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FuzzyRussianHat · 07-10-2026, 08:42 AM

Zagreb and Cluj-Napoca early on led the Southern Conference with 67-36 and 65-38 records respectively at the all-star break. The Paladins faded and were around .500 from there, allowing the Gulls to hold onto the East Division crown at 102-60. However, Zaragoza had the strongest second half in the European Baseball Federation Elite Tier at 42-17. The Gold Hawks ended the season with a nine-game winning streak, including a home sweep of Zagreb. Zaragoza also was 14-1 to finish the year, just passing the Gulls for the top seed at 103-59.

This was Zaragoza’s first 100+ win season as they earned their third straight playoff trip and second West Division title of that run. The Gulls made it three consecutive division titles and four playoff trips in a row. The Gold Hawks led EBF with 952 runs, which was the fourth-best single-season in EBF history. Their .543 team slugging percentage set a new single-season record and their 303 homers were fourth-best. Zaragoza had 2042’s top run differential at +223.

The first wild cards were each division’s runner-up with Seville at 98-64 and Cluj-Napoca at 95-67. The Stingrays picked up a sixth playoff trip in seven years while the Paladins earned a repeat trip. It came down to the last two weeks for the remaining two spots with ten different teams realistically in the fight. Barcelona went 8-2 in their last ten games and Thessaloniki won each of their final three series, giving both teams berths at 90-72.

Extra base hits led the way for the Bengals, who set a single-season record with 314 doubles and had the second-most triples ever in EBF at 153. Barcelona ended a six-year playoff drought while Thessaloniki earned their fourth trip in six years. The first team out was defending conference champ Budapest at 89-73, who critically dropped two of three to the Tritons in the second-to-last series and lost two of three to end at Seville. This ended a nine-year playoff streak for the Bombers.

Three teams finished two back at 88-74; Stuttgart, Lyon, and Madrid. Skopje finished 87-75 and also in the fight was Lisbon (86-76), Marseille (85-77), and Chisinau (85-77). The Counts had allowed the fewest runs in the conference at 633. The Stags were denied a third consecutive playoff trip while the Conquistadors had only their second miss in seven seasons.

The dirt worst team was Palermo at 49-113, continuing a rollercoaster ride for them. They had dropped as far down to European Tier Three in the last decade, but got back to the European Second League in 2039 and back to the Elite Tier in 2041. The Priests clearly weren’t ready as their team ERA (5.40), runs allowed (931), earned runs (858), H/9 (11.04), and WHIP (1.567) were each the second-worst in conference history.

The next four worst records were also in the East Division, the weakest being 59-103 Ljubljana. Those teams were spared relegation as only the last place team in each division drops. That was bad news in the West where 71-91 was the bottom spot for Valencia. The Vandals had returned to the Elite Tier in 2037 after a nine-year E2L stint.

Zaragoza 1B Marc David again led their high-powered offense, earning his third consecutive Northern Conference MVP. It was his fourth overall having also won back in 2037. The 32-year old French lefty had 46/52 first place votes and led in total bases with 432. David posted 201 hits, 134 runs, 21 doubles, 62 home runs, 145 RBI, .342/.384/.736 slash, 1.120 OPS, 190 wRC+, and 7.7 WAR. In March, the Gold Hawks gave David a five-year, $203,500,000 extension.

Chisinau’s Aleksandar Kerimov completed a Pitcher of the Year three-peat and got all but two first place votes. It was arguably his best season yet as he fell one win short of a Triple Crown at 20-9 with 8 saves. Kerimov led in ERA (2.41), innings (269), strikeouts (383), WHIP (0.82), K/BB (16.0), complete games (23), FIP- (57), and WAR (10.1). The 29-year old Bulgarian lefty has three years left on his deal with the Counts.

Cluj-Napoca won the first round opener 2-0 over Thessaloniki, but the Tritons snagged 5-3 and 7-5 road wins to advance. Seville meanwhile swept their Spanish foe Barcelona on 9-7 and 7-4 results. The Stingrays had no luck facing Zagreb with the Gulls earning 5-3, 3-2, and 6-5 wins for a second round sweep. Both games two and three had walkoff winners for Zagreb and game two went ten innings.

Thessaloniki rolled into Spain and shocked top-seed Zaragoza with 8-3 and 11-5 road wins to open round two. The Gold Hawks were an out away from getting swept in game three, but rallied with a three-run ninth inning to eke out a 5-4 win. Pitching then led the way for Zaragoza with 4-0 and 5-2 wins, making the comeback to win the series 3-2.

This set up a Southern Conference Championship rematch of 2040 between Zagreb and Zaragoza. Two years ago, the Gold Hawks had home field advantage but the Gulls prevailed in a seven-game classic. In 2042, it was again the #1 versus #2 seed matchup with Zaragoza having won a single game more in the regular season. The Gold Hawks had gone 6-3 against Zagreb in their regular season meetings.

Zaragoza opened with a 5-3 home win, but fell 6-4 the next night in 11 innings. Zagreb had opened up 4-0 in the first inning, but the Gold Hawks eventually tied it in the seventh. However, the Gulls reclaimed the advantage with a two-run 11^th. Now in Croatia, Zagreb rattled off 5-3 and 14-6 home wins to take the 3-1 series advantage.

Game five saw both teams score thrice in the fourth inning, then no more scoring until the 11^th. There, Gulls LF Enis Gilgorevic got a one-out triple and was knocked in by Godfrey Seed’s walkoff RBI single for a 4-3 victory. This clinched the series in five games for Zagreb, becoming six-time Southern Conference champs (1960, 1975, 2027, 2029, 2040, 2042). In defeat, Zaragoza SS Daniel Caldeira was series MVP going 11-17 with three homers and seven RBI.

