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FuzzyRussianHat · 04-20-2024, 11:07 AM

With great fanfare, 2000 began the 48-team era of the expanded European Baseball Federation. There were many questions from fans and observers as to how the new teams would fare and how the general flow of the EBF would look. Offensive numbers went up slightly in the Southern Conference from the prior year, but stayed around the same for the Northern Conference. In that regard, the influx didn’t make a noticeable dent.

Making an explosive debut was Kharkiv, who had been the two-time defending champion of Eurasian Professional Baseball. The Killer Bees posted the EBF’s best record in their debut at 107-55, winning a stacked North Central Division. Counting their EPB days, this gave Kharkiv a six-season playoff streak. They had 306 doubles offensively, the second-most in conference history behind Paris’s 311 in 1950. Both wild cards came out of the division with defending conference champ Hamburg at 100-62 and Berlin at 96-66. The Barons extended their playoff streak to five years. Warsaw was fourth in the division at 91-71, ending a 12-year postseason run for the Wildcats. On the other end, newcomer Prague was 45-117, setting a conference record for the worst season in EBF history. Their 5.05 team ERA and 903 runs allowed were the worst since the inaugural 1950 season.

Both Glasgow and Paris won division titles at 100-62, but the Highlanders had the tiebreaker for the first round bye. Glasgow extended its playoff streak to five years, finishing eight games ahead of Dublin in the British Isles Division. The Poodles earned a fourth straight Northwest Division, taking it by 18 games. Copenhagen clobbered the Northeast Division competition at 98-64. It was the Corsairs’ second division title in three years.

Northern Conference MVP was Hamburg’s Ulf Alstrom. The 25-year old Swedish first baseman led in OPS (1.051), and wRC+ (195). He added 43 home runs, 123 RBI, a .353 average, and 8.7 WAR. Kharkiv’s Igor Kuchkowski won his first Pitcher of the Year in EBF. It was his third overall, having taken it in EPB in 1997 and 1999. The 33-year old Polish lefty led in wins (21-6), ERA (1.93), and WHIP (0.80). He had 320 strikeouts over 260.2 innings and an 8.3 WAR.

The new first round of the playoffs saw Copenhagen edge Hamburg 2-1 and Berlin upset Paris 2-1. Glasgow rolled to a sweep of the Barons, but Kharkiv had to scrap by the Corsairs in five games. This was the Highlanders’ third Northern Conference Championship in four years, hoping to break a pennant drought back to 1976. The newcomer Kharkiv denied Glasgow’s hopes, taking the series 4-1. It was the Killer Bees’ third straight pennant, carrying over their dynasty from EPB.

Defending European Champion Madrid had the best record in the Southern Conference at 106-56 atop the Southwest Division. Milan, newly moved into the division with them, had the SC’s second best record at 98-64 to earn the first wild card. That ended a decade-long playoff drought for the Maulers. It also marked the end of Lisbon’s nine-year playoff streak. The Clippers were third in the division at 87-75, falling six games short of the second wild card spot.

Two divisions saw ties for the top spot. Zurich and Rome both were 93-69 in the South Central Division, while Athens and Budapest were both 92-70. The Mountaineers and Red Wolves both were guaranteed playoff spots, but a tiebreaker win meant a first round bye and a loss meant you were the second wild card. Zurich prevailed to end a two-year playoff drought, while Rome ended a five-year skid without a playoff berth or winning season.

In the East Central, Athens took the tiebreaker game over Budapest. The Anchors won a fourth straight division title, while the Bombers were denied a shot at the playoffs in their EPB debut. Budapest hadn’t seen a playoff appearance since 1978. One EPB exodus playoff representative was expected out of the Southeast Division, since five of the six teams were teams that jumped. Tirana (84-78) edged out Bucharest (83-79), Sofia (80-82), and expansion Odessa (79-83) for the spot. The Trojans earned their first playoff appearance since winning the 1972 EPB European League pennant.

Leading Tirana in their new league was catcher Robert Erhan, who won Southern Conference MVP. The 28-year old Romanian was the WARlord (9.7), adding a .381 average, 181 wRC+, and 25 home runs. Erhan wouldn’t stay in Albania, inking a massive seven-year, $63,000,000 deal in the offseason to jump to MLB’s Toronto Timberwolves. Erhan would have a great debut in Canada, but flame out quickly in part due to knee issues. Lisbon’s Geza Sebestyen repeated as Pitcher of the Year, leading in wins at 21-7. The 25-year old Hungarian righty had a 2.79 ERA over 238.1 innings, 299 strikeouts, and 6.5 WAR. Sebestyen also had a 14 strikeout, one walk no-hitter in June against Zagreb. The Clippers committed to their ace with a five-year, $16,240,000 extension in the offseason.

