As you may know there were two first division leagues in Croatian Baseball the past few years. Four teams played with wooden bats, the others with aluminium. They are going to change the format for the upcoming season.
The four “wooden bat” clubs Olimpija Karlovac (former Kelteks, 2007 champion), Zagreb, Nada and Vindija are joining the Inter League, which features teams from Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia and Croatia. The games between each other will also count for the Croatian championship. All four will reach the playoffs with the seed depending on the results of the aforementioned duels. The Inter League starts play on April 12th.
The other four spots in the Croatian playoffs will be determined between the other “aluminium bat” clubs, which will play a normal regular season. The participants are Kaptol, Sisak, Medvednica, Gajnice, Grabrik, Donat and Vindi Iso-Sport. They open the season on April 5th.
During the postseason, which is planned for the fall, all teams will switch to wooden bats. The quarterfinals are supposed to be played in a best-of-three-series, the semi-finals in a best-of-five-series and the finals in a best-of-seven series. The eliminated teams are going to determine the other classifications.
Summary:
- Four clubs in Inter League already qualified for Croatian playoffs (seeds determined through games against each other)
- Other Croatian clubs play normal regular season. Top four teams advance into the postseason.
- Quarterfinals: best-of-three
- Semi-Finals: best-of-five
- Finals: best-of-seven