Baseball: The World's Game (OOTP 22 Fictional World)

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Changchun had Chinese League Baseball’s best record in 2021 by a healthy margin atop the Northern League at 107-55. The Camels earned their fourth playoff berth in six years and finished first for the third time of that run. Changchun allowed the fewest runs at 401 and scored the third most at 566. Reigning CLB champ Shenyang finished second by a solid margin at 95-67, but were still 12 away from the Camels. The Swans grew their playoff streak to five seasons and led in runs scored at 577.

The remaining playoff spots went to Nanjing (89-73) and Shijiazhuang (87-75) with both teams getting their third playoff berth in four years. Next closest were Harbin (83-79), Beijing (82-80), and Zhengzhou (81-81). Last year’s NL runner-up Xi’an fell to 14^th at 72-90. Hangzhou also went from a wild card the prior year down to only 78-84.

Legendary Shenyang two-way star Chuchuan Cao repeated as Northern League MVP, winning it for the fifth time (2013, 15, 17, 20, 21). He was second in Pitcher of the Year voting, denying that repeat and a possible sixth POTY. On the mound, the 32-year old lefty led in pitching WAR (9.9) for the eighth time in his decade-long career. Cao also led in innings pitched (289), K/BB (13.1), quality starts (29), and complete games (26), tying CLB’s single-season CG record. He had a 1.96 ERA, 141 ERA+, 19-11 record, and 327 strikeouts.

Cao won his ninth Silver Slugger, playing 78 games in left field in addition to his pitching starts. At the plate, he had 6.1 WAR, a 160 wRC+, 21 home runs, 63 RBI, and 64 runs. Cao had a combined 16.0 WAR, which was the sixth-best of his career and the 25^th-best for any player in any world league. This gave Cao a combined 158.3 WAR for his career, passing SS Junjie Hsiung’s 152.6 as the all-time CLB WARlord.

This would be Cao’s final CLB season, finishing on the mound with a 177-88 record, 1.75 ERA, 2566.2 innings, 3242 strikeouts, 149 ERA+, and 97.2 WAR. At the plate, he had 1252 games, a .292/.333/.486 slash, 174 wRC+, 61.1 WAR, 153 homers, 444 stolen bases, and 586 RBI. As of 2037, he ranks 5^th in pitching WAR and 13^th in strikeouts. Cao’s baseball career would continue in Australia, signing in the offseason with OBA’s Sydney Snakes at $43,200,000 over four years.

Beating Cao for Pitcher of the Year was Shijiazhuang righty Len Goh. The 29-year old Hongkonger led in ERA (1.40) and WHIP (0.77). Goh posted a 13-7 record over 238 innings, 280 strikeouts, 195 ERA+, and 8.4 WAR. He was in his eighth year for the Serpents, signing a five-year, $60,300,000 extension after the 2019 campaign.

In the Round Robin, Nanjing was the top team at 4-2 to earn their second semifinal trip in four years. Shenyang and Shijiazhuang tied at 3-3 while top seed Changchun fared worst at 2-4 despite their regular season dominance. The Swans advanced to their fifth straight semifinal via the tiebreaker, but their repeat bid was denied 4-2 by Nanjing in a rematch of the 2018 semi. The Nuggets earned their fifth trip to the China Series (1070, 1982, 1996, 2018, 2021).



In a tight race for the Southern League’s top spot, Hong Kong (94-68) edged out Foshan (92-70). Both teams grew their playoff streaks to four years, although this was HK’s first time leading the standings in that run. For the remaining two playoff spots, there were six teams within five games of each other. Advancing both at 87-75 were Guangzhou and Kunming. The Gamecocks ended a three year playoff drought and the Muscles stopped a four-year skid..

Falling just short were Changsha (85-77), Xiamen (85-77), Dongguan (83-79), and Nanning (82-80). Defending SL camp Macau also fell short at 80-82 and Shantou’s five-year playoff streak ended with their 78-84 finish. Despite missing the playoffs, the Donkeys scored the most runs in CLB at 591 and the Mutts allowed the fewest at 401.

Southern League MVP went to Changsha LF Tao Cai in only his third season. The 24-year old righty led in home runs (59), RBI (126), runs (109), total bases (395), slugging (.671), and OPS (1.036). Cai had a .302 batting average, 215 wRC+, and 11.6 WAR. He missed out on the WARlord by a fraction to Kunming’s Shimin Loy, who finished third in MVP voting.

Loy’s season was especially significant though as it was his rookie year, having been picked #1 by the Muscle in 2020. He set the new CLB record for WAR by a Rookie of the Year winner, beating Cheng Kang’s 10.8 from 2012. It was among the best rookie years in any world league, although it was still behind the all-time mark of 13.9 by ABF stud Nizami Aghazade in 2012.

Repeating as Pitcher of the Year was Hong Kong righty Dalong Li. The seventh-year righty led in wins (20-6), WHIP (0.79), quality starts (30), FIP- (60), and WAR (7.7). Li posted a 1.82 ERA over 238 innings with 235 strikeouts and a 157 ERA+. He agreed to a four-year, $44,700,000 extension with the Champions in the offseason.

Top seed Hong Kong took top honors in the Round Robin at 4-2, while Guangzhou and Foshan were 3-3 and Kunming was 2-4. The tiebreaker favored the Gamecocks over the Flyers, giving Guangzhou its second semifinal in five years. The Champions got their third semifinal try in four years and again prevailed, although they needed all seven games to outlast the Gamecocks. HK earned its seventh trip to the China Series (1978, 1982, 1997, 2007, 2018, 2019, 2021).



The 52^nd China Series was the third finals meeting between Nanjing and Hong Kong. Back in 1982, the Champions won their first-ever title by beating the Nuggets 4-2. More recently in 2018, Nanjing swept HK to win its second title, putting the trophy next to their 1996 win. 2021 followed the same script as 2018 with a Nuggets sweep. Seventh-year LF Xun Luo was finals MVP, getting 10 hits, 7 runs, 2 homers, and 8 RBI over 16 playoff games.



