A fictional league in a fictional country

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1996 Season :

• Pre-season story:

1996 is an expansion year, so the Expendables are the favorites this year. Jokes aside, Green District possess a solid squad that will most likely dominate its division and play in postseason again. 2B Ji-e Jung has become a key player of the franchise since 1989. Last season he led the team with 32 HR, and .352 OBP. He also had .226 AVG, .434 SLG and 6.2 WAR.

The Jade Tigers believed they would be the first team from the Colourful Valley to win a championship, unfortunately they stumbled on a stronger team. 3B Ed Scovell had been getting better and better each year since he joined the league. Last season, he had a batting line of .279/.335/.415 with 15 HR and 5.5 WAR and he won a playoff MVP award.

With a Golden Glove and a Golden Ball winner last season, can the Wheelies challenge the Expendables for the Outlands division ? Jorge Torres was the Golden Ball winner with 2.14 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 3.8 WAR and he will seek to produce such numbers again.

After two championships not too long ago, the Black & Yellows are still delivering great seasons to play in the playoffs. Could the new competitivity of their neighbors, the Bears, be a threat to their ambitions? 3B Heller Glass is a rising star among Lingalie North's players. His last season was stellar with a batting line of .326/.397/.446 with 5.4 WAR.

The Colourful Valley is very open between three franchises, the Green Goblins missed the last two playoffs after three straight division crowns. Lingalia has not been far behind the top two teams and can surely bounce back. 1995 Golden Ball winner Taylor Clarke made a splash in the league last year at 24 years old. He had an ERA of 2.47, 1.01 WHIP and 7.3 WAR.

Not finishing last for the first time in their history, the Thunders want to capitalize on this to aim even higher. The expansion will give them another opponent that will most likely be easier to handle than the franchises from Lingalie City. Newcomer Bubba Smith won the Silver Glove last year with a batting line of .239/.336/.329, 4.2 WAR. He would like to confirm the potential showed last year.

Transactions/ FA :

- Ka-fei Li, 33 yo 2B, signed as a FA (SST --> BOB) a minor league contract
- Victor Morales, 30 yo 1B, opted out of his contract and signed as a FA (SEAG --> LGG) a contract of 22 020 000 € in 4 y
- Kévin Delahaye, 36 yo SP, signed as a FA (B&Y --> DIA) a contract of 1 200 000 € in 1 y
- Larbi Ouaziz, 26 yo C, signed as a FA (GDD --> CITY) a contract of 8 760 000 € in 3 y
- Kyle Petrillo, 37 yo C, signed as a FA (SEAG --> LNN) a contract of 12 000 000 € in 2 y
- Henry Romero, 26 yo C, signed as a FA (CITY --> JDT) a contract of 16 760 000 € in 4 y
- Julian Williams, 37 yo CL, was traded (ATL(MLB) --> JDT) for C G.Cloyd (1 year left)
- Anwa Zhao, 34 yo SS, signed as a FA (GRE --> KC(MLB)) a contract of 5 160 000 € in 3 y
- Bayisa Adesola, 30 yo 1B, was traded (MAP --> CITY) was traded with 2B S.Dunlap for CL J.Munoz, RP C.Batista, C T.Waithaka, 1B J. Yoo & 1B A.Pagan
- Edward Hanscombe, 26 yo RF, signed as a FA (LGG -->BEA) a contract if 12 120 000 € in 3 y
- Glenn Heile, 30 yo SP, signed as a FA (JDT --> NYM(MLB)) a contract of 37 800 000 € in 6 y

Managerial changes :

THU Even after his slightly better season last year, Hunter Bailey was fired. Moussier Hollestelle will replace him.
TSH Short experience for Wolde-Selassie Imara as manager of Narballo. He will now work as a bench coach for the Thunders.
B&Y Andrew Lefave will retire after 15 years of service. He will be remembered as a legendary coach with 4 rings (2 as BC in the 70's and 2 as manager in the 90's) for the Black & Yellow. Joe Azcue will have the tough mission of being his successor.
DIA Bitter experience for Miguel Brito and the Diamonds after four years without playoffs. The board decided to end their collaboration. The unproven Jonaikel Delgado was appointed as the new manager.
JDT After two division titles, Jesus Jones had changed team but stay in the Colourful Valley division as the new Golden Dragons manager. His successor is the inexperienced Jose Y. Nunez.
GDD Disappointing comeback for Carlos Ramos in the league. His team didn't show any improvement after 2 years.

CITY Manny Mota (1992-)
LNN Jose Mayorga (1992-)
FRE Felix Cuevas (1993-)
THU Moussier Hollestelle (1996-)
RHI Gerd Ernst (1996-)

WHE Ahmed Wiese (1988-)
GRE Matt Curry (1989-)
MAP Gregory Paulino (1992-)
TSH Ronald Barnes (1996-)
SAL Trevor Hoban (1996-)


SST Oberdan Diaz (1991-)
BEA Adenson Verastegui (1994-)
B&Y Joe Azcue (1996-)
DIA Jonaikel Delgado (1996-)
BUL Leta Jelil (1996-)

SEAG Ernie Banks (1988-)
LGG Walker Whitworth (1995-)
JDT Jose Y. Nunez (1996-)
GDD Jesus Jones (1996-)
BOB Berhane Niyangabo (1996-)

• Regular season :

Moon League

City greatly helped by the acquisition of Adesola and his 32 HR managed to achieve their best season in their history. The Freros got the second playoff berth with a clear advance on the Nang Nius and the Thunders. As expected, the Rhinos finished last.

9th consecutive divisional crown for the Green District. Catcher Diepolt Hesse is one of the rising stars on the Expendables roster. Behind, it was close race between Stonegap and Narballo, in the end the Wheelies will play in the postseason for the second time. Orange finished 4th and the Salamanders last.

Sun League

It was hinted and it happened, after the Silver Eagles and the Green Goblins, the Jade Tigers also won three divisions titles in a row. Henry Romero played a big role during the regular season to get the crown. Lingalia finished second by a great margin. The three last franchises were closer, surprisingly it is the Silver Eagles which finish last.

With a record over .600, the Coast division was dominated by the Sea Stars and the Diamonds. Linga Bay won their 6th division crown with the help of Dylan Blake, imperial in defence. The Bear played an exciting season and only fell short in the last part of the season. The winner of last year division, Lingalie North finished 4th, 5 games ahead of the new franchise, the Bullets.

• Draft :
  

The Bullets got to pick first this year as an expansion franchise, their choice was Carlos Moralez, a third base.

• All Stars Game :

Moon League

First selection for Thomas Bonhomme(MAP), Sam Eckert(TSH), Devin Hartley(MAP), Enrique Chango(MAP), Leen Roumen(GRE)

Return of Kahsay Nguvumali(LNN), Ixzi Fitzgerald(LNN), Moussier de Jong(GRE), Chee-hwa Er(FRE), Luis Loeza(FRE), Myung-gu Kim(THU), Shuichi Mizusawa(CITY), Rhys Lawless(THU), Yukinaga Nakamura(FRE) after an absence.
It is also a return for Kyle Petrillo(LNN) as a ML player after his participation in 1988 as a TSH player.
Fernando Nieto(CITY),Bayisa Adesola(ASG), Xing-yun Cheng(FRE), Caspar Bond(CITY), Miguel Estrada(WHE), Yun-qi Chu(FRE), Ji-e Jung(GRE), Diepolt Hesse(GRE), Alex Nunez(FRE) are into the ML roster for consecutive years.

Sun League

First time in the SL roster for Henry Romero(JDT), Ricky Leyva(GDD) & Masakazu Asano(DIA)
Ryuuya Takahashi(BEA), Tony Aviles(B&Y), Teshome Shakes(LGG), Julian Williams(JDT), Flavio Vazquez(JDT), Ian Bostock(DIA), Rudolf Palenik(DIA)
This year again, Taylor Clark(LGG), Zhi-peng Li(DIA), Heller Glass(B&Y), Wagih Hatari(BEA), Wayne Davies(JDT), Harris Nash(LGG), Victor Morales(LGG), Kinnon Castor(JDT) will be part of the SL squad.

Hosted in the brand new Cosmo Park, home of the Nang Nius, the ASG was won by the Sun League this year.

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• Playoffs :

Linga Quarter-Finals Series

WHE(ML Seed #4) vs SST(SL Seed #1)
GRE(ML Seed #3) vs DIA(SL Seed #2)
CITY(ML Seed #1) vs LGG(SL Seed #4)
FRE(ML Seed #2) vs JDT(SL Seed #3)

Despite being the favorites, the Sea Stars were defeated by the Wheelies for their first victory in a playoff series 3-1.
On the same score, the Diamonds won its matchup with the reigning champions, the Expendables. Thus they will not win this expansion year championship.
First time they faced each other in postseason, City and the Green Goblins played a tight series, which ended up with City's victory.
Like its opponent in last season LBS, the Jade Tigers lost in the QFS round, due to the Freros win 3-1.

Linga Semi-Final Series
WHE vs DIA
CITY vs FRE

The Wheelies wanted to create a sensation by participating in their first LBS, but they were stopped by the Diamonds, which will return after 13 years.
Divisional matchup in the second SFS. City got the upper hand in the regular season but the Freros had much more success in the recent years. The Freros won the series 4-2.

Linga Baseball Series
DIA vs FRE

Already the 4th LBS in the 90's, the Freros establish themselves as the TEAM of the decade. They face the Diamonds, 0 championships in 27 years of existence, despite numerous great seasons. In game 7, the Diamonds finally got their hands on the LBL trophy ! They end the longest wait of any franchise in the league.

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Awards :

Who were the best players this year ?

Moon League :



Sun League :

ML: City beat his record for most wins in the league with 106. Manny Mota was already in charge for the previous record and he is awarded a manager of the year award for this accomplishment.


SL: Jonaikel Delgado tied the franchise record of most wins for his first year as manager of the Diamonds. And he gave the first championship title to the franchise.

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• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

To follow the structure of the LBL, the Wayt County Lynx change division to now play in the l-DL Marine (corresponds the ColVal division).
Since the Freros and the Black&Yellows have lost their AAA teams, they were granted both a new team :

- the Springles Navy Falcons for the Freros
- the Rising Samuraïs for the B&Y

Here are their logo :

Division winners :
- l-LL Azure : Springles Navy Falcons (1st)
- l-LL Cyan : Chefecia Purple Bats (2nd)
- l-DL Sapphir: Misty Lake Bones (10th)
- l-DL Marine: Wayt County Lynx (3rd)

For theirs debuts in the league, the Navy Falcons won their division and they even went straight to the LFS after defeating the Canons and their regional rival, Maykrafth.
Their opponent was the the Thunderbolts, which also defeated their regional rival in the SFS, the Lynx. Unfortunately, Springles could not get a historic victory as they lost the LFS 2-4.
The Thunderbolts is now the team with the most championships, with seven (including their titles as the original Thunders).

