A fictional league in a fictional country

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The following four teams :

Team : Sea Stars
City : Anslos
Abbreviation : SST
State : Linga Bay
Main color(s): Yellow/Orange
Popularity : 7
Market Size : 6
Division : Sun division (1975-), Moon division (1969-1974)
Division titles : 2 Sun division
LBS championships/appearances : 1/3
ICS championships/appearances : 1/1
Rivalries :

• DIA: both franchises are located in Linga Bay, the Sea Stars and the Diamonds always played in the same division. Their rivalry is more friendly than disputed, it is known as the Cool Buddies rivalry.

• SEAG: division rivals, since the Sea Stars and the Silver Eagles were both at their peak around the same time. They faced each other in the 1980 LBS.

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

AAA team : Briggs Bucaneers
AAA division titles : 4 Azure division + 2 Marine division
AAA championships/LFS appearances : 5/8
AA team : Pampa Bay Fishermen
AA division titles : 2 Square division
AA championships/OS appearances : 0/0




Team : Lingalia Green Goblins
City : Lingalia
Abbreviation : LGG
State : Lingalia
Main color(s): Dark Green/White
Popularity : 3
Market Size : 8
Division : Moon division (1982-)
Division titles : 0
LBS championships/appearances : 0/0
ICS championships/appearances : 0/0
Rivalries : None yet
AAA team : Lutia Vikings
AAA division titles : 1 Azure division
AAA championships/LFS appearances : 1/2
AA team : Unkünft Kernels
AA division titles : 0
AA championships/OS appearances : 0/0




Team : Maple Leaves
City : Orange
Abbreviation : MAP
State : The Midvalleys
Main color(s): Orange
Popularity : 3
Market Size : 5
Division : Moon division (1975-)
Division titles : 0
LBS championships/appearances : 0/0
ICS championships/appearances : 0/0
Rivalries :

• GRE : division rivals, the Maple Leaves is the closest franchise to the Expendables. They are the only teams to be located in the south.

AAA team : Zappir Phoenix
AAA division titles : 1 Azure division
AAA championships/LFS appearances : 0/1
AA team : Huangjia Wizards
AA division titles : 1 Square division
AA championships/OS appearances : 0/1




Team : Expendables
City : Woodbury
Abbreviation : GRE
State : Green District
Main color(s): Green
Popularity : 8
Market Size : 7
Division : Moon division (1975-), Sun division (1969-1974)
Division titles : 3 Moon division
LBS championships/appearances : 3/7
ICS championships/appearances : 2/3
Rivalries :

• B&Y : rivalry started from the early seasons of the LBL, amplified when the teams faced 5 times in the LBS in the 70's.

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

• MAP : division rivals, the Maple Leaves is the closest franchise to the Expendables. They are the only teams to be located in the south.

AAA team : Drimm Land Woodies
AAA division titles : 2 Azure division + 3 Marine division
AAA championships/LFS appearances : 4/8
AA team : Blaum Turtles
AA division titles : 3 Square division + 4 Heart division
AA championships/OS appearances : 3/7

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If you want to take a look at the location of the different cities, I posted a map of the country here.
The final four teams of this recap :

Team : Diamonds
City : Dawala
Abbreviation : DIA
State : Linga Bay
Main color(s): Purple
Popularity : 5
Market Size : 3
Division : Sun division (1975-), Moon division (1969-1974)
Division titles : 2
LBS championships/appearances : 0/1
ICS championships/appearances : 0/0
Rivalries :

• SST: both franchises are located in Linga Bay, the Sea Stars and the Diamonds always played in the same division. Their rivalry is more friendly than disputed, it is known as the Cool Buddies rivalry.

• B&Y: the Diamonds recently started to dispute the division's first seat with the B&Y.

• LNN: division rivals from 1969 until 1975. These franchises also faced up multiple times in the playoffs, especially in the 1983 LBS.

AAA team : Emerald Jewels
AAA division titles : 0
AAA championships/LFS appearances : 0/1
AA team : Orange Challengers
AA division titles : 1 Square division & 1 Heart division
AA championships/OS appearances : 1/4




Team : Silver Eagles
City : Boubi Town
Abbreviation : SEAG
State : Boubi County
Main color(s): Silver
Popularity : 8
Market Size : 9
Division : Sun division (1969-)
Division titles : 1 Sun division
LBS championships/appearances : 1/2
ICS championships/appearances : 1/1
Rivalries :

• JDT: natural rivals that are located in the same city. They play regurlarly against each other, since they always were in the same division.

• SST: division rivals, since the Sea Stars and the Silver Eagles were both at their peak around the same time. They faced each other in the 1980 LBS.

AAA team : Maykrafth Iron Wolves
AAA division titles : 3 Marine division
AAA championships/LFS appearances : 1/3
AA team : Lingalia Mammoths
AA division titles : 4 Heart division
AA championships/OS appearances : 2/5




Team : Jade Tigers
City : Boubi Town
Abbreviation : JDT
State : Boubi County
Main color(s): Green/Orange
Popularity : 5
Market Size : 7
Division titles : 0
LBS championships/appearances : 1/1
ICS championships/appearances : 1/1
Rivalries :

• SEAG : natural rivals that are located in the same city. They play regurlarly against each other, since they always were in the same division.

AAA team : Leafay Androids
AAA division titles : 5 Marine division
AAA championships/LFS appearances : 2/7
AA team : Narballo Gators
AA division titles : 4 Heart division
AA championships/OS appearances : 2/5




Team : Black&Yellows
City : Kuronga
Abbreviation : B&Y
State : Lingalie North
Main color(s): Black/Yellow
Popularity : 10
Market Size : 10
Division : Sun division (1969-)
Division titles : 3 Moon division + 12 Sun division
LBS championships/appearances : 10/18
ICS championships/appearances : 8/9
Rivalries :

• LNN : 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).

• GRE : rivalry started from the early seasons of the LBL, amplified when the teams faced 5 times in the LBS in the 70's.

• DIA : the Diamonds recently started to dispute the division's first seat with the B&Y.

AAA team : La Croisée Bullets
AAA division titles : 3 Azure division + 3 Marine division
AAA championships/LFS appearances : 5/8
AA team : Galia Suns
AA division titles : 1 Square division + 2 Heart division
AA championships/OS appearances : 6/8

Next week, I will resume the seasonal recap, I think I will not post one season in one day as it takes more and more time to write the recap.

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So here is the first part of the 1985 season. I will try to post the rest tomorrow or on Tuesday.

1985 Season :

• Pre-season story:

Announcement by the commissioner of the LBL, Jean Nooked :

"I am pleased to announce that four franchises will join the LBL in three years, for the 1988 season. Thus, there will be 16 teams. These 16 teams will be splitted into two subleagues of two divisions each, based on geographical location and existent rivalries.

The goal of the league in the long run is to have 30 teams in the league. We are half-way from achieving this. As for the new teams, we will prioritize cities to cover all of the states of Lingalie, and market that may be profitable.

I am also proud to announce that an All Star Game will be held every year, where fans would vote for their favorites players. The first ASG will be played in the National Baseball Dome of Lingalie City, home of CITY team.

Finally, the number of games played by each team will be of 162, just like what is done in the Major League Baseball, something that we believe will benefit the league."


The reigning champions, the Nang Nius, will aim for the three-peat. They were active in transactions, replacing SP Myung-gu Kim with younger Everton Smith, but also by acquiring superstar Francisco Sauceda from the Silver Eagles. Conor Hosband is a player that does not get that much recognition, but as a power hitter he was leading in HR last-year in the team with 28. His batting line was .190/.341/.392 with a league record of 199 K. He also won a Sapphire Award at 3B for his defensive work.

The Freros can't explain what happened in last year LBS, where they failed to win the championship, despite leading the Nang Nius 3-0. They will try to forget that incident by winning this year championship. 3B Tony Contreras was last year semi-final Series MVP. He had a solid season overall, with a .268/.333/.392 batting line and was already part or the winning squad of 1981.

Lingalia's team, the Green Goblins is still building its roster, despite the owner's desire to win now. There is kind of pressure for them to do well, as Lingalia is the 2nd biggest town in the country. 27 yo SP Haleem Ruhiu is a player that could have a breakout season this year. Last season, he had an ERA of 3.48, a record of 11-12, a 1.13 WHIP, a 2.5 WAR and he won the Sapphire Award for pitchers for his third season in the league.

