A fictional league in a fictional country

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• Minor leagues results :

I will not detail the minor leagues as much as I did for the LBL.

l-league (AAA) :

The Briggs Bucaneers beat the Androids for the second year in a row. They now have 4 titles, as much as the Woodies and the Thunders, which is the most titles a team has got.

r-league (AA) :

The Galia Suns defeated the Challengers for a rematch of the 1974 Onion Series. This time however, the Suns has been victorious, winning their 5th title.

• International Championship Series:

The Green District Expendables takes part in the International Champion Series against the MLB winner : the St Louis Cardinals who have won their first title.


Last time the Expendables was confronting a MLB franchise, 4-0 against the Detroit Tigers in 1969. But this year, they are the ones that swept their opponent, bringing home their first International trophy.

• HoF Induction :

This year, only one man has been inducted to the Hall of Fame.


Jesus Chavez, who has mostly played for the Lingalie North Black & Yellow franchise. As a starting pitcher, he has a life-time ERA of 3.30. He has won the LBL Golden Ball (Pitcher of the Year award) in the inaugural season of the league (1960) and placed 2nd in 1961 and 1965. He has also won three LBS titles, from 1966 to 1968.

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Before the recap of the next season, I'd like to clarify the name of the awards used in my fictional league. Indeed, I have renamed all the award :

- MVP Award : Golden Glove
- Cy Young Award : Golden Ball
- Rookie of the Year : Silver Glove
- Reliever of the Year : Silver Ball
- Gold Glove Awards : Sapphire Awards
- Silver Slugger Awards : Ruby Awards

1978 Season :

• Pre-season story :

The league has announced that it will be expanded in 4 years (1982), 6 years after the last expansion. Two teams will be joining, for a total of 12 teams. The future franchises will most likely be announced before next season, as well as the exact structure of the league.
Rumours predict Lingalia, Wayt City or Wayt Tides, Huangjia, Lutia or Narballo to be host cities. (What is your guess ?)

The reigning champions will look out to keep their title. However, to see the Expendables succeeding again should be a surprise according to many specialists. Quintin Treveylan, the Australian 2B, will look forward to repeat his numbers from last season. .304/.437/.412. His eye had let him achieve the highest number of BB in the league with 92.

Despite losing twice in a row the LBS, the Black&Yellow is still the most regular franchise, and they showed no signs of slowing down this season again. Their ace, Alex Hernandez, twice winner of the Golden Ball, will surely be one of the key player of this season.

While never going into postseason before, the Sea Stars will surely benefit from their AAA team, the Briggs Bucaneers, success in the prior years. Veteran pitcher Marcos Amaya will surely be again at the front of the SST rotation. He finished last year with 250 K, an ERA of 3.14 and a pitcher WAR of 5.9. His fielding is also top notch as he has won 6 Sapphire Awards in a row, while he was playing for the Diamonds.

Getting to the playoffs for the first time last season,the Silver Eagles are rewarded for the good work they have provided in the prior years. Their roster is composed of rather young players. Catcher Vassily Ryazanov is one the oldest regular player, being 28.
He was one of the leaders of the SEAG last season, earning a Ruby Award with .291/.373/.430 and a 5.0 WAR.

The wealthiest franchise, the Nang Nius, will again be a serious contender. They seek to end their drought of 12 years (2nd most longest after the Freros) without a LBL title.
CF Eric Meyer should play a key role this season. He finished last year with .290/.380/.521, 26 HR and 6.5 WAR

• Regular season :

Moon Division

The LNN easily dominated the division, with the best record in the league. The Expendables played for .500, which was enough to grant them an access to the play-offs. The Freros, 7 games behind the GRE, has improved from last year, and they may soon stand catch up. The MAP has also improved their record this season, it is still the worst one in the league though.

Sun Division

The race to the division title was much more tighter in the Sun Division. Only game separated the B&Y from the SEAG. Again, this division was more competitive as the worst team in this Division, the Diamonds, would have been 3rd in the other division with a .483 record. The Jade Tigers missed the playoffs for the 2nd time in a row.

• Draft :

As the worst team last year, the Orange Maple Leaves pick first in this year Draft. Their choice fell upon Willie Vargas, a 22 year old closer from Dominican Republic.

• Playoffs :

The four teams qualified are the same as last year.
In the first semi-final Series, the B&Y faces the GRE for a rematch of last-year LBS. The franchise from Lingalie North succesfully take revenge over the Expendables 4-2. The other series bring together the SEAG and the LNN. The Silver Eagles win the series 4 to 1 and will participate in their first LBS ever.

The B&Y finally get their hands on their 10th title ! It is the first franchise to do so.

Here is a look to the players that were part of the B&Y 10th title :

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• Awards :

The list of all the players rewarded this season. I decide to show you the winner of the Sapphire and Ruby awards from last year as well, as I havent post them yet. (As a reminder Sapphire Award = Gold Glove / Ruby Award = Silver Slugger). Eric Duke (B&Y) win for the third time in a row the Manager of the Year award, after he lead his time to the ultimate title.

Sorry to not detail about all the winner, that will be too time-consuming. But you can spot some players I already spoke about before.

• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

The Phoenix and the Androids won the two divisions. The Phoenix won their first title, while the Androids already won their division last year. The LFS is a rematch from 1975, as the Androids faced the Iron Wolves. Losers in 1975, the Iron Wolves beat this time their rival to win their first title !

r-league (AA) :

Iconic team of the league, the Turtles win the Square Divison, while the Mammoths won their 3rd division title. In the Onion Series, the Mammoths lost 1-4 to the Gators. It is the 2nd title for the Narballo-based team in only 3 play-offs participations. The Mammoths still has 0 OS.

• International Championship Series:

10 years ago, the Black & Yellows defeated the Atlanta Braves in the 2nd edition of the ICS. This season, the same teams are involved in the Champion Series, and the outcome is the same : the B&Y won their 8th ICS in 9 participations.

