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FuzzyRussianHat · 05-07-2025, 05:16 AM

2030 saw two Hall of Fame additions for the European Baseball Federation, led by a slam dunk 98.7% debut for pitcher Luther Bowness. OF/1B Dylan Fitzpatrick joined him at 69.2% on his fourth ballot, scraping by the 66% requirement for induction. SP Lorenzo Rotella just missed at 64.5% on his fourth go.

Five other returners were above 50%. CF Joris Kostic got 56.3% on his seventh ballot, CL Stefan Sedlak had 53.8% on his ninth try, LF Marco Solis saw 53.1% in his second go, SP Stan Nyagin received 51.3% with his fifth ballot, and LF Emilson Patino had 50.3% on his fourth go. Apart from Bowness, no debuting players were above 25%. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots.

Luther “Tiger” Bowness – Starting Pitcher – Amsterdam Anacondas - 98.7% First Ballot

Luther Bowness was a 6’1’’, 175 pound right-handed starting pitcher from Worthing, England; a town of around 113,000 on the southern coast. Bowness had split English-Northern Irish heritage. His stuff was incredible and overpowering, graded as a 10/10 by many scouts at his peak. Bowness overwhelmed batters with pure stuff and he had solid movement. His control was above average at best, but he could usually work out of trouble.

Bowness had 99-101 mph peak velocity, but it was his exceptional changeup that got the most whiffs. He also had a sinker, curveball, and cutter with an extreme groundball tendency. Bowness’ stamina was quite good and he avoided injuries in the front end of his career. He had a good pickoff move but weak defense otherwise. Bowness was a hard worker and a fan favorite over a 17-year career with Amsterdam.

The Anacondas scouted and signed Bowness as a teenage amateur in February 2004. He spent most of eight years in their academy and debuted in 2008 at age 20, although he struggled over 48.1 innings. Bowness was a full-time starter with decent results in 2009, then settled into an ace role after that. He led the Northern Conference in WHIP for 2011 with a career best 0.92. Bowness led in both strikeouts and complete games in 2012-13.

2013 was his career best in Ks at 316, taking third in Pitcher of the Year voting. Amsterdam had been competitive from 2008-12, but had fallen just outside of the playoffs. 2013 started a five-year playoff streak with a 109-53 record, although they were second in the division to 115-win Dublin. The Anacondas won 105 in 2014 but again were a wild card. They lost in the first round both years and fell in the second round in 2015.

Bowness had emerged as the ace by this point and signed a five-year, $56,600,000 extension in September 2014. He took third in 2015’s Pitcher of the Year voting. In 2016, Amsterdam won the Northern Conference as a 96-66 wild card, falling to Zurich in the European Championship. Bowness had a strong postseason with a 4-1 record and 2.64 ERA over six starts, 44.1 innings, 56 strikeouts, and 1.1 WAR. He was merely okay with a 4.09 ERA over 33 innings with 53 Ks in the Baseball Grand Championship. The Anacondas finished at 10-9 in a tie for tenth.

Amsterdam remained in the playoff mix, but never made another deep run. They were a conference finalist to Dublin in 2020 and early exits in 2017, 19, 22, and 24. Bowness had strong playoff numbers overall with a 2.38 ERA over 98.1 innings, 7-3 record, 114 strikeouts, 26 walks, 160 ERA+, and 2.1 WAR.

Bowness also pitched for England in the World Baseball Championship from 2020-22 and in 2024 with a 2.07 ERA over 69.2 innings, 7-3 record, 111 strikeouts, and 2.8 WAR. England notably had a fourth place in 2022 with Bowness posting a 2.25 ERA over 28 innings with 46 strikeouts.

In May 2019, Bowness signed a five-year, $74,600,000 extension to stick with Amsterdam. 2020 would be his first major injury with a torn triceps costing him most of the first half. Bowness bounced back and won his lone Pitcher of the Year award in 2021 with conference bests in strikeouts (308) and WAR (8.2). He won his lone ERA title in 2022 with a career best 2.19, taking second in voting.