Once again, the Diamonds lost a very important player, their ace Everton Smith. The squad is still competitive, and no doubt that they will battle for the playoffs berths. Pitcher Charley Klop will look for the ace spot. He had a remarkable season in 1983 (19-8, 3.10 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 6.0 WAR), while last year was a bit disapointing : 6-12, 4.21 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 3.8 WAR. But at 26, there is a lot of room for improvement.

City finally finished above .500 last-year. They now want to take it further by clinching a postseason berth. Their roster is also formed on promising prospects like 23 year-old CF Josh Mendez perfectly entered the league last year, as he won the Silver Glove. He was batting for .289/.394/.510 in 108 games with 4.3 WAR and 19 HR.

Finishing 3rd as in 1983 last year, the Sea Stars took a blow to theirs ambitions. The roster is still a competitive one, with a lot to offer. Surprising CF Young-Pil Kim had a breakout season last year with a .266/.378/.394 batting line. He is also, at 24,the bearer of 2 Sapphire Awards won in 1981 and 1982. Thus, he is also very reliable in defence.

Transfert/ FA :

- Myung-gu Kim, 28 yo SP, opted out of his contract and signed as a FA (LNN --> B&Y) a contract of 8 750 000€ in 7y
- River Ford, 32 yo RF, opted out of his contract and signed as a FA (MAP --> SEAG) a contract of 3 320 000€ in 5y
- Marty Delgado, 27 yo LF, signed as a FA (CITY --> GRE) a contract of 6 320 000 € in 8y
- Soo-Yeon Kim, 29 yo C, opted out of his contract and signed as a FA (CITY --> GRE) a contract of 4 800 000 € in 5y
- Everton Smith, 25 yo SP, signed as a FA (DIA --> LNN) a contract of 5 430 000 € in 6y
- Francisco Sauceda, 29 yo LF, was traded (SEAG --> LNN) for RF Y. Yeh, M.Newland & RP B.Radull (1 year left of contract)

Managerial changes :

SST - After 10 years of managing the Sea Stars, Carlos Ramos was hired as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, the franchise of the MLB. Let's wish him good luck. Francis Beltran, the bench coach of the Lingalia Green Goblins is the new skipper of the team.

JDT - Suggut Tse was fired after three seasons, where his team could not finish higher than 5th. The bench coach, Min-Soo Lee will replace him.

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-)

DIA Alejandro Zamora (1979-)
B&Y Andrew Lefave (1981-)
SEAG Buddy Carlyle (1983-)
TSH Anderson Rosario (1984-)
SST Francis Beltran (1985-)
JDT Min-Soo Lee (1985-)

• Regular season :

Moon Division

Different year, same results in the Moon division. The Nang Nius even have the exact same record. The Freros and City have 2 more loss, while the three other teams has slightly improved their record.

Sun Division

Four teams played above .500 this year in the Sun division. The Sea Stars are back at the top after 2 years of being 3rd, while the Black&Yellows will play postseason for a third season in a row. The Diamonds finished 3rd with a solid .543 record. The three last teams are in the same order as last year. The two franchise from Boubi Town improved their record while the Tattoed Sharks did the opposite.

• Draft :
  

Yugh Coujoe is a pitcher that cames from Huangjia. He was picked first in the 1985 Draft by the Orange Maple Leaves.

• Playoffs :

A new matchup between the Freros and the Sea Stars is planned, after the 1981 LBS. The Freros, once again, beat the Sea Stars to come back in the LBS. In the other series, it is the classic opposition of the league with the Nang Nius and the Black&Yellows. Like in 1983, the Nang Nius beat their old rivals and advance to the next round. So, this year LBS is a remake of last year. And the Freros also won the 3 first games to lead the series 3-0. However, this year, the Freros don't bottle up and actually win the 4th game to sweep their rival and won their 3rd championship title !

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Awards :

Who were the best player this year ?

Harvey Kuenn, the skipper of the Freros was named Manager of the Year, he successfully led his team to the play-offs, where they swept off their biggest rival.

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• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

Once again, the Specials won the Azure division and the Iron Wolves the Marine. They also faced each other in the LFS, to grab their 2nd championship. In this fight, the Iron Wolves turned out as the winner, 7 years after their first title.

r-league (AA) :

The Mocking Birds won back-to-back division titles, while the Mammoths captured their 5th. In the Onion Series, the Mammoths took the Fishermen down 4-2 to win their third title. Interesting fact, they had a odd years dynasty (like the Giants in the 2010's) as they won championships in 1981, 1983 and now 1985.

• International Championship Series:

For this year ICS, the Pirates confronted the Nang Nius. Why not the Freros didn't participate in it, despite their win in the LBL ? I just forgot to change the team from last year for the LBL , so let's say they refused to take part in the competition for whatever reason and the runner-ups kindly accepts to replace them.


The Pittsburgh Pirates won their first MLB championship this year. In Narballo, they lost 4-2 to the Nang Nius, which are now won the third latest editions of the ICS.

• HoF Induction :

This year, 4 players were inducted on 1st ballot, the most prolific year in HoF history.

- SP Ryan Weathers (99,9 %) began playing in 1964 for the Expendables where he won the Golden Ball and the championship in 1969. Then he was acquired by the Nang Nius, the team he played the most games with, in 1971, where he was able to won a second Golden Ball as well as a postseason MVP award. His lifetime stats (1964-1979) are 155-78, 2218 IP, 3.19 ERA, 2783 K, 0.99 WHIP, and 50.8 WAR in 312G. At the moment, he hold the record for most strikeouts in career.

- SP Forrest Whitley (94.3%) played for five different teams throughout his career : GRE (1962-67), B&Y (1968-1970 and 1973-74), LNN (1971-72), MAP (1975-1976) and SEAG (1977-79). He is inducted as a Black&Yellow player. He won 4 championships with them. Career wise, his numbers are : 106-83, 3.32 ERA, 1744.1 IP, 1.02 WHIP, 1998 K, 37.6 WAR in 275 G.

- SP Eric Pardinho (82.2%) only played for the Black&Yellows. He was part of the core players that won all 10 championships with the team. As for individual rewards, he won 3 Golden Balls in a row in 1970-72, 1 Silver Ball in 1968, and 2 Sapphire Awards in 1966-67. His lifetime stats are 89-46, 3.00 ERA, 1163.1 IP, 1448K, 31.5 WAR in 196 G.

- RF Julio Yarnel Rodriguez (69,4%) is also inducted as B&Y player where he played from 1966 to 1974. He then played until 1979 with the Diamonds. He won consecutives Golden Gloves in 1971 and 1972 and 8 championships. He also won five Ruby Awards (1969-72 & 1976), the last one as DH with the Diamonds. He has a all-time batting line of .263/.360/.521, with 258 HR, 752 RBI, 30.0 WAR in 976 G.

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1986 Season :

• Pre-season story:

About the future expansion, the league has announced that postseason will now gather 8 teams instead of 4. The first round of playoffs will be calls Linga Quarter-finals Series and will be played as best of 5 series.

The city of Lingalie City has now won the three last titles, with the two latest LBS including only franchises from this city. Will the Freros be able to keep their title ? Their closer Alfredo Sifuentes had won his second Silver Ball last season, after 1982, as he came up with the highest number of saves in the league : 39 in 67 G. He also had 101 strikeouts an will most likely play again a key role in this team bullper.

Or maybe the Nang Nius will be the team to continue Lingalie City's dominance ? Last season was a disillusion, but the Nang Nius has still one of the most stacked roster in terms of quality players. Last year, SP Everton Smith was shadowed by the great FA signing of Omar Almendarez from Puerto Rico. He quickly performed and won the Golden Ball and the Silver Glove. He had 19 wins, 1.87 ERA and 7.2 WAR, the best numbers for a pitcher last year, as well as 217 K and 1.03 WHIP.

Finishing last of their division for the third time in their first four seasons, the Tattoed Sharks are slowly rebuilding their team. This small market team cannot compete, at the moment, with the others already well-established franchises. The offseason was marked by the signing of 1B Melvin Narvaez as well as RP Shigetoshi Nagaoka. He played well last season with the B&Y, with only 2.13 ERA and 80 K in 71.2 IP.

After a couple of disappointing seasons, the Black & Yellows have managed to come back to their usual standards. Their roster is constituted of a lot of the best players in the league : Chio, Karppinen, Myung-gu Kim. But a young FA from Australia acquired in 1982 were surprisingly their best player for the last two seasons. 24 yo CF Robin Britton batted for .301/.386/.428 and led the league with 104 R and 7.3 WAR in 1984. In 1985, he even do better with .329/.407/.443 and 7.7 WAR (league highest WAR). He also won both Sapphire Awards in those season, sign that he is also solid defensively.