• HoF Induction :

This year, the closer "Sir Anthony" Dominguez entered the HoF. He won 2 Silver Ball in 1962 and 1963 in the LBL for the LNN. He has also played for the B&Y, winning in total 5 LBL (62-64 with the LNN, 68 and 70 with the B&Y)

He is also known to have played in the MLB (part season in 1964, 1965-1967, and 1971-1976), where he won the Cy Young award in 1966 and 2 MBL titles (1964 and 1967) with the SF Giants (Yes he won two major titles the same year !) He has an all-time ERA of 2.29, 1690 K, 49.2 WAR and 261 SV.

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1979 Pre-season : about the next expansion:

On this lovely day of March 1979; Jean Nooked, the commissioner of the LBL has disclose some details on the 1982 expansion.

"As stated before, only two organizations will join the league. The structure will not be altered, one new franchise for each of the two division, and 4 teams in playoffs. Now, you may wonder what these franchise will look like, and where they will be located.

The first team will be located in the city of Lingalia. The consortium that led the foundation of this franchise has been utterly convinced by the market potential in Lingalia, after the Mammoth success. A city of Lingalia's stature could not stayed with only an AA team, that's why it will host a new franchise starting from 1982. The second franchise in the LBL to join will be based on Narballo. As well as for Lingalia, the popularity of the Narballo Gators was a major factor in establishing here one of the new franchise.

As the minor leagues teams, we would like to expand the access of a baseball team to new cities. Therefore, Lutia, Unkünft, Hessia and Chefecia will all welcome a new team. Further information on the identities of the team will be communicated."

Name and logo of the the future teams :

• LBL :

Lingalia Green Goblins (LGG)

Smaller logo :



Narballo Tattoed Sharks (TSH)

• l-league:

Lutia Vikings (VIK)
Affiliated to the LGG


Chefecia Purple Bats (PBA)
Affiliated to the TSH

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• r-league :

Unkünft Kernels (KER)
Affiliated to the LGG




Hessia Adler (ADL)
Affiliated to the TSH

Smaller logo :

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1979 season :

• Pre-season story :

As always, the B&Y will aim for the title this season. They have literally an armada of star players, in which Wander Samuel Franco shined last year. At 35, he won his second Golden Glove playing mostly as a DH. His batting line was .320/.432/.549 and a WAR of 5.7.

As their young player keep getting better, the Silver Eagles would most likely find a seat into postseason for the third time in a row. The youngest player of the team last season, Francisco Sauceda will turn 23 this year. As a 2nd pick of the 1974 draft, he has already made his name in the league. He was indeed named MVP of the Linga Semi-Final Series and Linga Baseball Series last year despite his team defeat, as well as a Ruby Award at 2B. He also had a hitting streak of 30 games and managed to produce the highest average (.353), number of hits (185), runs (104) and stolen bases (35).

The Freros last participation in the playoffs dated from 1973. At the time they had surely the best team in their history. Now, all the key players have parted way from the team and a rebuilding has been initiated. Young CF Jaska Rita will surely be a player to watch this season. He was named prospect #11 in the league last season and has showed strong potentials with the Bobcats in the l-league. He will most likely get to play in the big league this season.

Despite finishing fourth last year, the Sea Stars could be the surprise of the 1979 season. Their team is also fairly young, and promising player such as Cesar Gomez will surely improve. The 24 year old pitcher has everything to be the next ace of the franchise. He finished last year with an ERA of 3.32, a WAR of 5.3 and 188 K.

The Maple Leaves have again finished last in 1978. It will be the 5th time in a row that they will pick first in the Draft. The #1 pick in 1976, RF River Ford is the most promising prospect of the MAP. He already played 2 seasons and keeps getting better. Will he be the key to deliver the Maple Leaves ?

• Regular season :

Moon Division

The best record this season is achieved by the GRE, with a .633 AVG and a 13 games lead on their runner-ups, the Freros. With only one more win than the Nang Nius, the Freros return to the play-offs. They end an incredible streak of 18 years of the Nang Nius presence in the play-offs. Behind, the Maple Leaves finally don't finish last, as they do better than Lingalie City.

Sun Division

The Sea Stars surprinsingly took command of the division and won their first division title with only 3 more wins than the eternal B&Y. Thus, the Silver Eagles are out of the playoffs while the Diamonds and the Jade Tigers finish respectively 4th and 5th.

• Draft :

Manny Rosa, a pitcher originally from Cuba was picked first by the Maples Leaves.

• Playoffs:

The newcomers Sea Stars face the Freros in the first semi-final Series. In the other Series, it is a classic matchup between GRE and B&Y.
The Seas Stars won 4-1 while the showdown is more indecise. In the end, the B&Y manage to get their ticket to the LBS 4-3.
In the 1979 LBS, the Sea Stars surprisingly dominated the Black & Yellow 4-2 to be crowned LBL champion for the 1st time !

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Awards :

Who were the best player this year ? (I just discovered this pannel in the league history, it is better than the other one imo, i don't know while some players don' have stats though)

Skipper Carlos Ramos of the Sea Stars successfully managed to lead his team to win their division and the LBS. He was named manager of the 1979 season.

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• Minor leagues result :

l-league (AAA) :

The Androids won again their division. The Thunders won the other one, their first since 1967. The LFS reunited the Bullets and the Androids. The Bullets won their 4th title of the league ! It is the 5th appearances of the Androids in a row in the LFS for only one victory.

r-league (AA) :

The reigning champions, the Gators won their first division title, while the Lumberjacks took the other division. The same Lumberjacks won their 2nd title in 8 participations in the OS against the Wizards. It was the WIZ first appearance at this stage.

• International Championship Series:

In the ICS, the Sea Stars faced MLB champion the New York Yankees for their first time here. They defeat them 4-3.

• HoF Induction :

Another inductee, another pitcher. Former closer Alejandro Zamora joins the Hall of Fame. He mostly played for the B&Y before playing 8 years with the Boston Red Sox. He won 4 Silver Ball (1960-61 and 64-65) and possess a lifetime ERA of 2.15, 48 SV and 295K. In 1974, he started a coaching career. He was notably a bench coach for the Sea Stars before becoming the manager of the Diamonds this year.

