European Baseball League

[Craig Costello]

1998 Stats And Awards

October 22nd 1998

                             AVG                                     ERA
Suljo Banovic (SOF)         .361    Guignard Aldobrandini (ATH)     2.97
Stefan Kowelski (GLA)       .336    Jerome Lucas (SOF)              3.04
Klement Thunmark (AMS)      .332    Arnold Schiff (LON)             3.08

                             OPS                                       W
Suljo Banovic (SOF)        1.041    Guignard Aldobrandini (ATH)       24
Stefan Kowelski (GLA)      1.006    Jerome Lucas (SOF)                20
Stefan Fingerlos (BAR)     1.006    Brad mardment (BUD)               19
                                    Stevan Zupljanin (SOF)            19

                              HR                                      SV
Stefan Kowelski (GLA)         40    Roth Meier (BAR)                  49
Stefan Fingerlos (BAR)        38    Yurochka Rostotsky (DUB)          47
Stevan Koljevic (VIE)         37    Tusya Suashev (ATH)               46

                             RBI                                      IP
Suljo Banovic (SOF)          129    Slavik Ronshin (SOF)           262.2
Czieslaw Lubelsky (BUD)      125    Guignard Aldobrandini (ATH)    260.2
Stefan Kowelski (GLA)        122    Arnold Schiff (LON)            260.0

                               R                                       K
Marcal Assis (SOF)           135    Guignard Aldobrandini (ATH)      251
Claudio DalMaistro (MIL)     125    Gwidon Dobrzynski (DUB)          222
Stefan Kowelski (GLA)        121    Arnold Schiff (LON)              214

                              SB                                    WHIP
Marcal Assis (SOF)           102    Guignard Aldobrandini (ATH)     1.03
Ewan Smith (LON)              79    Antonn Bila (BUD)               1.06
Evan van de Vlugt (BRU)       75    Arnold Schiff (LON)             1.08

WL Hitter of the Year

Stefan Kowelski (GLA): .336 AVG, 40 HR, 122 RBI, 1.006 OPS, 121 R
2nd time

EL Hitter of the Year

Suljo Banovic (SOF): .361 AVG, 31 HR, 129 RBI, 1.041 OPS, 118 R, 31 SB
2nd time, 2nd straight

WL Pitcher of the Year

Yurochka Rostotsky (DUB): 7-5, 47 SV, 2.42 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 74.1 IP, 21 BB, 64 K

EL Pitcher of the Year

Guignard Aldobrandini (ATH): 24-5, 2.97 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 260.2 IP, 57 BB, 251 K

WL Rookie of the Year

Baptiste Girault (LON): .312 AVG, 13 HR, 69 RBI, .809 OPS, 80 R

EL Rookie of the Year

Jerome Lucas (SOF): 20-6, 3.04 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 231.0 IP, 80 BB, 156 K

WL Homegrown Player of the Year

Claudia DalMaistro (MIL): .301 AVG, 19 HR, 75 RBI, .835 OPS, 125 R, 63 SB

EL Homegrown Player of the Year

Suljo Banovic (SOF)
2nd time, 2nd straight

Glove of the Year Awards

                           WL    EL
       Richard Wolton (BAR)   -P-   Nees Janzen (OSL)
       Eldwin Richter (DUB)   -C-   Jari Poutanen (ATH)
   Bertrand Radcliffe (BRU)  -1B-   Miko Rasanen (COP)
   William Coatsworth (LON)  -2B-   Jeigif Pivnyuk (HAM)
           Anier Cana (MIL)  -3B-   Alejandro Inigo (STO)
     Johannes Erisson (LIS)  -SS-   Adrian Henge (BUD)
          Enre Sebeok (AMS)  -LF-   Fabrice Carpentier (STO)
    Evan van de Vlugt (BRU)  -CF-   Vladimiri Marvanov (SOF)
         Lucas Soutar (AMS)  -RF-   Jason Dyer (HAM)

[Craig Costello]

Hall Of Fame Inductee - #1

Malcolm Kennedy

DOB: 2/25/59
POB: Youghal, Cork, Ireland

Draft: 1981 Inaugural Draft, 1st round, 1st pick (1st overall) by Paris Cyclones
Teams Played For: Paris Cyclones (1981-89), Dublin Wolfpack (1990-95), Madrid Hawks (1996-98)

Career Stats: 283-194, 2.76 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 4313.2 IP, 3537 K, 63 CG, 20 SHO
Best Year: 1988 with Paris - 18-7, 1.95 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 244.1 IP, 205 K

EBL Titles: 0
Awards: 3 time WL Pitcher of the Year (1983, 1987-88), 3 time WL Homegrown Player of the Year (1990-92), 9 time All-Star (1981, 1984-88, 1991-92, 1995)
Notes: Was the first ever EBL player, being drafted with the 1st pick of the 1981 inaugural draft...Retired as the leader in wins, Ks, shutouts, IP and second in ERA amongst starters...Won 20 games in a season twice...Was 6-0 in the 1992 postseason to make his second appearance in the ELS, but couldn't prevent Dublin losing to Berlin...Won the European Championships with Ireland in 1988 and 1992...ERA under 3.00 in 11 of first 12 seasons...Was never out of the top 6 in the league in HR allowed per 9 innings and was only out of the top 4 once...Led the league in quality starts in 8 seasons

[Craig Costello]

Hall Of Fame Inductee - #2

Theo 'Four Eyes' Brittain

DOB: 11/16/53
POB: Dublin, Ireland

Draft: 1981 Inaugural Draft, 1st round, 11th pick (11th overall) by Brussels Hitmen
Teams Played For: Brussels Hitmen (1981-83), Barcelona Iguanas (1983-86), Vienna Armageddon (1987-88), Madrid Hawks (1989-92), Lisbon Renegades (1993-94)

Career Stats: .302 AVG, 318 HR, 1129 RBI, 1910 Hits, .933 OPS, 1139 R
Best Year: 1986 with Barcelona - .337 AVG, 39 HR, 106 RBI, 1.069 OPS, 103 R

EBL Titles: 1 - 1982 with Brussels
Awards: 4 time WL Hitter of the Year (1984-87), 8 time All-Star (1981, 1984-90)
Notes: Was involved in the EBLs first ever blockbuster trade going from Brussels to Barcelona...Had 20 hits, including 6 homers in the 1982 postseason to help Brussels to the title...Won the 1988 European Championship with Ireland...Led the league in OPS in 3 seasons, including the first ever season

