by Josh Chetwynd
For a second straight year, Curaçao Neptunus took the title as the number one team in the Mister-Baseball Top 50. Earning the 2018 honor shouldn’t be a huge surprise as the Dutch champions captured both a domestic title and first place at Europe’s top club event, the Champions Cup, for the second straight season this year. Neptunus previously placed atop these standings in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017.
Italian champions – and bronze medal winners at the Champions Cup – Unipolsai Bologna placed second here. ASD Rimini failed to make the Serie A1 finals, but its strong performance in Italy’s regular season along with a runner-up showing at the Champions Cup was enough to finish third in these rankings. The Bonn Capitals combined a dominate regular season performance with a Bundesliga title and silver medal at the CEB Cup to snag the fourth position. It was the best ranking for a German team since 2015. Dutch runners-up L&D Amsterdam came in fifth.
Elsewhere in the standings, Belgium placed two teams in the top 20 for the first time in the history of these rankings. CEB Cup champions, K. Borgerhout Squirrels, came in at 17th, while national champion K. Deurne Spartans slotted in at 18th. BC Minsk, which finished tied for fifth at the CEB Cup, ranked 24th here. This marked the best performance by a team from Belarus to date.
As in years past, these rankings, which are now in their 11th year, are based on a combination of factors. Point totals for teams were amassed from two categories:
- Strength of baseball in each club’s country: The strength of domestic leagues and the countries’ overall international success are significant factors in these rankings. To varying degrees, the elements considered include: The standing of each country’s national team in the European Championships (and qualifiers); the country’s overall performance in CEB club events; the size of the country’s baseball membership; and the number of international quality facilities in the country. In looking at country performance, both recent events and historical performance are taken into account.
- Club’s performance: This is the actual performance of each club. It includes final standings in domestic leagues (and inter-league play where applicable) and cup competitions; club winning percentages; and performances in CEB-sanctioned competitions. Head-to-head performance against other teams in the rankings is taken into consideration – but it is one of many factors. In this category, a team’s performance for the 2017 season is exclusively considered.
The mix of country strength and individual team performance is intended to give a snapshot of European club play for a single year. These rankings do not attempt to offer a historic comparison of clubs and do not assert that a team ranked higher than another is a “better” team. Rather, a combination of performance and league strength reflects the ordering.
We recognize that these rankings stir debate. In part, that’s their very purpose. We do not claim this list to be definitive. If you have any questions or comments, send e-mails to rankings@mister-baseball.com.
Finally, please note, the Mister-Baseball Top 50 reflects only countries where enough data was available to calculate rankings.
2007 Mister-Baseball European Top 50
2008 Mister-Baseball European Top 50
2009 Mister-Baseball European Top 50
2010 Mister-Baseball European Top 50
2011 Mister-Baseball European Top 50
2012 Mister-Baseball European Top 50
2013 Mister-Baseball European Top 50
2014 Mister-Baseball European Top 50
2015 Mister-Baseball European Top 50
2016 Mister-Baseball European Top 50
2017 Mister-Baseball European Top 50
{mrb-rankings:2018}
Countries covered: Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine.
Great to see the number of nationalities that are gradually climbing the list.
Great to see a Czech Republic,Spanish and German club in the top 10.
French club 11th.
3 xGerman clubs,2 x Belgian Clubs, 2x Czech clubs in the top 20 and not one UK club until 26th behind Croatia,Sweden,Belarus. I was playing pre1970. The GB team finished runner up in the 2007 European Championships and I thought there would be a revival but instead things seem to have gone backwards. The North league has even gone independent. Where is the structure and the ambition?