Baseball: The World's Game

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Shenzhen and Shantou were the Southern League standouts taking the top spots at 102-60 and 101-61, respectively. The Scorpions became the first team in Chinese League Baseball history to score 800+ runs at 811 and also set single-season records for home runs (303) and team slugging (.479). They also finished with the best differential at +233, although the Spartans just edged them for first place. Both teams earned repeat playoff berths and Shantou tied their franchise-best record.

The top two had pulled away with strong first halves. The best records post all-star break went to Wenzhou and Dongguan, who took the remaining playoff spots at 96-66 and 93-69, respectively. The Wild ended a seven-year playoff drought and the Donkeys snapped a four-year skid. Dongguan had the fewest runs allowed at 485. The first teams out were Foshan (91-71), and Guangzhou (87-75). Last year’s semifinalists had middling efforts with Nanchang at 76-86 and Hong Kong at 77-85. For the defending SL champ Crickets, this ended a four-year playoff streak and was only their second miss in nine years.



Leading Shantou’s historic offense was CF Wenyang Huang, who repeated as Southern League MVP and took it unanimously. The 26-year old righty led in runs (120), total bases (405), slugging (.704), wRC+ (220), and WAR (11.7). Huang added 180 hits, 27 doubles, 15 triples, 56 home runs, 124 RBI, and a .313 average. This gave the former #1 draft pick back-to-back 11+ WAR seasons. It was only the sixth time a CLB player scored 120+ runs in a season, falling six short of the single-season record.

The Scorpions also had the Pitcher of the Year Bar Khan with 21 first place votes and 223 points, just edging out Shenzhen’s Peng Adnan with 19 first place votes and 217 points. The runner-up Adnan led in innings (272.1) with 8.2 WAR and tied with Khan for wins (both at 21-6). It was actually Dongguan’s David Gan who notably led in both WAR (9.5) and strikeouts (334), posting a 2.06 ERA and 16-9 record. Khan won it with the ERA title (1.98) and best FIP- (49). In only his second year as a starter for Shantou, the 24-year old righty tossed 241 innings with 280 strikeouts, 165 ERA+, and 9.1 WAR.



Despite their offense and award winners, Shantou fared the worst in the Triple Round Robin at 1-8. Both Shenzhen and Dongguan advanced to the semifinal at 6-3 while Wenzhou at 5-4 just missed. The Donkeys last made the semi in 2037 while the Spartans’ drought went back to 2028. Although it was #1 versus #4 seed, Dongguan got home field from the #4 spot having gone 2-1 over Shenzhen in the Round Robin.

Dongguan opened with a 5-0 win on a three-hit, 13 strikeout shutout by Wendell Chavez. They narrowly held on 2-1 the next night. Shenzhen claimed the first two on their home diamond by 3-2 and 6-2 margins. The Donkeys took the series’ lone road win 3-1 in game five, then clinched 5-4 in game six.



1B Zhengyu Yang was series MVP, going 13-35 with six homers and ten RBI across their nine playoff games total. This ended the longest drought between China Series trips in CLB history at 68 years, as Dongguan’s only prior trips were in 1972-73.

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The 73^rd China Series was the second in three years for Zhengzhou, who won it all in 2040 and in 2027. It was their fifth appearance overall and the third for Dongguan, whose only prior appearances were way back in 1972-73; the third and fourth seasons for Chinese League Baseball. The Donkeys did win the title in 1973 and would set the longest gap between titles in CLB history (68 years) with a win. Home field alternates between leagues and went to Dongguan for 2042.

The Donkeys opened with an 11-4 home win, but Zhengzhou countered 6-3 the next night. The Zips raced ahead in the series with 9-1 and 1-0 home wins, getting a combined two-hitter in the game four pitcher’s duel. Game five was also 1-0, but Dongguan took it with a two-hit, 13 strikeout shutout by David Gan. The Donkeys picked up a 5-1 road win in game six to send the series the full distance.

In the finale, Dongguan prevailed 2-0 to end their lengthy title drought. It was a do-it-yourself effort for SP Jon Moran, who tossed seven shutout innings and had a two-out, two-RBI single in the second inning for the game’s only runs. LF Virgil Christopher was series MVP going 9-27 with four homers, seven RBI, and five runs. The 31-year old Tanzanian arrived in China in 2037 for the Donkeys.



Other notes: Dongguan’s Zhengyu Yang set a playoff record with nine doubles. Zhengzhou’s Tiquan Liu set a bad record with 44 strikeouts. No player in any world league had ever struck out 40+ times in a single postseason. The Zips did play the maximum possible games under the CLB playoff structure at 23. The only other leagues where a team could play 23 postseason games are MLB and ABF, although it hasn’t happened in either yet.

Kunming’s Jinming Li hit for the cycle on July 25 and July 26 facing Zhongshan. This was a world first, as no one had ever hit for the cycle on consecutive days or within the same series. MLB’s Dylan Fabian notably did it against separate foes one day apart in 2028. Shenyang’s Zheng Zhang had a 32-game hitting streak in the late spring, falling one short of the CLB record 33 set in 2034 by Di Zhou. Zhang also reached 1000 RBI and 2000 hits in August.

In other milestones, Xiaotian Xu became the 9^th to 500 home runs and Hesmay Memetjan became the 26^th to 400. Wuyao Chen reached 1000 RBI, a mark met by 27 in CLB. Hoa Tian became the 28^th to 1000 runs scored. C Te Liu won his 9^th consecutive Silver Slugger, a position record. Zhenying Chen became the 19^th pitcher with 3000 strikeouts. 2B Isaac Suwito won his 7^th Gold Glove.

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Taichung and reigning Austronesia Professional Baseball champ Taipei were close together at the all-star break battling for the Taiwan League crown. The Tigercats were six above .500 after the break, while the Toucans went on a 46-24 tear; the best in the Taiwan-Philippine Association. Taichung pulled away to take the TL at 104-58 and narrowly got the TPA’s top seed. Taipei at 94-68 easily got second place with Chiayi a very distant third at 84-78.

The Toucans led all of APB with 693 runs scored and had the best differential at +226. It was Taichung’s fourth consecutive playoff berth and third TL title of that stretch. The Tigercats earned repeat playoff trips. The City Hawks despite their third place set a new APB team record for on-base percentage at .322.

In the Philippine League, both Cebu and Manila had double-digit leads on the rest of the PL by the summer. They battled intensely all season with mirrored records for much of 2042. In the end, both finished at 103-59; one win short of the top seed. APB doesn’t use tiebreaker games for division titles, thus it comes down to head-to-head as the first tiebreaker. The Crows won that battle 11-8 with a critical sweep in late August.

Cebu ended a five-year playoff drought dating back to their 2036 pennant and earned their first PL title since 2034. The Manatees playoff streak grew to five seasons, although their first place run ended. Cagayan de Oro was the only other Filipino team above .500 at 84-78 and allowed the TPA’s fewest runs at 446. Zamboanga dropped to 74-88, ending a seven-year playoff streak for the Zebras. It was their first losing season since 2032.



Repeating as Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP was Chiayi 1B Maysaroh Putro. He earned 22 first place votes, while Taichung 1B Chih-Sheng Hsaio had six first place votes. Hsiao notably was the WARlord (10.0). City Hawks CF Yu-Te Ouyang was third in the voting and notably broke APB’s single-season record for OBP at .420. The previous best was Binh Tang’s .416 in 2032.

Putro’s power pushed him to the award in his 11^th year with Chiayi. The 31-year old Indonesian lefty led in home runs (51), RBI (120), total bases (.646), OPS (1.010), and wRC+ (215). Nicknamed “Bluto," Putro added 179 hits, 105 runs, a .311 average, and 9.4 WAR. Putro also became APB’s 47^th member of the 400 home run club.

Pitcher of the Year was a tight battle as Taichung’s Chih-Kang Kuo and Cagayan de Oro’s Vince Hernandez both got 13 of the 28 first place votes. Kuo narrowly edged out Hernandez 147-129 to claim the honor. Hernandez won the ERA title at 1.78, but he only 197.1 innings with an 8-12 record. Kuo led in strikeouts (315) as he bounced back from a torn back muscle that kept him out much of 2041. The 26-year old Taiwanese lefty had a 2.36 ERA, 271 innings, 15-10 record, 140 ERA+, 68 FIP-, and 6.9 WAR.



Taichung began the divisional round with the built-in one game bonus and a 6-3 win in the opener over Manila. The Manatees countered with a 3-2 win, but the Toucans ousted them 7-2 in game three. This ended a four-year streak of appearances in the Taiwan-Philippine Association for the Philippine capital. Taichung’s last trip was their 2040 triumph over Manila.

