Baseball: The World's Game (OOTP 22 Fictional World)

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2009 was a year of expansion for multiple leagues, among them West African Baseball. WAB hadn’t changed from its 20-team structure since the inaugural 1975 season. With the game and region growing significantly since, WAB officials decided 2009 was a prime time to expand. Both leagues would add two teams, making WAB a 24-team endeavor. WAB maintained a division-free structure for the two 12-team leagues.



Joining the Western League were the Banjul Bucks and the Bouake Blood Hawks. Bouake became the second Ivory Coast team, joining Abidjan, while Banjul was the first pro team from Gambia. In the Eastern League, the Libreville Lakers and Yaounde Yellow Birds were introduced. Libreville brought Gabon its first big-league squad, while Yaounde joined Douala as the second from Cameroon.



One other notable change was a new playoff structure, which grew the qualifiers from three to four from each league. WAB did also become the first league to introduce a stepladder format for the playoffs. It would begin with the #3 and #4 finishers meeting in a best-of-three hosted by the #3 team. The winner advanced to the second round where the #2 seed hosted a best-of-three. That winner then faced the top seed in a 2-2-1 best-of-five league championship series. The WAB Championship remained a best-of-seven.



Defending WAB champ and four-time defending Western League winner Monrovia took the top spot in the WL standings at 103-59. It was the fourth time in five years that the Diplomats finished first place. Abidjan, who took first the prior year, was second in 2009 at 101-61. The Athletes also grew their playoff streak to five seasons.

The third place spot went to Freetown at 94-68, while the fourth and final playoff spot was Bamako at 91-71. Accra (86-76) was the only other team in striking distance. The Foresters ended a seven-year stretch of losing seasons, while the Bullfrogs ended a four-year skid. Nouakchott, who had back-to-back berths, dropped to eighth at 79-83.

Western League MVP was Bamako’s Min-Seong Ryu. The 39-year old third baseman had joined WAB in 2009 after spending the prior four seasons in MLB and the 13 before that in his native South Korea. He become one of the oldest ever MVPs, leading the WL in OBP (.414) and wRC+ (180). Ryu added 7.7 WAR, 201 hits, and a .375 batting average. It was his lone season with the Bullfrogs, although he stayed another five years in WAB with Ibadan.

Abidjan’s Arthur Boateng repeated as Pitcher of the Year and posted WAB’s seventh-ever Triple Crown pitching season. The 25-year old Ghanaian had a 21-10 record, 2.41 ERA, and 305 strikeouts. Boateng also led in WAR (5.9), innings (264.2), and quality starts (25) while posting a 156 ERA+.

#4 seed Bamako upset #3 seed Freetown 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs. The Bullfrogs gave #2 seed Abidjan a challenge, but the Athletes survived round two 2-1 to set up a Western League Championship Series rematch with Monrovia. The Diplomats were shooting for a fifth consecutive pennant, but they were denied 3-2 by Abidjan. The Athletes earned a WL-record 12^th pennant, although it was their first since 2001.



Ouagadougou dominated the Eastern League with a franchise-record 111-51 mark. The Osprey earned their fourth playoff berth in five years, although it was only the second time (1983) that they had ever finished first. Ouagadougou won a ton of close games, setting a WAB record with 65 team saves.

2007 WAB champ Niamey bounced back from their 2008 playoff miss, taking second at 92-70. The Atomics had their third playoff berth in four years. It was a very tight battle for the remaining two spots with third place separated by only five games from eighth place. Benin City took third at 85-77, ending a 26-year playoff drought for the Blue Devils.

The fourth spot had a tie at 83-79 between Ibadan and Kano. The Iguanas won the tiebreaker game to earn their second berth in three years. The Condors missed for only the second time since 1995. Close behind was Cotonou (82-80), Lome (80-82), and expansion Yaounde (80-82). Meanwhile, reigning EL champ Lagos completely imploded, going from 97-65 to a last place 65-97.

Benin City’s Abdel Rahmane Padacke won Eastern League MVP. The 28-year old Chadian led in home runs (61), RBI (178), total bases (437), and slugging (.690). The RBI mark remains the second-most in WAB history behind Mo Reda’s 186 from 2003. Padacke also had 205 hits, 113 runs, a .324 average, and 7.5 WAR. In the late spring, the Blue Devils gave him a four-year, $16,360,000 extension.

Ouagadougou’s Zeb Onyedika won Pitcher of the Year. The 24-yaer old Nigerian led in WAR (6.5), FIP- (61), and K/BB (9.2). Onyedika had a 3.16 ERA over 199.1 innings, 15-6 record, 267 strikeouts, and 128 ERA+.

#4 seed Ibadan edged Benin City 2-1 in the first round, then upset #2 seed Niamey 2-1 in round two. The Iguanas earned a second Eastern League Championship Series in three years and were a major underdog as they tried to end a six-game ELCS losing streak. For Ouagadougou, their only other ELCS was a defeat in 1983. Ibadan’s Cinderella run continued, upsetting the Osprey 3-1. The Iguanas became four-time EL winners, having won thrice in the 1990s.



Ibadan’s magic would ultimately run out in the 35^th West African Championship, meeting their old foe Abidjan. They had split in their 1993 and 1994 finals encounters. The Athletes took the 2009 edition 4-2, becoming four-time WAB champs (1982, 1994, 2000, 2009). LF Kely Ballard was finals MVP and WLCS MVP, setting a still-standing WAB playoff record with 26 hits. In 14 playoff starts, the 34-year old Nigerian also had 12 runs, 6 doubles, 8 RBI, and 6 stolen bases.