Bowness was certainly on pace in 2022 to win again, but a torn labrum in late August cost him the final weeks of the season. He opted out of his deal and tested free agency for a month, but the 35-year old ultimately returned to the Dutch capital on a three-year, $69,800,000 deal. Bowness was less dominant but still respectable in 2023, but a torn biceps kept him out roughly half of the year.

In 2024, Bowness’s production had dipped and he had a full-season career worst 4.09 ERA, although he was still worth 4.4 WAR. He became only the 11^th in EBF history to reach 4000 career strikeouts. He had plans to keep pitching until a second torn labrum in September 2024. Doctors made the decision for him and Bowness had to retire shortly after his 37^th birthday. Amsterdam quickly honored him by retiring his #2 uniform.

Bowness finished with a 223-142 record, 3.13 ERA, 3519.2 innings, 4041 strikeouts, 852 walks, 271/431 quality starts, 165 complete games, 25 shutouts, 122 ERA+, 76 FIP-, and 87.9 WAR. As of 2037, Bowness ranks 26^th in wins, 25^th in innings, 9^th in complete games, 51^st in shutouts, 12^th in strikeouts, and 18^th in WAR among pitchers. He also has a 10.33 K/9, ranking 53^rd among those with 1000+ career innings.

He probably falls just short of the “inner circle” level of Hall of Famers for the European Baseball Federation depending on how strict one’s definition is. But it was almost universally agreed that Bowness was well deserving of a spot. He received 98.7% to headline the two-player 2030 class for the European Baseball Federation.

Dylan Fitzpatrick – Outfield/First Base – Belfast Brewers – 69.2% Fourth Ballot

Dylan Fitzpatrick was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed corner outfielder and first baseman from Galway, Ireland’s fourth most populous city with around 86,000 inhabitants. Fitzpatrick was best known for having steady home run power and a great eye for drawing walks. He was better than most at avoiding strikeouts and was a solid contact hitter against right-handed pitching.

Facing RHP, Fitzpatrick had a career 1.001 OPS and 175 wRC+ compared to a middling .716 OPS and 103 wRC+ against lefties. His power was more focused on dingers than the gap with a 162 game average of 36 homers, 22 doubles, and 9 triples. He could leg out extra bags here and there as Fitzpatrick was an excellent baserunner with good speed.

Fitzpatrick bounced around defensively in his career with half of his starts in right field, around 30% at first base, and most of the rest in left. He graded as a mediocre glove man at each, but you could do worse. Fitzpatrick’s durability was mostly good over a 15-year career. While he wasn’t disruptive, Fitzpatrick was viewed by teammates and coaches as a bit of a selfish loner.

He made the move to Northern Ireland after getting drafted 21^st in 2006 by Belfast. Fitzpatrick started much of 2007 with good results and became a full-time starter after that. In 2009, Fitzpatrick won a Silver Slugger (1B) and was second in MVP voting, leading the Northern Conference in walks (88), OBP (.432), slugging (.692), and OPS (1.124). Those would all be career bests as was his 121 runs, 193 hits, 49 home runs, 127 RBI, .344 average, and 10.6 WAR.

Fitzpatrick never replicated that season again, but he remained a quality starter with four more 5+ WAR seasons for Belfast. The Brewers were just above .500 to start the decade, but had fallen into relegation danger by 2013 at 64-98. Hoping to rebuild without getting demoted, Fitzpatrick was traded in the offseason to Leipzig for two relievers. Belfast didn’t expect Fitzpatrick to stay once he was eligible for free agency by 2016.

With Belfast, Fitzpatrick played 1042 games, 1084 hits, 655 runs, 154 doubles, 53 triples, 264 home runs, 676 RBI, 488 walks, 369 steals, .298/.381/.587 slash, 171 wRC+, and 43.6 WAR. He was generally popular with Brewers fans, but wasn’t impactful or tenured enough to really be considered a team legend. Still, it was his longest and most productive tenure by a healthy margin and Fitzpatrick was inducted in the tan and gold.

