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FuzzyRussianHat · 03-10-2026, 05:38 AM

The strength in the Eastern Conference was concentrated in the Arabia Division. Riyadh at the all-star break led all of Arab League Baseball at 60-32 with reigning ALB champ Mecca next at 55-37. Medina also in the division was 50-41, while the rest of the conference had fewer than 50 wins. The Rats and Marksmen used their cushion to remain ahead of the field in the second half.

Riyadh held on to take the top seed at 99-63, ending an eight-year playoff drought with their first division title since 2028. The Marksmen at 96-66 earned the first wild card, growing their playoff streak to seven seasons. Medina at 87-75 led the conference in scoring with 852 runs, but finished four games short of the second wild card. The Mastodons have posted 12 straight winning seasons, although this was their third consecutive playoff miss.

The strongest second half records were Doha (45-26) and Bahrain (42-27) in the Gulf Division. The Dash passed the Blitz in September, allowing them to fend off a six-game Bahrain win streak to close the year. Doha won the division at 92-70 and the 91-71 Blitz picked up the second wild card. Muscat finished 84-78, ending their 13-year playoff streak. The Dash now have the longest active postseason streak at 11 years, while Bahrain earned a second wild card in three years. Doha allowed the EC’s fewest runs at 671 and had the best run differential at +159.

Basra’s seven-year run atop the Mesopotamia Division ended with a thud as they finished 74-88. It was a lackluster division overall with only 84-78 Sulaymanyiah above .500, ending a seven-year playoff drought for the Sultans. Kuwait was the lone team with a winning record at the all-star break, but the Whales were an abysmal 26-45 the rest of the way, the worst record in the conference.

Eastern Conference MVP went to Sulaymaniyah 1B Mohamed Mohammed with 25 first place votes, while Mecca’s Hamdi Bahri had the other five. Mohammed was a free agent signing for 2040 at $132 million over six years after mixed results with Giza previously. The 27-year old Sudanese righty led in home runs (60) while posting 145 RBI, 196 hits, 119 runs, a .321/.389/.687 slash, 178 wRC+, and 7.5 WAR.

Mecca’s Azzam Salman won Pitcher of the Year at 17 first place votes and 168 points, edging out Jeddah’s Hesham Abdel Monsef at 12 and 144. Monsef had edged out Salman for the ERA title by eight points. This was the breakout year for the 30-year old Salman, whose career had been a mixed bag. He spent his first six years with Jeddah and won 2033 Rookie of the Year, but his production had been inconsistent since.

The Jackals sent him to Jerusalem in July 2038 as trade rental. Salman signed with Casablanca for 2039, but they traded him after a year to the Marksmen. In his Mecca debut, the 6’5’’ Iraqi lefty led in wins (19-7) and quality starts (24). Salman had a 3.10 ERA over 221 innings, 212 strikeouts, 140 ERA+, 81 FIP-, and 5.2 WAR.

Mecca had the one-game bonus for the wild card round, needing just one win to advance over Bahrain while the Blitz needed two road wins. The opener was longer than two games, as Bahrain survived 19 innings and 7:37 to win 6-5. The next night, the Marksmen needed a three-run Juma Javed homer in the ninth to force extras again at 3-3. Mecca earned a walkoff RBI double in the 12^th to win 4-3 and keep the repeat bid intact.

The fatigue from those games certainly drained the Marksmen, who got blown out 10-0 to open round two against Riyadh. Game two went ten innings, but the Rats got a walkoff single to win it 4-3, advancing to only their third-ever Eastern Conference Final trip (2002, 2028). The only charter ALB franchises to never win a pennant entering 2040 was Riyadh, Tunis, and Baghdad.

On the other side of the bracket, Doha swept Sulaymaniyah on 6-4 and 8-1 wins. The Dash earned their second ECF trip in three years, but they haven’t won a pennant since the 2032-33 repeat despite their playoff streak. Although Riyadh finished seven wins ahead of Doha and had home field advantage, the Dash had swept their six regular season meetings.
Game one went ten innings with Doha getting a run in the top half on two walks, a hit batsmen, and one hit. Riyadh countered with four singles in the bottom half, scoring twice for the 5-4 walkoff win. The Rats held on 4-3 in game two, going ahead with a two-run seventh. The series shifted to Qatar with Doha hitting a solo homer in the ninth, sending game three to extras at 2-2. Three singles in the 12^th inning allowed the Dash to take a 3-2 win.

In game four, Riyadh tied it at 2-2 with a two-run top of the ninth inning. In the bottom half, the first batter Tarek Yousry narrowly cleared the right field fence, giving Doha a 3-2 walkoff homer to force game five. Back in Saudi Arabia, the Rats raced ahead with a five-run second inning and held a 6-2 lead after the fourth. In the top of the ninth, the Dash got six hits to score four runs, tying the finale at 6-6.

In the bottom half, Lorival Gordinho got a leadoff double, then was doubled in by Janusz Garbacik. This gave Riyadh the 7-6 walkoff win and the series to secure their first-ever pennant. 2B Florencio Salomon was series MVP, going 9-20 with four runs and three RBI, including two of each in game five. Salomon initially played in Austronesia Professional Baseball with Makassar and won an MVP there in 2034. The 32-year old from East Timor joined ALB and the Rats in 2039 on a two-year deal.