It has only been 4 years since the Expendables won their last title, yet it seems like it has been ages. Could this season been the revival of the team from Woodbury ? A lot of eyes would be on Mike Jackson. This young RF was already there in 1982 but he is now one of the first-team players. He performed quite well last year, with a batting line of .284/.347/.428 15 HR and 4.2 WAR.

It is hard to be a Maple Leaves fan, when the best result the franchise got was a 3rd place with a record of .492. However, the franchise has got talents that could change this, if their developments proceed well. 2B Ka-fei Li is one of them, he is only 23 and he showed great potential in his first complete season last year. He led the league in doubles with 35 and finished the season with a batting line of .258/.296/.342 with 40 RBI and 1.9 WAR in 132 games.

Transfert/ FA :

- Melvin Narvaez, 35 yo 1B, signed as a FA (SEAG --> TSH) a minor league contract.
- Shigetoshi Nagaoka, 29 yo RP, signed as a FA (B&Y --> TSH) a contract of 956 000€ in 3y.
- Wing-Tat Tsai, 28 yo SP, signed as a FA (FRE --> TSH) a contract of 5 720 000€ in 5y.
- Meddhur Khalil, 29 yo SP, was traded (CITY --> ATL (MLB)) for 3B J. Stazstewski & RP R.Blair (6 year left of contract)
- Matt Hessling, 36 yo RP, signed as a FA (GRE --> LGG) a contract of 530 000€ in 1y.

Managerial changes :

LGG Roberto Schmidt was fired after his recent poor results during last season. The franchise from Lingalia had named Yellel Cooper to be the skipper of the Green Goblins. He previously managed the Tattoed Sharks from 1982 until 1983.

SST Despite finishing first of the division, Francis Beltran announced that he will retire from professional coaching. He will be replaced by Wilton Garcia, a manager without any prior experiences.

JDT Only one year after being appointed, Min-Soo Lee is not the manager of the Jade Tigers anymore. Miguel Mendez will manage the team instead. He is an inexperienced manager.

MAP C.J Helman (1977-)
CITY Boutros Nyachae (1981-)
LNN Paul McCarthy (1982-)
GRE Oberdan Diaz (1983-)
FRE Harvey Kuenn (1984-)
LGG Yellel Cooper (1986-)

DIA Alejandro Zamora (1979-)
B&Y Andrew Lefave (1981-)
SEAG Buddy Carlyle (1983-)
TSH Anderson Rosario (1984-)
SST Wilton Garcia (1986-)
JDT Miguel Mendez (1986-)

• Regular season :

Moon Division

The Nang Nius win again the division, but this time they will be accompanied in postseason by the Green Goblins, which will take part of the playoffs for the first time in their short history. 3 games behind them are the Freros which will miss the opportunity to defend their title. The Expendables carried on their decline, finishing last of the division.

Sun Division

6 years after their first division and championship titles, the Silver Eagles finished first of the Sun division, would they win the championship as well ? The next three teams are really close, with only one games difference between each of them, but in the end it is the Black & Yellows that will play in postseason again. The Tattoed Sharks yet again finished 6th.

• Draft :
  

This year, the Tattoed Sharks chose Ryan Van Horn as first pick. He is an american right fielder.

• Playoffs :

After 1983 and 1985, the Nang Nius once again defeated the Black&Yellow in the Semi-Final Series. This time, the Nang Nius won the series by sweeping their old rivals.
In the other Series, the newcomers Green Goblins faced the Silver Eagles, which have returned to postseason for the first time since 1982. After a fierce battle, the Silver Eagles win the series 4-3 and make their return to the LBS.
As the favorites, the Nang Nius dominated the Silver Eagles 4-2 to win their third championship in 4 years and 4 LBS participations !

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Awards :

- Awards : Who were the best players this year ?

Like in 1983 and 1984, Paul McCarthy guided the Nang Nius to win the championship. Thus, he is named manager of the Year for the 2nd time after 1983.

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• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

In the l-league, the Thunders and the Androids won the divisions. Their last division title was in 1980 for both of them. Last year LFS participants also played in the playoffs. But this year divisions'winners were the one to play in this season's LFS. After 5 missed attempts, the Androids finally won their third l-league Series after a 4-3 win !

r-league (AA) :

The Turtles and the Fishermen won the divisions titles in the AA league. The Fishermen end a drought of 15 years without a division title. This year OS is the same as last year but with a different winner : the Fishermen for their first title ever !

• International Championship Series:

The California Angels had win the MLB World Series and will take part in the International Championship Series for the third time after 1974 and 1975. They have won it in 1974 and are actually the last winner of the ICS from the MLB.

In Baltimore, the Nang Nius swept their opponents, to win their 4th ICS in a row.

• HoF Induction :

Two players were inducted into the HoF this season :

- LF Kristian Robinson (75,8%) former player of the B&Y (1964-1980) on his first ballot. Another member of the great team from Lingalie North that won 10 championships enters the Hall of Fame. Kristian had won one Golden Glove in 1969, two Linga Semi-Finals Series MVP award in 1970 and 1971, as well as one Ruby Award in 1969 and 6 Sapphire Awards (for LF in 1966-68 and for CF in 1972-74). Overall he played 1201 games, for which he compiled 323 HR, 1070 H, 784 RBI and 32.5 WAR. He has an all-time batting line of .237/.299/.494.

- LF Jesus Armando Sanchez (61.0%) was admitted on his third ballot. He mostly played for the B&Y (1963-1971) where he won four championships, the Golden Glove in 1968 and two Ruby Awards in 1968 and 1971. He had 995 H, 203 HR, 616 RBI and 19.6 WAR in 1035 games played in the league. He batted for .257/.329/.467 during his career. He also won the only hitter Triple Crown in 1968

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1987 Season :

1988 Expansion announcement :

"The four spots for the expansion franchises have been granted. The teams that will join the Linga Baseball league next year are : the Kuronga Bears, the Stonegap Wheelies, the Golden District Dragons and the Wayt Tides Thunders.

Out of the four, one team is not a newly created one, as the Thunders will join from the l-league. Their former l-league will still play in the league as the Wayt Tides Thunderbolts and they will be affiliated to the Thunders instead of the Nang Nius. Thus, they will keep their records and trophies. This also means that the Nang Nius will be affiliated to a new AAA team that will be announced soon.

This choice was done because of our desire to have a LBL team in Wayt County and the Thunders are already established as the most popular team from this state with multiple championships and great attendance in a big enough stadium.

Other expansion of teams from the l-league could happen in the future, if the conditions are met in market size, popularity, finances, success and proximity with other franchises.

• Pre-season story:

After a disappointing decade in the 70's, the Nang Nius were able to establish a small dynasty with 3 championships in 4 years and they don't want to wlos down anytime soon. They were very active during offseason, acquiring three major players. Their craziest transaction was the trade of their pitcher Everton Smith against Alfonso Solano of the White Sox. Solano has won one rookie of the year award as well as two Platinum Sticks, including one last year. In his career for the CWS, he had batted for .282/.367/.494 with 265 HR in 637 G.

For their return in postseason, the Silver Eagles went as far as the Linga Baseball Series. Their desire to win their second league title could become true in the future years as their roster is being renewed with big potential players. With 5 years of experience in the league, Jose Barraza is becoming more and more important for the Eagles. The 27 2B played in 132 G last season for 543 AB, the most by any player. He batted for .262/.332/.389 with 17 HR and 61 RBI.

People thought that the time of City had come with two third places ind 1984 and 1985, but their disappointing season last year had tainted this point of view. Still, City can now count on solid players as well as promising talents. 1B Xu Cheng is one of them. He had completed two good seasons and finish last year with .288/.386/.485, 20 HR and 4.3 WAR.

The surprise team of last season, the Green Goblins might surprise again this year. Or maybe their limits will hit hard and the franchise will finish without a second playoff berth. They can rely on one of the rising closer in the league, Victor Sira who is 27. Last year, he managed to get 30 SV, 1.86 ERA, 123 K and 1.08 WHIP in 67.2 IP.

Another year, another mediocre results for the Jade Tigers. On top of that, the franchise is in unstability, as they will be managed by a third manager in three years. CF Michel Dubost had confirmed that he have what it takes to be one of the superstars of the league. Last season, the previously #2 prospect batted for .279/.355/.488 with 24 HR, 89 RBI and 4.7 WAR for his 4th complete season.