[Craig Costello]

Hall Of Fame Inductee - #3

Antti-Jussi 'A.J.' Meresmaa

DOB: 9/22/53
POB: Tuusula, Uusimaa, Finland

Draft: 1981 Inaugural Draft, 1st round, 4th pick (4th overall) by Amsterdam Selects
Teams Played For: Amsterdam Selects (1981-86), Hamburg Heat (1987-96)

Career Stats: .285 AVG, 208 HR, 1121 RBI, 2250 Hits, .836 OPS, 1297 R
Best Year: 1986 with Amsterdam - .344 AVG, 30 HR, 115 RBI, 1.039 OPS, 106 R

EBL Titles: 0
Awards: 7 time All-Star (1982-87, 1993)
Notes: Was the pre-eminent offensive catcher of his era...Retired as leader in hits, runs scored, RBIs and 3rd in home runs for catchers...Retired as EBL leader in walks

[Craig Costello]

Hall Of Fame Inductee - #4

Lukas Happ

DOB: 7/9/61
POB: Landeck, Tirol, Austria

Draft: 1981 Inaugural Draft, 1st round, 21st pick (21st overall) by Dublin Wolfpack
Teams Played For: Dublin Wolfpack (1981-86), Madrid Hawks (1987-92), Milan Mud Cats (1992-96), Sofia Sting (1997), Vienna Armageddon (1997)

Career Stats: .282 AVG, 30 HR, 787 RBI, .734 OPS, 1652 R, 2676 Hits, 1012 SB
Best Year: 1983 with Dublin - .327 AVG, 7 HR, 63 RBI, .877 OPS, 138 R, 73 SB

EBL Titles: 2 - 1985 with Dublin, 1997 with Sofia
Awards: 7 time Glove of the Year at CF (1981-85, 1988-89), 2 time All-Star (1982-83)
Notes: Was in the top 5 in stolen bases in 15 straight seasons from 81 to 95...Led the league in runs scored in 82, 83 and 85...Retired as one of only 2 men with over 1000 stolen bases

[Craig Costello]

Hall Of Fame Inductee - #5

Mojslaw Szasz

DOB: 4/18/54
POB: Plock, Mazowieckie, Poland

Draft: 1981 Inaugural Draft, 9th round, 19th pick (211th overall) by Helsinki Diesel
Teams Played For: Helsinki Diesel (1981-86), Paris Cyclones (1987-95)

Career Stats: 46-72, 516 SV, 2.45 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 711 K, .904 SV%
Best Year: 1990 with Paris - 3-4, 48 SV, 1.78 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 58 K, .184 OAVG

EBL Titles: 0
Awards: 6 time All-Star (1982-83, 1987, 1990-91, 1993)
Notes: Retired as the all time leader in saves with 516...Saved 64 opportunities in a row in 1985/86, an EBL record...Lowest save total in first 13 seasons was 29 in 1989

[Craig Costello]

Hall Of Fame Inductee - #6

Christer Laundsen

DOB: 9/8/55
POB: Kalundborg, Vestsjaelland, Denmark

Draft: 1981 Inaugural Draft, 1st round, 17th pick (17th overall) by Barcelona Iguanas
Teams Played For: Barcelona Iguanas (1981-1995), Copenhagen Armada (1996)

Career Stats: .275 AVG, 190 HR, 915 RBI, .749 OPS, 1992 Hits, 943 R
Best Year: 1983 with Barcelona - .292 AVG, 13 HR, 59 RBI, .809 OPS, 63 R

EBL Titles: 0
Awards: 10 time Glove of the Year at C (1981-82, 1984, 1987-88, 1990-94), 2 time All-Star (1986-87)
Notes: Threw out runners at a 40% clip in the first 11 seasons of his career...An above average hitter who was undoubtedly the best defensive catcher in the league throughout his career

[Craig Costello]

1999 Preview

March 31st 1999 - A fairly quiet off-season has passed and another exciting season of baseball is upon us.

No trades of real note have taken place and the only real top level star to hit free agency was Richard Fabre, who joined Amsterdam for $27.1 over 5 years.

Flip van den Bosch would have been considered a top level star a couple of seasons ago, but Oslo were able to sign him for less than $1M per season due to a poor couple of seasons in Sofia's back-to-back title campaigns.

A couple of future hall of famers also moved teams with Vilfred Krak joining Moscow for a couple of seasons of adding to his EBL leading Home Run total and Fabien Lefebvre moving to Brussels.

Sofia's attempt at a three-peat might be hindered early on by the fact that reigning two-time EL Hitter of the Year and reigning European League Series MVP, Suljo Banovic, will be out for the first 5 weeks of the season thanks to a rotator cuff injury picked up whilst playing a round of golf.

[Craig Costello]

1999 Amateur Draft

June 15th 1999

1. Stockholm: SP Kai Kaustrop (DEN)
2. Moscow: RF Stanislov Berestovoi (RUS)
3. Milan: SP Alexander Herrmann (AUT)
4. Lisbon: LF Ricardo Martinez (ESP)
5. Warsaw: SP Patrik Nordlund (SWE)
6. Prague: SP Karda Skoula (CZE)
7. London: CF Lewis Black (SCO)
8. Hamburg: SP Hampus Wikstrom (SWE)
9. Berlin: C Lalli Viherva (FIN)
10. Zurich: SP Lienhard Gruber (SUI)

[Craig Costello]

1999 All-Star Break

June 22nd 1999 - Athens and Sofia are once again the class of the league looking at the mid-way standings.