Although his most prominent pro tenure was in Northern Ireland, Fitzpatrick did regularly return home to the Republic of Ireland for the World Baseball Championship. From 2007-17, Fitzpatrick played 109 games with 91 hits, 69 runs, 17 doubles, 25 home runs, 37 RBI, 77 walks, 48 steals, .259/.399/.538 slash, and 5.4 WAR. In 2011, Ireland had their best-ever finish of third place with Fitzpatrick posting .942 OPS and 0.8 WAR in 19 starts.

Fitzpatrick had two good years for Leipzig and won his second Silver Slugger (RF) in 2015, leading that year with 86 walks. He also had 43 homers and a 1.007 OPS. The Lumberjacks stayed just below .500 as they acclimated to the top tier. Fitzpatrick made himself a hot property entering free agency at age 32 and earned a five-year, $86 million deal with Amsterdam.

His debut season was his best with 7.3 WAR and .979 OPS, helping Amsterdam win the Northern Conference pennant before falling to Zurich in the European Championship. In the playoffs, Fitzpatrick was decent in 17 starts with 13 hits, 10 runs, 2 triples, 3 home runs, 7 RBI, 15 walks, .819 OPS, and 0.4 WAWR. He was stronger in the Baseball Grand Championship as the Anacondas finished 10-9. In 18 starts, Fitzpatrick had 13 hits, 15 runs, 3 doubles, 7 homers, 10 RBI, 11 walks, .921 OPS, and 0.9 WAR.

Fitzpatrick remained a respectable starter from 2017-20 and led in walks for the third time in 2017. Amsterdam had a conference finals loss in 2020 along with a first round exit in 2017 and second round defeat in 2019. For his playoff career, Fitzpatrick had 33 games with 32 hits, 18 runs, 5 doubles, 4 triples, 5 home runs, 12 RBI, 17 walks, .256/.350/.480 slash, 123 wRC+, and 1.0 WAR.

In the 2020 playoffs, Fitzpatrick suffered a torn PCL with an expected 8-9 month recovery time. His contract was up, but Amsterdam gave him a qualifying offer for 2021. Fitzpatrick made it back for 80 games and 32 starts, but was unremarkable with .677 OPS and 0.2 WAR. Fitzpatrick wanted to still play for 2022, but no teams were interested, leading to his retirement that winter at age 39. For Amsterdam, Fitzpatrick played 836 games with 791 hits, 512 runs, 106 doubles, 53 tirples, 150 home runs, 411 RBI, 373 walks, 313 steals, .279/.363/.513 slash, 139 wRC+, and 23.5 WAR.

In total, Fitzpatrick played 2194 games with 2207 hits, 1375 runs, 295 doubles, 122 triples, 493 home runs, 1285 RBI, 1010 walks, 1127 strikeouts, 808 steals, .292/.375/.558 slash, 158 wRC+, and 80.7 WAR. As of 2037, Fitzpatrick ranks 89^th in games, 53^rd in runs, 73^rd in total bases (4225), 57^th in home runs, 78^th in RBI, 18^th in walks, 46^th in steals, and 80^th in WAR among position players.

Fitzpatrick’s resume was definitely borderline compared to other Hall of Famers. His accumulations were good, but not otherworldly. His black ink and awards were both limited and his best years came on forgettable Belfast teams. Fitzpatrick wasn’t viewed as a top five guy, but he was rock steady and helped Amsterdam win a pennant.

He missed the 66% requirement in his debut with 56.1% in 2027. Fitzpatrick stayed about the same at 55.6% in 2028, then got a slight bump to 61.5% in 2029. In 2030, Fitzpatrick had the benefit of no impactful debuts outside of his former teammate Luther Bowness. He got another slight bump just across the line at 69.2%. With that, Fitzpatrick was a fourth ballot selection to cap off the 2030 class for the European Baseball Federation.