Playoffs :




r-league (AA) :

Division winners :
- r-RL Square : Oshu'gun Lumberjacks (15th)
- r-RL Heart : Huangjia Wizards (4th)
- r-BL Spade: Pampa Bay Fishermen (5th)
- r-BL Club: Kuronga Fire (1st)

The Fire started their history with a division crown. The Ninjas also clinched a first playoff berth in their first season ever. Unfortunately, they were both stopped at the first stage.
17 years after their first appearance, the Wizards returned in the Onion Series, still they also lost this one. Their opponent were the Fishermen who won their third championship in 11 years.

Playoffs :

• MLB playoffs:

16 years later after their last WS, Detroit won their four championship by defeating the reigning champions, Pittsburgh. The Angels and the Braves were the other franchises to play the playoffs.

• International Championship Series:

Ok I had a bug this season were the MLB season only played one game in 1997 and the rest of the other games were played in 98. As a result I didn't know the winner of the WS when the ICS was about to be played.
So I keep the Pirates from last season by default, Detroit will play the following one next year. I only resolve the issue a few seasons later (by playing a very short season to reajust the season misalignment with the calendar year) so expect a lot of this case to happen in the following seasons.

In Rising, Lingalie North, the Pirates finally got their hands on the ICS trophy after fourth unsuccessful attempts. It was the first participation of the Diamonds in the tournament.

• HoF Induction :

Two new members in the 1996 class :

- Matt Hessling (55.0% - 5th ballot) was drafted in round 1 by the Sea Stars but started his career with the Jade Tigers (72-75) before reaching the top of the league with the Expendables (76-85). He won two championships with the latter franchise, as well as the two postseason MVP in 1977. In addition to this, Hessling had also 3 Ruby Awards (75-77) at 1B. Overall, he has a batting line of .270/.352/.457, 1554 H, 261 HR, 938 RBI and 39.9 WAR in 1538 G.

- Roberto Irias (53.6% - 1st ballot) is a new inductee for the Sea Stars (77-83), the relief pitcher also played for the B&Y (84-87), the Bears (88-89) and the Maple Leaves (90). Irias won two Silver Ball consecutively in 79 and 80. He also helped his team won a championship in 79. His lifetime stats are 2.97 ERA, 146 SV, 1202 K, 341 BB, 1.10 WHIP, 11.1 K/9, 22,4 WAR in 611G and 975.1 IP.

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1997 Season :

• Pre-season story:

Finally got their hands on the LBL trophy last season, the Diamonds did so with a great team, that can still develop further. Masakazu Asano played 72 games last season, more than any other pitcher, the Japanese closer also lead the league in saves with 55. His 1996 season was his breakout season, reawarded by his first Silver Ball award, he also had 1.36 ERA, 118 K, 0.95 WHIP against 3.52 ERA, 97 K, 1.38 WHIP and 33 SV in 1995.

The 70's were Lingalie North's years, the 80's the Nang Nius' years, and the 90's could possibly be the Freros' years. With already their 4th participation in the LBS, the franchise from Lingalie City is seeking to catch up to their archrivals. Even if Loeza is still there, SP Juan Hidalgo is the one that impressed the league last year. The Golden Ball winner led the league with 1.76 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 0.4 HR/9, 11.1 K/, .244 BABIP and 7.2 WAR. He also had 240 K and 54 BB.

Not appearing in postseason despite their great offensive season, the Bears are climbing the ladder to the top of the league. Former #1 pick, LF Wagih Hatari already impressed by winning 4 Sapphire Awards in his first 4 years. For his 5th, he won the Golden Glove with .319/.390/.451, 18 HR, 70 RBI, 63 BB, 17 SO, 20 SB and 7.1 WAR.

As the other 1988 expansion team are starting to become more and more performant, the Golden Dragons are slowly growing as well. Last season, they had a very good intuition when they signed the FA Ricky Leyva fom Cuba. The RF won the Silver Glove after an impressive season. With his good eyes, he led the league with 126 BB, .434 OBP and .867 OPS. He also had .265 AVG, .434 SLG, 23 HR and 5.0 WAR.

Missing the playoffs for the first time since 1982, i.e. an eternity, the Black&Yellows are facing a tough competition from their division rivals. After winning the batting title in 1995, 2B Danny Guizar still produced hits last season. The Sint Maartener aspires to become one of the franchise's pillar. He batted for .315/.373/.390, 32 SB and 6.0 WAR in 1996.

10 years. It now has been 10 years since the Nang Nius' last championship. Yet they had great teams in this span, but it couldn't finish the job. Young 2B Run-ming Sung was really impressive for his first years in the league. His numbers were really high in BB(4 times leader), OBP (3 times) and WAR (2 times) and he won 3 Ruby Awards since he joined the league in 1990. Last year, he batted for .245/.396/.385, with 6.8 WAR, and 129 BB (league high).

Transactions/ FA :

- Kévin Delahaye, 37 yo SP, signed as a FA (BUL --> BEA) a contract of 1 780 000 € in 1 y
- Bayisa Adesola, 31 yo 1B, signed as a FA (CITY --> LNN) a contract of 45 000 000 € in 6 y
- Henry Romero, 27 yo C, signed as a FA (JDT --> BEA) a contract of 30 700 000 € in 4 y

Managerial changes :

B&Y After a disappointing 4th place, uncompatible with the B&Y's standars, Joe Azcue was fired. Ex manager of the Sea Stars and the Texas Rangers, Donn Clendenon was appointed to replace him. He worked as a bench coach for Green District the last two seasons.
GRE Manager Matt Curry retired after delivering great results in his tenure in Green District. He is replaced by Carlos Ramos, who took a sabbatical year after his eviction from Golden District.

CITY Manny Mota (1992-)
LNN Jose Mayorga (1992-)
FRE Felix Cuevas (1993-)
THU Moussier Hollestelle (1996-)
RHI Gerd Ernst (1996-)

WHE Ahmed Wiese (1988-)
MAP Gregory Paulino (1992-)
TSH Ronald Barnes (1996-)
SAL Trevor Hoban (1996-)
GRE Carlos Ramos (1997-)


SST Oberdan Diaz (1991-)
BEA Adenson Verastegui (1994-)
DIA Jonaikel Delgado (1996-)
BUL Leta Jelil (1996-)
B&Y Donn Clendenon (1997-)

SEAG Ernie Banks (1988-)
LGG Walker Whitworth (1995-)
JDT Jose Y. Nunez (1996-)
GDD Jesus Jones (1996-)
BOB Berhane Niyangabo (1996-)

• Regular season :

Moon League

The Freros did even better than City last year with 107 wins in the regular season, Chee-hwa Er, Nunez and Chu are once again the stars of the Lingalie City squad. Behind, the Nang Nius claimed the second playoff berth without too much trouble. Then City placed 3rd, the Thunders 4th and the Rhinos last with more than 100 losses.

Finally a franchise ended the Expendables hegemony on the Outlands division, indeed the Maple Leaves won their first division crown. The impact made by Thomas Bonhomme on the team was one of the reason Orange was able to do so. Worst, Green District will even not play in the postseason, a first since 1987. With only one more win, the Wheelies indeed finished ahead of the Expendables. The Salamanders also finished last with more than 100 games lost.

Sun League

In the Col. Val. division, the Jade Tigers carried on their reign with another title. Catcher Romero left but he was perfectly replaced by Akira Inoue. With the exact same record, Lingalia clinched the second playoff berth, while the Golden Dragons achieved their best record with almost .500 winning percentage. The Silver Eagles placed 4th and the Bobcats 5th.

The LBL reigning champion will have a chance to defend its title, as the Diamonds won their 5th division in their history. Asano was stellar this season as well, as he won another Silver Ball. The 2nd postseason spot is the Bears' property, as they achieved the best season in their (short) history. Near .500, the Sea Stars finished third. The big surprise this year is that the Black&Yellows were the worst team in the whole league with 105 losses and a first 5th place for the franchise with the most championships title.

• Draft :
  

The Rhinos chose the shortstop Alejandro Guerra as their first pick this season.

• All Stars Game :

Moon League

First selection for Tobias Tengonciang(LNN), Alex Leyton(SAL), Travis Camp(FRE)
Return of Carl Leeson(LNN), Run-ming Sung(LNN) after an absence.
Yukinaga Nakamura(FRE), Chee-hwa Er(FRE), Luis Loeza(FRE), Shuichi Mizusawa(CITY), Rhys Lawless(THU), Sam Eckert(TSH), Devin Hartley(MAP), Enrique Chango(MAP), Leen Roumen(GRE), Bayisa Adesola(LNN), Caspar Bond(CITY), Miguel Estrada(WHE), Yun-qi Chu(FRE), Ji-e Jung(GRE), Diepolt Hesse(GRE), Alex Nunez(FRE) are into the ML roster for consecutive years.

Sun League

First time in the SL roster for Akira Inoue(JDT), Jakub Novak(BOB), Alan Roberts(DIA), Keleani Marawarpina(SST) & Asaru Belgola(BEA)
Comeback of Danny Guizar(B&Y), Carlos Garica(SST), Pascal Fontaine(SEAG)
Like last year, Ryuuya Takahashi(BEA), Teshome Shakes(LGG), Flavio Vazquez(JDT), Rudolf Palenik(DIA), Henry Romero(BEA), Ricky Leyva(GDD), Masakazu Asano(DIA), Taylor Clark(LGG), Zhi-peng Li(DIA), Heller Glass(B&Y), Wagih Hatari(BEA), Victor Morales(LGG) will be part of the SL squad.

The 1997 ASG was played in the HotWheels Stadium in Stonegap. The Moon league team outclassed its Sun league counterpart.