Cebu had the bonus on the other side, but dropped their opener in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel to Taipei. The Crows got the narrow 4-3 win the next night, then ousted the reigning champs 1-0 in game three. The finale saw a one-hitter by Hunter Chao with ten strikeouts and two walks. Cebu earned its first TPA finals trip since the 2036 pennant. Taichung won the regular season series 4-2 over the Crows and with only one win separating the teams, fans expected a tight battle.

Those fans were disappointed as it was the first TPA Championship sweep since 2032. Taichung rolled with 9-2, 5-4, 8-7, and 3-0 wins for their second pennant in three years. Game two had drama as the Toucans scored two in the bottom of the ninth to force extras at 4-4, then won it on a tenth inning walkoff. In game four, Aulia Wopi pitched a two-hit shutout with six strikeouts and one walk.



Taichung became six-time Taiwan-Philippine Association champs (1965, 1966, 1981, 1987, 2040, 2042). Series MVP went to LF Chun-Hsiang Lin who went 6-14 with two homers, six RBI, and four runs. Lin had two of the three RBI in game four, including a solo homer. The 35-year old lefty had been a playoff hero before, winning Austronesia Championship MVP in 2029 with Taoyuan and association final MVP with Tainan in 2037.

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The Sundaland Association ended up skewed at the top towards the Malacca League, but that came down to late tears by both Pekanbaru and Batam. The Java Sea League’s Depok and Palembang were right with them for the SA’s best record at the all-star break, but both the Demons and Panthers had middling finishes. The Palms were a blistering 52-17 after the all-star break and ended the season with a 14-game winning streak, pushing them to first place at 108-54. The Blue Raiders had a strong finish, but had to settle for the #2 spot at 101-61.

Pekanbaru tied for the second-best record in SA history and had the fewest runs allowed in all of Austronesia Professional Baseball at 414. Batam had them narrowly edged for run differential in the association (+183 to +162). The Palms’ playoff streak grew to four seasons while the Blue Raiders made their fourth trip in five years. Last year’s Sundaland champ Johor Bahru was a very distant third place at 80-82.

Although neither Depok nor Palembang had stellar finishes, their previous cushion kept them as playoff teams. The Demons got first at 93-69, one better than the 92-70 Panthers. Missing the cut was Jakarta (87-75) and last year’s winner Surabaya (86-76). Depok led the SA with 619 runs and their .414 team slugging was the second-best in SA history. The Demons grew their playoff streak to four seasons while Palembang ended a three-year drought. Makassar, a 2029 expansion team, notably had their first winning season at 82-80. Semarang, a top contender in the 2030s, set a franchise worst at 56-106.



Depok 3B Mohd Ashraf Matlan won Sundaland Association MVP unanimously, his second MVP in three seasons. The 27-year old Malaysian switch-hitter led in total bases (377), OBP (.390), slugging (.639), OPS (1.029), and wRC+ (215). Matlan had 9.1 WAR, 39 home runs, 94 RBI, 202 hits, 102 runs, and a .342 average. Nicknamed “Hawk,” Matlan has been a starter since 2036 for the Demons and has won four Silver Sluggers.

Pekanbaru’s Ai Sung won Pitcher of the Year with 21 first place votes, while the reigning winner Thuy Hai Mai of Surabaya had seven. Mai notably had APB’s best ERA at 1.25, but he only pitched 179.1 innings due to biceps injuries. Sung was second in ERA at 1.51 and led in strikeouts (326), WHIP (0.68), FIP- (32), and WAR (10.7). The 26-year old Cambodian righty had a 19-4 record, 214.2 innings, and 196 ERA+ in his third year as a full-time starter.



The Palms had the one-game bonus and opened the divisional series on a 2-1 win over Palembang. The Panthers countered 4-3 in ten innings for game two. Game three needed 11 frames with Pekanbaru prevailing 5-4, getting a walkoff RBI double by Arbi Rifqi. The Palms earned their third consecutive Sundaland Association Championship trip, having won it all in 2040.

Depok had the one-game bonus as a league champ, but Batam won three straight (5-4, 2-0, 2-1) to oust the Demons. In game one, the Blue Raiders rallied with a four-run eighth inning. Syafafuddin Lawadin tossed a seven-hit shutout in game two. Batam earned its second association finals trip in four years with a pennant drought back to 2029. Although Pekanbaru got the top seed, the Blue Raiders won the regular season series 12-8.

Batam opened with a 4-1 road win, followed by a 5-0 Palms counter punch. Pekanbaru took the series lead on their own 6-4 road win in game three, but Batam answered 7-2 the next night. The Palms claimed game five on the road 3-2, then went back home to clinch with another 3-2 result. Pekanbaru became five-time Sundaland champs (1965, 2011, 2014, 2040, 2042). 2B Marinus Andiaz won series MVP going 8-25 with three homers and four RBI. The 32-year old Indonesian was a free agent signing for 2042 after a decade with Cebu.

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The 78^th Austronesia Championship was a rematch of two years prior, which saw a 4-1 Pekanbaru win over Taichung for the 2040 crown. They also met in the inaugural 1965 final, a Toucans sweep. Taichung’s only other title was 1981 as they looked to end a 60-year drought. Pekanbaru also had rings in 2011 and 2014. Taichung had home-field advantage and erased a 3-0 hole to win the opener 4-3. Pekanbaru answered with a 7-2 road victory.

Back in Indonesia, the Palms took the lead with another 7-2 win. However, the Toucans secured 5-2 and 4-2 road wins to bring a 3-2 series lead back to Taiwan. Pekanbaru prevailed 4-2 in game six to force the series the full distance. In the finale, Taichung posted a 5-0 shutout to claim the franchise’s third title and first since 1981.



In the clincher, Aulia Wopi pitched 8.2 shutout innings, allowing five hits and two walks with 12 strikeouts. The series MVP went to 1B Chih-Sheng Hsaio, who was 8-24 with three homers and six RBI. Also of note, Pekanbaru’s Palani Pathammavong set a postseason record with 16 stolen bases. There has been an impressive run of parity for the top spot in Austronesia Professional Baseball with ten different champions in a decade.

Other notes: 2042 was the final season for six-time MVP James Yuwono, who struggled at age 43 to -0.3 over 75 at-bats with Batam. He was primarily a legend with Pekanbaru and retired with 146.48 career WAR, 2^nd-among APB position players to only Binh Tang (189.61). Among all players ever in world history, Yuwono ranks 62^nd in WAR. On the APB leaderboard, he’s 3^rd in runs (1544), 7^th in hits (2832), 2^nd in total bases (5695), 3^rd in homers (723), and 4^th in RBI (1583).

The accumulations don’t reach the world leaderboard with APB’s extremely low scoring environment, but Yuwono’s batting efficiency in that space was legendary. He finished with a 204 wRC+ and only eight Hall of Famers or retired locks in world history are above him. Many rank Yuwono as the #2 batter in APB history with Tang as the undisputed king.

Tainan’s Chin-Tsai Lan became APB’s 4^th member of the 700 home run club. He has 708, behind Tang (771), Will Tabaldo (766) and Yuwono (723). Lan struggled to 0.1 WAR and 91 wRC+ in 2042 though, so his chances of taking the top spot seem slim. Wijaya Yama became the 18^th member of the 500 home run club. 47 have 400 homers with Zahrul Said and Chih-Fang Hu getting there in 2042. Medan’s Arthur Jerez had APB’s fifth four-home run game on July 13 against Pekanbaru.

46 have scored 1000 runs with Yuniarto Djajadiningrat and Saiful Wahyu crossing the mark. 62 have reached 1000 RBI with five making it in 2042. RF Raja Zaharudin won his 8^th Gold Glove. Both 2B Val Wie and 3B Leo Galutira won their 7^th consecutive Gold Glove while SS Chun-Cheih Chang also grabbed #7.

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The prior two years, Sydney dominated the Australasia League en route to 110+ win seasons and the Oceania Championship. In 2042, the AL had one of its most competitive ever seasons. Six of the 12 teams finished within six wins of first place. At the all-star break, it was Canberra on top at 50-37, although Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, and Christchurch were each within five games. The Centurions and Chinooks both had losing records on the back end to fall out of the fight.

