1898 Baseball Season

The 1898 Southern Union Baseball Season was the fourth season of professional baseball within the Koana Islands and the first season of a 12-team Super Ligan following expansion during the off-season. It was also the first season of professional baseball within Günsovölk as the Baseball Meisterschaft began play.

Domestic Baseball

Koana Islands

Super Ligan

Vizhune IS clinched their second consecutive league title on the 7th of August with a 7-1 victory over Sandford Stad BF despite second-placed Körsbärstad IF also winning with a walk-off against Omfattandestad BoIS. Körsbärstad IF finished second for the second time in four years, ahead of Centurio Conneaut who narrowly held off a spirited season from newcomers BK Humoor 1893.

SK Ryttare and Nyhaven SK spent much of the year languishing in mid-table whilst in the lower-half of the standings, AIF Thomassmåstad and Uckford Gemenskap played below .500 all season.

IK Förenta Saffron had a difficult time in their debut in the league despite keeping pace by mid-June before slipping away to finish 11th, but things were woeful for Hamnområde BK however, setting a new record for lowest Winning Percentage with a paltry .241, beating the previous record they set last year.

Sandford Stad BF failed to gain re-election with the other owners concerned about the clubs financial affairs, their on-field performances and, in particular, owner Petri Ljungberg hesitance to spend money on the team, which the other owners believed to be bringing the league into disrepute. Unlike last season, new teams were not given an exemption but IK Förenta Saffron were successfully re-elected, along with Hamnområde BK. Nationella Basebolligan team Ruysdael Akademisk IF were elected in as the 12th team.

1. Sandford Stad BF – 4 (Not Re-Elected)
2. IK Förenta Saffron – 10 (Re-Elected)
3. Hamnområde BK – 6 (Re-Elected)
4. BK Randia – 3
5. Ruysdael Akademisk IF – 9 (Elected)
6. Bryankeld Förenta – 4

Nationella Basebolligan

Despite starting two weeks earlier than rival league Super Ligan, the NBL saw attendances drop as high player wages priced most casual fans out of attending games whilst games became bogged down in low-scoring pitcher duels. Bryankeld Förenta BK won the title thanks to a string of nine straight wins starting on the last day of May which kept them in top spot for the rest of the season.

BK Embleton was second, with the rest of the league a log-jam of seven teams finishing two wins apart, 5 of whom finished 33-33 for the year. Ruysdael Akademisk IF saw a big improvement from their dismal season last year to finish in the top half of the standings.

Portlethen Måndag GK propped up the standings from late May whilst Rovaniemi Förenta had a terrible start to the season, going 5-20 in the first two months of the season before picking up to finish at .500-ball, two games clear of defending champions BK Salau.

League commissioner Niclas Nordin urged the other owners not to worry about declining crowd numbers and even suggested the Super Ligan‘s superior financial might would prove their downfall. Despite this, several teams said they would intend to join the Super Ligan but only Ruysdael Akademisk IF and Bryankeld Förenta joined the Super Ligan ballot for the 1899 season two weeks after the meeting, with the former successfully gaining election.

With Ruysdael officially leaving, and Sandford Stad BF being elected out of the Super Ligan, the Bulldogs requested entry into the NBL and Nordin accepted. However, in an effort to out-muscle the Super Ligan, Nordin personally allowed Västra Delen 95 and Freyr Viksida IK into the league in December 1898, expanding the competition to 14 teams.

Upon hearing the news, Prestons-Grenada owner Hans Gustafsson called on a vote of no-confidence with the league commissioner, suggesting Nordin’s actions to expand the competition without consulting the other owners would not be competitive due to the longer season, more meaningless games, and already dropping attendances. The vote was done over telegram and Nordin successfully retained his position with a result of 7-6 in favor of retainment and one non-vote from Sandford Stad BF.

Günsovölk

Baseball Meisterschaft

Rasensport Sorgenfrei had a 6-game lead over chasing SG 1632 Schönheit and Druten Stadt SV 91 after winning their tenth straight game, before a mini-collapse of 4-straight losses – including a sweep at the hands of Schönheit – meant they had to wait a further week before an 11-1 win over VfB Andacht wrapped up the title.

BV Küstestadt finished 4th, never really challenging for top spot, ahead of Ducibus BV who overcame an awful start to the season where they went 4-10 in April, to finish 33-33 for the year, ahead of Blau-Weiss Ruigood and VfB Andacht. Hafenstadt BV led the league for early periods before falling away to finish 6 games below 500, finishing with the same record as Fortuna Juemen.

At the bottom, Mächtstadt VfL was out of their depth, finishing 8 games back of Viktoria Grosstadt SV who came home in 11th.