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FuzzyRussianHat · 04-20-2024, 05:19 AM

2000 was the first season of the downsized Eurasian Professional Baseball following the exodus. The new European League had four returning teams and all four of the expansion teams needed to stop the bleeding. Two of the expansion teams, Nizhny Novgorod and Volgograd, posted winning seasons in their debuts at 84-78. Perennial power Minsk unsurprisingly took first at 100-62 to extend their postseason streak to 20 seasons. The Miners are now one away from matching EBF’s Zurich for the longest playoff streak in pro baseball history. The new setup means only one wild card, which went to Kazan at 90-72. The Crusaders edged Moscow by two games for the spot, extending their own playoff streak to four seasons.

Kazan left fielder Oleg Ivashko won European League MVP. The 31-year old Russian led in runs scored (89) and wRC+ (180), adding 8.8 WAR, 24 home runs, and a .311 average. Pitcher of the Year was Minsk’s Markiyan Konoplya. The 26-year old Ukrainian righty had the fifth-ever Triple Crown by an EPB pitcher and the first since 1983, posting a 24-6 record, 1.74 ERA, and 372 strikeouts over 300.2 innings. Konoplya also led in WHIP (0.84), quality starts (31), shutouts (7), FIP- (47), and WAR (12.5).

The Asian League’s new lineup was the same eight teams that previously constituted the North Division. A wild card last year, Yekaterinburg took first place at 92-70. It was their first time leading the standings since 1990. Last year’s division champ Omsk and Chelyabinsk tied for the wild card at 84-78, topping Irkutsk by two games. The Otters won the tiebreaker game for their third playoff berth in four years.

Yekaterinburg 2B Sarxan Niftailyev repeated as Asian League MVP. The 27-year old Russian led in runs scored (93) and added 34 home runs, 108 RBI, a .313/.362/.540 slash, and 6.3 WAR. His Yaks teammate Matvey Ivanov repeated as Pitcher of the Year, leading in wins (22-10), strikeouts (337), WHIP (0.72), K/BB (15.3), complete games (26), shutouts (6), FIP- (47), and WAR (10.2). Ivanov was second in the AL with a 1.50 ERA over 257.1 innings. Among his shutouts was a 14 strikeout, one walk no-hitter against Ufa on July 5. Yekaterinburg would give Ivanov a seven-year, $14,800,000 extension in the offseason. Meanwhile, Niftaliyev received an eight-year, $17,620,000 extension and these two would help make the Yaks a regular title contender for the next decade.

The 2000 postseason was guaranteed to have two new pennant winners, as the 1998-99 champs Kharkiv and Tashkent were both among the teams that left. Minsk rolled Kazan 4-1 in the European League Championship Series, giving the Miners an historic 14^th pennant in EPB’s 46 year history. It was their first since 1996, as the Miners had fallen in 1998 and 1999 to Kharkiv. In the Asian League Championship Series, Yekaterinburg hadn’t gotten that far since 1990 and Omsk hadn’t since 1987. The Yaks downed the Otters 4-1 to give Yekaterinburg its fifth title and first since 1989.

The 46^th Eurasian Professional Baseball Championship was a rematch of the inaugural final, which Yekaterinburg won 4-2 over Minsk in 1955. This one was far less interesting as the Miners mauled the Yaks for the first finals sweep since 1988. It was Minsk’s tenth overall title (1956, 62, 66, 69, 85, 88, 90, 91, 96, 2000). Veteran LF Wojciech Jezierski was finals MVP as the Polish 31-year old had 12 hits, 5 runs, and 4 extra base hits in 9 playoff starts.

Other notes: RF Sapar Durdyew won his seventh Gold Glove. SS Gleb Khassanov won his seventh Silver Slugger.

04-20-2024, 05:19 AM	#1170
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,852	2000 in EPB 2000 was the first season of the downsized Eurasian Professional Baseball following the exodus. The new European League had four returning teams and all four of the expansion teams needed to stop the bleeding. Two of the expansion teams, Nizhny Novgorod and Volgograd, posted winning seasons in their debuts at 84-78. Perennial power Minsk unsurprisingly took first at 100-62 to extend their postseason streak to 20 seasons. The Miners are now one away from matching EBF’s Zurich for the longest playoff streak in pro baseball history. The new setup means only one wild card, which went to Kazan at 90-72. The Crusaders edged Moscow by two games for the spot, extending their own playoff streak to four seasons. Kazan left fielder Oleg Ivashko won European League MVP. The 31-year old Russian led in runs scored (89) and wRC+ (180), adding 8.8 WAR, 24 home runs, and a .311 average. Pitcher of the Year was Minsk’s Markiyan Konoplya. The 26-year old Ukrainian righty had the fifth-ever Triple Crown by an EPB pitcher and the first since 1983, posting a 24-6 record, 1.74 ERA, and 372 strikeouts over 300.2 innings. Konoplya also led in WHIP (0.84), quality starts (31), shutouts (7), FIP- (47), and WAR (12.5). The Asian League’s new lineup was the same eight teams that previously constituted the North Division. A wild card last year, Yekaterinburg took first place at 92-70. It was their first time leading the standings since 1990. Last year’s division champ Omsk and Chelyabinsk tied for the wild card at 84-78, topping Irkutsk by two games. The Otters won the tiebreaker game for their third playoff berth in four years. Yekaterinburg 2B Sarxan Niftailyev repeated as Asian League MVP. The 27-year old Russian led in runs scored (93) and added 34 home runs, 108 RBI, a .313/.362/.540 slash, and 6.3 WAR. His Yaks teammate Matvey Ivanov repeated as Pitcher of the Year, leading in wins (22-10), strikeouts (337), WHIP (0.72), K/BB (15.3), complete games (26), shutouts (6), FIP- (47), and WAR (10.2). Ivanov was second in the AL with a 1.50 ERA over 257.1 innings. Among his shutouts was a 14 strikeout, one walk no-hitter against Ufa on July 5. Yekaterinburg would give Ivanov a seven-year, $14,800,000 extension in the offseason. Meanwhile, Niftaliyev received an eight-year, $17,620,000 extension and these two would help make the Yaks a regular title contender for the next decade. The 2000 postseason was guaranteed to have two new pennant winners, as the 1998-99 champs Kharkiv and Tashkent were both among the teams that left. Minsk rolled Kazan 4-1 in the European League Championship Series, giving the Miners an historic 14^th pennant in EPB’s 46 year history. It was their first since 1996, as the Miners had fallen in 1998 and 1999 to Kharkiv. In the Asian League Championship Series, Yekaterinburg hadn’t gotten that far since 1990 and Omsk hadn’t since 1987. The Yaks downed the Otters 4-1 to give Yekaterinburg its fifth title and first since 1989. The 46^th Eurasian Professional Baseball Championship was a rematch of the inaugural final, which Yekaterinburg won 4-2 over Minsk in 1955. This one was far less interesting as the Miners mauled the Yaks for the first finals sweep since 1988. It was Minsk’s tenth overall title (1956, 62, 66, 69, 85, 88, 90, 91, 96, 2000). Veteran LF Wojciech Jezierski was finals MVP as the Polish 31-year old had 12 hits, 5 runs, and 4 extra base hits in 9 playoff starts. Other notes: RF Sapar Durdyew won his seventh Gold Glove. SS Gleb Khassanov won his seventh Silver Slugger. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)