WL North Sea                 EL Baltic
            W   L  GB                     W   L  GB
Paris      43  32   -        Helsinki    43  32   -
Dublin     41  34   2        Berlin      38  37   5
Glasgow    39  36   4        Copenhagen  37  38   6
Brussels   37  38   6        Oslo        36  39   7
Amsterdam  34  41   9        Stockholm   32  43  11
London     27  48  16        Hamburg     25  50  18

WL Meditteranean             EL Black Sea
            W   L  GB                     W   L  GB
Milan      45  30   -        Athens      52  23   -
Vienna     42  33   3        Sofia       48  27   4
Barcelona  40  35   5        Budapest    37  38  15
Lisbon     39  36   6        Prague      37  38  15
Zurich     24  41  11        Warsaw      37  38  15
Madrid     29  46  16        Moscow      28  47  24

Notes -

Helsinki and Hamburg played a 20 inning game in May. It was tied at after 7, with Helsinki eventually winning 5-4. The Helsinki bullpen pitched 12.2 innings, giving up just 6 hits and 4 walks.
Milan won 13 out of 14 at the start of June to leapfrog Vienna and Barcelona into the lead of the Meditteranean division.
Sofia have actually lost 10 of 14 in the immediate weeks before the All-Star break. They still have the second best record in the EBL and should be in the postseason to defend their title.
Athens have scored 122 runs more than the next best team in the league (526 to Copenhagen's 404). They have also given up the fewest runs, although not by quite as wide a margin.

Player Notes -

Cyprien Garcia (Moscow) hit 3 homers on opening day, including a 2-run game-winning shot in the bottom of the 9th in an 8-6 win over Sofia.
Athens team-mates Fokke Spruijt and Daniel Keurost both had 5 hits as the Avalanche hammered Helsinki 18-4 on April 20th.
Rookie Bingham Riedle (Copenhagen) won the EL Hitter of the Month award in April with a .418 average and 6 homers in the month. The WL winner was Stevan Koljevic of Vienna.
The April Pitching Awards went to Julio Arevalo (Milan) and Adrik Selifanov (Helsinki).
Barthelemy 'Pistol' Luciani (Barcelona) hit 7 homers in a 5 game stretch that formed part of a 31-game hitting streak covering the month of May and helping him to the WL Hitter of the Month award. He hit .453 for the month with 10 bombs.
Suljo Banovic (Sofia) returned from his pre-season injury to win the EL Hitter of the Month award in May - his 4th such award in his young career.
The Pitchers of the Month for May went to Lisbon reliever Pedro Ledesma and Athens fireballer Guignard Aldobrandini.
There were two no-hitters in the first half of the season. Vaino Saraste (Sofia) shackled Athens on May 16th and Owen Frangopoulos (Stockholm) beat Moscow on June 10th. Both men needed to be at their best, as their own teams only managed 1 run (with Frangopoulos actually scoring the run tha gave him the win).
Jakob Kiraly (Dublin) was 6/6 with 4 doubles and homer, 5 RBIs and 5 runs in his team's 17-2 win against Vienna on June 2nd.
Francis Heeffer (Paris) pitched 11 innings of shut-out ball to help his team to a 13-inning 1-0 win over Glasgow on June 16th. He gave up only 5 hits and 1 walk whilst retiring 33 hitters.

Significant Injuries -

Elpidio 'Radar' Janes (Milan) missed a month early in the season. After missing the whole of last season, it was his elbow this time around. He is back in tow for the Mud Cats and his excellent play (6-1, 1.65 ERA, 1.02 WHIP) is a big part of their recent surge.
Joakim Tronstad (Zurich) is out for the season with an elbow injury. The shortstop hit .275 with 17 homers and 74 RBIs in 1998.
Sondre Nyhuus (Copenhagen) has a hamstring complaint that will keep him out until 2000. He has hit 93 Home Runs in the last 3 full seasons.
Teemu Tiilikainen (Helsinki) will be out for 12 months because of ankle ligament damage.

[Craig Costello]

1999 Final Standings

September 26th 1999 - Sofia and Athens continue their domination of the EL. Not that many doubts about the playoff places this season.

WL North Sea                 EL Baltic
            W   L  GB                     W   L  GB
Paris      93  69   -        Helsinki    90  72   -
Brussels   86  76   7        Copenhagen  89  73   1
Glasgow    83  79  10        Berlin      83  79   7
London     77  85  16        Oslo        80  82  10
Dublin     76  86  17        Stockholm   66  96  24
Amsterdam  71  91  22        Hamburg     62 100  28

WL Meditteranean             EL Black Sea
            W   L  GB                     W   L  GB
Milan      89  73   -        Sofia      110  52   -
Barcelona  87  75   2        Athens     104  58   6
Lisbon     84  78   5        Warsaw      80  82  30
Vienna     82  80   7        Budapest    77  85  33
Zurich     80  82   9        Prague      72  90  38
Madrid     64  98  25        Moscow      59 103  51

Notes -

Barcelona started 14-2 after the All-Star break to take the lead in the Meditteranean division. They hold until September, then lost their final 9 games in a row to hand the division title to Milan.
Sofia won 12 of 13 after the break to move ahead in the Black seas division and they didn't look back, having a 22-7 record in July. The two-time reigning champions secured their third straight 100-win season.
Copenhagen won 10 in a row in August to almost secure their position in the playoffs. They did lose on the last day of the season when they had a chance to win the division.
Helsinki and Berlin played a 21 inning game that lasted 6 and a half hours on September 2nd. Helsinki had 8 doubles in their 17 hits as they won 9-7.
Glasgow scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 9th against Barcelona to tie the game and then went on to win 8-7 on September 5th.

Player Notes -

Three men passed the 300 home run mark in the season. Russell Gilmartin (Paris) and Cheung Ying (Warsaw) were #16 and #17 all time, but probably the most impressive is #18 Stefan Fingerlos (Barcelona), who is only 31 and has probably secured his 4th WL Hitter of the Year award with a .338/37/119 season. He won the WL Hitter of the Month awards in July and August, giving him 10 such awards in his career. The other WL Hitter of the Month on the season was Mende Agro (Glasgow), who had 27 RBI in June to take the award - unfortunately he was injured in early July and missed the rest of the season.
Kristian Karlsson (London) announced his imminent retirement in June, then pitched 32 consecutive scoreless innings and won the WL Pitcher of the Month award. His EL counterpart for the month was Adrik Selifanov (Helsinki) who added to his April award with a 5-1 month.
Fokke Spruijt (Athens) hit 10 homers in June to win the EL Hitter of the Month award.
Francis Heeffer (Paris) pitched a 10-inning shutout on July 11th, allowing only 4 hits and 2 walks in a 1-0 win over Milan.
There were 6 one-hitters in the second half with Phoenix Pappou (Athens) and Placido Gamboa (Madrid) completing the feat on back-to-back days in the middle of July.
Suljo Banovic (Sofia) had 11 homers in July to take the 5th Hitter of the Month award of his young career. The Pitcher of the Month awards went to Arnaud Bret (Glasgow) and Bernd Hoglund (Warsaw).
Olivier Larcher (Paris) hit 3 home runs against Amsterdam on August 19th, but his team still lost 6-4.
Baptiste Girault (London) hit safely in 35 consecutive games covering July and August. This is the second longest streak ever.
Enok Kock (Dublin) had a natural cycle in the last week of the season.
The last Pitcher of the Month awards went to 'Radar' Janes (Milan) and Stevan Zupljanin (Sofia). Stephan Nilsen (Hamburg) was the EL Hitter of the Month for August.

