Promotion/Relegation: In a normal season, Hamburg (57-105), Krakow (60-102), and Wroclaw (62-100) would’ve been relegated from the Northern Conference for losing 100+ games and Skopje (65-97) would’ve been demoted with the lowest Southern Conference record. Those teams caught a lucky break as the European Baseball Federation would choose to expand and realign in 2029. More details on that to come in a later post.

The EBF Elite Tier conferences would shift from three divisions of eight teams (24 total) to two large 13 team divisions (26 total). To facilitate this growth, no teams would be relegated based on 2028 results. Meanwhile the top four from the 2028 European Second League season (Lodz, Lyon, Helsinki, and Sheffield) were promoted to fill the four new spots.

04-03-2025, 06:43 AM	#2186
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,646	2028 in EBF Four teams fought for the Northern Conference’s top seed across two divisions and were separated by only two wins. Nantes, who debuted in the European Baseball Federation’s Elite Tier with a wild card in 2027, secured the West Division and top spot at 105-57. Hanover at 104-58 won the Central Division to grow their playoff streak to six. It was their first-ever division title in the top tier. The second place finishers both were 103-59 with Manchester in the West and three-time defending EBF champ Rotterdam in the Central. The Crushers led the entire EBF with 840 runs scored while the Ravens allowed the fewest in the NC at 575. It was Manchester’s second-ever playoff berth (2020), while Rotterdam grew their streak to eight years. It was the seventh year running that the Ravens won 100+ games. Glasgow at 98-64 in the West got the third wild card for back-to-back berths. Kharkiv and Stockholm tied at 93-69 atop the East Division with the Killer Bees winning the tiebreaker game to advance. This grew Kharkiv’s playoff streak to five and was their fourth division title of the run. The Swordsmen were five wins short in the wild card race. The next closest teams were Cologne (91-71) and Frankfurt (89-73). Notably Dublin fell to 75-87, their first losing season since 2017 and only their second losing campaign since 2004. Northern Conference MVP went to Nantes LF Freddie Iwan, who was the WARlord at with 9.6. The 25-year old Welsh lefty had 221 hits, 107 runs, 35 doubles, 10 triples, 30 homers, 90 RBI, 50 stolen bases, a .376/.413/.624 slash, 1.036 OPS, and 180 wRC+. He also hit for the cycle in June against Glasgow. The Trappers gave Iwan a five-year, $118,400,000 extension in the offseason, although he ultimately opted out and left for Munich in 2031. Pitcher of the Year went to Manchester’s David Ruiz, who led in WAR (8.0), WHIP (0.94), K/BB (12.8), quality starts (27), and FIP- (61). The 27-year old Spaniard had a 18-6 record in 231 innings, 261 ERA, 269 strikeouts, and 151 ERA+. The Crushers gave Ruiz a four-year, $62 million extension in the offseason. Also notable was closer Edward Slomka winning his third Reliever of the Year with Nantes, leading with 45 saves. The 34-year old Pole made his EBF return after a three-year MLB excursion. Slomka’s previous ROTY wins came in 2019 and 2021 for Thessaloniki. In the first round, Kharkiv edged Glasgow 2-1 and Rotterdam outlasted Manchester 2-1. Both top seeds held in round two with Hanover surviving in five against the Killer Bees and Nantes sweeping the Ravens. This ended Rotterdam’s four-peat bids and marked the first time since 2022 that they didn’t make the Northern Conference Championship. Both Hanover and Nantes earned their first-ever NCC appearance. The Hitmen would pull off the 4-2 road victory over the Trappers and became the sixth original E2L team to make it to the final. The Southern Conference wasn’t nearly as top heavy with only 104-58 Munich with triple-digit wins. The Mavericks won a loaded Central Division to grow their division title streak to eight seasons and playoff streak to nine. Munich won 100+ games for the sixth time in that run and allowed the fewest runs in EBF at 554. Their offense also set a new conference team record with 297 doubles. All three wild cards came from the Central with Ljubljana (96-66), Palermo (95-67), and Bratislava (92-70) advancing. Defending conference champ Zagreb was fifth in the division at 84-78, ending their playoff streak at eight seasons. The Gulls did still extend their streak of winning seasons to 11 years. Both Munich and Rotterdam are tied for the longest active such streak at 12. For the