Other notes: Freetown’s Didi Kpozo threw WAB’s 16^th perfect game and the first since the 2000 season. Kpozo struck out 10 on May 28 against Freetown. Ibadan closer Brendan Roper set a playoff record with seven saves, doing it despite posting a terrible 5.74 ERA in 15.2 playoff innings. Lawrence Nassif had a 33-game hitting streak, two short of WAB’s record at that point.

Darwin Morris became the first to reach 700 career home runs. His streak of Silver Sluggers would end in 2009 though at 15. C Okoro Otene won his seventh Gold Glove and 2B Sambegou Toure won his seventh.

WAB’s offensive environment remained about the same in the 2000s as it did in the 1990s. The league batting average was around .258 with an ERA around 3.97, which led to above average offense relative to the historic scale. Rule changes in the 2010s would lead to a massive spike, making WAB the highest-scoring league ever to that point.

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Chinese League Baseball also joined the expansion craze of 2009, making their first changes since the inaugural 1970. CLB added three teams to each league, making it two 15-team leagues and 30 total teams. CLB maintained a division-free format and adjusted the interleague schedule to account for such a unique structure.



Joining the Northern League were the Shiijazhuang Serpents, Changchun Camels, and Urumqi Unicorns. Added to the Southern League were the Wenzhou Wild, Nanning Nuts, and Shantou Scorpions. To avoid too many players being poached with six new teams, the expansion draft was relatively restrictive, thus leading to a tough climb for the new squads.



CLB also changed the playoff format so that each league had four playoff squads instead of the previous three. But they also made a setup unique to any pro league by instituting a Double Round Robin opening round. CLB also maintained its unique interleague playoff setup.

In one Round Robin group, it would be the NL’s #1 and #3 seeds against the SL’s #2 and #4. The other group was the inverse and each team got one home and one road game against the other three squads. The top two placers advanced to a best-of-seven semifinal. The winners then played in the best-of-seven China Series.



Defending CLB champ Shanghai finished first in the Northern League at 102-60, taking Zhengzhou by only one game at 101-61. Both earned repeat playoff berths. The Zips had their first-ever 100+ win season, while it was the second for the Seawolves.

Third was Beijing at 98-64 for their second appearance in three years. Tianjin grabbed the fourth and final spot at 92-70 to end a three-year drought. Qingdao, who was the China Series runner-up the last year, was the first team out of the playoffs at 88-74. They and Jinan were four back on the final wild card, while Shenyang was five behind at 87-75.

Zhengzhou’s Liang Xu won Northern League MVP and posted only the second-ever Triple Crown hitting season in CLB history, joining Shichao Zhang’s 1984 effort. The 30-year old left fielder had 42 home runs, 101 RBI, and a .343 average. Xu also led in runs (93), OBP (.392), slugging (.633), OPS (1.025), wRC+ (242), and WAR (11.5). Xu played only one more season with the Zips, then left for Brazil and a six-year, $54,000,000 with the Salvador Storm.

Pitcher of the Year also came from Zhengzhou with Yuandong Wang in only his second season. The 22-year old lefty led in wins at 21-6 and posted a 1.52 ERA over 260 innings, 285 strikeouts, 6.7 WAR, and a 163 ERA+. Wang had been the fifth overall draft pick by the Zips in 2007.



Macau had CLB’s best overall record again, although their 103-59 was less eye-popping than the 118-44 from 2008. Dongguan was 98-64 in second place, continuing their roller coaster ride. The Donkeys were a 2007 playoff team, but had collapsed with an atrocious 56-win 2008.

Chengdu repeated as a wild card, finishing third at 94-68. Xiamen and Changsha tied for fourth at 92-70, besting Foshan by one game. The Mutts won the tiebreaker game for their second berth in four years. Hong Kong’s bid for a third straight playoff appearance was thwarted with a tenth place 78-84.

Xiamen LF Shou Chen won Southern League MVP. The 29-year old righty led in total bases with 320, posting 39 home runs, 87 RBI, a .270 average, 205 wRC+, and 10.0 WAR. Chen played one more season for the Mutts before leaving CLB for MLB. Nashville gave him a mammoth five-year, $79,000,000 to defect to the United States.


Changsha’s Lei Li made history as the first five-time Pitcher of the Year winner in CLB. As of 2037, he’s one of only two. Li led in ERA (1.20), FIP- (27), and WAR (10.7). The 29-year old righty added a 16-4 record and 16 saves over 217.1 innings with 318 strikeouts and a 205 ERA+. Li helped the Cannons to 1820 strikeouts as a team, which still stands in 2037 as the Southern League record. It is second-best for all of CLB behind Xi’an’s 1835 Ks in 1994.

In Round Robin Group A, the Southern League’s #2 Dongguan and #4 Xiamen both advanced at 4-2, while the Northern League’s #1 Shanghai and #3 Beijing were both 2-4. Group B had the NL #2 Zhengzhou first at 5-1, advancing along with SL #3 Chengdu at 3-3. The SL’s #1 seed Macau and NL’s #4 Tianjin both were 2-4.

For the Clowns, this was their first semifinal since 1998, but they lost 4-1 to Xiamen. The Mutts went from needing a play-in game to their third China Series berth, joining the 1981 and 2006 campaigns. Zhengzhou was making their third semifinal berth in four years, while Dongguan hadn’t done it since 1986. After falling in 2006 and 2008, the Zips finally advanced with a 4-2 win over the Donkeys. Zhengzhou earned its second finals appearance, joining the 1995 campaign.



Xiamen’s improbable run as the #4 seed culminated with a 4-3 victory over Zhengzhou in the 40^th China Series. The Mutts won their second title, having also taken it in 2006. 2B Guochen Wang won finals MVP in his ninth and final season with Xiamen. In 18 playoff starts, he had 24 hits, 9 runs, 6 doubles, and 5 RBI.