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• Playoffs :

Linga Quarter-Finals Series

WHE(ML Seed #4) vs DIA(SL Seed #1)
LNN(ML Seed #3) vs BEA(SL Seed #2)
FRE(ML Seed #1) vs LGG(SL Seed #4)
MAP(ML Seed #2) vs JDT(SL Seed #3)

The Wheelies and the Diamonds met again this postseason. The series were not as disputed as last year though, as Dawala swept Stonegap.
Still no playoff series win for Kuronga, after they were eliminated by the Nang Nius in the earliest stage.
Close opposition between the Freros and the Green Goblins. The suspense went to Game 5 to see a winner, which happened to be the Freros.
Two division winners faced each other in the last series : the Maple Leaves and the Jade Tigers. The franchise based in Orange dominated its opponent to advance to the next stage.

Linga Semi-Final Series
DIA vs LNN
FRE vs MAP

Like last year, the Dawala is the only franchise left from the Sun League. The reigning champions were opposed to the Nang Nius in the SFS. Despite being the better team in the regular season, the Diamonds were outclassed 4-1 and the Nang Nius will seek a 9th LBS win.
In the second SFS, the Freros swept the Maple Leaves to access their second consecutive LBS.

Linga Baseball Series
LNN vs FRE

Like in 1984 and 1985, the neighbor franchises from Lingalie City met in the final round of the playoffs. The Freros were the most dominant team lately with 5 LBS participations in the last 8 years. The Nang Nius' last participation was in 1992 for a loss. Like last year, the series was really fiercly disputed and went to Game 7. But in the end, it's the Freros that emerge victorious of this season's LBS ! They now have 6 championships, 2 shy away from their opponent in this year LBS.

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Awards :

Who were the best players this year ?

Moon League :



Sun League :

ML: Felix Cuevas successfully guided his team, the Freros, packed with superstars to another championship after the disappointment of last season loss in the LBS.
SL: Perfect performance so far for the Diamonds' manager Jonaikel Delgado who won his second SL manager of the year award in his second year.

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• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

Division winners :
- l-LL Azure : N'Boubi Specials (8th)
- l-LL Cyan : Zerstrig Zerstorers (5th)
- l-DL Sapphir: Misty Lake Bones (3rd)
- l-DL Marine: Maykrafth Iron Wolves (7th)

The reigning champions, the Thunderbolts managed to participate again in the LFS to have a chance to defend their title. Against them, stand the Zerstorers, which defeated the Vikings and the Specials and their way to the LFS. Zerstrig won their 4th championship, they are still undefeated in the LFS stage.

Playoffs :




r-league (AA) :

Division winners :
- r-RL Square : Oshu'gun Lumberjacks (16th)
- r-RL Heart : Baie-du-butin Bruisers (2nd)
- r-BL Spade: Massia Guardians (2nd)
- r-BL Club: Kuronga Fire (2nd)

The Mocking Birds defeated the Guardians and their division rivals, the Lumberjack to play their third Onion Series in their history. Their opponents were the Bruisers for a rematch of the 1989 r-league finals. The result was the same, as the Creugré Mocking Birds won this season OS, like all the ones they have played.

Playoffs :

• MLB playoffs:

The two franchises based in New York qualified for the playoffs this year. The Yankees disposed of the Angels in game 5, while the Mets were swept by the Braves. In the World Series, the Yanks only managed to won a single game, as Atlanta captured their 5th WS trophy.

• International Championship Series:

As I stated last season, I had to take last year winner to play in this season ICS, the Detroit Tigers. In Chicago, Detroit defeated the Freros to won their second ICS title, 28 years after the first one ! It is also the first time, MLB franchises won two years in a row.

• HoF Induction :

Starting from this season, players now need to gather 66% of votes to be elected into the HoF.
Unfortunately no players were ables to achieve this, the closest were :

- Jagad Tarpa with 50.5%
- Vassily Ryazanov with 43.1%

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1998 Season :

• Next expansion:

The commissioner Mr. Kaos announced that the year of the next expansion. "It will be very soon, in 2001 precisely." The league wants to quickly expand its influence, in order to catch up with the number of franchises in MLB.
"As the previous expansions, four new franchises will join the league, one in each existing division. The four states without a team will most likely get one." As a remainder, Lingalie West, Strangleronce, Central Oasis and Hessie are these states.
It will be the quickest expansion in the LBL history.

• New logos:

Starting this season, the following teams will be using alternative short logo (thanks again to Jerrod247 who made these !):

- Boubi Town Jade Tigers
- Linga Bay Sea Stars
- Hinterlands Rhinos

I also want to introduce short logos in the same style for the Silver Eagles and the Salamanders, maybe in the future.

• Pre-season story:

The Freros now won as much championships in this decade as they did in the previous ones. Unfortunately, they lost one of their most beloved star, Alex Nunez during the offseason. The DH didn't go too far, as he will now play for the Nang Nius, a fact not really appreciated by th fans. After his astonishing rookie season in 1992, pitcher Rhett Dobbs has grown to reach his peak last season and claim the ace position. He had 21 W (most in the league), 6 L, 2.84 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 200 K and 6.2 WAR.

Last year runner-ups, the Nang Nius, are building a team to win the title. They still aim to become the franchise with the most titles in the league. Tobias Tengonciang is only 25 but he already lead the league 4 times in K, 3 times in K/9 and once in WHIP and WAR. He won his first Golden Glove last year with astounding numbers like 1.95 ERA, 371 K in 235.1 IP, 0.77 WHIP, 14.2 K/9, and 10.6 WAR.

Finishing 4th for their second season, La Croisée showed little improvement but they possess interesting prospects like Claude Muller or Moussier Curry. The latter one has been through an awful season last year with a negative WAR of -1.0 and a batting line of .232/.269/.315. Nonetheless, the CF is only 22 and deserve another shot in the league.

Winner of their division for the first time in their history, Orange is stronger than ever. Seeking a second title seems to be a possible dream. CF Thomas Bonhomme won the batting title last year with .311 AVG. The young Haitian also had .342 OBP and .448 SLG, 4.7 WAR. He is known for his speed, but he needs to improve in base stealing as he successfully stole 12 bases while being caught 13 time.

Always a solid team in the Coast division, Linga Bay will try to clinch a playoff berth in a competitive division. Acquired last year from the Thunders, pitcher Bob Sloan made a great first season as a Sea Star. He pitched for 2.39 ERA, with 172 K, 1.13 WHIP, 0.3 HR/9, and 6.1 WAR. The American player will try to grow here before, maybe, returning in his homecountry someday.

Instable results for Narballo in the recent years, which couldn't reproduce the performance made in the late 80's. Last year in a morose 4th place, 2B Sam Eckert was shining. The 24 years old lead the league in number of hits with 195. As a result, he had a .296 AVG. He is also a decent base-stealer with 21 last season. He finished 1997 with 6.2 WAR, the highest in his team, and he showed great room for improvement.

Transactions/ FA :

- Alex Nunez, 31 yo RF, signed as a FA (FRE --> LNN) a contract of 48 000 000 € in 6 y
- Victor Morales, 32 yo 1B, opted out of his contract and signed as a FA (LGG --> SEAG) a contract of 39 400 000 € in 6 y
- Carlos Garica, 39 yo LF, signed as a FA (SST --> TSH) a contract of 16 900 000 € in 3 y
- Kyle Petrillo, 39 yo C, signed as a FA (LNN --> CAL(MLB)) a contract of 3 840 000 € in 1 y
- Fernando Nieto, 30 yo RF, signed as a FA (CITY --> BOB) a contract of 8 400 000 € in 3 y

Managerial changes :

LNN Despite reaching the LBS last year, Jose Mayorga did not pursue his role at the Nang Nius. Bench coach since 1992, Ivan Julio was brought over from the Silver Eagles.
THU Moussier Hollestelle was fired after the 1997 season. The inexperienced Luis Mercedes Terrero was appointed as his successor.
TSH Narballo released Ronald Barnes and chose Moussier Hollestelle, former manager of the Thunders to be the new manager
SAL Trevor Hoban was the manager of the Salamanders since its creation but he was fired after his poor results. Mac Lozer, a coach without any prior experiences was hired to replace him
BEA Adenson Verastegui will not be Kuronga's manager, even after his good results of the past years. Ch'ak'iso Rahim did a pretty good job by finishing 2nd with the Orioles in 1996 with .630.
B&Y Lingalie North and Donn Clendenon parted ways after only one season. On the bench of the Freros for their LBS win, Carlos Borrego was recruited to replace him.
LGG Walker Whitworth has been fired and will work as the Silver Eagles bench coach. His bench coach, Yonki Hernandez took over the position.

CITY Manny Mota (1992-)
FRE Felix Cuevas (1993-)
RHI Gerd Ernst (1996-)
LNN Ivan Julio (1998-)
THU Luis Mercedes Terrero (1998-)

WHE Ahmed Wiese (1988-)
MAP Gregory Paulino (1992-)
GRE Carlos Ramos (1997-)
TSH Moussier Hollestelle (1998-)
SAL Mac Lozer (1998-)


SST Oberdan Diaz (1991-)
DIA Jonaikel Delgado (1996-)
BUL Leta Jalil (1996-)
B&Y Carlos Borrego (1998-)
BEA Ch'ak'iso Rahim (1998-)

SEAG Ernie Banks (1988-)
JDT Jose Y. Nunez (1996-)
GDD Jesus Jones (1996-)
BOB Berhane Niyangabo (1996-)
LGG Yonki Hernandez (1998)

• Regular season :

Moon League

After some rough years, the Nang Nius finally captured another division after 6 years. 2B Run-ming Sun impressed everyone and ended up winning the Golden Glove at 25. The two other franchises from Lingalie City finished right behind, with the reigning champions clinching the second playoff berth. Hinterlands had one of the worst, if not the worst, season of every time.

Orange won 110 games this season, establishing a franchise record. Golden Ball winner Hwen-thiang Niu was a key player in this performance. Behind, the Expendables claimed quite easily the second berth, Stonegap finished 3rd, Narballo 4th and Pinehearth last.

Sun League

The Jade Tigers make it 5 ! The franchise from Boubi Town won their 5th straight Colorful Valley division. For another season, Akira Inoue displayed his defensive talents as the team's catcher. The four other teams finished under .500 AVG. Surprisingly, it's the most recent team, the Bobcats that will be the other team from the division in postseason. Lingalia was 2 games behind, and the Silver Eagles finished last.

Very close race between three teams for the crown in the Coast division. In the end, the Sea Stars finished with one more victory than the Diamonds and the Bears. These two other teams had to play a tiebreaker to decide which squad will qualify for the playoffs. Dawala was the winner of this game. The Black&Yellows ended up in last position for the second straight season. They did improve their record though.

• Draft :
  

The Black&Yellows' first choice in the 1998 Draft is Ramon Gutierrez, a pitcher from Cuba.

