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

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Two-time defending WAB Western League champ Dakar absolutely dominated the field, beating their own franchise record of 102-60 from the prior season. At 108-54, the Dukes were 21 games ahead of second place. They also led the WL in both runs scored (916) and fewest allowed (711).

Second place at 87-75 was Banjul, earning their first-ever playoff berth since joining West African Baseball in the 2009 expansion. The Bucks came close to matching Dakar’s run output at 898, but also allowed 824. Bouake had become the first expansion playoff team at 98-64 in 2013, but the Blood Hawks struggled to tenth place in 2014 at 73-89.

The other wild cards went to Abidjan (85-77) and Freetown (82-80). The Athletes returned to the playoffs after having their eight-year streak snapped in 2013. The Foresters’ wild card streak grew to four years as they allowed only 713 runs. Both Cape Verde and Monrovia fell one short of the final spot at .500. The Diplomats set a new WL record with 384 doubles, but couldn’t overcome poor pitching. Kumasi (78-84) notably had their bid for a third straight playoff berth thwarted.

Western League MVP was Cape Verde LF Ibrahim Sani. In his fifth season, the 26-year old Nigerien lefty led in RBI (158), total bases (416), and batting average (.378). Sani had 45 home runs, 222 hits, 112 runs, 39 doubles, a 1.142 OPS, 186 wRC+, and 8.4 WAR.

Abidjan’s Christopher Larbi won his third straight Pitcher of the Year, leading in wins (20-5), strikeouts (314), quality starts (23), and WAR (7.0). His 2.62 ERA was second Shehu Fatai’s 2.28, keeping Larbi from a repeat Triple Crown. The 28-year old Ghanaian lefty had a 176 ERA+ over 223 innings.

Abidjan swept Freetown 2-0 in the first round, but fell 2-0 to Banjul in round two. Top seed Dakar was a heavy favorite to win a third straight Western League pennant, but the Bucks pulled off one of WAB’s biggest-ever upsets. Banjul won the WLCS 3-1 to become the first-ever WAB expansion team to win a pennant.

The Bucks also made history with the quickest pennant for any expansion team in any world league at six seasons. The Chinese League’s Shantou would also match this feat in 2014. MLB’s Virginia Beach and Edmonton both had the previous best at seven years.



The Eastern League was extremely top-heavy with the top three each winning 101+ games. All three earned repeat playoff berths as well. Defending WAB champ Cotonou took the top seed at 108-54 for their fifth straight playoff berth and fourth time in first place during that run. The Copperheads offense was historic with a WAB-record 1012 runs scored, which held as the top mark until 2033.

A close second was 104-58 Lome, earning their third straight playoff berth and fourth in five years. The Lasers had the fewest runs allowed in WAB at 662. Port Harcourt meanwhile was third at 101-61, close behind with only 686 runs allowed. The Hillcats had their third playoff appearance in four years.

The fourth and final playoff spot went to Niamey at 88-74, ending a two-year playoff drought. The Atomics extended their streak of winning seasons to 17 years, tying the WAB record set by Kumasi from 1975-91. Last year’s ELCS runner-up Ibadan was the only other team in striking distance at 83-79. The Iguanas still managed their 11^th winning season in a row.

Leading Cotonou’s record-setting offense was Eastern League MVP Fares Belaid. It was the second MVP in three years for the 25-year old Tunisian designated hitter, who broke the single-season world record for hits with 266. The previous world high was 261 by the Arab League’s Hassan El Zamek in 261. As of 2037, Belaid still has the world record, although he’d top himself four more times in later years.

Belaid also led the league in runs scored at 146, which was six behind Darwin Morris’s WAB record from 2001. He also led the league in triples (29), total bases (437), stolen bases (91), batting average (.389), and WAR (9.1). Belaid added 44 doubles, 23 home runs, 142 RBI, and a 1.041 OPS. He had three games with five hits and had a 21-game hit streak. Belaid beat out Port Harcourt slugger Zakari Emmanuel for MVP with the latter leading with 54 home runs and 162 RBI.

Lome veteran Nana Villars won his second Pitcher of the Year, having also won in 2010. The 31-year old Ghanaian righty had a 16-4 record, 2.90 ERA, and 272 strikeouts over 217 innings. Villars also had a 161 ERA+ and 6.6 WAR.

Port Harcourt swept Niamey in the first round, then got swept by Lome in the second round. Every Eastern League Championship Series of last five years was won by either the Lasers (2012) or Cotonou (2009, 2010, 2013), but this was their first time meeting in the ELCS. In a five-game classic, Lome upset the reigning champion Copperheads for their second pennant.



The Lasers made it two WAB titles in three years, winning the 40^th West African Championship 4-1 over Banjul. It was also the fifth straight title for an Eastern League team. Lome saw a WAB playoff record set by 1B Aboubakar Yao with 8 doubles. Yao also had 16 hits, 10 runs, and 12 home runs in 12 playoff starts.