Other notes: Guangzhou’s Xiaoguang Yang threw CLB’s 40^th Perfect Game on May 1, striking out 13 against Foshan. Hong Kong’s Xue Lian struck out 21 in a 12 inning marathon session against Wenzhou. This was one short of the CLB single-game record set by Martin Cui in 1996.

Cheng Song became the seventh pitcher to 3500 career strikeouts, a mark no one has reached since. He finished with 3656 Ks, ranking sixth as of 2037. 3B Gongsun Yang won his seventh Silver Slugger. Expansion Changchun set an all-time worst record in the Northern League at 50-112.

CLB remained the lowest scoring league in pro baseball in the 2020s, posting a league average 2.48 ERA and .211 batting average. Both grade as extremely low on the historic scale. The Southern League in 1996 had a 2.28 ERA, which was the lowest mark in any subleague ever. CLB remained an extremely low offense environment in the 2010s, but would bump to merely “very low” in the 2020s.

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Davao remained the dominant Taiwan-Philippine Association squad in the regular season, taking the top record for the fifth consecutive year. The Devil Rays won the Philippine League at 109-53, their best record in franchise history. In the Taiwan League, Taipei earned its first title since 1998. The Tigercats finished 99-63, edging out reigning Austronesian Champion Taoyuan (96-66) and Taichung (94-70).

Although Zamboanga struggled to 70 wins, star outfielder Paolo Baptista won Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP. It was his fifth with the most recent in 2004, making him the third APB player to win five or more MVPs. The 32-year old Filipino led in home runs (42), slugging (.602), OPS (.960), wRC+ (198), and WAR (9.5). Baptista also had a .292 average and 92 RBI, winning his ninth Silver Slugger. He would have one more great season, but lose a lot of his spark due to multiple Achilles ruptures in his later seasons.

Manila’s Dedi Dewi won his second Pitcher of the Year award, coming more than a decade since his 1998 win. The 34-year old Indonesian righty led in WAR (10.7) and FIP- (40). Dewi added a 16-10 record over 238.1 innings, 1.66 ERA, 352 strikeouts, and 167 ERA+.



Defending Sundaland Association champion Singapore dominated the Malacca League at 107-55, taking the title by 27 games. Surabaya was similarly dominant in the Java Sea League at 102-60, although Palembang (91-71) and Depok (90-72) at least gave them some competition. The Sunbirds earned a fourth straight playoff berth. The Sharks set an SA record with 431 stolen bases which held until 2029.

Singapore CF Edmund Quan won Sundaland Association MVP. The 25-year old Filipino switch hitter led in hits (207), doubles (46), stolen bases (106), batting average (.344), and WAR (12.5). Quan also had a 220 wRC+ and .927 OPS. The Sharks locked him up the prior winter with an eight-year, $49,620,000 extension.

Pitcher of the Year also came from Singapore with Dwi Kurnia. The 26-year old fourth-year righty led in wins at 26-4, falling one win shy of the single-season record. Kurnia added a 1.72 ERA over 267.1 innings, 309 strikeouts, 147 ERA+, and 6.7 WAR.

Davao won the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship 4-2 over Taipei, giving the Devil Rays their third pennant in five years and their sixth overall. Singapore won again in a Sundaland Association rematch with Surabaya. The 4-2 Sharks victory gave them their third pennant, having also won in 1996.



Singapore wouldn’t earn their first-ever Austronesia Championship. Davao downed them in a seven-game classic for their third title in five years, having also won in 2005 and 2006. At 109-53, the Devil Rays set an APB record for the best record by a team that won it all, putting them into the all-time team conversations with their dynasty run.

Leading the playoff effort was CF Alvin Sumantri, who won finals MVP. The 26-year old in 13 playoff starts had 14 hits, 6 runs, 2 doubles, 3 home runs, 8 RBI, and 3 stolen bases.



Other notes: 2009 saw APB’s 31^st and 32^nd perfect games. On April 5, I Komang Ainaga of Semarang struck out 12 against Bandung. Then on September 9, his Sliders teammate Fatchul Makrufan did it with 13 Ks over Kuala Lumpur. It is believed this is the first time in world history that two different players on the same team had a perfect game in the same campaign.

SS Chi-Chao Shih won his eighth Silver Slugger. Hsinchu scored only 362 runs, setting a TPA all-time worst that still holds as of 2037. Kuala Lumpur’s offense struck out 1811 times, which still stands as the most whiffs of any APB team in a season.

In the 2000s, the Sundaland Association had extremely low offensive numbers with a .217 batting average and 2.57 ERA. With the DH, the Taiwan-Philippine Association were merely at very low levels with a 2.80 ERA and .225 batting average. These were the lowest in the world thanks to Chinese League Baseball, but were close to it. The numbers were remarkably similar to prior decades for APB and it would remain consistent into the 2010s and 2020s.

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Melbourne’s Australasia League dynasty rolled on with a record seventh straight title in 2009. The Mets were 107-55, beating their closest foe Auckland by 11 games. They joined rare world company with seven subleague pennants in a row, joining MLB’s Philadelphia (1941-47), CABA’s Mexico City (1967-73), WAB’s Kano (1997-2005), and SAB’s Ahmedabad (1994-02).

Although only 73-89 in their fourth season, Canberra had reason for optimism with Australasia League MVP Merlin Megson. The 23-year old English right fielder led in runs (109), home runs (54), RBI (122), total bases (.398), slugging (.677), and wRC+ (189). Megson added a .315 batting average and 7.0 WAR.