The Freros were able to consistently challenge the Nang Nius for the past years, could they bounce back from their 3rd place in 1986 ? 3B Xin-yun Cheng has won the Silver Ball last year at 23 years old. He did play a great first year with 19 HR & 4.1 WAR and a batting line of .236/.352/.421.

Transfert/ FA :

- Robin Britton, 25 yo CF, signed as a FA (B&Y --> LNN) a contract of 14 960 000€ in 8y
- Everton Smith, 27 yo SP, was traded (LNN --> CWS(MLB)) for LF A.Solano (4 years left on contract)
- River Ford , 34 yo CF, opted out of his contract and signed as a FA (SEAG --> LNN) a contract of 6 600 000 € in 5 y
- Antero Camarinho , 32 yo CF, signed as a FA (SEAG --> KC (MLB)) a contract of 584 000€ in 1y
- Lau-po Thien , 42 yo RF, signed as a FA (LNN --> FRE) a contract of 358 000€ in 1y

Managerial changes :

SST After not taking part into the playoffs last year, Wilton Garcia and the Sea Stars chose to part ways. His successor is Mills Rogers, an inexperienced manager as Garcia was.

JDT Miguel Mendez only last one year as the skipper of the Jade Tigers. He is replaced by Daniel Albritton, who is beginning his manager career with this job.

MAP C.J Helman (1977-)
CITY Boutros Nyachae (1981-)
LNN Paul McCarthy (1982-)
GRE Oberdan Diaz (1983-)
FRE Harvey Kuenn (1984-)
LGG Yellel Cooper (1986-)

DIA Alejandro Zamora (1979-)
B&Y Andrew Lefave (1981-)
SEAG Buddy Carlyle (1983-)
TSH Anderson Rosario (1984-)
SST Mills Rogers (1987-)
JDT Daniel Albritton (1987-)

• Regular season :

Moon Division


This season, the Nang Nius did even better than in 1986, winning three more games. The Green Goblins will accompany them again, despite having less than .500 average. The Expendables finished just behind with only 2 wins less than them. City had the same record as last year, while the Freros and the Maple Leaves finished last after a disappointing season.


Sun Division


In the sun division, five teams out of six played for .500, in the end the Diamonds won their third division title. The Black & Yellow will faced the Nang Nius again in postseason. The other two teams that are above .500 are the Sea Stars and the Jade Tigers, while the Silver Eagles finished with .493. The Tattoed Sharks finished last but with an improved record compared to last year.

• Draft :
  

The first pick of this season annual draft is Jeff Ensor, an american pitcher picked by the Narballo Tattoed Sharks.

• Playoffs :

Again, the Nang Nius defeated the Black & Yellow in the Semi-Final Series. The Black & Yellow can't find a way to win a Series against them in the recent years.
The Green Goblins made history by winning their first playoffs Series 4-2 against the Diamonds in the other Semi-Final. They will face a division rival for their first LBS.
Against all odds, the Green Goblins put an end to Lingalie City's domination by winning the 1987 LBS 4-3. They are now the fastest expansion team to win a title, with only 6 seasons !

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Awards :

- Awards : Who were the best players this year ?

What a strange career for Yellel Cooper, from having the worst season by a team in the league with the Tattoed Sharks in 1983 to clinch the very first playoff berth of the Green Goblins last year and now to win the championship this season. He was named the manager of the 1987 year.

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• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :


18 years after their foundation, the Jewels finally won their first division title in 1987. The other division was won by the Bobcats. These two teams met in the Linga Future Series where the Bobcats swept their opponent to win their second championship.

r-league (AA) :


This year, the Turtles and the Mammoths won the divisions in the r-league. In a tough series, the Turtles won their 4th title against the surprising Unkünft Kernels. This was their first appearance in a OS.

• International Championship Series:

The ICS were played in the Orange Maple Leaves' Ballpark, the participants were the Green Goblins and the Atlanta Braves. The Braves will seek their first victory after 2 loss in 1968 & 1978.
But, they stumbled upon the Lingalia Green Goblins, who swept them to win the 1987 ICS.

• HoF Induction :

- SP Marcos Amaya (83,9 %) former player of the DIA (1969-74) and the SST (1975-81) was inducted as player of the Sea Stars on his first ballot. Despite never winning the Golden Ball, Marcos Amaya was one of the bast pitchers during his career in the league. He won 6 Sapphire Awards (1969-74), all with the Diamonds and a championship with the Sea Stars in 1979. His lifetime stats are 3.52 ERA, 2275 K, 1.21 WWHIP, 43.5 WAR, 120 W and 109 L in 321 G and 2172.0 IP.

- CF Jo Adell (63,4 %) was inducted on his first ballot. Adell had played for 3 teams during his career : he started playing for the Nang Nius (1963-69) before joining the Expendables (1970-76) and City (1977-81). He is inducted in the HoF as a player of City, the first one ever. He won 4 Ruby Awards (1964 & 1967 as CF, 1969 & 1975 as DH), 3 championships (1964-65 with LNN) and 2 LBS MVP (1964 and 1968). His career numbers are : .223/.322/.458, 1062 H, 313 HR, 817 RBI, 2090 SO, 22.4 WAR in 1288 G.

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The 1988 Expansion

Hey this is the first post of a series of three that will cover the 1988 expansion before the 1988 season as usual.

Let's first start with the franchises that will join the league :

1) The Wayt Tides Thunders organization :

As stated before, the Thunders will join from the l-league. Seats will be added to their stadium, before they can have a new stadium, with way more seats, as they will most likely attract more fans than when they were in the l-league. This is also the time to introduce a brand new logo.

With this move, the league expands to another state and shows that it is possible for big teams from the l-league to get "promoted" to the bigger stage.

Their expectations in the league is to remain a team close to their fans and to build a team that will contend in the long-term.

They will keep a team in the l-league based in Wayt Tides, that will be renamed the Thunderbolts. They are basically the same entity, hence their logos are similar. This team inherits the previous records, and the current roster of the team.

Finally, their r-league team is a brand new team, the Storms, based in Milos, New Lingalie.

Abbreviation used for the teams:

• THU: Wayt Tides Thunders
• THU: Wayt Tides Thunderbolts
• STO: Milos Storms

Organisation teams' logos : (primary and "small")

2) The Stonegap Wheelies organization :

The second franchise to join the league is the Stonegap Wheelies. This new team is the first in Bouldgalie in the Lingalie Baseball League. Indeed, the only other team in this state is the Oshu'gun Lumberjacks that plays in the r-league. The league hopes that will help the development of the sport in this state.

Their expectations from the owner is to be financially stable and to develop young prospects first before trying to access playoffs.

Minor league team Zerstorers from Zerstrig will be the Wheelies' AAA team. They will also be the biggest team in their state, Hessia. It is a way for the league to "test" how the people from Hessia will react to a bigger team, before a possibly major team based in Hessia join the league.

In the r-league, the Wheelies will be represented by the Baie-du-butin Bruisers. Located in Cap Azur, they will fight with the Vertecolline Junglers for local supremacy.

Abbreviation used for the teams:

• WHE: Stonegap Wheelies
• ZER: Zerstrig Zerstorers
• BBB: Baie-du-butin Bruisers

Organisation teams' logos : (primary and "small")

3) The Golden District Dragons organization :

The Golden District Dragons, or Golden Dragons for short, will be based in Huangjia. They will be the second team to be based here, after the Huangjia Wizards in the r-league. With this team, a big city finally get their LBL team.

Their expectations in the league are mainly profit-driven, before thinking of participating in the playoffs. Their owner is a self-made businessman after all.

Golden District also receives a second team in this expansion with the Sokor Wyverns, being the l-league assigned to the Golden Dragons. The players will not have to travel far, when they will be promoted from AAA.

Finally, their r-league are the Neutrons, based on Ape Rhill, in Lingalie West, just above Golden District.

Abbreviation used for the teams:

• GDD: Golden District Dragons
• WYV: Sokor Wyverns
• APN: Ape Rhill Neutrons

Organisation teams' logos : (primary and "small")

4) The Kuronga Bears organization :

Last but not least, the Kuronga Bears will be the fourth team to join the league. It is the only one to be based in a city with another LBL team already established : the Lingalie North Black&Yellow. They choose to be called Kuronga instead of Lingalie North, as they present themselves as a team directed towards Kuronga's inhabitants, instead of the whole state.