Other notes: Zhen Zhang became the 10^th member of the 400 home run club, the 14^th to 2000 hits, the 11^th to 1000 RBI, and the 13^th to 1000 runs scored. Boyu Long and Cheng Kang also reached 1000 RBI, making 13 players to do so. Zhang (CF) and Long (RF) both won their eighth Silver Sluggers.

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2021 seemed like a possible changing of the guard in the Taiwan-Philippine Association as the two 2007 expansion teams earned their first-ever playoff berths. The #1 seed went to Cagayan de Oro in the Philippine League at 97-66, who needed a one-game tiebreaker to defeat Zamboanga. Defending PL champ Manila was also competitive at 91-71. The Critters outperformed their expected win/loss by 11 games to take the top spot.

Hsinchu won the Taiwan League by a healthy margin at 93-69 with a powerful offense. The Sweathogs scored 670 runs, 122 more than any other team in Austronesia Professional Baseball. Defending APB champ Taipei was second at 85-77, ending their record nine-year playoff streak. The Tigercats still grew their run of winning seasons to 14.

Repeating as Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP was Hsinchu DH Binh Tang. The 21-year old Vietnamese lefty missed a month to a fractured wrist, but still led in the triple slash (.331/.396/.583), OPS (.979), and wRC+ (200). Tang had 8.3 WAR, 90 runs, 30 home runs, and 89 RBI. He soon earned the nickname “The King” for good reason, as this 8.3 WAR season would be his lowest output for the next 14 years.

Zamboanga ace Ching-Chen Yao won his ninth Pitcher of the Year award and his seventh consecutive. He became only the fourth pitcher in all of pro baseball history to win the award 9+ times, joining EPB’s Matvey Ivanov (11), CABA/MLB legend Junior Vergara (10), and BSA’s Lazaro Rodriguez (9). Amazingly, this was actually the lowest full-season WAR in Yao’s career to that point, despite leading the TPA again at 9.7.

Yao won his seventh ERA title at 1.41 and led in strikeouts (306) for the ninth time. He also led in WHIP (0.65) and FIP- (39). Over 216.2 innings, Yao had a 13-6 record and 200 ERA+. Still only 33-years old, the Zebras lefty also threw his second no-hitter on September 4 with 10 strikeouts and 2 walks against Tainan. Yao moved to 136.7 career WAR, which ranked fourth in APB and was within striking distance of Hadi Ningsih’s top mark of 144.49.



Two-time defending Sundaland Association champ Palembang earned their fourth consecutive Java Sea League crown. The Panthers at 101-61 earned the top overall seed, beating Bandung by seven games in the division race. Kuala Lumpur dominated the Malacca League at 98-64, earning their second-ever ML title (2015). The Leopards also posted their best-ever record since joining APB. Singapore was a very distant second at 82-80, while last year’s ML winner Medan fell to 75-87.

In only his third season, Kuala Lumpur CF Adam Mapiut won Sundaland Association MVP. The 22-yeaer old Filipino had 9.1 WAR, a 190 wRC+, .807 OPS, 34 home runs, 81 RBI, and 73 runs. Also worth noting, his Leopards teammate Syanhaz Noor won a fourth consecutive Reliever of the Year. Noor was the eighth APB closer to win the award 4+ times.

Palembang righty Yen Ling Lam earned Pitcher of the Year with a blistering 1.11 ERA, which was the 16^th lowest qualifying season in the incredibly low scoring APB. The 30-year old from Singapore had a 16-5 record over 211.1 innings, 276 strikeouts, 225 ERA+, and 8.1 WAR. After eight years with the Panthers, Lam would leave in the offseason on a huge six-year, $92,600,000 deal to return home to Singapore. Multiple injuries unfortunately would mean he’d only make 34 appearances in two seasons with the Sharks, making that deal an all-time bust.

With both shooting for their first-ever pennant, the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship was a classic. Hsinchu outlasted Cagayan de Oro to advance in seven games. Meanwhile the Sundaland Association Championship wasn’t at all competitive with Palembang sweeping Kuala Lumpur. The Panthers posted the second-ever three-peat in SA history, joining Jakarta’s 1968-70 run. Palembang won its seventh pennant (1974, 1976, 1978, 2005, 2019, 2020, 2021)



Palembang became two-time APB champions, winning the 57^th Austronesia Championship 4-2 over Hsinchu. The Panthers won their second title in three years, the first to do so since Davao’s 2009-10 repeat. 2B Nanda Dhvanamodin won finals MVP in his seventh season for Palembang. The 29-year old Indian in 10 playoff starts had 16 hits, 5 runs, 1 double, 1 triple, and 9 stolen bases.



Other notes: Singapore’s Wil Tabaldo became APB’s all-time RBI leader at 1438, passing the previous best of 1426 by Abracham Gumelar. He had already taken the home run king crown the prior year, finishing 2021 with 663. With 42 homers and 95 RBI in 2021, the 34-year old slugger led in homers for the 11^th consecutive season and led in RBI for the 11^th time in 12 years.

2021 had APB’s 44^th and 45^th perfect games thrown within the same week. On August 16, Pekanbaru’s Muhammad Liaw did it with seven strikeouts against Johor Bahru. Then on August 22, Zamboanga’s Elroy Ejusquiza fanned 14 versus Cebu. Kuala Lumpur’s Ferry Iilang threw his second no-hitter on September 26, having previously done it in 2019. Raja Kamal became the 19^th pitcher to 4000 career strikeouts and Gosner Rahmawati was the 25^th to reach 200 wins.

RF Shih-Chieh Tseng won his position-record 13^th Gold Glove, becoming the third player to win 13+ at any position in APB. 1B Widodo Megawati won his 11^th consecutive Gold Glove. LF Lin Hu won his seventh Silver Slugger.