Melbourne’s Danny Morris won Pitcher of the Year in only his second season with the Mets. The 32-year old American from Arizona had washed out after a mediocre MLB career, joining Melbourne as an unremarkable reliever in 2008. He came out of nowhere in 2009 to win a Gold Glove and lead in wins (22-5), ERA (2.27), and WHIP (0.89). Morris had 286 strikeouts in 262 innings for a 159 ERA+ and 7.1 WAR.



The Pacific League was very competitive with Guam earning its first title since 2001. The Golden Eagles finished 103-59, outlasting strong efforts from Samoa (99-63), Tahiti (98-64), and Honolulu (92-70). For the defending Oceania Champion Tropics, this was only the second time in seven years that they didn’t finish atop the PL. Guam earned its 14^th pennant, more than any other OBA franchise.

Tahiti’s Arjita Gabeja won his fifth Pacific League MVP, becoming the fourth OBA player to win five or more MVPs. The 30-year old Fijian moved to designated hitter in 2009 and led in runs (108), home runs (51), total bases (364), slugging (.623), and OPS (.976). Gabeja added 6.3 WAR, 117 RBI, and a .286 average. He also earned an eighth Silver Slugger.

Samoa’s Austin Jong won a third straight Pitcher of the Year with a fourth consecutive 400+ K effort. The 24-year old Papuan led with 463 strikeouts, 53 FIP-, and 12.7 WAR. Jong added a 2.31 ERA over 319.1. innings, 21-12 record, and 162 ERA+. He would tear his rotator cuff the next season wouldn’t be a dominant force after that, although he still pitched another seven seasons.



The 50^th Oceania Championship was the third finals meeting between Melbourne and Guam, with the Mets having won in their 1967 and 1969 encounters. Melbourne did it again in 2009, taking a seven-game classic for their fifth OBA ring in six years. The Mets became seven-time OBA champs (1967, 69, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09). 1B Isaac Endo was finals MVP in his first season as a full-time starter. The 24-year old Guamanian went 11-27 with 6 runs, 1 double, 2 homers, and 2 RBI.



Melbourne became the first-ever OBA team to win five titles in six years, as even Honolulu’s great dynasty had just enough gaps to spoil that. The only other franchises in any world league to do it was CABA’s Mexico City (1967-72), CLB’s Dalian (1989-94), WAB’s Kano (1997-02), SAB’s Ahmedabad (1986-91, 94-99), and AAB’s Kinshasa (1997-02).

Other notes: OBA’s 12^th perfect game came on May 22 by Fiji’s Akira Brady with eight strikeouts against Tahiti. This was Brady’s second season, but it introduced him to superstardom. By the end of his OBA run in 2024, most would peg him as OBA’s GOAT pitcher. Timothy Manglona became the fifth to reach 5000 strikeouts.

Elliot McFall and Junia Lava both crossed 500 home runs, making it a nine-man club. Guadalcanal’s Aston Abavu had 36 triples, falling two short of Seymour Lennox’s record of 38. CF Ashton Hughes won his seventh Gold Glove. Tyler Straw won his seventh Silver Slugger, although it was his first at second base. The previous wins were all at shortstop. Timor had a 4.60 team ERA, a new PL all-time worst that held until 2034.

The Australasia League for the 2000s had a .259 batting average and 3.88 ERA, which graded out as above average on the historical scale. The Pacific League had a .251 average and 3.65, which were more average. The AL actually had a 4.20 ERA in 2004, which is an all-time high as of 2037.

Both were well higher than the previous years for OBA, which had been a below average to low scoring league prior. They were roughly in line with the most prominent leagues of the 2000s. OBA maintained this current pace for the next two decades.

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Minsk and Moscow again earned playoff spots out of the European League, although they switched spots from the 2008 season. The Miners took first at 106-56, while the Mules were second at 92-70. Moscow extended their playoff streak to five seasons, although it didn’t come easy. The Mules finished three games ahead of St. Petersburg and five better than Kazan.

Volgograd was fifth at 84-78 and had the European League MVP Elemer Papp. The 29-year old Hungarian designated hitter led in runs (110), home runs (51), RBI (119), and total bases (352). Papp added a .289 average, 171 wRC+, and 6.3 WAR. It was a big bounce-back for Papp, who missed half of 2008 to a torn hamstring.

Pitcher of the Year was Minsk’s Serghei Perenyi. The 30-year old Romanian joined the Miners in an offseason trade after seven solid seasons for Samara. Nicknamed “the Tornado,” Perenyi led in ERA (1.98), WHIP (0.89), and K/BB (12.3). He added a 16-2 record in 214 innings, 247 strikeouts, 168 ERA+, and 6.9 WAR. The Miners gave him a four-year, $22,940,000 extension in the spring.



The Asian League was intense in 2009 with four teams within two games of first place. Krasnoyarsk narrowly took first at 93-69, ending a three-year playoff drought. Two-time defending EPB champ Yekaterinburg managed to take the wild card at 92-70, extending their playoff streak to seven years. The Yaks earned their tenth playoff berth in eleven years.

Both Novosibirsk and Omsk finished at 91-71, only one behind Yekaterinburg for the wild card and two behind the Cossacks for the title. Last year’s ALCS runner-up Irkutsk was in the mix for a while, but finished fifth at 84-78.

The top awards went to Yekaterinburg players with LF Aram Sargsyan getting MVP. The 30-year old Armenian switch hitter joined the Yaks in a 2008 trade with Irkutsk, quickly signing a seven-year, $47,500,000 extension. In 2009, he led in walks (104), OBP (.426), OPS (.985), and wRC+ (175). Sargsyan also had 7.4 WAR, a .312 average, 104 runs, 26 home runs, and won his fifth Gold Glove.