Significant Injuries -

Bohdan Leibovic (Lisbon) will be out for nearly a year with an elbow injury. The 1993 WL Pitcher of the Year was 6-5 with a 2.99 ERA when it happend on July 8th.
Mende Agro (Glasgow) was injured on the same day and missed the rest of the season. He will be ready for the 2000 campaign.
Jesus Ruiz (Warsaw) missed the last 3 months of the season with a herniated disc. The 39-year old remains stuck as the second most winningest pitcher in EBL history with 272 wins.
Nicodemus Theothanou (Barcelona) missed two months with a PCL sprain. The most expensive player in the league was hitting .294 with 16 homers in the middle of July. Barcelona also had to do without 'Pistol' Luciani for a month at around about the same time because of a wrist complaint. He finished the season as the WL batting title winner with a .340 average, but he had been at .381 before the injury. Both men are back in place for the playoffs, which is more than can be said for Ivan Hernandez, who might not be back for the start of next season because of a bicep injury. He had 11 wins and a 3.73 ERA this season.
Robert Haddad (Lisbon) missed 5 weeks late in the season with a disc problem. The 23-year old was 13-6 with a 2.40 ERA.

[Craig Costello]

1999 Playoffs

October 23rd 1999 -

Wildcards:

Barcelona 6 Milan 4 - Milan came back from an early 3-0 deficit to tie it at 4 in the 7th, but Barcelona went back in front thanks to a Pistol Luciani solo home and Manuel Juarez RBI double.
Barcelona 9 Milan 14 - A total of 7 homers between the two teams. The Iguanas scored 5 times in the top of the 5th, but Milan responded with 6 of their own in the bottom half to take control.
Milan 0 Barcelona 3 - Valdinei Madruga held Milan to 3 hits over 8 innings and Nicodemus Theothanou doubled and homered.
Milan 13 Barcelona 4 - Milan got 5 runs in the second and 6 in the 8th. Torbjorn Stenberger was 3/6 with a triple and a homer.
Barcelona 5 Milan 6 - Richard Wolton's error and wild pitch in the 5th gave Milan a 4-0 lead. Pistol Luciani tied it in the 6th with a Grand Slam, but Wolton continued to be shaky and let Milan have two more runs. Barcelona got two base-runners in the 9th, but Fingerlos and Theothanou made the last two outs.

Brussels 10 Paris 1 - Salmund Jaerbyn had 3 of Brussels 13 hits, including a homer.
Brussels 8 Paris 4 - Paris had 3 home runs but not much else.
Paris 3 Brussels 4 - Back-to-back pinch hit singles in the 9th swept Brussels through.

Athens 6 Helsinki 5 - Helsinki had 12 hits to Athens' 6 and led 5-0, but the Avalanche got 6 runs in the 6th and their bullpen did the rest.
Athens 6 Helsinki 4 - Helsinki again outhit the Avalanche, but couldn't get more runs.
Helsinki 4 Athens 5 - Another tight game, but Helsinki can't get it done. They scored 4 in the 1st, then were kept of the board for the rest of the day.

Copenhagen 7 Sofia 8 - Only 1 of Sofia's runs didn't come on a home run with 4 different men going yard. Neither team scored after the 6th.
Copenhagen 3 Sofia 5 - Slavik Ronshin pitched 8 innings and hit a double for the winners.
Sofia 2 Copenhagen 5 - Gwidon Dobrzynski got the win for the Armada.
Sofia 0 Copenhagen 3 - Constantin Spotelli allowed 6 hits and 2 walks through 8 innings to force Game 5.
Copenhagen 2 Sofia 3 - Two runs in the bottom of the 7th took the reigning champs through.

League Championship Series:

Brussels 1 Milan 4 - Radar Janes held Brussels to just 3 hits through 8 innings.
Brussels 6 Milan 4 - Four runs in the top of the 3rd got Brussels on the right track.
Milan 6 Brussels 5 (11) - Milan scored in the top of the 9th to force extra and used the momentum to take the game.
Milan 7 Brussels 2 - Radar Janes was good again and 3 Mud Cat homers proved to be too much.
Milan 5 Brussels 6 - Milan tied the game in both the 8th and 9th, but each time Brussels got another run. Mauro Langushi hit two home runs for Milan.
Brussels 7 Milan 10 - Afonso Sertrio hit two blasts in a wild game to take Milan to the ELS for the first time since 1983.

Athens 2 Sofia 6 - Stevan Vujica's bases-clearing double in the 3rd gave Sofia all the runs they would need.
Athens 6 Sofia 8 - Suljo Banovic doubled and homered to take Sofia to an early lead that they hung on to.
Sofia 4 Athens 2 - Slavik Ronshin got the win to threaten the sweep.
Sofia 11 Athens 10 - Athens scored 3 in the bottom of the 7th to lead 10-5, but 5 singles and 2 walks gave Sofia the lead and the sweep.

European League Series:

Game 1 starters - Milan: Elpidio Janes (15-4, 2.05 ERA, 1.03 WHIP), Sofia: Vaino Saraste (16-12, 3.16 ERA, 1.23 WHIP)

            1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9    R  H  E
Milan       0  0  0   1  0  0   0  2  0    3  4  1
Sofia       0  0  0   0  0  0   2  0  0    2  3  1

Elpidio Janes (MIL) - 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Vaino Saraste (SOF) - 7.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 6 BB, 8 K

Torbjorn Sternberger's 7th inning error allowed Josf Egger to single home 2
runs and threatened to spoil 'Radar' Janes' excellent effort. Milan responded
thanks to 4 walks in the 8th and held on to win.