It was a strong finish for the Mets propelling them to the top spot. Melbourne went 45-30 after the break and ended the season on a seven-game winning streak. They took first at 92-70 while both the Snakes and Aardvarks tied for second at 88-74. Next was Canberra (87-75), Perth (86-76), and Brisbane (86-76). The Mets won their second pennant in five years and their 17^th overall (1967-70, 2003-12, 2037, 2042). They’re tied for the most pennants in Oceania Baseball History along with the Pacific League’s Guam and Honolulu.

Melbourne was seventh in the league for run differential at only +16, outperforming their expected win/loss by nine. The Mets had a 34-23 record in one-run games. Sydney had the AL’s most runs scored at 739 while Gold Coast allowed the fewest at 561. The Kangaroos also scored the fewest (584), thus a .500 finish. Adelaide remains the bridesmaid, finishing second for the fourth year in-a-row.



Although Sydney’s three-peat bid was thwarted, Snakes RF Sam Erickson became a four-time Australasia League MVP. He won the 2042 award unanimously and had previous wins in 2037, 38, and 40. Erickson is one of 11 players in OBA history with 4+ MVPs. The 2042 win did have a career first for Erickson; the Triple Crown. It was the 12^th Triple Crown season for an OBA hitter.

The 30-year old Australian lefty had 55 home runs and 143 RBI while leading in the triple slash (.366/.408/.689), OPS (1.096), wRC+ (202), and total bases (416). Erickson added 221 hits, 122 runs, and 8.8 WAR. He also won his sixth Silver Slugger, but it was his first in right field. Erickson had won thrice previously in left and twice as a designated hitter. He remains signed through 2046 for the Snakes.

Perth’s Vuthy Thon won a competitive Pitcher of the Year race with 13 first place votes and 132 points. Gold Coast’s Roland Daly had nine first place votes and 95 points, plus Melbourne’s Ron Morrison had two first place nods. Daly repeated as Reliever of the Year and had a 1.65 ERA, 5.1 WAR, 34 saves, and 157 strikeouts in 98.1 innings.

For Thon, he led in WAR (9.1), quality starts (28), and FIP- (69). The 29-year old Cambodian righty had a 19-13 record, 2.99 ERA, 306.2 innings, 299 strikeouts, and 121 ERA+. Thon had started his career in South Asia Baseball with decent results before joining OBA and the Penguins in 2041 on a seven-year, $114,100,000 deal.

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Defending Pacific League champ Guadalcanal was by far the top team in the first half of the 2042 Oceania Baseball Association season with a 58-29 at the all-star break. They were six ahead of both Honolulu and Guam in the PL and eight better than Vanuatu. The Wizards played around .500 in the back end to finish a distant fourth at 88-74. The other three teams each had strong runs in the back end, none better than the Honu at 50-25.

Critically for the Green Jackets, they took two of three in Hawaii for the penultimate series. Guadalcanal held onto first place at 104-58 ahead of Honolulu (102-60) and Guam (99-63). With the repeat, the Green Jackets are 13-time Pacific League champs (1961, 64, 66, 68, 77, 2010, 12, 13, 31, 32, 36, 41, 42). Guadalcanal had the fewest runs allowed in OBA at 494 and was an impressive 38-19 in one-run games. The Honu had the OBA’s best run differential (+155) and the most runs scored (754).



MVP went to Guam RF Robert Bush, who got all but one first place vote. The two-time defending MVP LF Teheivarii Ludivion had the other top vote. In his fourth year with the Golden Eagles, Bush won his sixth Silver Slugger. The 31-year old Australian led in runs (114), home runs (53), total bases (356), slugging (.637), OPS (1.000), wRC+ (182), and WAR (6.9). Bush added 172 hits, 114 RBI, and a .308 average. It was a contract year and he expects to be a highly pursued free agent in the winter.

Guadalcanal’s Alfie Smith repeated as Pitcher of the Year, albeit barely. He had 11 first place votes and 126 points. Vanuatu’s Nathan Moran had him beat for first place votes (12) but just lost out on points (123). Guadalcanal’s Allan Clover also got a first place vote. Moran edged Smith out for the ERA title (2.13 to 2.17), while Clover was the wins leader at 24-13. Clover also had the most strikeouts at 395, but posted a 3.06 ERA. For Smith, he led in WHIP (0.82), K/BB (10.3), FIP- (67), and WAR (8.8). The 26-year old Australian righty had a 15-9 record, 286.2 innings, 359 strikeouts, and 167 ERA+.

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The 83^rd Oceania Championship was the fourth finals battle between Guadalcanal and Melbourne. The first was way back in 1968, a 4-3 classic won by the Green Jackets. They then met twice during the Mets’ 2003-12 dynasty run with a 4-2 Melbourne win in 2010 and 4-3 Guadalcanal win in 2012. The Mets’ 2010 title was their most recent one, while the Green Jackets last won in 2036 and were the runner-up the prior year to Sydney.

Melbourne opened with a 5-3 road win, although Guadalcanal countered 2-1. Now in Australia, the Mets took game three 3-0 on a four-hit shutout by Dave Shaffer. The Green Jackets answered 2-0 the next night as Alfie Smith pitched a shutout and scattered eight hits. Game five saw a five-hitter by Melbourne’s Ellis Palin in a 3-0 win, taking the 3-2 series lead back to the Solomon Islands. The Green Jackets secured game six by a 5-2 margin to send the series the full distance.

In game seven, Guadalcanal went up 5-1 after the fifth inning and held on for a 6-3 home win. The Green Jackets became seven-time kings of the Oceania Baseball Association (1961, 66, 68, 2012, 32, 36, 42). Melbourne 3B Dan Jones was series MVP even in defeat, going 8-24 with three homers and nine RBI.



Other notes: OBA’s 19^th perfect game came June 14 by Christchurch’s Nigel Pitt against Gold Coast. In a 2-0 win, the 2036 Pitcher of the Year winner Pitt struck out 10 over 95 pitches.



In other pitching notables, Ashton Aucoin became the 17^th to 4000 career strikeouts and Wyatt Ferullo was the 58^th to 3000 Ks. In batting notables, Jody Riley became the 14^th member of the 600 home run club and Jun Lopez-Torres was the 25^th to 500 dingers. Levi Cole was the 18^th to 1500 RBi and the 33^rd to 2500 hits. C Sebastian Robins won his 7^th Silver Slugger.

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The European League was top heavy with four teams well ahead of the rest at the all-star break. Reigning Eurasian Professional Baseball champ St. Petersburg had the top overall record at 62-35, but Minsk was close behind in the North Division (60-34) along with both Samara (61-33) and Rostov (95-68). The Polar Bears went on a 50-15 tear the rest of the way to stay in the #1 spot at 112-50, a franchise best. St. Petersburg won a fifth consecutive division title and grew their playoff streak to eight seasons.

The Polar Bears allowed the fewest runs in EPB at 492 and had the best run differential at +258. They were also the top scoring EL team at 750. Samara gave a spirited effort for the top seed, winning only their second-ever division title (2027). The Steelers at 107-55 had their first-ever 100+ win season and ended a decade-long playoff drought. Minsk finished second in the North at 100-62 and took the first wild card, growing their playoff streak to four.

Of the four early contenders, Rostov faded the most although they still had a winning record in the second half. Voronezh was able to catch them and they met in the final series of the regular season. The Zephyrs won two of three on the road, tying them at 94-68 for the second wild card. The Rhinos earned the narrow win in the tiebreaker game 4-3 for their fourth playoff berth in five years.



The next closest teams in the hunt were Nizhny Novgorod (87-75), Kazan (85-77), Moscow (85-77), and Krasnodar (84-78). The Steamers saw their playoff streak snapped at six seasons.



Gavrilovich Somov’s bid for a sixth consecutive European League MVP was thwarted as the St. Petersburg LF had a merely good 5.9 WAR effort. History was still made with Samara LF Maksim Krutov winning unanimously to become the first six-time winner in EPB history. The 36-year old Russian lefty won in 2031, 32, 34, and 35 with Nizhny Novgorod, then won for Vladivostok in 2039. Krutov joined Samara in 2040 on a four-year, $112 million deal.

His 2042 MVP was extra special for several reasons, but the biggest being it was his first Triple Crown and the 15^th by an EPB batter. Krutov led in triple slash (.351/.416/.705), OPS (1.121), wRC+ (212), WAR (10.4), home runs (51), RBI (118), runs (118), and total bases (396). He also reached several milestones including 600 career homers, 2500 hits, and 1500 RBI. Krutov is the 16^th to 600, 47^th to 2500, and 18^th to 1500. He also became a nine-time Silver Slugger winner in left field, tying the position record.