Other notes: 2014 was the final season for legendary shortstop Darwin Morris, who retired at age 43. The 11-time MVP had bounced between five times in his final years and had dealt with injury woes. Morris retired with 194.4 WAR, the second-most in world history by any position player to that point behind only Jimmy Caliw’s 214.0 between his MLB/OBA tenures.

Morris retired as WAB’s all-time leader in games played (2939), hits (3288), runs (2234), home runs (806), RBI (2129), total bases (6681), and stolen bases (1165). He would lose the top spot in each as offensive numbers would explode across WAB in later years, but his WAR total still would be more than 60 points ahead of second place as of 2037. Morris’s 1.053 OPS would still be third in WAB in 2037 among any player with 3000+ plate appearances. Most still agree that Morris was WAB’s best-ever player and you could make a case that he’s a top ten talent in all of baseball history.

Another record broken by Fares Belaid in 2014 was playoff triples, as he managed six in only five games. There were two no-hitters thrown in 2014, which would be the final WAB no-nos thrown until 2021. Ahamad Mathew became the second to 700 career home runs and the sixth to 2500 hits. Christopher James became the first to 300 saves. He would finish with 377 saves, which held until the mid 2030s as WAB’s all-time record. SP Isaac Appiah, 1B Aliou Niang, and LF Julius Ayuba each won a seventh Gold Glove.

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Shanghai had the Northern League’s top record at 98-64, extending their playoff streak to a Chinese League record seven seasons. Eight games back in second was Xi’an at 90-72, earning their second playoff berth in three years. Ultimately, only three games separated second place from sixth.

Taking the final two playoff spots at 89-73 were defending NL champ Hangzhou and Qingdao. Harbin (88-74) and Shijiazhuang (87-75) both just missed the cut. The Devils earned their second playoff berth in three years. It was the first winning season for the Unicorns, who were part of the 2009 expansion. Dalian, first in the standings the prior year, finished ninth at 80-82.

Shijiazhuang LF Cheng Kang made history in his second season with only CLB’s third-ever hitting Triple Crown with 45 home runs, 102 RBI, and a .336 average. Only Shichao Zhang in 1984 and Liang Xu in 2009 had done it previously. Kang won his second Northern League MVP, joining very elite company with two MVPs in his first three years.

The 25-year old lefty also led the league in hits (189), total bases (344), OBP (.419), slugging (.612), OPS (1.031), wRC+ (252), and WAR (12.6). Kang’s season was so strong that he won Batter of the Month honors four times. Kang also picked up MVP honors in the All-Star Game.

Zhengzhou’s Yuandong Wang became only the fourth pitcher in CLB history to win Pitcher of the Year four times. The 27-year old lefty previously took it in 2009, 2010, and 2011 for the Zips. Wang won his first ERA title (1.25) and led with career bests in strikeouts (366), WHIP (0.72), and WAR (9.6). He had a 12-10 record over 245.2 innings and 187 ERA+.

In the Northern League’s Round Robin, top seed Shanghai finished first at 4-2. Both Xi’an and Hangzhou were 3-3 and Qingdao was 2-4. The Attack had the tiebreaker to advance to the semifinal for the first time since 1998. Meanwhile, the Seawolves had their second in three years. Shanghai was the heavy favorite, but Xi’an stunned them with a firm 4-1 victory. The Attack secured their fifth China Series appearance and first since 1995.



Reigning CLB champ Chengdu topped the Southern League standings at 96-66, matching Shanghai for CLB’s longest-ever playoff streak at seven years. Despite having two CLB titles in their run, this was the first time since 1998 that the Clowns finished first place in the SL regular season standings. Repeating as the second place finisher was Chongqing at 93-69.

Shenzhen’s playoff streak grew to four seasons at 90-72, although their first place streak ended at three years. The Spartans had historic pitching with a 1.77 team ERA and 337 runs allowed. That was tied for the second-fewest runs allowed by any CLB team and ranked third best in ERA. Both marks remain in those spots in 2037. Despite that, Shenzhen was only two games away from missing the playoffs entirely.

Shantou was one back at 89-73, taking the fourth and final playoff spot. Nanning at 88-74 fell one game short, while Changsha (83-79), Kunming (83-79), and Dongguan (82-80) were also in the mix. The Scorpions became the first of the 2009 expansion teams to earn a playoff spot. 88 wins was the first winning season for the Nuts. Meanwhile Hong Kong, winners of 91 in 2013, plummeted to 12^th at 71-91.

Chengdu’s Peng Wang won his third Southern League MVP in four years. The 30-year old first baseman led in home runs (52), RBI (114), OBP (.386), slugging (.693), OPS (1.078), and wRC+ (279). Wang’s .301 batting average fell two short of a Triple Crown season. He also had 12.9 WAR in what would be his final CLB season. Wang would leave for MLB money on a seven-year, $166,600,000 deal with San Francisco.

