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

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-29-2025, 04:52 PM

Lilongwe and Blantyre dominated the African Second League’s Southern Conference, both winning 100+ games with third place Antananarivo a distant 85-77. The Lightning took first at 107-55 for their second playoff trip in three years. It was the first-ever playoff berth for the Black Wolves.

Advancing out of the Central Conference were Mwanza (96-66) and Lubumbashi (95-67) while Juba (89-73) and Bujumbura (87-75) were the first teams out. The White Tigers had never been a playoff team before. It was the first for the Loggerheads since getting relegated to A2L for 2030. With Mwanza and Blantyre’s successes, that left Juba as the only original team without a playoff trip since the league’s 2018 debut.

Lilongwe cruised to 4-0 sweep of Blantyre in the Southern Conference Championship, while Lubumbashi upset Mwanza 4-2 for the Central Conference crown. The Lightning earned a promotion back to the African Association of Baseball’s first league after an eight-year A2L stint, while the Loggerheads had a five-year A2L run. In the Second League Championship, Lubumbashi picked up the 5-3 victory over Lilongwe.

Other notes: Lubango’s Husain Ferdous and Juba’s Timothy Tefera both became three-time MVPs, a feat achieved by only two others in A2L. Toavina Razafintsalama became the second A2L slugger with 500 home runs.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-30-2025, 05:09 AM

The European Second League’s Western Conference was very top heavy in 2034. Hamburg, who had just gotten sent down the year prior, took the top spot at 110-52. Luxembourg was close behind at 104-58, followed by Stuttgart (102-60) and Valencia (98-64). It was a ten game drop to Amsterdam at 88-74 for the next closest contender.

The Lancers got their second playoff trip since getting relegated from the European Baseball Federation’s Elite Tier for 2031. The Silver Sabres ended a six-year playoff drought and were the only original E2L team still yet to get promoted at least once. This was the Vandals’ first playoff appearance since returning to E2L in 2028. Leeds, who had just gotten promoted from European Tier Three, was immediately relegated back down after an abysmal 37-125 season. That was the worst record in E2L history.

Hamburg took the top spot in the double round robin at 5-1 to secure a quick promotion after only two years. Luxembourg and Stuttgart both were 3-3 and Valencia was 1-5. The Lancers advanced on the tiebreaker, keeping the Silver Sabres in E2L for another year. Luxembourg escaped after a four-year E2L stint. In the Western Conference Championship, the Hammers defeated the Lancers 4-2.

Lviv took first in the Eastern Conference at 99-63, giving them a third straight playoff berth. The Lunkers have been a playoff team six times in eight years, but have been stuck in E2L. Their only previous promotion came in 2018, but they were relegated right back after one year.

A tight fight for the remaining three playoff spots saw Gothenburg (93-69), Leipzig (92-70) and Sarajevo (90-72) advance. The first teams out were Malta (89-73) and Riga (88-74). The Gales got their third berth in four years, but had a similar trajectory to Lviv. Gothenburg had been promoted once before in 2012, but likewise only lasted one season in the big time.

For the Lumberjacks, this was their first playoff berth since getting sent back down two years prior. The Salukis had just gotten demoted for 2034 after a three-year stint in the top tier. After two years in E2L, Montenegro was relegated back to ET3 with a last place 53-109. Bratislava only narrowly escaped with their own 58-104 record. For the Mountain Goats, they set new conference all-time worsts for team ERA (4.44), hits allowed (1433), runs (783), and earned runs (724).

All four playoff teams were even at 3-3 in the double round robin, but the tiebreakers favored the top two seeds Lviv and Gothenburg. Both teams picked up their second-ever promotions with hopes of lasting longer than one year this next time around. In the Eastern Conference Championship, the Lunkers downed the Gales 4-2. However, Hamburg rolled to a 4-1 win over Lviv in the E2L Championship.

Palermo had just gotten sent to European Tier Three, but escaped after one year with a first place 108-54. Athens also was promoted at 106-56 with the next closest being Kosovo (98-64), and Bordeaux (95-67). The roller coaster continued for the Anchors, who got relegated to ET3 in 2031, promoted back to E2L for 2033, demoted back to ET3 in 2034, and now promoted again for 2035. Athens defeated the Priests 4-2 in the ET3 Championship.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-30-2025, 05:51 PM

After missing the playoffs by two wins in 2033, Johannesburg took the top spot in the Southern Conference at 97-65 in 2034. The Jackalopes got their third playoff berth in four years and have posted six straight seasons with 90+ wins. Johannesburg was the African Association of Baseball’s top scoring team with 902 runs.

Cape Town took the second place spot at 91-71, holding off Harare (90-72) by one. Comoros (85-77) and Dar es Salaam (84-78) were the next best competitors. The Cowboys ended a three-year playoff drought and allowed the fewest runs at 680. The Hustlers now have gone 13 years without a losing season, although they’ve only been a playoff team once in the last 11 years. Defending conference champ Port Elizabeth dropped to 80-82, ending their four-year playoff streak.

Relegated was Gaborone at 67-95, finishing four worse than Durban and seven away from Bulawayo. The Golden Bears had gotten promoted from the African Second League for 2025 and had stayed in the top tier since, although they only managed one winning campaign in their run. They had been below 70 wins five times, but had managed to escape demotion until now.

Cape Town’s Johny Kibamba became a four-time Southern Conference MVP, having won three straight from 2028-30. The 30-year old Congolese designated hitter didn’t lead in any stats in 2034, but had 204 hits, 120 runs, 42 doubles, 41 home runs, 110 RBI, .332/.395/.616 slash, 156 wRC+, and 6.4 WAR. The prior spring, Kibamba signed a six-year, $129,600,000 extension to stick with the Cowboys.

For the second time in three years, Pitcher of the Year was Johannesburg’s Stephen Duiker. The 27-year old Motswana righty led in ERA (2.61), wins (19-3), quality starts (22), FIP- (59), and WAR (8.9). Duiker tossed 237.2 innings and was second in strikeouts with 288, although Gaborone’s Mert Seyoum was well ahead with 344 Ks. It was a nice bounce-back for Duiker, who missed part of fall 2033 to shoulder inflammation.

Defending Africa Series winner Kinshasa repeated as the Central Conference’s first place team at 101-61. The Sun Cats also set a new AAB all-time season attendance record with 2,127,487 tickets sold. Cross-river rival Brazzaville took second at 96-66, edging out Addis Ababa (93-69) and Mogadishu (90-72). The Blowfish got their fourth playoff trip in six years and have won 90+ games each of those six years.

Djibouti, last year’s wild card, finished fifth at 86-76. The Brahmas led the conference with 884 runs scored and it was 84-78 Bangui who allowed the fewest at 707. Asmara was relegated at 56-106, nine games worse than the next closest team Bukavu. The Anteaters only lasted two seasons in the First League before getting sent back down.

Brazzaville LF Asa Ngoie won his fourth Central Conference MVP (2026, 30, 32, 34) and his seventh Silver Slugger. The 33-year old Congolese lefty was the WARlord at 7.9 and had 61 home runs, 115 RBI, 171 hits, 129 runs, .299/.388/.685 slash, and 168 wRC+. There have now been eight AAB players with 4+ MVP wins. Ngoie had tough competition from Kinshasa 1B Martin Kulatilaka, who was the leader in homers (68) and RBI (145).

Pitcher of the Year was competitive as well, but Sun Cats lefty Lawal Deffallah became the award’s first four-time winner, earning it consecutively. The 26-year old from Chad led in ERA (2.41), WHIP (0.90), and FIP- (48). Deffallah had a 20-5 record, 9.9 WAR, 227.2 innings, and 320 strikeouts. He also won his first Gold Glove.

Deffallah’s bid for a sixth straight season leading in Ks and fifth straight as the WARlord were thwarted by Kampala’s Abdullahi Ali. It was his debut in the big league, as the Peacocks had just gotten promoted back. The 22-year old Somali lefty set a new AAB record for strikeouts with 400 and had 10.6 WAR, a 2.96 ERA, and 19-8 record in 252.2 innings. The previous Ks record was 388 by Aziz Mussa in 2026.

Ali’s effort was also the second-best WAR ever by an AAB pitcher behind Ghebrezglabhier Alemayehu’s 11.96 from 2028. However, the better team success and ERA gave the award to Defallah, whose own WAR total ranked as the seventh-best by an AAB ace to date. On a scale from 1/10, scouts called Ali’s stuff a 12 with many expecting a legendary career ahead if he can avoid injury.

In the Southern Conference Championship, Cape Town got the road upset on their South African rival Johannesburg 4-1, giving the Cowboys six pennants (1996, 2026, 28, 29, 30, 34). Brazzaville also got the road upset in the Central Conference final, going across the Congo River to dethrone defending champ Kinshasa 4-2. The Blowfish earned their fifth conference crown (2015, 16, 19, 29, 34).

The 40^th Africa Series was the second finals meeting between Brazzaville in Cape Town, as the Blowfish won back in 2029. For the first time since 2024, the series needed all nine games. Brazzaville was victorious again though over the Cowboys, making the Blowfish four-time AAB champs (2015, 16, 29, 34). Cape Town is now 3-3 in their finals trips.

CF Simanga Khumalo was finals MVP in his second year with Brazzaville, arriving in 2033 in a trade after five years with Mombasa. He was more known for his defense, having won his second Gold Glove in 2034. The 28-year old Swazi in 14 playoff games had 13 hits, 12 runs, 8 home runs, 14 RBI, 13 walks, 19 strikeouts, 189 wRC+, and 0.8 WAR.

Other notes: Dagne Mersha became the 9^th AAB slugger with 700 home runs. Sayyid Pius, Asa Ngoie, and Noel Malama all joined the 500 homer club, making that group 22 members strong. Matheus Mabanza became the 16^th to 1500 runs scored. Lane Maloba was the 10^th pitcher to 3000 strikeouts.

SS Djibrilla Ousseini won his 14^th Silver Slugger. He’s the third in AAB with 14+ Sluggers (along with CF Mwarami Tale and OF Felix Chaula) and the 21^st in all of world history with 14+ Sluggers. Ousseini is also one of four to win all 14 Sluggers at shortstop.

Promotion/Relegation: Gaborone was relegated to the African Second League’s Southern Conference and replaced by Lilongwe. In the Central Conference, Asmara was demoted and Lubumbashi was promoted

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-31-2025, 11:00 AM

The Arab League’s Western Conference had a competitive field with the five playoff teams separated by only seven wins. Beirut repeated as Levant Division champ and took the top seed for the first time in franchise history at 98-64. The Bluebirds’ pitching allowed the fewest runs at 595 and allowed only 243 walks with a 1.51 BB/9. Those two walk marks were the second-best in Arab League Baseball history.

Last year’s conference runner-up Khartoum was next at 96-66 in the Nile Division. The Cottonmouths repeated as division champs with their fourth playoff trip in five years. Khartoum was the conference’s top scoring team at 862. Only two back on Khartoum in the Nile Division was 94-68 Suez, who got the first wild card for repeat berths.

In the Mediterranean Division, Casablanca (91-71) dethroned defending Arab League Baseball champ Algiers (90-72). The Bruins had been on a franchise-worst 11-year playoff drought, while the Arsenal had been on an 11-year streak. That came to an end, as Algiers was also one game short of the second wild card.

Cairo and Damascus finished even for that last spot at 91-71 with Algiers 90-72, Giza 89-73, and Aleppo 86-76. The Pharaohs won the tiebreaker game over the Dusters to end a three-year playoff drought, while snapped a six-year streak for Damascus.

