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FuzzyRussianHat · 09-22-2025, 07:19 PM

Defending European League champ Moscow grew their playoff streak to seven seasons and won their fifth consecutive North Division title. This was easily their strongest season of the run at 110-52, allowing the fewest runs in all of Eurasian Professional Baseball at 539. The Mules broke their own league attendance record at 2,081,874 tickets sold.

The division wasn’t a lock even with that record as St. Petersburg gave chase at 104-58. The Polar Bears led EPB with 781 runs and ended a seven-year playoff drought as the first wild card. The division also had the second wild card in Gomel at 90-72, ending a three-year skid. Kazan, a wild card last year, fell completely off a cliff to 59-103. Last year’s ELCS runner-up Minsk also notably dropped off to 70-92.

Voronezh won the South Division for the third straight year. The Zephyrs were 102-60 for the best record of their four-year streak. Voronezh notably set a new single-season EPB team record with 1680 hits and had the second-best batting average at .292. Krasnodar was the only other team in the division above .500 at 86-76, falling four wins short of Gomel for the second wild card. The Steamers had 113 triples, breaking the EL record and falling two short of the EPB top mark.

Nizhny Novgorod was decent at 83-79, but their star Maksim Krutov was again excellent. For the fourth time in five years, the Russian LF was European League MVP. Krutov was the fifth player in EPB history with 4+ MVP wins. The 29-year old former #1 overall pick led in runs (120), home runs (58), average (.364), slugging (.746), OPS (1.161), wRC+ (211), and WAR (9.7). Krutov’s slugging was a new single-season EPB record, breaking Amam Charyyew’s .713 which had held since 1963.

Krutov had 203 hits, 23 doubles, and 125 RBI, falling five RBI short of the Triple Crown behind Voronezh DH Aleksandr Belov. Belov was third in MVP voting, but was notable for setting two single-season records of his own with 244 hits and 435 total bases. The previous EPB hits record was 241 by Vladimir Pyatrenka in 2030, while Dzmitry Kuliev had the total bases mark of 429 from 1988. Belov had 24 doubles, 25 triples, 39 homers, and 7.1 WAR.

Voronezh’s Sergie Stepanov won his second Pitcher of the Year in three years, leading in ERA (2.11), strikeouts (345), WHIP (0.88), FIP- (53), and WAR (9.8). The 26-year old Russian righty had a 179 ERA+, 247.2 innings, and 18-7 record; two wins shy of a Triple Crown.

The division champs prevailed in the first round of the playoffs with Moscow over Gomel 3-0 and Voronezh over St. Petersburg 3-1. The Mules were looking to repeat, while the Zephyrs were in their third European League Championship Series in four years; although they missed each other in 2034. Moscow took the series 4-2 for their fourth pennant in six years and 17^th overall, second only to Minsk’s 22.

Irkutsk had won the 2034 EPB Championship as a wild card. The Ice Cats would take the Asian League’s top seed in 2035, albeit barely. Irkutsk and Novosibirsk tied atop the East Division standings at 96-66 with the Ice Cats winning in a tiebreaker game. The Nitros’ playoff streak grew to seven seasons and Irkutsk’s to three years. Last year’s top seed and ALCS runner-up Ulaanbaatar also grew their playoff streak to three, taking the second wild card at 89-73.

Over in the West Division, Yekaterinburg took first at 93-69 to end a seven-year playoff drought and run of losing campaigns. Last year’s division champ Nur-Sultan was their only real competitor at 85-77, falling four short in the wild card race and eight in the division hunt. Novosibirsk led the AL with 780 runs and Irkutsk allowed the fewest at 590.

In his fourth season, Yekaterinburg LF Andrey Golovin won his first Asian League MVP. He had led in homers, RBI, and OPS the prior season but just missed the honor. The 26-year old Kazakh in 2035 was the leader for homers (53), walks (88), slugging (.670), OPS (1.086), wRC+ (198), and WAR (9.3). Golovin had 179 hits, 118 runs, 125 RBI, and .325 average. He was living up to being the #1 overall draft pick in 2031 by the Yaks.