07-10-2026, 08:42 AM	#2933
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,733	2042 EBF Southern Conference Zagreb and Cluj-Napoca early on led the Southern Conference with 67-36 and 65-38 records respectively at the all-star break. The Paladins faded and were around .500 from there, allowing the Gulls to hold onto the East Division crown at 102-60. However, Zaragoza had the strongest second half in the European Baseball Federation Elite Tier at 42-17. The Gold Hawks ended the season with a nine-game winning streak, including a home sweep of Zagreb. Zaragoza also was 14-1 to finish the year, just passing the Gulls for the top seed at 103-59. This was Zaragoza’s first 100+ win season as they earned their third straight playoff trip and second West Division title of that run. The Gulls made it three consecutive division titles and four playoff trips in a row. The Gold Hawks led EBF with 952 runs, which was the fourth-best single-season in EBF history. Their .543 team slugging percentage set a new single-season record and their 303 homers were fourth-best. Zaragoza had 2042’s top run differential at +223. The first wild cards were each division’s runner-up with Seville at 98-64 and Cluj-Napoca at 95-67. The Stingrays picked up a sixth playoff trip in seven years while the Paladins earned a repeat trip. It came down to the last two weeks for the remaining two spots with ten different teams realistically in the fight. Barcelona went 8-2 in their last ten games and Thessaloniki won each of their final three series, giving both teams berths at 90-72. Extra base hits led the way for the Bengals, who set a single-season record with 314 doubles and had the second-most triples ever in EBF at 153. Barcelona ended a six-year playoff drought while Thessaloniki earned their fourth trip in six years. The first team out was defending conference champ Budapest at 89-73, who critically dropped two of three to the Tritons in the second-to-last series and lost two of three to end at Seville. This ended a nine-year playoff streak for the Bombers. Three teams finished two back at 88-74; Stuttgart, Lyon, and Madrid. Skopje finished 87-75 and also in the fight was Lisbon (86-76), Marseille (85-77), and Chisinau (85-77). The Counts had allowed the fewest runs in the conference at 633. The Stags were denied a third consecutive playoff trip while the Conquistadors had only their second miss in seven seasons. The dirt worst team was Palermo at 49-113, continuing a rollercoaster ride for them. They had dropped as far down to European Tier Three in the last decade, but got back to the European Second League in 2039 and back to the Elite Tier in 2041. The Priests clearly weren’t ready as their team ERA (5.40), runs allowed (931), earned runs (858), H/9 (11.04), and WHIP (1.567) were each the second-worst in conference history. The next four worst records were also in the East Division, the weakest being 59-103 Ljubljana. Those teams were spared relegation as only the last place team in each division drops. That was bad news in the West where 71-91 was the bottom spot for Valencia. The Vandals had returned to the Elite Tier in 2037 after a nine-year E2L stint. Zaragoza 1B Marc David again led their high-powered offense, earning his third consecutive Northern Conference MVP. It was his fourth overall having also won back in 2037. The 32-year old French lefty had 46/52 first place votes and led in total bases with 432. David posted 201 hits, 134 runs, 21 doubles, 62 home runs, 145 RBI, .342/.384/.736 slash, 1.120 OPS, 190 wRC+, and 7.7 WAR. In March, the Gold Hawks gave David a five-year, $203,500,000 extension. Chisinau’s Aleksandar Kerimov completed a Pitcher of the Year three-peat and got all but two first place votes. It was arguably his best season yet as he fell one win short of a Triple Crown at 20-9 with 8 saves. Kerimov led in ERA (2.41), innings (269), strikeouts (383), WHIP (0.82), K/BB (16.0), complete games (23), FIP- (57), and WAR (10.1). The 29-year old Bulgarian lefty has three years left on his deal with the Counts. Cluj-Napoca won the first round opener 2-0 over Thessaloniki, but the Tritons snagged 5-3 and 7-5 road wins to advance. Seville meanwhile swept their Spanish foe Barcelona on 9-7 and 7-4 results. The Stingrays had no luck facing Zagreb with the Gulls earning 5-3, 3-2, and 6-5 wins for a second round sweep. Both games two and three had walkoff winners for Zagreb and game two went ten innings. Thessaloniki rolled into Spain and shocked top-seed Zaragoza with 8-3 and 11-5 road wins to open round two. The Gold Hawks were an out away from getting swept in game three, but rallied with a three-run ninth inning to eke out a 5-4 win. Pitching then led the way for Zaragoza with 4-0 and 5-2 wins, making the comeback to win the series 3-2. This set up a Southern Conference Championship rematch of 2040 between Zagreb and Zaragoza. Two years ago, the Gold Hawks had home field advantage but the Gulls prevailed in a seven-game classic. In 2042, it was again the #1 versus #2 seed matchup with Zaragoza having won a single game more in the regular season. The Gold Hawks had gone 6-3 against Zagreb in their regular season meetings. Zaragoza opened with a 5-3 home win, but fell 6-4 the next night in 11 innings. Zagreb had opened up 4-0 in the first inning, but the Gold Hawks eventually tied it in the seventh. However, the Gulls reclaimed the advantage with a two-run 11^th. Now in Croatia, Zagreb rattled off 5-3 and 14-6 home wins to take the 3-1 series advantage. Game five saw both teams score thrice in the fourth inning, then no more scoring until the 11^th. There, Gulls LF Enis Gilgorevic got a one-out triple and was knocked in by Godfrey Seed’s walkoff RBI single for a 4-3 victory. This clinched the series in five games for Zagreb, becoming six-time Southern Conference champs (1960, 1975, 2027, 2029, 2040, 2042). In defeat, Zaragoza SS Daniel Caldeira was series MVP going 11-17 with three homers and seven RBI. __________________ 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)