05-07-2025, 05:16 AM	#2240
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,627	2030 EBF Hall of Fame 2030 saw two Hall of Fame additions for the European Baseball Federation, led by a slam dunk 98.7% debut for pitcher Luther Bowness. OF/1B Dylan Fitzpatrick joined him at 69.2% on his fourth ballot, scraping by the 66% requirement for induction. SP Lorenzo Rotella just missed at 64.5% on his fourth go. Five other returners were above 50%. CF Joris Kostic got 56.3% on his seventh ballot, CL Stefan Sedlak had 53.8% on his ninth try, LF Marco Solis saw 53.1% in his second go, SP Stan Nyagin received 51.3% with his fifth ballot, and LF Emilson Patino had 50.3% on his fourth go. Apart from Bowness, no debuting players were above 25%. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots. Luther “Tiger” Bowness – Starting Pitcher – Amsterdam Anacondas - 98.7% First Ballot Luther Bowness was a 6’1’’, 175 pound right-handed starting pitcher from Worthing, England; a town of around 113,000 on the southern coast. Bowness had split English-Northern Irish heritage. His stuff was incredible and overpowering, graded as a 10/10 by many scouts at his peak. Bowness overwhelmed batters with pure stuff and he had solid movement. His control was above average at best, but he could usually work out of trouble. Bowness had 99-101 mph peak velocity, but it was his exceptional changeup that got the most whiffs. He also had a sinker, curveball, and cutter with an extreme groundball tendency. Bowness’ stamina was quite good and he avoided injuries in the front end of his career. He had a good pickoff move but weak defense otherwise. Bowness was a hard worker and a fan favorite over a 17-year career with Amsterdam. The Anacondas scouted and signed Bowness as a teenage amateur in February 2004. He spent most of eight years in their academy and debuted in 2008 at age 20, although he struggled over 48.1 innings. Bowness was a full-time starter with decent results in 2009, then settled into an ace role after that. He led the Northern Conference in WHIP for 2011 with a career best 0.92. Bowness led in both strikeouts and complete games in 2012-13. 2013 was his career best in Ks at 316, taking third in Pitcher of the Year voting. Amsterdam had been competitive from 2008-12, but had fallen just outside of the playoffs. 2013 started a five-year playoff streak with a 109-53 record, although they were second in the division to 115-win Dublin. The Anacondas won 105 in 2014 but again were a wild card. They lost in the first round both years and fell in the second round in 2015. Bowness had emerged as the ace by this point and signed a five-year, $56,600,000 extension in September 2014. He took third in 2015’s Pitcher of the Year voting. In 2016, Amsterdam won the Northern Conference as a 96-66 wild card, falling to Zurich in the European Championship. Bowness had a strong postseason with a 4-1 record and 2.64 ERA over six starts, 44.1 innings, 56 strikeouts, and 1.1 WAR. He was merely okay with a 4.09 ERA over 33 innings with 53 Ks in the Baseball Grand Championship. The Anacondas finished at 10-9 in a tie for tenth. Amsterdam remained in the playoff mix, but never made another deep run. They were a conference finalist to Dublin in 2020 and early exits in 2017, 19, 22, and 24. Bowness had strong playoff numbers overall with a 2.38 ERA over 98.1 innings, 7-3 record, 114 strikeouts, 26 walks, 160 ERA+, and 2.1 WAR. Bowness also pitched for England in the World Baseball Championship from 2020-22 and in 2024 with a 2.07 ERA over 69.2 innings, 7-3 record, 111 strikeouts, and 2.8 WAR. England notably had a fourth place in 2022 with Bowness posting a 2.25 ERA over 28 innings with 46 strikeouts. In May 2019, Bowness signed a five-year, $74,600,000 extension to stick with Amsterdam. 