• All Stars Game :

Moon League

First selection for Hwen-thiang Niu(MAP), Matous Kovar(WHE)
Return of Mas Odhiambo(GRE), Rhett Dobbs(FRE), Run-ming Sun(LNN) after an absence.
Alex Castro(WHE), Moussier de Jong(GRE), Caspar Olinger(GRE), Tobias Tengonciang(LNN), Kahsay Nguvumali(LNN), Ixzi Fitzgerald(LNN), Chee-hwa Er(FRE), Shuichi Mizusawa(CITY), Rhys Lawless(THU), Yukinaga Nakamura(FRE), Thomas Bonhomme(MAP), Sam Eckert(TSH), Enrique Chango(MAP), Xing-yun Cheng(FRE), Miguel Estrada(WHE), Yun-qi Chu(FRE), Diepolt Hesse(GRE) are into the ML roster for consecutive years.

Sun League

First time in the SL roster for Moussier Curry(BUL), Ruben Zamora(DIA), Wayt Peters(BUL), Aras Masomakali(BEA), Alex Montes(SST), Ruben Garcia(DIA) and Claude Muller(BUL)
Comeback of Robin Britton(SST), Ed Scovell(JDT) in the team.
This year again, Bob Sloan(SST),Kealani Marawarpina(SST), Akira Inoue(JDT), Jakub Novak(BOB), Rudolf Palenik(DIA), Henry Romero(BEA), Ricky Leyva(GDD), Masakazu Asano(DIA) Taylor Clark(LGG), Zhi-peng Li(DIA), Wagih Hatari(BEA), Victor Morales(SEAG) will be part of the SL squad.

Played in the Los Pollos Hermanos Stadium of Boubi Town, the 1998 ASG saw the Sun League captured their 4th win.

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• Playoffs :

Linga Quarter-Finals Series

GRE(ML Seed #4) vs SST(SL Seed #1)
FRE(ML Seed #3) vs DIA(SL Seed #2)
MAP(ML Seed #1) vs BOB(SL Seed #4)
LNN(ML Seed #2) vs JDT(SL Seed #3)

Despite being the seed #1 of the Sun league, Linga Bay was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Green District in Game 5.
Two of the best franchises in the recent years, Dawala and the Freros were opposed in a QFS. Like in 1996, the Diamonds triumph over the Freros.
Close series between Orange and Wayt County. The latter is only in the LBL for the last 2 years, but it managed to take down the Maple Leaves 3-2 to win its first postseason series.
And the last QFS was a sweep of the Jade Tigers by the Nang Nius. The franchise from Boubi Town lost at this stage for the third year in a row, a pity for the 1995 LBS loser.


Linga Semi-Final Series
GRE vs DIA
BOB vs LNN

Last time Green District and Dawala met in the postseason, the Diamonds defeated the Expendables on their way to their first championship. This year, Green District took revenge and won the matchup 4-2.
Newcomers Wayt County dreamt of a first titles in their first postseason run, but it must overcome the hurdle named Nang Nius to achieve this dream. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, the Nang Nius defeated them 4-2.


Linga Baseball Series
GRE vs LNN

It is the second LBS played between these historic franchises, after 1982 and the victory of Green District. The Nang Nius returned in the LBS after their defeat last season against the Freros. In the 4 previous LBS played by each team, the Expendables have won all of them, while the Nang Nius have lost all of them.
The series were really disputed, going to Game 7, and in the end Green District was able to lift its 6th LBL trophy !

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Awards :

Who were the best players this year ?

Moon League :



Sun League :

ML: For his first year as the Nang Nius' manager, Ivan Julio guided them to the LBS, even if they lost, his word was rewarded with a manager of the year award.
SL: Amazing performance for Jonaikel Delgado, who won his third manager of the year award in his third year of managing the Diamonds. When will the streak end?

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• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

Division winners :
- l-LL Azure : Wayt Tides Thunderbolts (9th)
- l-LL Cyan : Zappir Phoenix (6th)
- l-DL Sapphir: La Croisée Canons (11th)
- l-DL Marine: Wayt County Lynx (11th)

Playoffs :

Surprisingly, all division winners have lost in the first round. So the teams qualified in the SFS : Chefecia, N'Boubi, Rising & Maykrafth. The two teams that advanced to the LFS are the Chefecia and Maykrafth. They both have not appeared in the l-league final series since the early 80's. After only one loss, Maykrafth was crowned the 1998 l-league champion.

r-league (AA) :

Division winners :
- r-RL Square : Oshu'gun Lumberjacks (17th)
- r-RL Heart : Blaum Turtles (13th)
- r-BL Spade: Galia Suns (9th)
- r-BL Club: Narballo Gators (8th)

Playoffs :

Out of the four division winners, three went to the SFS. Only Blaum was opposed to another division winner, the Suns. The other team that qualified for the next round was Creugré. The latter actually went to defeat both Oshu'gun and Galia on a 4-1 score to capture its second title in a row. The Mocking Birds have yet to lose an Onion Series.

• MLB playoffs:

In the AL, the Orioles and the Royals won the two divisions. Baltimore swept Kansas City to play in the World Series.
For the NL, the Mets was able to defeat the reigning champion, Atlanta, in the NLCS. They will seek their 4th trophy.
In 5 games, Baltimore managed to win the 1998 World Series, it is their 2nd title after 1983.

• International Championship Series:

First time ever that Green District and Atlanta played against each other in this year edition of the ICS. In the Bobcats' stadium of Wayt City, the Expendables were merciless and swept theirs opponents.

• HoF Induction :

Only one former player made it to the HoF this year :

Osmo Karppinen (70,8 %) on his first ballot, the Finnish player mostly played 2B for Lingalie North (82-89) but he also played for Dawala (77-81), Narballo (90-92), and the Mets (93-96). He won one championship in 89, one Golden Glove (84), 4 straight Ruby Awards (81-84) and was elected for the two first ASG in 88 and 89. He played a total of 1893 G for 2157 H, 197 HR, 1023 RBI, 52.9 WAR and a batting line of .288/.342/.424

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1999 Season :

• Pre-season story:

Only one championship behind the Nang Nius, Green District has been flourishing in the past decade. The franchise from the south of Lingalie can count on a large fanbase, nicknamed the Green Fever. In the team since 1987, Mas Odhiambo played a key role in the last three titles of the Expendables. The downfall is close, as Odhiambo is already 33, but Mas would like to stay as long as he still delivers. Last year, he had 16-13, 2.44 ERA, 178 K, 0.93 WHIP, .236 BABIP and 4.0 WAR.

Big disappointment for the Nang Nius, with a second consecutive loss in the LBS. The franchise from Lingalie City has now won only 8 out of the 21 LBS they played in. Used scarcely last season, pitcher Jean Lefevre is struggling to reach the numbers he had in 1994, his best season. Lefevre will turn 32 this year, and it's unclear if the franchise will rely on him for the future. In 1998, he had 2.99 ERA, 164 K, 1.07 WHIP, 3.1 ERA in 28 GS.

Slowly getting out of postseason contending over the years, City's best period is most likely behind. For his second complete season, LF Federico Criollo stepped up his game. The Cuban had a batting line of .323/.379/.429, 10 3B, 9 HR, 69 RBI, and 6.2 WAR. Criollo is only 24, and City will most likely envision the next years with him.

Accessing the playoffs before their rivals, the Thunders, the Bobcats surprised many observators last season. Nonetheless, it's not sure that they will succeed in being a regular playoffs contender. Golden Glove winner Jakub Novak is only 23 but he crushed the league last year. The CF batted for .293/.382/.480, with 23 HR, 80 RBI and 8.9 WAR. He also won a Sapphire Award, showing his defensive skills.

Despite the third place in teh Coast division, Kuronga has been playing better and better over the last few seasons. The Bears had already accomplished their goal of being the best team in the City, ahead of the Black & Yellows. What a phenomenal year for starting pitcher Aras Masomakali who was awarded the SL Golden Ball. The pitcher from Huangjia led the league in wins (21), ERA (1.88), innings pitched (234.2), WHIP (0.93) and pitcher WAR (6.1).

Being in the shadow of theirs division rivals for a long time, the Jade Tigers are now the best team in the Colourful Valley division. Only a championship is missing to reward all their work. Canadian Ed Scovell only played for the Jade Tigers in the LBL and he won his first Ruby Award last year. Scovell now plays as DH and his numbers last season were .282/.337/.440, 20 HR, 91 RBI, 26 SB (league high) and 4.7 WAR.

Transactions/ FA :

- Anthony Gill, 28 yo CL, signed as a FA (JDT --> BEA) a contract of 4 020 000 € in 2 y
- Carlos Garica, 40 yo LF, was traded (TSH --> SEA(MLB)) for CL W.Meija (2 years left on contract)
- Chee-Hwa Er, 33 yo 1B, signed as a FA (FRE --> BOB) a contract of 30 600 000 € in 4 y
- Larbi Ouaziz, 29 yo C, signed as a FA (CITY --> LNN) a contract of 12 480 000 € in 3 y
- Fernando Nieto, 31 yo RF, was traded (BOB --> SEAG) for RP R.Yahnel & SS J.Hassinen
- Bob Razo, 30 yo SP, opted out of his contract and signed as a FA (JDT --> B&Y) a contract of 25 500 000 € in 4 y
- Caspar Bond, 26 yo CL, signed as a FA (CITY --> LNN) a contract of 10 760 000 € in 3 y
- Bill Maldonado, 31 yo RF, was traded (LNN --> B&Y) for 3B J.Graves, SP M.Perea, SP V. Leon
- Ruben Garcia, 26 yo CL, signed as a FA (DIA --> B&Y) a contract of 54 600 000 € in 8 y

Managerial changes :

This year was full of change, half of the franchises got a new manager.