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1980 Season :

• Pre-season story:

Announcement about the future expansion :

- The Lingalia Green Goblins will join the Moon Division while the Narballo Tatooed Sharks will join the Sun Division.
- The schedule will be rearranged but all the teams will still play 120 games.
- An expansion Draft will be carried at the beginning of the pre-season 1982. All teams will be able to protect 18 players.

The surprising champion of last year, the Sea Stars, will come back again with more experience. They have plenty of promising young players. 1B Antonio Avila, the MVP of last year LBS, is an incredible contact hitter, finishing four seasons with an average above .300. His last season OBP was .383, the highest in his LBL career started in 1973.

Defeated for the third time in the four past seasons, the B&Ywill try to participate again in the LBS. They will rely on a experienced roster, the core of the players are indeed composed of players that have been around since the first title of the franchise back in 1966. SS Robert Puason is one of them, winning also 6 Ruby Awards. His three last seasons are the best he has produced and it seems that his age will not stop him any time soon.

The Freros were finally back in the playoffs last season. They were quite underdogs as no big players were part of the teams and quite a lot of the roster are still young. One of their top prospect is CL Alfredo Sifuentes who were drafted in 3rd position in 1978. He did perform so well in the AA league (13G, 20.1IP, ERA of 0.00) last season that he was quickly called up to the Freros' bullpen. Unfortunately, he was not able to reproduce these numbers but he still have plenty of time to develop himself.

Since their last participation in the playoffs in 1975, the Diamonds had tried to reinforce its strenght with new players. They could be one of the underdogs of this season. They will most likely rely on Chien-Shih Au, the starting CF since 1970. He had a rebound last season (.257/.349/.449) after a disappointing 1978 season.

Finishing last of their division after some promising debuts, the Lingalie City Baseball franchise will most likely take the rebuilding route from now. Their most known player, Jo Adell has not really performed as he was expected to, when he was acquired in 1977. The 39 year old CF is on decline and chances are that he will soon retires.

• Regular season :

Moon Division

Great battle between three teams in the Moon Division. But in the end, only the Freros and the Nang Nius clinched a playoffs berth with only one more win than the Expendables. The two other teams, City and the Maples Leaves, have noticeably played better this season, the gap between them and the other historical franchise may soon disappear.

Sun Division

The teams in the Sun Division were much more performant this year, as 4 of the five teams would have ended first of the other Division. Surprisingly, the Black & Yellow finished last of the division, missing the postseason for the first time since 1961. The Silver Eagles topped the division for the first time with the best record this year (.633), while the Sea Stars got ahead of the Diamonds for one win.

• Draft

The first pick of this year is RF Daniel Leanos for CITY. He has previously been drafted in 1977 by the Freros but they failed to reach an agreement and he went to college instead.

• Playoffs:

In the first round of the playoffs, the Sea Stars defeated the Nang Nius 4-1, while the Silver Eagles had more struggle with the Freros. This resulted in a previously unseen final between the Silver Eagles and the reigning champion, the Sea Stars. In the end, the Silver Eagles won the LBS 4-2 and their first league title !

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Awards :

Who were the best player this year ?

The manager of the Silver Eagles, Edgar Lemus has been named the manager of the year. He has been working in the league since 1969, and he has turned the Silver Eagles into a serious contender in the recent years and won his first title as coach this year.

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• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

The division winners are the same as last year. The Androids stretched their streak of appearances in the LFS with their 6th attempt. However, they had lost again, this time against the Bullets. The team from La Croisée won their 4th title.

r-league (AA) :

In the rookie league, the division winners also kept their title. The Lumberjacks won their second title in a row, defeating the Mammoths. The franchise from Lingalia has yet to win a title, they have 3 appearances at the OS.

• International Championship Series:

The ICS brought together two teams that have never participated in the Series before, the Silver Eagles and the San Francisco Giants. The SEAG swept the Giants to win the title !

• HoF Induction :

Two players are inducted this season :

- the RF Andy Salgado who was inducted as a player of the Freros. Despite never winning the league, Salgado was one of the star of the league during his time. He managed to grab 2 Golden Glove (1962 and 1966), the first one captured in his rookie season ! He also got 3 Ruby Awards and 5 Sapphire Awards. He has reached 500 RBI, and has a lifetime line of .295/.363/.414. He is the first position player to be introduced in the HoF the regular way.

- the SP Jesus Serrano, a notable player from the B&Y. He was part of the successful team, as he has won 5 leagues. His lifetime ERA is 3.26, with 768 K, and 18.3 WAR.

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1981 Season :

• Pre-season story:

The Silver Eagles have all the assets to keep their title. They could count on their offence as well as their rotation. Their ace last season, Miguel Carbajal won the Golden Ball with 2.33 ERA in 224.1 IP, the most by any pitcher across the league.

Good things always come in three ? Two postseason and two participation in the LBS in two years for the Sea Stars. Back-to-back Silver Ball winner Roberto Irias will try to capture his third award.

The Diamonds is based in the smallest city of all cities that have a franchise. Despite this, the team currently possess some real talent. Like Carlos Bermudez, who won the Golden Glove last season. The Star 1B had a breakout season at 26 and he will try to repeat his performance.

The Expendables missed the playoffs last season by only a game. They have the potential to contend for the division, as their young players are starting to affirm themselves. The best of them is undoubtly Guan-Pei Chio, the LF that already won 5 Sapphire Awards and 2 Ruby Awards, including the ones from last season. He is only 26 and has already achieved 29,0 WAR as well as 146 HR.

The Nang Nius will compete against the Expendables by mixing promising players with more experienced players such as Lau-po Thien, Eric Meyer and Luis Reyes. The young 1B Fernando Mendoza achieved a great season in 1980 at only 23. As a contact hitter, his slash line was .310/.373/.450 with 161 H and 3.8 WAR.

• Regular season :

Moon Division

The Nang Nius won the Moon Division. They delivered an awesome race with their rivals the Freros. The Maple Leaves finished 3rd for the first time in their history and they were only 5 games behind a first appearance in postseason. City finished with the worst record in the league for the third time in a row.