Dorian Bejan won Pitcher of the Year, having also recently joined Yekaterinburg as a free agent. The 30-year old Moldovan had played with ABF’s Dushanbe the prior seven seasons. In his Yaks debut, he led in complete games (21) and shutouts (5). Bejan added 7.0 WAR, a 148 ERA+, 253.2 innings, 214 strikeouts, a 2.27 ERA, and 14-10 record.

Moscow got revenge on Minsk in the European League Championship Series for the 2008 defeat, winning 4-1. This gave the Mules their fourth pennant in five years, a feat only achieved by the Miners, Irkutsk, and Yekaterinburg previously. This was also Moscow’s seventh EL pennant.

In the Asian League Championship Series, the Yaks were looking to win their seventh pennant of the 2000s. The only team to beat them all decade was Krasnoyarsk, who knocked them off in 2001 and 2005. The Cossacks yet again were the kryptonite, upsetting Yekaterinburg 4-2 for their fifth AL pennant.



The 55^th Eurasian Professional Baseball Championship was the third finas meeting between Moscow and Krasnoyarsk. The Mules won in 1974 with the Cossacks getting revenge in 2005. In 2009, Moscow prevailed 4-2 for their second title in four years. It was the Mules’ 4^th ring (1974, 1975, 2006, 2009). RF Viorel Rata was finals MVP as the 29-year old Romanian had 17 hits, 4 runs, and 6 RBI in 11 playoff starts.



Other notes: Markiyan Konoplya became the 12^th to reach 4500 career strikeouts. Shanin Lebedev became the third reliever to reach 400 career saves. It would be Lebedev’s last year, finishing third on the all-time list at 426. LF Wendelin Piotkowski won his seventh Gold Glove.

3B Boxuan Long won his 11^th Silver Slugger, a position record. Long is the fourth player at any position in EPB to win the award 11 times. 2B Ilya Agzamov and OF Jov Sakharov both became eight-time Silver Slugger winners.

In the 2000s, EPB had a league batting average around .234 and ERA around 2.99 with more offense coming from the Asian League. This graded out as low offense on the historical scale, but in line with what EPB usually was. It was among the lower scoring leagues, but still higher than APB or CLB. EPB would see a bump up in the 2010s, but still stayed below average relative to other leagues.

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Dublin had the top record among the European Baseball Federation Elite at 111-51, taking the Northern Conference’s top seed. The Dinos won their fourth British Isles Division title in five years. Luxembourg took the other bye atop the Northwest Division at 100-62. The Lancers ended a two-year playoff drought.

In the Baltic Sea Division, Oslo (92-70) edged Vilnius (91-71) for the title. The Octopi ended a three-year playoff drought, but it was their first division title since 1975. The Victory earned the first wild card, earning their first-ever playoff berth in the franchise’s 55 year history. Defending European Champion Kyiv won the North Central Division at 87-75, beating Warsaw by six games. The three-time defending conference champs grew their playoff streak to six.

The second wild card was an intense battle with Brussels, Cologne, and Manchester all tying at 89-73. Amsterdam was one back at 88-74, Paris was 87-75, and both Hamburg and Stockholm finished 86-76. The first tiebreaker game saw the Copperheads oust the Beavers, followed by a Crushers win over Cologne. Manchester earned their second playoff berth in three years.

Helsinki had the worst record at 56-106 to suffer relegation. Prague was also relegated due to losing triple-digits at 61-101. Berlin barely escaped their own demotion at 63-99.

Northern Conference MVP went to Oslo SS Harvey Coyle. The 22-year old Englishman already in his fourth season led in home runs (61), RBI (129), total bases (413), and WAR (13.7). Coyle also had 194 hits, 119 runs, a 1.073 OPS, and 195 wRC+. He also won his second Gold Glove with an outstanding 32.9 zone rating and 1.145 EFF.

Pitcher of the Year was Luxembourg’s Aleksandr Velikevich. The 28-year old Belarusian righty led in ERA (2.09), and quality starts (24). Velikevich had a 16-7 record over 236.2 innings, 228 strikeouts, 7.1 WAR, and a 178 ERA+. He also had a no-hitter on August 13 with nine strikeouts and one walk versus Oslo. This was his peak season, as his career would be derailed in spring training 2011 with a torn rotator cuff.

Kyiv swept Vilnius 2-0 and Manchester edged Oslo 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs. The defending champ Kings upset top seed Dublin 3-1 in round two, while Luxembourg outlasted the Crushers 3-2. Kyiv earned a fifth straight Northern Conference Championship berth with a shot at four straight pennants. It was the Lancers’ first final since 1982. In a seven-game classic, Luxembourg dethroned the Kings for their third pennant (1971, 1981).



Five games separated the top division winner from the fourth seed in the Southern Conference. Athens earned the #1 seed with a 99-63 mark atop the East Central Division. The Anchors repeated as a playoff team, winning their first division title since 2002. The other bye went to Marseille at 97-65 atop the Southwest Division. The Musketeers hadn’t earned a playoff berth in 19 seasons since their 1980s dominance.

Munich won the South Central Division and Bucharest claimed the Southeast Division, both at 94-68. The Mavericks extended the longest active EBF playoff streak to nine seasons, while the reigning conference champ Broncos earned repeat berths.

The wild card race was a tight one with the first spot to Seville at 91-71. It was an impressive rebound for the Stingrays, who had gotten relegated after the 2005 season, but earned promotion back the next year. For the second spot, there was a three-way tie between Vienna, Barcelona, and Bratislava. Each were only one back of Seville at 90-72.

The Vultures won tiebreaker games over both the Bengals and the Blue Falcons. Vienna is back in the playoffs after seeing their streak snapped in 2008 at five. Last year’s conference finalist Madrid fell five games short at 85-77.