Juggernauts, this was their first-ever playoff berth in their 12 seasons in the EBF Elite. Ljubljana had only just posted their first winning season in 2027 at 83-79. The Priests picked up their third wild card in five years. The Blue Falcons had just made it back to the EBF Elite, having won the Second League Championship in 2027. It was Bratislava’s first playoff berth in the top tier since 2007. The #2 seed went to West Division champ Barcelona at 95-67, earning back-to-back division crowns. Marseille led in scoring at 782 runs, but their 90-72 record was five short in the division race and two away for the third wild card. In the East Division, Odesa (87-75) outlasted Chisinau (85-77) to end the Counts’ five-year hold on the division crown. This was the first-ever playoff trip for the Drifters, who joined EBF in a 2000 expansion. Repeating as MVP was 1B Matt Gomez, although he was now with Marseille. He won in 2027 with Zaragoza, but left the Gold Hawks for free agency and got eight years and $204,800,000 from the Musketeers. The 27-year old Spaniard led in runs (121), OBP (.434), and WAR (10.3). Gomez had 201 hits, 41 doubles, 33 homers, 111 RBI, and 1.037 OPS. Munich’s Nejc Novak won his third Pitcher of the Year, having previously won in 2022 and 2024. The 32-year old Slovene righty led in ERA (1.66), quality starts (23), and FIP- (61). It was only the third time in the 2000s that a qualifying pitcher had an ERA below 1.70. Novak’s mark ranks 29^th as of 2037. He also had a 20-4 record, 10 saves, 233 innings, 244 strikeouts, 224 ERA+, and 7.6 WAR. The first round had Bratislava over Odesa 2-1 and Ljubljana over Palermo 2-0. Top seed Munich bested the Blue Falcons 3-1 to earn their fourth straight trip to the Southern Conference Championship. Perhaps even more impressive, it was the ninth time in eleven years that the Mavericks were playing for the pennant; a run only rivaled by Zurich during their record 21-year playoff streak. A newcomer approached though as Ljubljana shocked Barcelona 3-2 in the second round for a conference finals trip in their first-ever playoff appearance. The Juggernauts gave a valiant effort, but couldn’t keep the magic going as Munich prevailed 4-2. The Mavericks won their sixth pennant since 2018 and their 12^th overall, now tied with the Mountaineers for the most finals trips. The 79^th European Championship was the second all-German matchup, joining Munich’s 2021 win over Hamburg. For the first time since 2015, the finale needed all seven games. Hanover won the war of attrition over the Mavericks, becoming the 30^th different franchise to win it all. The Hitmen joined Antwerp (2015) and Chisinau (2024) as the only champs that began as European Second League teams back in 2005. Finals MVP went to LF Felix Timm in his seventh year with Hanover. The 28-year old Austrian and 2024 conference MVP had 17 playoff starts with 18 hits, 12 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, and 19 RBI. He had committed the prior spring to an eight-year, $200 million extension with the Hitmen. Five different teams from Germany now have a European Championship as Hanover joined Munich, Berlin, Cologne, and Hamburg. Other notes: Kharkiv’s Danut Alecandrescu had the 17^th four home run game in EBF history versus Brno on September 13. Max Gerlach, Stefanos Emmanoulidis, and Zeljko Siladjdzic each reached 1500 runs scored, a mark now met by 26 in EBF. Gerlach and Theofilos Psarras became the 31^st and 32^nd to 1500 RBI. Siladjdzic became the 46^th to reach 2500 hits. Christian Brunner became the 40^th member of the 500 home run club and won his 7^th Silver Slugger at 3B. Slawomir Boguski became the 28^th pitcher to 3500 strikeouts, Promotion/Relegation: In a normal season, Hamburg (57-105), Krakow (60-102), and Wroclaw (62-100) would’ve been relegated from the Northern Conference for losing 100+ games and Skopje (65-97) would’ve been demoted with the lowest Southern Conference record. Those teams caught a lucky break as the European Baseball Federation would choose to expand and realign in 2029. More details on that to come in a later post. The EBF Elite Tier conferences would shift from three divisions of eight teams (24 total) to two large 13 team divisions (26 total). To facilitate this growth, no teams would be relegated based on 2028 results. Meanwhile the top four from the 2028 European Second League season (Lodz, Lyon, Helsinki, and Sheffield) were promoted to fill the four new spots. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)