03-10-2026, 05:38 AM	#2754
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,324	2040 ALB Eastern Conference The strength in the Eastern Conference was concentrated in the Arabia Division. Riyadh at the all-star break led all of Arab League Baseball at 60-32 with reigning ALB champ Mecca next at 55-37. Medina also in the division was 50-41, while the rest of the conference had fewer than 50 wins. The Rats and Marksmen used their cushion to remain ahead of the field in the second half. Riyadh held on to take the top seed at 99-63, ending an eight-year playoff drought with their first division title since 2028. The Marksmen at 96-66 earned the first wild card, growing their playoff streak to seven seasons. Medina at 87-75 led the conference in scoring with 852 runs, but finished four games short of the second wild card. The Mastodons have posted 12 straight winning seasons, although this was their third consecutive playoff miss. The strongest second half records were Doha (45-26) and Bahrain (42-27) in the Gulf Division. The Dash passed the Blitz in September, allowing them to fend off a six-game Bahrain win streak to close the year. Doha won the division at 92-70 and the 91-71 Blitz picked up the second wild card. Muscat finished 84-78, ending their 13-year playoff streak. The Dash now have the longest active postseason streak at 11 years, while Bahrain earned a second wild card in three years. Doha allowed the EC’s fewest runs at 671 and had the best run differential at +159. Basra’s seven-year run atop the Mesopotamia Division ended with a thud as they finished 74-88. It was a lackluster division overall with only 84-78 Sulaymanyiah above .500, ending a seven-year playoff drought for the Sultans. Kuwait was the lone team with a winning record at the all-star break, but the Whales were an abysmal 26-45 the rest of the way, the worst record in the conference. Eastern Conference MVP went to Sulaymaniyah 1B Mohamed Mohammed with 25 first place votes, while Mecca’s Hamdi Bahri had the other five. Mohammed was a free agent signing for 2040 at $132 million over six years after mixed results with Giza previously. The 27-year old Sudanese righty led in home runs (60) while posting 145 RBI, 196 hits, 119 runs, a .321/.389/.687 slash, 178 wRC+, and 7.5 WAR. Mecca’s Azzam Salman won Pitcher of the Year at 17 first place votes and 168 points, edging out Jeddah’s Hesham Abdel Monsef at 12 and 144. Monsef had edged out Salman for the ERA title by eight points. This was the breakout year for the 30-year old Salman, whose career had been a mixed bag. He spent his first six years with Jeddah and won 2033 Rookie of the Year, but his production had been inconsistent since. The Jackals sent him to Jerusalem in July 2038 as trade rental. Salman signed with Casablanca for 2039, but they traded him after a year to the Marksmen. In his Mecca debut, the 6’5’’ Iraqi lefty led in wins (19-7) and quality starts (24). Salman had a 3.10 ERA over 221 innings, 212 strikeouts, 140 ERA+, 81 FIP-, and 5.2 WAR. Mecca had the one-game bonus for the wild card round, needing just one win to advance over Bahrain while the Blitz needed two road wins. The opener was longer than two games, as Bahrain survived 19 innings and 7:37 to win 6-5. The next night, the Marksmen needed a three-run Juma Javed homer in the ninth to force extras again at 3-3. Mecca earned a walkoff RBI double in the 12^th to win 4-3 and keep the repeat bid intact. The fatigue from those games certainly drained the Marksmen, who got blown out 10-0 to open round two against Riyadh. Game two went ten innings, but the Rats got a walkoff single to win it 4-3, advancing to only their third-ever Eastern Conference Final trip (2002, 2028). The only charter ALB franchises to never win a pennant entering 2040 was Riyadh, Tunis, and Baghdad. On the other side of the bracket, Doha swept Sulaymaniyah on 6-4 and 8-1 wins. The Dash earned their second ECF trip in three years, but they haven’t won a pennant since the 2032-33 repeat despite their playoff streak. Although Riyadh finished seven wins ahead of Doha and had home field advantage, the Dash had swept their six regular season meetings. Game one went ten innings with Doha getting a run in the top half on two walks, a hit batsmen, and one hit. Riyadh countered with four singles in the bottom half, scoring twice for the 5-4 walkoff win. The Rats held on 4-3 in game two, going ahead with a two-run seventh. The series shifted to Qatar with Doha hitting a solo homer in the ninth, sending game three to extras at 2-2. Three singles in the 12^th inning allowed the Dash to take a 3-2 win. In game four, Riyadh tied it at 2-2 with a two-run top of the ninth inning. In the bottom half, the first batter Tarek Yousry narrowly cleared the right field fence, giving Doha a 3-2 walkoff homer to force game five. Back in Saudi Arabia, the Rats raced ahead with a five-run second inning and held a 6-2 lead after the fourth. In the top of the ninth, the Dash got six hits to score four runs, tying the finale at 6-6. In the bottom half, Lorival Gordinho got a leadoff double, then was doubled in by Janusz Garbacik. This gave Riyadh the 7-6 walkoff win and the series to secure their first-ever pennant. 2B Florencio Salomon was series MVP, going 9-20 with four runs and three RBI, including two of each in game five. Salomon initially played in Austronesia Professional Baseball with Makassar and won an MVP there in 2034. The 32-year old from East Timor joined ALB and the Rats in 2039 on a two-year deal. __________________ 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)