Baseball: The World's Game (OOTP 22 Fictional World)

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2019 BSA Hall of Fame

The 2019 Beisbol Sudamerica Hall of Fame ballot lacked impactful debuts with the top newcomer at only 40.5%. Only two guys even got above 50%, but one of them did cross the 66% requirement for induction. At 71.4% on his second ballot, 1B Aidan Duparc earned his spot as the lone 2019 addition. LF Sergio Echevarria was the next closest with 54.3% on his fifth try.



1B Rafael Cervantes fell off the ballot after ten failed tries, getting as high as 56.6% in 2015 and ending at 41.3%. He had a 13-year run with Asuncion, winning one Silver Slugger and earning Copa Sudamerica MVP in the 2001 championship season. Cervantes had 2410 hits, 1067 runs, 432 doubles, 359 home runs, 1207 RBI, a .317/.345/.532 slash, 157 wRC+, and 68.3 WAR.

He wasn’t quite the dominant power force that voters wanted from a first baseman. Still, Cervantes was a big force in the playoffs and was a big reason the Archers had their first sustained success, winning four pennants from 1997-2001. He remained a franchise legend and a beloved figure among Paraguayan fans with his #9 uniform retired by Asuncion.



Aidan Duparc – First Base – Santiago Saints – 71.4% First Ballot

Aidan Duparc was a 6’4’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from Remire-Montjoly, a commune in French Guiana with around 27,000 people. As of 2037, Duparc is the only Hall of Famer from French Guiana. He was a slugger with strong power, getting 36 home runs, 102 RBI, 30 doubles, and 5 triples per his 162 game average. Duparc was above average to good in terms of contact and drawing walks, but was subpar at avoiding strikeouts.

Duparc’s speed was below average, but he was deceptively clever at stealing bases. He exclusively played first base and was delightfully average defensively. Duparc had ironman durability and basically never missed time to injury. Despite his talents, Duparc was criticized by some teammates for being a bit selfish and lazy. Still, his consistent power and reliability gave him a successful 18-year career.

French Guiana had a limited baseball scene relative to its neighbors, but Duparc stood out amongst the amateurs on offer. A scout from Chile caught wind of him and brought him to Santiago on a developmental deal in March 1989. He spent most of five years in the Saints academy, although he officially debuted in 1993 at age 20 with one at-bat (a pinch hit single). Duparc saw limited use the next two seasons with 32 starts over 130 games. Santiago made him a full-time starter in 1996, a role he held for them for the next eight years.

Santiago had success in the 1990s, getting to the playoffs seven times over the decade with six division titles. However, they had five first round playoff exits and two Southern Cone Championship defeats (1993, 1997). Duparc arrived in the latter part of this run and won his lone MVP in 1997, leading the league in WAR (8.4), slugging (.625), and OPS (.997). It was also his first of four seasons with 40+ homers. Duparc had a strong postseason going 9-28 with 5 homers, 7 runs, and 7 RBI, but the Saints were upset in the LCS by divisional rival Asuncion.

Duparc would take third in 1999’s MVP voting and second in 2000. However with the competition at first base, he never won a Silver Slugger. Duparc led in RBI in both 1999 and 2000, posting 9+ WAR in both seasons. 2000 had numerous career bests including 112 runs, 211 hits, 37 doubles, 54 homers, 138 RBI, 35 stolen bases, a .345/.409/.6891 slash, 1.090 OPS, 201 wRC+, and 9.3 WAR. Despite his efforts, Santiago would be stuck in the middle of the standings throughout the 2000s.

After solid 6+ WAR efforts in 2001 and 2002, 2003 was Duparc’s worst full season with only 3.6 WAR, 27 homers, and .840 OPS. It wasn’t an ideal contract year with free agency and age 31 approaching. Duparc still wanted to be paid like an MVP candidate and the Saints weren’t willing or able to match that number. Thus, Duparc left Chile and opened up an international search for his next deal.

Duparc moved to the United States and signed a six-year, $30,320,000 deal with MLB’s Charlotte Canaries. He posted respectable numbers starting for the Canaries in his first three years, but was below average in his latter two seasons. Charlotte was generally a mid to bottom level team during his run. In five MLB seasons, Duparc had 693 hits, 394 runs, 128 doubles, 140 home runs, 434 RBI, a .253/.307/.469 slash, 112 wRC+, and 10.5 WAR.

He declined the final year option of his deal, becoming a free agent for 2009 at 36. Duparc patched things up with Santiago, who was happy to bring him back on a three-year, $9,360,000 deal. He looked like his old self in his first year back with 43 homers, 124 RBI, and 6.1 WAR. While not dominant, Duparc gave the Saints another three solid years starting after that, posting 3.5+ WAR and 30+ homers each time.

Santiago would earn wild cards in 2011 and 2012, but couldn’t get beyond the divisional series. For his playoff career, Duparc had 27 starts, 27 hits, 14 runs, 3 doubles, 9 home runs, 21 RBI, a .262/.294/.553 slash, 139 wRC+, and 1.0 WAR. The Saints gave him a one-year deal for 2012, but let him leave in 2013. After going unsigned all year, Duparc retired at age 41. Santiago then brought him in to retire his #48 uniform.

For his combined pro career, Duparc had 2890 hits, 1561 runs, 514 doubles, 613 home runs, 1725 RBI, 851 walks, 345 stolen bases, a .288/.345/.540 slash, 149 wRC+, and 88.7 WAR. His Beisbol Sudamerica totals were a bit lower since he spent five years in MLB. With Santiago, Duparc had 2197 hits, 1167 runs, 386 doubles, 473 home runs, 1291 RBI, 653 walks, 299 stolen bases, a .301/.359/.567 slash, 163 wRC+, and 78.2 WAR.

As of 2037, he ranks 89^th in home runs and 96^th in RBI, but is outside of the top 100 in any other stat. Duparc’s resume was very borderline, but there had been arguably weaker guys that got in before him. Having an MVP and home run power went a long way. He also was the most visible player ever from French Guiana, which did resonate with some voters. Duparc missed the cut in his 2018 ballot debut at 52.9%. With no strong debuts in 2019, he managed to just bump up beyond the 66% requirement. At 71.4%, Duparc was the lone addition into BSA’s Hall of Fame in 2019.

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2019 EBF Hall of Fame (Part 1)

The European Baseball Federation had a hefty four-player Hall of Fame class in 2019. Even though three of the additions were first ballot guys, only SP Steffen Neumann got in handily at 85.6%. The two other first ballot guys and one returner narrowly crossed the 66% requirement. Still, this gave the EBF its largest class since inducting five players in 2012.



In their debuts, 1B Joseph Doran (68.5%) and SP/OF Atanas Kalkanov (67.9%) just crossed the line. SP Jarand Dahl joined them on his ninth ballot at 66.9%. Three players missed the cut but were above 50% with 1B Ulf Alstrom (58.0%, 2^nd ballot), 3B Isaad Dorgham (54.1%, 4^th), and CL Elias Blomqvist (53.4%, 4^th). No players fell off the ballot after ten failed tries.



Steffen Neumann – Starting Pitcher – Vienna Vultures – 85.6% First Ballot

Steffen Neumann was a 5’11’’, 195 pound left-handed pitcher from Dreieich, Germany; a town of roughly 40,000 in the central Hesse state. The stout Neumann had outstanding stuff with solid control and good movement. His fastest pitch was a 94-96 mph sinker, but his most dangerous offerings were his curveball and circle change. Neumann was a master at changing speeds and making each pitch look the same out of his hand. This arsenal led to a lot of whiffs and an extreme groundball tendency without having overpowering speed.

Neumann was an ironman who never missed a start to injury, tossing 215+ innings in all 18 of his full seasons. His stamina was merely average compared to other starters, but his efficiency allowed him to go deep in games especially later in his career. Neumann was excellent at holding runners, but mediocre defensively. Some criticized him for being a mercenary type who cared primarily about himself ahead of the team. However, that laser focus helped turn Neumann into one of the most impressive pitchers of his era.

In the 1999 EBF Draft, Neumann was picked 18^th overall by Vienna and his entire European career came in Austria. He was able to get a much larger payday than most rookies, signing a five-year, $13,200,000 deal right away with the Vultures. Neumann struggled in relief as a rookie with a 5.10 ERA over 90 innings. Neumann improved significantly in his second year as a full-time starter. By year four, he was a top level ace.

In 2003, Vienna snapped a 20-year playoff drought, as they had been stuck in the middle of the standings. The Vultures went 108-54 and won the European Championship over Warsaw. This started a run of five straight 100+ win seasons. Vienna got back to the finals in 2005, but lost to Copenhagen. The other three berths saw disappointing round two defeats. One critique of Neumann was mixed results in the playoffs for Vienna, posting a 3-4 record, 3.51 ERA, 92.1 innings, 122 strikeouts, 112 ERA+, and 2.1 WAR.

Neumann was a huge reason why they went on that streak though. From 2004-2007, he led the Southern Conference each year in WAR, strikeouts, and wins. Neumann also won three ERA titles, giving him Triple Crowns in 2004, 2006, and 2007. As of 2037, he’s the only EBF pitcher with three Triple Crowns. Neumann also led four times in FIP-, thrice in WHIP, and thrice in quality starts. This earned him four consecutive Pitcher of the Year awards., becoming the sixth four-time winner in EBF history.

2004 saw career bests in wins (24-7) and strikeouts (332). Neumann’s top ERA (1.99), WHIP (0.90), and WAR (10.6) were in 2006. 2007 would have his most quality starts at 28. At this point, Neumann was viewed by most as Europe’s best pitcher and in his mind, he was the best in the world. Wanting to prove himself on the highest stage (and get paid), Neumann left for free agency after the 2008 season at age 29.

With Vienna, Neumann had a 138-52 record, 2.75 ERA, 1819.1 innings, 2040 strikeouts, 342 walks, 142 ERA+, and 55.6 WAR. The totals are very low compared to other Hall of Famers since it was only an eight-year run. Still, as of 2037 his ERA ranks 70^th among all pitchers with 1000 innings while his .626 opponent’s OPS ranks 92^nd.

Many European fans wondered if Neumann would’ve cemented himself among the GOAT conversations had he stuck around. Even with the low accumulations, four Pitcher of the Year awards, three Triple Crowns, two pennants, and an European Championship was more than enough for most voters. Neumann received 85.6% in his ballot debut to headline EBF’s 2019 Hall of Fame class.

Although he was done in Europe, he did return to Germany for the World Baseball Championship from 2008-2017 with 101.1 innings, a 6-6 record, 3.91 ERA, 138 strikeouts, 24 walks, 94 ERA+, and 2.0 WAR. 2008 would mark the start of his MLB career, signing a seven-year, $86,600,000 deal with Los Angeles.

While not THE top pitcher right away with the Angels, Neumann was very successful with the Angels, posting 5+ WAR each season. He took third in Pitcher of the Year voting in 2011. Then in 2013, he won the top award, joining the short list of guys to win POTY in multiple world leagues and the short list of five-time winners. Neumann led the American Association in wins (25-5) and ERA (2.18) while posting his MLB career-best 9.9 WAR.

Los Angeles became a contender again, starting a six-year playoff streak from 2010-15. The Angels couldn’t get over the playoff hump, losing in the first round of 2010-11 and the second round of 2012-13. They approached the MLB wins record in 2013 at 119-43, but were upset by Phoenix. LA made it to the AACS in 2014 and 2015 with 100+ win seasons, but were denied the pennant both times. In Neumann’s seven playoff starts, he had a 3.09 ERA over 55.1 innings, but had bad luck for a 1-5 record. He struck out 44 with 12 walks, a 121 ERA+, and 1.3 WAR.

Neumann led the association with 280 strikeouts and 23 complete gamesin 2014, his MLB career bests, although he did have an MLB career low 3.43 ERA. This marked the end of his Angels run with a 120-83 record, 2.92 ERA, 1916.1 innings, 1770 strikeouts, 411 walks, 129 ERA, and 50.7 WAR. A free agent again now at age 36, Neumann joined the Hartford Huskies on a three-year, $65,400,000 deal.

In his Hartford debut, Neumann led in innings pitched (280) and complete games (18), while posting a 2.35 ERA, 248 strikeouts, 20-10 record, and 8.4 WAR. This gave Neumann his second MLB Pitcher of the Year and his sixth overall. Now Neumann had a POTY in both of MLB’s associations and another world league, an incredible feat likely not seen before. He would take third in 2017’s POTY voting.

