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FuzzyRussianHat · 08-29-2023, 06:32 AM

Rotterdam rolled to the best record in the entire European Baseball Federation in 1974 at 106-56. The Ravens won the Northwest Division and earned an eighth consecutive playoff berth. Paris (89-73) and Luxembourg (86-76) were distant concerns and both ultimately shy in the wild card hunt. After missing the field the last two years, Dublin narrowly won the British Isles Division at 93-69. Birmingham was one back at 92-70 and took the wild card in an impressive turnaround from an abysmal 67 wins the prior year. Defending European Champion London was a non-factor at 75-87. The North Central Division needed a tiebreaker game with Stockholm and Oslo both 87-94, two better than Hamburg. The Swordsmen prevailed in the playoff game to snap a nine-year playoff drought and deny the Octopi back-to-back berths.

Northern Conference MVP went to 1B Alex Zonneveld, who had signed that offseason with Rotterdam after a decade with Luxembourg. The 33-year old Dutch left was the leader in runs (110), triples (26), total bases (358), slugging (.597), OPS (.973), and wRC+ (192), adding 8.5 WAR and 29 home runs. Third year lefty Eloi Bousquet of Hamburg won the Pitcher of the Year. He led in wins at 24-9, innings pitched at 288.2, and complete games with 15, adding 6.8 WAR, 254 strikeouts, and a 2.00 ERA.

In the first round of the playoffs, Rotterdam defeated Stockholm 3-1 and Birmingham upset Dublin in four. This set up a rematch of the 1972 Northern Conference Championship. The series went all seven games with the underdog Bees upsetting the Ravens, giving Birmingham its first-ever conference title.

The Southern Conference had two teams with triple-digit wins, both in the Southeast Division. Belgrade ended a nine-year playoff drought by finishing 102-60, while last year’s division champ and conference runner-up Zagreb finished 100-62 for the wild card. Vienna, who had a record nine-year playoff streak with five conference titles in that stretch, faded into irrelevancy at 73-89. Madrid and Barcelona battled for the Southwest Division crown with the Conquistadors narrowly taking it at 92-70, one ahead of the Bengals. This gives Madrid a third playoff berth in four years. Zurich claimed back-to-back South Central Division titles at 87-75, six games ahead of second place Milan.

Belgrade shortstop Chrstophoros Zarkadis won the MVP in his fourth season. Nicknamed “Iron Horse,” the 25-year old Greek was the WARlord at 12.1 and leader in RBI (141) and wRC+ (216), adding a .330 average and 50 home runs. Barcelona’s Alejandro Canas won his second Pitcher of the Year in three years. The 27-year old Spaniard was the WARlord (12.7) and led in wins (21-7), ERA (1.69), WHIP (0.71), K/BB (11.5), and FIP- (29). He had 390 strikeouts in 239.2, falling just shy of the Triple Crown thanks to Jean-Luc Roch’s 398 strikeouts. Canas also notably had an opponent’s OPS of .448 against him, which stands as the EBF’s best-ever single season as of 2037. Canas also had a 18-strikeout no hitter against London on August 14 with only a hit-by-pitch denying him a perfect game. This was second most for Ks in an EBF no-hitter behind Trent Addams’ 19K effort in 1956. Also of note, Belgrade’s Enzo Jojic won his second Reliever of the Year on a 56 save season, only one off the EBF and world record.

Both first round series were five game battles with Belgrade surviving Zurich’s challenge and Madrid outlasting Zagreb. It was only the second-ever Southern Conference Championship appearance for Belgrade, who won it in 1961. For Madrid, it was their first time since the 1953-55 three-peat. In a seven-game classic, the Bruisers beat the Conquistadors.

The 25^th European Championship saw two teams going for their first-ever overall title with Belgrade falling in 1961 to Brussels and Birmingham making their first appearance. After two stellar seven-game conference finals, the grand finale saw the Bruisers sweep the Bees. Conference MVP Christophoros Zarkadis won both finals MVP and SCC MVP. In 16 playoff games, he had 26 hits, 13 runs, 7 home runs, and 18 RBI for 2.2 WAR. It was the second time a Yugoslav team won it all, joining Zagreb’s 1960 ring.

Other notes: Copenhagen finished 48-114, which was an all-time Northern Conference worse to that point. They hit only 62 home runs as a team with a .317 slugging percentage, which stand as all-time conference low marks as of 2037. SS Tore Andre Olsen won his ninth Gold Glove.