Their expectations in the league is to win, win and win. The Bears are owned by a consortium of investors that aim to be the biggest franchise in Kuronga, then in the country. Thus, the Bears have financial assets to fulfill their goals.

The Bones will be the Bears' assigned team in the l-league. They are based in Misty Lake, Midvalleys, just between Orange and Woodbury.

And their AA-team are the Massia Guardians, which are the second team in the whole league in Central Oasis.

Abbreviation used for the teams:

• BEA: Kuronga Bears
• BON: Misty Lake Bones
• GUA: Massia Guardians

Organisation teams' logos : (primary and "small")

5) The Pinehearth Explosion team :

The Pinehearth will be the AAA team assigned to the Nang Nius from 1988. They will compete with the Zappir Phoenix to determine which team is the best of Scarlet Falls.

Next post will be a summary about the country Lingalie, and the league's implementation accross the country !

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Let's carry on with the state of Lingalie after the 1988 expansion :


As I did for the 1976 season, here is the updated map of the country :

Now every state has at least a minor league team. 6 states still don't host yet a major league team : Central Oasis, Hessia, Scarlet Falls, Lingalie West, the Hinterlands and Strangleronce.


I also added new cities, to have at least three cities per state. I have also modify some cities and their population.

For instance, the previous Baie-du-Butin is renamed Cabestan, and a new city Baie-du-Butin is located in Strangleronce

Or Pampa Bay has now ~68 k inhabitants, instead of ~200k, because it will makes more sense to only have a r-league team in a smaller city, as I don't plan to establish another team there.

New cities include Springles in Lingalie West, Arubastos in Central Oasis, and many more that you can check it out in the map above.

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Last post about the 1988 expansion before the season recap :

Let's focus on the league structure :


With 16 teams, the LBL will be splitted into two subleagues : the Moon League and the Sun League. As you probably noticed, they are named after the old two divisions.


Each subleague will be composed of two divisions of four teams. These divisions are majorly based on proximity but rivalries could also played a role in the composition of the divisions. All divisions contains exactly one expansion team.


The two top teams of each division will advance to postseason (no Wild Card).

Moon League - Metro division :

This division inherits the old Moon division and the first division (from 1960-1969) records, it is named because most of these teams are located near the Lingalie City Metropolis area.


1988 analysis : the Nang Nius are the biggest favorites to win the division. The other big favorites, the Freros had done a dissapointing 1987 season, so City may have chances to clinch a postseason berth for the first time in their history. The Thunders will fact their prior affiliated team.

Moon League - Outlands division :

The name Outlands is a vast territory in the south of Lingalie that includes many states : Green District ,Hessia, the Hinterlands, some part of the Midvalleys and Bouldgalie. Of the four teams that constitute the division, only the Narballo Tattoed Sharks do not fit this description.

1988 analysis : this division is expected to be the weakest. Indeed, only the Expendables have participated in the playoffs before. So this is a chance for the Maple Leaves and the Tattoed Sharks to shine. This also mean that the Wheelies will face weaker opposition than the other expansion franchises.

Sun League - Coast division :

The Coast division inherits the previous Sun division records. Its name come from the fact that all four teams are close to the sea situated east of Linga Bay.

1988 analysis : This may be the tougher division, as the Black&Yellows, the Diamonds and the Sea Stars were the most proeminent teams in the Sun division the previous years. This could threaten the Bears' ambition.

Sun League - Colourful Valley division :

The name Colourful Valley stems from that all four teams are named with a colour/adjective and an animal : the Jade Tigers, the Silver Eagles and the Golden Dragons. It is in fact a tradition in the West, and North-west of Lingalie. Others examples in minor leagues are the Maykrafth Iron Wolves or the Chefecia Purple Bats.


For the Green Goblins, it is particular as their name is inspired of this pattern but Lingalia does not follow this tradition

1988 analysis : this division is composed of the 1987 champion and the two franchises from Boubi Town. The Silver Eagles were the best team out of these in th 80's. The Jade Tigers is rebuilding while the Green Goblins weren't that great last seasons. Hence, the Golden Dragons have chances to contend for a playoff berth.

Postseason tree:

The tree is fixed, thus the matchups are fixed. I prefer to put interleagues in postseason instead dividing in subleagues like in the MLB.

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1988 Season :

• Pre-season story:

Expansion draft and new franchises:

AAA team : Wayt Tides Thunderbolts / AA team : Milos Storms
Owner : Gavril Papayan
Patience: Tolerant
Spending: Charitable
Involvement: Interfering
Focus: Balanced
Stadium : Wayt Tides Park ~22k capacity (project to add more seats in the next years)

Rd 1 SP Arturo Ortiz (DIA) 30 yo 11-11 4.45 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 139K, 0.9 WAR in 170.0 IP
Rd 2 CL Sam Leah (LGG) 31 yo 7-3, 2.80 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 93 K; 22 SV, 1.6 WAR in 64.1 IP
Rd 3 RP Ian Jones (FRE) 29 yo 9-4, 3.22 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 45 K, 2 SV, 1.6 WAR in 36.1 IP
Rd 4 SP Juan Colon (SEAG) 25 yo (r-league) 6-1, 1.98 ERA, 1.16 WHUIP, 83 K, 1.2 WAR in 72.2 IP
Rd 5 RP Harri Brown (FRE) 24 yo 3-0 4.36 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 51 K, -0.1 WAR in 66.0 IP

AAA team : Zerstrig Zerstorers / AA team : Baie-du-butin Bruisers
Owner : Shou-chien Park
Patience: Very Understanding
Spending: Controlling
Involvement: Hands-off
Focus: Profit
Stadium : HotWheels Stadium ~22k capacity

Rd 1 SP Alemayehe Fernandez (B&Y) 27 yo 13-11 3.73 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 101 K, 2.2 WAR in 188.1 IP
Rd 2 SP Akorakor Ata (LGG) 32 yo, 6-6, 3.27 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 61 K, 2.0 WAR in 110.0 IP
Rd 3 SS Masao Takahashi (SEAG) 32 yo .273/.346/.383, 8 HR, 60 RBI, 2.4 WAR in 132 G
Rd 4 RP Jose Ramirez (DIA) 27 yo (r-league) 9-6, 2.46 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 133 K, 2.3 WAR in 157.1 IP
Rd 5 CL Jorge Batista (SEAG) 27 yo 4.97 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 32 K, 0.3 WAR in 38 IP

AAA team : Misty Lake Bones / AA team : Massia Guardians
Owner : Memphis Zuwiski
Patience: Demanding
Spending: Generous
Involvement: Normal
Focus: Winning
Stadium : Bears Stadium ~39k capacity

Rd 1 SP Josh Howard (LNN) 33 yo, 4-2, 2.44 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 36 K, 1.0 WAR in 55.1 IP
Rd 2 LF Alberto Miranda (SEAG) 26 yo; .251/.327/.330, 7 HR, 42 RBI, -0.8 WAR in 115 G
Rd 3 C Dusty Redfern (SEAG) 34 yo, .248/.330/.368, 8 HR, 48 RBI, 2.9 WAR in 112 G
Rd 4 RP Shigetoshi Nagaoka (FRE) 31 yo, 1-3, 3.05 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 34 SV, 88 K, 2.2 WAR in 79.2 IP
Rd 5 RP Ren-Qing Luong (SEAG), 24 yo, 5-3, 2.36 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 116 K, 0.9 WAR in 84 IP

AAA team : Sokor Wyverns / AA team : Ape Rhill Neutrons
Owner : Chian Da Tou
Patience: Understanding
Spending: Economizer
Involvement: Meddling
Focus: Profit
Stadium : Golden Park ~32k capacity

Rd 1 SP Jeff Hudson (SEAG), 25 yo, 9-8, 5.27 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 98 K, 1.5 WAR in 157.0 IP
Rd 2 SP Miguel Alfaro (CITY), 32 yo, 8-9, 3.95, 1.38 WHIP, 115 K, 1.0 WAR in 141.1 IPS
Rd 3 LF Joao Kamiya (DIA), 26 yo .234/.275/.335, 9 HR, 44 RBI, 0.7 WAR in 122 G
Rd 4 RF Otik Knespl (MAP), 29 yo, .283/.345/.322, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 0.3 WAR in 80 G
Rd 5 SP Tsu-Wee Yip (GRE), 27 yo, 11-13, 4.36 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 164 K, 0.0 WAR in 206.1 IP


Surprising champions last year, the Green Goblins will have to do better than their .486 average last year if they want to defend their title. Native from Lingalia, RF Sarsa-Dengal Mdahoma shined in his hometown last season. He had 173 H, a league high, 12 HR and 68 RBI, as well as a batting line of .327/.380/.456 and 4.9 WAR.