Hartford had a first round playoff loss in 2015 with Neumann not pitching, then lost in round two in 2017. He had a 4.15 ERA in 13 playoff innings in his only starts for the Huskies. In total for Hartford, Neumann had a 51-24 record, 2.38 ERA, 801.2 innings, 692 strikeouts, 146 ERA+, and 21.2 WAR. He was still a very hot property even at age 39 and returned to free agency. Neumann inked a two-year, $42,000,000 deal with Nashville. This guaranteed he would be one of the first guys with more than $200 million in career earnings.

While Neumann wasn’t bad in 2018, his velocity dropped notably and he now had trouble hitting 90 mph. He had 3.6 WAR and only 125 strikeouts; both career lows. He was iffy in his one playoff start allowing four runs in 7.2 innings as the Knights lost in the first round. Neumann’s combined playoff career was unremarkable statistically with a 4-11 record, 3.48 ERA, 168.1 innings, 172 strikeouts, 27 walks, 110 ERA+, and 3.4 WAR. He decided to retire after the 2018 season at age 40.

Just in MLB, Neumann had a 190-117 record, 2.82 ERA, 2966.1 innings, 2587 strikeouts, 640 walks, 251/359 quality starts, 188 complete games, 39 shutouts, 132 ERA+, and 75.5 WAR. Once any Hall of Fame adds you, OOTP counts them as in for any league the played in. If this wasn’t the case, Neumann might have legitimately gotten into the MLB Hall on his own merit.

For his combined pro career, Neumann had a 328-169 record, 2.79 ERA, 4785.2 innings, 4627 strikeouts, 982 walks, 419/587 quality starts, 222 complete games, 45 shutouts, 136 ERA+, and 131.1 WAR. As of 2037 in world history, Neumann ranks 19^th in wins, 35^th in innings pitched, 39^th in quality starts, and 44^th in pitching WAR. Neumann undoubtedly was an inner-circle HOF level talent and one of the most reliably solid arms in baseball history.



Joseph Doran – First Base – Milan Maulers – 68.5% First Ballot

Joseph Doran was a 6’6’’, 205 pound right-handed first baseman from Swords, Ireland; a town of 40,000 people located just 10 kilometers north of Dublin. Doran was a good contact hitter with reliably strong power. He averaged 40 home runs per his 162 game average, while also giving you 30 doubles and 11 triples. Doran also had above average speed and baserunning chops, allowing him to leg out extra bases. Doran had an average eye for walks and avoiding strikeouts.

Doran played right field in his first two seasons, but was atrocious defensively there. He moved to first base for the rest of his career and was merely bad there. Some coaches were annoyed that Doran never tried to get much better at fielding. He was generally criticized for selfishness and laziness. However, Doran’s strong durability and bat still made him a very valuable starter.

An Italian scout visiting Ireland happened to notice Doran and ink him as a teenager to a developmental deal with Milan in September 1993. He spent around six years in the Maulers’ academy, then debuted at age 22 in 1999 with 58 games and 9 starts. Doran earned a full-time starting gig for the next seven years with Milan, posting 5+ WAR in each season. He had an OPS above one in five seasons, scored 100+ runs each year, and topped 45 home runs thrice.

Doran won his lone MVP and his first Silver Slugger in 2001, leading the Southern Conference in runs (123), total bases (427), and slugging (.695). Those were each career highs, as was his 51 homers, 211 hits, and 8.3 WAR. Milan had lost in the first round of the 2000 playoffs. They were a wild card again and made it to the conference final for the first time since the 1950s, although they were defeated by Munich.

Doran stunk in his limited playoff outings with Milan with a .208/.228/.358 slash in 14 starts. The Maulers remained above .500 each of his remaining years in Italy, but couldn’t quite get back to the playoffs. Doran won Silver Sluggers again in 2002 and 2003 and took third in 2002’s MVP voting. In 2002, Doran led the conference in runs (121), total bases (410), slugging (.683), OPS (1.088), and wRC+ (186). He led in total bases in 2003 and RBI in 2004.

In total for Milan, Doran had 1439 hits, 800 runs, 254 doubles, 298 home runs, 883 RBI, 189 stolen bases, a .336/.385/.648 slash, 175 wRC+, and 46.7 WAR. He was impressive enough in his short tenure that the Maulers later retired his #8 uniform. However, Doran made it clear he wanted to cash in big with free agency coming after the 2006 season. Heading towards his 30^th birthday, Doran drew MLB attention and signed a five-year, $51,000,000 deal with Tampa.

Doran played two seasons with the Thunderbirds with respectable results, posting 321 hits, 166 runs, 44 doubles, 23 triples, 74 home runs, 201 RBI, a .271/.307/.534 slash, 133 wRC+, and 7.6 WAR. Tampa just missed the playoffs in 2007, then fell below .500 in 2008. Doran didn’t care for his time in Florida and ended up opting out of his deal after only two seasons.

Even while playing in Italy and the United States, Doran still regularly represented his native Ireland in the World Baseball Championship. From 2000-13, he had 121 games, 111 starts, 111 hits, 71 runs, 29 doubles, 37 home runs, 79 RBI, and 5.4 WAR. Doran wanted to return home to the great Dublin area and returned to EBF on a five-year, $40,900,000 deal with the Dinos.

Dublin had become a contender in recent years with four division titles from 2005-09, although they couldn’t get beyond the second round. 2010 marked the start of the Dinos’ dynasty run with Doran playing a notable role. Although he wasn’t a league leader at this point in his career, Doran’s first three seasons in Dublin saw 3.5+ WAR, 100+ RBI, and 35+ homers reach year.

The Dinos repeated as European Champion in 2010 and 2011, defeating Zurich and Barcelona in the finals. Doran had an especially good 2011 playoff run, winning conference finals MVP with 23 hits, 13 runs, 9 extra base hits, and 13 RBI in 15 starts. Dublin was upset in the second round in 2012, then won the 2013 EBF title over Zaragoza with a historic 115-47 run. In the playoffs for the Dinos, Doran overall was solid with 48 games, 33 starts, 46 hits, 22 runs, 7 doubles, 6 triples, 4 home runs, 19 RBI, a .317/.336/.531 slash, 147 wRC+, and 1.4 WAR.

Doran also notably had a strong showing in the first Baseball Grand Championship in 2010 for Dublin, leading all players in OBP (.500), slugging (.963), OPS (1.463), and wRC+ (323). He posted 0.5 WAR and a .805 OPS in 2011, then struggled with a .502 OPS in 2013. The Dinos were 5-4 in the inaugural BGC, then went 12-7 for fifth in 2011 and 7-12 in 2013.

Doran was reduced to a part-time role in 2012 and 2013, playing 198 games but only starting 62 games with 1.9 WAR. In total for Dublin, he had 565 hits, 318 runs, 92 doubles, 138 home runs, 406 RBI, a .285/.329/.576 slash, 153 wRC+, and 14.9 WAR. Doran’s deal expired for the 2014 season, but he couldn’t find a home despite wanting to play. He retired that winter at age 37.

In Europe, Doran had 2004 hits, 1118 runs, 346 doubles, 126 triples, 436 home runs, 1289 RBI, 260 stolen bases, a .320/.367/.625 slash, 168 wRC+, and 61.7 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 76^th in RBI and 99^th in home runs, but doesn’t rank in the top 100 in any other counting stats. However, among all batters with 3000 plate appearances, his .992 OPS is 29^th and his slugging percentage is 22^nd.

Those rate stats showed how efficient of a hitter he was, however Doran’s tallies were definitely borderline between his two year MLB run and relatively early retirement. The WAR tally was also on the low end, hurt by his abysmal defense. However, Doran’s success in establishing the Dublin dynasty late in his career helped him immensely, along with his MVP win with Milan. Doran debuted on EBF’s 2019 ballot at 68.5%, which just got him beyond the 66% requirement for a first ballot addition into the Hall of Fame.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 EBF Hall of Fame (Part 2)

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Atanas Kalkanov – Right Field/Pitcher – Lisbon Clippers – 67.9% First Ballot

Atanas Kalkanov was a 6’1’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher and outfielder from Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria; a town of around 31,000. Most of the great two-way players of all time were stronger pitchers than batters, but Kalkanov was the inverse. At the plate, he was an excellent contact hitter with steady power and an above average eye for walks and avoiding strikeouts. Over a 162 game average, Kalkanov hit 32 home runs, 31 doubles, and 6 triples; showing the pop in his bat.

While his running speed was below average, Kalkanov was a very intelligent and savvy baserunner. His intelligence, adaptability, and work ethic made him a sparkplug type player. Kalkanov played mostly in right field as a position player with some starts in left. He graded as a poor defender in right, but was merely below average in left. When pitching though, he was viewed as a good defender.

As a pitcher, Kalkanov was graded as average to above average in terms of stuff, control, and movement. He had a three-pitch arsenal of fastball, slider, and splitter. Kalkanov was notably better against right-handed bats with a 3.25 ERA compared to his 4.09 ERA against lefties. His stamina was respectable and he was willing to battle through numerous severe injuries in his career to provide two-way value.

When Kalkanov was coming up, his native Bulgaria was still Eurasian Professional Baseball territory. He quickly emerged as an intriguing prospect for the 1997 EPB Draft. As one of the stronger prospects Bulgaria had produced in recent years, it was noticed in the capital Sofia. The Spikes picked Kalkanov 11^th overall, although he saw limited use as a rookie with 93 plate appearances and only 2.1 innings. Kalkanov was a part-time starter both-ways in 1999 with merely okay results. In 2000, Sofia was one of the many teams involved in the great EPB exodus, making the shift to the European Baseball Federation.

Kalkanov became a full-time starter in 2000 and won three straight Silver Sluggers as a pitcher. He posted 5.0 WAR offensively in 2001 and 4.9 in 2002, including an 1.005 OPS in 2002. Kalkanov’s pitching was below average his first two years, but started to show some growth in 2004. Sofia earned a division title in 2001, but had a first round exit. His time in his home country ended in disaster though as Kalkanov suffered a torn rotator cuff in August 2002. That put him out for all of 2003 and put his career in doubt.

Worried that he was cooked, Sofia traded Kalkanov before the 2004 season to Copenhagen for three prospects. The Corsairs were on a four-year division title streak, but hadn’t found playoff success to this point. He missed part of 2004 to a strained hamstring, but looked great when healthy. Kalkanov won another Silver Slugger and led the Northern Conference with a career-best 0.90 WHIP.

That year, Copenhagen went 112-50 and defeated Madrid in the European Championship. Kalkanov was big in the playoffs, posting a 1.107 OPS in 47 plate appearances and a 3.00 ERA over 21 playoff innings. Copenhagen gave Kalkanov a three-year, $15,520,000 extension in the winter. The Corsairs repeated as EBF champs in 2005 with a finals win over Vienna. Kalkanov again was great in the playoffs with a 1.002 OPS and a 3.05 ERA over 38.1 innings.

2005 was easily his finest season, winning his lone MVP. Kalkanov also was second in Pitcher of the Year voting and had the rare feat of winning two Silver Sluggers, one as a pitcher and one in right field. Offensively in 127 games, Kalkanov had 7.5 WAR, 43 home runs, 119 RBI, 1.082 OPS, and 201 wRC+. Pitching, Kalkanov had 282 innings, a 21-4 record, 2.81 ERA, 264 strikeouts, and 7.5 WAR. All of those stats were career bests. As of 2037, it is one of only 48 seasons in world history worth 15+ WAR and the fifth best in EBF history.

Kalkanov won two more Silver Sluggers as a pitcher with Copenhagen and took second in 2007’s MVP voting. He had a combined double-digit WAR again in 2007 at 11.4. Kalkanov struggled in his limited playoff appearances those two years as Copenhagen had back-to-back first round exits. That would ultimately conclude an eight-year playoff streak. For his playoff career with the Corsairs, Kalkanov had a .358/.383/.623 slash, 178 wRC+, and 1.7 WAR offensively, while posting a 3.77 ERA over 74 innings, 67 strikeouts, 99 ERA+, and 1.8 WAR pitching.

In total for Copenhagen, Kalkanov had 515 hits, 294 runs, 74 doubles, 115 home runs, 352 RBI, a .332/.378/.621 slash, 179 wRC+, and 20.7 WAR offensively. Pitching, he had a 63-27 record, 3.11 ERA, 878.1 innings, 788 strikeouts, 145 walks, 120 ERA+, and 23.1 WAR. Kalkanov became a free agent for the first time at age 31 and made the move to Portugal, signing a six-year, $44,400,000 deal with Lisbon. Although his most statistically impressive years were in Denmark, Lisbon was his longest tenure and were the colors Kalkanov opted for at induction.