Batam had an all-time poor offense, setting Sundaland Association worsts in batting average (.180), runs scored (344), and hits (938) while posting the second-worst slugging percentage (.278). The Blue Raiders’ hits and average mark still rank as the worst as of 2037. Taichung set a new Taiwan-Philippine Association worst with 132 doubles, which remains the low as of 2037. On the pitching side, the Toucans’ Sharin Sha’ari had a 3-27 record, setting the APB single-season worst for losses.

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Christchurch repeated as Australasia League champion at 101-61, finishing seven games ahead of both Auckland and Melbourne at 94-68. The Chinooks led the AL in both runs scored (849) and fewest allowed (613). They had the third-best team slugging percentage in AL history at .490 and also posted the second-most doubles (286) and triples (143). Christchurch earned their sixth pennant in nine years and their 14^th overall.

Sydney was fourth at 87-75, but they had the Australasia League MVP in 2B Trey Cruz. The 24-year old Guamanian was already in his seventh year with the Snakes, debuting in 2015 at age 18. In 2021, Cruz led in hits (210), stolen bases (109), batting average (.349), and WAR (9.0). He was six steals away from OBA’s single-season record set by George Connolly in 1991. Cruz added a .962 OPS, 154 wRC+, 72 extra base hits, and 121 RBI.

In his Christchurch debut, veteran Alamoana Nembil won Pitcher of the Year. The 30-year old lefty from Kiribati he bounced between three teams before signing a three-year, $11,360,000 deal for 2021 with the Chinooks. He had a banner year, leading in wins at 28-6 while adding a 2.79 ERA over 306.2 innings, 369 strikeouts, 148 ERA+, and 7.7 WAR.



In an intense two-team race, Vanuatu (102-60) beat out Guadalcanal (100-62) for the Pacific League crown. The Wizards became the first of the four 2006 expansion teams to win a pennant, allowing the fewest runs in OBA at 524. Reigning Oceania Champion Guam was a distant third at 88-74 with Honolulu fourth at 87-75.

Port Moresby was seventh at 74-88, but their hometown center fielder Stanley Yeo won Pacific League MVP. In his third season, the 25-year old Papuan lefty had the most total bases (351), steals (86), and WAR (10.9). Yeo hit 41 homers with 103 RBI, 110 runs, .944 OPS, and 174 wRC+.

Leading Vanuatu’s pitching staff to their first title was Pitcher of the Year Stef Page. The 28-year old Australian righty was in his sixth full season in the rotation, winning his first ERA title at 2.41. He also led in quality starts at 32 while tossing 299 innings for a 21-9 record, 378 strikeouts, 143 ERA+, and 9.5 WAR. This big season earned Page a six-year, $89,400,000 extension the following spring.



In the 62^nd Oceania Championship, Vanuatu won their first title in a seven game classic over Christchurch. This left Fiji and the other three expansion teams as those without an OBA title. The Chinooks were runner-up yet again, putting them at 3-11 all-time in the championship. No franchise in any world league has more runner-up finishes.

Finals MVP was 2B Baptiste Thiery, who joined the Wizards in a deadline trade from Canberra. The 30-year old Tahitian made his two months in Vanuatu count, going 11-28 in the finals with 3 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, and 3 RBI. Worth noting also was Christchurch ace Jarrod Hutchinson, the 2020 Pitcher of the Year. In his three starts, he had a 1.50 ERA over 24 innings with 33 strikeouts and 1.4 WAR. Hutchinson set new OBA playoff records for strikeouts and pitching WAR. He had a win, loss, and no decision despite his efforts.



Other notes: Fiji ace Akira Brady had his bid for a ninth Pitcher of the Year award thwarted with recurring back spasms costing him two months. Still, Brady was able to pass Timothy Manglona’s 5771 to become the new OBA strikeout leader, finishing the season at 5826. Still only 35-years old, the New Zealand lefty was on his way to becoming only the fifth in all of world baseball history to reach 6000 career strikeouts.

Brady also finished the season at 155.0 WAR, becoming OBA’s all-time WARlord ahead of Tarzan Rao’s 154.94. Brady was primed next season to become OBA’s wins leader as he moved to 311. He was only two behind Nigel Chalmers’ 313 for second and three away from Rao’s 314. In other pitching notables, August Lantz became the seventh to reach 250 wins and Jarrod Hutchingson was the 20^th to get to 3500 strikeouts.

Adrian Kali became OBA’s new all-time hits king, passing Junia Lava’s 3113 and finishing the season with 3129. Dale Harper became the fourth member of the 3000 hit club in 2021 as well, ending the year at 3029. Kali and Clifford James both crossed 1500 runs scored, making five players to do so. James and Roe Kaupa both breached 1500 RBI, making that a 12-player club. Kali also became the 11^th member of the 600 home run club.

Suliano Nadruku, Donald Gorman, and Naldo Soto all got to 2500 hits; making that club 21 men deep. Gold Coast’s Jasper Barnes had a 33-game hit streak, falling one game short of Kiryl Savchuk’s OBA record from 2004. CF Pouvalu Manu won his seventh Gold Glove. Roe Kaupa became the fourth player to win 11 Silver Sluggers. He now had five at first base to go with his six as a designated hitter.

In bad records, Sydney pitcher Albert Aguon allowed 364 hits, a new OBA high. Hobart’s pitching staff set OBA all-time worsts in ERA (5.07) and earned runs allowed (812). Their 859 runs allowed were second-worst to Perth’s 880 from 2004. The Tasmaniacs also had only 988 strikeouts as a staff, which was the third-lowest in AL history.

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Much to the frustration of many players, Eurasian Professional Baseball increased the service time required for free agency from nine years to ten years. This made EPB the most restrictive of all of the world leagues along with Beisbol Sudamerica. BSA would relent and ease up shortly, while EPB’s restriction remained in effect through the 2036 season.



