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The Universal Baseball League crowned yet another repeat champion, as the London Clash beat the repeat WHL Champion Norfolk Dreadnoughts in seven games. London gave the EHL their 7th title in 8 years, fighting through Rome and the Noughts each in seven games. Norfolk thought they had their revenge on the Clash, taking a 3-1 lead with Game 5 at home, but London came up big three straight games to take home the trophy.
London once again had to fight for their division title, as they started
slow, but was able to catch Barcelona mid-summer. As the Matadors faded
in the late summer sun, London pulled well ahead and made their postseason
preparations. London was able to sweep a resilient China club, that continuous
sold off talent, but still was able to win the Eastern Division. China
was mired in 3rd place for a while, but neither Berlin nor Athens was able
to get much above .500. The Railcats hit a wall in late summer, fading
behind the frontrunners. As Berlin and China stayed close to one another
down the stretch, China held strong and enjoyed another division title
as the Hoodfellas lost their last 6 games, while the Fever won 4 straight,
and the division by 3 games.
The Central was a two team race, as Rome and Morocco tried to set a few
records. Morocco trailed Rome by a few games for most of the year, but
never slowed down, becoming the first second place club to win over 100
games. Rome's lead fell to just 7 games by season's end, despite a 108
win campaign. As fate would have it, the two clubs met in the first round,
one of the best divisional matchups in history. Rome, despite their superior
record, was half expecting to fall to the Mayhem, but shocked more than
a few by beating Cy Young winner Kevin Easterly twice in the four game
series. The matchup between London and Rome was one for the ages, as each
team won on their home field setting up a Game 7 in Rome. The Clash pulled
out a well-deserved victory, setting up their second World Cup Championship.
Over in the Western Hemisphere, the biggest news was the end of the most
surprising playoff drought in the UBL. The Seattle Devils finally answered
the bell, winning the Western Division by nine games over the Alaska Odyssey.
Seattle won a franchise high 99 games, playing consistantly well throughout
the year, and led the division from the All-Star Break to the end with
a combination of great pitching and hitting. The Devils' prize was a playoff
series against the Eastern Champion Norfolk Dreadnoughts. Having coasted
through another season in the East, Norfolk was struggling down the stretch
much like 2006. However, the 'Noughts turned it on when it counted, scoring
20 runs in three wins against the vaunted Devils' pitching, and ending
their cinderella season.
Detroit won the Central Division, holding off Chicago long enough until
the wind left the Windbags' sails. The Bears' 109 wins was best in the
UBL, and earned them home field advantage and the right to face Alaska
in the first round. The Odyssey won the Wild Card for the second time in
UBL history by virtue of a tie-braker over Chicago, and for the second
time, it took a win on the last day of the season to make it happen. The
Odyssey didn't stop there, upsetting the Polar Bears in 4 games, including
winning twice in Detroit. The Hemispheric Series between Norfolk and Alaska
was a strong series, as the teams swapped wins until Norfolk beat the Odyssey
in Alaska in Game 6.
2006 Final Standings