Pitcher of the Year was unanimous to St. Petersburg’s Veijo Kattilakoski, his third in four years. The 28-year old Finnish lefty led in ERA (1.96), wins (23-7), innings (284), quality starts (26), complete games (17), and shutouts (8). Kattilakoski struck out 308 with a 178 ERA+, 69 FIP-, and 8.4 WAR.



St. Petersburg rolled to a first round sweep of Rostov on 6-0, 9-1, and 3-2 wins. The Polar Bears earned their fourth consecutive trip to the European League Championship Series. On the other side, Samara opened with tight 2-1 and 3-1 wins against Minsk. The Miners got one back 5-3 in game three, but the Steelers clinched 7-4 in Belarus in game four. Samara earned their fourth-ever ELCS trip (2024, 27, 29).

The Steelers notably were the only of the eight early 2000s expansion teams that hadn’t yet won a pennant, but they’d have to dethrone a dynasty to advance. Samara and St. Petersburg had split their six regular season games. The Polar Bears came out firing with 5-3 and 2-1 home wins. Game two went ten innings, clinched by a RBI walkoff single by Ravil Musin. St. Petersburg kept rolling with a 7-4 road win in game three.

Samara stayed alive with 8-3 and 5-4 home wins to force the series back up north. However, the Polar Bears clinched dramatically in game six on a two-run walkoff homer by John Fofanah in a 10-8 victory. St. Petersburg won its third European League title in four years and seventh overall (1971, 76, 77, 2026, 39, 41, 42). 3B Anatolii Malyshev was ELCS MVP going 14-27 with seven RBI and three runs. The 36-year old vet had joined the Polar Bears the prior year after being a perennial all-star for a decade with Perm.

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Five teams were separated by six wins at the all-star break in the Asian League. Ufa was the weakest of that group, but their 49-19 run after the break vaulted them to the top seed at 103-59. It was the Fiends’ third playoff trip in six years and first West Division title since 2037. Ufa led all of Eurasian Professional Baseball with 787 runs scored. The top run differential (+230) and fewest runs allowed (545) both went to Irkutsk, who won a third straight East Division crown and grew their playoff streak to a decade.

It wasn’t an easy fight for the Ice Cats, but a 9-1 finish to the season pushed them to first at 98-64 while both Vladivostok and Khabarovsk had losing records in their last ten. Still, the Shibas (95-67) and Rockets (94-68) ended up as wild cards. Omsk had the top record at the break at 60-39, but a 31-32 finish left them as the first team out at 91-71. Yekaterinburg (87-75) and Krasnoyarsk (86-76) were next in line.

For Vladivostok, they bounced back from a terrible 65-97 campaign the prior year. Three years prior, the Shibas had won the AL title. Khabarovsk set a franchise record and earned their second wild card in three years. Tyumen, who shockingly won the pennant in their magical debut season in 2041, fell back to reality at 73-89 in 2042.



Ufa DH Konstantin Antonov won his fourth Asian League MVP, having previously gotten it in 2032, 33, and 38. The 34-year old Belarusian lefty had 24/32 first place votes in his 15^th season with the Fiends. Antonov led in walks (82), OBP (.397), OPS (1.026), and wRC+ (185). He added 174 hits, 115 runs, 51 home runs, 120 RBI, .311 average, and 7.7 WAR. Antonov also won his seventh Silver Slugger as a designated hitter and became an 11-time all-star. He has two years remaining on a $159,300,000 extension signed back in August 2037.

Pitcher of the Year had a first time winner in Omsk’s Tarko Zeland. He had 18 first place votes and 182 points, edging out Vladivostok’s Edik Timonov at 14 first place votes and 168 points. Timonov notably led in ERA (1.72), strikeouts (339), and WAR (10.2) with a 17-7 record and 245.1 innings. Zeland led in WHIP (0.83) and shutouts (7) while adding a 22-8 record, 1.97 ERA, 265 innings, 310 Ks, and 8.7 WAR. The 26-year old Russian righty was in his fourth year for the Otters. The 27-year old Timonov notably signed a seven-year, $137,400,000 extension in April to stick with the Shibas.



In the first round, Ufa was shocked as Khabarovsk opened with 8-0 and 5-4 road wins against the top seed. The Fiends avoided getting swept in game three, but they needed 14 innings to escape with the 7-6 result. The Rockets then prevailed 5-3 in game four to win their first-ever playoff series in the franchise’s 23-year history.

On the other side, Irkutsk opened on a 7-2 win followed by 3-1 and 5-1 counter punches on the road by Vladivostok. Game two notably saw the Shibas go ahead with a two-run ninth. The Ice Cats stayed alive 3-2 in game four, then held onto a 7-4 road win in the clincher. Irkutsk earned a second trip in three years to the Asian League Championship Series. They had home field over Khabarovsk, although the squads had split the regular season series 7-7.

The Rockets stunned Irkutsk with a 12-1 blowout opener, followed by another 5-1 road win. In game three, Khabarovsk won 5-4 in 11 innings on a walkoff RBI single by Denis Petrov. The Ice Cats avoided the swept on 8-5 and 3-2 road wins. Back at Irkutsk, the Rockets clinched their first-ever pennant on an 8-4 road win in game six. Veteran C Avtandil Vadachkoria was ALCS MVP going 12-23 with three homers and six RBI. He was a 34-year old part-time starter who had been with Khabarovsk since 2032.

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The 88^th Eurasian Professional Baseball Championship saw St. Petersburg looking to continue a dynasty. The Polar Bears were the defending champ and had a shot at three titles in four years. Only Minsk had previously pulled that off with their 2000-02 three-peat and in 1988-91. St. Petersburg was a heavy favorite with a franchise-best 112-50 record going up against Khabarovsk, the second wild card making their first finals appearance.

Game one was tied 4-4 after the sixth inning and stayed there until the 11^th. A solo homer by Avtandil Vadachkoria was enough for the Rockets to secure the 5-4 upset. St. Petersburg countered with a 4-0 win, but Khabarovsk reclaimed the advantage with a 7-5 home win in game three.

Game four was a wild affair with a four-run Polar Bear rally in the eighth to go ahead 7-6. The Rockets managed to tie in the ninth to force extras. In the 11^th, St. Petersburg’s Gunnar Herrmann got a one-out triple and scored what would be the winning run on a wild pitch in an 8-7 final. The momentum was fully to the Polar Bears from there. They took game five on the road 6-2 and clinched the series back at home 7-3 in game six.



St. Petersburg is now six-time EPB champs (1971, 1977, 2026, 2039, 2041, 2042) and hit their highest peak yet in an all-time dynasty run. Five-time league MVP Gavrilovich Somov was series MVP going 12-23 with two homers and six RBI. He has been the finals MVP in all three of their championship series wins. The 27-year old LF has a stellar 1.146 OPS, 226 wRC+, and 5.1 WAR over 64 playoff games.

Somov had a weak (by his high standard) regular season, but his playoff tear was stellar with 30 hits, 13 runs, 6 doubles, 7 homers, 19 RBI, .500/.515/.950 slash, 1.465 OPS, 318 wRC+, and 2.0 WAR over 15 starts. He was one hit short of the EPB playoff record. Somov and Pitcher of the Year winner Veijo Kattilakoski are both locked up together another four seasons and still in their 20s, meaning the Polar Bears dynasty potentially hasn’t peaked yet.

Other notes: 18-time all-star Timofei Kolarov joined Yekaterinburg in 2042 at age 42 and was still good for 42 home runs and 5.9 WAR. This put him at 739 career homers, just one short of Konrad Mazur’s record 740 that has held since 1987. Kolarov became the fifth member of EPB’s 700 club and vaulted to the #2 spot. He also became the 7^th to 1500 runs scored and sits at 2921 hits with only five EPB bats in the 3000 club. He also is 2^nd in RBI at 1766, behind only Dmitri Khoadakovsky’s 1882. Kolarov plans to return in 2043 for the Yaks at age 43.

48 batters now have 2500 hits with Jabir Abdul, Maksim Krutov, and Semyon Korneyev each making it in 2042. Abdul won his 10^th Silver Slugger in RF, becoming the 8^th at any position to win 10+. Krutov won his 9^th in LF while DHs Azamat Kurbanow and Konstantin Antonov won their 7^th Silver Slugger.

Marat Chichagov became the 65^th pitcher with 200 wins. He also crossed 3000 strikeouts along with Sergei Stpanov and Denis Kropotkin with 118 EPB aces having achieved the feat. LF Dmytro Korzh won his 8^th Gold Glove and 2B Ruslan Babayev got his 7^th.