RHI Gerd Ernst was the first manager of Hinterlands, but he was fired after their awful season. 60 years old Federico Giordani will now act as the Rhinos' manager.
GRE Carlos Ramos only stayed two seasons in Green District but he left on a championship. Brought over from Dominican Republic, Enmanuel Rodriguez is the new manager of Green District.
TSH Recruited last season, Moussier Hollestelle is already out of Narballo's manager position. He will works in the r-league, as the Kernels'manager. Matt Gruender was appointed for the 1999 season.
SAL Mac Lozer last only year as Pinehearth's coach. Newcomer in the league, Ivan Leon will try to do better than Lozer.
BUL Present since the franchise's debuts in the LBL, Leta Jalil will no longer manage the Bullets. Edgar Camaal was chosen as his successor.
BEA After a great season, but without postseason participation, Ch'ak'iso Rahim has been fired and will return in the US. His bench coach, Michael Bailey was promoted as new manager of the Bears.
SEAG Manager Ernie Banks retired after 24 years in the league. He stayed 10 years as the Silver Eagles' manager, and participate in one LBS. Pitching coach of Hinterlands last year, Cristhian Lugo will try another role in the Silver Eagles organization.
GDD Jesus Jones was not able to reproduce the results he got with the Jade Tigers and was fired after three seasons. Unproven Jason White is the one that will take over the position.
BOB Even after qualifying the Bobcats to their first playoffs, Berhane Niyangabo was not kept by the front-office. Instead, he will be the new BC for Kuronga. Santos Vasquez, a rookie manager, will replace him.
LGG Lingalia decided to part ways with Yonki Hernandez. The new manager is Robert Salas, an inexperienced coach.

CITY Manny Mota (1992-)
FRE Felix Cuevas (1993-)
LNN Ivan Julio (1998-)
THU Luis Mercedes Terrero (1998-)
RHI Federico Giordani (1999-)

WHE Ahmed Wiese (1988-)
MAP Gregory Paulino (1992-)
SAL Ivan Leon (1999-)
GRE Enmanuel Rodriguez (1999-)
TSH Matt Gruender (1999-)


SST Oberdan Diaz (1991-)
DIA Jonaikel Delgado (1996-)
B&Y Carlos Borrego (1998-)
BEA Michael Bailey (1999-)
BUL Edgar Camaal (1999-)

JDT Jose Y. Nunez (1996-)
LGG Robert Salas (1999-)
BOB Santo Vasquez (1999-)
SEAG Cristhian Lugo (1999-)
GDD Jason White (1999-)

• Regular season :

Moon League

The Nang Nius got their hands on their 24th division crown by being the only team that had more than 100 wins this year. The four individual awards of the ML were won by LNN players : the Golden & Silver Glove by Kono, the Golden Ball by Tengonciang and the Silver Ball by Collado. Behind them, Wayt Tides achieved their best season ever to clinch their first playoff berth. City finished 3rd, ahead of the Freros. The Rhinos are once again the worst team in the division.

In the Outlands division, two teams were tied for the title : Green District and Orange. I didn't know it was possible to organize a tiebreaker so both teams are winners of the division. Bonhomme did again a great season for Orange while Green District could count on Hesse for his solid contribution. Stonegap finished only 5 games behind. However the last two franchises were much more awful, Narballo reaching 103 losses.

Sun League

Very close race for the division title in the Col. Val. division between three teams : the division champions for 5 years, the Jade Tigers, their rivals the Silver Eagles and the surprising Golden Dragons. 9 years after their last crown, the Silver Eagles dethroned the Jade Tigers. Their 3B Shi-lin Zhao was stellar this year, winning the SL Golden Glove. Only one game behind, the Golden Dragons clinched their first playoff berth. The Jade Tigers finished one game behind them. Harsh reality check for the Bobcats who fell to the last place.

As for the Outlands division, two franchises won the Coast division : Dawala and Kuronga. The Diamonds'closer Asano was once again precious with another Silver Ball. The Bears won their first division, and the 2B Friedrich Kircher was a key player this year. He won a Sapphire and a Ruby awards. Far behind, the Black&Yellow placed 3rd, an improvement after the last few disappointing seasons. La Croisée finished 4th with only one game behind them. The worst team thi season was Linga Bay with a .451 record.

• Draft :
  

Hinterlands was the team to pick first in the 1999 season. They chose Willie Mercado, a pitcher from Cuba for the Draft first pick.

• All Stars Game :

Moon League

First selection for Kazuyuki Kono(LNN), Rio McGrath(LNN), Bubba Smith(THU), Victor Bustamante(THU), Chang-yong Le(RHI), Fergus Jarratt(FRE), Igider Garane(GRE)
Return of P.T. Maedgen(MAP), Alex Nunez(LNN) after an absence.
Rhett Dobbs(FRE), Run-ming Sun(LNN), Matous Kovar(WHE), Tobias Tengonciang(LNN), Rhys Lawless(THU), Yukinaga Nakamura(FRE), Thomas Bonhomme(MAP), Sam Eckert(TSH), Enrique Chango(MAP), Xing-yun Cheng(FRE), Miguel Estrada(WHE), Diepolt Hesse(GRE) are into the ML roster for consecutive years.

Sun League

First time in the SL roster for Bill Maldonado(B&Y), Yoshio Inada(B&Y), Ginji Sekiguchi(JDT), Kwang-sub Son(BEA)
Comeback of Anthony Gill(BEA), Heller Glass(B&Y), Alan Roberts(DIA), Fernando Nieto(SEAG), Kinnon Castor(JDT), Flavio Vazquez(JDT) in the team.
This year again, Shi-lin Zhao(SEAG), Ruben Zamora(DIA), Wayt Peters(BUL), Friedrich Kircher(BEA), Bob Sloan(SST), Akira Inoue(JDT), Jakub Novak(BOB), Henry Romero(BEA), Ricky Leyva(GDD), Masakazu Asano(DIA), Taylor Clark(LGG), Zhi-peng Li(DIA), Wagih Hatari(BEA), Victor Morales(SEAG) will be part of the SL squad.

For the second time in the league history, the game was played in the Cosmo Park , the new venue of the Nang Nius, built in 1994.
The ML squad defeated their SL counterpart.

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• Playoffs :

Linga Quarter-Finals Series

THU(ML Seed #4) vs DIA(SL Seed #1)
GRE(ML Seed #3) vs BEA(SL Seed #2)
LNN(ML Seed #1) vs GDD(SL Seed #4)
MAP(ML Seed #2) vs SEAG(SL Seed #3)

Idk how the seeds were attributed to the winners of the ML Outlands and the SL Coast. Fortunately, this is the last year with this kind of tie happenning, as I made sure to set a tiebreaker game before the playoffs began in the next seasons.
The first newcomers in this year's postseason, Wayt Tides are opposed to Dawala. The Diamonds showed no pity as they won the series 3-1.
In the second QFS, Kuronga and Green District faced each other for the first time in postseason. The Bears took down the reigning champions to win their first playoff series ever 3-1.
The other rookies this year, the Golden Dragons played their first playoff series against the Nang Nius. The franchise from Lingalie City also won the series 3-1.
Last but not least, the Silver Eagles defeated the Maple Leaves in a remake of the 1994 LBS on a score of 3-1.


Linga Semi-Final Series
DIA vs BEA
LNN vs SEAG

Division rivals Dawala and Kuronga fought to reach the LBS. Despite their fighting spirit, the Bears couldn't get past the Diamonds. The franchise from Linga Bay won the series 4-2.
In the othe SFS, the Nang Nius and the Silver Eagles met each other. The formers want to play in the LBS for the third season in a row. Nonetheless, the franchise from Boubi Town was the one to win the confrontation in game 7.

Linga Baseball Series
DIA vs SEAG

2nd LBS participation of the decade for these two teams of the 1969 expansion. Suspense was short, as the Diamonds defeated their opponents 4 wins to 1 ! It's the second LBS ring for them, only 3 years after the first one. The Silver Eagles gain a losers'reputation as they lost their 4th LBS in 5 participations.

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Awards :

Who were the best players this year ?

Moon League :



Sun League :

ML: For the second straight season, Ivan Julio was awarded the ML manager of the year award. His team was once again one of the main contenders.
SL: Not only Jonaikel Delgado lead the Diamonds to their first championship, he also lead them to the second. This and their regular season are worthy of winning another manager of the year award.

[Bliketa]

• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

Division winners :
- l-LL Azure : Stolzberg Hawks (1st)
- l-LL Cyan : Zerstrig Zerstorers (6th)
- l-DL Sapphir: Misty Lake Bones (4th)
- l-DL Marine: Maykrafth Iron Wolves (11th)

Playoffs :

3 sweeps in the first stage by Misty Lake, Emerald and Zerstrig. The Jewels and the Thunderbolts both defeated a division winner in the SFS, in order to meet in the final round. The Thunderbolts were the ones to be crowned the l-league winner. Emerald is still looking for their first championship after 4 failed attempts.

r-league (AA) :

Division winners :
- r-RL Square : Creugré Mocking Birds (7th)
- r-RL Heart : Hessia Adler (3th)
- r-BL Spade: Massia Guardians (3rd) - Bouberg Crimson Owls (1st)
- r-BL Club: Lingalia Mammoths (11th)

Playoffs :

The reigning champions, Creugré was defeated in the QFS by Lingalia. Only division winners advanced to the next stage, as Massia and Bouberg were opposed in all Spade division series, while Lingalia faced Heart division champion, Hessia. Lingalia won its SFS in game 7 before defeating Bouberg in the OS to grab their 6th championship.

• MLB playoffs:

In the AL, Oakland and Detroit won the two divisions. The A's defeated the Tigers to advance to the World Series
For the NL, the Mets and Atlanta meet again in the championship series. This time, Atlanta swept the Mets to seek a 6th WS win.
Playing in the World Series for the first time in their history, the A's took down the Braves with a sweep to acquire their first ring.

• International Championship Series:

In Minneapolis, last year champions, the Orioles were opposed to the Diamonds. Both teams never won an ICS trophy before. Baltimore was easily swept by Dawala.

• HoF Induction :

Only one player was inducted this year:

- Soo-yeon Kim (84.3%) on his first ballot played for 6 different teams in the LBL but he is inducted as a Lingalie North player, where he played from 75 to 81. Kim also played for City (82-84), GRE (85-87), the SST (88-91) and retired in 1993. He won 2 championships with the Black&Yellows in 75 and 78. The catcher was also elected in 4 ASG. Individually speaking, Kim won 11 Ruby Awards (78-84, 86, 88-89 and 91) and 9 Sapphire Awards (79-86 and 89). The South Korean's numbers in the league are .231/.314/.408, 1818 H, 343 HR, 1136 RBI, 2208 SO, 56.0 WAR in 2178 G

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40 years recap:

With the end of the 1999 season, the LBL celebrated its 40th anniversary. I thought it was a great opportunity to make a recap and to share some facts about the league.

