Kobidar Association of Baseball

Kobidar Association of Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Founded	April 5, 1901
CEO	Jóhannes Reyrsson
Inaugural season	1901
No. of teams	13
Country	Kobidar
TV partner/s	KSN

Kobidar Association Baseball (KAB) is the highest level of professional baseball in Kobidar.

History[]

Early History[]

Kobidar Association Baseball was started by the American former MLB star Ernest Smalls. Smalls had just recently completed his long and lucrative career, and decided to move to Kobidar for the sake of his wife, Kobin born model Ingibjörg Oddsdottir. When Smalls arrived in Kobidar, he was delighted to see that football was played regularly, but discovered that baseball was next to unkown in the country. He started a recreational league in 1901, with 3 teams that had 21 games annually. The original 3 teams were the Rösläsk Revolutionaries, the Vaastväk Strikers and the Vaastväk Sliders. The size of his unofficial league grew to the point that 2 more teams were added to the league: the Eyklójyár Whalers and the Tàröfòlðà Wild. In 1911, the league turned professional, paying players anywhere from nothing to 1,000 kd annually. The first Kobin Series was played in 1911, and won by the Rösläsk Revolutionaries Smalls' original three team. This began an era of baseball in Kobidar, punctuated by the dominating Revolutionaries. Smalls retired in 1917 at the age of 47. He then became manager of the Revolutionaries, as well as head of the league. In 1935, official divisions were put into place to even out the championship race. Four division were named: the Northern Division, the Southern Division, the Coastal Division and the Mountain Division.

Pan-Handle Additions[]

In 1939, two more teams were added into the Pan-Handle League: the Trásvalünd Giants and the Vaastväk Mountaineers.

Death of Ernest Smalls[]

Ernest Smalls, the founder of the KAB died February 22, 1941. He was immediately inducted into the newly organized KAB Hall of Fame.

WW2 Years[]

During World War 2, some of the best Kobin baseball players of the era were shipped away to fight overseas. This led to the 1945 Kobin Series to be canceled, on account that neither team had enough players to play in the game. Some of the players to be deployed included: Frímman Geirfinnsson, Kid Hjálmtýsson, Odd Eriksson and Jökull Karlsson. Ten KAB players were killed in the war, and are meomorialized in th KAB Hall of Fame.

Golden Era[]

The late 1940s through the 1950s are known as the Golden Era of the KAB. More homeruns were hit throughout the course of this period than during the last ten or so years of baseball. Players like Jens Sæmundsson, Dale Peters-Branch, and Teitur Arnljótsson peaked during this era, marking it as arguably the mostexciting era in KAB history.

Integration of the KAB[]

Kobidar was never extremely segregated when it came to race, but up until 1957, all the players that had ever played in the KAB were white. That changed on April 5, 1958 when American born Harry Kunrow was signed to the Trásvalünd Giants. He was recieved much less harshly than American player Jackie Robinson was, but still had insults and racism thrown at him. He persevered through the season, and was a staple in the media. He opened the door for other black ballplyers that wished to play in the KAB, and was joined the next season by 3 other black players.

1967 Additions[]

In 1967, 3 more teams were added to the league: the Oddrsur Nets (who would become the Oddrsur Cyborgs), the Reyðajör Redbacks and the Òfsyàsík North.

1981 Additions[]

In 1981, another 3 teams were added to the league: the Seacoast Thunder, the Trásvalünd Skyscrapers and the Oddrsur BlueJax.

Modern History[]

The 2000s have been dominated by the Rösläsk Revolutionaries, who have 4 Kobin Championships. The most dominating player of the era is most likely pitcher Ás Vakursson, who had a 1.99 ERA during the 2013 season. As of last year, 8 players in KAB history have been banned due to PED use, including 2008 MVP John Zachariah.