08-29-2023, 06:32 AM	#547
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,998	1974 in EBF Rotterdam rolled to the best record in the entire European Baseball Federation in 1974 at 106-56. The Ravens won the Northwest Division and earned an eighth consecutive playoff berth. Paris (89-73) and Luxembourg (86-76) were distant concerns and both ultimately shy in the wild card hunt. After missing the field the last two years, Dublin narrowly won the British Isles Division at 93-69. Birmingham was one back at 92-70 and took the wild card in an impressive turnaround from an abysmal 67 wins the prior year. Defending European Champion London was a non-factor at 75-87. The North Central Division needed a tiebreaker game with Stockholm and Oslo both 87-94, two better than Hamburg. The Swordsmen prevailed in the playoff game to snap a nine-year playoff drought and deny the Octopi back-to-back berths. Northern Conference MVP went to 1B Alex Zonneveld, who had signed that offseason with Rotterdam after a decade with Luxembourg. The 33-year old Dutch left was the leader in runs (110), triples (26), total bases (358), slugging (.597), OPS (.973), and wRC+ (192), adding 8.5 WAR and 29 home runs. Third year lefty Eloi Bousquet of Hamburg won the Pitcher of the Year. He led in wins at 24-9, innings pitched at 288.2, and complete games with 15, adding 6.8 WAR, 254 strikeouts, and a 2.00 ERA. In the first round of the playoffs, Rotterdam defeated Stockholm 3-1 and Birmingham upset Dublin in four. This set up a rematch of the 1972 Northern Conference Championship. The series went all seven games with the underdog Bees upsetting the Ravens, giving Birmingham its first-ever conference title. The Southern Conference had two teams with triple-digit wins, both in the Southeast Division. Belgrade ended a nine-year playoff drought by finishing 102-60, while last year’s division champ and conference runner-up Zagreb finished 100-62 for the wild card. Vienna, who had a record nine-year playoff streak with five conference titles in that stretch, faded into irrelevancy at 73-89. Madrid and Barcelona battled for the Southwest Division crown with the Conquistadors narrowly taking it at 92-70, one ahead of the Bengals. This gives Madrid a third playoff berth in four years. Zurich claimed back-to-back South Central Division titles at 87-75, six games ahead of second place Milan. Belgrade shortstop Chrstophoros Zarkadis won the MVP in his fourth season. Nicknamed “Iron Horse,” the 25-year old Greek was the WARlord at 12.1 and leader in RBI (141) and wRC+ (216), adding a .330 average and 50 home runs. Barcelona’s Alejandro Canas won his second Pitcher of the Year in three years. The 27-year old Spaniard was the WARlord (12.7) and led in wins (21-7), ERA (1.69), WHIP (0.71), K/BB (11.5), and FIP- (29). He had 390 strikeouts in 239.2, falling just shy of the Triple Crown thanks to Jean-Luc Roch’s 398 strikeouts. Canas also notably had an opponent’s OPS of .448 against him, which stands as the EBF’s best-ever single season as of 2037. Canas also had a 18-strikeout no hitter against London on August 14 with only a hit-by-pitch denying him a perfect game. This was second most for Ks in an EBF no-hitter behind Trent Addams’ 19K effort in 1956. Also of note, Belgrade’s Enzo Jojic won his second Reliever of the Year on a 56 save season, only one off the EBF and world record. Both first round series were five game battles with Belgrade surviving Zurich’s challenge and Madrid outlasting Zagreb. It was only the second-ever Southern Conference Championship appearance for Belgrade, who won it in 1961. For Madrid, it was their first time since the 1953-55 three-peat. In a seven-game classic, the Bruisers beat the Conquistadors. The 25^th European Championship saw two teams going for their first-ever overall title with Belgrade falling in 1961 to Brussels and Birmingham making their first appearance. After two stellar seven-game conference finals, the grand finale saw the Bruisers sweep the Bees. Conference MVP Christophoros Zarkadis won both finals MVP and SCC MVP. In 16 playoff games, he had 26 hits, 13 runs, 7 home runs, and 18 RBI for 2.2 WAR. It was the second time a Yugoslav team won it all, joining Zagreb’s 1960 ring. Other notes: Copenhagen finished 48-114, which was an all-time Northern Conference worse to that point. They hit only 62 home runs as a team with a .317 slugging percentage, which stand as all-time conference low marks as of 2037. SS Tore Andre Olsen won his ninth Gold Glove. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)