Notably, Wang was beaten in WAR by Shantou CF Zhenfeng Liu’s incredible 14.75 effort, which was the third-best in CLB history by a position player. His solid defense in center helped, but the 25-yar old Liu also had 111 runs, 45 homers, 102 RBI, 26 triples, 18 doubles, and a 249 wRC+.

Shenzhen’s Zheng Zhang won his third straight Pitcher of the Year. The 28-year old righty led in ERA again (1.12) and led in innings (274), quality starts (31), shutouts (8), and WAR (11.9). Zhang added 318 strikeouts, a 16-9 record, and 211 ERA+. He had only one more year with the Spartans before finding a payday in Russia for $65,200,000 over six years with Yekaterinburg.

#2 seed Chongqing ruled the Round Robin at 5-1, earning repeat semifinal appearances. #4 seed Shantou surprisingly joined them at 3-3, while both Shenzhen and Chengdu were 2-4. The semifinal was an all-time classic with the Scorpions taking it in seven games. Game seven needed 12 innings with Shantou prevailing by a 3-2 final.

Shantou joined West African Baseball’s Banjul in earning a finals appearance in only their sixth season since expansion, the fastest in any world league in baseball history. The Scorpions further made history though and did what the Bucks couldn’t do; win it all.



It took another seven game thriller, but Shantou defeated Xi’an in the 45^th China Series. WAR leader Zhenfeng Liu was finals MVP with 22 hits, 12 runs, 4 doubles, 7 triples, 3 home runs, and 7 RBI over 20 playoff starts. The seven triples set a CLB playoff record. The Scorpions became the 18^th different franchise in CLB to win the championship.



Other notes: Shanghai’s Yusheng Shang stole 101 bases, only the seventh time in CLB history that someone stole 100+. It was his second time, as he had 106 in 2012. CF Sheng-Yu Pei won his eighth Silver Slugger.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

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Last year, Taipei set the Austronesia Professional Baseball wins record at 119-45, only to suffer a Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship loss to Zamboanga. The Tigercats stayed strong despite that disappointment with APB’s top record in 2014 at 107-55. Taipei earned a third straight Taiwan League title and their fifth in six years. It’s also six straight years with 98 or more victories.

Defending APB champ Zamboanga repeated as Philippine League champ at 99-63, holding off 91-71 Davao and 88-74 Cebu. The Zebras pitching staff allowed 987 hits with a .840 team WHIP; both the second lowest in TPA history behind only Tainan’s 1969 efforts.

Zamboanga’s pitching staff saw multiple records fall via Ching-Chen Yao, despite missing two months to a hamstring injury. Yao had a 0.73 ERA over 172 innings, beating the APB record of 0.89 set by Ahmad Syahmi Rusli. 162 innings were the qualifier for rate stats. With that, Yao also set the record for H/9 (3.66), WHIP (0.54), and opponent’s triple slash (.121/.156/.166) with a 322 OPS. These and his .933 winning percentage (14-1) are all still APB records as of 2037.

Yao’s mark was also the second-lowest qualifying ERA in any world league behind only CLB’s Zhiyuan Lai’s 0.71 in 1975. The OPS stands as a world record as of 2037 as well. The 26-year old lefty also had 12.1 WAR and 290 strikeouts, as well as a 22 strikeout game over 9.2 innings against Quezon. Despite all of that, Yao did NOT win his third Pitcher of the Year. Instead, Cebu’s Favian Frias won his second.

Frias’ effort was historic as well, matching Yao’s 0.54 WHIP to tie for a new world record. Yao did beat him officially with a .5407 WHIP compared to Frias’ .5447. Still, only once in the next two decades would any pitcher in any world league best that. The extra innings gave Frias more WAR at 14.4, which ranked as the 11^th-best APB effort by a pitcher to that point.

The 26-year old Frias over 253.1 innings led in strikeouts (388) and quality starts (31) and had his own 1.07 ERA and 19-8 record. Frias had an opponent’s OPS of .358, which would’ve been the new APB record if not for Yao. Frias’ triple slash of .129/.158/.200 were each only behind Yao.

Adding to Frias’ resume was APB’s 37^th perfect game on June 2 with 12 strikeouts against Taichung. Frias had a 250 ERA+ while Yao’s was a bonkers 362, but being healthy for a full year gave Frias the hardware. Even when accounting for the incredibly low-offense APB world, these were two remarkable pitching seasons.

Meanwhile, Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP went to Hsinchu LF Liu Hu. The sixth-year righty led in home runs (48), runs (93), OBP (.362), slugging (.594), OPS (.956), and wRC+ (204). Hu added 10.1 WAR, a .284 average, and 84 RBI. His Sweathogs earned their first-ever winning season in 2014 at 84-78. Hsinchu made sure to lock Hu up, giving him an eight-year, $160,600,000 extension in August 2014.