For five years in a row, the Nang Nius played in the LBS, this season they will still be the biggest favorites, with the most talentful roster. For his first year in Lingalie City, CF Robin Britton achieved a promising season, with .277/.347/.418, 13 HR 4.9 WAR in 115 G. The 26 yo Australian will try to do better this year.


In 1969, the first expansion of the league happened and the Expendables won the championship. In another expansion year, 1982, the Expendables won the title as well. Will this repeat in 1988 ? Young 2B Denny Larson had been playing well the last two seasons. He batted for .284/.325/.354 with 1.9 WAR, and 154 H in 131 G.


Always stumbling upon the Nang Nius in the past years, the Black&Yellows want to win the championship again, their last title was in 1978, an eternity for the most successful franchise in the league. At 22, the designated closer Jorge Aleman managed to impress. His numbers last season were 24 SV, 1.69 ERA, 88 K, 2.9 WAR in 58.2 IP.


One of the best team of the 80's, the Diamonds has been placed in a very tough division. They always find a way to renew their roster, after losing many talents over the years. 1987 best pitcher played in Dawala, indeed Javier Cisneros won the Golden Ball after an amazing season. He managed to have a 17-7 record, 2.36 ERA (best in the league), 0.97 WHIP, 176 K, 6.2 WAR in 217.1 IP.


In a weak division, the Maple Leaves could finally get a spot to access the playoffs. LF Javy Cardenas has proved that he is one of the best defenders in the league, he won the Sapphire Award the last two seasons for his position.

Transfert/ FA :

- Soo-yeon Kim, 32 yo C, opted out of his contract and signed as a FA (GRE --> SST) a contract of 4 270 000 € in 5 y
- Michel Dubost, 27 yo CF, signed as a FA (JDT --> SST) a contract of 13 600 000€ in 8y
- Alejandro Fragoso, 32 yo CF, opted out of his contract and signed as a FA (SST --> LAD(MLB)) a contract of 3 960 000 € in 3 y
- Carlos Garica, 29 yo LF, signed as a FA (SST --> SEAG) a contract of 6 590 000€ in 6y
- Harris Nash, 26 yo C, signed as a FA (SST --> B&Y) a contract of 12 320 000€ in 8y
- Myung-gu Kim, 31 yo SP, opted out of his contract and signed as a FA (B&Y --> FRE) a contract of 6 700 000 € in 5 y
- Fernando Mendoza, 31 yo LF, opted out of his contract and signed as a FA (LNN --> LGG) a contract of 6 480 000 € in 6 y
- Carl Leeson, 28 yo SP, signed as a FA (LGG --> GRE) a contract of 13 600 000€ in 8y
- Akifumi Shimizu, 37 yo CF, signed as a FA (GRE --> WHE) a contract of 1 200 000€ in 2y
- Kyle Petrillo, 29 yo C, was traded (KC(MLB) --> TSH) for 5 players (RP E.Cardona, A.Chieu, J.Powell, J.Romero, I.Yuhi) (1 year left on contract)
- Alfonso Solano, 29 yo LF, signed as a FA (LNN --> TSH) a contract of 10 080 000€ in 7y

Managerial changes :

MAP C.J. Helman is not the Orange Maple Leaves manager anymore. He managed to work 11 years there, without any results. His successor is Jordan Berry, an inexperienced coach.

SEAG Buddy Carlyle had a contrasted record during his time as the Silver Eagles skipper. He decided to leave the franchise to become a bench coach for the Atlanta Braves. After a successful career as player, another as the GM of the Sea Stars since 1975, Ernie Banks decided to change career to become the Silver Eagles' manager.

SST Mills Roger only stayed in his position for one year. William Cherry, the former bench coach of City will replace him.

THU & GDD & WHE & BEA : first manager appointed.

CITY Boutros Nyachae (1981-)
LNN Paul McCarthy (1982-)
FRE Harvey Kuenn (1984-)
THU Michael Lewington (1988-)

GRE Oberdan Diaz (1983-)
TSH Anderson Rosario (1984-)
MAP Jordan Berry (1988-)
WHE Ahmed Wiese (1988-)

DIA Alejandro Zamora (1979-)
B&Y Andrew Lefave (1981-)
SST William Cherry (1988-)
BEA Hugues Chopin (1988-)

LGG Yellel Cooper (1986-)
JDT Daniel Albritton (1987-)
SEAG Ernie Banks (1988-)
GDD Yic Xu (1988-)

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• Regular season :

Moon League

For the first time in their history, City will play in the playoffs. They managed to win the Metro division with more than 100 wins and the best record in the regular season. Their players Dave Jackman & Yun-qi Chu really did explose this season (see below in awards section). The Nang Nius will join them with a .574 record, while the Freros only played for .500. As expected, the Thunders did finish last with more than 100 loss.

The winner of the Outlands division had less victories, as the Green District Expendables won their division with only .506 average. Mike Jackson was their most consistent player. The other newcomer in the postseason is the Narballo Tattoed Sharks which were only 1-game shy of winning their first division title. The Maple Leaves finish third and the expansion team from Stonegap finish last.

Sun League

The Silver Eagles won the first edition of the Colourful Valley division, they had a solid team led by 1988 Golden Glove Herman Strazzer and 1988 Silver Glover Victor Morales. The other franchise from Boubi Town, will accompany them with their second place. The Gree Goblins finished just two wins behind them. The Tigers had not played the playoffs since their title in 1976. Note that the Golden Dragons were the best expansion team with their .463 average.

This season, another team achieved more than 100 wins : the Black&Yellows with only one win less than City. The could rely on really good pitching, with the Golden Ball winner Kevin Delahaye et Silver Ball winner Jorge Aleman. There was a tight race for the second postseason berth, but the Diamond did overcome their state rivals, the Sea Stars with 3 more wins. High expectations were placed on the Bears, but they were the worst team accross the league in 1988 with a .296 average.

• Draft :
  

Pitcher Diego Rizo was the first pick in the 1988 Draft. The venezuelan player was picked in 3rd position by the Green Districts Expendables (I could not find the first two picks, my guess is that they didn't signed with the Maple Leaves and the Freros ?)

• All Stars Game :

The first edition of the All-Star Game took place in the National Baseball Dome, home of the Lingalie City Baseball Club.

Moon League

In the Moon League, some experienced players are present like River Ford (LNN), Myung-gu Kim(FRE), Akira Kazama(LNN) or Akifumi Shimizu(WHE). Rising stars in the league like Kyle Petrillo(TSH),Dave Jackman(CITY), Omar Almendarez(LNN), Ka-fei Li(MAP), Yun-qi Chu(CITY), Mike Jackson(GRE) or Armando Solano(TSH) are also in the Moon League team.

Sun League

For the Sun League, the most known players are Guan-pei Chio(B&Y), Osmo Karppinen(B&Y), Wayt Roxo(B&Y) Cesar Gomez(SST), Soo-Yeon Kim(SST), Roberto Revilla(DIA), Rafael de Luna(DIA) and Michel Dubost(SST). Rising stars would be Victor Morales (there are two of them, but the first base of SEAG is the most promising one), Victor Sira(LGG), Herman Strazzer(SEAG), Jérôme Imbert(DIA) and Kevin Delahaye(B&Y).

For this first clash, the Moon League did win over the Sun League. Sorry but I can't find a way to retrieve old scores of the ASG, I did not thought that I will still doing these recaps, so I have not wrote all the results down (I only note the winner except for some years I totally forgot to wrote it down.)

• Awards :

- Awards : Who were the best players this year ?

Moon League :

Due to attachments limitations, I will post the Sun League awards in another post tomorrow with the playoffs results!

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Sun League :

Paul McCarthy won his third manager of the year award after 1983 and 1986. He successfully guided his team to the playoffs once again.
Andrew Lefave won his second manager of the year award in the Sun League after 1984. His team were the best in the SL regular season.

• Playoffs :

note : SL=Sun League, ML=Moon League, CD=Coast Division, OD= Outlands Division, CVD=Colourful Valley Division, MD=Metro Division

Linga Quarter-Finals Series

DIA(2nd SL CD) vs GRE(1st ML OD)
JDT(2nd SL CVD) vs CITY(1st ML MD)

LNN(2nd ML MD) vs B&Y(1st SL CD)
TSH (2nd ML OD) vs SEAG(1st SL CVD)

The Linga Quarter-Finals are played as Best-of-5 Series.