EHL West W L Pct. GB 1-run X-inn L-10 Strk Home Road v.RHP v.LHP in Div nonDiv London Clash 100 62 .617 --- 24-13 7-6 7-3 L -1 52-29 48-33 70-43 30-19 59-45 41-17 Barcelona Matadors 89 73 .549 11.0 30-18 4-9 5-5 W 1 49-32 40-41 65-54 24-19 59-45 30-28 Paris White Flags 87 75 .537 13.0 26-28 3-10 4-6 W 2 45-36 42-39 65-58 22-17 55-49 32-26 Edinburgh Plaid Sox 77 85 .475 23.0 19-29 7-11 3-7 L -2 41-40 36-45 62-56 15-29 44-60 33-25 Dublin Deadbeat Drunks 71 91 .438 29.0 25-32 12-7 6-4 W 1 39-42 32-49 47-59 24-32 43-61 28-30 EHL Central W L Pct. GB 1-run X-inn L-10 Strk Home Road v.RHP v.LHP in Div nonDiv Roman Gladiators 108 54 .667 --- 30-17 17-8 4-6 W 1 52-29 56-25 79-39 29-15 67-37 41-17 Morocco Mayhem 101 61 .623 7.0 24-18 5-8 6-4 W 4 51-30 50-31 82-44 19-17 66-38 35-23 Stockholm Rebels 74 88 .457 34.0 19-28 8-8 8-2 L -1 37-44 37-44 62-67 12-21 54-50 20-38 Amsterdam Fire Ants 68 94 .420 40.0 24-15 12-4 4-6 L -4 35-46 33-48 47-70 21-24 45-59 23-35 Denmark Black Diamonds 49 113 .302 59.0 18-25 7-10 3-7 L -1 26-55 23-58 33-91 16-22 28-76 21-37 EHL East W L Pct. GB 1-run X-inn L-10 Strk Home Road v.RHP v.LHP in Div nonDiv Chinese Yellow Fever 84 78 .519 --- 27-28 8-4 6-4 W 4 46-35 38-43 55-58 29-20 56-46 28-32 Berlin Hoodfellas 81 81 .500 3.0 14-25 5-4 3-7 L -6 38-43 43-38 52-55 29-26 55-47 26-34 Athens Railcats 79 83 .488 5.0 22-22 5-12 6-4 W 3 43-38 36-45 44-60 35-23 51-51 28-32 Moscow Communists 66 96 .407 18.0 21-25 7-6 5-5 L -3 33-48 33-48 46-58 20-38 42-60 24-36
WHL East W L Pct. GB 1-run X-inn L-10 Strk Home Road v.RHP v.LHP in Div nonDiv Norfolk Dreadnoughts 99 63 .611 --- 18-17 13-3 3-7 W 1 46-35 53-28 66-42 33-21 70-34 29-29 San Juan Destroyers 84 78 .519 15.0 25-16 11-8 7-3 W 3 35-46 49-32 60-58 24-20 55-49 29-29 Miami ThunderStorm 72 90 .444 27.0 16-30 5-7 5-5 L -1 30-51 42-39 54-62 18-28 45-59 27-31 Columbus Crush 70 92 .432 29.0 29-22 11-8 3-7 L -3 35-46 35-46 48-68 22-24 47-57 23-35 Brooklyn Mob 62 100 .383 37.0 19-24 6-18 5-5 L -1 30-51 32-49 43-65 19-35 43-61 19-39 WHL West W L Pct. GB 1-run X-inn L-10 Strk Home Road v.RHP v.LHP in Div nonDiv Seattle Devils 99 63 .611 --- 30-23 11-9 9-1 W 8 50-31 49-32 59-37 40-26 64-40 35-23 Alaska Odyssey 90 72 .556 9.0 26-29 9-4 6-4 W 1 48-33 42-39 57-47 33-25 60-44 30-28 Mexico City Luchadores 84 78 .519 15.0 24-19 6-10 3-7 L -5 41-40 43-38 60-53 24-25 54-50 30-28 San Diego Sundogs 81 81 .500 18.0 17-31 5-13 8-2 W 2 38-43 43-38 46-57 35-24 52-52 29-29 Harbor Renegades 59 103 .364 40.0 18-26 6-7 1-9 L -2 26-55 33-48 44-59 15-44 30-74 29-29 WHL Central W L Pct. GB 1-run X-inn L-10 Strk Home Road v.RHP v.LHP in Div nonDiv Detroit Polar Bears 109 53 .673 --- 36-16 12-4 5-5 W 1 53-28 56-25 76-32 33-21 67-35 42-18 Chicago Windbags 90 72 .556 19.0 32-16 12-9 7-3 L -1 47-34 43-38 63-49 27-23 54-48 36-24 Atlanta Predators 86 76 .531 23.0 18-26 9-6 6-4 W 1 42-39 44-37 60-50 26-26 54-48 32-28 Toronto Dragons 49 113 .302 60.0 22-35 6-16 2-8 L -1 27-54 22-59 32-79 17-34 29-73 20-40
Playoffs
| League championship: Eastern Hemispheric League
Round One: Best of 5 - Rome (3) vs. Morocco
(1)
Best of 5 - London (3) vs. China
(0)
Round Two: Best of 7 - Rome (3) vs. London
(4)
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League championship: Western Hemispheric League
Round One: Best of 5 - Detroit (1) vs. Alaska
(3)
Best of 5 - Norfolk (3) vs. Seattle
(1)
Round Two: Best of 7 - Alaska (2) vs. Norfolk (4)
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UBL Championship: World Cup
Best of 7 - London (4) vs.
Norfolk (3)
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