Game 2 starters - Milan: Largo Chechi (11-14, 3.70 ERA, 1.19 WHIP), Sofia: Jerome Lucas (19-6, 3.44 ERA, 1.15 WHIP)

            1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9    R  H  E
Milan       1  0  0   1  0  0   0  0  0    2  7  0
Sofia       1  1  0   0  0  0   3  0  X    5 11  1

Jerome Lucas (SOF) - 8.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Suljo Banovic (SOF) - 3/4, RBI, R
Gottfried Helfkin (SOF) - 2/4, 2B, 2 RBI

Sofia got a walk, a single and two doubles all with two outs in the 7th.

Game 3 starters - Sofia: Slavik Ronshin (16-10,3.54 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), Milan: Julio Arevalo (18-9, 3.67 ERA, 1.23 WHIP)

            1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9    R  H  E
Sofia       0  0  2   0  0  0   0  0  0    2  4  0
Milan       0  0  0   0  0  0   0  0  0    0  6  0

Slavik Ronshin (SOF) - 9.0 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
Suljo Banovic (SOF) - 2/4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI

The closest Milan came to scoring was when they had runners on 2nd and
3rd with two outs in the 6th, but that ended with a meek flyout.

Game 4 starters - Sofia: Saraste, Milan: Janes

            1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9    R  H  E
Sofia       0  0  0   0  0  0   0  0  0    0  3  1
Milan      10  0  0   0  0  0   1  0  X   11 12  1

Elpidio Janes (MIL) - 8.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Mauro Langushi (MIL) - 2/3, HR, 3 RBI
Afonso Sertrio (MIL) - 2/5, HR, 2 BRI, 2 R

Janes nearly matched Ronshin's game 3 effort and Saraste only got one
man out, allowing 5 hits, 3 walks and 8 runs.

Game 5 starters - Sofia: Lucas, Milan: Marquise Briatore (15-14, 5.41 ERA, 1.60 WHIP)

            1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9   10    R  H  E
Sofia       0  3  1   0  0  0   0  0  0    0    4  9  1
Milan       0  1  1   0  0  0   1  0  1    1    5  9  0

Vladmiri Marvanov (SOF) - 3/5, HR, 2 RBI
Arturo Segura (MIL) - 3/3, HR, RBI

Claudio DalMaistro tied the game in the 9th with an RBI single and Mauro
Langushi stole 2nd and came home on Torbjorn Sternberger's single to win
it in the 10th.

Game 6 starters - Milan: Chechi, Sofia: Ronshin

            1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9   10    R  H  E
Milan       0  0  0   0  0  0   1  0  3    0    4  8  0
Sofia       1  0  0   1  0  0   2  0  0    1    5  9  0

Slavik ROnshin (SOF) - 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Tommy Woestenberg (SOF) - 4/5, 2B, 2 RBI

Janos Koncz hit a two-out triple in the 9th to start the Milan rally. He then
scored on Samuel Polach's single to tie it up. Marcal Assis led off the 10th
with a single and was brought home by Woestenberg's fourth hit of the
night.

Game 7 starters - Milan: Janes, Sofia, Saraste

            1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9    R  H  E
Milan       1  1  4   0  0  2   0  0  0    8 10  0
Sofia       0  2  0   0  0  0   0  0  3    5  7  2

Janos Koncz (MIL) - 4/4, HR, 4 RBI
Elpidio Janes (MIL) - 7.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Koncz's solo blast in the 2nd looked like it might have given Milan enough
runs considering Janes' performances so far. Sofia got their first runs
againt Janes in the series thanks to two singles and a double in the bottom
of the 2nd. Milan chased Saraste in the 3rd though and even though Sofia
gave them a minor scare in the 9th, they held on for their second ever EBL
title.

Milan Mud Cats win the series 4-3
Series MVP - Elpidio Janes (MIL) - 3-0, 0.77 ERA, 0.51 WHIP, 23.1 IP, 16 K, 4 BB, .104 OAVG

[Craig Costello]

1999 Stats and Awards

October 24th 1999 -

                             AVG                                     ERA
Albrecht Fassbinder (COP)   .354    Elpidio Janes (MIL)             2.05
Norbert de Vaal (ATH)       .345    Bernd Hoglund (WAR)             2.38
Ian MacClancy (ATH)         .341    Robert Haddad (LIS)             2.49

                             OPS                                       W
Suljo Banovic (SOF)        1.080    Bernd Hoglund (WAR)               23
Stefan Fingerlos (BAR)     1.036    Adrik Selifanov (HEL)             21
Leo Monnet (ZUR)           1.014    4 players                         20

                              HR                                      SV
Stevan Koljevic (VIE)         42    Thomas Espeland (PAR)             49
Fokke Spruijt (ATH)           42    Tusya Saushev (ATH)               44
Carlos Bustamante (LON)       41    Sulevi Isometsa (WAR)             43

                             RBI                                      IP
Fokke Spruijt (ATH)          156    Bernd Hoglund (WAR)            269.0
Stevan Koljevic (VIE)        145    Francis Heeffer (PAR)          264.1
Russell Gilmartin (PAR)      122    Guignard Aldobrandini (ATH)    259.2

                               R                                       K
Marcal Assis (SOF)           131    Guignard Aldobrandini (ATH)      255
Clement Auger (STO)          123    Vaino Saraste (SOF)              235
Stefan Fingerlos (BAR)       123    Graeme Byrne (DUB)               220

                              SB                                    WHIP
Marcal Assis (SOF)           120    Elpidio Janes (MIL)             1.03
Les Parkins (SOF)             86    Bernd Hoglund (WAR)             1.09
Ewan Smith (MAD)              81    Markus Virta (PAR)              1.11

WL Hitter of the Year

Stefan Fingerlos (BAR): .338 AVG, 37 HR, 119 RBI, 1.036 OPS, 123 R
4th time

EL Hitter of the Year

Suljo Banovic (SOF): .336 AVG, 38 HR, 110 RBI, 1.080 OPS, 99 R, 32 SB
3rd time, 3rd straight

WL Pitcher of the Year

Elpidio Janes (MIL): 15-4, 2.05 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 237.1 IP, 64 BB, 169 K, 5 HR

EL Pitcher of the Year

Bernd Hoglund (WAR): 23-6, 2.38 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 269.0 IP, 85 BB, 190 K