Defending European League champ Volgograd broke their franchise-record 106-56 mark from the prior year, taking the top seed and South Division title at 109-53. The Voyagers earned their second-ever division title (2007), as they were a wild card last year behind Voronezh. The Zephyrs fell to 90-72 in 2021, but that was enough to get the first wild card. Voronezh earned their third straight playoff berth and their fourth in five years. The Zephyrs were the only EPB team that scored 700+ runs in 2021 at 728.

Moscow repeated as North Division champ at 96-66, growing their playoff streak to four years. The Mules earned their seventh berth in eight years and were the only team to allow fewer than 500 runs (488). Nine games away was Nizhny Novgorod at 87-75, who took the second wild card over St. Petersburg (85-77), Krasnodar (83-79), and Kazan (81-81). This was the first-ever playoff berth for the Ninjas since their founding in 2000.

Voronezh first baseman Zygmunt Socha won his second European League MVP, having also won back in 2017. The 29-year old Polish lefty led in home runs (58), RBI (129), runs (114), doubles (41), total bases 9419), slugging (.709), OPS (1.097), wRC+ (211), and WAR (10.8). After 11 years with the Zephyrs, Socha would opt out of his eight-year deal signed in winter 2016. He would leave for Major League Baseball with a five-year, $123 million deal with Houston.

Volgograd ace Svyatoslav Tyahnybok won his third consecutive Pitcher of the Year and posted EPB’s 14^th Triple Crown pitching season. The 27-year old Ukrainian had a 24-6 record, 1.59 ERA, and 332 strikeouts over 226.2 innings. Tyahnybok also led in WHIP (0.73), K/BB (15.1), FIP- (37) and WAR (10.7) with a 206 ERA+. He would commit long-term with the Voyagers after the 2020 season on a five-year, $57,300,000 deal.

Nizhny Novgorod shocked top seed Volgograd 3-2 in the first round, giving the Ninjas their first-ever European League Championship Series trip. Moscow downed Voronezh 3-1 on the other side, giving the Mules their sixth ELCS berth since 2014. Moscow downed their divisional foe NN 4-2 for their second pennant in three years and fourth in seven years. This gave the Mules 12 EL titles, passing Kyiv for the second-most. Moscow still has a long way to catch Minsk’s 20 titles for the most.



Perm repeated as West Division champ at 104-58 and earned the Asian League’s top seed for the first time. Last year’s top seed Krasnoyarsk again won the East Division at 102-60. The Cossacks grew their playoff streak to four years and led the AL in runs scored at 687. Two-time defending EPB champ Chelyabinsk earned their third consecutive wild card with a 97-65 finish.

For the second wild card, Ulaanbaatar (89-73) edged out Yekaterinburg (87-75). With the Boars’ result, the AL had the same four playoff teams as the prior year. Although the Yaks missed the playoffs, they ended a six-year run of losing seasons. Omsk allowed the fewest runs at 501, but couldn’t do better than 80-82 with only 508 runs scored.

Asian League MVP went to Krasnoyarsk shortstop Bakhtiyar Dolukhanov. The 27-year old Kazakh switch hitter led in hits (205), doubles (41), and batting average (.344). Dolukhanov added 78 runs, .925 OPS, 175 wRC+, and 7.8 WAR. He committed long-term the Cossacks the prior winter on an eight-year, $57,200,000 extension.

Ulaanbaatar righty Ilya Kungurov picked up Pitcher of the Year honors. The 26-year old Russian led in ERA (2.09), innings (271.1), WHIP (0.84), and quality starts (27). Kungurov saw 321 strikeouts, an 18-7 record, 153 ERA+, and 8.7 WAR.

In the first round, Perm topped Ulaanbaatar 3-1 and Chelyabinsk ousted Krasnoyarsk 3-1. The Pitbulls earned their first-ever trip to the Asian League Championship Series, while the Cadets were going for the three-peat. In a seven-year classic, Perm outlasted Chelyabinsk to become the second of the 2008 expansion teams to win a pennant.



The 67^th EPB Championship saw Perm roll Moscow 4-1 to become the 22^nd different franchise to win the EPB crown. The Mules moved to 5-7 all-time in their finals tries. RF Timofei Averkin was finals MVP in his seventh year for the Pitbulls. The 27-year old Russian in 16 starts had 24 hits, 11 runs, 3 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs, and 13 RBI.



Other notes: Nikolay Kargopolecv became the 10^th member of EPB’s 600 home run club. Evgeny Kiselev became the 22^nd to reach 2500 hits. Wojciech Tarnawski and Kaysar Alkhasov both got to 200 wins, a mark hit by 56 EPB arms. 1B Artur Sagdatullin won his position-record 12^th Gold Glove. He was the fourth in EPB with 12+ GGs at any spot. Omsk’s Malik Kadyrov threw his third no-hitter, becoming the eighth EPB pitcher with 3+ no-nos in their career. Minsk’s offense had only 236 walks drawn, tying EPB’s all-time low.

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Hamburg finished well ahead of the rest of the EBF Northern Conference at 108-54, repeating as East Division champ. The Hammers won their fifth consecutive division title and scored 840 runs, 104 more than the next closet team. Hamburg was second in the NC with 577 runs allowed. Warsaw was the only team allowing fewer at 553 and had the conference’s second-best record despite being 13 games behind Hamburg in the division. The 95-67 Wildcats easily got the first wild card and their third postseason berth in a row.

Beyond those two teams, the rest of the conference was absurdly competitive. Only seven wins separated the NC’s third-best record from the 15^th-best and there were 13 teams within seven games of the final wild card spot. Defending conference champ Dublin dropped from 109 wins to 87-75, but this still narrowly got them the West Division crown. Oslo was one back at 86-76, getting the second wild card to end a four-year playoff drought.

Rotterdam won the Central Division by two games at 86-76 for their second berth in four years, although the Ravens hadn’t been a division champ since 2005. The top contenders for the third wild card were close behind in the Central. Antwerp (84-78) missed the division title by two games, but they took the final spot to end a three-year drought. Right behind them in the Central Division were Frankfurt (83-79), Amsterdam (82-80), and Cologne (81-81). The Falcons notably had a three-year playoff streak snapped.