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Hamburg was the top team in the European Baseball Federation’s Elite Tier early on with a 70-33 record at the all-star break. In the Northern Conference, Amsterdam (67-36) and Stockholm (65-38) were the only other teams really keeping pace with the Hammers. The Swordsmen had the strongest finish in the NC at 40-19, allowing them to pass both and take the top seed at 105-57. The Swedish capital was the East Division champ for the third time in their six-year playoff streak and won 100+ games in the fifth consecutive season. Both Amsterdam and Hamburg finished at 103-59.

Although it was the Anacondas’ fourth playoff trip in five years, this was their first time as West Division champ since the realignment. Their last division title of any kind was back in 2007 when each conference had four divisions. Hamburg earned its third straight playoff berth and 100+ win season, although they had to settle for a wild card. Stockholm had the NC’s best differential at +187. Amsterdam led the NC with 874 runs scored and the Hammers led all of EBF with 625 runs allowed. The Anacondas notably had 309 doubles as a team, the third-best single-season in EBF history.

There was a double-digit drop in wins to the remaining three wild card teams. Antwerp was the best of this group at 93-69, earning their seventh playoff berth in eight years. Behind them both at 91-71 was Frankfurt and Berlin. It was an impressive rebound for the Falcons, who were nearly relegated the prior season at 64-98. Frankfurt ended a nine-year playoff drought and the Barons snapped a seven-year skid.

The two-time defending European Champion Dublin was the first team out at 88-74 to end their three-peat dreams. This snapped a nine-year playoff streak and a seven-year run of 100+ win seasons in the Irish capital. Four teams finished at 86-76; Nantes, Brussels, Reykjavik, and Tallinn.

Suffering relegation at 59-103 was Manchester, while Paris narrowly escaped the West Division demotion at 61-101. The Crushers had made it back up from the European Second League in 2038 and had winning campaigns from 2039-41, but the wheels fell off in 2042. It will be Manchester’s third stint in E2L. In the East, Brno was the bottom at 62-100 while Oslo and Vienna both survived at 67-95. The Bandits had only made it back up to the Elite Tier in 2040 after spending four of five years in E2L from 2035-39.



Although Leipzig was middling at 79-83, their 1B Natan Lipinski won Northern Conference MVP with 42/52 first place votes. Amsterdam’s Branko Hrovat notably had nine first place votes and was the leader in hits (231) and RBI (150). This finally dethroned Stockholm’s Harvey Smith, who had won the honor six of the last seven years. Smith was still excellent and was fifth in the final voting.

The MVP winner Lipinski was in his tenth year with the Lumberjacks and helped them earn a promotion for 2038. The 31-year old German righty led in home runs (62), total bases (435), slugging (.735), OPS (1.140), wRC+ (193), and WAR (9.1). Nicknamed “Wolfman,” the 6’5’’ slugger added 208 hits, 112 runs, 123 RBI, and a .351 average. Lipinski has three years remaining under contract for Leipzig.

A competitive Pitcher of the Year race went to Reykjavik’s Arthur Christensen with 24 first place votes. Behind him were Stockholm’s Daniel Lundin (15), Antwerp’s Jens Rijkaard (8), and Copenhagen’s Yanis Boucher (4). Lundin notably was the strikeout leader (298) and was second in ERA (2.86). The winner Christensen earned the ERA title at 2.65 in his eighth season with the Raccoons. The 31-year old Danish righty had an 18-8 record, 241.1 innings, 204 Ks, 158 ERA+, 79 FIP-, and 27.3 WAR. In February, Christensen signed a five-year, $178,500,000 extension to remain in Iceland.



In the first round of the playoffs, Antwerp swept Frankfurt on 5-4 and 9-0 wins. Game one saw the Falcons tie it with a three-run top of the ninth, but the Airedales got a walkoff double in the bottom half. Berlin shocked 103-win Hamburg as they swept the Hammers on the road with 10-5 and 6-5 scores. The Barons had no luck against top seeded Stockholm, getting swept in round two by 7-2, 5-1, and 5-2 results. For the Swordsmen, this was their third Northern Conference Championship berth in five years.

Amsterdam clobbered Antwerp 13-1 in their series opener, but the Airedales countered with a 7-0 road win. The Anacondas held on 7-5 in game three, but Antwerp rallied in the ninth to snag game four by an 8-5 margin. In game five, Amsterdam prevailed 4-1 to earn their first Northern Conference Championship trip since 2020.

Despite both being historically competitive franchises, both finalists had lengthy pennant drought. Stockholm hadn’t won the pennant in 59 years back to 1982, having lost both recent trips. Amsterdam’s drought was 25 seasons back to 2016. In the regular season they had split their six regular season meetings. The Swordsmen opened with a 5-3 home win, but the Anacondas countered on a 5-0 shutout.



It was all Amsterdam once the series shifted to the Netherlands, winning 4-0, 5-2, and 5-4 to take the series in five games. In game five, the Anacondas climbed out of an early 4-2 hole, going ahead in the eighth. Amsterdam became ten-time Northern Conference kings (1951, 54, 83, 84, 86, 87, 88, 89, 2016, 42) while Stockholm still can’t get over the hump. MVP runner-up 3B Branko Hrovat was the series MVP going 8-19 with two homers and eight RBI.

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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.

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The 93^rd European Championship had two charter European Baseball Federation franchises in Amsterdam and Zagreb. The Gulls were making their fourth finals trip in 16 years, but had lost in 2027, 29, and 40. Zagreb’s two title wins were way back in 1960 and 1975. It was only the second trip of the 21^st Century for the Anacondas, who lost in 2016 to Zurich. Amsterdam had a dynasty in the 1980s with six appearances and titles in 1983, 84, and 89. They also won it all back in 1951 and 1954.

Amsterdam had home field and rallied with a four-run eighth inning in game one, taking their first lead at 6-5. Zagreb tied it in the top of the ninth on a solo homer, but Anacondas 1B Jorgen Frantsen smacked a two-out walkoff bomb for a 7-6 win. Game two had drama as well with a two-run eighth by Amsterdam tying the game at 4-4. In the tenth, Mihaly Geza’s RBI single pushed the Anacondas to a 5-4 win and 2-0 series lead.

Zagreb got on the board on their home diamond 8-2 in game three, but Amsterdam rolled 11-3 in game four. In game five, the Anacondas had a four-run top of the ninth to go up 6-3. The Gulls got two back in the bottom half, but grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the game and series. With the 6-5 win, Amsterdam clinched in Croatia in five games to end their 57-year title drought.



The Anacondas are six-time EBF champs, joining Dublin (9) and Rotterdam (8) as the only teams with 6+ rings. It was also the first title for the Netherlands since the Ravens’ 2025-27 three-peat. RF Mihaly Geza was series MVP going 9-21 with two homers and 10 RBI. The 35-year old Hungarian was a huge fan favorite as he had been with Amsterdam since 2031, helping them get promoted back to the Elite Tier in 2036.

Other notes: Both Zaragoza’s Frederico Gonzalez and Antwerp’s Bohuslav Vlasko had four-home run games in 2042. There have now been 32 such games in EBF history. Edinburgh’s Bertrand Heymans hit for the cycle for the third consecutive season. Stockholm’s Daniel Lundin had his second no-hitter on April 8; he previously did it in 2036. Zagreb’s Cristian Popescu set a bad playoff record with 17 walks on the mound.

Combined between his EBF and MLB runs, Gary Winfer reached 406 career triples; one of 13 in world history with 400+. He had 355 in EBF which ranks 11^th in the triple-friendly federation. Uwe Lichtenberg became only the 4^th in EBF to crack 2000 runs scored. He’s one of 52 in world history to cross the mark. EBF’s 600 home run club grew to 31 members with Matt Gomez and Bohuslav Vlasko joining. Gomez also was the 20^th to 3000 hits and Jacinto Calviollo was the 21^st.Gaspar Kirakosyan was the 67^th to 500 homers. Borys Blokhin was the 39^th to 1500 runs scored. 64 have 2500+ hits with Frederico Gonzalez, Adam Nebowski, Dag Gjosund, and Mieczyslaw Dabrowski each getting there in 2042.

Henri L’Ecuyer retired in the winter after 19 seasons with Rotterdam, finishing with 3561 hits, 1854 runs, 585 doubles, 355 triples, 340 homers, 1432 RBI, 1474 stolen bases, .936 OPS, 151 wRC+, and 127.5 WAR. He ranks 4^th in EBF and 68^th in world history for hits. L’Ecuyer also ranks 42^nd in world history for triples and 27^th in steals. He is 16^th in WAR among EBF position players.