WL Rookie of the Year

Gino Brancati (MAD): .320 AVG, 36 HR, 104 RBI, .925 OPS, 107 R, 29 SB

EL Rookie of the Year

Henryk Borcz (BER): .325 AVG, 27 HR, 101 RBI, .943 OPS, 116 R

WL Homegrown Player of the Year

Armando Sanchez (BAR): .282 AVG, 28 HR, 89 RBI, .823 OPS, 80 R

EL Homegrown Player of the Year

Suljo Banovic (SOF)
3rd time, 3rd straight

Glove of the Year Awards

                           WL    EL
       Augustin Braun (GLA)   -P-   Shurik Chanyshev (BER)
     Lucas Ricardsson (LIS)   -C-   Jari Poutanen (ATH)
         Jakob Kiraly (DUB)  -1B-   Clement Auger (STO)
           Jordy Roux (ZUR)  -2B-   Gustaf Bashe (HEL)
      Merlin DeGiusti (BRU)  -3B-   Godfdried Vollner (HAM)
 Torbjorn Sternberger (MIL)  -SS-   Adrian Henge (BUD)
      Salmund Jaerbyn (BRU)  -LF-   Marcal Assis (SOF)
    Evan van de Vlugt (BRU)  -CF-   Vladimiri Marvanov (SOF)
      Stefan Kowelski (GLA)  -RF-   Vilfred Krak (MOS)

[Craig Costello]

Hall Of Fame Inductee - #7

Thomas Meinert

DOB: 12/10/56
POB: Silkeborg, Aarhus, Denmark

Draft: 1981 Inaugural Draft, 11th round, 15th pick (255th overall) by Copenhagen Armada
Teams Played For: Copenhagen Armada (1981-1994), Stockholm Lumberjacks (1995-1998), Moscow Blue Sox (1999)

Career Stats: .303 AVG, 427 HR, 1753 RBI, .871 OPS, 3357 Hits, 1951 R
Best Year: 1984 with Copenhagen - .351 AVG, 27 HR, 130 RBI, .987 OPS, 114 R, 40 SB

EBL Titles: 0
Awards: 4 time EL Hitter of the Year (1983-84, 1987, 1990), 9 time EL Homegrown Player of the Year (1983-84, 1986-88, 1990-91, 1993-94), 13 time All-Star (1982-85, 1987-91, 1993-96), 1 Glove of the Year at 2B (1991)
Notes: Retires as career leader in Hits, Runs, RBIs, Games Played and second in Home Runs...Hit over .300 in 10 of the first 11 EBL season...Was always in the top 7 in VORP between 1982 and 1991...Won 7 Hitter of the month awards and 15 Player of the Week awards.

[Craig Costello]

Hall Of Fame Inductee - #8

Jesus Ruiz

DOB: 11/15/59
POB: Barcelona, Spain

Draft: Undrafted - signed by Brussels Hitmen as Free Agent in 1982.
Teams Played For: Brussels Hitmen (1982-1987), Warsaw Wild (1988-1999)

Career Stats: 272-174, 3.05 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 4113.0 IP, 3054 K, 29 CG, 12 SHO
Best Year: 1985 with Brussels - 19-5, 1.57 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 223.0 IP, 254 K, 2 SHO

EBL Titles: 2 - 1982 and 1984 with Brussels
Awards: 2 time EL Pitcher of the Year (1984-85), 3 time WL Pitcher of the Year (1988-90), 2 time European League Series MVP (1982, 1984), 9 time All-Star (1984-90, 1994-95)
Notes: Retires as second on the list of all-time winners in the EBL...Also second in strikeouts...Won the 1996 European Championship with Spain and was named to the All Tournament team...His performance in the 1982 and 1984 European League Series' marked him out as the best post-season pitcher of his era - he finished with a 15-6 record and a 2.68 ERA in 27 postseason starts.

[Craig Costello]

2000 Preview

March 31st 2000 - The 20th season of EBL action is about to kick off with perenniel superpowers Sofia and Athens in pursuit of reigning champs Milan.

No significant trades in the off-season, but a couple of big names hit the free-agency market.

Vaino Saraste was re-signed by Sofia despite his meltdown in Game 4 of the European League Series. He will get $32.9M over 7 seasons.

The most expensive contract went to former EL Hitter of the Year, Czieslw Lubelsky, who got $27.8M to commit for 5 years to hometown team Warsaw.

Marcal Assis left Sofia for Brussels for $10.2M over 2 seasons. There were also big contracts for Aleksander Dimmit (Zurich), Sippo Pietarinen (Copenhagen) and Sondre Nyhuus (Glasgow) - with the latter two swapping teams.

A lack of quality pitchers on the market meant that Markus Virta, with his career 84-97 record and 4.05 ERA got $22.6M for 7 season's work from Budapest.

[Craig Costello]

2000 Amateur Draft

June 15th 2000

1. Moscow: SP Reece Knock (SCO)
2. Hamburg: CF Niels Steincke (DEN)
3. Madrid: CF Trystao Helio (POR)
4. Stockholm: RF Jakob Pichner (GER)
5. Amsterdam: CF Ari Prieler (AUT)
6. Prague: 1B Hilarius Lictenegger (AUT)
7. Dublin: 3B Adrie Gelderblom (NED)
8. London: LF Eero Leino (FIN)
9. Budapest: CF Jean-Paul Cochet (BEL)
10. Warsaw: 2B Matvei Galevko (RUS)

[Craig Costello]

2000 All-Star Break

June 22nd 2000 - Sofia's three-year rign of terror may be over.

WL North Sea                 EL Baltic
            W   L  GB                     W   L  GB
Paris      46  29   -        Helsinki    44  31   -
London     42  33   4        Berlin      43  32   1
Dublin     39  36   7        Copenhagen  41  34   3
Amsterdam  36  39  10        Oslo        36  39   8
Brussels   36  39  10        Hamburg     30  45  14
Glasgow    36  39  10        Stockholm   29  46  15

WL Meditteranean             EL Black Sea
            W   L  GB                     W   L  GB
Zurich     48  27   -        Athens      54  21   -
Barcelona  36  39  12        Prague      44  31  10
Lisbon     33  42  15        Budapest    40  35  14
Milan      33  42  15        Sofia       37  38  17
Vienna     33  42  15        Warsaw      29  46  25
Madrid     32  43  16        Moscow      23  52  31

Notes -

Helsinki scored 12 runs in the 3rd inning of a 16-7 win over Copenhagen on May 1st.
Moscow won only 8 of their first 41 games and look a surefire bet for another 100 loss season after 2 in the last 3 seasons (and a 99 loss season in between).
Athens won 47 of their first 60 games to take full control of the Black Sea division.
Milan lost 20 games in April and have never really been able to recover. Their batting line-up is struggling and they are last in runs scored in the WL.