Lisbon never had a losing season during Kalkanov’s six-year tenure, but they only earned two wild cards and didn’t get beyond the second round of the playoffs. Kalkanov never played a playoff game for them as injuries began to pile up. His debut season was excellent with 10.8 WAR combined and he won four Silver Sluggers as a pitcher, giving him 12 in total.

In July 2011, Kalkanov suffered his second torn rotator cuff, putting him out for 13 months. Then in late August 2013, he tore his rotator cuff for a third time. Doctors told him there was no coming back from this one, forcing an abrupt retirement just past his 37^th birthday. With Lisbon, Kalkanov had 591 hits, 327 runs, 91 doubles, 123 home runs, 341 RBI, a .318/.380/.585 slash, 160 wRC+, and 20.6 WAR. He also pitched 1018.1 innings with a 61-44 record, 3.55 ERA, 744 strikeouts, 233 walks, 108 ERA+, and 14.9 WAR.

His first two Sofia years didn’t count towards his EBF totals, which saw 1363 games at the plate, 1569 hits, 852 runs, 253 doubles, 287 home runs, 896 RBI, 212 stolen bases, a .327/.379/.581 slash, 163 wRC+, and 54.3 WAR. He pitched 2600.2 innings with a 158-110 record, 3.58 ERA, 2053 strikeouts, 512 walks, 107 ERA+, and 48.2 WAR. This gave him a combined 102.5 WAR for his career.

Notably among all hitters with 3000 plate appearances, his .959 OPS ranks 68^th. Some figure he might have been an all-time hitter if he focused on that. As a pitcher, Kalkanov was merely above average and wouldn’t have been a Hall of Famer purely on that. Despite his offensive efficiency, he also didn’t have the raw tallies. There were a surprising number of voters who thought even his combined value wasn’t quite enough.

Supporters pointed to the 100+ WAR, his MVP season, sparkplug attitude, and role in Copenhagen’s dynasty run. As of 2037, he’s one of 18 two-way players with 100+ career WAR. There were just enough supporters to slide Kalkanov by the 66% requirement, debuting in 2019 at 67.9%. Thus, he earned the first ballot induction and his spot in the four-player Hall of Fame class for EBF in 2019. Kalkanov was the first (and so far only) Bulgarian to earn a spot into EBF’s HOF.



Jarand Dahl - Starting Pitcher – Naples Nobles – 66.9% Ninth Ballot

Jarand Dahl was a 6’2’’, 205 pound left-handed pitcher from Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city with around 289,000 inhabitants. Dahl’s raw stuff was incredible, graded as a 10/10 by many scouts at his peak. He had an outstanding 99-101 mph fastball, mixed with a curveball, screwball, and changeup. However, Dahl was wildly inconsistent with often poor movement and control. While he’d get a ton of strikeouts, he also surrendered a lot of walks and home runs.

Dahl’s stamina was merely average and his erraticism kept him from going deeper in games. He was respectable at holding runners and below average defensively. Dahl’s durability was decent, although he would run into some injury troubles. In the clubhouse, he was generally quiet and went about his business, although he would stay loyal for most of his run with Naples.

Despite growing up in Norway, the majority of his career came in Italy. Naples discovered Dahl and signed him to a developmental contract in May 1988. He spent roughly six years in the Nobles academy, officially debuting at age 21 in 1993 with 13 innings. He saw 58.2 innings the next year with inconsistent results. Dahl would earn a mostly full-time role from 1995 onward.

Dahl would have 5+ WAR in five seasons in his career, although the inconsistencies plagued him. He also lost six weeks of 1996 to shoulder bursitis and the second half of 1998 to a broken kneecap. Naples went on to snap a 26-year playoff drought in 1998 en route to a European Championship win over Berlin, although Dahl had to watch in a brace. Naples won their division again in 1999, but suffered a first round playoff loss. In two starts, Dahl allowed five runs over 14 innings.

In April 2000, the Nobles gave Dahl a four-year, $13,280,000 extension. He led the conference in strikeouts in both 2000 and 2001, posting a career-best 325 in 2000. 2002 would see his highest WAR total at 6.8, which was Dahl’s only time as a Pitcher of the Year finalist, taking third. Naples would be stuck in the mid-tier just outside the playoffs during these years. They got back in 2004 as a wild card, but lost in the first round.

By 2004, a now 32-year old Dahl had troubles with injuries, missing time between forearm tendinitis, an intercostal strain, oblique strain, and back spasms. Naples opted not to re-sign Dahl, making him a free agent after a 12-year run with the Nobles. Dahl still had plenty of suitors and signed a five-year, $19,560,000 deal with Munich.

In 2005, Dahl seemed to be putting it altogether, leading the conference with career bests in ERA (2.17), and WHIP (0.89). However, he only had 166 innings due to injuries. He missed all of June to elbow inflammation, then suffered a torn flexor tendon in September. That injury effectively tanked his stuff and turned his control from poor to atrocious. Dahl was still under contract for 2006 and 2007 with Munich, but the Mavericks never used him. He finally retired after the 2007 season at age 35.

Dahl finished with a 141-94 record, 2.99 ERA, 2273.1 innings, 2902 strikeouts, 597 walks, 209/307 quality starts, 130 ERA+, and 55.5 WAR. His strikeouts per nine innings was 11.49, which ranks 11^th best among all EBF pitchers with 1000 innings as of 2037. He ranks 74^th in total strikeouts, but doesn’t crack the top 100 in any other stats. Sympathetic voters argued he would’ve gotten the accumulations needed if not for the injuries. On paper though, it looked more like a “Hall of Good” type of resume.

The 2011 ballot debut saw a mere 39.3% and he hovered around there for a bit. Dahl jumped to 57.8% in 2015, then fell back to 44.1%. He had a shocking boost to 65.1% in 2017, missing the 66% cut by one point. Dahl was back down to 48.8% the next year. On his ninth try in 2019, Dahl squeaked in at 66.9% to cap off the four-player EBF Hall of Fame class. Most scholars rank him towards the bottom of inductees, since he lacked awards and accumulations. Still, the big strikeout stats and his impressive fastball won over just enough voters.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 EPB Hall of Fame (Part 1)

For the second time in three years, Eurasian Professional Baseball had a four-player Hall of Fame class. The 2019 group was one of the most impressive ever with four first ballot inductees and three no-doubters above 95%. Co-headlining were 3B Boxuan Long (97.0%), SP Yevgeni Vnukovsky (96.3%), and OF Sapar Durdyew (95.0%). The fourth inductee SP Josef Popov was no slouch either at 78.9%. No other players were above 50% with the top returner getting only 36.6%.



Falling off the ballot after ten failed tries was LF Mahammad Tagiyev, who had a 20-year career and won nine Gold Gloves, four Silver Sluggers, and one MVP. His prime came with Warsaw, winning LCS MVP twice and helping the Wildcats to the 1994 EPB title. He was also a World Series winner in 1998 with Vancouver, spending four seasons in MLB.

For his EPB career, Tagiyev had 2088 hits, 1050 runs, 301 doubles, 142 triples, 360 home runs, 1062 RBI, 635 stolen bases, a .271/.308/.488 slash, 152 wRC+, and 76.3 WAR. The four MLB seasons lowered his accumulations, but his accolades still made a strong case even without much black ink. Yet, Tagiyev never got much ballot traction, peaking at 46.4% in 2011 and ending at only 16.1%.

SP Ilmar Parviainen also was dropped after ten ballots, peaking at 25.4% in 2011 and ending with 7.7%. In 14 years with four teams, Parviainen had a 174-122 record, 2.48 ERA, 2981 innings, 2834 strikeouts, 523 walks, 114 ERA+, and 49.9 WAR. He had no black ink or awards to speak of though and his accumulations were too low even for the pitcher-friendly EPB voters. Parviainen was a pretty firm “Hall of Good” type.



Boxuan “Zippo” Long – Third Base – Krasnoyarsk Cossacks – 97.0% First Ballot

Boxuan Long was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed third baseman from Tangshan, China; a coastal city in the northeast with more than seven million people. Long was a well-rounded hitter in his prime with strong contact, power, and eye ratings. His 162 game average saw 32 home runs and 34 doubles, making him one of the best at getting extra-base hits in the low offense environment of 2000s EPB. On the basepaths, he had subpar speed and instincts.

Long was a career third baseman and was a consistently good to great defender, winning a Gold Glove in 2000. He had excellent durability, starting 137+ games in all but his final season. Long was one of the smartest and most adaptable guys in the clubhouse. He became one of the most popular baseball superstars in EPB despite being a Chinese outsider in Russia.

Although Chinese League Baseball existed as Long grew up, he moved to Russia to complete his amateur career. He became eligible for the 1997 EPB Draft and was a talent that drew plenty of attention. However, regional restrictions of the time kept him from being eligible until the fourth round. Long was the first pick of the round, 104^th overall, by Krasnoyarsk.

Long was an immediate success, winning 1998 Rookie of the Year honors and his first Silver Slugger. He would win 11 consecutive Sluggers from 2000-10, becoming only the second 12-time winner in EPB history. Long’s talent stood out even more after the exodus of teams from EPB for the 2000 season. From 2000-04, he led the Asian League in doubles four times. Long led in WAR in 2001 with 7.8, taking second in MVP voting. Krasnoyarsk gave him an eight-year, $21,100,000 extension after the 2002 season.

The Cossacks became a contender post-exodus, making five straight playoff berths from 2001-05. They won the AL pennant in 2001 and 2005, suffering ALCS defeats in the middle. Krasnoyarsk lost the 2001 EPB Championship against Minsk, but won it all in 2005 over Moscow. The Cossacks were just above .500 but outside of the playoffs from 2006-08. Then in 2009, Krasnoyarsk won another AL pennant, but lost in the championship to the Mules.

In his playoff career, Long had 54 starts, 57 hits, 38 runs, 15 doubles, 11 home runs, 37 RBI, a .279/.348/.525 slash, 152 wRC+, and 2.7 WAR. He did also return home to China from 2000-09 for the World Baseball Championship. Long had 120 WBC games and 112 starts with 97 hits, 55 runs, 18 doubles, 21 home runs, 47 RBI, a .230/.310/.427 slash, 114 wRC+, and 2.3 WAR.

From 2002 onward, each of Long’s Krasnoyarsk seasons were worth 8+ WAR and seven times he led the league. He was third in MVP voting in 2002, then won the top honor for the first time in 2003. That year, he led in the triple slash (.315/.404/.567), OPS (.971), and wRC+ (175). Long also had his career best in doubles with 44. Long’s doubles numbers went slightly down from there, but his home run numbers increased.

Long repeated as MVP in 2005 and 2006, leading the AL both years in runs, home runs, RBI, total bases, OPS, wRC+, and WAR. He had 11.7 WAR in 2005 and 11.7 WAR in 2006, which both rank as top ten all-time seasons as of 2037 among EPB position players. Long also led in the triple slash again in 2006, earning the ninth Triple Crown by an EPB hitter. 2006 had career bests in homers (43), RBI (114), total bases (350), triple slash (.337/.406/.677), OPS (1.083), wRC+ (214), and WAR (11.7). He also hit for the cycle in 2006 versus Yekaterinburg. 2005 had his best runs tally at 108.

From 2005-10, Long had a six-year streak as the AL WARlord. He led in OBP in both 2007 and 2008. Long also led in runs in 2008, taking second in MVP voting. He was second again in 2009, then became a four-time winner in 2010. Long was only the third four-time MVP winner in EPB history. In 2010, he led in RBI (111), total bases (315), slugging (.553), OPS (.913), wRC+ (168), and WAR (8.3).

That was his final season for Krasnoyarsk as his deal expired. Now 36-years old and a free agent for the first time, Long left for MLB money, signing a two-year, $29,400,000 deal with Oakland. He would make almost half of his career earnings in his brief MLB run. Long was merely an okay starter for the Owls, posting a .235/.305/.452 slash, 116 wRC+, and 3.2 WAR over two seasons.

A free agent again at age 38, Long returned to Russia on a two-year, $7,720,000 deal with Novosibirsk. He missed six weeks in the spring to a strained hamstring, but struggled even when healthy. Long had -0.6 WAR and a .187/.271/.301 slash over 65 games with the Nitros. Realizing he was done, Long retired after the 2013 season at age 39. Krasnoyarsk quickly brought him in to retire his #29 uniform and he remained a franchise icon in years to come.

In EPB, Long had 2374 hits, 1224 runs, 489 doubles, 444 home runs, 1347 RBI, 869 walks, a .284/.357/.513 slash, 154 wRC+, and 109.3 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 8^th in WAR among position players despite being only 80^th in runs, 93^rd in home runs, and outside of the top 100 in hits. However, Long ranks 15^th in doubles and 49^th in RBI. Among all EPB batters with 3000+ plate appearances, his .885 OPS ranks 21^st. His OBP also ranks 20^th, slugging 41^st, and average 79^th.