Despite their numerous postseason appearances, it's the first opposition between the Diamonds and the Expendables. It was a tough series, but the Expendables won it 3-2.
For their first appearance at this stage, City swept the Jade Tigers to win their first postseason series.
Another year, another classic duel in postseason for the Nang Nius and the Black&Yellows. The Nang Nius once again defeated their rivals 3-1.
The other newcomer, the Tattoed Sharks also advanced to the Semi-Final Series by defeating Boubi Town 3-1.

Linga Semi-Final Series
GRE vs CITY
LNN vs TSH

Two fiercly disputed Series in the 1988 Semi-Final Series, a total victory for ML teams as all teams are from the Moon League. Both were won 4 to 3. From a regular season POV, everybody could expects a Lingalie City LBS with the Nang Nius and City. But, both the underdogs, Green District and Narballo, were able to win their matchup.

Linga Baseball Series
GRE vs TSH

A ML-Outlands division-only final Series for this expansion year season. The teams finished close in the regular season in the supposedly weakest division so all possibilities could happen.
In spite of their impressive first postseason run, the Tattoed Sharks were defeated by the Expendables. It is the 4th championship for Green District, including 3 in expansion season.

A glance of the players behind this title :

• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

Following the league restructuration, the divisions are now :

Light League (or l-LL, minor league teams of ML teams) :


Azure Division (minor league teams of ML-MD teams):

• Wayt Tides Thunderbolts (THU)
• Wayt County Bobcats (FRE) (sometimes referred as Lynx because I took screenshots after they were renamed)
• Pinehearth Explosion (LNN)
• N'Boubi Specials (CITY)

Cyan Division (minor league teams of ML-OD teams):

• Drimm Land Woodies (GRE)
• Zappir Phoenix (MAP)
• Chefecia Purple Bats (TSH)
• Zerstrig Zerstorers (WHE)

Dark League (or l-DL, minor league teams of SL teams) :

Sapphir Division (minor league teams of SL-CD teams):

• La Croisée Bullets (B&Y) (sometimes referred as Canons because I took screenshots after they were renamed)
• Briggs Buccaneers (SST)
• Emerald Jewels (DIA)
• Misty Lake Bones (BEA)

Marine Division (minor league teams of SL-CVD teams):

• Maykrafth Iron Wolves (SEAG)
• Leafay Androids (JDT)
• Lutia Vikings (LGG)
• Sokor Wyverns (GDD)

Division winners :
- l-LL Azure : Wayt County Bobcats (6th)
- l-LL Cyan : Zappir Phoenix (2nd)
- l-DL Sapphir: Misty Lake Bones (1st)
- l-DL Marine: Sokor Wyverns (1st)

Playoffs :

In the LFS, Zerstrig defeated the Vikings to win the championship in their first year of existence ! They break the record of their opponents, the Vikings, who won on their 2nd season.

r-league (AA) :

Following the league restructuration, the divisions are now :

Red League (or r-RL, minor league teams of ML teams) :

Square Division (minor league teams of ML-MD teams):

• Milos Storms (THU)
• Oshu'gun Lumberjacks (FRE)
• Vertecolline Junglers (LNN)
• Creugré Mocking Birds (CITY)

Heart Division (minor league teams of ML-OD teams):

• Blaum Turtles (GRE)
• Huangjia Wizards (MAP)
• Hessia Adler (TSH)
• Baie-du-Butin Bruisers (WHE)

Black League (or r-BL, minor league teams of SL teams) :

Spade Division (minor league teams of SL-CD teams):

• Galia Suns (B&Y)
• Pampa Bay Fishermen (SST)
• Orange Challengers (DIA)
• Massia Guardians (BEA)

Club Division (minor league teams of SL-CVD teams):

• Lingalia Mammoths (SEAG)
• Narballo Gators (JDT)
• Unkünft Kernels (LGG)
• Ape Rhill Neutrons (GDD)

Division winners :
- r-RL Square : Milos Storm (1st)
- r-RL Heart : Galia Suns (4th)
- r-BL Spade: Hessia Adler (1st)
- r-BL Club: Ape Rhill Neutrons (1st)

Playoffs :

Two newcomers, at this stage, were opposed in the Onion Series : Ape Rhill and Hessia. The team to win their first championship is the Neutrons for their first season ever. The old record was held by the Challenger who won the championship in their 6th season in 1974.

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• International Championship Series:

The ICS was held in the USA capital city, Washington DC. The MLB champions to face Green District are the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pittsburgh had participated once in the ICS, with a loss in 1985.

The Expendables defeat them to win their third ICS title in 4 attempts.

• HoF Induction :

SP Vinny Gomez (54,6 %) former player of the FRE (1972-75), the LNN (1976) and the B&Y (1977-82) was inducted as player of the Black & Yellows on his first ballot. Gomez won a championship with the Black&Yellow in 1978. His lifetime stats are 4.35 ERA, 2102 K, 1.25 WHIP, 29.5 WAR, 113 W and 94 L in 273 G and 1773.0 IP.

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1989 Season :

• Pre-season story:

The specialists of expansion years, the Expendables, are once again the favorites to win the Outlands division. 1988 LBS MVP Kinnon Henn had a breakout season last year at 31. The 1B batted for .208/.366/.451, 33 HR, 83 RBI & 5.1 WAR

Surprisingly good for their first postseason appearance, the Tattoed Sharks lost their best hitter Kyle Petrillo. But there are still talents in Narballo, as SP Wing-tat Tsai achieved a solid season for his second year there. He was 10-15 with 3.37 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 200 K and 6.7 WAR.

Incredible in the regular season last year, City is finally benefitting from their rebuilding years. Yun-qi Chu, Dave Jackman and Josh Mendez are the most known players, but SP Jim Kimball did really well for his return in the LBL after one year at St Louis. He had 19 W (league high), 9 L, 2.89 ERA, 243 K and 6.1 WAR.

The best team of the SL in 1988, the Black&Yellow have yet to win a championship in this decade. This is their longest drought and they want to end it soon. The ACE Kevin Delahaye is incredible since 1986. He won his first Golden Ball. The Canadian pitcher lead last year in ERA (2.04), K (292), WHIP (0.91), K/9 (9.8), BABIP (.247) and WAR (9.1)

First winner of the Colourful Valley division, the Silver Eagles will contend for the championship again. The 1988 Golden Glove winner Herman Strazzer was exceptional for his second full season in the LBL. The German 3B batted dominated the SL with 129 RBI, .509 SLG, .886 OPS and 8.4 WAR. He also had 34 HR, .275 AVG and .377 OBP.

Maybe the biggest outsider to have not participated in last season playoffs, Linga Bay will seek their 2nd championship. Catcher Soo-Yeon Kim may have his best years behind him, but he is still one of the best catcher in the league. He won his 9th Ruby Award last year. Add to this his 8 Sapphire awards. In his first season for his fourth team, Kim batted for .230/.312/.423 with 23 HR and 4.2 WAR

Transactions/ FA :

- Cesar Gomez, 34 yo SP, signed as a FA (SST --> LGG) a contract of 15 000 000 € in 5 y
- Kyle Petrillo, 30 yo C, signed as a FA (TSH --> SEAG) a contract of 19 840 000 € in 3 y
- Emilio Cantu, 28 yo SP, signed as a FA (GRE --> PHI(MLB)) a contract of 1 870 000 € in 3 y
- Ka-fei Li, 26 yo 2B, signed as a FA (MAP --> BEA) a contract of 7 740 000 € in 4 y
- Daniel Flores, 29 yo 2B, signed as a FA (CITY --> MAP) a contract of 7 170 000 € in 7 y
- Julian Williams, 30 yo CL, signed as a FA (LNN --> B&Y) a contract of 1 860 000 € in 3 y

Managerial changes :

CITY Boutros Nyachae retired at age 61. He managed to win a division title for his last season. Inexperienced coach Ryan Sebra will replace him.
THU Michael Lewington was fired after his poor results as the manager of the Thunders. Previously bench coach for Lingalia, Fidel Pena has been chosen as the new manager of the Thunders.
GRE Oberdan Diaz and Green District ended their collaboration on a successful season last year. He is currently waiting for other coaching opportunities. Matt Curry is his successor. This will be his first job.
SST Once again, the Sea Stars have appointed a new manager. William Cherry will now pursue his career as the manager of the Thunderbolts in the l-league. Donn Clendenon has been appointed for the 1989 season.