• Division crowns :

• Successive divisions crowns :

- Lingalie North Black&Yellow: 10 years 1969-1978
- Green District Expendables: 9 years 1988-1996
- Lingalie City Nang Nius: 8 years 1969-1976
- Boubi Town Jade Tigers: 5 years 1994-1998
- Lingalie City Nang Nius: 5 years 1983-1987

• Best seasons before 162 games in a season :

- 1970 B&Y 69-21 .767
- 1974 B&Y 68-22 .756
- 1968 B&Y 36-12 .750
- 1977 B&Y 89-31 .742
- 1975 LNN 89-31 .742
- 1971 B&Y 66-24 .733
- 1969 B&Y 65-25 .722
- 1973 B&Y 65-25 .722
- 1975 B&Y 86-34 .717
- 1972 LNN 64-26 .711
- 1962 LNN 34-14 .708
- 1973 LNN 63-27 .700
- 1972 B&Y 63-27 .700
- 1971 LNN 63-27 .700

• Seasons over 100 wins :

- 1990 GRE 112-50 .691
- 1998 MAP 110-52 .679
- 1989 FRE 110-52 .679
- 1997 FRE 107-55 .660
- 1996 CITY 106-56 .654
- 1999 LNN 105-57 .648
- 1990 FRE 105-57 .648
- 1997 DIA 104-58 .642
- 1990 B&Y 104-58 .642
- 1993 CITY 103-59 .636
- 1992 GRE 103-59 .636
- 1988 CITY 103-59 .636
- 1989 GRE 102-60 .630
- 1988 B&Y 102-60 .630
- 1998 LNN 101-61 .623
- 1996 SST 101-61 .623
- 1989 SEAG 100-62 .617

• Worst seasons before 162 games in a season :

- 1973 SST 20-70 .222
- 1977 MAP 29-91 .242
- 1983 TSH 34-106 .243
- 1976 MAP 33-97 .275

• Seasons over 100 losses :

- 1991 GDD 38-124 .235
- 1998 RHI 42-120 .259
- 1988 BEA 48-114 .296
- 1990 BEA 49-113 .302
- 1990 WHE 51-111 .315
- 1992 GDD 55-107 .340
- 1990 GDD 55-107 .340
- 1991 WHE 56-106 .346
- 1997 B&Y 56-105 .352
- 1989 MAP 56-105 .352
- 1988 THU 56-105 .352
- 1999 RHI 59-103 .364
- 1999 TSH 59-103 .364
- 1995 TSH 59-103 .364
- 1989 WHE 59-103 .364
- 1997 SAL 60-102 .370
- 1989 GDD 60-102 .370
- 1988 THU 60-102 .370
- 1997 RHI 61-101 .377
- 1996 RHI 62-100 .383
- 1989 BEA 62-100 .383

• LBS winners :

• Excepting the franchises that played only LBS, the franchises with the best winning rates are:

- Dawala Diamonds 66%
- Lingalie North Black&Yellow 60%
- Green District Expendables 60%
- Lingalie City Freros 60%

• And the worst are :

- Boubi Town Silver Eagles 20%
- Lingalie City Nang Nius 38%

• Successive participation in the LBS:

- Lingalie North Black&Yellow: 10 times 1970-1979
- Lingalie North Black&Yellow: 8 times 1961-1968
- Lingalie City Nang Nius: 8 times 1961-1968
- Lingalie City Nang Nius: 6 times 1982-1987
- Lingalie North Black&Yellow: 3 times 1989-1991
- Linga Bay Sea Stars: 3 times 1979-1981

• Successive wins in the LBS:

- Lingalie North Black&Yellow: 6 titles 1970-1975
- Lingalie City Nang Nius: 5 titles 1961-1965
- Lingalie North Black&Yellow: 3 titles 1966-68

• Successive losses in the LBS:

- Lingalie City Black&Yellow: 5 times 1961-1965
- Lingalie City Nang Nius: 3 times 1966-1968

• Longest drought between LBS win:

- Lingalie City Freros: 21 years 1960-1981
- Lingalie City Nang Nius: 18 years 1965-1983
- Linga Bay Sea Stars: 14 years 1979-1993

The Jade Tigers won their only title in 1976, therefore they will break the record if they won it next season.

• Longest wait before a first championship :

- Dawala Diamonds: 27 years (1969-1996)
- Orange Maple Leaves: 20 years (1975-1994)

• Quickest wins for an expansion franchise :

- Lingalia Green Goblins: 6 years (1982-1988)
- Boubi Town Jade Tigers: 8 years (1969-1976)

• Except Lingalie North, all winners of a championship have won their first trophy either in their first or second attempt:

First championship win by team with the number of attempts :

- FRE 1960 1st
- LNN 1961 1st
- GRE 1969 2nd
- JDT 1976 1st
- SST 1979 1st
- SEAG 1980 2nd
- LGG 1987 1st
- MAP 1994 1st
- DIA 1996 2nd

• Since the first expansion, there were exactly two new champions by decade:

- 70's : the Boubi Town Jade Tigers (1976) and the Linga Bay Sea Stars (1979)
- 80's : the Boubi Town Silver Eagles (1980) and the Lingalia Green Goblins (1987)
- 90's : the Orange Maple Leaves (1994) and the Dawala Diamonds (1996)

• most recurrent matchup in the LBS :

- LNN vs B&Y: 13
- GRE vs B&Y: 4
- FRE vs SST: 3
- FRE vs LNN: 3

• ICS winners :

• HoF recap by team:

- B&Y : 20 players
- LNN : 8 players
- SST : 5 players
- FRE : 3 players
- GRE : 3 players
- DIA : 2 players
- SEAG : 2 players
- CITY : 1 player

• Retired numbers :

- LNN :

(5) Ian Anderson 1977 SP 96-29, 3.05 ERA, 1289 K, 1.12 WHIP, 22.7 WAR (1964-1968 and 1970-1977 / HoF in 1982)

(8) River Ford 1994 RF .244/.394/.424, 789 H, 147 HR, 502 RBI, 494 R, 24.2 WAR (1987-1993)

(10) Mark Vientos 1990 3B .242/.343/.493, 874 H, 249 HR, 698 RBI, 591 R, 32.3 WAR (1965-1979)

(12) Omar Almendarez 1994 SP 109-48, 2.80 ERA, 1466 K, 1.09 WHIP, 45.7 WAR (1985-1990)

(13) Alex Frias 1990 RP 41-42, 2.28 ERA, 896 K, 1.21 WHIP, 17.5 WAR, 113 SV (1975-1981 / HoF in 1992)

(21) Roger Maris 1977 RF .247/.351/.512, 595 H, 188HR, 465 RBI, 420 R, 20.7 WAR (1963-1974 / HoF in 1992)

(25) Jorge Alvarado 1962 3B, first HoF after his accident (1960-1962)

(27) Ryan Weathers 1980 SP 119-43, 3.02 ERA, 1967 K, 0.93 WHIP, 41.5 WAR (1971-1979 / HoF in 1985)

(33) Lau-po Thien 1987 RF .303/.417/.484, 1920 H, 269 HR, 1093 RBI, 1143 R, 73.2 WAR (1971-1986 / HoF in 1993)


- B&Y :

(2) Jerry Hernandez 1984 3B .304/.388/.575, 945 H, 244 HR, 640 RBI, 566 R, 42.8 WAR (1969-1982 / HoF in 1996)

(4) Soo-Yeon Kim 1993 C .238/.314/.414, 643 H, 112 HR, 389 RBI, 369 R, 17.0 WAR (1975-1981 / HoF in 1999)

(7) Eric Pardinho 1979 SP 89-46, 3.00 ERA, 1448 K, 0.95 WHIP, 31.5 WAR (1964-1979 / HoF in 1985)

(9) Alex Hernandez 1990 SP 193-91, 3.08 ERA, 2586 K, 1.13 WHIP, 67.6 WAR (1970-1984 / HoF in 1992)

(18) Julio Yarnel Rodriguez 1980 RF .301/.385/.612, 593 H, 170 HR, 496 RBI, 390 R, 25.7 WAR (1966-1974 / HoF in 1985)

(19) Carter Kieboom 1976 3B .372/.491/.863, 1049 H, 180 HR, 605 RBI, 613 R, 38.7 WAR (1962-1976 / HoF in 1982)

(20) Kristian Robinson 1980 LF .237/.299/.494, 1070 H, 323 HR, 784 RBI, 684 R, 32.5 WAR (1964-1980 / HoF in 1986)

(24) Kevin Delahaye 1999 SP 186-117, 2.96 ERA, 2670 K, 1.14 WHIP, 69.9 WAR (1983-1995)

(26) Triston McKenzie 1976 SP 112-44, 3.26 ERA, 1621 K, 1.05 WHIP, 33.0 WAR (1962-1976)

(27) Robert Puason 1984 SS .262/.346/.481, 1303 H, 328 HR, 780 RBI, 802 R, 32.3 WAR (1966-1981 / HoF in 1990)

(29) Sergio Banuelos 1991 CL 55-41, 2.16 ERA, 1055 K, 1.02 WHIP, 28.5 WAR, 259 SV (1969-1982 / HoF in 1992)

(30) Forrest Whitley 1980 SP 30-9, 2.79 ERA, 515 K, 0.93 WHIP, 10.5 WAR (1968-1970 and 1973-1974 / HoF in 1985)

(33) Wander Samuel Franco 1983 SS .289/.373/.492 1588 H, 265 HR, 832 RBI, 949 R, 61.0 WAR (1964-1981 / HoF in 1995)


- GRE :

(29) Bryce Boich 1980 RP 34-35, 3.12 ERA, 699 K, 1.23 WHIP, 11.5 WAR, 59 SV (1965-1974 / HoF in 1983)

(15) Guan-Pei Chio 1990 LF .272/.352/.466, 1042 H, 191 HR, 622 RBI, 600 R, 40.4 WAR (1974-1982 / HoF in 1995)


- FRE :

(13) Keston Hiura 1983 2B .282/.359/.468, 878 H, 125 HR, 495 RBI, 456 R, 24.8 WAR (1962-1974 / HoF in 1984)

(27) Andy Salgado 1977 RF .314/ 39 HR, 228 RBI, 288 R

(52) Alfredo Sifuentes 1995 CL 69-55, 2.33 ERA, 1297 K, 1.14 WHIP, 32.0 WAR, 409 SV (1979-1993)


- DIA :

(25) Javier Cisneros 1996 SP 96-55, 3.02 ERA, 222 K, 1.08 WHIP, 26.8 WAR (1983-1990)