Defending Sundaland Association champ Bandung repeated atop the Java Sea League at 97-65, besting Surabaya by six games. The Blackhawks had a 1.87 team ERA and allowed 348 runs, which were both the second-lowest totals in all of APB history to that point. The only better was Jakarta’s 1.73 ERA and 324 runs allowed in 1985.

Pekanbaru won the APB title in 2011, but were just above .500 in the next two years. The Palms returned to the top of the Malacca League in 2014 at 94-68. Medan, who won the title in the prior two seasons, was second at 89-73. Kuala Lumpur was third at 87-75, which was their first winning season since leaving South Asia Baseball for APB in 2008.

Leading the Palms was 1B Ali Yusuf, who repeated as Sundaland Association MVP. The 29-year old Indonesian lefty led in OBP (.365), slugging (.559), OPS (.924), and wRC+ (221). Yusuk added 9.8 WAR, a .281 average, 38 home runs, and 81 RBI. Pekanbaru would give Yusuf a six-year, $125,400,000 extension in June 2015.

Bandung’s Gosner Rahmawati repeated as Pitcher of the Year. The 26-year old lefty led in wins (20-5), and ERA (1.28). Rahmawati had 280 strikeouts over 260 innings with a 189 ERA+ and 7.8 WAR. The Blackhawks had extended him for five years and $56,700,000 the prior winter with it already paying dividends.

Taipei’s playoff woes continued as once again despite being the top seed, they lost the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship. It wasn’t even particularly close as Zamboanga won 4-1 for the repeat and their fifth pennant overall. The Tigercats are now 0-5 in the Association final in the last six years despite averaging 107 wins over that stretch, making a case as one of the all-time great flops in baseball history.

The Sundaland Association Championship had drama as it was the first to need all seven games since 2008. Pekanbaru denied Bandung’s repeat bid, giving the Palms their third-ever pennant (1965, 2011, 2014). The Palms would earn their second APB Championship win in four years, denying Zamboanga’s repeat bid.



The 50^th ABP Championship went 4-2 to Pekanbaru over the Zebras with 3B Nicky Abizar leading the way. The 11^th-year Palms star had been steady, winning his eighth Silver Slugger in 2014. He added finals MVP to his trophies along with his second championship ring. In 13 starts, the 33-year old Abizar had 12 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 5 home runs, and 10 RBI.



Other notes: Bima Idris became the 19^th pitcher to 200 wins and the 25^th to 3500 strikeouts. Metta Adam became the seventh to reach 300 saves. Ignatius Handayani became the 17^th member of the 400 homer club. RF Troy Ferra won his eighth Gold Glove and RF Shih-Chieh Tseng won his seventh. Ching-Hui Lin won his eighth Silver Slugger and his fourth in right field. His first four came as a DH.

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The end of the 2014 season marked 50 years of play for Austronesia Professional Baseball, becoming the eighth major pro league to reach the milestone. Below is a look at how the first 50 years played out.



APB has seen an impressive among of parity overall, not counting the four teams that joined in the late 2000s. The longest playoff streak was only seven years (Davao from 2005-2011). The Devil Rays have the top team score of any Taiwan-Philippine Association team and have the most playoff appearances at 16. They have the best average wins of any Philippine League team, but are third in the TPA.

Surprisingly, Taichung has the best winning percentage in the TPA despite being ranked 8^th in playoff appearances in the TPA. Taipei has the most playoff berths of the Taiwan League teams at 13. Taoyuan has the most APB championships of the group with six despite having a below .500 winning percentage. The Tsumani and Davao are tied for the most TPA pennants at 8 each.

Medan has the top Sundaland Association team score at 95, tied for the top overall with in APB with Davao. The Marlins have the most playoff appearances of any team at 18, although Jakarta has the best win percentage with 85.1 wins per year. The Jaguars have the most APB titles (6) of the SA teams and the most pennants of any team at 9. However, Jakarta has the fourth most playoff berths in the SA. Surabaya leads all Java League teams with 13. The Malacca League is led by Medan’s 18 with Batam at 15.

Of the original 20 teams, 16 have won at least one APB championship with only Depok, Singapore, Tainan, and Palembang ringless. The Demons are the only original team without at least one pennant while the other three each have three or four. The Panthers have the worst average wins per year (76.6) of the original teams.

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Reigning Oceania Champion Christchurch repeated as Australasia League champ at 105-57, earning their tenth pennant. The Chinooks’ 816 runs scored were the best in all of OBA. Melbourne was their closest foe at 99-63, extending their streak of winning seasons to 12 years. The Mets had the fewest runs allowed in OBA at 509.

There was a decent drop to third place Perth at 90-72. Both Sydney and Canberra won 90+ games in 2013, but both fell below .500 in 2014. Expansion Hobart was fifth at 81-81, their best mark yet since joining OBA in the 2006 season.