The first round of the playoffs saw Tirana sweep Milan 2-0 and Athens edge Rome 2-1. Round two had Madrid over the Trojans 3-1 and a Zurich sweep of the Anchors. The Conquistadors had a shot to repeat as Southern Conference Champions, while the Mountaineers hoped for their first pennant since 1993. Madrid would take it 4-2 over Zurich to become seven-time conference champions.

The 51^st European Championship was a “dream match” for European baseball junkies as the defending EBF champ (Madrid) met the two-time defending EPB champ (Kharkiv). This type of “best of the best” encounter wouldn’t be a reality until the Baseball Grand Championship was introduced in 2010. The newcomer Killer Bees defeated the Conquistadors 4-2, giving Kharkiv its first EBF title and a three-peat between leagues. Pitcher Jiri Taborsky was finals MVP, having joined the Killer Bees in a trade with Prague in the offseason. The 28-year old Czech righty had a 2.35 ERA in three playoff starts with 19 strikeouts in 23 innings.

Kharkiv’s win cemented a dynasty as one of the finest runs for any European baseball team in either EBF or EPB. It also cemented that the expansion was a tremendous success for both the EBF and most of the new teams. The added eyeballs and cash from new markets certainly also pleased even the most skeptical among the EBF old guard.

Other notes: EBF had three perfect games thrown in 2000, making it 23 in EBF history. The first was by Marseille’s Enrico Gini on May 3 with 14 strikeouts against Belgrade. On June 11, Kharkiv’s Petro Mihalko fanned 11 against Dublin. Then July 12, Birmingham’s Wawasani Vehajuddin did it with 11 Ks against Cologne. Budapest’s Kristijan Acevski had a 38-game hitting streak, which was tied for the fifth longest in EBF history to date.

Lindsey Brampton became the third pitcher to 5000 career strikeouts. Khaled Jabri became the sixth pitcher to 250 wins. He pitched two more years and ended at 272, retiring third all-time. Robin Morrison and Willy Fierro became the seventh and eighth to 1500 runs scored. In his final EBF season, Fierro won his eighth Silver Slugger in center field. He would play the next eight years in MLB. Morrison also became the 12^th to 1500 RBI and the 17^th to 2500 hits.