Long also leads all 3B in WAR with only Ivan Mushailov’s 95.8 coming somewhat close. While he isn’t at the top of the accumulation leaderboards, many EPB analysts have Long as the league’s all-time greatest third baseman. He was a regular in the MVP conversation with a true inner-circle career. In a loaded 2019 EPB Hall of Fame class, Long especially stands out, getting the highest percentage at 97.0%.



Yevgeni Vnukovsky – Starting Pitcher - Minsk Miners – 96.3% First Ballot

Yevgeni Vnukovsky was a 6’5’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Volzhsk, Russia; a town of around 55,000 people within the Kazan metropolitan area. Vnukovsky was known for having outstanding pinpoint control, which allowed him to thrive despite his stuff and movement both being average at best. His fastball hit the 93-95 mph range and was mixed in with a slider, curveball, and changeup.

Vnukovsky had pretty good stamina, but various injuries did limit his innings despite an 18-year career. He was good at holding runners, but subpar defensively. Vnukovsky had an excellent work ethic and was selfless, but his intelligence was a bit low. Still, he got noticed as a top prospect even as a teenager.

In the 1991 EPB Draft, Vnukovsky out of high school was picked 21^st overall by Krasnoyarsk. The Cossacks had him in their developmental system for two and a half years, but they were disappointed in progress. At the 1994 trade deadline, Krasnoyarsk sent Vnukovsky and veteran RP Tony Guerrero to Minsk for prospects Maksim Savinkov and Yuriy Fridrikas. The Miners debuted Vnukovsky in 1995 at age 23 as a part-time starter with okay results.

Minsk was in the midst of what would be a world record 24-year playoff streak. Vnukovsky became a full-time starter in 1996 and thrived with a 7.8 WAR season. In the playoffs, he had a 2.68 ERA over 37 innings, helping the Miners win the EPB Championship over Ulaanbaatar. Minsk won division titles again from 1997-99, but lost in the first round in 1997 and in the European League Championship Series in 1998 and 1999. Vnukovsky had some injuries, missing the final chunk of 1997 and part of 1998 to shoulder inflammation.

Vnukovsky was healthy in 1999, leading the EL in WHIP (0.72), quality starts (30), and innings (298). These were career bests, as was his 1.78 ERA and 300 strikeouts. He struggled though with a 4.21 ERA over 25.2 playoff innings. 2000 saw the great exodus of teams from EPB, which opened up a chance for Minsk to dominate more. They won five straight EL pennants from 2000-04 and three-peated as EPB champion from 2000-02.

This era also saw some of Vnukovsky’s best efforts, taking second in Pitcher of the Year voting in 2000 and third in both 2001 and 2002. He led the league in WHIP in both 2002 and 2003. His playoff stats were unremarkable, but Vnukovsky ate innings and helped the dynasty along. He did have a solid 2004 run with a 1.44 ERA over 25 innings, but had an ERA+ below 100 in the rest of the dynasty. Vnukovsky received a four-year, $11,040,000 extension after the 2006 season.

Minsk’s playoff streak ended with misses from 2005-07. The Miners returned to the EL pennant in 2008, but lost to Yekaterinburg in the EPB Championship. Vnukovsky was second in POTY voting in 2008, leading for the only time in wins (20-6), and WAR (8.5). He had bounced back after losing a chunk of 2007 to shoulder inflammation.

In June 2009, disaster struck with a torn flexor tendon, putting Vnukovsky out for a calendar year. Still, the Miners gave him a two-year, $8,400,000 extension. Minsk lost in the ELCS in 2009, then narrowly missed the playoffs in 2010. Vnukovsky lost most of 2011 to a herniated disc, but was back for the playoff run. He had a 4.12 ERA over 19.2 innings, but Minsk as a wild card went on a tear and won the EPB Championship over Omsk. Vnukovsky then had a 4.72 ERA over 34.1 innings in the Baseball Grand Championship as the Miners took last at 5-14.

This gave Vnukovsky five EPB titles and eight EL pennants for his career. However, his career playoff production was a mixed bag. Vnukovsky had a 13-9 record, 3.20 ERA, 219.2 innings, 197 strikeouts, 22 walks, and 5.0 WAR. He had a 90 ERA+, but notably also had a FIP- of 81. Vnukovsky also pitched for Russia in six editions of the World Baseball Championship, posting 58.2 innings, 54 strikeouts, 0.6 WAR, and a 3.68 ERA.

Minsk didn’t bring Vnukovsky back after the 2011 season, making him a free agent heading towards age 40. He found an unlikely home in Venezuela, signing a two-year, $12,200,000 deal with Barquisimeto. He was below average with a 4.46 ERA and 91 ERA+ over 117 innings. Unfortunately, Vnukovsky suffered a torn UCL in late June, putting his career in doubt.

The Black Cats let him go and Vnukovsky returned home to Russia. His childhood favorite team Kazan gave him a chance in 2013 on a one-year deal, but only used him in four relief appearances. Vnukovsky did allow one run over nine innings for what it’s worth. He opted to retire that winter at age 41 and Minsk immediately retired his #7 uniform.

Vnukovsky’s EPB stats saw a 234-148 record, 2.32 ERA, 3610.1 innings, 3340 strikeouts, 359 walks, 322/439 quality starts, 238 complete games, 54 shutouts, 124 ERA+, and 80.5 WAR. As of 2037, Vnukovsky ranks 21^st in wins, 77^th in strikeouts, and 58^th in pitching WAR. Among all pitchers with 1000+ innings, Vnukovsky ERA ranks 56^th, his 0.89 BB/9 ranks 5^th, and his 0.89 WHIP ranks 28^th.

While he didn’t have raw dominance or awards, Vnukovsky was a solid and steady contributor for more than a decade, helping Minsk prolong their historic dynasty. Vnukovsky received 96.3% on his ballot debut, earning no-doubt first ballot status within EPB’s 2019 Hall of Fame class.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 EPB Hall of Fame (Part 2)

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Sapar Durdyew – Right Field – Ufa Fiends – 95.0% First Ballot

Sapar Durdyew was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed hitting outfielder from Nizhni Tagil, Russia; a city of 339,000 people near the boundary between Asia and Europe. In his prime, Durdyew was a solid contact hitter with a good eye for drawing walks, although his strikeout rate was poor. He didn’t have prolific power, but regularly got extra base hits with 31 home runs, 27 doubles, and 10 triples per his 162 game average. Durdyew was notably better versus right-handed pitching (.881 OPS, 165 wRC+) compared to lefties (.737 OPS, 129 wRC+).

On the basepaths, Durdyew had above average to good speed. He primarily played right field, making about ¾ of his career starts there. Durdyew was an outstanding RF, winning 11 Gold Gloves. He also played center field sporadically, but posted below average production there. Durdyew had good durability, leading to a 21-year career and more than 3000 games. His longevity and consistency helped him become one of Russia’s most beloved baseball figures.

Durdyew was a top prospect entering the 1992 EPB Draft and was picked third overall by Ufa. The Fiends made him a starter right away and he thrived, posting 5+ WAR in each of his first 11 seasons. Durdyew won 1993 Rookie of the Year, then from 1994-2003 won ten straight Gold Gloves. From 1995-05, Durdyew earned 11 consecutive Silver Sluggers. From 1994-99, he had six straight years with 6+ WAR. In that stretch, he led the Asian League in OPS and wRC+ three times, total bases twice, and doubles twice.

His first MVP win came in 1998, leading the AL with a career-best 10.2 WAR. Durdyew also had career bests in runs (95), hits (177), RBI (112), total bases (345), and wRC+ (195). He had taken second in MVP voting in 1996 and third in and 1997. In June 1997, Ufa wisely locked Durdyew up with an eight-year, $14,620,000 extension. Despite his efforts, the Fiends were stuck in the middle tier in the late 1990s. Their lone playoff berth of the decade was a wild card and first round exit in 1998.

Durdyew won his second MVP in 2001, leading for the second time in WAR (8.6). He also led for the first time in runs scored and again had the best OPS, wRC+, and total base tally. Even with the exodus in teams in 2000, Ufa couldn’t find success, missing the playoffs from 1999-2006. In 2004, they bottomed out at 66-96, their worst effort of Durdyew’s run. He also saw his production drop to only 4.1 WAR, the worst of his career to that point.

With one year left on his contract, Ufa began shopping the now 34-year old Durdyew. They ultimately traded him to Moscow for four prospects, ending his impressive 12-year run with the Fiends. In total, Durdyew had 1877 hits, 974 runs, 349 doubles, 136 triples, 343 home runs, 1036 RBI, 627 walks, 514 stolen bases, a .278/.341/.523 slash, 162 wRC+, and 86.4 WAR. He remained a franchise icon even years after leaving and eventually had his #12 uniform retired by Ufa.

Durdyew returned to form in 2005 in the Russian capital, leading the European League in doubles, OBP, slugging, OPS, and wRC+; finishing second in MVP voting. Moscow earned a wild card and won the ELCS in an upset over St. Petersburg, although they were defeated by Krasnoyarsk in the EPB Championship. Durdyew was LCS MVP and had 15 hits, 7 runs, 3 doubles, 3 home runs, and 8 RBI in 11 playoff starts.

Now 35-years old, Durdyew was a free agent for the first time. He was beloved across Russia even despite the lack of team success for most of his career. He did have a limited run from 1995-2000 for the national team in the World Baseball Championship, making 59 starts with 55 hits, 34 runs, 11 doubles, 16 home runs, 39 RBI, and 2.2 WAR. However, Durdyew received international offers from teams who thought he could still be a top level player. He ended up moving to MLB and the United States, signing a three-year, $31,200,000 deal with Hartford.

Durdyew was decent in his Huskies debut as a part-time starter, posting 2.2 WAR over 139 games and 104 starts. He was a full-timer and on a better pace in 2007, but lost the entire second half to a torn meniscus. Durdyew didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the third year of the deal, becoming a free agent again at age 37. With Hartford, he had 4.8 WAR over 216 games with a .244/.315/.453 slash.

MLB teams were still interested and Washington gave Durdyew a three-year, $24,900,000 deal. While not an award winner, he gave the Admirals three very respectable seasons as a starter, topping 3.5 WAR each year. Washington made it to the National Association Championship Series in 2008, but lost to Cincinnati. The Admirals then had the top seed in 2009, but were upset in the second round by Milwaukee. Durdyew was awful in his limited playoff games with a .129/.187/.214 slash and -0.3 WAR.

In total though for Washington, he had 380 hits, 218 runs, 61 doubles, 80 home runs, 204 RBI, a .239/.317/.446 slash, 129 wRC+, and 12.1 WAR. That gave him 16.9 WAR total for his five year MLB stint, a very respectable effort. Durdyew opted to return to Russia though at age 40, signing a three-year, $11,440,000 deal with Yekaterinburg in March 2011. The Yaks were on an eight-year playoff streak at this point, having won it all four times in the run.

Yekaterinburg would lose in the 2011 ALCS to Omsk, although Durdyew was the series MVP in defeat. He was decent in 2011, but missed nearly two months to a fractured hand. The Yaks moved him to designated hitter in 2012 and he won his 12^th career Silver Slugger. Durdyew seemed ageless, posting his career best in home runs with 41. This effort earned him a third place in MVP voting even in his 40s.

The Yaks won their final EPB Championship of their historic run in 2012, beating Rostov in the final. Despite a great regular season, Durdyew struggled in the playoffs with a .133/.245/.356 slash. He was looking merely okay in 2013, but his season ended in July with a concussion knocking him out seven months. In total with Yekaterinburg, Durdyew had 326 hits, 174 runs, 36 doubles, 77 home runs, 183 RBI, .263/.326/.500 slash, 148 wRC+, and 8.6 WAR. He wanted to make a comeback for 2014, but ultimately went unsigned and retired that winter at age 44.

For his EPB career, Durdyew had 2341 hits, 1232 runs, 420 doubles, 161 triples, 450 home runs, 1303 RBI, 800 walks, 605 stolen bases, a .276/.340/.522 slash, 163 wRC+, and 103.1 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 11^th in WAR among position players, 60^th in hits, 38^th in runs, 28^th in doubles, 47^th in home runs, and 33^rd in RBI. Among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances, his .863 OPS ranks 38^th.

Durdyew did lose some ground on the leaderboards because of his five year MLB run. For his combined pro career, he had 3009 games, 2894 hits, 1548 runs, 496 doubles, 569 home runs, 1610 RBI, 1040 walks, 650 stolen bases, a .268/.335/.507 slash, 156 wRC+, and 120.0 WAR. Durdyew also was one of a select few to have both 10+ Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers. He was a no doubt first ballot guy even among a loaded 2019 EPB Hall of Fame class, receiving 95.0%.