Christchurch DH Roe Kaupa remained a critical signing with his second Australasia League MVP in two seasons with the Chinooks. It was the third MVP for the 27-year old Papuan lefty, who also won in 2011 with Timor. Kaupa posted the ninth Triple Crown hitting season in OBA history with 66 home runs, 159 RBI, and a .335 batting average. There wouldn’t be another hitting Triple Crown in OBA until 2036.

Kaupa’s 66 home runs was tied for the fourth most in an OBA season and was only three behind Vavao Brighouse’s record 69 from both 1988 and 1995. Kaupa was only the third OBA player to top 150+ RBI, falling two short of Brighouse’s record 161. Kaupa’s 159 still ranks second-best as of 2037. He also scored 130 runs, six short of Kiryl Savchuk’s record 136 from 2001.

Additionally, Kaupa led the league in total bases (467), OBP (.410), slugging (.771), OPS (1.180), wRC+ (212), and WAR (10.1). The 467 total bases fell five short of the record 472 set the prior year by Merlin Megson. Kaupa’s OPS was also the second-best ever season only behind Megson’s 1.209 and his slugging mark ranked third-best. Those marks still hold as of 2037.

Perth’s Raj Marple won his second Pitcher of the Year in three years. The 27-year old Australian lefty led in strikeouts (411), K/BB (7.1), quality starts (33), FIP- (57), and WAR (12.2). Marple also had a 2.39 ERA, 22-11 record, 324 innings, and 157 ERA+. He by far had the most WAR, although he was just behind Melbourne’s Sarwan Singh in ERA (2.20) and wins (25-11).



Tahiti destroyed the Pacific League competition at 109-53, returning to the thrown after a second in 2013 and third in 2012. The Tropics led the PL in both runs scored (813) and runs allowed (533). This was Tahiti’s 12^th consecutive 90+ win season and their seventh pennant in that stretch. It was also their 12^th PL title overall, behind only Guam (14) and Honolulu (13) for the most.

A distant second at 18 games back was 91-71 Samoa, followed by Guam at 89-73. The two-time defending PL champs Guadalcanal fell from their historic 115-win 2013 effort down to a fourth place 87-75. Vanuatu notably was fifth at 86-76, posting their first winning season since joining OBA in the 2006 expansion.

Pacific League MVP was Guam 1B R.W. Putnam. The 24-year old Hawaiian lefty was already in his sixth season with the Golden Eagles and exploded with league bests in runs (125), home runs (57), RBI (131), total bases (392), slugging (.690), OPS (1.074), wRC+ (204), and WAR (10.2). Putnam also had a .322 average, placing third. He was committed to Guam, signing an eight-year extension back before the 2012 season.

Flynn Murphy won Pitcher of the Year in his debut with Tahiti. The 31-year old Australian lefty had taken twice back in 2009 and 2010 with Auckland. Murphy joined the Tropics for 2014 on a five-year, $48,500,000 deal and immediately delivered, leading in wins (24-9), ERA (2.43), WHIP (0.90), quality starts (31), and WAR (10.9). He had 311.1 innings and 395 strikeouts, second to Akira Brady’s 440. It did end Brady’s streak of four straight POTY wins, although he topped 400 Ks for the fifth straight season.



Despite the general success of both franchises, the 55^th Oceania Championship was the first-ever finals meeting between Christchurch and Tahiti. The Chinooks pulled off the repeat, taking the series 4-1. It was Christchurch’s third-ever title (1963), putting them at 3-7 all-time in the championship compared to Tahiti’s 5-7. The Chinooks became the seventh franchise to earn a repeat.



Finals MVP was 1B Bernard Nyikeine, who won PL MVP the prior year with Guadalcanal. He joined the Chinooks for 2014 on a seven-year, $95,200,000 free agent deal. Although the 29-year old New Caledonian’s regular season production dropped steeply, he stepped up in the playoffs going 8-19 with 1 home run, 3 RBI, and 1 run.

Other notes: Christchurch’s Alison Kila set a new single-season OBA record for K/9 at 14.02, which remains the all-time mark as of 2037. Kila struck out 380 batters over 244 innings. PL MVP R.W. Putnam had a 31-game hit streak, which was three away from Kiryl Savchuk’s record 34.

Arjita Gabeja became the second OBA player to reach both 700 home runs and 1500 runs scored. The effort also earned his tenth Silver Slugger and second as a DH. He would retire after 2017 with 786 homers, short of Vavao Brighouse’s record 804. Gabeja would pass Junia Lava for the all-time runs mark, finishing with 1683. He ranks fourth as of 2037. Tahiti’s Ashton Hughes won his 12^th straight Gold Glove in center field. This joined OF Martin Topio (13) as the only OBA players with 12+ Gold Gloves.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

*Editors note: I meant to do an OBA after 50 years post, but forgot. So here’s one after 55 years.

The Oceania Baseball Association became the seventh world league to complete 50 seasons. 2014 marked the 55^th year of OBA and below are the results thus far.