Sun Division

Unfortunately for the Silver Eagles, their ace Carbajal was injured at the beginning of the season, missing in total 8 weeks. As a result he could not deliver the same performances as last season and his team finished 3rd, just a game-shy from the Sea Stars. The Diamonds achieved the best season of their history, returning to the playoffs after 5 years.

• Draft

This draft, City has picked the right-fielder Habimana Tmume as first choice. Coming from Huangjia, he will try to succeed in his own country major league.

• Playoffs:

In the first round of the playoffs, the Freros and the Sea Stars swept their opponent and access to the LBS. It is the third time in a row for the Sea Stars, which definitely the best team of the beginning 80's. The Freros last LBS appearance was in 1969.
The series is tight, but the Freros win their second title 4-3, 21 years after the first one (which was the initial title) !

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Awards :

Who were the best player this year ?

Alejandro Zamora, the Hall of Famer and now manager of the Dawala Diamonds was named manager of the year. Since his debuts as Diamonds manager in 1979, the team had improved every year to achieve the best record this season.

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• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

The Bullets and the Bobcats won the divisions and meet each other in the LFS. The Bullets conquered their second title in a row. They now have 5 titles, the highest number of titles, with the Bucaneers, in the league.

r-league (AA) :

The Lumberjacks won their third division in a row, while the Mammoths capture the other division title. We assisted to the same OS as last year, but a different winner. Indeed, the Mammoths won their first title after 3 unsucessful attempts.

• International Championship Series:

The Freros will make their debut in the ICS against the LA Dodgers, winner of the 1981 WS. Once again, the Freros won the series in the decisive game seven to lift their first international trophy ! The Series was held in Boubi Town this year.

• HoF Induction :

Unfortunately, no one was inducted in the HoF this season.

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1982 Season :

• Pre-season story:

Expansion draft and new franchises:

Let begin this season recap with the expansion draft that took place the 7th of January before the Spring Training. Every old team could protect 18 players. I don't remember how many rounds I have set :confused.
I think it was between 20 and 25.

I have listed the top five picks of both new franchises, and I will mention the last team of the drafted players, with some stats from the 1981 season. Moreover, I will add a small recap of the new franchise.

AAA team : Lutia Vikings / AA team : Unkünft Kernels

The Green Goblins biggest star signed is clearly Wander Samuel Franco, a player that have participated in every title of the Black & Yellows franchise. But since the last two seasons, his performance on the pitch has declined due to his age. His aura will surely benefit to the team though. Their number 1 pick was Michael Williams, a starting pitcher from the Expendables. After missing the 1980 season due to injury, Williams had achieved a good season last year. He will try to perform as well as in 1977, his best season where he won the LBL title with his team.
The franchise had also drafted young promising talent such as Haleem Ruhiu who were excellent with the Gators last year of Jose Sanchez who showed potential with the Lumberjacks

Their stadium is the BDX Stadium ~30k seats. Vladimir Abramov owns the franchise. His primarly goal is to win the title and he is willing to invest a lot to achieve this. But he may want to control his franchise by being involved a lot in the team.

Rd 1 - Pick 1 SP Michael Williams (GRE) - 31 years old 9-7, 3.37 ERA, 166K, 3.2 WAR in 200.1 IP (1 LBL title)
Rd 2 - Pick 2 LF Kanakanui Ganan (FRE) - 28 years old .247/.323/.386 2.4 WAR in 95 G + champion with the FRE
Rd 3 - Pick 1 3B Scott Fullington (SEAG) - 31 years old .251/.321/.332 2.2 WAR in 120 G + Sapphire award.
Rd 4 - Pick 2 SS Wander Samuel Franco (B&Y) - 39 years old .213/.279/.294 -1.4 WAR in 103 G (2 Golden Gloves, 1 Silver Glove, 4 Sapphire, 9 Ruby, 10 LBL titles)
Rd 5 - Pick 1 SP Haleem Ruhiu (JDT) - 25 years old (r-league season)9-5, 2.42 ERA, 144K, 3.1 WAR in 133.2 IP

AAA team : Chefecia Purple Bats / AA team : Hessia Adler

Surprisingly, the first three picks of the Tattoed Shark were shortstops. Like the Green Goblins, they also chose a legend shortstop from the Black & Yellows, Robert Puason. While having less awards than Franco, Puason is younger and was still delivering great performances last season. The Tattoed Sharks seems to have prioritized players with some major league experience instead of prospects. They also relied on FA signing, making two significant signing with CF Chien Shih Au from the Diamonds and SS Ramon Bonilla from the Freros. Both signed a minor league contract, but it will not be surprising if they were to appears in the LBL again.

The Tattoed Sharks will play in the Nomatica Arena ~ 22k seats and are owned by Admassu McCourt, who mainly want to make profit with this small-market team. He is willing to spend some money though and does not interfere much with the team decisions.

Rd 1 - Pick 2 SS Robert Puason (B&Y) - 37 years old .244/.311/.382, 2.1 WAR in 120 G (6 Ruby, 10 LBL titles, 1 PO MVP)
Rd 2 - Pick 1 SS Masao Takahashi (JDT) - 26 years old .217/.278/.298, 0.5 WAR in 116 G
Rd 3 - Pick 2 SS Jonathan Rowe (SEAG) - 29 years old .273/.353/.373, 2.2 WAR in 99 G (1 LBL title)
Rd 4 - Pick 1 SP Mario Prado (LNN) - 29 years old 8-10, 4.57 ERA, 138 K, 0.4 WAR in 222.1 IP (1 LBL title)
Rd 5 - Pick 2 C Jesse Putney (GRE) - 30 years old (l-league season) .279/.357/.407 in 89 G

Transfert/ FA :

From this season, I will start to list some notable player movement that happened before the season. For players that signed as FA, I will also put their last season franchise into brackets as well as their new team.