Irkutsk’s Vardan Aslan won his third Pitcher of the Year, having previously done it in 2028 and 2030 with Nur-Sultan. He had gotten traded to the Ice Cats for 2034 and quickly signed a five-year, $99 million extension with them. The 31-year old Uzbek righty was the WARlord at 8.0 and had a 2.57 ERA over 273.2 innings, 285 strikeouts, 148 ERA+, and 17-9 record.

Also notable was Novosibirsk’s Kazybek Orazow becoming the fifth EPB closer to win five Reliever of the Year awards. He had won his first four with Vladivostok and had joined the Nitros in 2034. The 31-year old Tajik righty had 40 saves, 2.52 ERA, 96.1 innings, 144 Ks, and 4.0 WAR. Orazow moved up to fifth on the EPB career saves list at 376, but that chase would be paused as he’d leave for MLB’s Brooklyn Dodgers in 2036.

Ulaanbaatar upset Irkutsk 3-2 in the first round, avenging their ALCS loss from the prior season. Novosibirsk outlasted Yekaterinburg 3-2 on the other side of the bracket. The Nitros got their fourth Asian League Championship Series trip in six years, but their only pennant win was way back in 1988. Novosibirsk ended that 46 season drought by besting the Boars 4-2.

The Nitros were the only remaining original EPB franchise in the league that hadn’t won it all. Moscow had five titles to their name, but had lost in six consecutive EPB Championships, including in 2030, 31, and 34. The 81^st EPB Championship would go to the Mules 4-1 over Novosibirsk, bringing the cup back to the Russian capital.

Moscow’s previous wins were 1974, 1975, 2006, 2009, and 2016; putting them at 6-11 all-time in the finals. They were the seventh different EPB champ in as many years. In a losing effort, Novosibirsk’s Daniyar Aliyev was finals MVP. In 16 playoff starts, he had 19 hits, 9 runs, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, 7 RBI, and 1.0 WAR.

Other notes: Aleksandr Belov had a 32-game hitting streak, tied for the 2^nd-longest in EPB history. He was one game short of Wolfgang Lind’s record 33 in 2006. Erik Farkas became the 28^th member of the 500 home run club and Mariyan Kazakov was the 83^rd to 400 dingers.