Plenty of other teams in other divisions had a legit shot at a wild card into mid-September with Kharkiv (82-80), Leipzig (81-81), Reykjavik (81-81), Edinburgh (80-82), Helsinki (80-82), and Wroclaw (80-82) all in striking distance. Even 78-84 Manchester and Berlin, plus 77-85 Hanover and Sheffield weren’t out of it until late. Those teams also needed to fight to the end as they weren’t safe from relegation.

The worst record in the conference gets demoted, but usually that team is noticeably weaker than their foes. In 2021, 70-92 was the bottom spot and went to Brussels. Paris (71-91), Kyiv (71-91), Glasgow (72-90), and Birmingham (74-88) all were sweating until the end, but survived. It was a stunning result for the Beavers, who had a 15-year run of winning seasons entering 2021 and were European Champion back in 2017. Despite not being awful, the Belgian capital was relegated for the first time. Brussels also underperformed their expected win/loss by nine games, adding insult to injury.

Northern Conference MVP went to Hamburg second baseman Oliver Schmitz. The 28-year old German led in home runs (58) and total bases (420). Schmitz had 118 runs, 126 RBI, 57 stolen bases, .960 OPS, 166 wRC+, and 9.8 WAR while also hitting for the cycle in June. He signed a four-year, $77 million extension with the Hammers in March, but would shock them by opting out after the 2022 season. Schmitz then earned a six-year, $164.2 million payday from Edinburgh.

Amsterdam veteran Luther Bowness won Pitcher of the Year in his 14^th season for the Anacondas. The 33-year old English righty led in strikeouts (308) and WAR (8.2). Bowness saw a 2.54 ERA over 241.1 innings, 16-8 record, and 153 ERA+. He tossed three more seasons with Amsterdam before a pair of labrum tears forced his exit.

Oslo upset Warsaw 2-1 in the first round while Antwerp edged Rotterdam 2-1. Both winners took the top seeds to the limit in round two, but home field advantage held. Dublin dropped the Octopi 3-2 and Hamburg held off the Airedales 3-2. The Dinos kept their repeat bid alive, while the 2019 champ Hammers hoped not to squander the top seed like they did in 2020.

Hamburg was a heavy favorite, having won 21 more games than Dublin despite this being the #1 versus #2 seed in the Northern Conference Championship. The Hammers held firm, winning the series 4-1 for their second pennant in three years. Hamburg became six-time conference champs (1964, 1979, 1990, 1999, 2019, 2021).



The Southern Conference was top heavy with three 100+ win teams. The top two were both in the Central Division with Zagreb (108-54) defeating Palermo (104-58). The Gulls earned repeat playoff berths, but this was the first time since 1975 as a division champ. As the first wild card, the Priests earned their third playoff berth in their five years since getting promoted to the EBF Elite. Zagreb led the conference in scoring with 806 runs.

Reigning European Champion Munich earned the #2 seed and the bye atop the West Division at 101-61. The Mavericks allowed the fewest runs in the SC at 571 and got their third playoff berth in four years. Zurich was eight back in the division at 93-69. The Mountaineers and the Central Division’s Brno (94-68) picked up the remaining wild cards easily. Zurich’s playoff streak grew to six seasons, while the Bandits earned their first-ever postseason trip in their eight seasons in the top tier.

In a weak East Division, Belgrade (85-77) held off Bucharest (82-80) and Skopje (81-81) to advance. The Bruisers got their second berth in three years and first division title since 2015. Last year’s division champ Cluj-Napoca was a non-factor at 75-87. Also notable was 2020 top seed Naples falling from 106-56 down to 81-81.

Another historically strong franchise was demoted for the first time as Barcelona posted the Southern Conference’s worst record at 63-99. Tirana (65-97) and Ljubljana (66-96) both narrowly escaped relegation. The Bengals had been conference champ as recently at 2015 and had won four pennants since 2006. However, 2021 was Barcelona’s sixth consecutive losing season and the one that doomed them to relegation for the first time. This was a rare season where no teams lost 100+ games, meaning only the worst team from each conference would be relegated.

Palermo 1B Jean-Paul Lafontaine became a three-time Southern Conference MVP, having also won in 2019 and 2017. The 31-year old Frenchman led in runs (137), RBI (122), total bases (398), slugging (.671), OPS (1.074), wRC+ (194), and WAR (8.9). Lafontaine smacked 48 home runs with 57 stolen bases and a .342 average. It was his 11^th season with the Priests, having led them out of the European Second League in 2016.

Zagreb’s A.J. Magee repeated as Pitcher of the Year and became the fourth EBF ace to win the award 5+ times. The 31-year old lefty from Northern Ireland led in wins at 21-4, adding a 2.09 ERA over 245.2 innings, 221 strikeouts, 181 ERA+, and 6.9 WAR. Entering his tenth year for the Gulls, Magee signed a six-year, $106,800,000 extension around opening day.

Brno stunned Palermo 2-0 in the first round while Belgrade swept Zurich. Like in the Northern Conference, the top seeds were taken to the brink but survived 3-2 in the second round. Zagreb outlasted the Bandits and Munich bested the Bruisers. For the Gulls, this was their first trip to the Southern Conference Championship since 1996. It was a rare occurrence where both conference finals had the top two seeds.

Zagreb had the top seed, but the Mavericks’ recent playoff success helped them roll to a 4-1 series victory on the road. Munich repeated as Southern Conference champ and were the first team to win the SC thrice in four years since Madrid (1999-2002). It was the ninth pennant for the Mavericks (1951, 1952, 1971, 1988, 1991, 2001, 2018, 2020, 2021).



The 72^nd European Championship was an all-German final, the first-time ever that two teams from the same nation met for the EBF crown. It also guaranteed a German winner for the third year in a row, as Hamburg had won in 2019 and Munich was the defending champ. The Mavericks would pull off the repeat, defeating the Hammers 4-2. Munich became four-time EBF champs (1952, 1988, 2020, 2021) while Hamburg fell to 1-5 all-time in the finale.