- Myung-gu Kim, 25 yo SP, signed as a FA (DIA --> LNN) a contract of 5 460 000 € in 6y.
- Amsalu Leake, 33 yo CL, signed as a FA (DIA --> JDT) a contract of 610 000€ in 1 y.
- Jasson Dominguez, 37 yo CF, signed as a FA (SST --> CITY) a contract of 1 350 000 € in 3y.
- Chien-shih Au, 35 yo CF, signed as a FA (DIA --> TSH) a minor league contract.
- Osmo Karppinen, 26 yo, 1B, signed as a FA (DIA --> B&Y) a contract of 10 880 000 € in 8y.
- Tomokazu Yoshikawa, 34 yo, CL, signed as a FA (SEAG --> CITY) a contract of 366 000€ in 1y.
- Dave Jackman, 26 yo, SP, signed as a FA (JDT --> CITY) a contract of 5 600 000€ in 6y.
- Soo-Yeon Kim , 26 yo, C, signed as a FA (B&Y --> CITY) a contract of 2 820 000€ in 5y.
- Sef Mukiri, 31 yo, 3B, signed as a FA (LNN --> B&Y) a contract of 5 600 000 in 7y.

Managerial changes :

LNN - Paul McCarthy was promoted from Bench coach to Manager of the team. He has been a BC for 21 years and this will be his first experience as Manager. He replaced David Quinowski.

CITY - Chris Seddon was fired. He was replaced in the end of last season by Boutros Nyachae.

JDT - Suggut Tse was named manager to replace Buddy Carlyle. He worked as bench coach for the Jade Tigers since 1980.

Recap managers :

MAP C.J Helman (1977-)
FRE Tommy Kasper (1981-)
GRE Charlie Mills (1981-)
CITY Boutros Nyachae (1981-)
LGG Roberto Schmidt (1982-)
LNN Paul McCarthy (1982-)

SEAG Edgar Lemus (1974-)
SST Carlos Ramos (1975-)
DIA Alejandro Zamora (1979-)
B&Y Andrew Lefave (1981-)
TSH Yellel Cooper (1982-)
JDT Suggut Tse (1982-)

So whose new franchise will do better in your opinion ?

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Let's go on with the pre-season story :


Something I forgot to mention, is that with the expansion, the number of games will now be of 140 instead of 120. I wanted to say it in a prior pre-season story as an announcement from the commissioner but I totally forgot lol.

Since two teams have been added, I will now focus on one more team each team every pre-season, so that I cover half of the team every season ! To be more precise, I will always include the two teams that participated in last season Linga Baseball Series. And for each franchise, at least one key player (or a promising prospect) will also be highlighted. I will try to not mention the same players every season to have a broader grasp of the league. Even though some players could deserved to be mentioned every preseason.

The Freros won last season as a surprise contender. Now, the other franchise will know who they will be facing. 1981 best reliever David Pace had his best season with a 1.31 ERA, 30 SV and 2.7 WAR in 75.2 IP.

After three back-to-back-to-back LBS appearances, the Sea Stars had affirm themselves as THE team of the early 80's. Their roster is full of already confirmed superstars but the next one might be Carlos Garica. The left fielder played his second season last year at 22 and achieved a line of .261/.321/.394 with 1.5 WAR.

The Nang Nius are now the team with the longest drought in the league. Their last title dated from 1965. Worse, the reason of this is that their neighbors and biggest rivals, the Freros ended their drought last season. Last year, we assisted to the revival of Yoshio Kubota. The japanese pitcher had a dream rookie season in 1977 as he was awarded the Silver Glover before missing most of 1978 & 1979 and the entire 1980 seasons on multiple injuries. But in 1981, he managed to do even better than 1977. He had an ERA of 2.68, 326 K (league high), 0.86 WHIP (also league high) and 4.9 WAR. Let's hope his body problems are past him now.

Surely the Diamonds had more suffer from free agency this year than any other team, it is unknown what their front office want to do in the next seasons. They lost not less than 4 important players : Kim, Karppinen, Leake and Au. The young starter Everton Smith, 21, will try to assume his new status of leader, after an impressive campaign in 1981. An ERA of 2.99, 135 K, 4.8 WAR and a 12-8 record.

The Lingalie City Baseball franchise seem to enter the second phase of their rebuilding plan, as they acquired Yoshikawa but also Jackman and Soo-Yeon Kim. Kim has won both Sapphire and Ruby awards in the last three seasons. Former 2nd pick of the 1979 Draft, LF Marty Delgado was one of the few tiny satisfaction of the team horrible season. His batting line was .246/.326/.392 and 2.2 WAR.

The fallen greatest team, the Black & Yellows simply don't want spend too much time rebuilding. That is the reason why they acquired Osmo Karppinen, the Finnish 1B superstar. With the Diamonds last year, he achieved a stellar line of .335/.397/.508, 6.2 WAR.

• Regular season :

Moon Division

Fiercly disputed this season, the Expendables won the division 3 years after their last division title. The second team to access the play-offs is the Nang Nius. At 3rd with only 6 games behing the Nang Nius, Lingalie City Baseball made a surprising season. For their first season ever, the Lingalia Green Goblins managed to finish 4th, ahead of the deceiving Freros and Maple Leaves.

Sun Division

The best record of the 1982 season were holded by the Sea Stars with only 6 wins away from having won 100 games. Behind, the Silver Eagles made their return in postseason after only 1 year. The Diamonds were behind. The new franchise Tattoed Sharks tied with the Black&Yellows for the 4th place. The Jade Tigers finished with the worst record in the league and will pick first in next season draft.

• Playoffs:

For the third time in a row, the Sea Stars faced the Nang Nius in the first semi-final Series for two victories. But this season, the outcome was different, as the Nang Nius accessed the LBS for the 12th time, 7 years after the last one. They faced the Expendables, which was able to dispose of the Silver Eagles for their first opposition in playoffs. Theses two franchise had never played each other in the LBS. As in regular season, the Expendables dominated the Nang Nius and won their third title !

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Draft

Carl Leeson was picked first this year. He is a pitcher and will join the Tattoed Sharks organization. They chose first because of their status of new franchise (the Green Goblins were the second to choose due to a random selection).