Josef Popov – Starting Pitcher – Yekaterinburg Yaks – 78.9% First Ballot

Josef Popov was a 5’10’’, 185 pound right-handed pitcher from the capital of Russia, Moscow. Popov was known for very good control along with solid stuff and movement. Despite his smaller stockier frame, his fastball still his 96-98 mph and was his strongest pitch. Popov also had a curveball and changeup in the arsenal with an extreme groundball tendency. Compared to most EPB aces, Popov had below average stamina and didn’t go deep in games too often. He also battled injury woes throughout his career, only breaching 200 innings in four seasons. Popov was good at holding runners, but otherwise lackluster defensively.

Excelling in primary school in the capital will quickly earn you attention. Popov’s stock soared ahead of the 1997 EPB Draft and Yekaterinburg wanted him to skip college, picking him 7^th overall. Popov largely spent his first four years under contract in developmental. He did see limited use with 45.1 innings mostly in relief in 2000 and 2001. Popov did also toss 11.2 playoff innings those years and allowed three runs. Yekaterinburg won the Asian League pennant in 2000, but lost to Minsk in the EPB Championship. The Yaks lost the 2001 ALCS to Krasnoyarsk.

Popov became a full-time starter from 2002 onward and would top 5+ WAR in seven different seasons. He played a big role in establishing a dynasty run for Yekaterinburg. The Yaks missed the playoffs in 2002, but then they went on a ten-year playoff streak. In that stretch, Yekaterinburg won the EPB Championship five times, the Asian League pennant six times, and finished first in the standings five times.

The dynasty kicked off in 2003, ousting Krasnoyarsk in the ALCS on the road. Yekaterinburg then topped Minsk in the EPB Championship, denying a three-peat bid by the Miners. The Yaks repeated over Minsk in 2004, which saw a league-best 0.70 WHIP from Popov. This was his career best, as was his 1.45 ERA. It was his first time as a Pitcher of the Year finalist, taking third. He took third again in 2005 and second in 2006. The Yaks were upset in the 2005 ALCS by Krasnoyarsk, but reclaimed the pennant in 2006 against Irkutsk. They would be defeated in the EPB Championship by Moscow.

Popov’s lone no-hitter came on August 8, 2006 against Samara. It was notably the third time in EPB history that a no-hitter was thrown in extra innings, as Popov had 10 innings, 11 strikeouts, and two walks. Popov would drop off in 2007 in part due to troubles from a herniated disc. He was fine and solid by the playoffs as Yekaterinburg returned to the top spot, getting revenge in the final against Moscow. The Yaks repeated in 2008 against Minsk, earning their fourth EPB title in six years.

2008 would be a banner year for Popov, winning his lone Pitcher of the Year. He had the tenth-ever Triple Crown pitching season in EPB with a 23-4 record, 2.11 ERA, and 294 strikeouts. This would be his only time leading the league in wins or strikeouts. Popov also led with a career best 8.2 WAR. Soon to be 31 years old, Yekaterinburg gave Popov a six-year, $25,000,000 extension in March 2009.

The Yaks’ playoff streak continued, but they lost in the ALCS each year from 2009-11. Popov won his second ERA title and led in WAR in 2010 despite only throwing 176.1 innings as elbow inflammation and a sprained ankle hobbled him. More elbow inflammation and a herniated disc bothered him through 2011. He also struggled to a 5.19 ERA in his two playoff appearances.

For his career though, Popov was generally very good in the playoffs. He had an 8-4 record with 4 saves, 160.2 innings, 2.41 ERA, 160.2 innings, 141 strikeouts, 11 walks, 130 ERA+, and 4.0 WAR. He also pitched for Russia from 2003-11 in the World Baseball Championship with a 3.45 ERA over 60 innings, 4-5 record, 84 strikeouts, 10 walks, 107 ERA+, and 2.5 WAR.

Yekaterinburg won their fifth and final EPB Championship of their run in 2012, giving Popov five rings. He missed most of the season though with bone chips in his elbow and was unremarkable when healthy. Popov was back for most of 2013, but ended up with -0.5 WAR over 179.2 innings. He decided to retire in the winter at age 35 and the Yaks immediately retired his #25 uniform for his role in their dominant decade.

Popov finished with a 156-77 record, 2.35 ERA, 2314 innings, 2460 strikeouts, 282 walks, 223/303 quality starts, 68 complete games, 14 shutouts, 132 ERA+, and 60.1 WAR. The lack of longevity hurts him on the leaderboards, ranking 80^th in pitching WAR as of 2037. Popov also doesn’t crack the top 100 in wins or strikeouts. Of all pitchers with 1000+ innings, he does rank 68^th in ERA and his .566 opponent’s OPS ranks 45^th. Popov’s 0.91 WHIP is 39^th and his 1.10 BB/9 ranks 16^th.

His rate stats, five championship rings, Pitcher of the Year, playoff success, and Triple Crown generally overruled the voters who thought Popov’s accumulations were simply too low. Popov debuted in 2019 at 78.9% to earn a first ballot induction. He was a solid capper to the impressive four-player 2019 EPB Hall of Fame class.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 OBA Hall of Fame (Part 1)

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The prior three ballots for the Oceania Baseball Association Hall of Fame had been very weak with only one addition barely making it. 2019 finally had some strong debuts with three earning induction on the first ballot. SP Timothy Manglona was the clear headliner at 98.2%. SP Mikey Alao was next with a solid 86.7%, while RF Elliot McFall made it beyond the 66% requirement at 71.3%. The best returner was SP Val Moran with 55.2% on his second ballot. No one else was above 50% and no players were dumped after ten failed tries.



Timothy Manglona – Starting Pitcher – Guam Golden Eagles – 98.2% First Ballot

Timothy Manglona was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from San Vicente, a village on Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. He would be the first (and only as of 2037) Hall of Fame inductee to come from the Northern Marianas. Manglona had outstanding control and very good stuff along with average movement. He wasn’t going to overpower you as his velocity peaked at 92-94 mph.

However, Manglona’s arsenal was diverse and always in the right spot. He had a curveball, screwball, changeup, splitter, and cutter; and knew how to keep you guessing on which one was coming. Manglona had excellent stamina and very good durability for most of his career. He was great at holding runners, but weak defensively. Manglona was a fairly low-key guy, but he became the CNMI’s most famous citizen and an international superstar.

The Northern Marianas as a United States territory had a local baseball presence, but the 55,000-person island group didn’t get a ton of scouting attention. The greater Mariana Archipelago included Guam and thus was generally part of the Golden Eagles’ market and fandom. Thus, Manglona grew up as a big Guam fan. As he developed as a teenager, the Golden Eagles took notice. They signed Manglona to a developmental deal in August 1990.

Manglona debuted in 1995 at age 21, putting up a solid 2.75 ERA and 4.2 WAR over 196.1 innings to take third in Rookie of the Year voting. His second season began a streak of ten consecutive seasons posting at least 7 WAR. Manglona won three straight ERA titles from 1996-1998. He took third in 1996’s Pitcher of the Year voting, then won back-to-back POTYs in 97 and 98. Manglona was also third in 1998’s MVP voting. 1997 featured his first no-hitter, a 13 strikeout, 2 walk effort over Tahiti on May 1.

1998 was an all-timer for Manglona, earning a Triple Crown with a 29-5 record, 1.72 ERA, and 446 strikeouts. His win tally and ERA were career bests, as was his 14.6 WAR and 196 ERA+. As of 2037, his WAR mark ranks seventh-best among OBA pitchers and 26^th best among all pitchers. It’s also the 61^st highest WAR by any player in world history. It was also one of only eight times that a pitcher had a 29+ win season.

With Manglona as the ace, Guam posted a dynasty run with five consecutive Pacific League titles from 1997-2001. They won the 1997 Oceania Championship over Perth, then were upset by Adelaide in 1998. With that, the Golden Eagles gave Manglona a five-year, $9,760,000 extension after the 1998 season.

Manglona won his third straight Pitcher of the Year in 1999, then won his fourth in 2001. He threw his second no-hitter on May 17, 1999 with 13 strikeouts and 1 walk versus Fiji. Manglona led in wins and posted his career best 455 strikeouts in 1999, adding 11.6 WAR. He was the WARlord for the fourth time in 2001 at 9.5

Guam had a historic 119-43 run in 1999, winning the finals over Christchurch. They repeated as OBA champs by beating Auckland in 2000, then were defeated in the 2001 finals by Adelaide. In the playoffs, Manglona had 13 appearances in his career with 95.2 innings, 2.73 ERA, 4-5 record, 114 strikeouts, 12 walks, 127 ERA+, and 2.0 WAR.

The Golden Eagles’ run at the top ended as they averaged 83.3 wins per season from 2003-08, surrendering the Pacific League crown to Tahiti and Fiji. Manglona was third in 2002’s Pitcher of the Year voting and continued to roll, getting a seven-year, $23,520,000 extension with Guam in April 2003. Manglona won his fifth Pitcher of the Year in 2005, then his sixth in 2006. He joined Tarzan Rao as the only six-time POTY winners in OBA history to that point.

From 1995-2005, Manglona led the league in ERA four times, wins thrice, strikeouts five times, innings twice, K/BB eight times, WHIP six times, quality starts four times, complete games four times, shutouts five times, FIP- six times, and WAR six times. Manglona topped 13+ WAR again in both 2004 and 2005, continuing to roll into his 30s.

Manglona had a setback in 2006, struggling to a career worst 3.47 ERA and 1.4 WAR. He was dealing with injury most of the year, first with a strained forearm, then with a partially torn labrum. Manglona bounced back in 2007 to lead again in WHIP, taking second in Pitcher of the Year voting. He had his fifth season with 10+ WAR in 2008, again finishing second in POTY voting.

2009 saw Manglona’s fifth ERA title and his eighth time leading in WHIP. This also saw his career best K/BB at 25.5, striking out 331 with only 13 walks. Manglona was yet again second in Pitcher of the Year voting and Guam returned to the top of the Pacific League. However, a big brawl at the end of the regular season led to a 10-game suspension for Manglona, keeping him out of the Oceania Championship. The Golden Eagles would be defeated by Melbourne.

Guam gave him another three-year, $22,700,000 extension after the 2009 season. Ultimately, 2009 ended up as Manglona’s last great season. He was good in 2010, but the season ended in September with a torn ulnar collateral ligament. A setback in April 2011 kept him out until the final weeks of the season, making only four starts.

Manglona was back in 2012 and looked delightfully average. In September, he tore his UCL for a second time, keeping him out another calendar year. He tried a comeback right at the end of the 2013 season, giving up four runs over 9.1 innings. Guam was stuck in the middle tier around this point. Some thought he might try to come back as he was one win short of 300 and possibly had a shot at 6000 strikeouts. However, Manglona retired that winter at age 39 and the Golden Eagles immediately retired his #6 uniform.

The final stats: 299-188 record, 2.51 ERA, 4749.2 innings, 5771 strikeouts, 465 walks, 12.4 K/BB, 427/599 quality starts, 230 complete games, 65 shutouts, 140 ERA+, and 147.4 WAR. As of 2037, Manglona ranks third in WAR among all OBA players. He also sits fourth in wins, second in strikeouts, second in innings, third in complete games, and second in shutouts.

Among all OBA pitchers with 1000+ innings, Manglona’s ERA is 32^nd and his 0.86 WHIP is third. He’s the all-time leader in BB/9 at 0.88, his 6.87 H/9 ranks 39^th. And his 10.94 K/9 is 19^th. Manglona’s .581 opponent’s OPS ranks 26^th, while his batting average (.210) is 32^nd, on-base percentage (.236) is fifth, and slugging (.345) is 79^th.

In all of pro baseball history as of 2037, Manglona ranks 16^th in pitching WAR and 57^th in WAR among all players. He ranks 47^th in wins, seventh in strikeouts, 37^th in innings pitched, 21^st in shutouts, and 29^th in quality starts. When discussing OBA’s all-time greatest pitcher, it is generally a three-person conversation between Manglona, Tarzan Rao, and Akira Brady. Either way, Manglona is among the inner-circle all-time great pitchers in any world league. His 98.2% is frankly too low, but regardless he’s the headliner for OBA’s 2019 Hall of Fame class.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 OBA Hall of Fame (Part 2)

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Mikey Alao – Starting Pitcher – Tahiti Tropics – 86.7% First Ballot

Mikey Alao was a 6’4’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher Lucban, Philippines; a city of 53,000 within the Quezon province. Alao had solid stuff and movement, although his control was often subpar. He had a very impressive 96-98 mph two-seam fastball as his primary pitch, mixed with a slider and splitter. Alao’s stamina was average relative to most OBA aces. He was great defensively and at holding runners. Alao was also an ironman who never missed a start to injury. He was well respected in the clubhouse and was known as a team captain.