Below is the promotion/relegation for 2042 in the European Baseball Federation pyramid.

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Bucaramanga was on their way to repeating as the Bolivar League’s top seed based on their 64-33 record at the all-star break. Only Valencia (61-37) really gave chase early in the season. The Battalion struggled to 32-33 after the break while the Velocity raced to 42-22, giving Valencia the #1 seed at 103-59. The Velocity notably ended on a seven-game winning streak, winning the Venezuela Division for the third time in their seven-year playoff streak.

The Battalion still repeated as Colombia-Ecuador Division champ at 96-66 for their third playoff berth in a row. Bucaramanga led Beisbol Sudamerica with 823 runs scored while Valencia had the BL’s best differential at +185. Arequipa was .500 at the break, but their 44-20 post-break roll pushed them to the top of the Peru-Bolivia Division at 93-69. The Arrows earned repeat division titles.

Several teams were just outside of their division title race, but right in the mix for the two wild cards. The three-time defending Bolivar League champ Ciudad Guayana had a lackluster second half and ended up 13 games back on Valencia in the division. The Giants did just enough to finish 90-72 for the first wild card, earning their sixth playoff trip in seven years.

Medellin made a remarkable comeback after a lousy 45-53 start to the season, going 45-20 after the break to pass several teams. The Mutiny was 9-1 in their final ten games to finish tied for the second wild card with Trujillo at 89-73. Just missing the cut was Barquisimeto (86-76), Cochabamba (85-77), Santa Cruz (84-78), Quito (84-78), and Maracay (83-79).



The Thoroughbreds allowed BSA’s fewest runs at 568, but scored the fewest in the Bolivar League at 599. In the one-game playoff, Medellin won 4-0 at Trujillo on a three-hit, 12 strikeout shutout by Tomas Serna. Although the Mutiny had rarely been terrible in recent memory, this ended a 13-year playoff drought. They were the only team in the 2042 BL playoff field that wasn’t also in the 2041 field. Guayaquil, a wild card last year, dropped to 79-83.



Ciudad Guayana DH Renato Barquero earned MVP honors for the second time in three years and had 39/42 first place votes. It is a remarkable renaissance for the 38-year old Colombian lefty, who was a regular all-star but not an MVP candidate in his first 13 seasons with Medellin. Barquero signed with the Giants in 2040 and won his third consecutive batting title, this time a career-best .382. He also led the league in runs (124), hits (237), RBI (145), and total bases (411). Barquero added 45 home runs, 1.077 OPS, 193 wRC+, and 9.1 WAR. He signed a two-year extension with Ciudad Guayana after the season worth a nice $69 million.

Maracay’s Rodrigo Castino repeated as Pitcher of the Year and won unanimously. The 27-year old Venezuelan righty led in ERA (1.66), strikeouts (308), WHIP (0.93), complete games (16), shutouts (6), FIP- (50), and WAR (93). Castino had a 17-8 record, 8 saves, 244 innings, and 251 ERA+. The 5’10’’, 175 pound Castino is a rare starter with a 10/10 grade for stuff with five great pitches, most famously his changeup.



Ciudad Guayana bested Medellin 10-4 and 8-3 in the first round. Although Valencia had won the Venezuela Division by 13 games, the Giants had won the season series 9-4. CG’s momentum continued with a sweep in the divisional series on 5-2, 9-4, and 6-5 wins. The clincher notably went ten innings with a walkoff RBI single. For the sixth time in seven years, Ciudad Guayana punched a ticket to the Bolivar League Championship Series.

Arequipa opened with a road upset 6-0 over Bucaramanga, although the Battalion countered 4-2. The Arrows earned a 12-4 home win in game three after an eight-run explosion in the eighth inning. Bucaramanga went up 6-0 in game four and held off the rally bid to win 6-5. In game five, Arequipa’s pitchers scattered nine hits in a 4-0 road shutout to secure the upset. This gave the Arrows their first BLCS trip since their lone Copa Sudamerica win in 2035.

In game one, Arequipa handed Ciudad Guayana its first playoff defeat 6-1, but the Giants answered 5-0 in game two. In Venezuela, CG snagged 9-6 and 6-4 home wins, but the Arrows stayed alive 5-2 in game five. Back in Peru, Arequipa took game six 8-4 to force game seven. Ciudad Guayana kept the dynasty alive though on a 6-3 road win in the finale.



With the four-peat, the Giants are nine-time Bolivar League champs (1984, 89, 92, 2017, 36, 39, 40, 41, 42). It is the fourth time in BL history that a team won four consecutive titles, although it hadn’t happened since Valencia’s five-peat in 1974-78. Caracas did it in 1959-62 and La Paz did five from 1942-46. LF Brian Romero won BLCS MVP going 11-28 with two homers, five RBI, and three runs. The five-time Silver Slugger winner also was BLCS MVP the prior year when they beat Bucaramanga.

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Last year, Fortaleza dominated the Southern Cone in the regular season at 117-45, but lost in the divisional round. The Foxes again rolled to the top seed in 2042 at 111-51 for a fifth straight North Division title. Fortaleza had Beisbol Sudamerica’s best post-break record at 47-19. They also had the best differential (+195) and a league-best 773 runs.

Belem was second in the North Division at 98-64, the first playoff trip for the 2029 expansion Blue Crabs. They notably had 127 team triples, the best in league history and second-most in BSA history. Belem was actually only 1.5 back on Fortaleza at the break but couldn’t match the second half pace. As seeding doesn’t give preference to division champs, the Blue Crabs finished tied for the #2 seed with Rio de Janeiro. However, the Redbirds had the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The defending Copa Sudamerica champ Rio was close to even with Curitiba and Montevideo for much of the year in the Southeast Division. The Redbirds had the top finish to get to 98-64 and allowed the league’s fewest runs at 575. Rio de Janeiro’s playoff streak grew to seven seasons. The Carnivores and Venom ended up tied for the second wild card at 92-70.



The tiebreaker game in Uruguay went ten innings with a 3-2 Curitiba win, getting a solo homer from Benni Alvares to lead off the inning. This was also Curitiba’s first-ever playoff berth, which leaves the Bolivar League’s Cochabamba and Maracay as the only teams from the 2029 expansion without a berth through 14 seasons.

Valparaiso and Santiago were near even at the break in the South Central Division and in the mix for the top seed. The Voodoo were a decent 34-29 after the break, but the Saints struggled to 27-37 and finished second at 86-76. Valparaiso at 94-68 won its sixth straight division crown. Asuncion, a wild card last year, fell to fourth at 79-83.



For the second time in three years, Fortaleza LF Mauricio Fernandez earned Southern Cone League MVP. He was one vote short of a unanimous win as he led in OBP (.417), slugging (.685), OPS (1.101), wRC+ (189), and WAR (9.4). The 28-year old Venezuelan lefty had 203 hits, 132 runs, 23 doubles, 51 home runs, 123 RBI, and .354 average. Fernandez is signed through 2048 with the Foxes.

Belem righty Wederson Hinojosa won Pitcher of the Year unanimously and had one MVP vote. In his ninth season, the 29-year old Paraguayan righty led in wins (21-6), strikeouts (37), FIP- (46), and WAR (11.0). Hinojosa had a 1.91 ERA, missing the ERA title by two points to Asuncion’s Homer Andrade. In 254.2 innings, Hinojosa had a 200 ERA+ and 0.85 WHIP. His WAR was only the 48^th season by a BSA pitcher at 11+ and he was only the fifth to do it in the 21^st Century.



Curitiba opened the first round with a 5-0 road upset of Valparaiso, but the Voodoo bounced back on 11-5 and 6-3 wins. In the Divisional Round, Fortaleza bested Valparaiso 10-5 in game one, but the Voodoo countered 6-4. Valparaiso then won 6-2 and 2-1, clinching the series on a walkoff sacrifice fly. For back-to-back years, the Foxes failed to advance despite the top seed. The Voodoo also secured a fifth straight trip to the Southern Cone Championship.

Belem won 5-2 in the road opener against Rio de Janeiro. The Redbirds took narrow 2-1 and 4-3 wins after that and clinched 9-2 in game four. Rio earned its fourth LCS trip in six years to set up a rematch with Valparaiso. The Redbirds won 4-3 last year and 4-1 in 2039 over the Voodoo. Valparaiso has fallen in three straight years, but won the 2038 crown over Fortaleza.

