League 4, the first expansion league introduced into European Championship Baseball, was announced following the 2034 Season after several years of rumors. This league would follow the same format as the three leagues above it, with 20 new teams being introduced.
- Baku Winds
- Bilbao Wolves
- Bursa Greens
- Dortmund Eagles
- Edinburgh Smokes
- Genoa Sailers
- Glasgow Celtics
- izmir Pearls
- Leeds Sphinx
- Ljubljana Dragons
- Malmo Griffins
- Manchester Millers
- Odesa Tridents
- Rostov-na-Donu Fortress
- Sarajevo Jazz
- Skopje Suns
- Stuttgart Black Forest
- Tirana Capitals
- Yerevan Daredevils
- Zurich Alps
This story doesn’t start then. This story starts two years after the expansion. This story follows the Sarajevo Jazz, the only European Championship team located in Bosnia & Herzegovina. After the Jazz finished outside of the playoffs in both of their first two seasons, French owner Mickael Lesage decided to find new leadership in the General Manager role. His target during this hiring process never shifted. Oliver Wuensch, the former GM of the Ankara Coyotes, the most dominant team in the ECBL for decades, had decided to retire from that post following the 2032 season. Lesage knew he wanted Wuensch in his GM chair, and was able to persuade him to join the club during the 2036-37 offseason. Wuensch quickly declared that building a successful culture in Sarajevo was not a short-term project, but that he saw this as a long-term investment. Sarajevo has not shown the type of fan support that league officials were hoping for after accepting their expansion bid.
The 2037 season, Wuensch’s first at the helm, ended with Sarajevo in 16th place in League 4, their worst finish to date. The team focused on bringing in prospects over veterans, hoping to build a strong farm system that they will be able to pull from in future seasons. The Jazz did have some bright spots on their roster, including outfielder Afbin Kasaba and first baseman Virgile Leroy. Kasaba, the now 25-year-old Turkey international, finished the 2037 season with a 141 wRC+ and 3.5 WAR while splitting time between left field and designated hitter. Leroy, who put up 2.8 WAR and a 131 wRC+, has a distinct connection with the new Jazz GM. Leroy was selected 24th overall by the Ankara Coyotes in the 2031 Draft, one of the last selections of the Wuensch era in Ankara. The new administration in west-central Turkey didn’t have Leroy in their long-term plans however. He ended up playing four and a half seasons for AAA Ankara, winning the league’s MVP award twice, while finishing in second place following the back-to-back trophies. Wuensch made signing Leroy a priority once he became a Free Agent, and it paid off in his first season with Sarajevo, winning the League 4 Rookie of the Year award in 2037.
It wasn’t just the bats that had standouts performers. One of Wuensch’s first moves was trading for St. Petersburg righty Moise Vincent. After 47 appearances for the ESL club, Vincent was slated to takeover one of the rotation spots for the new look Sarajevo pitching staff. In 2037, Vincent started 24 games, ending the year with a 3.41 ERA and 3.0 WAR. The 25-year-old will look to backup that breakout season in 2038. The new Jazz GM had another surprise target up his sleeve in longtime reliever Vincenc Novak, who had spent 13 seasons between the ETL, ESL, and ECBL prior to signing with Sarajevo. Novak was worth 3.1 WAR in the 2037 season, leading all Jazz pitchers in WAR while more than doubling his previous career high in innings pitched.
These are just a few examples of the change in philosophy that many believed Oliver Wuensch would bring to the club. The 2037-38 offseason drew upon the same strategy that the Jazz had applied the season prior: stock up on prospects and supply enough current talent to field a competitive team. Owner Mickael Lesage publicly set the goal for Sarajevo at a .500 record by the end of 2038. Rookie starting pitcher Jessie Henderson was getting the call up to start the season on the opening day roster and slot into the rotation. Henderson was, for some reason, released by the Charlotte Otters of the Southern United States Baseball League (one of the five leagues part of the North American Baseball Association) in March of 2037, and was signed to a major league contract less than a month later by Wuensch and the Sarajevo Jazz. He was immediately named a top 30 prospect in League 4 just two days after signing, and the Jazz have hopes that he’s able to develop into a top-of-the-rotation arm over the next couple of seasons.
So this is the point in the story where I am going to leave the past tense and join the present (I didn’t originally plan to cover this league, this team, or this simulation in any sort of written form, but I got a bug to write, so here I am). On the next page, I will continue the story from where I am. As time goes on, I will likely tell side stories of players, teams, and champions from past seasons, but for now, let’s move on.
European Championship Baseball 