Player Notes -

Filip Brink (Moscow) hit 3 home runs on April 6th in a 5-4 win over Oslo. Oslo also gave up 3 homers to Xanthus Kaglantge (Athens) in a 18-3 loss on April 22nd in a game in which the Avalanche hit 7 homers.
Primio Brochardo (Lisbon) went 5/5 with a double, a homer and 8 RBi in his team's 14-8 win against Glasgow on April 19th.
Michael Legros (London) pitched a no-hitter on June 16th against Lisbon. He walked three men and remarkably struck out no-one. He had 14 ground ball outs (including a double-play) and 12 fly ball outs.
Placido Gamboa (Madrid) pitched 10 innings of 2-hit, shutout ball against London on June 18th, but his team couldn't score and they lost 5-1 in 11 innings.
Last season's European League Series combatants, Sofia and Milan traded players just before the all-star break. Former Rookie of the Year and 7-time all-star Ota Hospodar is now with Sofia with 2-time Glover of the Year at 3B, Stevan Vujica going the other way.
Familiar names won the WL Hitter of the month award in April and May. Stefan Kowelski (Glasgow) took the award in April and was followed by Stefan Fingerlos (Barcelona). The EL award went to less familiar names in Goddfried Vollner (Hamburg) and Henryk Borcz (Berlin).
Raynaud Mori (Zurich) won the WL Pitcher of the Month for April, with Phoenix Pappas (Athens) winning the EL version.
Thomas Espeland (Paris) became the first reliever to ever win 2 Pitcher of the Month awards with his victory in May thanks to 10 saves in the month. Adrik Selifanov (Helsinki) won the EL award.

Significant Injuries -

Gage McMahan (Athens) missed 7 weeks with a hamstring injury.
Young slugger Bertrand Radcliffe (Brussels) is out for another 3 or 4 weeks after injuring his ribs on May 10th. He was at .300 with 8 homers at the time.
Eldwin Richter (Dublin) fractured his wrist whilst being mugged on the street and will not be back until August at the earliest. He has hit .378 so far this season.

[Craig Costello]

2000 Final Standings

September 26th 2000 - Sofia's streak of EL titles will finish at three and last season's champs Milan will be watching this season's playoffs from home.

WL North Sea                 EL Baltic
            W   L  GB                     W   L  GB
Paris      91  71   -        Copenhagen  91  71   -
London     87  75   4        Berlin      90  72   1
Dublin     83  79   8        Oslo        83  79   8
Brussels   83  79   8        Helsinki    81  81  10
Amsterdam  79  83  12        Hamburg     65  97  26
Glasgow    79  83  12        Stockholm   64  98  27

WL Meditteranean             EL Black Sea
            W   L  GB                     W   L  GB
Zurich     94  68   -        Athens     107  55   -
Vienna     83  80  11        Prague      99  63   8
Milan      81  81  13        Sofia       88  74  19
Barcelona  79  83  15        Budapest    74  88  33
Madrid     72  90  22        Warsaw      72  90  35
Lisbon     61 101  33        Moscow      58 104  49

Notes -

Sofia and Milan both had better second halves, but they couldn't quite do enough to get into the postseason.
Brussels lost on the last day allowing Vienna and Dublin to catch them up and kick them out of the playoffs. The Wolfpack and Armageddon will face each other for the last WL playoff spot in a one game playoff.
Barcelona won a game 23-0 against Vienna in July and another 19-0 against London in August, but they slumped at the end of the season to drop out of contention.
Helsinki were 9-19 in August to lose their grip on the division.

Player Notes -

Stefan Kowelski (Glasgow) had a 4/5 day with a double, two homers and 7 RBI in his team's 15-14 win against Dublin on July 7th. Later in the season he hit is 400th career home run, being the 4th man ever to get there.
Budapest team-mates Gregorz Vitniski and Panas Ishenin hit cycles two months apart.
Russell Gilmartin (Paris) won the WL Hitter of the Month in June and July with a combined average over .390 and 13 home runs. London's youngster Max Waldheim won the August award.
The EL Hitter awards went to Czieslaw Lubelsky (Warsaw), Fabrice Carpentier (Stockholm) and Stephan Nilsen (Hamburg).
The six pitching awards were won by Jorge Ortiz (Paris), Patrick Penn (Glasgow), Arnold Schiff (London), Albert Greenacre (Oslo), Guignard Aldobrandini (Athens) and Patrick Fabre (Moscow) - who is only 19 and had the pitching performance of the season with a 1-hit, 10 K effort against Stockholm on August 23rd.
Alejandro Cortez (Berlin) hada 6/6 day with 3 doubles in a 15-8 win against Sofia on August 3rd.
Marc Svendsen (Vienna) had 8 RBIs in a 14-10 win against Brussels on September 10th.

Significant Injuries -

Fokke Spruijt (Athens) will miss the playoffs, the Europan Championship and a big portion of next season with a fractured cheekbone. He was at .252/33/99 on August 20th and hit 42 HR in 1999.

[Craig Costello]

2000 Playoffs

October 23rd 2000

Play In:

Vienna 1 Dublin 3 - Pauli Loehr hit two homers to drive in all of Dublin's runs.


Wildcards:

London 7 Paris 3 - 13 hits for the Crocs to win on the road.
London 2 Paris 5 - Only 4 hits for Paris, but they get the win.
Paris 4 London 3 - Edward Burchard's two-out three run homer in the 9th put Paris in front and Thomas Espeland did the rest.
Paris 2 London 6 - Paris couldn't hold on to an early 2-0 lead.
London 5 Paris 1 - Arnold Schiff held Paris in check to allow the Crocs to advance.