Western Conference MVP went to Casablanca LF Yasuo Shoji. The 31-year old Japanese righty came to Morocco in 2032 after playing in MLB in his first nine pro seasons. In 2034 for the Bruins, Shoji had 210 hits, 108 runs, 40 doubles, 31 homers, 110 RBI, .368/.402/.632 slash, and 7.1 WAR. Casablanca would trade him in the last year of his deal in 2035 to Aleppo, then Shoji signed at five years and $114 million with Giza.

Casablanca also had the Pitcher of the Year in Omar Ghaith in only his second season. The 22-year old Palestinian righty had a 16-7 record, 2.54 ERA, 212.1 innings, 238 strikeouts, 4 shutouts, 169 ERA+, and 5.4 WAR. Ghaith also tossed a no-hitter on September 2 with 11 strikeouts and one walk facing Muscat.

Suez edged Cairo 2-1 in the wild card round, but was swept 2-0 by top seed Beirut. Casablanca outlasted Khartoum 2-1 on the other side, giving the Bruins their first Western Conference Final trip since 2022. The Bluebirds had only been there twice before (2013, 2004). Beirut’s only pennant was their 2004 ALB title season, but they added 2034 to that trophy case with a 3-0 sweep over Casablanca.

Medina repeated as Arabia Division champ and took the Eastern Conference’s top seed at 103-59. This was the eighth playoff berth in a decade for the Mastodons and their seventh division title. Medina scored 975 runs, the third-best in ALB history. Their 298 homers was the second-most in conference history and their .541 team slugging was third-best in EC history.

Basra was the only winning team in the Mesopotamia Division at 98-64, repeating a division champs. In the Gulf Division, two-time defending conference champ Doha and Muscat both extended playoff streaks, although they switched places from the prior year. The Threshers won the division at 94-68, growing their playoff streak to eight seasons. The Dash were 93-69 for their fifth straight playoff berth, four of which were wild cards. Dubai, a wild card last year, fell to 72-90.

There was a steep drop to the second wild card, which went to the only other winning team Mecca at 84-78. Jeddah was the next closest at 80-82 with everyone else below 80 wins. The Marksmen ended a six-year playoff drought which had no winning seasons. Muscat allowed the conference’s fewest runs with 694.

Baghdad was a non-factor at 74-88, but they had Eastern Conference MVP Abdullah Al-Hafith. The 30-year old first baseman signed with his hometown club in 2034 for $194,800,000 over seven years. This came after a decade in Tunis, including an MVP win in 2031. Al-Hafith led in RBI (159), total bases (452), OPS (1.152), and wRC+ (192). He hit 56 homers with 232 hits, 112 runs, 42 doubles, .373 average, and 9.4 WAR.

Muscat’s Saleh Aljabry won Pitcher of the Year in only his second season, leading in wins (18-9), ERA (2.71), FIP- (67), and WAR (7.0). The 23-year old Saudi righty struck out 247 over 219.1 innings. Aljabry’s time with the Threshers would be short after dealing with shoulder inflammation for almost all of 2036. He would not get resigned and left for New Zealand with OBA’s Christchurch.

Doha downed Mecca 2-0 in the wild card round, but their three-peat bid was thwarted in round two by Medina 2-1. Muscat swept Basra on the other side 2-0, giving the Threshers their fifth Eastern Conference Final trip in seven years. It was the fourth in eight years for the Mastodons, who had lost in 2030 and 2031 against Muscat. The top seed Medina got revenge 3-2 over the Threshers and now lead the conference with eight pennants (1992-95, 2005, 07, 27, 34).

In the 45^th Arab League Championship, Medina seemed on their way to a sweep after winning the first three games. Beirut took games 4-6, but couldn’t complete the comeback as the Mastodons prevailed in game seven. Medina was now tied with Casablanca for the most ALB rings at six (1992, 1993, 2005, 2007, 2027, 2034).

CF Hussain bin Mogazi was finals MVP in his sixth season with Medina. He had been mediocre in the regular season with -0.1 WAR and .672 OPS in 93 games. The 29-year old Saudi in 15 playoff starts had 17 hits, 10 runs, 4 doubles, 5 home runs, and 13 RBI. He would leave for a free agent deal with Beisbol Sudamerica’s Salvador in the winter.

Other notes: Aligiers’ Zakaria Badwan stole 152 bases, tied for the fourth-best single season in world history. The top two spots belong to ALB rival Hassan Shanshol with 159 in 2030 and 157 in 2024. Shanshol signed with Aleppo in 2034 after previously being with Jerusalem and stole 113 bags, his 12^th straight year with 110+ steals. He was now at 1568 career steals, one of only 18 guys above 1500+ swipes through 2036. Aleppo’s Elnatan Gold set the ALB single-season record with 685 at-bats.

Riyadh’s pitching staff allowed 1701 hits, the worst in Eastern Conference history. Their 10.65 H/9 was the second-worst. Cairo’s Mokhtar Bouziane hit for the cycle on August 29 against Amman, then again on September 10 against Jeddah. He became the fourth ALB batter to hit for a cycle twice in one season and became the fourth to earn 3+ in a career, having also done it in 2029.

In hitting milestones, Abbas Hegazy, Abdulhalim Talukder, and Mohamed Neen all joined the 500 home run club, now 44-players strong. Khali Allawi and Walid Zaoui became the 26^th and 27^th to 1500 RBI and Azhar Eid was the 19^th to 1500 runs scored. Eid, Allawi, Talukder, Shanshol, Kamal Qasim, and Gilon Bassman all got to 2500 hits, met by 35 batters. RF Ahmed Yasser Basha won his 7^th Silver Slugger.

ALB saves leader Aaron Buber became the first in the league with 500 career saves and the 13^th in pro baseball history to reach the mark. Muhhamad Nour became only the 7^th to 4000 strikeouts and Bakr Mahdi was the 15^th to 3500 Ks. Mourad Atia became the 18^th ALB ace to 200 wins. RF Nathan Nasreddine won his 12^th consecutive Gold Glove, joining SS Amr Khatab as the only 12+ winners in ALB history. LF Karrar Mazloum won his 8^th Gold Glove.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-31-2025, 07:43 PM

Three teams finished within one game of the East League’s top seed in 2034. Pakistan Division champ Rawalpindi narrowly took it at 102-60 with both Almaty and Tashkent at 101-61 in the North Division. The Red Wings got their third straight division title and fourth consecutive playoff berth. The Assassins and Tomcats both got repeat playoff berths, although they switched spots from the prior year. By tiebreaker, Almaty was the division champ. Since 2020, they’ve only missed the playoffs twice, although they only have one pennant to show for it.

Three-time defending EL champ and 2032 Asian Baseball Federation champ Hyderabad got the second wild card narrowly at 93-69. The Horned Frogs held off Bishkek (91-71), Lahore (91-71), and Osh (90-72) to extend their playoff streak to 11 years.

Hyderabad set a new East League record with 300 home runs, while their 786 runs were the third-most in EL history. They also had a .473 team slugging and Rawalpindi was at .466, the second and third best in East League history. It was the third time in four years that these four teams made the playoffs out of the EL. Tashkent allowed the fewest runs at 513.

Osh 1B Dhurakhon Asadullayev repeated as East League MVP and had an all-time effort in only his fourth year. The 26-year old Kazakh had the 13^th Triple Crown hitting season in ABF history and the first since 2018. Asadullayev also set new ABF single-season records for on-base percentage (.483), OPS (1.295), and walks (125). In all of world history, Asadullayev’s OBP was the 8^th-best and his OPS the 7^th-best qualifying season.

Asadullayev smacked 70 home runs, the third in ABF to do so behind Vahid Hadadi (74 in 1991) and Arytom Masharipov (73 in 2030). He led with 125 runs, 146 RBI, 442 total bases, .364/.485/.810 slash, 264 wRC+, and 13.4 WAR. It was the seventh-best WAR by an ABF position player ever and the second-best by someone not named Nizami Aghazade. Asadullayev’s slugging was the third-best in ABF history and his total bases were tied for fifth. The Oxen wisely gave him an eight-year, $158,200,000 extension after the season to be their superstar long-term. Asadullayev has led in OPS and OBP in each of his first four seasons.

Amro Katrak won Pitcher of the Year in his debut for Lahore, arriving in a March trade from Multan. The 28-year old Pakistani righty had an 18-5 record, 2.18 ERA, 226.2 innings, 262 strikeouts, 165 ERA+, and 7.1 WAR.

The first round matchups both went 2-1 with Rawalpindi over Hyderabad and Tashkent over Almaty. The Red Wings then edged the Tomcats 2-1 in round two to earn their second East League Championship Series trip in four years. The Horned Frogs swept the Assassins 2-0 to start the loser’s bracket, but their four-peat bid was thwarted 2-0 by Tashkent.

The Tomcats got another shot at Rawalpindi and were making their first ELCS trip since their lone ABF titles in 2000 and 2002. The Red Wings were also shooting for their third-ever pennant (1988, 2010). Rawalpindi was also victorious in the rematch 4-2 over Tashkent. This extended the streak of Pakistani teams on top of the East League to ten consecutive seasons. Five different squads have won in that stretch, but the last non-Pakistani team to take the EL pennant was Almaty in 2024.

Defending Asian Baseball Federation champ Baku had set the league record for wins at 118-44 in both 2032 and 2033. As part of their five straight West League pennants, the Blackbirds had also won 100 in 2029, 113 in 2030, and 114 in 2031. Yet somehow, Baku managed to top those numbers with a 124-38 season in 2034. They were only the 11^th team in all of pro baseball history to win 124+ games in a season.

The Blackbirds set a new ABF record as well for team on-base percentage at .350. Their .292 average and 1645 hits both ranked as the second-best. Baku’s pitching staff also allowed only 237 walks with a 1.46 BB/9, the second and third-best respectively in West League history. The Blackbirds were the top scoring team by a healthy margin at 910 and were second in runs allowed at 529.

Tabriz allowed the fewest runs at 505, allowing them to fend off Mashhad by one game in the Central Division. The Tiger Sharks were 105-57 for their fourth playoff berth in five years and first division title since 2024. The Mercury got the first wild card at 104-58 and extended their ABF-record playoff streak to 14 seasons. It was Mashhad’s third straight year with 104+ wins and their seventh time winning 100+ in the streak.

It was a 13 game drop to the second wild card Ahvaz at 91-71, who held off Gaziantep (90-72) and Adana (89-73). This was a banner season for the Athletics, who were a 2030 expansion team. Prior to 2034, their best effort was a lousy 69-93 in their inaugural season. Istanbul, who won 105 games last year, fell to 84-78. Ankara also notably fell to 70-92, their first losing season since 2026.

Baku 1B Artyom Masharipov won his fourth West League MVP in five years, leading in runs (135), homers (69), RBI (156), total bases (451), and slugging (.725). He became the fifth ABF player to win 4+ MVPs. It was the fifth straight year the 30-year old Azeri lefty led in homers, RBI, and slugging.

Masharipov was five homers short of the ABF record and both his RBI tally and total bases ere the fourth-best in ABF history. Masharipov’s run tally was also the seventh-best single-season in ABF. He added 205 hits, 31 doubles, .330 average, 201 wRC+, and 9.5 WAR.

Blackbirds ace Agshin Jumayev joined Yazeed Anwari as the only seven-time Pitcher of the Year winners in ABF. The 33-year old Tajik lefty had also won in 2025, 27, 29, 30, 31, and 33 for Baku. He led in wins (22-7) and strikeouts (379) while posting a 3.12 ERA over 262.1 innings, 120 ERA+, and 7.0 WAR. It was notably his first season with an ERA above three since his 2024 sophomore campaign. The Blackbirds signed Jumayev in May to a five-year, $124 million extension.

The upstart Ahvaz shocked Baku 2-1 in the first round while Tabriz bested Mashhad 2-0. The Tiger Sharks then swept the Athletics 2-0 in round two, earning their second trip to the West League Championship Series in five years. The Blackbirds had previously used the double-elimination format to prolong the dynasty and looked to do so again, defeating the Mercury 2-1 to start the loser’s bracket.

