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FuzzyRussianHat · 09-04-2025, 08:03 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.

09-04-2025, 08:03 AM	#2425
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,234	2034 in EPB 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. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports The Level Playing Field: Alternate MLB History From 1884-Onward Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)