Dublin 6 Zurich 2 - Hendrikan de Ruijter allowed only 4 hits and 1 run through 8 for the winners.
Dublin 2 Zurich 3 - Teodor Zahradnicek tied the game in the 9th with a solo homer, then the next 4 batters went single, reached on error, walk, walk to win the game.
Zurich 4 Dublin 8 - Cy Kerry went 3/4 with 3 RBI for the winners.
Zurich 0 Dublin 3 - de Ruijter was good again. Allowing only 3 hits over 7 innings. The Wolfpack won despite only getting 2 hits.

Prague 3 Copenhagen 4 - Vilheim Grimlot led off the 9th with a triple and won the game on Albrecht Fassbinder's single.
Prague 6 Copenhagen 5 (11) - The Prague bullpen did a good job in a come from behind win.
Copenhagen 10 Prague 6 - Five runs off reliever Strom Lang put the Armada in a strong position.
Copenhagen 3 Prague 5 - Five different players picked up RBIs for Prague, with three of them coming with 2 outs.
Prague 4 Copenhagen 0 - Athan Mavrogordatos pitched 7 and a third shutout innings and the Prague bullpen was unhittable.

Berlin 2 Athens 8 - A dominating performance despite three errors by the Avalanche.
Berlin 1 Athens 3 - Two solo homers in the 7th put Athens up for good.
Athens 2 Berlin 3 - Joseph Sykora pitched a complete game to extend the series.
Athens 2 Berlin 4 - Jamie Corsie's three-run homer in the 4th proved to be decisive.
Berlin 3 Athens 4 - Artemis Vlakhou's three-run homer in the 8th made it interesting, but the favourites advance.


League Championship Series:

Dublin 4 London 7 - London got 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th.
Dublin 2 London 3 (10) - Carlos Bustamante won the game with a double in the 10th to go along with his earlier home run.
London 7 Dublin 6 - Brian Slipper had a 2 RBI triple in the 9th that won it.
London 2 Dublin 9 - Jason Dyer had 5 RBI for Dublin.
London 4 Dublin 5 - This time Dublin got the late win with Jakob Kiraly's walk-off two-run homer.
Dublin 2 London 3 - Jenda Chesla pitched 8 innings to pick up the win.

Prague 3 Athens 9 - Seven runs in the bottom of the 6th made this a no contest.
Prague 4 Athens 8 - Reliver Hugh Moles got himself the win with a bases-clearing two-out double in the bottom of the 8th.
Athens 5 Prague 1 - Rafael Ferrugento pitched 8 innings, giving up only 3 hits and 2 walks.
Athens 6 Prague 8 - Jean Botinho went 4/4 with 3 runs scored for Prague.
Athens 2 Prague 6 - Konstantin Zamrzla shut out Athens through 7.
Prague 3 Athens 7 - Ahtens scored 1 in the 6th, 2 in the 7th and 3 in the 8th to move on.


European League Series:

Game 1 starters - London: Arnold Schiff (17-7, 2.75 ERA, 1.12 WHIP), Athens: Guignard Aldobrandini (18-6, 2.49 ERA, 1.05 WHIP)

            1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9    R  H  E
London      2  0  0   0  0  0   0  0  0    2  7  0
Athens      0  0  0   0  1  0   0  0  0    1  4  0

Arnold Schiff (LON) - 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Guignard Aldobrandini (ATH) - 9 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Only runs came on Home Runs by Calros Bustamante (LON) and Finn Tosh
(ATH)

A real pitcher's duel to start off the series. Look forward to future
match-ups between these two in the series.

Game 2 starters - London: Alexander Schimpf (19-14, 2.33 ERA, 1.13 WHIP), Athens: Rafael Ferrugento (16-10, 3.34 ERA, 1.21 WHIP)

            1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9    R  H  E
London      1  1  0   3  1  0   0  2  0    8 14  1
Athens      0  1  0   0  0  0   0  2  0    3  7  0

David Walraven (LON) - 3/5, 2B, 3 RBI
Alexander Schimpf (LON) - 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Three singles and a double in the 4th inning loomed large for London.

Game 3 starters - Athens: Dietmar Kolowrat (16-7, 3.30 ERA, 1.22 WHIP), London: Jenda Chesla (19-11, 3.75 ERA, 1.12 WHIP)

            1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9    R  H  E
Athens      0  1  2   1  0  0   0  0  2    6  9  0
London      0  0  0   0  0  0   0  0  0    0  3  1

Dietmar Kolowrat (ATH) - 9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Toni Deak (ATH) - 3/3, 2B, HR

It was the 7th inning before London got a man past second and even that
ended badly.

Game 4 starters - Athens: Aldobrandini, London: Bernhard Grondgrens (6-13, 5.03 ERA, 1.53 WHIP)

            1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9    R  H  E
Athens      0  0  0   0  0  2   0  0  0    2  4  1
London      0  0  0   0  0  0   0  0  0    0  1  0

Guignard Aldobrandini (ATH) - 8 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K
Bernhard Grondgrens (LON) - 9 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

Carlos Bustamante led off the 2nd with a single, but he was the only
London baserunner all day.

Game 5 starters - Athens: Phoenix Pappou (15-9, 3.65 ERA, 1.35 WHIP), London: Schiff

            1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9    R  H  E
Athens      3  1  0   0  0  0   1  0  0    5 11  0
London      1  2  2   0  3  3   0  0  X   11 15  1

Max Waldheim (LON) - 2/5, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R
Gotthold Stuhrepenberg (LON) - 1/2, R, 3 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB

The offenses finally break out and the home team finally wins. Three
Londoners (Ludwig Bloch, Carlos Bustamante and Baptiste Girault) had
three hits apiece.

Game 6 starters - London: Schimpf, Athens: Ferrugento

            1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9    R  H  E
London      0  0  0   0  0  2   0  1  4    7 12  4
Athens      1  0  0   0  0  0   5  0  0    6  9  1

Max Waldheim (LON) - 3/4, RBI, 2 R
Carlos Bustamante (LON) - 3/5, 3 R

A 9th inning that will live on in London Crocs fokelore. Johansen - strike
out, Walraven - single, Bloch - single, Waldheim - RBI single, Bustamante -
single, Stuhrepenberg - RBI BB, Girault - strike out, pinch hitter Mick Rising
(in only his second AB of the series) - 2 RBI double. Then Sean Ross went
3 up, 3 down to give them their first ever EBL title.

London Crocs win the series 4-2
Series MVP - Max Waldheim (LON) - 9/23, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 SB