Melbourne’s impressive decade of dominance pushed them to the top team score of all OBA teams and the best average wins per year among Australasia League teams at 85.4. The Mets also have more pennants than anyone at 15. They and Adelaide are tied for the most OBA titles among AL teams at eight each as the Aardvarks have fared well in the finals.

Christchurch has the second-most pennants of the AL teams with 10, but a lackluster 3-7 finals record compared to Adelaide’s 8-1. Perth actually has the worst win tally of the original AL teams, but has eight pennants and are 4-4 in the finals. Sydney is the only of OBA’s original 16 teams without a single pennant.

In the Pacific League, Honolulu’s eight OBA titles match the high mark of Melbourne and Adelaide and gives them the PL’s best team score. Guam has the best average wins of any OBA team at 88.6 and has the Honu beat in pennants 14-13. The Golden Eagles have six OBA titles, which ranks fourth best among all teams. Tahiti is close behind with five and has 12 pennants overall.

The PL has had less overall parity than the AL, although all of its original eight teams have at least one pennant. Fiji is the only of the PL’s originals without an OBA ring. New Caledonia at 75.8 wins per season has the least wins of any original team. Naturally, the four 2006 expansion teams have yet to find success in their limited nine year existences.

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Two-time defending European League and reigning Eurasian Professional Baseball champ Rostov topped the EL standings at 102-60. The Rhinos scored 695 runs, which was the top mark in EPB. In a close battle for second, Moscow (94-68) edged Kazan (92-70) for the wild card. This ended a two-year drought for the Mules and stopped the Crusaders’ two-year streak. The former powerhouse Minsk followed up their franchise-worst 67-95 from 2013 by losing thrice more at 64-98.

Leading Moscow back to the playoffs was European League MVP Yuriy Isakov. The 24-year old Azeri left fielder was in his sixth season already with the Mules and led in hits (214), doubles (36), total bases (369), stolen bases (93), triple slash (.381/.441/.657), OPS (1.097), wRC+ (228), and WAR (11.8). Iaskov’s .381 average was the second-best in EPB history to that point behind only his own .411 from 2012. In May 2014, Moscow gave him the bag with an eight-year, $64,900,000 extension.

Kazan’s Roman Khilkevich won Pitcher of the Year. The 26-year old Belarusian lefty had a big comeback after a torn rotator cuff the prior season. Khilkevich led in wins (25-8), innings (279.1), strikeouts (308), quality starts (26), and WAR (8.1). He had a 152 ERA+ and 2.06 ERA, second only to Samar’s Semyon Vankov at 1.83.



Omsk earned back-to-back playoff berths and their fourth in five years. For the third time in that stretch, the Otters led the Asian League standings at 104-58. Nine games away in second was Ufa at 95-67, earning their first playoff berth since 2007. Last year’s AL champ Ulaanbaatar fell to third at 88-74. Yekaterinburg was fourth at 83-79, which grew their streak of winning seasons to 16 years. It was notably the Yaks’ lowest win total of that run.

Ufa’s Nikolay Kargopolcev repeated as Asian League MVP and won his third in four years. The 27-year old Russian right fielder led in runs (91), homers (47), RBI (109), total bases (344), slugging (.609), OPS (.928), and wRC+ (177). Kargopolcev also had a .294 average and 6.7 WAR. The Fiends had given him an eight-year, $74,700,000 extension the prior spring.

Pitcher of the Year also went to Ufa and Kolya Portnov. The 28-year old Russian righty led in wins (20-8), ERA (1.93), quality starts (27), and WAR (9.0). Portnov added 298 strikeouts in 256.2 innings and a 167 ERA+. The Fiends wouldn’t splurge on him and he’d leave after the 2017 season for Irkutsk.

The European League Championship Series was a seven-game classic, but Rostov pulled off the three-peat and beat Moscow. The Rhinos are the first EL to three-peat since the 2005-07 Mules. Omsk ousted Ufa 4-2 in the Asian League final for their third pennant in five years and their seventh overall. With the loss, the Fiends remained the only charter EPB team still without a pennant.



Rostov’s repeat bid was denied in the 60^th EPB Championship. Omsk prevailed 4-2 for their second title, joining the 2010 trophy on the shelf. Seven-time Gold Glove RF Elbeyi Shevchenko was the finals MVP, stepping up with his bat in the playoffs. In 12 starts, he had 11 hits, 8 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 homers, 5 RBI, and 5 steals. This would be the big highlight in a Hall of Pretty Good career for Shevchenko, who would win 11 Gold Gloves over 13 years starting for the Otters.



Other notes: CF Khuday Kakimow won his eighth Gold Glove and SS Mehmet Ucar won his seventh.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

The Northern Conference’s Northwest Division was remarkably stacked with four teams at 98+ wins. This group ultimately had the top three records in the entire European Baseball Federation. Paris repeated as the top overall seed at 106-56 and earned a third straight playoff berth. Only one back was 105-57 Amsterdam, who finished back-to-back seasons as a 100+ win wild card team.