• Awards :

Who were the best player this year ?

Carlos Ramos, the manager of the Sea Stars was named manager of the year for the second time, after he led his team to be the best team in regular season.

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• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

The regular season was quite surprising, as both new teams, the Lutia Vikings and the Chefecia Purple Bats were able to win their division. However, it is the Specials, AAA-team of City that had won the LFS against the Vikings for the first time in their history.

r-league (AA) :

Again, the Lumberjacks won their division, while the Challengers captured their 3th division title. The OS was a remake of the 1974 and the 1977 OS with the Suns and the Challengers. Like in 1977, the Suns won the Series to have now 6 r-l titles.

• International Championship Series:

The ICS were played in Philadelphie this year, with the Green District Expendables and the St Louis Cardinals, a remake of 1977 ICS (btw quite a coincidence to have them won again the same year) with the same outcome, as the Expendables captured their 2nd title.

• HoF Induction :

About the HoF, I think I have not mentionned it before, but only 50% of the ballots and 5 years of experience are required to be eligible or enter the Hof now, as I wanted to counter the early seasons with not that much games played, only 36 from 1960 to 1968, 90 from 1969 to 1974, 120 from 1975 to 1981 and now 140 from 1982. As I want to have 162-games per seasons in the end, I will also raised the requirements to 10 years & 75% later on.

Here are the % of the past inducted players :

1962 - 3B Jorge Alvarado, self-added due to his terrible accident and early retirement
1977 - SP Jesus Chavez (52,5 %), 1st ballot
1978 - CL Seranthony Dominguez, self-added for his performances in both LBL and MLB
1979 - CL Alejandro Zamora (54,7 %), 3rd ballot
1980 - RF Andy Salgado (67,0 %), 1st ballot
1981 - SP Jesus Serrano (50,9 %), 3rd ballot


This year, two players were inducted :

- SP Triston McKenzie (97.4%) is the player that had received the most approval from casters that far. He won 9 championships with his the B&Y as he played almost only one year not in this franchise. He never won the Golden Ball, but he finished on the top 3 three times (1968-1970), his lifetime stats are 3.26 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 1621 K and 33 WAR in his 15 seasons played in the LBL.

- 3B-2B-DH Carter Kieboom (93.0%) is also a legend of the B&Y. He was part of the same squad that won 9 championships. To this, Kieboom added a Golden Glove won in 1970, 6 Sapphire Awards (1963-68 all as 3B), 6 Ruby Awards (1966, 1969-71 as 3B, 1972 as 2B and 1974 as DH) and one Linga Baseball Series MVP in 1972. In his career, he had a batting line .285/.372/.491, 180 HR, 605 RBI and 38.7 WAR in 965 games played.

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1983 Season :

• Pre-season story:

Transfert/ FA :

- Amsalu Leake, 34 yo CL, was traded (DIA --> JDT) for C J.Sbarro and SS V.Albanov.
- Chien-Shih Au, 36yo CF, signed as a FA (TSH --> LGG) a contract of 1 060 000 € in 2y.
- Guan-pei Chio, 28 yo LF, signed as a FA (GRE --> B&Y) a contract of 4 690 000 € in 7y.
- Luis Reyes, 35 yo SP, was traded (LNN --> FRE) for 2B S.Martin and CF C.Imhoff
- Alejandro Fragoso, 27 yo CF, signed as a FA (B&Y --> SST) a contract of 7 970 000 € in 8y.

Managerial changes :

GRE Winner of the championship last year, Charlie Mills choosed to step down from his position, he instead will work as a bench coach for the Freros (I find this move strange but hey, at least he will be paid more ). Oberdan Diaz has been chosen to be the new manager of the Expendables, this will be his first coaching job.

SEAG Edgar Lemus retired in 1982, after 21 years as manager of the Jade Tigers and the Silver Eagles. He won the championship in 1980. Buddy Carlyle, previous manager of the Jade Tigers (1974-1981) will replace him.

MAP C.J Helman (1977-)
FRE Tommy Kasper (1981-)
CITY Boutros Nyachae (1981-)
LGG Roberto Schmidt (1982-)
LNN Paul McCarthy (1982-)
GRE Oberdan Diaz (1983-)


SST Carlos Ramos (1975-)
DIA Alejandro Zamora (1979-)
B&Y Andrew Lefave (1981-)
TSH Yellel Cooper (1982-)
JDT Suggut Tse (1982-)
SEAG Buddy Carlyle (1983-)

Now the third best franchise, owning 3 championships, the Expendables had been dealing with inconsistency over time. They lost their biggest hitter, Chio. CF Akifumi Shimizu will try to fill the gap. He made an interesting 1982 season, hitting .247/.377/.373 with 4.4 WAR.

The Nang Nius will again seek to end their drought. Their rotation is particularly daunting. If Myung-gu Kim is their Ace, Akira Kazama might be as performant. He pitched his first LBL season last year, finishing with a 13-7 record, 2.53 ERA, 214 K, 1.07 WHIP and 4.6 WAR.

Not back yet in postseason, the Black & Yellows are building an amazing team, as they signed the great LF Chio. Defensively, they will be led by Wayt Roxo, that only played for them since his debuts in 1974. He has won every Sapphire Award as first base since 1979. Last year, he batted for .316/.369/.451 and 3.9 WAR.

Achieving their best season last year, City will try to pursue on this path. SP Meddur Khalil achieved a promising season, with 13-11 record, 3.13 ERA, 168 K, 1.20 WHIP and 4.3 WAR. He is only 26, and will surely want to establish himself in his hometown franchise.

Since their title in 1976, the Jade Tigers' best season was in 1978, with a .517 record. Rebuilding takes time, and it looks like it will not be any time soon that the Jade Tigers will be competitive again. The prospect Michel Dubost, who plays CF, looks really promising. He was named #2 prospect in 1980 and 1981 and #3 in 1982.