Alao was a top prospect as a teenager and declared for an OBA career despite most Filipinos opting for Austronesia Professional Baseball. He wasn’t eligible until the fourth round due to regional restrictions, but teams though he had a ton of potential. Fiji picked Alao with the first pick of the round, 52^nd overall in the 1996 OBA Draft. The Freedom kept him in their academy four years before debuting him as a part-time starter in 2001 at age 22.

He started a good chunk of both 2002 and 2003, then was a full-time starter afterward. Six of his seasons with Fiji were worth 5+ WAR, although Alao wasn’t a league leader. His efforts helped the Freedom to their first-ever Pacific League titles in 2002 and 2006. Fiji lost in the 2002 OBA Championship to Brisbane and fell to Melbourne in 2006. The Freedom finished second in the PL standings to Tahiti from 2003-05. In his 25.1 playoff innings, Alao had a 3.55 ERA, 23 strikeouts, 8 walks, 101 ERA+, and 0.6 WAR.

Fiji signed Alao to a six-year, $28,620,000 extension in May 2007. That year, they fell to 82-80, falling out of the top two for the first time in six years. The Freedom decided to reverse course and traded Alao in the offseason to Tahiti for three prospects. In total for Fiji, Alao had a 113-65 record, 3.22 ERA, 1661.1 innings, 1687 strikeouts, 380 walks, 112 ERA+, and 35.4 WAR.

Tahiti won their fifth Pacific League title in six years in 2008 and upset Melbourne’s dynast in the OBA Championship. Alao had a 3.68 ERA over his 14.2 playoff innings. The Tropics won 98 and 99 in the next two seasons, but fell short of the pennant. Alao strongest season by many metrics was 2009 and was his only time leading a major stat with a 24-9 record. He posted his career bests in WAR (8.5), and quality starts (34). All six of Alao’s seasons with Tahiti were worth at least 5.5 WAR.

Alao’s only time as a Pitcher of the Year finalist came in 2011, taking second. He had his highest strikeout total of 337 and his second best WAR at 7.7. Tahiti returned to the top spot, beating Melbourne in the Oceania Championship. Alao struggled in his three playoff starts with a 5.12 ERA. However, he was a beast in the second-ever Baseball Grand Championship with a 1.26 ERA over 28.2 innings, 36 strikeouts, and 297 ERA+. Despite being a tiny island, the Tropics stunned the world by taking second place at 13-6 in the BGC, only finishing behind 15-4 Tampa.

He remained solid for two more seasons, although Tahiti was behind Guadalcanal both years in the PL standings. Just after his 35^th birthday, Alao stunned many by retiring despite still pitching at a high level. In total for Tahiti, Alao had a 119-75 record, 2.82 ERA, 1772.1 innings, 1690 strikeouts, 129 ERA+, and 40.0 WAR. He had similar tenure between the Tropics and Fiji, but his two titles and more dominant run with Tahiti led to his induction in the teal and orange.

Alao’s career stats saw a 232-140 record, 3.02 ERA, 3433.2 innings, 3377 strikeouts, 806 walks, 300/432 quality starts, 120 complete games, 23 shutouts, 121 ERA+, and 75.3 WAR. As of 2037, Alao ranks 18^th in wins, 32^nd in strikeouts, and 28^th in pitching WAR. He quietly put up a nice resume despite rarely being a league leader or in the Pitcher of the Year conversations.

His accumulations were pretty good and that was with an early retirement, which most voters didn’t hold against him. Being on two teams that had pennant runs worked in Alao’s favor as well. He received a very solid 86.7% in his ballot debut, taking the second of three spots in OBA’s 2019 Hall of Fame class.



Elliot “Pistol” McFall – Right Field – Auckland Avengers – 71.3% First Ballot

Elliot McFall was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed right fielder from Echuca-Moama, Australia; two townships with a combined population around 22,5000 in New South Wales. McFall had the nickname “Pistol” for his love of firearms. He had great home run power and decent hap power, getting you 37 home runs, 21 doubles, and 9 triples per his 162 game average. McFall was a respectable contact hitter, but was below average at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts.

McFall notably was a much better hitter against right-handed pitchers with a 144 wRC+ and .880 OPS. He was below average against lefties with a 95 wRC+ and .679 OPS. McFall had merely above average running speed, but he was a terrific baserunner and a crafty thief. He played almost exclusively in right field and was a consistently poor defender. McFall worked hard though and had good durability, leading to a 19-year career starting in OBA.

For the 1992 OBA Draft, McFall was a major prospect despite coming out of high school. He was picked fifth overall by Auckland and spent the next two years developing in their academy. McFall debuted as a full-time starter in 1995 at age 22 and was respectable right away, taking second in Rookie of the Year voting. The next three seasons would be McFall’s only seasons worth 5+ WAR.

McFall won Silver Sluggers from 1997-99. 1998 was his only season as an MVP finalist, taking second. McFall posted a career best 7.5 WAR and led the Australasia League in home runs (42), total bases (315), slugging (.582), OPS (.911), and wRC+ (183). He also led in homers (39) and RBI (97) the prior year. Small injuries did cost him a few weeks of the next few years.

Auckland was generally stuck in the mid-tier in McFall’s tenure, but they broke through and won the AL pennant in 2000. They would lose to Guam in the Oceania Championship in a seven game classic. This was McFall’s only time in the finals, going 6-27 with 3 runs, 1 double, 2 triples, 2 homers, and 4 RBI. The Avengers fell to 80-82 the next year, which was McFall’s final year before entering free agency heading towards age 29.

McFall’s longest tenure was with Auckland, which included a one-year return in 2011. In total for the Avengers, he had 1088 hits, 572 runs, 148 doubles, 71 triples, 256 home runs, 636 RBI, 264 stolen bases, a .262/.306/.516 slash, 141 wRC+, and 30.4 WAR. McFall signed a six-year, $16,880,000 deal to join Adelaide. The Aardvarks were the OBA champ in 2001, but they’d largely be stuck in the middle tier during McFall’s tenure.

The best effort from McFall was 2004, leading in home runs (44), slugging (.623), and OPS (.961); all career highs. He hit 35+ homers in his first five seasons for Adelaide. 2005 had career bests in RBI (115) and runs (101), earning his fourth Silver Slugger. In total with Adelaide, McFall had 937 hits, 539 runs, 125 doubles, 46 triples, 213 home runs, 549 RBI, 231 stolen bases, a .282/.328/.540 slash, 131 wRC+, and 19.4 WAR.

McFall also notably played from 1997-2005 for Australia in the World Baseball Championship. He was split between starting and the bench, playing 61 games with 37 starts. McFall had 33 hits, 25 runs, 7 doubles, 12 home runs, 24 RBI, a .223/.314/.541 slash, 135 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR.

Now 35-years old, McFall was a free agent again for 2008 and began his final stretch as a journeyman starter. He had 2.0 WAR, but 41 homers in 2008 with Brisbane. McFall went to Honolulu for 2009, then Port Moresby for 2010. His 4.4 WAR with the Mud Hens was his best year of his late career. McFall returned to Auckland in 2011, but only posted 0.5 WAR. Christchurch signed him with below average results in 2012. Notably with the Chinooks, he became the sixth OBA player to reach 600 home runs. McFall was then a part-time starter with subpar results for Samoa in 2013. He was unsigned in 2014 and retired that winter at age 41.

In total, McFall had 2606 hits, 1446 runs, 342 doubles, 148 triples, 617 home runs, 1552 RBI, 481 walks, 633 stolen bases, a .266/.310/.520 slash, 132 wRC+, and 58.3 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 11^th in home runs, 13^th in RBI, 20^th in hits, 12^th in runs, 67^th in doubles, and 75^th in WAR among position players.

The advanced stats were fairly underwhelmed by McFall’s resume and he had limited awards and accolades. However, his longevity and consistency got him to numerous statistical milestones. That was just enough with the voters, getting McFall 71.3% in his ballot debut. He only passed the 66% requirement by a small margin, but he earned his spot as the third inductee of OBA’s solid 2019 Hall of Fame class

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 APB Hall of Fame

Pitcher Dedi Dewi stood alone for induction with the 2019 Austronesia Professional Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, getting in nearly unanimously at 99.6%. RF Sutanto Mangkoepradja came close to the 66% requirement, but missed it at 63.4% on his seventh ballot. Five others were above 50%, led by SP Dwi Aditya Supandi at 57.1% on his debut. SP Wahyu Toy got 55.5% in his tenth and final chance. SP Putra Andriani got 52.4% in his second ballot, while LF Beau Cabral had the same in his debut. CF Fransisco Hartati posted 51.6% for his eighth go.



For Toy, his 55.5% finish was his highest mark with his lowest at 39.2%. He had a 12-year career and posted a 162-125 record, 2.12 ERA, 2627 innings, 2696 strikeouts, 124 ERA+, and 65.4 WAR. Toy retired fairly young at age 35 to lower his accumulations. He also didn’t have any black ink or accolades, thus banishing him to the Hall of Pretty Good.

Also dropped after ten failed ballots was SP Yu-Ching Kuo, who peaked at only 19.5% in 2011 and ended with 3.9%. He had a very brief burst for Surabaya, leading the Sundaland Association in strikeouts from 1996-98 with 445, 442, and 473. These remain top ten strikeout seasons in APB history as of 2037. Kuo also threw no-hitters in each season, including a 19-strikeout effort in 1997.

Unfortunately for Kuo, he fell apart physically with a torn UCL and two elbow ligament reconstruction surgeries shortly after that. For his APB career, Kuo had a 92-55 record, 2.09 ERA, 1430.2 innings, 2336 strikeouts, 280 walks, 123 ERA+, and 44.7 WAR. His stuff was absurd and rated an 11/10 at his peak, but sadly Kuo only had five full seasons before the injuries ruined his career.



Dedi Dewi – Starting Pitcher – Manila Manatees – 99.6% First Ballot

Dedi Dewi was a 6’3’’, 195 pound right-handed pitcher from Makasur, Indonesia; a city of around 1.5 million people and the capital of the South Sulawesi province. Dewi had tremendous stuff along with above average movement and control. He had an impressive 99-101 mph fastball, but Dewi’s changeup was his deadliest pitch. His ability to fool batters with the changeup made him one of the all-time strikeout pitchers.

He also had an excellent curveball and a good slider and had an extreme flyball tendency. Dewi had very good stamina and had nice durability especially in his 20s. The main downside for Dewi was a generally weak work ethic. He was also poor at holding runners and defense. However, Dewi’s raw stuff was so electric to overcome any flaws.

Dewi was brought to the Philippines as a teenager as he was signed to an amateur developmental deal by Manila. He spent most of five years in their academy, debuting in 1995 at age 20 with 63.1 innings. Dewi became a full-time starter from 1996 onward and started an 11 year streak of seasons with 300+ strikeouts. He also had 7+ WAR in all but two seasons during that streak. Dewi’s first full season saw a third place finish in Pitcher of the Year voting, followed by a second place in 1997. Dewi also tossed a no-hitter on June 5, 1997 with 14 strikeouts and 1 walk against Zamboanga and had a 21 strikeout game in March over Taichung.

Manila ended a decade-long playoff drought in 1997 at 103-59, but lost to Taoyuan in the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship. Dewi gave up seven runs over 15 innings in his two playoff starts. The Manatees struggled to 73-89 the next year, then snuck into the playoffs in 1999 at 83-79. Despite that, they won the pennant over Kaohsiung, but lost the APB Championship to Surabaya. Dewi had a great 1999 postseason with a 1.12 ERA and 3-0 record in four starts, striking out 47 over 32 innings. For the following decade, Manila would be stuck in the middle tier outside of the playoffs.

Dewi was far from mid, winning his first Pitcher of the Year in 1998. This saw his lone ERA title with a career-best 1.31, as well as his first time leading in strikeouts (394), and WAR (10.2). He took third in POTY voting in 2000, but wouldn’t be a finalist again for a while despite being consistently strong. In 2000, he had a 22 strikeout game over 11.1 innings against Taichung. Dewi led in strikeouts again in 2000, 2003, and 2005. Manila inked him to a seven-year, $50,200,000 extension in May 2002.