However, Ahvaz again stunned Baku 2-1 in their rematch, ending the six-peat bid despite their best-ever record. Of the 11 teams in world history to win 124+ games, the Blackbirds became the fourth to fail to advance to the subleague final. This was one of the great disappointments and upsets ever, especially considering the wild card Athletics were a five-year old franchise that had never posted a winning season previously.

While Ahvaz had Baku’s number, they didn’t have Tabriz’s. Just like in round two, the Tiger Sharks swept the Athletics, this time 4-0 in the WLCS. Tabriz became three-time West League champs, having gone on to win it all in both 2019 and 2023.

Tabriz claimed that third ring by defeating Rawalpindi 4-2 in the 50^th ABF Championship. They were the first Iranian champ since Tehran in 2028. 3B Zahra Rezvani won finals MVP in his sixth season for the Tiger Sharks. In 14 playoff starts, the 28-year old Iranian had 18 hits, 5 runs, 4 doubles, 1 homer, and 4 RBI.

Another notable was 1B Jason Perazzo, who set the ABF playoff record with 21 RBI. Over 14 games, he had 17 hits, 14 runs, 3 doubles, and 9 homers, missing the ABF homers record by one. The 39-year old American had a likely 17-year MLB Hall of Fame career with San Diego’s dynasty, but came to Iran on a three-year, $10,440,000 deal with Tabriz in 2033. Perazzo had more than 2000+ career pro RBI and was approaching 900 home runs and 2000 runs scored.

Other notes: Rawalpindi’s Zahir Yazdani had a four home run game on June 15 against Karachi, the fifth four-homer game in ABF history. On April 12, Mashhad’s Farhad Hedayat had only the 17^th six-hit game against Adana. Adana’s Jordane Gosselar set a bad single-season record by allowing 141 walks.

In hitting milestones, Sultan Han became the 10^th slugger to 1500 career RBI. Cihat Cetinkaya became the 19^th to 2500 hits. Artyom Masharipov, Bakhtiyar Kasymov, and Emir Han became the 44^th, 45^th, and 46^th members of the 400 home run club. In pitching milestones, Hasan Yousefi was the 7^th to reach 4500 strikeouts. Hamid Osam and Sistani Ahmadzai became the 25^th and 26^th to 3500 Ks. Osam also became the 20^th to 200 wins. Sabri Erdelhun was the 6^th to 300 saves.

Catcher Ali Mahdian won his 15^th Gold Glove, becoming one of only 12 players in world history to win the honor 15+ times. He’s the only catcher to ever do it and joined RF Hana Zuhair as ABF’s only 15-time Gold Glovers. LF Cihat Cetinkaya won his 7^th Gold Glove. Two-way player Safdar Kalhwan won his 12^th Silver Slugger as a pitcher. SS Vugar Sodikov won his 10^th Silver Slugger and Khalaf bin Abdullah won his 8^th with six in CF and two in RF.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-01-2025, 07:48 AM

With the 2034 season, the Asian Baseball Federation became the latest of the Global Baseball Alliance major leagues to complete 50 seasons. ABF has evolved quite a bit in its relatively short tenure. When it began in 1985, it was just a collection of teams from Pakistan, Turkey, and Iran. The first major expansion came in 2000 with the exodus of teams from Eurasian Professional Baseball. This brought in the established Central Asian franchises from EPB. ABF added its own expansion teams again in 2009, 2020, and 2030 to get to the current lineup.

Of the original teams, Hyderabad has easily been the most dominant overall with the most playoff berths, championships, and LCS trips. Since their 2000 arrival, Baku has been the most impressive with their dynasty runs. Bishkek has nearly the same winning percentage as the Blackbirds, although they’ve found less in terms of postseason success.

The rest of the original teams have had a decent amount of parity. All of the original teams have been to the ABF Championship at least once and only Izmir is without a championship from that group. While many of the former EPB teams have had success, ABF’s organic expansion teams still lack a finals appearance, although they’re still young.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-01-2025, 08:52 PM

Ahmedabad took the India League’s top seed at 105-57 in 2034, growing their playoff and West Division title streaks to nine seasons. In South Asia Baseball’s 55 seasons, the Animals have made the playoffs a remarkable 42 times. Ahmedabad allowed the fewest runs in 2034 with 565 and was the #1 seed for the second time in three years.

Delhi bounced back from a 76-86 season in 2033 and were close behind the Animals for the top seed. The Drillers won the Central Division at 103-59 for their fifth playoff berth in six years, although it was their first division title since winning it all in 2029. Delhi was the IL’s top scoring team at 845 runs.

Hyderabad dethroned Visakhapatnam’s dynasty in the South Division with the Hippos on top at 98-64. Although it was Hyderbad’s fourth straight postseason berth, their last division title was 2022. Since then, the Volts had won the division each year except 2029 and had six pennants. The two-time defending SAB champ and three-time defending Indian League champ finished at 86-76. Visakhapatnam missed the playoffs for only the second time in 12 years.

In the wild card race, it was Mumbai (95-67) and last year’s ILCS runner-up Kolkata (94-68) advancing. The Meteors snapped an 11-year playoff drought, while the Cosmos got back-to-back berths. Lucknow was the first team out at 92-70, denying them a third straight playoff berth.

1B Advik Jagur won Indian League MVP in his third season with Delhi. The 34-year old righty had been mostly a journeyman before joining the Drillers, previously playing for Visakhapatnam, Mandalay, Patna, and Jaipur. Jagur led in RBI (146) and total bases (392). He had 224 hits, 120 runs, 45 doubles, 39 home runs, .360/.399/.630 slash, 185 wRC+, and 7.5 WAR.

In his second year as a full-time starter, Lucknow’s Rahul Katti won Pitcher of the Year. The 27-year old Indian righty was the eighth overall pick in the 2029 SAB Draft for the Larks. He won the ERA title in 2034 at 2.60 and had the best FIP- at 62. Katti had a 13-10 record and 11 saves, 187 innings, 271 strikeouts, and 5.9 WAR. His efforts earned a five-year, $63,120,000 extension signed in late June. Also of note, Visakhapatnam’s Hari Zulfikkur won his third Reliever of the Year award.

Mumbai swept Kolkata in the wild card round 2-0, then upset Ahmedabad 3-2 in the divisional series. It is the second time in three years that the Animals got the #1 seed and won 100+ games, but went one-and-done in the postseason. For the Meteors, they hadn’t gotten to the Indian League Championship Series since their last playoff berth and pennant back in 2022.

Delhi downed Hyderabad 3-1 on the other side, giving the Drillers their second ILCS trip in three years. They had been the SAB Champion as recently as 2029. Mumbai seemed on their way by winning the first three games of the series, but Delhi pulled off the rally from down 3-0 to win the series in seven. It was only the second time the Indian League Championship Series had seen a 3-0 rally, joining Jaipur’s 2009 comeback against Kolkata. It was only the third time that the pennant went to India’s capital region (2021, 2029, 2034).

Ho Chi Minh City for the sixth consecutive seasons won 100+ games and the South Division title. The Hedgehogs had their best record of the run at 111-51 to earn the Southeast Asia League’s top seed. HCMC’s offense set new SAB team records for batting average (.305), slugging (.543), and hits (1791). They also had the third-highest season attendance in SEAL history at 2,247,156. Ho Chi Minh City was unsurprisingly the top scoring team at 975 runs.

Defending SEAL champ Yangon was the #2 seed at 100-62 for a fifth consecutive Central Division title. In a 40 year stretch, the Green Dragons have only missed the playoffs twice and only missed a winning season once. Dhaka got the West Division title at 97-65. The Dobermans have only missed the playoffs once in 14 years, although this was only their second division title in nine years. Mandalay had controlled things in recent memory, but their eight-year playoff streak came to an end. The Mammoths were six games behind Dhaka in the divisional race at 91-71.

Mandalay also ended up three games short of the second wild card spot. Bangkok got the first at 96-66 and Hanoi was second at 94-68. Colombo was also in the mix but missed at 90-72. The Bobcats earned a fourth consecutive wild card and had 96 team triples, the second-most in SAB history. For the once dominant Hounds, this ended a decade-long playoff drought, although they had generally hovered around .500 and had rarely been outright terrible. The Mammoths had allowed the league’s fewest runs at 621.

Yangon’s Khan Nishar won Southeast Asia League MVP for the second time in three years. The 34-year old Indian DH led in runs (140), walks (98), OBP (.413), slugging (.664), OPS (1.077), and wRC+ (181). Nishar added 190 hits, 43 doubles, 47 homers, 126 RBI, .317 average, and 8.2 WAR. It was only the 11^th time in SAB that a player scored 140+ runs, which Nishar had already done with 142 in 2032. This was the fifth and final year for Nishar with the Green Dragons, as he’d return to free agency in the winter and ink a four-year, $83,200,000 deal with Delhi.

Colombo’s Sanjit Ali won Pitcher of the Year with the ERA title at 2.41. The 25-year old Bangladeshi lefty had a 17-2 record, 216.1 innings, 277 strikeouts, 177 ERA+, 69 FIP-, and 6.2 WAR. The Catfish had picked him seventh overall in the 2028 SAB Draft. In the offseason, Aliwould sign a team-friendly five-year, $56,580,000 extension.

Bangkok swept Hanoi 2-0 in the wild card round and gave Ho Chi Minh City a battle in the divisional series, although the Hedgehogs survived 3-2. Despite six straight 100+ win seasons, this was only the second time in that stretch (2029) that HCMC had advanced to the Southeast Asia League Championship. The Hedgehogs’ last pennant was 2024, their only title since the great dynasty run from 1987-2009.

Yangon outlasted Dhaka 3-2 on the other side of the bracket, giving the defending champs a chance at their fourth pennant in five years. These were SEAL’s two most decorated teams with a storied playoff rivalry, but they hadn’t met in the LCS since 2009. Both squads had won 15 SEAL titles, the most in league history. The matchup had a lot of hype, but it ended up being non-competitive with a Ho Chi Minh City sweep for their first pennant in a decade.

The 55^th SAB Championship went to Delhi 4-2 over Ho Chi Minh City, making the Drillers three-time overall champs (2021, 2029, 2034). League MVP Advik Jagur was also finals MVP, getting 27 hits, 14 runs, 6 doubles, 2 homers, and 11 RBI over 17 playoff starts.

Other notes: Rajshahi’s Naung Zar had 62 doubles, breaking the SAB single-season record of 60 which had been reached twice. 62+ doubles has only happened 43 times in all of pro baseball history. Nagpur at 61-101 set a few Indian League records, most of which were bad. The one good one was that they stole 427 bases, breaking the record 411 they set two years prior. On the bad side, the Patriots set new IL worsts for runs allowed (872), hits allowed (1666), and H/9 (10.49). Kanpur also had historically bad pitching, as their 5.03 ERA, 797 earned runs, and 1.475 WHIP were each the second-worst in IL history.

In milestones, Agnisika Dhavita became the 8^th member of the 3000 hit club. Cong Bui, Randall Batin, and Pyae Sin Nyo became the 40^th, 41^st, and 42^nd to 2500 hits. Bui also became the 25^th to 1500 RBI. Alfonso Giraldes was the 35^th to reach 500 home runs. Eight guys crossed 400 homers, bringing that group to 73 SAB sluggers.

2B Hamidul Islam won his 8^th Silver Slugger and second at second base, having previously won six as a DH. C Channam Naina won his 7^th Silver Slugger. Mat Toe Moe became the 20^th closer to 300 saves. 1B Gurdip Anand and 3B Vatish Bharat won their 7^th Gold Gloves.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-02-2025, 08:02 AM

2034 was unusual in the Western League as the top five records all came out of the North Division. However, West African Baseball’s playoff formatting had only the top two from each division advance to the postseason. Reigning WAB champ Bamako and Dakar finished even atop the North at 99-63, followed by Nouakchott (95-67), Banjul (92-70), and Conakry (92-70).