09-22-2025, 07:19 PM	#2461
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,035	2035 in EPB Defending European League champ Moscow grew their playoff streak to seven seasons and won their fifth consecutive North Division title. This was easily their strongest season of the run at 110-52, allowing the fewest runs in all of Eurasian Professional Baseball at 539. The Mules broke their own league attendance record at 2,081,874 tickets sold. The division wasn’t a lock even with that record as St. Petersburg gave chase at 104-58. The Polar Bears led EPB with 781 runs and ended a seven-year playoff drought as the first wild card. The division also had the second wild card in Gomel at 90-72, ending a three-year skid. Kazan, a wild card last year, fell completely off a cliff to 59-103. Last year’s ELCS runner-up Minsk also notably dropped off to 70-92. Voronezh won the South Division for the third straight year. The Zephyrs were 102-60 for the best record of their four-year streak. Voronezh notably set a new single-season EPB team record with 1680 hits and had the second-best batting average at .292. Krasnodar was the only other team in the division above .500 at 86-76, falling four wins short of Gomel for the second wild card. The Steamers had 113 triples, breaking the EL record and falling two short of the EPB top mark. Nizhny Novgorod was decent at 83-79, but their star Maksim Krutov was again excellent. For the fourth time in five years, the Russian LF was European League MVP. Krutov was the fifth player in EPB history with 4+ MVP wins. The 29-year old former #1 overall pick led in runs (120), home runs (58), average (.364), slugging (.746), OPS (1.161), wRC+ (211), and WAR (9.7). Krutov’s slugging was a new single-season EPB record, breaking Amam Charyyew’s .713 which had held since 1963. Krutov had 203 hits, 23 doubles, and 125 RBI, falling five RBI short of the Triple Crown behind Voronezh DH Aleksandr Belov. Belov was third in MVP voting, but was notable for setting two single-season records of his own with 244 hits and 435 total bases. The previous EPB hits record was 241 by Vladimir Pyatrenka in 2030, while Dzmitry Kuliev had the total bases mark of 429 from 1988. Belov had 24 doubles, 25 triples, 39 homers, and 7.1 WAR. Voronezh’s Sergie Stepanov won his second Pitcher of the Year in three years, leading in ERA (2.11), strikeouts (345), WHIP (0.88), FIP- (53), and WAR (9.8). The 26-year old Russian righty had a 179 ERA+, 247.2 innings, and 18-7 record; two wins shy of a Triple Crown. The division champs prevailed in the first round of the playoffs with Moscow over Gomel 3-0 and Voronezh over St. Petersburg 3-1. The Mules were looking to repeat, while the Zephyrs were in their third European League Championship Series in four years; although they missed each other in 2034. Moscow took the series 4-2 for their fourth pennant in six years and 17^th overall, second only to Minsk’s 22. Irkutsk had won the 2034 EPB Championship as a wild card. The Ice Cats would take the Asian League’s top seed in 2035, albeit barely. Irkutsk and Novosibirsk tied atop the East Division standings at 96-66 with the Ice Cats winning in a tiebreaker game. The Nitros’ playoff streak grew to seven seasons and Irkutsk’s to three years. Last year’s top seed and ALCS runner-up Ulaanbaatar also grew their playoff streak to three, taking the second wild card at 89-73. Over in the West Division, Yekaterinburg took first at 93-69 to end a seven-year playoff drought and run of losing campaigns. Last year’s division champ Nur-Sultan was their only real competitor at 85-77, falling four short in the wild card race and eight in the division hunt. Novosibirsk led the AL with 780 runs and Irkutsk allowed the fewest at 590. In his fourth season, Yekaterinburg LF Andrey Golovin won his first Asian League MVP. He had led in homers, RBI, and OPS the prior season but just missed the honor. The 26-year old Kazakh in 2035 was the leader for homers (53), walks (88), slugging (.670), OPS (1.086), wRC+ (198), and WAR (9.3). Golovin had 179 hits, 118 runs, 125 RBI, and .325 average. He was living up to being the #1 overall draft pick in 2031 by the Yaks. Irkutsk’s Vardan Aslan won his third Pitcher of the Year, having previously done it in 2028 and 2030 with Nur-Sultan. He had gotten traded to the Ice Cats for 2034 and quickly signed a five-year, $99 million extension with them. The 31-year old Uzbek righty was the WARlord at 8.0 and had a 2.57 ERA over 273.2 innings, 285 strikeouts, 148 ERA+, and 17-9 record. Also notable was Novosibirsk’s Kazybek Orazow becoming the fifth EPB closer to win five Reliever of the Year awards. He had won his first four with Vladivostok and had joined the Nitros in 2034. The 31-year old Tajik righty had 40 saves, 2.52 ERA, 96.1 innings, 144 Ks, and 4.0 WAR. Orazow moved up to fifth on the EPB career saves list at 376, but that chase would be paused as he’d leave for MLB’s Brooklyn Dodgers in 2036. Ulaanbaatar upset Irkutsk 3-2 in the first round, avenging their ALCS loss from the prior season. Novosibirsk outlasted Yekaterinburg 3-2 on the other side of the bracket. The Nitros got their fourth Asian League Championship Series trip in six years, but their only pennant win was way back in 1988. Novosibirsk ended that 46 season drought by besting the Boars 4-2. The Nitros were the only remaining original EPB franchise in the league that hadn’t won it all. Moscow had five titles to their name, but had lost in six consecutive EPB Championships, including in 2030, 31, and 34. The 81^st EPB Championship would go to the Mules 4-1 over Novosibirsk, bringing the cup back to the Russian capital. Moscow’s previous wins were 1974, 1975, 2006, 2009, and 2016; putting them at 6-11 all-time in the finals. They were the seventh different EPB champ in as many years. In a losing effort, Novosibirsk’s Daniyar Aliyev was finals MVP. In 16 playoff starts, he had 19 hits, 9 runs, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, 7 RBI, and 1.0 WAR. Other notes: Aleksandr Belov had a 32-game hitting streak, tied for the 2^nd-longest in EPB history. He was one game short of Wolfgang Lind’s record 33 in 2006. Erik Farkas became the 28^th member of the 500 home run club and Mariyan Kazakov was the 83^rd to 400 dingers. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)