In 2003, he tossed his second no-hitter on June 26 with 13 strikeouts and a walk against Taipei. Dewi had a career-best 418 strikeouts in 2005 and led in WAR at 9.9, but his 11-15 record kept him out of awards conversations. 2007 would be his first injury setback, missing half of the year to sprained ankle. Dewi came back strong and took third in 2008 Pitcher of the Year voting, leading in wins at 20-6 and posting a TPA-best 10.7 WAR. Manila won 100 games, but still lost out on the Philippine League title to 105-win Davao. That winter, the Manatees gave the 34-year old Dewi a four-year, $38,500,000 extension.

More than a decade after his first Pitcher of the Year win, Dewi got his second in 2009. He again was the WARlord, matching his career best of 10.7. All this time, Dewi did also return home to Indonesia for the World Baseball Championship. From 1997-2012, he tossed 286.2 innings for a 20-14 record, 4.02 ERA, 412 strikeouts, 90 ERA+, and 5.6 WAR. The Indonesians won the world championship in 1999, took second in 2000, and finished third in 2008.

In 2010, Dewi became the sixth APB pitcher to reach 5000 career strikeouts. He finished the season at 5275, second to Vhon Lasam’s 5365. Dewi passed him to become the APB strikeout king, posting his 15^th season with 300+ strikeouts. He seemed poised to keep going, but disaster struck in the 2012 World Baseball Championship. Dewi suffered a torn UCL, putting him out for the entire 2012 season. He didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the final year of his contract, ending his Manila run abruptly.

Dewi was determined to rehab back, although teams were leery of giving him a long-term deal. He signed a one-year, $6,600,000 deal with Semarang and still looked good with a 1.77 ERA over 91.2 innings. Unfortunately on June 5, Dewi suffered a torn labrum to end his Sliders run. A setback two months later led to his doctors telling him he had no choice but to retire. Soon after, Manila honored him by retiring his #17 uniform.

In total, Dewi had a 228-169 record, 2.15 ERA, 3934 innings, 5721 strikeouts, 780 walks, 386/486 quality starts, 197 complete games, 59 shutouts, 128 ERA+, and 131.8 WAR. As of 2037, Dewi remains the APB strikeout king and ranks tenth in all of pro baseball history. He also ranks sixth among APB pitchers in WAR, 13^th in wins, 10^th in innings pitched, 9^th in complete games, and 9^th in shutouts.

Among all pitchers in APB with 1000+ innings, his ERA ranks 75^th and his 0.85 WHIP ranks 38^th. Dewi’s 13.09 K/9 ranks 12^th and his .530 opponent’s OPS ranks 40^th. Dewi’s name certainly comes up when discussing APB’s all-time great pitchers, although a few guys were arguably more efficient. Not many would call him the GOAT, but Dewi’s going to be in almost anyone’s top ten and in many top fives. He was a fitting standalone headliner for the 2019 Hall of Fame class, nearly unanimously inducted at 99.6%.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 CLB Hall of Fame

Infielder Baogang Tian was the lone addition for the Chinese League Baseball hall of Fame in 2019, debuting at 79.8%. SP/C Xin Ruan barely missed the 66% requirement in his tenth and final shot at 62.9%. RF Hongbo Wan was also close at 61.0% for his ninth ballot. Also above 50% was RF Minghui Ruan with 60.1% on his fourth go, LF Seok-Hyeon So at 56.4% for his sixth attempt, and CL Jingxing Zhang with a 52.1% debut.



For Ruan, he was hurt by having only an 11-year career. As a pitcher, he had a 131-94 record, 2.00 ERA, 2169 innings, 2449 strikeouts, 338 walks, 120 ERA+, and 56.6 WAR. Ruan was a two-way guy occasionally starting as a catcher, getting 20.9 WAR offensively with 456 hits, 176 runs, 66 doubles, 64 home runs, 201 RBI, a .222/.269/.359 slash, and 120 wRC+.

Ruan had a unique career, but wasn’t overly dominant on either side and lacked black ink and accolades. He was also hurt by being mostly with Dongguan, who generally was unremarkable in his tenure. Ruan debuted at 41.2%, but gained some traction later on the ballot. He was above 60% four times, peaking at 62.9% in his final try. Alas, Ruan missed the cut and was banished to the Hall of Good.



Baogang Tian – Shortstop/Infielder – Tianjin Jackrabbits – 79.8% First Ballot

Baogang Tian was a 6’2’’, 185 pound right-handed infielder from Tianjin, China’s 7th most populous city. Tian was an excellent contact hitter with strong gap power, getting 30 doubles and 10 triples per his 162 game average. He’d also get you 20 home runs per 162. Tian was merely okay at drawing walks but was solid at avoiding strikeouts. While his speed was merely average, Tian was a very crafty base stealer and baserunner.

Tian played shortstop primarily in the first half of his career, providing below average defense. About half of his career starts were at SS. In his later years, he bounced around the infield, making around 1/3 of his starts at second base with the rest split between first and third. Tian graded as a good second baseman, but was lackluster in the corners. He had decent durability, but did run into recurring back issues as he aged. Tian was known for his loyalty, spending his entire Chinese career with his hometown Tianjin.

It was a dream come true for Tian getting picked by his hometown team as a prospect entered into the 1996 CLB Draft. Tianjin picked him third overall and had him in their academy four years. He became a part-time starter in 2001, debuting at age 24 with unremarkable results. Tian struggled going 4-23 in the playoffs as Tianjin ended a 12-year playoff drought, falling in the semifinal.

Tian became a full-timer with an excellent 2002, winning a Silver Slugger. It was his first of 11 consecutive seasons with 6.5+ WAR. Tian won additional Sluggers at shortstop in 2003, 2005, and 2006. He was on a great pace in 2004 as well prior to losing a month to back troubles. In these four years, Tian led the Northern League in WAR thrice, hits thrice, batting average thrice, OBP thrice, slugging twice, OPS twice, wRC+ twice, total bases twice, and once in runs, triples, and RBI. 2003, 2005, and 2006 each saw 12+ WAR seasons, earning Tian MVP each year. He also took second in 2004’s MVP voting.

Tianjin was stuck in the middle tier for much of the 2000s. They lost in the first round of the 2004 playoffs, then fell in the 2005 semifinal. After the 2005 season, the Jackrabbits gave their hometown favorite an eight-year, $43,320,000 extension. Tian led in WAR at 8.2 in 2008 and had a career-best 103 RBI, winning a Silver Slugger at second base. He won another Slugger at 2B in 2012.

From 2009-11, Tianjin had three straight playoff berths, but three round robin exits. In his playoff career, Tian had 27 starts, 33 hits, 8 runs, 4 doubles, 6 RBI, 1 homer, 1 RBI, 9 stolen bases, a .306/.330/.389 slash, 143 wRC+, and 1.2 WAR. Tian did also play for China from 2004-2012 in the World Baseball Championship, but he was generally a backup. He played 39 games with 17 starts, posting a .228/.307/.519 slash and 0.6 WAR.

Herniated discs cost Tian notable chunks of 2010 and 2011, although he still posted 6+ WAR despite that. In 2013, he lost six weeks to a sprained ankle and had his worst full-time season, although Tian still got 4.4 WAR. His contract expired heading towards age 37 and Tianjin let him enter free agency. Tian remained very popular in his hometown and would see his #24 uniform later retired.

Tian ended up in Chile on a two-year, $18,800,000 deal with Santiago. He had a nice 2014 with 4.7 WAR over 124 games, but missed the final few weeks to an oblique strain. Tian didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the second year in his deal. He again looked worldwide to play somewhere and ended up in Jerusalem on a two-year, $10,700,000 deal. Tian struggled with the Jets, posting 0.2 WAR and a .700 OPS over 132 games. The highlight of the run was hitting for the cycle on August 16 against Tripoli. Tian again didn’t meet the criteria for the second year of the deal. After going un-signed for 2016, he retired at age 39.

For his CLB career, Tian had 2248 hits, 925 runs, 380 doubles, 123 triples, 247 home runs, 1030 RBI, 420 walks, 458 stolen bases, a .299/.335/.480 slash, 168 wRC+, and 110.6 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 12^th in WAR among position players. Tian also ranks 25^th in hits, 70^th in runs, 23^rd in doubles, and 47^th in RBI. Tian was one of the strongest infielders of his era and was the lone addition into the CLB Hall of Fame in 2019 at 79.8%.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 WAB Hall of Fame

Two returners on the West African Baseball Hall of Fame ballot earned induction in 2019. Both saw big jumps beyond the 66% requirement with 3B Falaba Bah at 81.5% on his eighth ballot and OF Kely Ballard with 81.2% for his third ballot. The best debut was LF Sam Pappoe falling just short at 64.7%. 3B Awudu Haddad barely missed as well with 63.8% for his fifth attempt. RP Emma Markson also was above 50% with 54.1% for his second go.



Dropped after ten tries was 1B Mohamed Din, who had a 12-year run between Accra and Abdijan. He won two WAB Championships, four Silver Sluggers, one MVP, and two LCS MVPs. Din had 1624 hits, 840 runs, 351 doubles, 392 home runs, 1087 RBI, a .281/.325/.551 slash, 144 wRC+, and 41.5 WAR. He lacked the longevity required to get any traction, peaking with 16.0% in his debut. Din managed to survive ten ballots though, ending at 8.5%.



Falaba Bah – Third Base – Cotonou Copperheads – 81.5% Seventh Ballot

Falaba Bah was a 6’0’’, 205 pound left-handed hitting third baseman from Bamako, the capital of Mali. Bah was known for frequently putting the ball in play as a great contact hitter who avoided strikeouts, but rarely drew walks. He had excellent gap power, especially against right-handed pitching. Bah’s 162 game average got you 42 doubles and 25 triples, giving him more bases than you’d expect from a guy who hit only 26 career home runs.

His speed was merely above average, but Bah was a very skilled baserunner. With his strong arm, Bah primarily played third base and was a reliably good defender. He played shortstop in his first two seasons, but was abysmal there. In any spot, Bah had solid durability. However, his work ethic did leave something to be desired.

Bah was a top prospect for the 1993 WAB Draft and went fourth overall to Cotonou. The Copperheads were patient in developing Bah, keeping him in the developmental system for all of 1994. He only saw 49 games and 10 starts in 1995, then was a part-timer with 112 games and 80 starts in 1996. Bah took over a full-time gig in 1997 and started for Cotonou for five seasons. They were generally in the middle tier and only made the playoffs once during Bah’s tenure, losing in the first round in 2001.

With Cotonou, Bah led the Eastern League thrice in triples. In 2000, he set a new WAB single-season record with 38 triples, a mark that held until 2030. Bah led in hits in both 2000 and 2001, getting a career-best 234 in 2001. 2000 saw his career highs in WAR (8.3), OPS (.926), and wRC+ (160). 2000 also was Bah’s lone Silver Slugger season with Cotonou, although he was an all-star selection four times.

In total for the Copperheads, Bah had 1171 hits, 521 runs, 225 doubles, 145 triples, 20 home runs, 364 RBI, a .336/.356/.500 slash, 138 wRC+, and 28.8 WAR. He became a free agent after the 2001 season heading towards age 31. Bah moved to Ghana next, signing a seven-year, $22,000,000 deal with Kumasi. He would be a full-time starter for the next five years with the Monkeys.

Bah only led the league once with Kumasi (triples in 2006), but his first four seasons were each worth 5+ WAR. He picked up Silver Sluggers in 2004 and 2006 and notably had a 32-game hitting streak in between 2003-04. Kumasi became solidified as a playoff regular with four berths from 2002-06. They took first in the Western League in 2002, but were upset in the WLCS by Cape Verde. Kumasi also lost in the WLCS in 2003 and 2006.

However in 2004, Kumasi broke through despite being the #3 seed. They upset top seed Nouakchott in the WLCS and denied Kano’s four-peat bid to win their first WAB Championship. As of 2037, this is the Monkeys’ lone title. Bah was strong in the 2014 run, getting 21 hits, 9 runs, 3 doubles, 4 triples, 7 RBI, a 1.051 OPS, and 0.8 WAR in 12 starts. He was merely okay in his other playoff efforts, but Bah did earn a spot in the hearts of many Kumasi fans for his role in their title.

In 2007, Bah was relegated to a platoon role with 110 games and 93 starts. He didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the seventh year of the deal, becoming a free agent for 2008. With Kumasi, Bah had 1090 hits, 481 runs, 234 doubles, 128 triples, 6 homers, 346 RBI, 251 stolen bases, a .335/.357/.491 slash, 132 wRC+, and 30.2 WAR. He went unsigned in 2008 and retired that winter at age 37.

