[FuzzyRussianHat]

Three teams battled closely for the Asian League’s top seed and the East Division crown. Novosibirsk won nine of their last ten games, pushing them to repeat division crowns and a ninth straight playoff berth. The Nitros finished 96-66, holding off Vladivostok (94-68) and Irkutsk (93-69). The Ice Cats had the best record at the all-star break at 56-37, but went 2-8 in their last ten games.

The Shibas led the AL with 716 runs, while Novosibirsk had the fewest runs allowed (505) and the best differential (+139). Irkutsk earned a fifth straight playoff berth, while Vladivostok ended a four-year drought. Ulaanbaatar had been the ALCS runner-up in the prior three seasons, but they stunk in 2037 at 70-92.

Over in the West Division, Ufa was the only team above .500 at 86-76 to end a three-year playoff drought. The Fiends had been a lousy 65-97 the prior year. Defending AL champ Yekaterinburg finished second at 81-81. Astana was third at 77-85. The Setters changed the franchise name back to their city’s name, having been founded during the brief window that Astana was renamed as Nur-Sultan.



Omsk was mediocre at 76-86, but they had the Asian League MVP in 2B Anatoly Nasenko. He got 2/3 of the first place votes and 296 points, while Ufa RFA Konstantin Antonov had the rest of the first places and 256 points. Antonov finished as the leader in homers (49) and RBI (118).

For Nasenko in only his third season, he led in total bases (362), slugging (.630), and WAR (9.7). The 25-year old Russian righty had 182 hits, 103 runs, 22 doubles, 10 triples, 46 home runs, 95 RBI, 52 steals, .317 average, and 178 wRC+. Nasenko was the #1 draft pick in 2034 and was already living up to the billing for the Otters.

Pitcher of the Year was quite competitive with Khabarovsk’s Khachim Gojayev taking it with 11 first place votes and 115 points. Irkutsk’s Vardan Aslan had seven and 95 points and Vladivostok’s Edik Timonov had five and 88 points. Aslan led in WAR at 8.9 while Timonov had the most wins at 21-7. Gojayev’s fourth season was his breakout for the Rockets, leading in ERA (2.04), quality starts (26), and shutouts (4). The 25-year old Russian righty had a 14-10 record, 265.1 innings, 269 strikeouts, 84 FIP-, and 5.6 WAR.



In the first round, Novosibirsk swept Irkutsk with 2-1, 2-0, and 6-2 wins, sending the Nitros to their fifth Asian League Championship Series of the decade. Ufa and Vladivostok traded wins with the Shibas eventually securing game five 4-2. It was their first ALCS berth since winning four pennants from 2028-32. In that dynasty run, Vladivostok had upset Novosibirsk in the 2030 ALCS and knocked them out in the 2032 first round.

Novosibirsk began with 6-2 and 3-0 home wins. Vladivostok got one back 2-0 on their home field. Game four was a pitcher’s duel that went ten innings. The Nitros had only three hits, but one of those was Leo Dahm’s solo homer in the top half to secure a 2-1 road win. Novosibirsk then cruised to an 8-1 game five win to conclude the series for their second pennant in three years. It was their third overall, also having won in 1988. Pitcher Nikita Melnikov was series MVP, winning his two starts with a 1.12 ERA and 14 Ks in 16 innings.