04-20-2024, 11:07 AM	#1171
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,888	2000 in EBF With great fanfare, 2000 began the 48-team era of the expanded European Baseball Federation. There were many questions from fans and observers as to how the new teams would fare and how the general flow of the EBF would look. Offensive numbers went up slightly in the Southern Conference from the prior year, but stayed around the same for the Northern Conference. In that regard, the influx didn’t make a noticeable dent. Making an explosive debut was Kharkiv, who had been the two-time defending champion of Eurasian Professional Baseball. The Killer Bees posted the EBF’s best record in their debut at 107-55, winning a stacked North Central Division. Counting their EPB days, this gave Kharkiv a six-season playoff streak. They had 306 doubles offensively, the second-most in conference history behind Paris’s 311 in 1950. Both wild cards came out of the division with defending conference champ Hamburg at 100-62 and Berlin at 96-66. The Barons extended their playoff streak to five years. Warsaw was fourth in the division at 91-71, ending a 12-year postseason run for the Wildcats. On the other end, newcomer Prague was 45-117, setting a conference record for the worst season in EBF history. Their 5.05 team ERA and 903 runs allowed were the worst since the inaugural 1950 season. Both Glasgow and Paris won division titles at 100-62, but the Highlanders had the tiebreaker for the first round bye. Glasgow extended its playoff streak to five years, finishing eight games ahead of Dublin in the British Isles Division. The Poodles earned a fourth straight Northwest Division, taking it by 18 games. Copenhagen clobbered the Northeast Division competition at 98-64. It was the Corsairs’ second division title in three years. Northern Conference MVP was Hamburg’s Ulf Alstrom. The 25-year old Swedish first baseman led in OPS (1.051), and wRC+ (195). He added 43 home runs, 123 RBI, a .353 average, and 8.7 WAR. Kharkiv’s Igor Kuchkowski won his first Pitcher of the Year in EBF. It was his third overall, having taken it in EPB in 1997 and 1999. The 33-year old Polish lefty led in wins (21-6), ERA (1.93), and WHIP (0.80). He had 320 strikeouts over 260.2 innings and an 8.3 WAR. The new first round of the playoffs saw Copenhagen edge Hamburg 2-1 and Berlin upset Paris 2-1. Glasgow rolled to a sweep of the Barons, but Kharkiv had to scrap by the Corsairs in five games. This was the Highlanders’ third Northern Conference Championship in four years, hoping to break a pennant drought back to 1976. The newcomer Kharkiv denied Glasgow’s hopes, taking the series 4-1. It was the Killer Bees’ third straight pennant, carrying over their dynasty from EPB. Defending European Champion Madrid had the best record in the Southern Conference at 106-56 atop the Southwest Division. Milan, newly moved into the division with them, had the SC’s second best record at 98-64 to earn the first wild card. That ended a decade-long playoff drought for the Maulers. It also marked the end of Lisbon’s nine-year playoff streak. The Clippers were third in the division at 87-75, falling six games short of the second wild card spot. Two divisions saw ties for the top spot. Zurich and Rome both were 93-69 in the South Central Division, while Athens and Budapest were both 92-70. The Mountaineers and Red Wolves both were guaranteed playoff spots, but a tiebreaker win meant a first round bye and a loss meant you were the second wild card. Zurich prevailed to end a two-year playoff drought, while Rome ended a five-year skid without a playoff berth or winning season. In the East Central, Athens took the tiebreaker game over Budapest. The Anchors won a fourth straight division title, while the Bombers were denied a shot at the playoffs in their EPB debut. Budapest hadn’t seen a playoff appearance since 1978. One EPB exodus playoff representative was expected out of the Southeast Division, since five of the six teams were teams that jumped. Tirana (84-78) edged out Bucharest (83-79), Sofia (80-82), and expansion Odessa (79-83) for the spot. The Trojans earned their first playoff appearance since winning the 1972 EPB European League pennant. Leading Tirana in their new league was catcher Robert Erhan, who won Southern Conference MVP. The 28-year old Romanian was the WARlord (9.7), adding a .381 average, 181 wRC+, and 25 home runs. Erhan wouldn’t stay in Albania, inking a massive seven-year, $63,000,000 deal in the offseason to jump to MLB’s Toronto Timberwolves. Erhan would have a great debut in Canada, but flame out quickly in part due to knee issues. Lisbon’s Geza Sebestyen repeated as Pitcher of the Year, leading in wins at 21-7. The 25-year old Hungarian righty had a 2.79 ERA over 238.1 innings, 299 strikeouts, and 6.5 WAR. Sebestyen also had a 14 strikeout, one walk no-hitter in June against Zagreb. The Clippers committed to their ace with a five-year, $16,240,000 extension in the offseason. The first round of the playoffs saw Tirana sweep Milan 2-0 and Athens edge Rome 2-1. Round two had Madrid over the Trojans 3-1 and a Zurich sweep of the Anchors. The Conquistadors had a shot to repeat as Southern Conference Champions, while the Mountaineers hoped for their first pennant since 1993. Madrid would take it 4-2 over Zurich to become seven-time conference champions. The 51^st European Championship was a “dream match” for European baseball junkies as the defending EBF champ (Madrid) met the two-time defending EPB champ (Kharkiv). This type of “best of the best” encounter wouldn’t be a reality until the Baseball Grand Championship was introduced in 2010. The newcomer Killer Bees defeated the Conquistadors 4-2, giving Kharkiv its first EBF title and a three-peat between leagues. Pitcher Jiri Taborsky was finals MVP, having joined the Killer Bees in a trade with Prague in the offseason. The 28-year old Czech righty had a 2.35 ERA in three playoff starts with 19 strikeouts in 23 innings. Kharkiv’s win cemented a dynasty as one of the finest runs for any European baseball team in either EBF or EPB. It also cemented that the expansion was a tremendous success for both the EBF and most of the new teams. The added eyeballs and cash from new markets certainly also pleased even the most skeptical among the EBF old guard. Other notes: EBF had three perfect games thrown in 2000, making it 23 in EBF history. The first was by Marseille’s Enrico Gini on May 3 with 14 strikeouts against Belgrade. On June 11, Kharkiv’s Petro Mihalko fanned 11 against Dublin. Then July 12, Birmingham’s Wawasani Vehajuddin did it with 11 Ks against Cologne. Budapest’s Kristijan Acevski had a 38-game hitting streak, which was tied for the fifth longest in EBF history to date. Lindsey Brampton became the third pitcher to 5000 career strikeouts. Khaled Jabri became the sixth pitcher to 250 wins. He pitched two more years and ended at 272, retiring third all-time. Robin Morrison and Willy Fierro became the seventh and eighth to 1500 runs scored. In his final EBF season, Fierro won his eighth Silver Slugger in center field. He would play the next eight years in MLB. Morrison also became the 12^th to 1500 RBI and the 17^th to 2500 hits. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)