The tiebreaker formula favored the Bullfrogs, which was critical since that guaranteed them a repeat spot in the Western League Championship Series. The Dukes would have to climb the ladder for a third straight LCS trip, although their playoff streak grew to an impressive 11 seasons. Dakar was the leading scorer at 919 runs while Bamako allowed the fewest at 637.

From the South Division, Freetown finished first at 87-75. Monrovia took the second place slot at 84-78, one ahead of 83-79 Kumasi. The Foresters are back after going 77-85 in 2033, which was only their second playoff miss since 2022. The Diplomats earned a third consecutive playoff trip and their fourth berth in five years.

In his 17^th season starting for Freetown, 1B Youssoupha Diop won his first Western League MVP. The 37-year old lefty from Senegal won his eighth Silver Slugger, but he had never taken the top honor despite being a Hall of Fame lock. Diop led in RBI (148) and had 58 home runs, 210 hits, 124 runs, 34 doubles, .347/.415/.690 slash, 181 wRC+, and 8.0 WAR.

It was a remarkable comeback season, as he had posted career worsts across the board the prior year with an .817 OPS and 0.9 WAR; leading many to think he was washed. Diop became WAB’s 5^th member of the 800 home run club and the 5^th to 2000 runs scored. He was one of 31 players in all of pro baseball history with 2000+ runs. Diop had also previously reached 3000 hits and 2000 RBI. Diop and Abdel Aziz Ashraf were both within striking distance of passing Lawrence Nassif’s 2338 RBI for the WAB career record.

He earned MVP despite some stiff competition, including the two-time defending winner Emmanuel Marshall with Accra. The 28-year old RF missed time to a strained back, but still in 127 games led in homers (63), OBP (.431), slugging (.822), OPS (1.253), wRC+ (214), and WAR (8.8). Marshall’s slugging was a new WAB single-season record, beating the previous best .799 by Haji Mussa from 2026.

Marshall’s slugging ranks as the 17^th-best qualifying mark in all of pro baseball history. His OPS was also the third-best in WAB and 29^th in world history, one of only 32 times a player was above 1.250. This got Marshall paid handsomely by the Alligators with an eight-year, $308,500,000 extension signed in May.

Bamako’s Vinny Nga won Pitcher of the Year and was the second closer in WAB history to win the award, joining Francis Koomson (2006, 07). Despite that, Nga actually didn’t win Reliever of the Year, as that went to Dakar’s Irad Lawali with 40 saves, a 1.27 ERA, and 4.4 WAR.

For the 28-year old Cameroonian, he led in saves with 43 and had a 0.95 ERA over 85.3 innings, 69 games, 186 strikeouts, 14 walks, 481 ERA+, and 5.1 WAR. Nga would’ve been only the fifth Reliever of the Year winner with a sub-one ERA had he won that award. He would parlay this into a MLB deal in 2036 with Halifax.

Dakar edged Monrovia in the first round 2-1, then fell 2-0 at Freetown in round two. The Foresters earned their eighth trip to the Western League Championship Series since 2024, having won three pennants in that stretch. They took the defending champ Bamako to the limit, but the Bullfrogs escaped 3-2 for the repeat. Bamako became ten-time WL champs (1976, 83, 86, 2003, 15, 17, 19, 21, 33, 34).

Libreville set a franchise record at 106-56 to win the Coastal Division and take the top seed in the Eastern League. The Lakers had only been the top seed or a division champ once before with their lone pennant in 2016. Libreville hadn’t been a playoff team since 2022 and last made the ELCS in 2021. The Lakers had been building with a near miss at 90-72 the prior year, but that had been their first winning season in 11 years. They had to fend off defending EL champ Douala, who easily took second at 98-64 for their third straight playoff berth.

The Dingos didn’t match their record-setting offense from 2033 and it was Libreville who led WAB with 995 runs. Douala still scored a strong 922 runs and had a .318 team batting average and .364 on-base percentage, second-best in WAB history behind their .326/.369 from the prior year. The Dingos also only struck out 1101 times, which was the second-best in EL history. Notably down in the division was Cotonou at 77-85, ending their eight-year playoff streak.

Ibadan won the Interior Division by a firm margin at 97-65 and allowed the EL’s fewest runs at 710. This ended a six-year playoff drought for the Iguanas. Second place had a tie at 88-74 between Benin City and Niamey, followed by Kano (82-80) and Ouagadougou (81-81). The Blue Devils won the tiebreaker game for their third straight playoff berth and fifth in six years.

Douala’s Ram Lengani repeated as Eastern League MVP, leading in runs (134), RBI (164), triple slash (.381/.439/.695), OPS (1.134), wRC+ (173), and WAR (9.1). The 26-year old Burkinabe second baseman added 231 hits, 49 doubles, and 44 home runs. The former #1 overall pick eventually got a mammoth extension with the Dingos in March 2036 at eight years and $374,500,000.

Ibadan’s Yakubu Babwo won his second Pitcher of the Year, having also done it in his sophomore 2031 campaign. The 26-year old Nigerian lefty won the ERA title (2.44) and led in WHIP (1.02). Babawo had a 17-8 record, 181 innings, 270 strikeouts, 194 ERA+, and 7.0 WAR. He missed a few starts in the early spring to a strained shoulder. The Iguanas gave Babawo a five-year, $35,520,000 extension in May.

Benin City ousted the defending EL champ Douala 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs. The Blue Devils fell 2-0 to Ibadan in round two, sending the Iguanas to their first Eastern League Championship Series since 2027. The series went all five games, but top seed Libreville held to win their second pennant (2016, 2034).

The 60^th West African Championship had Bamako defeat Libreville 4-1. After losing their first eight finals trips, the Bullfrogs were now repeat champs. Finals MVP went to Lakers’ RF Kadhiri Sassou in a losing effort, getting 13 hits, 8 runs, 3 homers, and 9 RBI in 10 playoff starts. Bamako is the fourth WAB franchise to earn a repeat, joining Lagos (1978-79, 91-92), Cotonou (2010-11, 26-27), and Kano (1975-76, 97-99, 2001-03).

Other notes: Dakar’s Cedric St-Pierre notably had 709 at-bats, 271 hits, 127 runs, 444 total bases, a .382 average, and 7.6 WAR. The at-bats tied the world record set by WAB’s Justin Karefa-Smart in 709. It was only the third-time in world history that anyone had 270+ hits, as WAB legend and world hit king Fares Belaid had twice gotten to 282. 260+ hits has only happened 11 times ever; St-Pierre has now done it twice (260 in 2033) and Belaid did it six times. St-Pierre also had a 32-game hitting streak in the fall.

Amazingly, there were three longer streaks in 2034 with Popeye Bukola and Rodrigue Adoum both going 35 games. The clear standout was Banjul’s William Green at 45 games, breaking Belaid’s WAB record 43 from 2021. This was only the 17^th streak in pro baseball history of 40+ games and one of six at 45+ games. The world record remains 54 by Sandile Nyambi in the 2018 CABA season.

Junior Jose became the 14^th member of the 600 home run club and Julus Emmanuel was the 28^th to 500 dingers. Jose and Edward Mumini became the 26^th and 27^th to 1500 career RBI. Tigui Ekanga was the 21^st to 1500 runs scored. El Hadj Sghair was the 42^nd to 2500 hits. Jose won his 9^th Silver Slugger at 3B and SS Prince Kofi won his 7^th. Guillaume Mbimbiangoye was the 2^nd closer to 300 saves. The record is 377 by Christopher James.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-02-2025, 07:24 PM

Shijiazhuang won the East Central Division for the fourth consecutive year and narrowly took the Northern League’s top seed at 97-65. The Serpents were the NL’s top scoring team with 688 runs and set a new Chinese League Baseball team record with 252 home runs. They had previously held the record with 235 dingers in both 2031 and 2032.

Dalian at 96-66 was one back on the top seed, but won the Northeast Division by ten games over Harbin. This was the first playoff trip or winning season since 2026 for the Gold Dragons. For the Hellcats, their playoff streak ended at five seasons. Xi’an won the West Division at 91-71; they hadn’t been a playoff team or above .500 since 2027. Last year’s division champ Lanzhou was a distant second at 81-81.

The closest division was the Southeast with Nanjing (87-75) edging out defending NL champ Hangzhou (86-76) and Shanghai (84-78). The Nuggets ended an eight-year playoff drought back to their 2025 China Series victory. The Seawolves allowed an NL-best 528 runs.

In his first full season starting, Shijiazhuang RF Ferly Widagdo won Northern League MVP. The 24-year old Indonesian led in total bases (412), slugging (.712), OPS (1.110), wRC+ (228), and WAR (10.3). Widagdo had 203 hits, 108 runs, 34 doubles, 51 home runs, and 109 RBI.

Widagdo had incredibly tough competition for the award from teammate LF Guobao Zhuang, who led with 68 home runs and 134 RBI. This was tied for the third-most homers in a CLB season, behind the 70 hit by Peng Wang in 2011 and Liren Poh in 2031. Zhuang’s RBI were also the eighth-most in CLB history. It was his ninth and final season with the Serpents, as this put him on the international radars heading into free agency. Zhuang would sign a five-year, $137 million deal in the winter with MLB’s Anchorage Avalanche.

Lanzhou righty Yue Xu won Pitcher of the Year, leading in wins (21-7), strikeouts (328), WHIP (0.74), K/BB (21.9), complete games (18), FIP- (49), and WAR (9.8). Nicknamed “Worm,” the 25-year old had a 1.85 ERA over 243.1 innings. Xu was 0.20 away from a Triple Crown behind Hangzhou’s Herry Handoko at 1.65.

Shijiazhuang took the top spot out of the triple round robin at 7-2, advancing to the semifinal along with 5-4 Nanjing. Dalian (4-5) and Xi’an (4-2) were both ousted. The Serpents were making their third straight trip in the semis, while the Nuggets last got there in 2025. The hard-hitting Shijiazhuang powered their way to a 4-1 series win over Nanjing for their second Northern League crown in three years.

Reigning CLB champ Changsha had the best overall record at 101-61 for the Southern League’s top seed and a third straight Central Division crown. The Cannons allowed the fewest runs at 473 and had a 1,972,899 season attendance, the second-best in SL history. Kunming won a competitive Southwest Division at 94-68 over 89-73 efforts by both Foshan and Guangzhou. The Muscle ended a six-year playoff drought and the Gamecocks had their four-year streak thwarted.

Macau entered the season with the second-longest active playoff drought at 13 years, but ended it at 91-71 atop the Southeast Division. The Magicians had their own impressive offense, setting SL records for triple slash (.274/.320/.450), runs (750), and hits (1499). The OBP was an overall CLB record; while the average, slugging, and runs scored were each the second-best and the hits were third-best. Lastly in the East Division, Wenzhou was the only team above .500 at 86-76. Nanchang, who had their first-ever playoff berth the prior year at 98-64, dropped to second at 80-82. The Wild ended a three-year playoff drought.

Although the Crickets fell off, they had the Southern League MVP Jinhao Lin with an all-time great season. The 27-year old RF set CLB single-season records for on-base percentage (.452), slugging (.776), and OPS (1.227). The previous bests were .444, .758, and 1.180. Lin’s .363 batting average was also the fourth-best in CLB history.