2020 would be his first major injury with a torn triceps costing him most of the first half. Bowness bounced back and won his lone Pitcher of the Year award in 2021 with conference bests in strikeouts (308) and WAR (8.2). He won his lone ERA title in 2022 with a career best 2.19, taking second in voting. Bowness was certainly on pace in 2022 to win again, but a torn labrum in late August cost him the final weeks of the season. He opted out of his deal and tested free agency for a month, but the 35-year old ultimately returned to the Dutch capital on a three-year, $69,800,000 deal. Bowness was less dominant but still respectable in 2023, but a torn biceps kept him out roughly half of the year. In 2024, Bowness’s production had dipped and he had a full-season career worst 4.09 ERA, although he was still worth 4.4 WAR. He became only the 11^th in EBF history to reach 4000 career strikeouts. He had plans to keep pitching until a second torn labrum in September 2024. Doctors made the decision for him and Bowness had to retire shortly after his 37^th birthday. Amsterdam quickly honored him by retiring his #2 uniform. Bowness finished with a 223-142 record, 3.13 ERA, 3519.2 innings, 4041 strikeouts, 852 walks, 271/431 quality starts, 165 complete games, 25 shutouts, 122 ERA+, 76 FIP-, and 87.9 WAR. As of 2037, Bowness ranks 26^th in wins, 25^th in innings, 9^th in complete games, 51^st in shutouts, 12^th in strikeouts, and 18^th in WAR among pitchers. He also has a 10.33 K/9, ranking 53^rd among those with 1000+ career innings. He probably falls just short of the “inner circle” level of Hall of Famers for the European Baseball Federation depending on how strict one’s definition is. But it was almost universally agreed that Bowness was well deserving of a spot. He received 98.7% to headline the two-player 2030 class for the European Baseball Federation. Dylan Fitzpatrick – Outfield/First Base – Belfast Brewers – 69.2% Fourth Ballot Dylan Fitzpatrick was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed corner outfielder and first baseman from Galway, Ireland’s fourth most populous city with around 86,000 inhabitants. Fitzpatrick was best known for having steady home run power and a great eye for drawing walks. He was better than most at avoiding strikeouts and was a solid contact hitter against right-handed pitching. Facing RHP, Fitzpatrick had a career 1.001 OPS and 175 wRC+ compared to a middling .716 OPS and 103 wRC+ against lefties. His power was more focused on dingers than the gap with a 162 game average of 36 homers, 22 doubles, and 9 triples. He could leg out extra bags here and there as Fitzpatrick was an excellent baserunner with good speed. Fitzpatrick bounced around defensively in his career with half of his starts in right field, around 30% at first base, and most of the rest in left. He graded as a mediocre glove man at each, but you could do worse. Fitzpatrick’s durability was mostly good over a 15-year career. While he wasn’t disruptive, Fitzpatrick was viewed by teammates and coaches as a bit of a selfish loner. He made the move to Northern Ireland after getting drafted 21^st in 2006 by Belfast. Fitzpatrick started much of 2007 with good results and became a full-time starter after that. In 2009, Fitzpatrick won a Silver Slugger (1B) and was second in MVP voting, leading the Northern Conference in walks (88), OBP (.432), slugging (.692), and OPS (1.124). Those would all be career bests as was his 121 runs, 193 hits, 49 home runs, 127 RBI, .344 average, and 10.6 WAR. Fitzpatrick never replicated that season again, but he remained a quality starter with four more 5+ WAR seasons for Belfast. The Brewers were just above .500 to start the decade, but had fallen into relegation danger by 2013 at 64-98. Hoping to rebuild without getting demoted, Fitzpatrick was traded in the offseason to Leipzig for two relievers. Belfast didn’t expect Fitzpatrick to stay once he was eligible for free agency by 2016. With Belfast, Fitzpatrick