Three teams lost 100+ games and thus suffered relegation. Valencia (61-101) was the first Second League champ, but only lasted four years with the EBF Elite. Rome (62-100) had gotten demoted in 2007 and won the 2008 E2L title, but fell right back down. Tbilisi (62-100) had won four division titles earlier in the decade with two conference finals berths, but a 2009 collapse derailed the Trains.

Vienna’s Ben Springer won his fourth Southern Conference MVP, adding to his 2002, 2003, and 2005 trophies. The 31-year old Austrian third baseman led in hits (222), and WAR (9.9). Springer had 109 runs, 41 homers, 121 RBI, and a .355/.393/.637 slash.

Munich’s Lucio de Jesus won Pitcher of the Year in his fourth season with the Mavericks. The 34-year old Mexican lefty had come to Germany after five years in CABA and four seasons in MLB. In 2009, de Jesus won the ERA title at 1.93 while posting a 17-6 record in 214.2 innings, 216 strikeouts, a 204 ERA+, and 6.3 WAR.

Vienna swept Munich and Seville edged Bucharest 2-1 in the first round. Top seed Athens swept the Stingrays, while Marseille ousted the Vultures 3-1. The Anchors hadn’t been in the Southern Conference Championship since 1998, while the Musketeers last made it in 1986. Marseille took the series 4-2 to earn their fifth pennant (1966, 81, 85, 86, 2009).



The 60^th European Championship was actually a rematch, as Marseille’s first-ever title came over Luxembourg in 1981. The Musketeers won a seven-game classic over the Lancers to earn their fourth EBF title, joining their 1981, 85, and 86 titles. Marseille is the first French champ since Paris’s 1997 title.

Finals MVP was 2B Ethan Ngoy, a Congolese player who came to Marseille in 2008 after six seasons for AAB’s Brazzaville. In 17 playoff starts, Ngoy had 27 hits, 13 runs, 6 extra base hits, 7 RBI, and 7 stolen bases.



Other notes: Marseille’s pitching staff allowed 231 walks for a 1.42 BB/9, which were both conference records that held until 2032. Richmond Diagne and Romano Piredda both joined the 500 home run club, giving it 24 members. SS Erik Weber won his seventh Gold Glove. Two-way player Atanas Kalkanov won his tenth Silver Slugger and his ninth as a pitcher.

The EBF Elite in the 2000s had a league ERA around 3.84 and batting average around .263. Both graded as just above average offensively on the historical scale and among other leagues in the decade. EBF would maintain similar stats into the 2010s and 2020s.

Promotion/Relegation: There was a massive shift as five teams lost 100+ games to suffer relegation (Valencia, Rome, Tbilisi, Helsinki, Prague). Valencia, Prague, and Rome were moved to the E2L’s Western Conference while Tbilisi and Helsinki ended up in the Eastern Conference.

With that, earning promotion from the Second League were conference champs Leipzig and Edinburgh and conference finalists Lyon and Skopje. The fifth spot went to London, who also went 3-3 in the Round Robin and 96-66 along with Lviv. A better run differential for the season gave the Monarchs the tiebreaker over the Lunkers.

London logically returned to the British Isles Division. Rotterdam, who had been moved to that division for balance’s sake, returned to their normal home in the Northwest Division. However, Edinburgh’s promotion meant there were seven British Isles teams and only six spots. The Enforcers due to lack of tenure were put into the Northwest.

That meant two Northwest teams needed to be moved elsewhere for balance. Cologne was shifted to the North Central to plug Prague’s spot and Berlin was sent to the Baltic Sea Division in Helsinki’s former spot. In the Southwest Division, Lyon swapped into Valencia’s former spot. Leipzig took Rome’s South Central Division spot with no other shifts required in the Southern Conference.

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Beisbol Sudamerica joined the expansion craze of 2009 and opted for a massive expansion as the game’s popularity had continued to climb on the continent. BSA opted to add a team to each of the six divisions, making a 36-team, 6x6 setup. They hoped the growth would allow BSA to compete more strongly with the likes of MLB and EBF.



The Bolivar League added the Maturin Makos into the Venezuela Division. The Barranquilla Blues joined the Colombia-Ecuador Division and the Trujillo Thoroughbreds entered the Peru-Bolivia Division. Two Brazilian teams joined the Southern Cone League with the Manaus Magpies in the North Division and Porto Alegre Armadillos into the Southeast Division. The Argentinian Salta Silver Hawks entered the South Central Division.



Previously, BSA had four playoff teams per league. They added one to each league, but interestingly didn’t delineate a separate “wild card round.” The three division champs and two wild cards advanced, but all five would be seeded based on record with no consideration on if they won the division. In theory, two division champs could meet in the first round if both wild cards had better records.

The first round would be a best-of-three hosted by the #4 seed over the #5 with the winner facing the top seed. The Division Series remained best-of-five, followed by a best-of-seven League Championship Series and best-of-seven Copa Sudamerica.

Players were excited to have more teams and thus more jobs, but they did lose labor ground. BSA also changed the service time required for free agency starting in 2009, becoming the most restrictive in the world at ten years. Officials hoped it would keep the top South American teams on the continent and build more roster continuity.



Only five wins separated the #1 seed from the #5 seed in the Bolivar League. The top seed went to Guayaquil at 101-61 atop the Colombia-Ecuador Division, repeating as the #1 seed. The Golds pitching staff allowed only 183 walks with a 1.14 BB/9, which both stand as BL all-time bests as of 2037.

In the Peru-Bolivia Division, defending Copa Sudamerica champ Santa Cruz was first at 98-64. The Crawfish earned a fourth consecutive playoff berth. Callao was two back at 96-66, earning a wild card. Arequipa was 91-71 and Lima was 88-74 with both missing the playoffs.