Lin also led in runs (122), homers (62), walks (82), total bases (425), wRC+ (261) and WAR (14.1). He had 199 hits, 22 doubles, and 114 RBI, four short of a Triple Crown. Lin’s WAR was the sixth-best by a CLB position player and his total bases were second behind Cheng Kang’s 433 from 2016. Perhaps his funniest accolade was getting suspended three games after an August 18 brawl, then getting into another brawl ten days later with another three game suspension. Nanchang had picked Lin #2 overall in the 2029 CLB Draft.

Kunming’s Yoksing Hu made history, becoming the first in CLB to win both Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same campaign. The #4 pick in the 2033 CLB Draft, Hu was the 2034 leader in ERA (1.59), wins (20-4), and WHIP (0.85). He struck out 268 over 231.2 innings with a 203 ERA+, 59 FIP-, and 8.1 WAR.

Despite having the weakest record of the playoff teams, Wenzhou was the top team from the Triple Round Robin at 7-2. The top seeds Changsha and Kunming were both 4-5 and Macau was 3-6. The tiebreaker sent the Cannons forward to keep the repeat bid alive. For the Wild, their only previous semifinal trip was their 2030 pennant. In a seven-game classic, Wenzhou upset Changsha 4-3.

The 65^th China Series was the second to feature two of the 2009 expansion squads against each other (Urumqi vs. Shantou 2024). Wenzhou pulled off yet another upset, defeating the 2032 champs Shijiazhuang 4-2. LF Tarzin Dohadailo was finals MVP in his fifth season for the Wild. In 22 playoff starts, the 27-year old Kazakh had 29 hits, 10 runs, 4 doubles, 8 homers, 20 RBI, and 1.4 WAR. He was only the third to post 20+ RBI in a CLB playoff run.

The run of parity continued for the top spot as the Wild were the tenth different CLB champ in as many years. Wenzhou became the 25^th different franchise to win it all, leaving Nanning as the only one of the six 2009 expansion teams without a ring. Four original teams (Qingdao, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Macau) still didn’t have a title along with the two 2030 expansion teams.

Other notes: Although Beijing was 78-84, they set the CLB team record for doubles with 254. The previous best was 249 by Tianjin in 1974. Similarly, Hong Kong was mid at 82-80, but they set a new team record with 370 stolen bases. The Champions had set the record the year prior at 365. Shijiazhuang reliever Yuxing Lin set a playoff record for appearances with 13. Wenzhou’s Hongquan He set a bad playoff record, allowing 52 hits.

Hangzhou’s Di Zhou had a 33-game hitting streak, passing Feng Smith’s 32 from 2028 for the CLB single-season record. Nanning’s Simon Chang had only the fourth four home run game in CLB history on June 1 against Shenzhen. Chang and Ming Li became the 18^th and 19^th members of the 400 home run club. Yongxin Li and Xiaotian Shu were the 21^st and 22^nd to 2000 hits.

Chang, Li, Syamsul Azzahari, and Zhongting Zhang all crossed 1000 career RBI, now met by 19 players in the very low scoring CLB. Li was also the 19^th to 1000 runs scored. SS Weiman Hiang won his 8^th Gold Glove and RF Ahmad Al-Salimi won his 7^th. 3B Qinghong Duan won his 9^th Silver Slugger, tying Liang Yehya for the position record at third base.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-03-2025, 06:17 AM

The defending Taiwan-Philippine Association champ Tainan again took the top seed at 97-65 atop the Taiwan League. The Titans earned a fourth straight playoff trip and their third TL title in that stretch. Kaohsiung was firmly second at 93-69 to end a seven-year playoff drought, while last year’s wild card Taoyuan fell to 72-90. Tainan led all of Austronesia Professional Baseball with 650 runs and allowed the TPA’s fewest at 462.

After having their playoff streak snapped in 2033 at eight seasons, Cebu returned to the Philippine League throne at 93-69. Quezon, the PL winner the prior two years, got the wild card at 90-72. Zamboanga was also in the mix but missed out at 86-76.

Chiayi finished 81-81, the best record yet for the 2029 expansion squad. Veteran 1B Chia-Jung Su led the way, winning his first Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP at age 34. Su had played 14 years for Tainan before signing in 2034 on a four-year, $71,200,000 deal with the City Hawks. Su led in home runs (55) and had 171 hits, 94 runs, 21 doubles, 14 triples, 116 RBI, .295/.368/.664 slash, 7.7 WAR, and 194 wRC+.

The Titans meanwhile had the Pitcher of the Year Yu-Lin Hsu in his eighth season. The 30-year old Taiwanese lefty led in wins (22-8), ERA (1.87), innings (274), complete games (25), shutouts (7), FIP- (45), and WAR (12.1). Hsu was second in strikeouts at 351, but his teammate Kuan-Yang Kang was well ahead of him with 440 Ks. Kang’s mark was the 11^th-best single season in APB history and only the second time someone got 440+ in the 21^st Century.

Both first place teams won in the divisional round 3-1 with Cebu over Kaohsiung and Tainan over Quezon. This was a rematch of the 2031 Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship, which was part of the Crows’ five titles in the last decade. The Titans got some revenge 4-2 over Cebu to earn the repeat. Tainan became five-time TPA champs, having also won in 1969, 1972, and 1979.

Two-time defending APB champ Bandung again won the Java Sea League and had the Sundaland Association’s top record at 102-60. Semarang was a competitive second at 97-65 to earn repeat playoff trips. The Blackhawks offense had 1392 hits, the second-best in SA history behind their own 1408 last year. Despite that, it was third place Depok at 82-80 who led the association with 604 runs.

Kuala Lumpur claimed the Malacca League at 99-63 for their third playoff trip in four years. Medan was second at 94-68 for their fourth wild card in five years. Last year’s ML champ Singapore was a non-factor at 80-82. The Leopards pitching staff had 1882 strikeouts, a new SA record, while their 11.40 K/9 was the second-best mark. Despite that, KL’s 442 runs allowed were second in 2034 with Semarang at 441.

Makassar 2B Florencio Salomon picked up Sundaland Association MVP in his fourth season. The 26-year old from East Timor led in hits (203), average (.344), OBP (.389), and wRC+ (196). Salomon had 71 runs, 26 doubles, 18 triples, 16 homers, 65 RBI, and 8.4 WAR. He was a fourth round draft pick in 2030, but had emerged as a sleeper star for the Maroon Giants.

Semarang’s Sutrisno Kartanto won Pitcher of the Year, leading in wins (23-4), ERA (1.27), WHIP (0.66), complete games (12), shutouts (7), FIP- (36), and WAR (10.8). The 27-year old Indonesian righty struck out 364 over 234.2 innings. Kartanto was 30 strikeouts short of the Triple Crown behind Kuala Lumpur’s Thipanraj Shahdan at 394 Ks. Kartanto finished second in MVP voting as well with his effort.

League champs advanced out of the divisional round with Bandung outlasting Medan 3-2 and Kuala Lumpur over Semarang 3-1. The Blackhawks were going for the three-peat, while the Leopards were the 2031 champs. Kuala Lumpur pulled off the upset in a seven-game classic in the Sundaland Association Championship to earn their second pennant.

The 70^th Austronesia Championship lacked drama as it was back-to-back years with a sweep. Tainan had been on the losing end in 2033, but secured the sweep in 2034 over Kuala Lumpur. The Titans became the 20^th APB franchise to win it all, having gone 0-4 in their previous finals trips. Finals MVP was 1B Kuo-Chen Chiang as the 24-year old lefty had 13 hits, 6 runs, 5 homers, and 9 RBI in 12 playoff starts.

Other notes: For back-to-back seasons, 12-time Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP Binh Tang was second in MVP voting. Tang still had 10.3 WAR, leading for the 12^th time and for the 7^th consecutive year. At only age 34, the Vietnamese lefty was now at 164.7 WAR, passing legendary pitcher Ching-Chen Yao (163.5) as APB’s all-time WARlord. Tang had 95 RBI in 2034 to get to 1669, passing Wil Tabaldo’s 1658 as APB’s all-time leader. He also led in runs for the 11^th time, batting average for the ninth time, and OBP for the 12^th time.

Tang was already the APB leader for runs scored and total bases. Tang was quickly making his way towards more records. He was third in doubles at 495, but Iqbal Safari’s record 525 was within striking distance. Tang was at 2964 hits and 665 home runs, still needing a few more seasons to reach Junior Sanchez’s 3564 hits or Tabaldo’s 766 dingers.

He won his 14^th Silver Slugger and his third playing second base, having previous wins at 1B and DH. Tang is the only APB player with 14+ Sluggers and one of only 21 players in world history to do it. In other hitting milestones, Chin-Tsai Lan was the 33^rd to 400 career home runs and the 46^th to 1000 RBI. Fandi Makatindu, Chia-Jung Su, and Adam Mapiut got to 2000 hits, now met by 68 APB batters. Su was the 35^th to 1000 runs scored.

SP Kuan-Yang Kang won his 11^th Gold Glove, SP Zulfadhmi Suhaimi won his 9^th, and RF Jeremiah Lang won his 7^th. Kang is the first pitcher in any world league to win 11+ Gold Gloves. Kang also became the 23^rd APB ace with 4000 career strikeouts. Ronaldo Sahri became the 39^th to 3500 Ks. Je-Chang Yang and Ferry Iilang became the 29^th and 30^th to 200 wins. Taryono Putra became the 5^th to 400 saves.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-03-2025, 04:48 PM

The Australasia League was guaranteed a shakeup as two-time defending champ Brisbane fell off to 79-83, their first losing season since 2027. It became a two-team race late with Hobart (97-65) hanging on over Melbourne (96-66). The Tasmaniacs earned their first-ever pennant, leaving fellow 2006 expansion team Timor as the only remaining Oceania Baseball Association team without a pennant. Christchurch was a competitive third (91-71) followed by Auckland (89-73) and Perth (88-74).

Hobart outperformed their expected win/loss by seven games. The Chinooks were the top scoring team at 740 runs, although the Tasmaniacs were three behind. The Mets allowed the fewest runs at 527 and set a new OBA team record with a 10.89 K/9. Melbourne’s 1775 total strikeouts fell just behind 1974 Samoa’s 1796 for the top mark.

Perth’s Marika Wati won his second Australasia League MVP, having previously done it back in 2027. The 33-year old Fijian DH led in runs (97), RBI (143), total bases (390), wRC+ (176), and WAR (7.1). Wati had 211 hits, 40 doubles, 43 home runs, and a .325/.358/.597 slash. The 143 RBI tied for the tenth-best OBA single-season. Wati had been an ironman since coming to the Penguins in a 2026 trade with Auckland and had started all 162 games in five of the last six seasons. The one miss was 2030, when he started 161.

Melbourne’s David Sherman won both Pitcher of the Year and Reliever of the Year, leading in saves (48) and games (73). The 26-year old Australian righty pitched 89 innings with five runs allowed (four earned) for a 0.40 ERA. He struck out 138 with a 6-4 record, 891 ERA+, and 5.3 WAR. Sherman set the record for the best ERA by an OBA ROTY winner with very few closers ever in any world league posting a better ERA.

The Pacific League was also guaranteed a new winner after reigning OBA champ Port Moresby struggled to a 73-89 season. Tahiti emerged in a four team race at 95-67 ahead of Fiji (94-68), Guadalcanal (93-69), and Samoa (91-71). It was the 14^th title for the Tropics, ending an 18-year drought. The Sun Sox were the top scoring team at 755 runs and the Green Jackets allowed the fewest at 577.

Guam set a new OBA team record with 285 home runs, besting Guadalcanal’s record 279 from both 2012 and 2013. Despite that, the Golden Eagles were a mediocre 76-86. Leading the way was Pacific League MVP Jun Lopez-Torres in his second season for Guam. The 29-year old Australian LF signed after six years with Melbourne, including an MVP in 2030.