Game one was tied 1-1 after nine innings, then both scored once in the tenth. Two singles and an error allowed for a run in the 11^th for Valparaiso to take a 3-2 road win. The Voodoo got a 3-0 win in game two, then took the next two in Chile by 3-2 and 9-3 margins to dethrone the reigning Cup champ. It was the first sweep in the Southern Cone Championship since 2031. 1B Augusto Pereira was series MVP going 5-16 with two homers, four runs, and three RBI.

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The 112^th Copa Sudamerica was the fourth straight for Ciudad Guayana and their fifth in seven years. The Giants won in 2036, 39, and 40; but the three-peat was denied last year by Rio de Janeiro. This was Valparaiso’s second trip as they won in 2038 over Barranquilla. Home field alternates between leagues and Ciudad Guayana had it for 2042, opening with a 3-2 win.

Game two was tied entering the ninth inning. Giants leadoff man Fahad Mohammed was hit by a pitch and made it to third after a sac bunt and intentional walk. On a grounder to short, he beat the throw home to score for a 5-4 walkoff win. In game three, Ciudad Guayana scored four in the eighth to go ahead 6-4. Valparaiso tied it in the ninth but left two men on base. In the 13^th, CG’s Brito Valente hit a solo homer which proved decisive for a 7-6 road win.

Ciudad Guayana completed the sweep with a 4-2 victory in game four. There have only been two sweeps in the last 35 seasons, the other was the Giants 2036 title over Santiago. CF Fahad Mohammed was series MVP going 8-14 with two homers and three RBI. The 30-year old Emirati came to Venezuela in 2041 and had generally been viewed as a good defender with a subpar bat.



CG has six Cup wins (1984, 2017, 2036, 2039, 2040, 2042) and made history with this dynasty run. They joined 1959-62 Caracas as the only team in Beisbol Sudamerica history to win three cups in four years. The Giants are also the first to win four cups in a seven year span.

Other notes: In his final season, Ismael Pimentel became the 6^th BSA batter with 3500 career hits. His 3547 hits rank him 73^rd among all players in world history. Pimentel did set a dubious distinction with the world record for times caught stealing at 1247. He only successfully stole 813 bags. In an 18-year run, Pimentel had 1603 runs, 516 doubles, 302 triples, 434 homers, 1492 RBI, 1.001 OPS, 181 wRC+, and 90.9 WAR.

Simon Veronese became the 10^th member of the 700 home run club. Renato Barquero and Caio Mergulho grew the 600 club to 30 members. Those two and Erik Ortega made it 32 guys with 1500 runs scored. Veronese and Nicolas De Leon made for 49 sluggers with 1500 RBI. Mergulho was the 102^nd to 2500 hits.

Del Mata was the 58^th pitcher to 3500 strikeouts and Paco Duron was the 118^th to 3000 K. Paulo Fialho was the 76^th to 200 wins. SS Ace Benavidez won his 9^th consecutive Gold Glove. Belo Horizonte’s pitching staff recorded 15 saves all season, tying the Southern Cone League single-season low. Cao Ky Hong tossed no-hitters in consecutive seasons with different teams, doing it for Trujillo in 2042 and Manaus in 2041.

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Several teams were in the mix for the Japan League’s top seed throughout the season. At the all-star break, Yokohama (65-38), Fukuoka (65-39), Kyoto (65-40), and Nagoya (63-41) were the most successful. Sapporo inserted itself into the conversation with a blistering 45-13 post-break record, the best in East Asia Baseball. The four division champions ended up separated by only four wins. Each of those teams stayed in the fight except for the Nightowls, but they still did well enough to secure a wild card.

Yokohama ended up first at 104-58 atop the Capital Division, followed by Sapporo at 103-59 in the North, Kyoto at 101-61 in the Central, and Fukuoka at 100-62 in the West. The Yellow Jackets grew their playoff streak to six seasons, although they had been a wild card the last three seasons. The Swordfish earned a seventh consecutive division title and eighth playoff trip. The Kamikaze secured repeat berths and the Frogs were back after having a five-year playoff streak snapped in 2041.

Sapporo had the best run differential (+222) and most scored (736) in Japan. Yokohama had the fewest runs allowed in EAB at 478. The Yellow Jackets also allowed only 193 walks, the third-fewest in JL history. Their 1.18 BB/9 was second and 11.03 K/9 was third. Nagoya at 95-67 ended up the first wild card to end an 11-year playoff drought. For the #2 spot, Hamamatsu (93-69) edged out Saitama (92-70) and Utsunomiya (89-73).

This was the closest the Chickenhawks had come to missing the playoffs in their ten-year playoff streak. The Sting saw their five-year streak snapped, having won 100+ games in each of those efforts. The 2025 expansion Undertakers notably posted a franchise-best season. The reigning EAB champ Kitakyushu meanwhile missed the cut at 85-77. The Kodiaks went .500 to end the season which ruined their repeat hopes.



Hamamatsu 1B Mitsuru Ishida had an all-time season en route to his fourth Japan League MVP (2036, 37, 39, 42). He won unanimously and became EAB’s first-ever three-time Triple Crown winning hitter. Ishida led in runs (122), hits (226), doubles (39), home runs (60), RBI (136), total bases (455), triple slash (.374/.429/.752), OPS (1.181), wRC+ (235), and WAR (13.0). His homers, total bases, slugging, and WAR each set career bests.

Ishida’s WAR was the sixth-best for an EAB hitter while the OPS ranked 11^th, slugging 14^th, and total bases eighth. Through 11 seasons for the Chickenhawks, the 30-year old righty has 2027 hits, 1109 runs, 356 doubles, 424 homers, 1203 RBI, .345/.402/.638 slash, 1.040 OPS, 206 wRC+, and 95.4 WAR. Ishida also won his eighth Silver Slugger. The 6’8’’ superstar remains under contract through 2045 for Hamamatsu.

Kyoto’s Koichiro Takahashi won a competitive Pitcher of the Year battle with 21 first place votes and 222 points. Hamamatsu’s Atsuo Sugaya was a close second with 16 first place votes and 199 points, while Sapporo’s Tsunemori Tokuda also earned three first place nods. The runners-up tied for the ERA title at 1.84. Yokohama’s Yozo Harada was fourth place despite his 405 strikeouts, the seventh-most in an EAB single-season. His 2.41 ERA missed the top five though.

Takahashi was the wins leader with a 25-5 record. The 27-year old lefty had a 2.05 ERA, 254.2 innings, 344 Ks, 168 ERA+, 66 FIP-, and 7.7 WAR. Takahashi was in his sixth season with the Kamikaze. The stocky pitcher will be a free agent after the 2043 season if Kyoto doesn’t give him an extension.



Fukuoka had the one game bonus as a division champ and bested Fukuoka 2-1 and 8-4 in the first round. Kyoto had the same bonus, but they got swept by their divisional foe Hamamatsu 4-1, 6-1, and 5-2. Sapporo started the divisional round on a 5-2 win over the Chickenhawks. Hamamatsu countered 9-4 on the road, then the Swordfish earned their own 9-4 road win. The Chickenhawks took game four narrowly 4-3, forcing game five back in Sapporo.

A pitcher’s duel saw a lone Hamamatsu run in the second inning, but that lead held until the ninth. Three singles in the ninth allowed the Swordfish to tie the game and force extras. In the 11^th, the Chickenhawks scored four, punctuated by a three-run homer by pinch hitter Masafumi Yama****a. The 5-1 win gave Hamamatsu the upset, earning their second Japan League Championship Series trip in four years. It is the sixth of their ten-year playoff streak. It was the fourth year in a row for Sapporo that they won 100+ games but failed to make the JLCS.

Fukuoka scored three in the 12^th inning for a 4-1 road upset to open against Yokohama. The Yellow Jackets countered 4-1 in regulation, then the Frogs did the same in game three. Yokohama won game four on the road 6-4, then returned home to win the finale 5-0. Fumi Ozeki pitched a three-hit, three-strikeout shutout in the clincher. The Yellow Jackets secured their second JLCS trip in five years, although their pennant drought stretched back to their 2015-16 repeat.

A combined two-hitter pushed Hamamatsu to a 2-0 road win in the opener. Yokohama fended off comeback bids to claim the next two games 3-2 and 4-2. The Chickenhawks closed the home part of the series with 3-1 and 7-1 wins. Back on the road, Hamamatsu clinched in game six on a 5-2 result.



It was the fourth pennant for the Chickenhawks, although they had fallen short in the five years since their historic 2034-36 three-peat. Still, it was a remarkable feat for a franchise still only 18 years old. League MVP Mitsuru Ishida was JLCS MVP going 7-21 with three home runs, six RBI, and four runs. P Toshio Otsuka deserved a mention winning his two starts with a 0.63 ERA and 21 Ks in 14.1 innings.