(77) Adonis Medina 1977 SP 80-74, 3.49 ERA, 1373 K, 1.20 WHIP, 33.3 WAR (1969-1977 / HoF in 1982)


- SST :

(16) Roberto Irias 1993 RP 39-31, 2.65 ERA, 822 K, 1.35 WHIP, 4.2 WAR, 105 SV (1977-1983 , HoF in 1996)

(19) Cesar Gomez 1995 SP 202-81, 2.89 ERA, 2380 K, 1.11 WHIP, 68.0 WAR (1976-1988)

(48) Marcos Amaya 1981 SP 66-63, 3.61 ERA, 1204 K, 1.20 WHIP, 23.3 WAR (1975-1981 / HoF in 1987)


- SEAG :

(14) Francisco Sauceda 1988 LF .332/.378/.412, 1474 H, 10 HR, 458 RBI, 688 R, 27.1 WAR (1975-1984 / HoF in 1994)

(15) Tomokazu Yoshikawa 1985 CL 65-63, 2.82 ERA, 1343 K, 1.19 WHIP, 152 SV (1969-1981 and 1983 / HoF in 1991)


- CITY :

(13) Dave Jackman SP 1994 133-107, 2.83 ERA, 1962 K, 1.06 WHIP, 56.1 WAR (1982-1992)

(19) Kei Shibuya CL 1995 62-66, 2.95 ERA, 962 K, 1.22 WHIP, 18.1 WAR, 277 SV (1985-1995)


- LGG :

(23) Victor Sira CL 1996 58-66, 2.23 ERA, 1399 K, 1.08 WHIP, 35.3 WAR, 380 SV (1983-1995)

[stevem810]

So, looks like offense ruled in the post season? The team that scored the most runs during the regular was the last one standing.

[Bliketa]

I didn't noticed, the Diamonds' offence really shined this season. At least their defence was decent, unlike the Silver Eagles for instance, which has a run differential of 1.

[Bliketa]

2000 Season :

• Pre-season story:

The franchise based in Dawala, the Diamonds are going fast, with a second championship only three years after the first one. Some fans considered the current team as the best in the franchise history. #1 of the 1995 draft pick, Alan Roberts was already in Dawala for the franchise's first championship. But last year, he was much more astonishing, leading the league in PA (739), SB (34) and R (110). Furthermore, he has a batting line of .284/.410/.382, 10 HR, 110 BB and 7.3 WAR .

The Silver Eagles just can't perform in the LBS. They lost their last three appearances and only won one championship, despite having one of the best team in the recent years. They lost the winner of last year Golden Glove, Shi-lin Zhao to St-Louis during the offseason. Other Golden Glove winners are still on the team like Fontaine, Victor Morales or Strazzer. The latter has won 3 Golden Gloves (88, 89 and 92), Sun League record. He is most likely playing his last seasons in his career as he is already 36. Last season, he batted for .215/.285/.400 and 0.2 WAR in only 42 G.

Earned their first playoff spot last year, the Thunders want to keep the good work going on. Their roster is packed with high potential prospects , led by one superstar. In Wayt Tides since 1994, LF Rhys Lawless is clearly the franchise face. His last two seasons have been at the same level of his Golden Glove winning season in 1993. At 30 last season, he batted for .237/.338/.486, with 35 HR (personal record), 136 H, 99 RBI, 6.0 WAR.

The other newcomers in the playoffs last season, the Golden Dragons, also relied on a promising roster, led by the more experienced Ricky Leyva and Masahiro Uchida. Uchida acquired by Green District, Leyva will now be the sole leader. Young closer Darren Islam was put under the fire last season, as he played the most games of every pitcher. Despite this, he finished with a poor -0.8 WAR and 4.73 ERA. However, he is only 23 and managed to grab 43 SV.

Missing the playoffs for the 7th straight year, Narballo has been back to their old standards after some good seasons. They even finished behind the Salamanders, a 1996 expansion franchise. Pitcher Neal Neal has been relatively decent in the last two years in a losing team. He managed to have 3.21 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 177 K, 3.8 WAR last year.

As of now, Stonegap is surely the most successful 1988 expansion team in the league. They missed the postseason last year, but they seem to have good management. Wei-sng Nao joined the league in 1995 at just 19 and slowly progressed until his best season last year with a batting line of .302/.365/.434. He also led the league with 191 H, 38 2B, 26 SB for only 2 CS. He also had an impressive 8.1 WAR.

Transactions/ FA :

- Masahiro Uchida, 26 yo SS, signed as a FA (GDD --> GRE) a contract of 52 800 000 € in 8 y
- Run-Ming Sun, 27 yo 2B, declined a contract and signed as a FA (LNN --> MIL (MLB)) a contract of 71 100 000 € in 7 y
- Tobias Tengonciang, 27 yo SP, opted out of his contract and signed as a FA (LNN --> RHI) a contract of 76 300 000 € in 7 y
- Shi-lin Zhao, 26 yo 3B, signed as a FA (SEAG --> STL (MLB)) a contract of 36 100 000 € in 4 y
- Taylor Clark, 29 yo SP, opted out of his contract and signed as a FA (LGG --> SAL) a contract of 22 800 000 € in 4 y
- Hwen-thiang Niu, 32 yo SP, signed as a FA (MAP --> DET (MLB)) a contract of 33 600 000 € in 4 y
- Rhett Dobbs, 31 yo SP, signed as a FA (FRE --> BUL) a contract of 56 800 000 € in 6 y
- Xing-yun Cheng, 37 yo 3B, signed as a FA (FRE --> SD (MLB)) a contract of 17 400 000 € in 2 y

Managerial changes :

TSH Another manager will make his entry in Narballo, as Matt Gruender was not kept. Gruender bounced back by joining Green District as a bench coach. Carlos Borrego was brought over from Lingalie North to replace him.
RHI Federico Giordani was dismissed after only one season in Hinterlands. Andres Fernandez will try to do better than him.
B&Y Lingalie North and Carlos Borrego parted ways after two disappointing seasons. The bench coach of the Jade Tigers since 1993, Urtilan Agyeman was appointed to bring the B&Y back to the top.
BEA Some unstability is running in Kuronga, as even after a great season, Michael Bailey was fired. Elias Cortez will be the new Kuronga manager.
JDT After three division crowns in four years spent in Boubi Town, Jose Y. Nunez and the Jade Tigers decided to not pursue the collaboration together. Working as bench coach in the league for City and Orange since 1990, Gerardo Juarez was chosen to replace him.

CITY Manny Mota (1992-)
FRE Felix Cuevas (1993-)
LNN Ivan Julio (1998-)
THU Luis Mercedes Terrero (1998-)
RHI Andres Fernandez (2000-)

WHE Ahmed Wiese (1988-)
MAP Gregory Paulino (1992-)
SAL Ivan Leon (1999-)
GRE Enmanuel Rodriguez (1999-)
TSH Carlos Borrego(2000-)


SST Oberdan Diaz (1991-)
DIA Jonaikel Delgado (1996-)
BUL Edgar Camaal (1999-)
B&Y Urtilan Agyeman (2000-)
BEA Elias Cortez (2000-)

LGG Robert Salas (1999-)
BOB Santo Vasquez (1999-)
SEAG Cristhian Lugo (1999-)
GDD Jason White (1999-)
JDT Gerardo Juarez (2000-)

• Regular season :

Moon League

For the third year in a row, the Nang Nius won the Metro division. Golden Glove winner Rio McGrath played a key role in this win. This time, it was City that clinched the 2nd playoff spot, only 9 games behind the Nang Nius. After their four first seasons finished at the last place, Hinterlands managed to grab the 3rd place with a positive record. The Thunders was not far behind, while the Freros achieved their worst season in the modern era.

In the Outlands division, Green District won its 14th division crown. Its pitcher Leen Roumen did a stellar season, to win the ML Golden Ball. Stonegap are back in the postseason. The last three teams were close, Pinehearth placed 3rd, 2 games ahead of Narballo, and 3 of Orange.

Sun League

Once again, the Colourful Valley was very disputed between the two franchises of Boubi Town and Lingalia. With only 3 more wins, the Jade Tigers were the winners this year. Qi-zheng Ju was their best batter. The Silver Eagles and the Green Goblins had to play a tiebreaker to decide which team will play the postseason. The Silver Eagles were the big winners. Wayt County finished last.

And the best team this season was Kuronga that played their best season ever, with more than 103 wins. Despite not winning the Golden Ball, Kwang-sub Son was stellar and lead the league in W, K, K/9 and WAR. The second team that qualified for the playoffs is Linga Bay, just 4 games ahead of Dawala. La Croisée finished 4th, and Lingalie North last of the division.

• Draft :
  

For the second straight year, the Rhinos choose a pitcher as the Draft first pick. This year, it was Sergio Fernandez.

• All Stars Game :

Moon League

First selection for Taylor Clark(SAL), Edward Tucker(FRE), Soichi Tsuchiya(TSH), Daniel Collado(LNN), Danny Rocha(CITY), Ling-kung Gao(SAL) in the ML squad.
Return of Moussier de Jong(GRE), Caspar Olinger(GRE) after an absence.
Fergus Jarratt(FRE), Igider Garane(GRE), Kazuyuki Kono(LNN), Rio McGrath(LNN), Matous Kovar(WHE), Tobias Tengonciang(RHI), Rhys Lawless(THU), Thomas Bonhomme(MAP), Miguel Estrada(WHE), Diepolt Hesse(GRE) are into the ML roster for consecutive years.

Sun League

First time in the SL roster for Qi-zhen Ju(JDT), Estuo Yamazaki(BEA)
Comeback of Kealani Marawarpina(SST), Pascal Fontaine(SEAG), Ian Bostock(DIA) and Alex Montes(SST) in the team.
This year again Anthony Gill(BEA), Alan Roberts(DIA), Kinnon Castor(JDT), Anthony Gill(BEA), Heller Glass(B&Y), Kwang-sub Son(BEA), Ruben Zamora(DIA), Friedrich Kircher(BEA), Akira Inoue(JDT), Jakub Novak(BOB), Henry Romero(BEA), Ricky Leyva(GDD), Masakazu Asano(DIA), Wagih Hatari(BEA), Victor Morales(SEAG) will be part of the SL squad.

The All Star game keep being won alternatively besides the two teams. Hence the win of the Sun League squad this season in Golden Park of Huangjia.