Lopez-Torres was the leader in hits (189), RBI (130), total bases (379), slugging (.634), OPS (.987), and wRC+ (179). He added 105 runs, 21 doubles, 14 triples, 47 home runs, 56 stolen bases, a .316 average, and 9.0 WAR. Lopez-Torres wasn’t thrilled with Guam’s struggles and opted out of his deal in the winter, signing for six years and $162 million with Tahiti.

Fiji’s Kirk Inotsume won Pitcher of the Year and his third Gold Glove, leading in quality starts (34) and FIP- (76). The 29-year old Australian righty had a 2.47 ERA over 303 innings, 20-13 record, 266 strikeouts, 149 ERA+, and 7.8 AWR. Inotsume pitched his first three years with Gold Coast before getting traded for 2032 to the Freedom. Fiji would sign him in May 2035 to a five-year, $173 million extension to remain their ace long-term.

Tahiti returned to the throne by defeating first-time finalist Hobart 4-2 in the 75^th Oceania Championship. The Tropics became seven-time OBA champs (1965, 1975, 2003, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2034). Last year’s Rookie of the Year Patrick MacLean was finals MVP, going 8-22 with 3 runs, 1 double, 1 homer, and 4 RBI. He had been drafted 14^th by Adelaide in 2029, but was traded to Tahiti for 2033. Teammate Geoffrey Kelty also notably set a playoff record with 11 singles.

Other notes: Canberra’s John Skeffington set new OBA single-season records for hits (239) and singles (192). His .3723 average was the third-best, only narrowly behind Nilton Paiva’s .3736 from 2022 and William Buchholz’s .3726 from 2016. Skeffington beat out Pavia by one for the hits record. Guadalcanal had 110 triples for a new Pacific League best. New Caledonia set new all-time PL pitching worsts for team ERA (4.84), hits allowed (1588), runs allowed (852) and earned runs (781). Their 9.84 H/9 ranked as second-worst.

Timmy Ellis, Hunter Dobbie, and Liam Winmar each joined the 500 home run club, making it 21 members strong. Peter Gosden, Dakota Rasmussen, and Evan Yoshida made the 400 homer club, now with 53 players. Winmar and Dobbie were the 77^th and 78^th to 1000 runs scored. Marika Wati, Vic Ahn, and David Odom made it 86 sluggers with 1000 RBI. Hudson Armfield was the 73^rd to 2000 hits.

Odom won his 11^th Gold Glove at first base, Catcher Kristian Duenas won his 10^th Gold Glove and SP Jayden Rhode earned his 7^th. Both Odom and Duenas held their position’s record. SS Mathew Bellamy won his 7^th Silver Slugger.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-04-2025, 06:04 AM

Voronezh grabbed the European League’s top seed at 100-62 and repeated as South Division champs. It was the third straight playoff trip for the Zephyrs, who were the only team above .500 in the division. Volgograd was 78-84 for only their third playoff miss since 2020, while Samara plummeted to 62-100 for their first losing season since 2025.

For Voronezh, they were the top scoring team in Eurasian Professional Baseball with 769 runs. The Zephyrs also set a new EPB team batting average record at .294. They had a .333 on-base percentage and 1630, ranking as the second-most hits and fourth-best OBP in EPB history. Moscow allowed the fewest runs in the EL at 584 and won a fourth consecutive North Division title at 97-65. The Mules extended their playoff streak to six seasons.

Both wild cards came out of the North with Kazan (90-72) and defending EPB champ Minsk (88-74) advancing. Both St. Petersburg (86-76) and Gomel (85-77) were right in the mix. The Crusaders got their second wild card in four years, while the Miners earned repeat wild cards.

Nizhny Novgorod struggled to 72-90, but their star LF Maksim Krutov won his third European League MVP in four years. The 28-year old Russian lefty was only in his sixth season still and led in home runs (52), total bases (407), OBP (.424), slugging (.712), OPS (1.136), and wRC+ (204). Krutov had 214 hits, 98 runs, 119 RBI, a .374 average, and 9.7 WAR. He was three RBI and .015 away from a Triple Crown.

Voronezh’s Vasil Mulder was Pitcher of the Year in his 11^th season for the Zephyrs. The 31-year old Belgian lefty won the ERA title at 2.15 and led in WHIP (0.79), K/BB (10.4), and shutouts (3). Mulder had a 17-6 record, 230.1 innings, 281 strikeouts, 172 ERA+, and 6.7 WAR. He had signed a five-year, $61 million extension after Voronezh’s 2032 championship win. Also notable was Moscow’s Hubert Siemienowicz winning his third Reliever of the Year, leading in saves (36) and games (77) with a 1.75 ERA in 92.2 innings.

Defending champ Minsk upset top seed Voronezh 3-2 on the road in the first round of the playoffs while Moscow rolled Kazan with a 3-0 sweep. The Mules and Miners had three of the last four European League pennants between them, but this was the first they had faced off in the European League Championship Series since 2011. This was their seventh time battling in the ELCS with Minsk leading the series 5-1.

Moscow used home field advantage to reverse that trend, although they needed all seven games to survive and dethrone the Miners. The Mules won their third European League title in five years and became 16-time EL champs (1967, 74, 75, 2005, 06, 07, 09, 10, 15, 16, 19, 21, 25, 30, 31, 34).

The Asian League had a shakeup with defending champ Ufa falling to 77-85. The last three years saw three division titles and two pennants for the Fiends. The clear standout was Ulaanbaatar in the East Division at 100-62, who allowed the fewest runs in EPB at 545. While the Boars were a wild card last year, this was their first division title since 2013.

The next three best records also come from the East with a three-way tie for the two wild cards at 88-74 between Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, and Khabarovsk. In a pair of tiebreaker games, both the Ice Cats and Nitros defeated the Rockets to secure repeat playoff berths. Novosibirsk’s playoff streak grew to six seasons. The only team above .500 in the West was Nur-Sultan at 86-76, earning their sixth playoff berth in eight years. Khabarovsk was the top scoring team in the AL with 692 runs.

In his seventh year for Irkutsk, LF Viktor Lyavitski won Asian League MVP. The 27-uear old Belarusian righty led in wRC+ (196) and WAR (9.4) while winning his second Gold Glove. Lyavitski added 191 hits, 89 runs, 23 doubles, 14 triples, 43 homers, 116 RBI, and a .327/.378/.635 slash. The Ice Cats added him with the #4 pick back in the 2025 EPB Draft.

Novosibirsk lefty Denis Kropotkin repeated as Pitcher of the Year. The 27-year old Russian had a 1.98 ERA over 204.2 innings, 17-6 record, 244 strikeouts, 176 ERA+, and 6.9 WAR. Like Lyavitski, Kropotkin was a product of the 2025 EPB Draft, going second to the Nitros.

Ulaanbaatar bested Novosibirsk 3-1 and Irkutsk got the 3-1 road win over Nur-Sultan in the first round. This was the Boars’ first trip to the Asian League Championship Series since their 2017 pennant. The Ice Cats hadn’t gotten that far since 2008 and their title drought stretched back to their 1990s dynasty. Ulaanbaatar was a big favorite, but Irkutsk pulled off a stunning 4-2 upset for their first title in 37 years. The Ice Cats became ten-time AL champs (1956, 61, 75, 77, 92, 93, 95, 96, 97, 2034).

The 80^th EPB Championship was the second time Moscow and Irkutsk had played in the finals with the Mules victorious way back in 1975. The Ice Cats cruised to a 4-1 win in 2034 for only their third-ever overall title, joining the 1993 and 1995 wins. Moscow is now 5-11 all-time in the championship with six consecutive defeats.

Finals MVP was long-time Irkutsk third baseman Yerjanik Kostin, who had been a starter since 2021 and had debuted back in 2018. The 36-year old Armenian played 11 playoff games with seven starts with 13 hits, 9 runs, 2 doubles, 3 homers, 8 RBI, 1.260 OPS, and 0.8 WAR.

Other notes: Timofei Averkin played one final season in 2034, returning to his original team Perm where he had spent 14 seasons. The 40-year old Russian RF was unremarkable with 109 games and only 0.3 WAR, but his 57 runs allowed him to become the EPB runs scored leader. Averkin finished with 1689, passing Igor Gorbatyuk’s 1669.

Averkin had already become EPB’s all-time leader for hits and total bases, finishing with 3365 and 6100, respectively. His 1726 RBI placed him third behind Ivan Mushailov’s 1755 and Nikolay Kargopolcev’s 1729. Averkin also ended second in triples (361), 13^th in doubles (455), 20^th in homers (534), 9^th in stolen bases (1065), and 3^rd in WAR among position players (112.38). He had 12 Silver Sluggers and was finals MVP for Perm’s 2021 title, certainly earning an inner-circle Hall of Fame slot once eligible in five years.

In other batting milestones, Timofei Kalinin became the 12^th to 1500 RBI and the 36^th to 2500 hits. Marat Kazimov and Dmitri Khodakovsky were the 26^th and 27^th members of the 500 home run club. The 400 club gained three members and now has 82 sluggers. Voronezh’s Vladimir Pyatrenka had 231 hits, tied for the third-best single season in EPB history. He holds the record with 241 in 2030. Ufa stole 411 bases as a team, the second-best in Asian League history. LF Khazbulat Dukhu won his 8^th Silver Slugger.

In pitching notables, Minsk’s Evhen Kononenko became the 34^th ace with 4000 strikeouts and had the season’s lone no-hitter on July 16 against Kazan. Kazybek Orazow was the 21^st closer to 300 career saves. CF Robert Albrecht won his 13^th consecutive Gold Glove and his final one. He’s one of four in EPB with 13+ Gold Gloves and one of 29 in world history. Albrecht is also one of only four ever with 13+ GGs playing center field.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-04-2025, 05:17 PM

Warsaw picked up the Northern Conference’s top seed at 105-57 atop the East Division and allowed the NC’s fewest runs at 559. The Wildcats got their third playoff trip in four years, but it was their first division title since 2019. Cardiff was the top scoring team in the entire European Baseball Federation with 818 runs and won the West Division at 99-63. This was a franchise best for the Crew, who earned their first-ever EBF Elite playoff berth two years prior as a wild card.

Cardiff had the closest competition with Dublin at 96-66 and Edinburgh at 94-68, both of which earned repeat playoff berths with wild card slots. Berlin in the East also got a wild card at 94-68 for their third playoff trip in five years. The final wild card spot had a three-way tie at 92-70 between Cologne, Birmingham, and Oslo. The Copperheads won tiebreaker games over both to advance for the second time in three years. Although they came up short, the Octopi notably had their first winning season in the top tier since 2021. The Bees also impressively bounced back after only 67 wins the prior year.

Just missing the cut was Rotterdam (91-71) and defending conference champ Hanover (89-73). This ended a ten-year playoff streak for the Hitmen, who had won 104+ games in five of the last six seasons. It was only the second playoff miss since 2021 for the Ravens. Rotterdam’s streak of winning seasons goes back to 2017.

The worst team by a large margin was Kyiv at 52-110 in the East Division. The Kings were relegated to the European Second League for the fourth time, having made it back for a lackluster five-year run back in the EBF Elite. In the West, Paris was worst at 62-100 while Manchester (63-99) and Reykjavik (67-95) only narrowly escaped demotions. Like Kyiv, the Poodles had a five-year stint back in the top tier before this relegation, although it was a surprising collapse since they had gone 85-77 in 2033.

Cologne 1B Robert Frohlich repeated as Northern Conference MVP, again leading in home runs (62) and RBI (144), besting his 58 and 141 from the prior year. The 30-year old German righty had 199 hits, 116 runs, 27 doubles, a .324/.380/.678 slash, 186 wRC+, and 8.3 WAR. Frohlich was three years into an eight-year, $277,400,000 deal with the Copperheads.