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No team in East Asia Baseball was better at the all-star break than Busan at 69-36. They had some competition in a top-heavy Korea League with Changwon (65-39), Cheongju (63-42), Daegu (63-40), and Yongin (62-42) each giving chase. The Checkers ended up with the top post-break record at 42-15 and finished even for the top seed with the Blue Jays at 105-57. Busan won the head-to-head tiebreaker 4-2 thanks to a home sweep in March.

It was back-to-back #1 seeds for the Blue Jays, who won their third straight Southeast Division title. It was their fourth consecutive playoff trip and they’ve only missed twice since 2020. Cheongju had its first 100+ win season since joining in the 2030 expansion. The Checkers made it three straight playoff trips with their second-ever Southwest Division crown. Cheongju led EAB in differential (+222) and runs scored (833) while Busan allowed Korea’s fewest runs at 511. The Blue Jays pitching had 1634 strikeouts and a 10.07 K/9, both the second-best in KL history.

The next best two records both had to settle for wild cards at 96-66 with Jeju and Changwon. Ulsan and Daegu tied for third in the Southeast and were the first teams out at 92-70. The Islanders secured their first playoff berth since joining in the 2030 expansion. The Crabs ended a 13-year playoff drought. The Swallows saw the end of their seven-year playoff streak, although their run of winning seasons stretched back to 2030. Gwangju notably finished 88-74 to end their nine-year playoff streak. Despite that run, the Grays failed to win a single pennant.

Defending Korea League champ Yongin narrowly took the Central Division at 93-69, holding off 91-71 Bucheon. The Gold Sox earned a fifth straight division title. Seoul repeated as the North Division champ at 91-71 with only Goyang (84-78) providing much of a challenge. Daejeon lost 100+ games for the third year running to grow their EAB-record playoff drought to 54 seasons.



Yongin LF Won-Bin Lee took MVP honors unanimously. It was his second in three years for the Gold Sox and his third overall, having also won with Changwon in 2036. The 30-year old righty led in runs (120), average (.366), slugging (.690), OPS (1.121), wRC+ (214), and WAR (11.4). Lee added 207 hits, 24 doubles, 18 triples, 41 home runs, and 117 RBI. One year remains on his original four-year, $104,300,000 contract with Yongin.

Wan Ahn earned his second Pitcher of the Year for Changwon, having previously won back in 2036. He had 33/40 first place votes and led in WHIP (0.86), complete games (18), and shutouts (6). The 29-year old righty had a 16-8 record, 2.03 ERA, 248.1 innings, 327 Ks, 185 ERA+, 54 FIP-, and 8.2 WAR.

Ahn also pitched a no-hitter on August 2 facing Bucheon that would’ve been a perfect game if not for a lone error at shortstop. He also had a no-hitter back in 2036. Ahn declined his contract option after the season, making him a highly touted free agent. Also of note, Jeju’s Dae-Jong Kim won his third Reliever of the Year award in four years.



Seoul had the one-game bonus in the wild card round as a division champ, although they were five wins beneath Jeju. A pair of 5-4 wins pushed the Seahawks forward, the latter with a walkoff solo homer by Jong-Chun Shin. Yongin had the advantage on the other side against Changwon, although the Crabs took the opener 3-2 in 10 innings. The Gold Sox fought back with 6-5 and 4-3 wins, both walkoffs, keeping their repeat bid intact.

Top seed Cheongju topped Yongin 6-2 in the divisional round opener, but took a 11-7 home loss in game two. The Checkers rebounded for 3-2 and 8-3 road wins, earning their first-ever trip to the Korea League Championship Series. On the other side, top seed Busan was shocked as they were swept by Seoul on 5-0, 1-0, and 8-7 scores. The Blue Jays went ahead in the top of the ninth on two runs in game three, but the Seahawks walked it off in the bottom half via error.

For back-to-back years, Busan had the top seed but failed to advance. Seoul earned repeat KLCS trips as they hoped to end a title drought back to their 2004-06 three-peat. In game one, three ninth inning singles pushed Cheongju to a 3-2 walkoff win. The Seahawks countered 3-0, tying the series as it shifted to the capital.



The Checkers impressively rattled off 5-2, 4-3, and 6-4 road wins to take the series in five games and earn their first pennant. Both game four and game five had go-ahead runs for Cheongju in the ninth inning. They’re the first of the four Korea League expansion teams from 2030 to win the title. LF Su-Yeon Chang won series MVP going 9-16 with three RBI and three runs. He was a four-time Gold Glover in his sixth season and was not known for his bat generally, but Chang stepped up when it matters.

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The 122^nd East Asian Championship featured two expansion teams from the last 20 years. Hamamatsu was part of the Japan League’s 2025 newcomers, but they were already a familiar contender with their historic 2034-36 three-peat. That run included the record-breaking 126-36 squad from 2036, which won Baseball Grand Champion honors as arguably the best team ever. The Chickenhawks have continued their playoff streak since then, but fell short in the JLCS from 2037-41. Hamamatsu got through as a 93-69 wild card in 2042.

Cheongju meanwhile was one of the Korea League’s 2030 expansion teams and earned the #2 seed at 105-57. Home field alternates between leagues, this the 2042 final began in Japan. Hamamatsu opened with 5-1 and 6-0 home wins. The Checkers took the first contest in South Korea 6-2, but the Chickenhawks scored a 10-6 road win. Cheongju stayed alive with a 4-3 rally in game five with a two-run walkoff homer by Wook-Jin Joon.

Back in Japan, Cheongju rallied again with two runs in the eighth and one in the ninth, taking game six by a 5-4 margin. Game seven was a dramatic affair and marked the third time in the last eight years that the East Asia Baseball went the distance and needed 10 innings in the finale. Cheongju scored solo runs in the second and fourth innings. The lead held until Hamamatsu tied it in the eighth.

In the top of the tenth, the Checkers’ Ko Nakabayashi got a one-out double and was singled in by Seung-Min Pak. Then, Jin-Kyu Choi hit a two-run homer down the right field line for a 5-2 lead. The Chickenhawks leadoff man singled, but the next man grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. Hamamatsu got a two-out triple, but a flyout ended the game at 5-2. Cheongju became the 30^th of EAB’s 40 franchises, and the newest, to win it all.



Although defeated, Hamamatsu 1B Mitsuru Ishida earned finals MVP to cap off a record-breaking postseason. The four-time JL MVP went 11-27 with three homers and eight RBI in the series. Across 21 playoff games, Ishida had 30 hits, 17 runs, 7 doubles, 8 homers, 25 RBI, 1.186 OPS, 221 wRC+, and 1.8 WAR. He set playoff records for RBI and total bases (61). Ishida was also only the fourth player to get 30+ hits in an EAB postseason.

With Hamamatsu’s decade of success, Ishida has become EAB’s career leader for hits (153) and total bases (279). He’s also tied for the most runs at 78 and is one of nine with 100+ games played, despite being only 30. Ishida is also fourth in playoff homers (29) and third in RBI (81) with a career playoff 1.041 OPS, 202 wRC+, and 7.3 WAR. In a bad playoff record, his teammate Alhassan Kazeem struck out 36 times. Hamamatsu’s Roku Iwasaki also set a playoff record with 89 at-bats.

Other notes: Kimio Suzuki threw his second no-hitter on August 7 with Hamhung, having previously been perfect in 2036 for Yokohama. The 3000 hit club grew to 30 members with Kyuichi Nakahama and Dendi Hidayat joining. The 600 homer club now has 44 members with Seung-Heon Ryou and Su-Yeon Han crossing the line. Shihei Okabe was the 92^nd to 500 homers.

Making world history in his EAB debut was 42-year old Gabonese closer Guillaume Mbimbiangoye. He was West African Baseball’s career saves leader and also had a four-year Arab League run. In his EAB debut for Utsunomiya, Mbimbiangoye had 44 saves, 1.11 ERA, and 3.4 WAR over 89.1 innings. For his combined pro career, Mbimbiangoye is now at 557 saves; the 5^th in world history above 550+. He’ll be a free agent in the winter, but could catch the world record 579 saves by Beisbol Sudamerica’s Jonathan Iglesias. Mbimbiangoye is also now one of four with 1200+ career games pitched.

2042 was the final year for three-time Pitcher of the Year Oniji Yamamoto, who retired with a 268-119 record, 2.58 ERA, 3637 innings, 4310 strikeouts, and 121.5 WAR. He ranks 7^th in pitching WAR and 17^th in strikeouts on the EAB leaderboard.