The Silver Eagles had lost their historical coach, but they can rely on a solid core of player that had been at the club since a long time. Melvin Narvaez is one of them. He played 1B, and was drafted by the SEAG in 1972. At 31, he batted for .262/.359/.474 last year.

• Regular season :

Moon Division

The Nang Nius sat at the top of the Moon Division, with the best record in the league. The Freros will accompany them, as they managed to finish second. Far behind, three teams are really close : the Expendables, the Maple Leaves and City, while the Green Goblins finished last after their promising first season last year.

Sun Division

The Tattoed Sharks finished last with what may be the worst season ever by a franchise. They only won 34 games and lost more than a hundred games. They were a tie for the division title, between the Diamonds and the Black & Yellows. It is the first playoffs since 1979 for the B&Y. The Sea Stars and the Silver Eagles both had a positive record, while the Jade Tigers are still rebuilding.

• Draft

Pitcher Albert Martinez was picked first this year, by the Jade Tigers. He comes from Chicago, Illinois.

• Playoffs:

The Diamonds finally won their first postseason series, after 4 failed attempts. It was a tight battle against the Freros. The other matchup of the semi-finals is a classic duel between the Nang Nius and the Black & Yellows. The Nang Nius had not won in playoffs against the Black & Yellow since 1965. However, this year they finally were able to get rid ot their nemesis 4-3. After their defeat at the same level last year, the Nang Nius finally ended their 18-years championship drought, winning their 6th title against the Diamonds !

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Awards :

Who were the best player this year ?

LNN Skipper Paul McCarthy is in place for only two seasons but he had impressed since his arrival. He both won the Moon division and the championship this year.

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• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

The Specials and the Bullets won their respective divisions. The same team as last year competed in the LFS : the Specials and the Vikings. Nonetheless, this time the Viking were the winners, as they captured their first title in only 2 years of existence.

r-league (AA) :

The Lumberjacks stretched their consecutive division run with another year, while the Gators won their 3rd division. The OS is a remake of the 1978 OS, with the division rivals the Gators and the Mammoths. The Mammoths got even with the Gators by winning this year r-league.

• International Championship Series:

This year, the city of Lingalia hosted the ICS between the Nang Nius and the Baltimore Orioles. It is the first participation for both teams. The Nang Nius swept the Orioles to conclude a great season, with three titles (division, championship and ICS).

• HoF Induction :

Only Bryce Boich was inducted this year (56.3). He played as a relief pitcher, mostly for Green District, where he won one championship in 1969. He won another title with the B&Y in 1975. As for individual awards, he won 3 Silver Ball, in 1969, 1971 and 1974. He is the first player to be inducted as player of the Expendables.

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I don't know if people are regurlaly following my topic, but for the next two weeks I will not have access to my computer I sim with.


I already prepared the 1984 season and will be able to post it next week, I may also post a recap of all the teams or other stuff to make you wait until I can post the 1985 season !

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1984 Season :

• Pre-season story:

By conquering their 6th title last year, the Nang Nius have relieved their whole fanbase. They now aim to establish a dynasty, and honestly they have all the assets to make it happen. After a good first season in Lingalie City, Myung-gu Kim completely accomplish his role as ace, as he delivered his best season in 1983. A 19-6 record, 2.11 ERA, 220 K, 0.97 WHIP and 7.0 WAR in 239.0 IP, the league highest number of innings.

Accessing to the LBS last year was a great reward for the work the Diamonds have made in the past years. Despite losing a lot of key players, skipper Alejandro Zamora did a great job keeping the team competitive. 26 years old LF Rafael de Luna was a first-round pick in the 1976 draft. He is now producing his best numbers, with a .304/.394/.452 line and a 5.2 WAR last season.

Are the Black&Yellows back at contending for championship ? Their recents investments seemed to pay off. Sef Mukiri, acquired in 1982, may be 33, but he showed that he still have some quality, hitting .286/.357/.463 last year. Unless his body will let him down, as in 1982 where he suffered from a torn ligament.

The Sea Stars are still a solid team that will aim for the highest honors. Former 1st pick of the 1977 draft by the Maple Leaves, Alejandro Fragoso now plays at Anslos. He showed as much defensive skills as offensive skills, winning last year Sapphire Award at RF, and 1982 Ruby Award at CF. His batting line was .262/.335/.423 last year.

Slowly, the Silver Eagles are starting to lose ground over their rivals. Their roster is aging, with players like Antero Camarinho that has been around since 1974. His best years are surely behind him, but at 29, he is eager to prove that he still have the skills to play in the league. He batted for .284/.357/.380 in 1983

City rebuilding plan starts to pay off, as the franchise had been improving in the recent years. Acquired in 1982, SP Dave Jackman had showed real potential and talent at the front of City's rotation.

Transfert/ FA :

- Roberto Irias, 31 yo SP, signed as a FA (SST --> B&Y) a contract of 208 000€ in 1y.

Managerial changes :

FRE Tommy Kasper retired after 24 years of coaching. He won one LBL with the Freros (1981) but also one championship in the r-league with the Lumberjacks. Harvey Kuenn, bench coach of the Black & Yellows since 1978 was hired as the new manager.

TSH After a very poor season, Yellel Cooper was fired by the Tattooed Sharks board. The inexperienced bench coach of the Diamonds last season, Anderson Rosario will replace Cooper.

MAP C.J Helman (1977-)
CITY Boutros Nyachae (1981-)
LGG Roberto Schmidt (1982-)
LNN Paul McCarthy (1982-)
GRE Oberdan Diaz (1983-)
FRE Harvey Kuenn (1984-)

SST Carlos Ramos (1975-)
DIA Alejandro Zamora (1979-)
B&Y Andrew Lefave (1981-)
JDT Suggut Tse (1982-)
SEAG Buddy Carlyle (1983-)
TSH Anderson Rosario (1984-)

• Regular season :

Moon Division

Lingalie City reigned over the Moon Division this year, as its three franchises sat at the three first seats. The Nang Nius and the Freros are once again the teams that advanced to postseason. City had achieved his best season, finishing with a winning record. The 4th place is held by the Expendables, followed by the Green Goblins. The Maple Leaves made a disappointing season, finishing 1984 as the worst team in the whole league.