Hanover’s Lukasz Heneski won his second Pitcher of the Year award in three seasons. The 33-year old Polish lefty led in wins (21-8), strikeouts (312), shutouts (7), FIP- (54), and WAR (10.3). Heneski was fourth in ERA (2.32) over 260 innings, missing the Triple Crown by 31 points. It was his seventh and final season for the Hitmen, as he’d leave for free agency and sign at $145 million over five years with Zagreb.

The first round of the playoffs had Berlin over Edinburgh and Cologne over Dublin, both 2-0. The Barons then upset Cardiff 3-1 in round two, sending the German capital to the Northern Conference Championship for the first time since winning it all in 2030. Top seed Warsaw took care of business on the other side with a 3-0 sweep over the Copperheads.

The Wildcats earned only their third-ever conference finals trip, joining 2019 and 2003. Their lone pennant in EBF was 2003, their fourth season after joining via the exodus from Eurasian Professional Baseball. Warsaw had won four pennants in EPB (1960, 93-95). The Wildcats rolled to a sweep of Berlin for the second-ever conference title in EBF for a Polish team.

The Southern Conference was limited for big standouts going back-to-back years without a 100+ win team. After having a five-year playoff streak snapped in 2033, Ljubljana took the top seed at 97-65 for their third East Division title in four years. The Juggernauts led the SC with 803 runs. The next best record was the East’s #2 team Thessaloniki at 95-67, their second wild card since returning to the EBF Elite in 2032.

For the remaining four playoff spots, there were 11 teams within six games of each other. The West Division went to the defending European Champion Lyon at 91-71, their first-ever division crown and third straight playoff trip. 2032 EBF champ Zurich was second at 90-72 for a wild card rebound after missing the 2033 playoff field. Budapest in the East at 91-71 also earned a repeat wild card.

The last spot went to last year’s conference finalist Krakow at 89-73, fending off Barcelona at 87-75, 86-76 efforts by Belgrade, Cluj-Napoca, and Marseille; plus 85-77 records for Zaragoza and Tbilisi. The Bengals allowed the fewest runs in Europe at 551, but their playoff streak ended at seven seasons. Also notable was Munich at 75-89, their first losing season in 18 years.

Both relegation spots were in question until the last week. Brno at 67-95 was the loser out of the West, while Madrid (68-94) and Vienna (71-91) narrowly survived. In the East, Sofia (68-94) got das boot while Tirana (70-92) and Odesa (71-91) escaped calamity. The Bandits had lasted in the top tier since 2014, but had only two wild cards and an average of 76 wins per season. The Spikes had gotten promoted back up in 2026, but never got above .500 in their return.

Zaragoza missed the playoffs, but they had the top award winners for the Southern Conference. Fourth-year LF Sebastian Granados won MVP with only the sixth Triple Crown hitting season in EBF history and the first since Ben Springer’s 2003. The 27-year old Spaniard led in homers (56), RBI (123), total bases (427), triple slash (.377/.443/.762), OPS (1.206), wRC+ (239), and WAR (11.0).

Granados’ effort was only the tenth time in EBF history that a qualifying batter had an OPS above 1.200. It was a remarkable debut in the big time, as the Gold Hawks had only just gotten promoted back to the EBF Elite for the first time in his career. He also had 211 hits, 110 runs, 30 doubles, and 55 stolen bases. In September 2035, Granados would commit to a seven-year, $170,900,000 extension with Zaragoza.

Pitcher of the Year for the Gold Hawks was Florian Holzner in his fourth season on the roster and eighth professionally. The 29-year old Austrian lefty had a 2.14 ERA over 214 innings, 17-6 record, 209 strikeouts, 175 ERA+, and 6.2 WAR. Before the 2034 campaign, Holzner signed a four-year, $31,440,000 extension with Zaragoza. He had been drafted in 2025 by Hamburg, then got traded to the Gold Hawks in 2031.

Budapest topped Zurich 2-0 and Krakow edged Thessaloniki 2-1 in the first round. Top seed Ljubljana survived 3-2 in round two over the Canines, while the Bombers dethroned the defending champ Lyon 3-2. Budapest had never gotten to the Southern Conference Championship since joining EBF in 2000. The Juggernauts had been there once before in 2028. Ljubljana also had the top seed in 2031 and 2032, but suffered disappointing one-and-dones both times. The Juggernauts overcame their previous playoff woes, defeating the Bombers 4-2 for their first pennant.

The 85^th European Championship was guaranteed to produce the 32^nd different unique franchise to win the EBF title and the 21^st unique country with a champ. In a seven-game classic, Warsaw outlasted Ljubljana to bring the cup to Poland. The Wildcats became the third team from the 2000 EPB exodus to win the EBF title, joining Kyiv and Kharkiv.

Finals MVP was 3B Anatoliy Gayduchenko in his third year as a full-time starter. The 25-year old Ukrainian in 14 playoff starts had 21 hits, 12 runs, 3 doubles, 4 triples, 13 RBI, and 12 steals. Warsaw became the eighth different team to win the European Championship in as many years.

Other notes: 1B Aleksandr Parts played his 20^th EBF season, although it was his first away from Zagreb. He only had 86 games with Munich because of knee troubles, but he got 7 triples to reach 461 for his career, passing Carsten Dal’s 457 for the EBF record. This also brought Parts to second on the world leaderboard behind world hit king Fares Belaid’s 472 in West African Baseball. Parts would leave EBF for WAB in 2035 with Cotonou and 2036 with Kano.

Oslo’s Paul Roth had a four home run game against Liverpool on July 9, the 20^th four-homer game in EBF history. Heinz Thalmann became the 48^th member of the 500 home run club, while the 400 club added three members to grow to 130. Eduard Yurkov became the 49^th batter with 2500 hits. In pitching milestones, Giulio Carmignani became the 44^th with 200 wins and Dominic Voicu was the 17^th to 300 saves. CF Kamil Bufka won his 9^th Gold Glove and 1B Waldemar Riemers won his 7^th.

Promotion/Relegation: Below are the teams moving up and down throughout the European Baseball Federation’s pyramid after the 2034 season.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-05-2025, 05:30 AM

The Bolivar League had four of the five playoff teams from the prior year earn repeat berths for 2034. Arequipa took the top seed at 104-58, extending their playoff streak to six seasons with their third Peru-Bolivia Division crown of the run. It was a tough divisional fight with both wild cards, La Paz and Lima, finishing at 97-65.

The Lobos grew their playoff streak to eight seasons, while the Pump Jacks ended a three-year drought. Lima led Beisbol Sudamerica with 902 runs and set a new BSA single-season record with a team .354 on-base percentage. The Lobos also had a .308 batting average, tied for the second-best in BSA history. La Paz meanwhile notably only struck out 923 times all season, the second-lowest by an offense in BSA history.

The other two divisions had repeat winners at 100-62 with defending BL champ Valencia again atop the Venezuela Division and Quito winning the Colombia-Ecuador Division. Bucaramanga was second behind the Thunderbolts at 93-69 and four short in the wild card race, becoming the first of the 2029 expansion teams with a winning season. Maracaibo was a distant 13 games back of the Velocity at 87-75.

Also notable were down seasons for both Caracas (79-83) and Barranquilla (76-86). The Colts hadn’t been below .500 since 2015 and the Blues hadn’t since 2021. It was only the second time since 2022 that Barranquilla had missed the playoffs. Another expansion team Maracay allowed the fewest runs at 621, although they scored the fewest at 536 for a 67-95 record.

Arequipa 1B Paco Amorim made history with his fifth Bolivar League MVP, becoming only the fourth player in BSA history to win 5+ MVPs. The 34-year old Brazilian lefty had won back in 2025, 27, 31, and 32. Amorim set the single-season record for runs scored with 147, passing Jasper Saucedo’s 141 which had held since 1976. Amorim’s effort is one of only 27 times in all of pro baseball history where a batter scored 147 or more runs in a season.

He won his eighth Silver Slugger split evenly between first base and left field. Amorim also led in RBI (152), walks (99), triple slash (.385/.470/.725), OPS (1.194), wRC+ (198), and WAR (10.7). He had 225 hits, 33 doubles, and 54 home runs. Amorim missed the Triple Crown by eight dingers as Cali’s Mario Salazar socked 62 dingers. He also was All-Star Game MVP in his 15^th appearance and had a 32-game hitting streak in the late summer. In January 2035, the Arrows extended their long-time superstar for another four years and $101,200,000.

Amorim’s season was also only the 11^th in BSA history with 150+ RBI. It was the fifth-best single-season OBP of his career, but was good for 8^th in BSA history. Amorim has the top four in Beisbol Sudamerica and six of the top nine. In 2034, Amorim became the 24^th member of the 600 home run club and the 40^th to 1500 career RBI. He was also at 1377 career walks to end the season, two away from passing Matias Amaro’s BSA career record which has stood since 1955. Amorim has led in OBP in 12 seasons, walks in 10 seasons, and OPS eight times.

Valencia lefty Geraldo Ahumada repeated as Pitcher of the Year in only his third season. The 23-year old Colombian led in wins (23-4), strikeouts (318), WHIP (0.89), K/BB (21.2), FIP- (52), and WAR (10.4). He had a 2.37 ERA over 254.1 innings, missing the Triple Crown behind the 2.20 ERA of Maracay’s Orlando Cepeda.

Lima won the first round matchup 2-1 over La Paz, then upset top seed Arequipa 3-1 in the divisional series. Quito defeated defending champ Valencia 3-1 on the other side, giving the Thunderbolts their first Bolivar League Championship Series trip since their 2024 Copa Sudamerica win. For the Lobos, this was their fifth BLCS trip in eight years, having won pennants in 2028 and 2031. Quito took the series 4-2 over Lima to become eight-time Bolivar champs (1963-65, 81, 83, 94, 2024, 32).

Defending Copa Sudamerica winner Santiago now stood alone with the longest playoff streak in BSA history at 15 years, passing the 14-year run of Lima from 1989-2001. The Saints won their 14^th South Central Division of that run and took the Southern Cone League’s top seed at 98-64. Santiago had a 2,827,821 season attendance, the third-highest in BSA history.

Recife won the North Division at 95-67 for their third playoff berth in four years. In the Southeast, Sao Paulo returned to the top spot at 91-71. It was the Padres’ third division title in four years and their tenth playoff trip in 13 years. Sao Paulo led the league with 819 runs. Each division winner had competition which led to a stacked battle for the two wild card spots.

Salta (90-72) and Salvador (89-73) secured the two openings, holding off Fortaleza (88-74), Porto Alegre (86-76), Belo Horizonte (85-77), Cordoba (83-79), and Montevideo (82-80). The Storm ended a 24-year playoff drought, while the Silver Hawks ended a three-year skid. The Hogs and Venom, division champs last year, both were denied a third straight playoff berth.

Brasilia, last year’s league runner up, finished 80-82 despite allowing the fewest runs at 603. That was the Bearcats first losing season since 2025. Although the Foxes fell a game short in the wild card hunt, it was notably their first winning season in eight years. The Chanticleers were above .500 for the first time since 2016.

Santiago LF Lorenzo Mena earned Southern Cone League MVP in his third season as a starter. The 26-year old Chilean led in runs (114), home runs (62), RBI (152), total bases (419), slugging (.696), OPS (1.092), wRC+ (201), and WAR (9.2). Mena added 202 hits, 29 doubles, a .336 average, and .396 OBP. It was only the seventh-season in BSA history where a slugger had 150+ RBI and 60+ dingers. Mena was the #40 overall pick by the Saints back in the 2029 BSA Draft.

Veteran pitcher Cesar Hinojosa won Pitcher of the Year in his Fortaleza debut. The 32-year old Bolivian lefty had signed four years and $33,400,000 with the Foxes after bouncing between BSA and MLB the prior three years, having spent 2033 in San Francisco. Hinojosa had a 2.34 ERA over 261 innings, 21-10 record, 237 strikeouts, 4 shutouts, 165 ERA+, and 5.8 WAR.