Valencia and Barquisimeto tied for the Venezuela Division at 97-65. The Velocity won the tiebreaker game for the division title, while the Black Cats got the first wild card. It was the second berth in three years for Valencia, while Barquisimeto earned repeat berths. All four playoff teams from 2008 in the Bolivar League made it back in 2009.

Guayaquil 1B Rodrigo Aguilar won Bolivar League MVP. The 24-year old Ecuadoran lefty led in runs (129), home runs (71), RBI (170), total bases (463), slugging (.726), OPS (1.111), wRC+ (190), and WAR (9.8). He set a new single-season RBI record and as of 2037 is the only BSA slugger with 170+ RBI in a season. The previous record was 151 by both A.J. Nunez and Valor Melo.

Aguilar was the second player in BSA history to hit 70+ homers in a season, joining Valor Melo (who did it thrice with 76, 76, and 74 in the 1970s). Aguilar’s .356 batting average was six points short of a Triple Crown.

Barquisimeto’s Sebastian Marquez won Pitcher of the Year in his second full season. The 23-year old Venezuelan righty led in ERA (2.60), FIP- (65), and WAR (7.8). Marquez added a 19-7 record in 239 innings with 2339 strikeouts and a 154 ERA+.

The Black Cats beat Callao 2-0 in the new first round of the playoffs, then fell 3-1 in the Divisional Series to top-ranked Guayaquil. The Golds earned their first Bolivar League Championship Series since 2002. Reigning champ Santa Cruz downed Valencia 3-1 on the other side. The Crawfish earned repeat pennants as they handled Guayaquil 4-1.



The Southern Cone League’s North Division was loaded with the top two squads and the second wild card team. Fortaleza repeated as the #1 seed at 110-52, scoring 845 runs. That was the second-most in LCS history behind their own 858 from the prior season.

Salvador was a strong second at 102-60, earning the first wild card and a fourth consecutive playoff berth. The Storm have made it to the postseason seven times in the 2000s. Recife was third at 93-69, which still netted the second wild card by a six game margin over Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The Retrievers ended an eight-year playoff drought.

Defending Southern Cone champ Rio de Janeiro won the Southeast Division at 94-68, topping the Atlantics and Venom both by seven. The Redbirds broke their own league record of 266 home runs from the prior year, socking 279 dingers. That remains the all-time mark in the league as of 2037. Rio has the longest active playoff streak in BSA at seven seasons.

Asuncion’s playoff streak grew to four-in-a-row atop the Southern Central Division at 92-70. Cordoba at 85-77 was their closest foe. The Archers earned their ninth playoff berth of the 2000s and 11^th since 1997. It was a remarkable run considering they were abysmal with only one berth in their first 66 years as a franchise.

Southern Cone MVP was Fortaleza 2B Antonio Arceo in his third full season. The 24-year old Bolivian switch hitter was the first Triple Crown hitter in BSA since 1976, posting the 11^th such season. Arceo had 54 home runs, 148 RBI, and a .361 average while also leading in total bases (407) and WAR (10.4). He had a 195 wRC+, 1.064 OPS, and 113 runs scored.

Buenos Aires veteran Fernan Murillo won Pitcher of the Year. The 31-year old Colombian lefty was in his 11^th season with the Atlantics and led in strikeouts (304), K/BB (15.2), FIP- (59), and WAR (8.5). Murilllo added a 2.50 ERA over 238 innings, 12-10 record, and 148 ERA+. It was his fourth time leading in strikeouts. He would cross 200 career wins and 3500 strikeouts this season.

Recife rolled Asuncion 2-0 in the first round, then pulled off a shocking 3-1 Divisional Series upset of #1 seed Fortaleza. This earned the Retrievers their first Southern Cone League Championship appearance since 1998. Salvador dethroned defending champ Rio de Janeiro 3-2, giving the Storm their third consecutive finals berth. Salvador won their third pennant in six years, cruising to a 4-1 victory over Recife. It was the eighth pennant for the Storm (1948, 62, 73, 79, 81, 04, 07, 09).



Salvador denied Santa Cruz’s repeat bid and won their second Copa Sudamerica in three years. The Storm took the 79^th finale 4-2 to improve to an impressive 6-2 all-time in the finals. This tied them with Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo for the most Cup wins.

LF Henrique Valada had a big postseason, winning finals MVP and LCS MVP. In 16 playoff starts, the 35-year old lefty had 27 hits, 14 runs, 3 doubles, 3 triples, 4 home runs, and 16 RBI. Valada continued to be a big-time playoff performer, as he also won Copa Sudamerica MVP in 2007 and LCS MVP in both 2007 and 2004.



Other notes: Santa Cruz’s Adrian Sanchez set single-season records for singles (188) and at-bats (685). Barquisimeto’s Augusto Mejia set playoff records for batting average, OBP (both .696) and OPS (1.870), albeit over only a six-game sample size. He went 16-23 with 3 doubles and 4 triples.

It was a rough debut for expansion franchise Salta at 44-118; the all-time worst record in BSA history. They would hold the worst mark until Barquisimeto’s abysmal 33-127 in 2022.

Emiliano Pina became the 10^th to reach 1500 runs scored and the 20^th to 1500 RBI. D.J. Del Valle also got to 1500 RBI later in the season. Del Valle won a historic 16^th Gold Glove at first base. He is the only 16-time winner at any position in BSA history. To this point, the only player with more in world history was OBA/MLB legend Jimmy Caliw with 17 between SS and 2B. 2B Jose Antonio Sanez won his eighth Gold Glove.

Beisbol Sudamerica’s had easily its highest-ever offensive stats in the 2000s. The DH-less Southern Cone League had a .263 batting average and 3.65 ERA, which graded at just above average historically. The 1990s had seen a 3.26 ERA and .248 batting average by comparison.