Close behind was 103-59 Antwerp for their first-ever playoff berth in the EBF Elite tier, taking the second wild card. The Airedales smacked 287 home runs, the third-most by a team in EBF history. Brussels posted back-to-back 98-64 seasons but yet again, the Beavers had the misfortune of that not being enough for a playoff berth. This was the ninth straight winning season for Brussels, who have averaged 95.8 wins in that run.

The #2 seed went to defending European Champion Dublin, who dominated the British Isles Division at 98-64. The Dinos grew their playoff and division title streak to seven years and had their tenth straight 90+ win season, averaging 101.3 wins over the decade. Birmingham was a distant second at 86-76, which snapped their four-year playoff streak.

The Baltic Sea Division went to Oslo for the sixth consecutive year. The Octopi were 97-65, nine better than Warsaw and ten ahead of Stockholm. Cologne was the only North Central Division team above .500 at 94-68, giving the Copperheads five straight division titles. Prague’s three-year playoff streak ended at 80-82.

Unfortunately for Luxembourg, sharing the stacked Northwest Division gave them the worst record in the Northern Conference at 59-103. The Lancers had been conference champ only five years prior, but were now relegated for the first time. They would be the only relegated team from the NC, as no one else lost 100+ games. Vilnius (64-98) and Frankfurt (66-96) were the closest to demotion, but survived.

Oslo shortstop Harvey Coyle joined Sean Houston as the only six-time Northern Conference MVPs. Unlike Houston, Coyle earned his consecutively. The 27-year old English switch hitter led in home runs (58) and WAR (12.9) while winning his seventh Gold Glove with a 32.4 zone rating and 1.151 EFF. Coyle added 127 RBI, a .325/.390/.692 slash, and 202 wRC+.

It was his seventh consecutive season worth 12+ WAR, certainly living up to the $142,200,000, eight-year extension he signed the prior December. This was already the EBF record for 12+ WAR seasons and tied WAB legend Darwin Morris for the most by any position player in world history. Legendary South American pitcher Mohamed Ramos did it nine times for the world record at that point.

In his first full season, Paris lefty Gian Tosoni won Pitcher of the Year. The 26-year old Italian had been a part-timer with 22 games in the prior three years for the Poodles. Tosoni led in wins (21-8) and posted a 2.47 ERA over 259 innings, 276 strikeouts, 150 ERA+, and 5.7 WAR. Apart from this season, Tosoni had an unremarkable journeyman career. He needed elbow ligament reconstruction surgery in late 2016 and was never quite the same after.

Amsterdam again suffered a first round playoff exit as a 100+ win wild card, losing 2-1 to Cologne. Antwerp avoided the same fate, winning 2-0 at Oslo. The Octopi remained a playoff dud with their fifth round one exit of their six-year playoff streak. Home field prevailed I round two as Paris topped the Copperheads 3-1 and Dublin dropped the Airedales 3-1.

The reigning champ Dinos had a shot at a historic fourth Northern Conference crown in five years. This was the Poodles’ third straight conference final, having lost to Dublin the prior year and to Cologne in 2012. Paris reserved their fortunes with an emphatic sweep of the Dinos, giving the French capital its first pennant since 1997. It was the sixth pennant overall for Paris.



The Southern Conference had significant parity as only seven wins separated the top overall seed from the second wild card team. Fresh off their European Second League championship in 2013, Valencia’s top tier return was an impressive 95-67 season. This won the Southwest Division and earned their first-ever EBF Elite playoff berth.

The Vandals followed the path laid out by Zaragoza, who made the E2L finals in 2012, then won the SC pennant in their 2013 top tier debut. The Gold Hawks were two behind Valencia at 93-69, which snagged them the first wild card. Elsewhere in the division, Barcelona (85-770 and Lisbon (82-80) missed the cut. Notably Madrid dropped to 71-91, their worst season since 1967.

Marseille had the #2 seed, winning the South Central Division at 94-68. The Musketeers were six ahead of Rome, seven better than Zurich, and ten ahead of Milan. Marseille returned to the playoff field after having a four-year streak snapped in 2013.

Budapest won the East Central Division and Athens took the Southeast Division; both at 90-72. Both won by three games with Bucharest behind the Bombers and Yerevan behind the Anchors each at 87-75. Athens won its sixth straight division title and earned a seventh playoff berth in a row, while Budapest had its second berth in three years. Notably Vienna fell to 75-87, seeing their bid for a third consecutive division title thwarted.

It was a major traffic jam for the second wild card with Rome (88-74) emerging with the slot. Zurich, Yerevan, and Bucharest were each one back, Barcelona was three back, Milan was four back, and both Lisbon and Malta were six back. The Red Wolves had just gotten promoted back after a four-year stint in the Second League. This was their first top-tier playoff berth since 2000.