RF Andre Walter was finals MVP in his third season, having joined Munich in a 2020 offseason trade from Leipzig. The 24-year old German in 16 playoff starts had 17 hits, 12 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, and 16 RBI. Munich became the fifth franchise to repeat as European Champion, joining Dublin (2010-11), Copenhagen (2004-05), Marseille (1985-86), and Amsterdam (1983-84).



Other notes: Oslo shortstop Harvey Coyle finished the season with 169.0 career WAR, putting him just behind Jacob Ronnberg’s 169.2 for EBF’s all-time WARlord spot. Still only 34-years old, Coyle had 9.6 WAR in 2021 and won his 13^th Gold Glove; a record at any position in EBF. The eight-time English MVP maintained his commitment with the Octopi, signing a four-year, $65,100,000 extension in the winter.

EBF hit king Jiri Lebr became the fifth player to reach 2000 career RBI and the 35^th member of the 500 home run club. Lebr ended 2021 at 2106 RBI, just behind Jacob Ronnberg (2184) and Jack Kennedy (2107) for EBF’s most. The 40-year old Slovak finished the year at 3974 hits and didn’t seem to be slowing down, primed to become the fourth in all of pro baseball history to reach 4000 hits. After nearly two decades with Budapest, Lebr played 2020 and 2021 for Warsaw. He would sign for 2022 with Manchester.

Harvey Coyle, Marco Solis, and Johan Almgren each got to 2500 hits, making that a 37 player club in EBF. Jean-Luc Tapie became the 26^th to 1500 RBI and the 18^th to 1500 runs scored. Almgren also reached 1500 RBI, the 27^th to do so. LF Theofilos Psarras won his seventh Silver Slugger. Ivan Marchenko won his eighth Gold Glove and his first at third base. He had won twice at shortstop and five times at second base.

In essentially his final pro season, journeyman closer Metta Adam became the eighth reliever in world history to record 500 career saves. He was best known for his time with Taipei, getting 271 of his saves. Adam bounced around between APB, EBF, and MLB in his final years to finish with exactly 500 saves. It was also notable as he never won Reliever of the Year despite leading in saves eight times in his run.

The two no-hitters thrown in the 2021 EBF season both came from Reykjavik’s Vasile Russu. The first had 14 strikeouts and 1 walk on April 8 against Hanover and the second on May 28 saw 16 Ks and 2 BB against Helsinki. Russu was the fourth pitcher in EBF history to throw two no-hitters in the same season.

Promotion/Relegation: Brussels and Barcelona were demoted to the European Second League, while Dnipro and London earned promotion. The Monarchs were moved into the NC West and Oslo was shifted to the Central to replace the Beavers. The Defenders were put into the SC East, while Krakow was shifted to the Central and Malta was moved to the West to plug the Bengals’ slot. Both Brussels and Barcelona were placed in the E2L Western Conference and Gothenburg was shifted to the Eastern Conference to restore balance.

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Caracas posted its fifth consecutive Venezuela Division title and fifth consecutive 100+ win season. For the third year running, the Colts also had the Bolivar League’s top seed with their 102-60 finish. Caracas allowed the fewest runs in the BL (668) and was second in runs scored (825). The division ace wasn’t a cakewalk though with both wild cards coming out of Venezuela.

Last year’s BLCS runner-up Ciudad Guayana led in scoring at 862 and had the second-best record in the league at 99-63, three games behind the Colts. Valencia at 90-72 earned the second wild card, ending an eight-year postseason drought. The Velocity finished two games ahead of Cali and three ahead of defending BL champ Santa Cruz for the second wild card.

The Cyclones (88-74) were four games behind Guayaquil in the Colombia-Ecuador Division. The 92-70 Golds got their second division title in five years. Guayaquil set a new Beisbol Sudamerica team record with 137 triples. Quito at 82-80 had their bid for a third straight wild card snapped. Also notable was Medellin at 79-83, posting their first losing record since 2010. The defending champ Crawfish were 87-75, finishing four games behind Trujillo for the Peru-Bolivia Division. The Thoroughbreds extended their division title streak to four seasons.

Bolivar League MVP went to Ciudad Guayana’s Juan Suarez in his first full season. He wasn’t considered eligible for Rookie of the Year despite only playing 10 games in 2019 and none in 2020. The 22-year old Colombian started all 162 games and led in hits (243), runs (134), home runs (51), plate appearances (707), at-bats (665), and total bases (459). He added 127 RBI, 1.088 OPS, 177 wRC+, and 7.7 WAR.

Santa Cruz’s Bartolo Flores picked up Pitcher of the Year in his second full season as a starter. The 23-year old Ecuadoran righty led in ERA (2.56), strikeouts (341), WHIP (0.93), quality starts (23), and WAR (7.3). Flores had a 159 ERA+ over 252.2 innings and 18-9 record, falling two wins short of a Triple Crown. This began what would be a remarkable 14 year run for Flores as the league leader in strikeouts.

Valencia edged Trujillo 2-1 in the first round, then pulled off the 3-2 upset over Caracas in the divisional series. Despite averaging 106.8 wins over the last five seasons, the Colts continued to fail in the playoffs. In their five-year streak, Caracas had been ousted thrice in the divisional series and twice in the Bolivar League Championship Series. For the Velocity, they earned their first BLCS trip since winning Copa Sudamerica in 2011.

On the other side, Ciudad Guayana rolled to a 3-0 sweep of Guayaquil to earn repeat BLCS trips. This was the second time in four years that both BLCS participants came out of Venezuela. Underdog Valencia continued to roll, upsetting the Giants 4-2 to earn their eighth pennant (1974-78 five-peat, 2007, 2017, 2022). The Velocity were the third #5 seed to win the Bolivar League title in the last five years, joining 2017 CG and 2018 Maturin.