The Bolivar League had a .275 batting average and 4.05 ERA. The batting average mark was the highest any league had seen ever to that point. The ERA mark was above average historically, but among the highest of any league in the 2000s. The BL had seen a .255 average and 3.55 ERA in the 1990s.

BSA would maintain similar numbers in the next two decades, which would rank as above average to high. It would get overshadowed by the big offensive numbers that would come out of WAB and AAB specifically in the coming seasons.

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Nagoya had a historic 117-45 season, dominating the Japan League in 2009 and repeating as Central Division champs. This was the third-most wins in JL history behind only Sapporo’s 121-41 in 1950 and Yokohama’s 118-44 in 1924.

Fukuoka won the #2 seed at 96-66, tying their own single-season team record from 1997 with 287 doubles. Last year’s top seed Hiroshima fell off hard from 106 wins to a mere 79-83. This was the first time the Hammerheads had posting a losing record since 1993. The Frogs earned their second division title in three years.

Tokyo took a fourth consecutive Capital Division with their best record since 1994 at 93-69. Chiba gave them a run, but fell short at 90-72. This time, the terrible division was the North. Defending East Asia Baseball champ Niigata struggled to 78-84, but that was enough to win the division still by two games over Sendai. The Green Dragons won a fourth consecutive division title and their eighth of the decade.

Despite a weaker season for Hiroshima, their star LF Hitoshi Kubota won his third straight Japan League MVP. The 26-year old switch hitter led in home runs (54), slugging (.669), OPS (1.056), wRC+ (207), and WAR (8.1). Kubota added 115 RBI and a .326 batting average.

Kitakyushu’s Sekien Ida repeated as Pitcher of the Year. It was his third, having also won in 2004. The 31-year old Ida led in ERA (2.07), and WHIP (0.78), adding an 11-10 record over 204.1 innings, 268 strikeouts, a 163 ERA+, and 6.6 WAR. It was Ida’s fourth ERA title. The Kodiaks locked up their ace to another six years and $47,400,000 before the season started.

Also notable was Fukuoka’s Heihachiro Okasawa winning a fourth straight Reliever of the Year, posting 6.7 WAR, a 414 ERA+, 0.84 ERA, 33 saves, and 170 strikeouts in 86 innings. The effort also earned him a second place in Pitcher of the Year voting and a second in WAR.

Despite a 39-win difference between the two, Nagoya had to work hard to eliminate defending champ Niigata 3-2 in the first round. The Nightowls earned their first Japan League Championship Series appearance since 2000. Fukuoka topped Tokyo 3-1 on the other side, giving the Frogs their first JCLS since their 1980 pennant. The winner was guaranteed to end a long drought, since Nagoya’s last pennant was 1979. The Nightowls prevailed 4-2 over Fukuoka to become eight-time league champs.



The Korea League had a shakeup with only one playoff team back from the prior year. Busan took the top seed at 106-56 atop the South Division for their second berth in three years. The Blue Jays hadn’t seen a division title since 1996. Gwangju was second in the division at 98-64, repeating as a wild card.

Suwon claimed the North Division at 100-62, ending an eight-year playoff and division title streak. For the second wild card, Daegu (91-71) edged Seongnam (89-73) and defending KL champ Goyang (87-75). The Diamondbacks snapped a five-year postseason drought. Yongin finished 85-77, ending their four-year streak.

Goyang 1B Seung-U Lee picked up Korea League MVP. The 30-year old lefty led in hits (226), RBI (124), and batting average (.367). Lee added 37 home runs, a 1.017 OPS, 176 wRC+, and 7.6 WAR.

Pitcher of the Year was Dong-Hyun Jung, who signed a six-year, $53,400,000 free agent deal with Busan for 2009. He had previously been with Seongnam, winning POTY there in 2004. Jung led in wins (20-3), ERA (1.84), WHIP (0.82), K/BB (9.7), quality starts (27), FIP- (49), and WAR (10.9). Jung had a 204 ERA+ and 330 strikeouts in 253.2 innings, falling 14 Ks short of a Triple Crown. He also had a no-hitter in April with eight strikeouts and three walks versus Gwangju.

Busan swept Daegu in the first round and Suwon survived in five over Gwangju. It was first Korea League Championship Series since 1996 for the Blue Jays and the first since 1997 for the Snappers. Busan bested Suwon 4-2 in the KLCS to end a 29-year title drought. It was the 11^th ring overall for the Blue Jays.



The 89^th East Asian Championship renewed an ancient finals rivalry. Nagoya beat Busan in both the 1934 and 1940 finales. Both had multiple titles from long ago, but neither had won it all in more than 35 years. The Nightowls again proved to be the Blue Jays’ kryptonite, taking the series 4-2. It was their fifth EAB title, joining the two prior wins over Busan, plus titles in 1931 and most recently in 1964.



This Nagoya group made history as the winningest Japanese team to win it all at 117-45. The only teams to win more games in EAB and claim the championship were 1928 Hamhung at 119-43 and 1921 Pyongyang at 118-44. Doing it in a modern context was especially impressive, as there hadn’t been an EAB team with 115+ wins since 1969.

Other notes: Koji Iwasaki became the 27^th member of the 600 home run club. RF Soo-Geun Yim won his eighth Silver Slugger and 2B Yoo Sen won his seventh.

Offensive numbers in EAB stayed remarkably consistent in the 2000s compared to recent decades. The Japan League had a .247 batting average and 3.41 ERA, which both grade out as below average on the historical scale. With the DH, the Korea League was a higher 3.84 ERA and .261 average; both of which grade as above average. Both remained steady in the coming years.