Salta edged Salvador 2-1 in the first round, then upset the reigning champs Santiago 3-1 in the divisional series. Although the Saints had just won it all, this brought back the bad memories of the other early exits of their playoff streak. Since 2011, Santiago has only had winning seasons and only missed the playoffs twice, but they only have two titles to show for it.

Sao Paulo outlasted Recife 3-2 on the other end of the bracket, giving the Padres a shot at their second Southern Cone League Championship in three years. They’ve been in the LCS seven times since 2024. For the Silver Hawks, this was their first time getting this far.

In a seven-game classic, Salta got the road upset over Sao Paulo for their first pennant. Five of the six expansion teams from 2009 now have pennants, leaving just Porto Alegre without one. The only other teams in BSA without a pennant in either league are Montevideo, Mendoza, and the six expansion teams just added in 2029.

The 104^th Copa Sudamerica saw Quito prevail 4-1 over Salta, giving the Thunderbolts their fourth cup win (1965, 1994, 2024, 2034). They were the eighth different team to win it all in as many years, bringing the cup back to Ecuador for the first time since their 2024 win. In his first full season starting, 3B Terry Asano won finals MVP. The 25-year old Brazilian in 15 playoff starts had 16 hits, 10 runs, 4 doubles, 3 homers, and 10 RBI.

Other notes: Salta’s pitching staff surrendered 202 walks with a 1.24 BB/9, both were the third-best in Southern Cone League history. The Silver Hawks’ Moises Villanueva had a 36-game hitting streak, tied for the sixth-longest in BSA history. The record remains Remberto Borja’s 43 from 1955. For the first time since 2020, there wasn’t a single no-hitter thrown.

Bartolo Flores became the 8^th pitcher to 5000 career strikeouts. Entering 2037, Flores is one of only 44 aces in world history in the 5K club. Ivan Scaccabarozzi was the 73^rd to 200 wins. In batting milestones, Dona Sena and Pedro Corga became the 85^th and 86^th with 2500 hits.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-05-2025, 06:22 PM

The Japan League was quite top heavy in 2034 with four teams at 100+ wins and two above 110+. Defending champ Kawasaki, who went 109-53 last year, broke that franchise record at 114-48. The Killer Whales extended their playoff streak to four seasons with repeat Capital Division titles. Kawasaki led Japan with 723 runs and allowed the fewest in all of East Asia Baseball at 446. The Killer Whales also set the league attendance record with 2,927,105 tickets sold.

The #1 seed still wasn’t a guarantee with Hamamatsu close behind. The Chickenhawks had finished 115-47 for their first-ever playoff berth the prior year and kept a similar pace in 2034 at 110-52. It was a loaded Central Division with Kobe (100-62) and Osaka (99-63) taking the two wild card slots. The Blaze are back after having a ten-year playoff streak ended the prior year. The Orange Sox meanwhile ended an eight year playoff drought.

Sendai repeated as North Division champ at 100-62, fending off Sapporo (97-65) and Niigata (91-71). The Swordfish bounced back after four straight losing seasons, but fell two wins short in the wild card race and three for the division. The Green Dragons meanwhile had their seven-year playoff streak ended. It was their tenth straight season with 91+ wins.

The weakest division champ was Kitakyushu at 89-73, winning the West for the third time in five years. Hiroshima fell to 79-83 to end their eight-year playoff streak, their first losing season since 2024. Also notable was Chiba falling to 78-84 in the Capital Division, denying a third straight playoff berth. The Comets had won the pennant two years prior.

Japan League MVP went to Kawasaki 3B Yoshikazu Fujioka in his sixth season as a starter. The 26-year old was the WARlord at 10.3 and had 40 home runs, 108 RBI, 198 hits, 106 runs, 29 doubles, 195 wRC+, and a .327/.379/.576 slash. The Killer Whales would give Fujioka a mammoth eight-year, $363,500,000 extension in July 2035. They had taken him out of high school seventh overall in the 2025 EAB Draft.

Kobe’s Jin-Yu Jun had a historic season and became the sixth in EAB history to win Pitcher of the Year five times. The 31-year old righty had won in 2026, 27, and 29 with Ulsan and in 2032 for the Blaze. Jun had a 28-5 record, becoming the second-ever EAB pitcher with 28 wins. The other was Seiki Okuyama back in the inaugural 1921 season. There have only been 24 seasons in world history where a pitcher recorded 28 or more wins.

Jun also won his fourth ERA title with a career best 1.33, which ranked as the sixth-best qualifying season in EAB history. He led in WHIP (0.77), FIP- (53), and WAR (8.9) with a 244 ERA+. Jun struck out 325 over 244 innings, missing the Triple Crown by six Ks behind Sendai’s Atsuo Sugaya. It was the eighth time in nine years that Jun led in WAR, earning a second place in MVP voting as well. He had two years left on his $385 million deal signed with Ulsan in March 2029. The Swallows traded Jun to Kobe that winter.

Kitakyushu beat Kobe 3-1 and Sendai swept Osaka 3-0 in the wild card round. The top seeds held 3-1 in the divisional round with Kawasaki over the Kodiaks and Hamamatsu over the Samurai. This set up a highly anticipated rematch in the Japan League Championship Series.

In 2033, the Killer Whales knocked off the Chickenhawks on the road. Hamamatsu reversed the script in 2034, defeating Kawasaki 4-2 on the road. The Chickenhawks became the first of the 2025 expansion teams to win a pennant, a remarkable feat for a franchise in its tenth season.

Busan extended the longest playoff streak in EAB history to 15 seasons and won their 11^th consecutive division title. The Blue Jays dominated the Southeast Division for the Korea League’s top seed at 112-50. It was the second-best record of their streak, as they had won 119 games in 2026. They hoped to avoid that season’s one-and-done fate. Busan led all of EAB with 841 runs scored and allowed the fewest runs in the KL at 515.

Pyongyang took the #2 seed at 102-60 in the North Division, growing their postseason streak to five seasons. Last year’s KLCS runner-up and division champ Goyang was eight back. However, the Green Sox’s 94-68 record landed them the second wild card slot, growing their postseason streak to eight seasons.

Suwon (99-63) edged out defending EAB champ Incheon (98-64) in the Central Division, although both advanced to the playoffs. The Snappers earned their fifth playoff trip in six years. The Inferno had a 2,959,201 season attendance, setting the single-season record for all of EAB. Seongnam (92-70) and Yongin (90-72) were next in the Central. Them and Ulsan (89-73) were the closest foes to 94-win Goyang for the second wild card slot.

The Southwest Division was easily the weakest, but it required a 163^rd game to settle it after both Gwangju and Daejeon finished 84-78. The Grays got the tiebreaker win to repeat as division champs. It was the first winning season since 2022 for the Ducks, but their overall futility continued. Daejeon’s playoff drought grew to 46 seasons, the longest active skid in EAB. The all-time worst was Fukuoka’s 50-year drought from 1930-79, but the Frogs at least had the excuse of theirs happening in an era with only two playoffs teams per league.

Korea League MVP went to Suwon 1B Ye-Seung Lee, who led in home runs (59) and total bases (425). The 28-year old righty from Seoul had 203 hits, 115 runs, 31 doubles, 139 RBI, a .313/.355/.655 slash, 173 wRC+, and 8.3 WAR. Lee was originally in Gwangju’s system, but was traded to the Snappers before debuting in 2027. In February 2035, Suwon would commit to a seven-year, $269 million extension for Lee.

Long-time Busan pitcher Sung-Ho Lee had a career year at age 37 and won Pitcher of the Year. The lefty led in ERA (1.98), wins (22-5), WHIP (0.88), and quality starts (24). Lee had 205 strikeouts in 250.1 innings and 7.3 WAR. He was picked 16^th by the Blue Jays way back in the 2018 EAB Draft and had been there ever since, debuting back in 2022.

Gwangju upset the reigning EAB champ Incheon 3-2 in the wild card round and Suwon topped Goyang 3-1. Both them pulled off shocking 3-2 upsets in the divisional round with the Grays over Busan and the Snappers over Pyongyang. 85-win Gwangju’s advance was especially surprising, getting their first Korea League Championship Series trip since 2026. For the Blue Jays, this was the fifth time in their 15-year playoff streak that they got the top seed, but lost in the divisional round.

The Snappers earned their fourth KLCS trip in six years, but they had a title drought dating back to 1992. That year, Suwon upset Gwangju in the KLCS. The Grays would bounce back with the 1993 pennant, their most recent. In the 2034 encounter, the Snappers defeated the Grays 4-2 to become four-time Korean champs (1935, 1981, 1992, 2034).

The 114^th East Asian Championship was guaranteed to crown the 29^th unique franchise to win the EAB title. Suwon had gone 0-3 in their prior trips, while Hamamatsu was making their first appearance. The Chickenhawks would dominate 4-1 over the Snappers to claim the crown in their tenth season. This left Suwon and Daejeon as the only original EAB teams yet to win it all in more than a century of trying.

In his third season and first as a full-time starter, 1B Mitsuru Ishida was finals MVP. The 22-year old had been taken third by Hamamatsu in the 2030 EAB Draft. In 15 playoff starts, Ishida had 22 hits, 11 runs, 7 doubles, 5 home runs, 11 RBI, 1.130 OPS, and 1.3 WAR. The Chickenhawks were the seventh different EAB champ in as many years.

Other notes: 2034 was the final season for EAB home run king Kunihiko Ishiguro, a decent effort split between Yokohama and Goyang with 3.7 WAR, 28 homers, and .883 OPS in 148 games. He would search for a team for 2035, but ultimately was unsigned. In 2034, Ishiguro got to 7070 total bases, passing Soo-Geun Yim’s 7015 for the EAB career record. Ishiguro also passed Hitoshi Kubota’s 3304 games played, becoming the EAB leader with 3359 games.

Ishiguro was already the runs leader and finished with 2123, ranking 19^th on the world leaderboard at retirement. He also finished with 2157 RBI, second to Yim’s 2279 for the EAB record and 34^th on the world leaderboard through the 2036 season. Ishiguro’s 963 homers are tied for 9^th in all of world history and he’s 18^th in world history for games played. His career stats included 3300 hits, 345 doubles, 268 triples, 809 stolen bases, a .287/.346/.615 slash, 172 wRC+, and 126.4 WAR. Ishiguro ranks 10^th in WAR among EAB position players and has an easy Hall of Fame induction coming in five years.

In other batting milestones, I-Sol Chang became the 37^th member of the 600 home run club. Masanori Fukuoka and Toichi Kumura were the 80^th and 81^st to 500 dingers. Fukuoka also won his 8^th Silver Slugger in left field. Chang Soo-Cho became the 102^nd with 2500 hits. SS Anh Vu Nguyen won his 8^th consecutive Silver Slugger.

EAB’s 46^th perfect game came on June 5 as Incheon’s Ju-Sung Kang struck out 11 against Chongjin. In other pitching milestones, Ho-Jin Su became the 71^st to 200 career wins. Seung-Ho Lee became the 50^th ace with 3500 career strikeouts. Jin-Yu Jun was the 118^th to 3000 Ks. Ju-Chan Ha, Sin-Cheol Park, and Kenji Yoshii each joined the 300 save club, now 36 members strong.

SS Jae-Won Park won his 15^th consecutive Gold Glove, becoming one of only 12 players in all of world history with 15+ Gold Gloves. LF Ki-Chun Park (1971-85) was the only other to do it from EAB. Jae-Won Park also was the first with all 15 wins at shortstop. OBA/MLB legend Jimmy Caliw had the world record 17 Gold Gloves, but that was split with 11 at SS and 6 at 2B.

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

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