Recife earned the Southern Cone League’s top seed at 103-59, repeating as North Division by scoring the most runs in the league at 817. The Retrievers grew their playoff streak to nine seasons and got their 12^th berth in 13 years. It was also Recife’s 15^th straight winning season. Fortaleza gave them a fight at 95-67, which secured the first wild card. The Foxes grabbed their second berth in three years and scored 814 runs.

The #2 seed was Southeast Division champ Rio de Janeiro at 97-65, ending a four-year playoff drought. Montevideo was second at 93-69 to take the second wild card and end a five-year playoff drought. The Venom were six games better than their nearest foe. Last year’s league runner-up Porto Alegre was a non-factor falling to 75-87.

Defending Copa Sudamerica champ Santiago was the weakest division champ at 93-69, but still secured their sixth playoff berth in seven years. The Saints’ run of winning seasons grew to 13 seasons. Asuncion (87-75) was six away and Concepcion (86-76) was seven away. The Chiefs’ playoff streak ended at five seasons, although they got their 11^th winning effort in a row.

Although Manaus was 77-85, 2B Daniel Schafer earned Southern Cone League MVP. The 33-year old Brazilian had won MVP way back in 2013 as well. In 2021, Schafer led in batting average (.399), OBP (.441), wRC+ (213), and WAR (9.8). His average was the fifth-best single-season in BSA to that point. Schafer also had 223 hits, 104 runs, 35 homers, 107 RBI, and 1.107 OPS. After 11 years with the Magpies, Schafer opted out of his eight-year extension from 2017. He would ink a new five-year, $74.8 million contract with Caracas.

Pitcher of the Year saw Fortaleza’s Eli Krook win it seemingly out of nowhere. The 29-year old lefty from Suriname hadn’t been good enough to make the active roster in the prior two seasons and he only posted 2.5 career WAR over 25 games in his Foxes career. In 2021, he led in wins (21-5), innings (275.2), quality starts (25), and complete games. Krook also had a 2.61 ERA, 281 strikeouts, 147 ERA+, and 6.5 WAR.

He would only make 11 starts the next year and never pitched again after that. Krook stayed contracted with Fortaleza all the way through 2027 but wasn’t used, finally retiring at age 35. Krook was baffling as he never had any major injuries, he was a true one hit wonder. Poor control kept him from getting more looks, but he had respectable numbers in the limited chances he had.

Santiago edged Montevideo 2-1 in the first round, then the defending champs upset top seed Recife 3-1 in the divisional series. Fortaleza outlasted Rio de Janeiro 3-2 on the other side, giving the Foxes their first Southern Cone Championship trip since 2014. Fortaleza dethroned Santiago in a 4-3 classic for their third pennant in a decade (2013, 2014, 2021). The Foxes became ten-time league champs with the result.



The 91^st Copa Sudamerica was the second finals’ battle between Fortaleza and Valencia. The Velocity swept the Foxes back in 1978 and the 2021 rematch was marginally more competitive with a 4-1 Valencia win. A run of parity continued as Valencia was the ninth different cup winner in as many years, the second-longest such streak behind the ten different champs from 1968-77. It was the Velocity’s 1977-78 repeat that snapped the prior streak. This was Valencia’s fourth cup, having also won in 2011.

Finals MVP was 1B Antonio Casas in his eighth year with the Velocity. The 31-year old Colombian started 19 games with 25 hits, 17 runs, 3 doubles, 3 home runs, and 9 RBI. 3B Herculano Bravo was also notable, winning MVP of the other three playoff series. In his 19 starts, the 29-year old Argentine had 27 hits, 11 runs, 5 doubles, 5 homers, and 25 RBI. Bravo was three RBI short of the playoff record. Valencia joined 2017 Ciudad Guayana as the only teams to win Copa Sudamerica from the #5 seed since the playoffs expanded in 2009.



Other notes: Santiago catcher Cicero Lugo won his 14^th Silver Slugger, joining SS Diego Pena (15) as the only BSA players with 14+ Sluggers. Lugo had the world record for Sluggers by a catcher and finished the season with 108.8 WAR, passing MLB Hall of Famer Mason Wilkinson (103.78) for the most career WAR accrued at catcher in any league.

Antonio Arceo became the third to reach 800 career home runs, finishing his career at 816. This kept him behind Milton Becker (941) and Valor Melo (870) on the all-time list. Arceo also retired third in RBI at 1950. Niccolo Coelho and Alex Salinas became the 7^th and 8^th members of the 700 home run club. Coelho won his 12^th Silver Slugger at third base; a position record. Salinas also became the 13^th member of the 3000 hit club and won his seventh Gold Glove at first base. 2B Oscar Valdivia won his ninth Silver Slugger.

Rio de Janeiro’s Vincent Sandoval had the fourth-ever playoff no-hitter against Fortaleza, striking out 7 and walking 3. Donzel De La Rosa became the 34^th reliever to 300 career saves. Manaus had a historically bad pitching staff, setting all-time Southern Cone League worsts in ERA (4.85) earned runs allowed (775), and WHIP (1.438). They allowed 852 runs, second-worst to Asuncion’s 860 in 1931.

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The Japan League was incredibly top heavy in 2021 as all four division champs won their crowns by double-digits. Despite that, only one of the prior year’s playoff teams made it back. After missing the cut in 2020 despite 100 wins, Kyoto had the top seed in 2021 at 105-57. The Kamikaze ended the six-year Central Division reign of defending East Asian Champion Osaka. The Orange Sox were still a respectable 88-74, but a distant second.

Capital Division champ Kawasaki and North Division champ Saitama were both 103-59. The Killer Whales earned their third berth in four years, while the Sting ended a three-year drought. Sapporo’s three-year reign in the North ended with a 90-win finish, while last year’s Capital champ Chiba fell to 70-92. The Killer Whales’ nearest foe was 89-win Tokyo.