[Bliketa]

• Playoffs :

Linga Quarter-Finals Series

CITY(ML Seed #4) vs BEA(SL Seed #1)
WHE(ML Seed #3) vs SST(SL Seed #2)
GRE(ML Seed #1) vs SEAG(SL Seed #4)
LNN(ML Seed #2) vs JDT(SL Seed #3)

For their return in the postseason, City managed to defeat the best team of the regular season, Kuronga, in a tight series.
The next series also went to game 5, as Linga Bay won over Stonegap to advance to the next stage.
Two franchises that are used to play the playoffs in the recent years were opposed : Green District and the Silver Eagles. The winner of the 1998 LBS was the winner here.
In the last matchup, despite being the underdogs, the Jade Tigers got rid of the Nang Nius in 5 games.

Linga Semi-Final Series
CITY vs SST
GRE vs JDT

City dreams of a first LBS, after so many years of rebuilding. On their way stands Linga Bay, with already 2 LBS trophies. Fiercly disputed, this first SFS ended up with the Sea Stars'victory.
In the other series, we have a remake of the 1995 LBS with the Expendables and the Jade Tigers. This year is not the one when the latter can take revenge, as they also lost this series 3-4.


Linga Baseball Series
SST vs GRE

First time these two teams face each other in the final stage. Green District is on a streak of 5 winning LBS and look like they are the favorites here. Linga Bay won 2 out of their 5 LBS appearances. Almost all the series this season ended in the last game, the LBS as well. Indeed, in game 7, Linga Bay outperformed Green District to win its 3rd championship !

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Awards :

Who were the best players this year ?

Moon League :



Sun League :

ML: For his second year as the manager of the Green District, Enmanuel Rodriguez guided his team from the division crown to the LBS, a good work rewarded with the ML manager of the year award.

SL: 3rd manager of the year award for Oberdan Diaz, 7 years after his last one, to celebrate a great year ended with his personal third champion ring. He is one of the most titled manager.

[Bliketa]

• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

Division winners :
- l-LL Azure : N'Boubi Specials (9th)
- l-LL Cyan : Chefecia Purple Bats (3rd)
- l-DL Sapphir: Emerald Jewels (3rd)
- l-DL Marine: Lutia Vikings (4th)

Playoffs :

4 new division winners this year. Stolzberg won their first playoff series against Misty Lake. But they were defeated by N'Boubi who went to win their 4th championship against Zerstrig. It is the first loss of the latter team in a LFS.

r-league (AA) :

Division winners :
- r-RL Square : Creugré Mocking Birds (8th)
- r-RL Heart : Baie-du-butin Bruisers (3rd)
- r-BL Spade: Pampa Bay Fishermen (6th)
- r-BL Club: Unkünft Kernels (1st)

Playoffs :

In the r-league, a new winner has emerged : the Massia Guardians. On their road to victory, they defeated Baie-du-Butin, Pampa Bay and finally Creugré. They lost only 3 games in the postseason.

• MLB playoffs:

I made some changes this season to reflect the expansion of the MLB in real life, with new franchises. I kinda messed up the postseason though, as there are 3 rounds involving only 6 teams, all played in best-of-7 series, the best team of each league have a bye for the first round.
I fix this for next season, with the more known division series series in Bo5 series.

In the AL, the best team was the newly founded franchise Tampa Bay. Their opponent in the 2nd round were the Twins, who defeated the Angels in the first round. With a 4-3 victory, the Devil Rays advanced to the World Series.
For the NL, the best franchise was also an expansion one : the D-Backs. The preliminary round opposed Miami against Cincinnati and ended up with the Marlins' win. In the second round, Arizona triumphed over Miami 4-2.

In this duel of new franchises, Tampa Bay was the one to come out victorious with a 4-2 win.

• International Championship Series:

With the MLB changes, I also could get rid of the bug that was making the MLB season to happened one year after. To do this, I scheduled a short season, that the A's won (see last recap). Therefore, Oakland was the only team that got screwed as they couldn't compete in an ICS.

Played in Stonegap for the first time, the ICS saw Tampa Bay compete equally with Linga Bay. However, it's the lingalian franchise that won the series between the two franchises located near a bay.

• HoF Induction :

This season, two players were inducted in the HoF, both on their first ballot

- Dave Jackman (80.3 %) mostly played for two franchises : the Jade Tigers (77-81) and City (82-92). He is inducted as a City player, where he performed the most. He has won one Golden Ball as well as on postseason series MVP award, both in 1988. Jackman was also elected 4 times to play in the ASG. His all-time numbers are 181-176, 3.28 ERA, 2661 K, 1.16 WHIP, 0.6 HR/9, .279 BABIP, 67.0 WAR.

- River Ford (72.5%) played for four different teams: Orange (76-84), the Silver Eagles (85-86), the Nang Nius (87-93) and the Bears (94). While he played more for Orange, he is wearing a Nang Nius cap in the HoF. The Canadian won two Golden Gloves, in 81 and 83, 6 Ruby Awards (80, 81, 83, 88, 89, 91) two postseason series MVP awards (88 & 89) and he also got 4 ASG selection. During his career, he batted for .253/.399/.847 with 1875 H, 360 HR, 1188 RBI, 60.6 WAR

[Bliketa]

The 2001 Expansion :

5 years only after the last expansion, 4 new organizations will join the league. With them, all states will host at least one franchise :

1) The Briggs Buccaneers organization

Strangleronce finally got a franchise in the LBL with the expected move of the Bucs from the l-league. Briggs could rely on a fairly strong support from their fans during their days in the AAA league and it would expect the same in the big league.

As what was done for the other moves from the l-league, the Briggs will manager their own AAA-team, the Briggs Sailors that will play in the old stadium. A simple rework on their logos was done for the new team.

The Tchopr Warlocks, new team of the r-league, will be affiliated to Briggs. The city based in WC, has nearly 65k.

Abbreviation used for the teams:

• BUC: Briggs Buccaneers
• SAI: Briggs Sailors
• TWR: Tchopr Warlocks

Organisation teams' logos : (primary and small)



2) The Hessia Jäger organization

With 421k inhabitants, Hessia will be the 4th smallest city to host a franchise (only behind Pinehearth, Dawala and Stonegap). The league wanted to implement a team here for a long time, however the relatively poor success of the Adler and the popularity of other sports prevent them to do it sooner. Jäger means hunters in german, the state has strong german ties, hence the owners chose that name.

Their AAA team will be the Rockets, based in Arubastos, in the middle of the country. It is also relatively less populated than the other teams in its league (with 78k people).

Another team based in a small city is part of the organization, the Arboria Herons. This city is in Green District, but it is very close to Hessia, an asset that could be useful.

Abbreviation used for the teams:

• JÄG: Hessia Jäger
• ROK: Arubastos Rockets
• ARH: Arboria Herons

Organisation teams' logos : (primary and small)



3) The Maykrafth Iron Wolves organization

The other team that moved from the l-league. The Iron Wolves was also one of the most popular team in the l-league. Suffering from the influence from Boubi Town's franchises, Maykrafth is one of the biggest city in the country, and it was a crime to not have a franchise here. The brand new LGW Arena was inaugurated to host the Iron Wolves'games and a new logo was introduced.

Their AAA-team will be the Iron Horses, of course located in the same city.

Based in Tsahd, the Majestics will be their AA-team. They are joining the same year as their predestined rivals, the Warlocks from the neighboring city Tchopr.

Abbreviation used for the teams:

• IRW: Maykrafth Iron Wolves
• IRH: Maykrafth Iron Horses
• TMJ: Tsahd Majestics

Organisation teams' logos : (primary and small)



4) The Lutia Towers organization

As like Maykrafth, Lutia was overshadowed by Lingalie City. The three franchises are very popular in this close city. But the growing popularity of the Vikings an AA-team, pushed the league to create a franchise in Lutia. The Vikings was deemed not enough successfull to be granted the right to move to the LBL. Instead a franchise was made from scracth.

The ties with New Lingalie are strong, as Lutia's AAA team will be based in Forliodor. It takes only 1 hour to go from one city to another.

To represent them in the r-league, the Towers will rely on the Maskov Quest team. With only 15k people living here, it is by far the smallest city to host a team.

Abbreviation used for the teams:

• TOW: Lutia Towers
• DEF: Forliodor Defenders
• MQ: Maskov Quest

Organisation teams' logos : (primary and small)



New AAA teams

Since the Bucs and the Iron Wolves moved out from the l-league, two new teams were created to be affiliated with Linga Bay and the Silver Eagles :

- The Imoutchekk Islanders will be affiliated to the Sea Stars

- The Yachow Scarlet Scorpions will be affiliated to the Silver Eagles

Logos :

[Bliketa]

Updated map

As I mentioned in the previous post, all states now host at least one franchise in the LBL. Now the league will aim to expand until having 30 franchises, just like its US counterpart. There are still a couple of cities that don't have any teams, the largest being Elioheb with 115k inhabitants, therefore they will most likely receive a minor league team in the future expansion(s).
With 24 franchises, there are 6 free spots for new franchises, speculations began about their locations.

Moon League - Metro division :

The three franchises from the capital city outrageously dominated the division since its creation. However, since the last expansion, the Thunders made theirs debuts in the playoffs, while the Rhinos finished 3rd last season and will surely grab a postseason seat soon. Due to its proximity to Lingalie City, it's no surprise that Lutia will join this division.

Moon League - Outlands division :

A team finally was able to stop Green District's division crown streak to 9. Indeed, as of today, Orange won the division title 3 times. The other teams are less consistent, making hard to predict their performance. Therefore it is the division where the expansion team have more chances to make an impact, imo. This team will be the Hessia Jäger.

Sun League - Coast division :

By far, this division is deemed the toughest one. 4 different winners since the division realignment of 1988 : Lingalie North, Dawala, Linga Bay and Kuronga. However in the recent seasons, the Black&Yellows were the most disappointing team, while its rival, Kuronga is enjoying its first success. The Bullets seemed to fancy the 4th place as they finished 4th 4 years in a row. The division will welcome Briggs from the l-league, which will meet its former affiliated team, Linga Bay.

Sun League - ColVal division :

Finally, the ColVal division is often the battlefield of the 3 oldest franchises, although the Jade Tigers was the most dominant one this decade. It is also the only division where the 5 teams have played in the playoffs. On one hand, Wayt County had severely declined since its 2nd place in 1998. On the other hand, the Golden Dragons have more prospects and potential for the next years. It's natural that the Iron Wolves join the ColVal, as their name matches the division pattern perfectly. Plus, their former affiliated team, the Silver Eagles is there as well.




PS: one more post to reach 100 !