LNN Paul McCarthy (1982-)
FRE Harvey Kuenn (1984-)
THU Fidel Pena (1989-)
CITY Ryan Sebra(1989-)

TSH Anderson Rosario (1984-)
MAP Jordan Berry (1988-)
WHE Ahmed Wiese (1988-)
GRE Matt Curry (1989-)

DIA Alejandro Zamora (1979-)
B&Y Andrew Lefave (1981-)
BEA Hugues Chopin (1988-)
SST Donn Clendenon(1989-)

LGG Yellel Cooper (1986-)
JDT Daniel Albritton (1987-)
SEAG Ernie Banks (1988-)
GDD Yic Xu (1988-)

• Regular season :

Moon League

Not in postseason for the last three years, the Freros mark their comeback with an impressive 110-52 record to win their 3rd division title. Golden Ball winner Myung-gu Kim was stellar. Their old rivals, the Nang Nius had clinched the second postseason berth in the Metro division, just one win ahead of City. The Thunders did improve and at least, they did not finish the season with more than 100 losses.

The reigning champion, Green District did much more better than last season by winning 102 games. Mike Jackson achieved again a great season as the team DH. Narballo was a bit less performant than in 1988, but it was enough to participate again in the playoffs. The last two teams have both lost more than 100 games. Stonegap is the only 1988 expansion team to not finish last of their division.

Sun League

In the Colourful Valley div., the team placed in the same place as last year. The Silver Eagles finished with exactly 100 wins. Their offence were amazing this season with 821 runs scored. 2B Strazzer won back-to-back Golden Glove. He was perfectly surrounded as Morales, Barraza or Garica also did a great season. The Golden Dragons finished with more than 100 losses, a bit disappointing after their solid first season.

The Diamonds were able to get ahead of the Black&Yellows to win their 4th division. Their bullpen included the closer that won the Silver Ball in SL : Lothar Frisch. Once again, the Sea Stars are left out of postseason. After their awful season last year, the Bears did better but still lost 100 games.

• Draft :
  

Markus Iisalo, a pitcher from Finland was picked first in the 1989 Draft by Kuronga.

• All Stars Game :

Moon League

In the ML, some players did affirm themselves like Yun-qi Chu(CITY), Robin Britton(LNN), Xin-Yun Cheng(FRE), Alex Nunez(FRE) or Shuichi Mizusawa(CITY).
Experienced players like River Ford(LNN), Myung-gu Kim(FRE), Akira Kazama(LNN), Dave Jackman(CITY), Omar Almendarez(LNN), Mike Jackson(GRE) make their return.

Sun League

The SL team welcome notable newcomers Kyle Petrillo(SEAG), Lothar Frisch(DIA), Carlos Garica(SEAG), Carlos Bermudez(DIA)
Osmo Karppinen(B&Y), Roberto Revilla(DIA), Victor Sira(LGG), Herman Strazzer(SEAG), Victor Morales(SEAG), Jose Barraza(SEAG), Jérôme Imbert(DIA), Michel Dubost(SST), Soo-Yeon Kim(SST) are the biggest players to play in their second ASG.

In the Nomatica Arena of Narballo, the Sun League defeat their opponent to make it even between the leagues.

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• Awards :

Who were the best players this year ?

Moon League :



Sun League :

ML: Harvey Kuenn won the manager of the year award in the ML, after his team led the whole league with an impressive 110-52 recond in regular season. It his 2nd personal award after 1985.
SL: Ernie Banks won his first award as manager, in his second year of managing the Silver Eagles.

• Playoffs :

note : SL=Sun League, ML=Moon League, CD=Coast Division, OD= Outlands Division, CVD=Colourful Valley Division, MD=Metro Division

Linga Quarter-Finals Series

B&Y(2nd SL CD) vs GRE(1st ML OD)
JDT(2nd SL CVD) vs FRE(1st ML MD)

LNN(2nd ML MD) vs DIA(1st SL CD)
TSH (2nd ML OD) vs SEAG(1st SL CVD)

Almost all teams participated in last season playoffs. Only the Freros replace City.

The last postseason Series played between the Black&Yellows and the Expendables was 10 years ago, in 1979. Lingalie North did won the Series in the last game, something that did happen again this year.
For their return in playoffs, the Freros faced the Jade Tigers. Despite being favorites after their great regular season, the Jade Tigers advanced to the next stage by winning the Series 3-2.
A classic opposition between the Diamonds and the Nang Nius. The Diamonds have never won against Lingalie City, and this year is not different, with a sweep in bonus.
Last year, the Silver Eagles also faced the Tattoed Sharks in the same stage. Narballo might be their nemesis, as they once again eliminated the Silver Eagles on a 3-1 mark.

Linga Semi-Final Series
B&Y vs JDT
LNN vs TSH

One series opposed teams from the SL, another two teams from the ML. All teams finished 2nd of their respective division.

In the SL "final", the Jade Tigers meet the Black&Yellow 13 years after their win against them in the LBS. This time, Lingalie North win the duel 4-1.
The other Semi-Final Series is a remake of last year with the Tattoed Sharks and the Nang Nius. It also ended in 4-3 but it is Lingalie City which got even with Narballo.


Linga Baseball Series
B&Y vs LNN

It seems that the Black&Yellow and the Nang Nius cannot play a postseason without facing each other. It is the 5th consecutive year with a postseason Series between the two biggest franchises in the LBL. The Lingalie North lost every of these matchup. But not this year, as they won their 11th league title, 11 years after the last one !

A glance of the players behind this title :

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• Minor leagues results :

l-league (AAA) :

Division winners :
- l-LL Azure : N'Boubi Specials (7th)
- l-LL Cyan : Zerstrig Zerstorers (1st)
- l-DL Sapphir: La Croisée Bullets (7th)
- l-DL Marine: Sokor Wyverns (2nd)

Playoffs :

The Zerstorers kept performing this year with a first division title but above all, another championship ! They beat the Bones, the Specials and the Phoenix on their way. The Phoenix lost in their two appearances in the LFS.

r-league (AA) :

Division winners :
- r-RL Square : Creugré Mocking Birds (4th)
- r-RL Heart : Galia Suns (5th)
- r-BL Spade: Hessia Adler (2nd)
- r-BL Club: Lingalia Mammoths (7th)

Playoffs :

In their second year of existence, the Bruisers were able to reach the Onion Series. Unfortunately for them, Creugré ended up winning the title 4 to 3. It is their second championship in 2 appearances, after 1984.

• International Championship Series:

The Atlanta Braves won their 4th WS and faced the Black&Yellows in Wayt Tides for the ICS. The Braves already lost twice to the franchise from Lingalie North.

This year is not much different, as the Black&Yellows swept their opponent to win their 9th ICS, a record in the competition.

• HoF Induction :

This year, no new players were inducted in the HoF. The three players with the most votes were :

- RP Meqran Musoke (1st ballot 44.8%)
- SS Royce Lewis (4th ballot 43,4%)
- SP Brayan Medina (4th ballot 39.0%)

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New logos :

I rework the logo of some teams, let me introduce them to you before the 1990 season :

Lingalie North Black&Yellow :

The logo for the B&Y was the first one I ever made, so it's been a while since I wanted to rework it. Now I think it looks a bit more modern.


Narballo Tattoed Sharks :

I thought it was too bad that the Sharks only got a small logo, that is more of a mascot than a logo. Of course they will keep the Shark as their small logo. So you may see it not that often.


Dawala Diamonds :

Same thing as for Narballo, I am not entirely satisfied by this one so maybe I will try to make a new one if I got a better idea than that.


Oshu'gun Lumberjacks :

Another logo that uses the smaller logo with the team name. I wanted the patterns to look like a red jacket, don't know if this is a success.



Vertecolline Junglers :

Also one of the first logo I have done. It has the small logo incrusted as well.

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Blaum Turtles :

Here the pattern should look like a turtle shell. I really like the colors on this one.




Chefecia Purple Bats :

The last logo that derives from the small logo.




Misty Lake Bones :

I just added the team name to add more branding to the previous logo. Sorry for the resolution, the image is quite bad quality.




Baie-du-Butin Bruisers :

In the left is the new primary logo while in the right is the new small logo. The fist add a bit identity to the team, while the previous logo was too simple. It also add a secondary color : yellow.