Seville at 61-101 had the worst record and was relegated for the second time. The Stingrays had gotten dropped after 2005, but had made it back after only one year. They were the only SC team to fall with no one else losing 100+ games. Munich was the closest to doom at 66-96, which was a notably bad season for a historically strong franchise. The only time the Mavericks ever did worse was a 63-99 campaign back in 1966.

Belgrade was generally irrelevant at 77-85, but their second-year LF Danijel Rajovic won Southern Conference MVP. The 24-year old Serbian lefty led in total bases (399), OPS (1.113), wRC+ (202), and WAR (9.9). Rajovic also had 43 home runs, 126 RBI, 222 hits, a .380/.430/.683 slash, and 113 runs.

Zagreb likewise wasn’t great at 80-82, but their third-year lefty A.J. Magee won Pitcher of the Year. The 24-year old from Northern Ireland led in wins (20-9) and complete games (12). Magee added a 2.24 ERA, 257.1 innings, 227 strikeouts, 7.7 WAR, and 173 ERA+. Little was expected of him as an amateur, getting picked late in the fourth round in 2009. Magee’s legendary changeup would make him arguably the best European pitcher over the next decade.

Defending conference champ Zaragoza swept Budapest in the first round while Athens swept Rome. The Gold Hawks would fall to Valencia in a round two sweep and Marseille outlasted the Anchors 3-2. This was Marseille’s first Southern Conference Championship appearance since 2009. Valencia would deny the Musketeers 4-2 and mirror Zaragoza’s run from the prior year.

Valencia and Zaragoza were the first teams to start with the Second League’s creation in 2005 and earn an EBF Elite conference title. Both also pulled off going from a Second League finalist one year to a top-tier finalist the next. The Vandals would suffer the same fate as the Gold Hawks though, falling in the European Championship.



The 65^th European Championship saw Paris cruise to a sweep of Valencia, giving the Poodles their third title (1970, 1997). This also made five straight seasons where the Northern Conference champ won it all. CF Joris Kostic had a huge postseason, taking MVP of the conference finals and the European Championship.



The 34-year old Austrian had signed a five-year, $49,000,000 deal in 2012 with Paris after a nine-year run with Krakow, including an MVP back in 2004. Injuries had limited the former #1 overall pick, but he delivered big in 2014 for the Poodles. In 11 playoff starts, Kostic had 18 hits, 11 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, 12 RBI, and 4 stolen bases with a 1.236 OPS and 260 wRC+.

Other notes: EBF’s 34^th and 35^th perfect games were thrown in 2014. On May 26, Tirana’s Miles Wilson did it with four strikeouts against Munich. Then on September 16, Amsterdam’s Rick Butler did it in a 10 K effort over Frankfurt. Notably, these would be the last perfect games in EBF until 2022. Krakow’s Romualdas Malinauskas had a 34-game hitting streak, which ranked ninth to that point in EBF history.

Carsten Dal became EBF’s new career hits king, passing Jacob Ronnberg’s 3520. Dal would finish after 2015 with 3633 and although his reign would be short-lived, he still ranks third as of 2037. Dal ended 2014 only nine runs behind Ronnberg for the most runs in EBF history.

Dal did make world history in 2014 by passing EAB’s Yoon-Soo Hyoun (449) as the world leader in triples, finishing his career with 457. He would hold that distinction for around 20 years. He was already the world’s stolen bases leader with 1984 after the 2014 season.

Francisco Cruz (who would later pass Dal in hits) became the eighth member of the 3000 hit club. Alan Dikov became the 14^th to reach 600 home runs. Cruz, Per Berg, and Sam Connor each reached 500 homers, making 29 guys in that club. Both Connor and Berg also got to 1500 RBI, making 21 sluggers to do so. Berg, Jiri Lebr, and Amerigo Cortes each earned their 2500^th hit in 2014, putting 32 players past that distinction. Blazej Swierczewski was the 15^th to score 1500 runs.

In pitching milestones, Stefan Sedlak became the tenth closer to earn 300 saves. Geoffrey Hebert was the 47^th to reach 3000 strikeouts. MVP Harvey Coyle won his seventh Gold Glove and eighth Silver Slugger at shortstop. 1B Wilfried Keilbach won his ninth Gold Glove, tying the position record. LF Alessandro Surina won his eighth Gold Glove.

Promotion/Relegation: Only the worst team in each conference was dropped in 2014; Seville and Luxembourg. Thus, the Second League finalists Cardiff and Sarajevo were promoted. The Crew were moved to the British Isles Division, while Reykjavik was swapped into the Lancers’ Northwest Division spot. The Salukis were placed into the South Central Division and that division’s champ Marseille was sent to plug the Stingrays’ Southwest Division spot.

Both Seville and Luxembourg were placed in the Second League’s Western Conference, which required one team to swap conferences. Wroclaw would be the squad to move into the Eastern Conference’s vacancy.