played 1042 games, 1084 hits, 655 runs, 154 doubles, 53 triples, 264 home runs, 676 RBI, 488 walks, 369 steals, .298/.381/.587 slash, 171 wRC+, and 43.6 WAR. He was generally popular with Brewers fans, but wasn’t impactful or tenured enough to really be considered a team legend. Still, it was his longest and most productive tenure by a healthy margin and Fitzpatrick was inducted in the tan and gold. Although his most prominent pro tenure was in Northern Ireland, Fitzpatrick did regularly return home to the Republic of Ireland for the World Baseball Championship. From 2007-17, Fitzpatrick played 109 games with 91 hits, 69 runs, 17 doubles, 25 home runs, 37 RBI, 77 walks, 48 steals, .259/.399/.538 slash, and 5.4 WAR. In 2011, Ireland had their best-ever finish of third place with Fitzpatrick posting .942 OPS and 0.8 WAR in 19 starts. Fitzpatrick had two good years for Leipzig and won his second Silver Slugger (RF) in 2015, leading that year with 86 walks. He also had 43 homers and a 1.007 OPS. The Lumberjacks stayed just below .500 as they acclimated to the top tier. Fitzpatrick made himself a hot property entering free agency at age 32 and earned a five-year, $86 million deal with Amsterdam. His debut season was his best with 7.3 WAR and .979 OPS, helping Amsterdam win the Northern Conference pennant before falling to Zurich in the European Championship. In the playoffs, Fitzpatrick was decent in 17 starts with 13 hits, 10 runs, 2 triples, 3 home runs, 7 RBI, 15 walks, .819 OPS, and 0.4 WAWR. He was stronger in the Baseball Grand Championship as the Anacondas finished 10-9. In 18 starts, Fitzpatrick had 13 hits, 15 runs, 3 doubles, 7 homers, 10 RBI, 11 walks, .921 OPS, and 0.9 WAR. Fitzpatrick remained a respectable starter from 2017-20 and led in walks for the third time in 2017. Amsterdam had a conference finals loss in 2020 along with a first round exit in 2017 and second round defeat in 2019. For his playoff career, Fitzpatrick had 33 games with 32 hits, 18 runs, 5 doubles, 4 triples, 5 home runs, 12 RBI, 17 walks, .256/.350/.480 slash, 123 wRC+, and 1.0 WAR. In the 2020 playoffs, Fitzpatrick suffered a torn PCL with an expected 8-9 month recovery time. His contract was up, but Amsterdam gave him a qualifying offer for 2021. Fitzpatrick made it back for 80 games and 32 starts, but was unremarkable with .677 OPS and 0.2 WAR. Fitzpatrick wanted to still play for 2022, but no teams were interested, leading to his retirement that winter at age 39. For Amsterdam, Fitzpatrick played 836 games with 791 hits, 512 runs, 106 doubles, 53 tirples, 150 home runs, 411 RBI, 373 walks, 313 steals, .279/.363/.513 slash, 139 wRC+, and 23.5 WAR. In total, Fitzpatrick played 2194 games with 2207 hits, 1375 runs, 295 doubles, 122 triples, 493 home runs, 1285 RBI, 1010 walks, 1127 strikeouts, 808 steals, .292/.375/.558 slash, 158 wRC+, and 80.7 WAR. As of 2037, Fitzpatrick ranks 89^th in games, 53^rd in runs, 73^rd in total bases (4225), 57^th in home runs, 78^th in RBI, 18^th in walks, 46^th in steals, and 80^th in WAR among position players. Fitzpatrick’s resume was definitely borderline compared to other Hall of Famers. His accumulations were good, but not otherworldly. His black ink and awards were both limited and his best years came on forgettable Belfast teams. Fitzpatrick wasn’t viewed as a top five guy, but he was rock steady and helped Amsterdam win a pennant. He missed the 66% requirement in his debut with 56.1% in 2027. Fitzpatrick stayed about the same at 55.6% in 2028, then got a slight bump to 61.5% in 2029. In 2030, Fitzpatrick had the benefit of no impactful debuts outside of his former teammate Luther Bowness. He got another slight bump just across the line at 69.2%. With that, Fitzpatrick was a fourth ballot selection to cap off the 2030 class for the European Baseball Federation. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)