The lone returning playoff team was 2020 JLCS runner-up Fukuoka. The Frogs repeated as West Division champ at 98-64, well ahead of 81-81 Hiroshima. Fukuoka led the league with 740 runs scored. Kawasaki allowed the fewest runs in the league at 501.

Japan League MVP went to Kawasaki CF Sang-Beom Shin in his 13^th season with the Killer Whales. The 33-yaer old switch hitter led in runs (113) and home runs (53). Shin added 118 RBI, a .958 OPS, 192 wRC+, and 8.4 WAR. Shin was strong again in 2022, then declined steeply in 2023 and retired after that season at age 35.

Fukuoka’s Toshikuni Naikai won his fourth straight Pitcher of the Year and his fifth in six years. He became the fifth EAB pitcher to win POTY 5+ times. The 28-year old lefty certainly wasn’t going to be able to repeat his 2020, which was widely considered the best pitching effort in baseball history. Naikai’s 2021 was yet another impressive chapter regardless.

In 204 innings, Naikai led in ERA (1.06), strikeouts (358), WHIP (0.66), FIP- (30) and WAR (10.5). The ERA was the third-lowest qualifying mark in EAB history, behind only his own 2020 (0.64) and 2018 (1.05). He did lose the final month of the season to a strained triceps and missed the playoffs. Naikai had a 19-3 record and 322 ERA+. In each of his POTY seasons, he led in ERA, strikeouts, and WAR.

Even without Naikai, Fukuoka gave top seed Kyoto a battle in the first round. However, the Kamikaze survived 3-2 for their first Japan League Championship Series berth since their 2014 EAB title. On the other side, Saitama edged Kawasaki 3-2 to give the Sting their first JLCS shot since 2005. Kyoto returned to the throne by stopping Saitama 4-2, winning their fourth pennant in 12 years and seventh overall.



The Korea League ended up very unbalanced in 2021 as the top five records all came from the South Division. Busan was the best of the bunch at 109-53, repeating as the top seed. The Blue Jays allowed the fewest runs in the KL at 546. Changwon scored the most at 813 and finished second at 100-62. The Crabs are back after missing out via tiebreaker last year, giving them five playoff berths over six years. Jeonju at 95-67 earned the second wild card, ending a four-year playoff drought. Daegu (90-72) and Daejeon (88-74) were their nearest foes.

While the North Division lacked strength, it was tight with four teams finishing within two games of first. Suwon (87-75) survived for their first playoff spot in a decade, fending off Pyongyang (86-76), Seongnam (85-77), and Incheon (85-77). The Spiders had their playoff streak snapped at four seasons. Defending KL champ Hamhung fell to 80-82, while last year’s KLCS runner-up Yongin struggled to 69-93.

Taking Korea League MVP was Jeonju LF Ji-Hwan Kim. In his 11^th year with the Jethawks, the 29-year old switch hitter led in runs (138), RBI (129), slugging (.683), OPS (1.082), wRC+ (182), and WAR (10.4). Kim had 52 home runs and a .326 batting average. After his long run with Jeonju, Kim left for free agency in the winter and joined Incheon for $112,800,000 over six years.

Pitcher of the Year was Daejeon righty Jae-Hoon Ahn, who led in wins (21-5), strikeouts (301), and WAR (7.6). The 25-year old had a 146 ERA+ over 245.2 innings and 2.60 ERA, missing the triple crown by seven points. Ahn spent one more year with the Ducks before getting a six-year, $171,500,000 payday after the 2022 season with Sapporo. He would be efficient with the Swordfish, but would be hampered by injuries.

Busan bested Jeonju 3-1 in the first round while Changwon outlasted Suwon 3-2 on the road. For the Blue Jays, this was their first Korea League Championship Series since their 2009 pennant. The Crabs had a shot at their third pennant in six years, having won the EAB crown in 2016 and 2017. Despite being the road underdog, Changwon cruised 4-1 over Busan to become eight-time Korean champs.



The 101^st East Asian Championship went all seven games with Kyoto prevailing over Changwon. The Kamikaze moved to an impressive 6-1 all-time in the finals with titles in 1974, 1976, 2010, 2011, and 2014. Veteran 1B Masaru Ochiai won finals MVP in his fourth year with Kyoto. The 32-year old had 18 playoff starts with 20 hits, 11 runs, 1 double, 5 homers, and 15 RBI.



Other notes: Kyoto’s Kobo Tani set a new EAB single-season record with a 0.45 BB/9. As a pitching staff, the Kamikaze set new EAB single-season records for fewest walks (186) and BB/9 (1.14). Changwon’s Dae-Eui Ha set a bad playoff record, getting caught stealing 10 times.

Chul Park became the 22^nd member of the 3000 hit club. Sang-Beom Shin, Yeong Shin, and Kunihiko Ishiguro each reached 500 home runs, making that a 70-player group. Hyogo Murayama became the 45^th to 1500 RBI. CF Hee-Ho Kang won his seventh Gold Glove. SS Shingen Matsumara won his ninth Silver Slugger. Ishihguro won his eighth Silver Slugger and his first at first base. He had four wins as a DH, two in left field, and one in right field.

At age 43, Ju-Won Yoo returned to EAB with Kawasaki after a stellar 15-year run in MLB. He had started his career in South Korea with Bucheon, then reached superstardom in the United States. With the Killer Whales, Yoo had 82 RBI, making him only the fourth in all of pro baseball history with 2500+ combined RBI. He played one final year with Goyang and added 31 more, finishing with 2566. That ranks third in baseball history as of 2037.

Yoo played 59 more games in 2022 with Goyang, finishing with combined pro stats of 3567 games, 2234 runs, 3993 hits, 657 doubles, 944 home runs, 2566 RBI, 1311 walks, .298/.362/.564 slash, 155 wRC+, and 146.3 WAR. As of 2037, Yoo ranks among all players 7^th in games played, 8^th in runs, 7^th in hits, 14^th in homers, and 38^th in WAR among position players. Although Yoo’s biggest fame was in America, he has a case as arguably the best-ever baseball player from South Korea.