Sun Division

The Black & Yellows was the best team in the regular season, winning their 15th division title. The Diamonds finished second and will play in postseason twice in a row. Behind, the other teams have the same place as last year. The Sea Stars lacked only one win to be at the Diamonds' place. The Tattoed Sharks did better than last year though.

• Draft :
  

Amghar Ghaniy, a pitcher born in Anslos was drafted in first position by the Tattoed Sharks.

• Playoffs :

The same teams as last year are engaged in the playoffs, except the matchups are reversed. The Freros defeated the B&Y in a rough series 4-3. As for the other semi-final, it was a remake of last year LBS, where the winner was the same, the Nang Nius. As a result, the first LBS between teams from the same city occured this season. The Freros surprisingly won the three games, and as everyone thought they will won their 3rd title, they completely bottled up, and lost the four following games to the Nang Nius !

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Awards :

Who were the best player this year ?

Andrew Lefave, manager of the B&Y was named manager of the year. He is the manager that managed to lead the Black & Yellows into becoming a contender in only 3 seasons.

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• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

The Specials won their 2nd consecutive title, the Iron Wolves is the other division winner. However, none of them took part in the LFS, as the 1984 edition was played by the Zappir Phoenix and the Chefecia Purple Bats. After the Vikings'championship last year, the Purple Bats, the other newer team, won its first championship.

r-league (AA) :

The Mocking Birds put an end to the Lumberjacks consecutives divsion titles. The Gators won back-to-back division. The Onion Series opposed these two teams, with the Creugré Mocking Birds winning their first title in their first appearance.

• International Championship Series:

In Atlanta, the Nang Nius swept off the New York Mets, and won their second international championship.

• HoF Induction :

2B Keston Hiura (71,6 %) was inducted on his first ballot. Hiura played 13 seasons as a Freros player from 1962 until 1974, before moving back to the USA where he were also successful until his retirement at 44. His only championship title was a MLB title won with Baltimore on his final season. In the LBL, he won one Golden Glove in 1965, 1969 Linga Semi-Finals MVP and seven Ruby Awards (1963-65, 68-70 and 73). His lifetime stats in the league are : .282/.359/.468, 125 HR, 495 RBI, 24.8 WAR in 817 G.

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Before I make a recap of teams, here is a reminder of the structure of the league created in 1960:

Linga Baseball League or LBL
Playoff Series : Semi-Final Series --> Linga Baseball Series or LBS
Divisions : Moon division (1960-) / Sun division (1969-)

Linga Future League or l-league
Playoff Series : Semi-Final Series --> Linga Future Series or LFS
Divisions : Azure division (1960-) / Marine division (1969-)

Rookie League or r-league
Playoff Series : Garlic Series or GS / Onion Series or OS
Divisions : Square division (1960-) / Heart division

There were 3 expansions :

• in 1969 : 4 new teams and a new division

• in 1975 : 2 new teams

• in 1982 : 2 new teams

I rated the popularity and the market size of the teams out of 10.
Let's begin with 4 teams :

Team : Lingalie City Baseball
City : Lingalie City
Abbreviation : CITY
State : New Lingalie
Main color(s): Sky Blue/White
Popularity : 4
Market Size : 6
Division : Moon division (1975-)
Division titles : 0
LBS championships/appearances : 0/0
ICS championships/appearances : 0/0
Rivalries :

• FRE : located in the same city, the Freros is the franchise that were designated as biggest rival of CITY, even if it isn't mutual.

• LNN : the other franchise based in Lingalie City is also a rival, but the rivalry is less heated.

AAA team : N'Boubi Specials
AAA division titles : 5 Azure division
AAA championships/LFS appearances : 1/2
AA team : Creugré Mocking Birds
AA division titles : 2 Square division
AA championships/OS appearances : 1/1




Team : Nang Nius
City : Lingalie City
Abbreviation : LNN
State : New Lingalie
Main color(s): Red/White
Popularity : 10
Market Size : 10
Division : Moon division (1969-)
Division titles : 18 Moon division
LBS championships/appearances : 7/14
ICS championships/appearances : 2/2
Rivalries :

• B&Y : rivalry began in the early years of the league, the two team have the most championships, and they often faced each other in LBS (11 times).

• FRE : natural rivals since beginning of the league, they are based on the same city.

• GRE : division rivals, the Expendables also eliminated the Nang Nius from playoffs multiple times.

AAA team : Wayt Tides Thunders
AAA division titles : 5 Azure division
AAA championships/LFS appearances : 4/7
AA team : Vertecolline Junglers
AA division titles : 2 Square division
AA championships/OS appearances : 7/9





Team : Narballo Tattoed Sharks
City : Narballo
Abbreviation : TSH
State : Cap Azur
Main color(s): Light Blue
Popularity : 1
Market Size : 3
Division : Sun division (1982-)
Division titles : 0
LBS championships/appearances : 0/0
ICS championships/appearances : 0/0
Rivalries : None yet
AAA team : Chefecia Purple Bats
AAA division titles : 1 Marine division
AAA championships/LFS appearances : 1/1
AA team : Hessia Adler
AA division titles : 0
AA championships/OS appearances : 0/0





Team : Freros
City : Lingalie City
Abbreviation : FRE
State : New Lingalie
Main color(s): Dark Blue/Gold
Popularity : 7
Market Size : 8
Division : Moon division (1969-)
Division titles : 2 Moon division
LBS championships/appearances : 2/4
ICS championships/appearances : 1/1
Rivalries :

• LNN : natural rivals since beginning of the league, they are based on the same city.

• GRE : division rivals, the Freros played them twice in the LBS, and they are even.

• SST : recent rivalry that stemed from the matchups occured during postseason. The Freros won their second championship against them.

AAA team : Wayt County Bobcats
AAA division titles : 4 Azure division
AAA championships/LFS appearances : 1/4
AA team : Oshu'gun Lumberjacks
AA division titles : 13 Square division
AA championships/OS appearances : 3/10