Bah finished with 2261 hits, 1002 runs, 459 doubles, 273 triples, 26 home runs, 710 RBI, 461 stolen bases, a .335/.357/.496 slash, 135 wRC+, and 59.0 WAR. He was the WAB triples leader at retirement and ranks fifth as of 2037. Bah also sits 66^th in doubles, 64^th in hits, and 60^th in WAR among position players. Among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances, his batting average still sits 37^th. He also cracks the top 50 in batting average among all Hall of Famers worldwide.

However, it is a challenge for leadoff guys to often get Hall of Fame traction with many voters fixated on homers and RBI. Even then, Bah’s other tallies aren’t overwhelming, making him a very borderline case. Supporters noted he hit some nice milestones even with a relatively short career. In Bah’s debut ballot in 2013, he received only 49.4%.

Bah slowly worked his way into the 50s, then barely missed the cut in 2017 at 65.3%. He fell back to 57.6% the next year. Bah’s seventh try was 2019 and there weren’t many impactful debuts, allowing his resume to get another look. His high batting average and role in Kumasi’s title run swayed some doubters. Kely Ballard had a similar skillset and some voters softened on both with limited other options. Bah got the big jump to 81.5% to earn his spot with WAB’s 2019 Hall of Fame class.



Kely Ballard – Left/Right Field - Abidjan Athletes – 81.2% First Ballot

Kely Ballard was a 6’1’’, 200 pound right-handed outfielder from Kano, Nigeria’s second-largest city. Like his Hall of Fame classmate Falaba Bah, Ballard was known for being a high contact hitter with strong gap power. He was a little better at drawing walks and boasted an impressively low 6.4% strikeout rate. Ballard got you 48 doubles, 11 triples, and 5 home runs per his 162 game average. He had solid speed and was a dangerous base stealer.

Ballard was a corner outfielder who made around 3/4s of his career starts in left field and most of the rest in right. He graded as a slightly below average defender in left and around average in right. Ballard had nice durability in his 20s, but started to have knee issues as he aged. He was adaptable to his in-game situations, but was a bit slow mentally otherwise.

His potential was spotted even out of primary school, getting picked sixth by Bamako in the 1994 WAB Draft. Ballard declined though and spent the next three years playing college baseball. He was next eligible in the 1997 WAB Draft and again went sixth, this time to Douala. The Dingos used him only in 39 games for 1998, then Ballard earned a starting gig after that. In his first full season, he led the Eastern League with a career high 88 stolen bases.

Ballard posted 7.8 WAR in that first full season, but never reached that production again with Douala. Still, he led in steals once more and topped 5+ WAR twice more. He also won his lone Silver Slugger in 2003. Ballard couldn’t drag the awful Dingos out of the cellar, as they averaged 65.8 wins per season in his tenure. The highlight of his time in Cameroon was a 35-game hitting streak in 2001, which set the WAB record and wouldn’t be topped until 2013.

In total for Douala, Ballard had 1007 hits, 453 runs, 217 doubles, 54 triples, 26 home runs, 255 RBI, a .347/.389/.485 slash, 138 wRC+, and 26.3 WAR. The Dingos knew Ballard was likely to leave after the 2004 season for free agency, thus they traded him to Nouakchott for two prospects.

Ballard’s one year with the Night Riders was the strongest of his career, taking third in MVP voting. He set a WAB single-season record with a .412 batting average, which was the second-highest in world history to that point. As of 2037, it ranks third in WAB and ninth in pro baseball history. Ballard also had 258 hits with him and Ibrahima Bah both setting the WAB record in the same year. That was the world record to that point and ranks 15^th best as of 2037. Ballard also had a career high and league best 9.4 WAR and .459 OBP, as well as career bests in OPS (1.028), and wRC+ (175).

Nouakchott took first in the Western League standings at 100-62, but was upset in the WLCS by Kumasi. Ballard went 9-24 with 6 runs in his playoff debut. Now soon to be 30-years old, his stock was at a high as he entered free agency. Ballard signed a seven-year, $27,720,000 deal with Abidjan, starting his most famous run. The Athletes had missed the playoffs in three straight seasons after posting a dynasty run in the prior decade.

Ballard helped Abidjan begin a new eight-year playoff streak, although they were one-and-done in the first three years. In 2006, Ballard led in hits (218), runs (125), and doubles (58). He hit for the cycle in 2007 and had three seasons worth 5+ WAR. Ballard started to miss time as he aged, usually to knee issues such as strained MCLs and PCLs.

Abidjan took first in the 2008 standings at 106-56, but were upset in the WLCS by Monrovia. A strained PCL kept Ballard out for that postseason run. Ballard was healthy for the 2009 postseason run though and stepped up big. Abidjan had the #2 seed, but got revenge on Monrovia in the WLCS to win the pennant. The Athletes then defeated Ibadan in the WAB Championship.

Ballard was the star of that postseason, winning LCS and finals MVP. In 14 starts, he had 26 hits, 12 runs, 6 doubles, 8 RBI, and 6 stolen bases. The 26 hits set a new WAB playoff record which still holds as of 2037. PCL troubles kept him out more than half of 2010, but he again was solid in the playoffs with 21 hits and 6 runs over 12 starts. Abidjan again won the WL pennant, but this time lost to Cotonou in the WAB Championship. The Athletes lost in the WLCS in the next two seasons despite being the #1 seed.

For his playoff career, Ballard had 41 games, 39 starts, 68 hits, 31 runs, 11 doubles, 4 triples, 1 homer, 21 RBI, 19 steals, a .384/408/.508 slash, and 2.5 WAR. He also sporadically played for his native Nigeria in the World Baseball Championship, although he struggled in a small sample size with 25 games, 12 starts, and a .224/.250/.259 slash.

Ballard’s production dropped in 2011 and he was moved to a part-time role, posting 1.3 WAR and a 110 wRC+ over 96 games and 82 starts. His contract expired that winter and he went unsigned in 2012, retiring that winter at age 37. With Abidjan, Ballard had 1111 hits, 572 runs, 246 doubles, 50 triples, 17 home runs, 307 RBI, 303 stolen bases, a .336/.378/.455 slash, 133 wRC+, and 26.7 WAR.

In total, Ballard had 2376 hits, 1149 runs, 513 doubles, 119 triples, 49 home runs, 632 RBI, 751 stolen bases, a .347/.390/.478 sash, 139 wRC+, and 62.5 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 58^th in hits, 75^th in runs, 42^nd in doubles, 26^th in stolen bases, and 49^th in WAR among position players. Among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Ballard’s batting average ranks 13^th. Among all Hall of Famers as of 2037 in the world, his average ranks 12^th.

Ballard ran into similar problems with some voters as Bah and other leadoff guys due to the lack of home run power. Ballard’s finally tallies also weren’t overwhelmingly high and he didn’t have many awards. However, he had the record-setting 2004 season, plus was instrumental in Abidjan’s 2009 championship. Still, those more sabermetrically-minded were underwhelmed by his metrics.

Debuting in 2017, Ballard narrowly missed the 66% requirement at 63.7%. He dropped slightly to 55.6% in 2018. 2019 gave Ballard an opening with his and Bah’s resumes looking stronger against a relatively weak field. Ballard received the big boost to 81.2% and earned a third ballot Hall of Fame induction with WAB’s 2019 class

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 SAB Hall of Fame (Part 1)

South Asia Baseball added three players into the Hall of Fame in 2019. SP Arkakara Raja was the lone slam dunk, getting in with 95.4% in his debut. Two returners breached the 66% requirement with CL Sabuj Nath at 72.9% on his second ballot and OF Teerapat Siriyakorn with 69.6% for his eighth attempt. RF Han Kywe Khant barely missed out with 65.7% on his seventh try. Also above 50% was SP Print Moe Nyein, posting 55.0% for his second ballot.



Dropped after ten failed ballots was 3B Budail bin Hafiz, whose accumulations were hurt by leaving the game for three years in his early 30s. He won five Silver Sluggers and primarily played for Kanpur, getting 2171 hits, 1049 runs, 437 doubles, 232 home runs, 1017 RBI, 817 walks, a .296/.370/.466 slash, 160 wRC+, and 82.9 WAR. As of 2037, bin Hafiz is 45^th in WAR among position players. He certainly was on track with a few more years of accumulations, but he lacked the black ink to overcome lower tallies. He peaked at 41.8% in 2011 and ended at 7.1%.



Arkakakara Raja – Starting Pitcher – Ahmedabad Animals – 95.4% First Ballot

Arkakakara Raja was a 6’2’’, 180 pound left-handed pitcher from Sholapur, India; a city of around 950,000 in the country’s Maharashtra state. Raja had strong stuff with good control and above average movement. He had a tough 99-101 mph fastball, but he got the most whiffs with his impressive forkball and curveball. Raja also had a slider and changeup in his arsenal. When he was on, he was one of the most dangerous strikeout guys in SAB.

Raja’s stamina was average relative to other SAB aces and he did run into some injury issues at points. He was good at holding runners, but below average defensively. Raja’s personality didn’t earn him many friends in the clubhouse, described by some as lazy, selfish, and dumb. His raw talent though earned him some accolades and praise over a 13-year career.

In July 1994, Raja was signed to a developmental deal as a teenager by Ahmedabad. He spent most of the next six years in their developmental academy, officially debuting with one relief appearance in 1999 at age 20. Despite that, he was called upon for two playoff starts in 1999, getting rocked with a 8.18 ERA over 11 innings. Ahmedabad’s dynasty rolled on regardless, winning their 11^th SAB Championship in 14 years.

Raja had three regular season starts in 2000, then again had surprising playoff use, but struggled to a 4.50 ERA over 20 innings. The Animals won the Indian League yet again, but lost in the SAB Championship to Ho Chi Minh City. Raja had 12 starts in the 2001 regular season with promising results, although this time he didn’t see postseason use. Ahmedabad finished 125-37 and won an eighth straight IL pennant, but was upset by Yangon in the SAB final.

In 2002, Raja became a full-time starter and thrived, leading the league in ERA (1.55), strikeouts (364), and WAR (9.5) en route to Pitcher of the Year honors. Raja’s ERA mark ranks as the sixth-best qualifying season as of 2037 and he fell two wins short of a Triple Crown. Ahmedabad returned to the SAB Championship, defeating Dhaka. Raja had a solid playoff run with a 2.39 ERA over 26.1 innings with 36 strikeouts.

2003 saw a major setback with a stretched elbow ligament suffered in late June, knocking Raja out ten months. Ahmedabad continued their playoff streak for another five years, but they were done winning pennants. The Animals had LCS losses in 2003, 2005, and 2006; and suffered first round defeats in 2004 and 2006. Raja bounced back well from injury, taking second in 2004’s POTY voting.

Raja’s career-best WAR (10.1) and strikeouts (373) came in 2005, getting his second POTY. His strikeout mark ranks as the 17^th-best season in SAB history as of 2037. Raja was third in 2006’s POTY voting and the Animals gave him a five-year, $20,800,000 extension. He remained quite solid over the next few seasons, but wasn’t in the awards conversations.

Ahmedabad missed the playoffs in 2008 and 2010 and suffered first round losses in 2009 and 2011. Although the Animals were done dominating, Raja did generally pitch well in the postseason in these years. For his playoff career overall, Raja had a 7-6 record over 136.1 innings, 2.97 ERA, 170 strikeouts, 26 walks, 110 ERA+, and 3.2 WAR.

In 2010, Raja was split between roles with 20 starts and 34 relief appearances, but he posted a league-best 1.86 ERA and earned his third Pitcher of the Year. 2011 marked the end of his Ahmedabad run, missing much of the year to a hamstring strain. In total, Raja had a 145-64 record, 2.30 ERA, 2098.2 innings, 2894 strikeouts, 327 walks, 148 ERA+, and 65.9 WAR. Despite his dislikable personality, the Animals did eventually retire his #14 uniform.

A now 33-year old Raja signed a five-year, $23,880,000 deal with reigning SAB champ Dhaka for 2012. He was on a decent pace, but suffered a torn flexor tendon in July, knocking him out 13 months. Raja returned and was still decent in 2013, allowing two runs over eight innings in his one Dobermans playoff start as they lost in the first round. Raja’s velocity was starting to dip and he decided to retire at only age 35. In two years for Dhaka, he had a 13-10 record, 2.94 ERA, 233 strikeouts, and 5.2 WAR.

Raja finished with a 158-74 record, 2.36 ERA, 2319 innings, 3127 strikeouts, 367 walks, 230/302 quality starts, 54 complete games, 24 shutouts, 146 ERA+, and 71.1 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 60^th in wins, 44^th in strikeouts, and 17^th in pitching WAR. Among all pitchers with 1000+ innings, his ERA ranks seventh best and his 15.72 K/9 ranks fourth. Raja’s 0.94 WHIP ranks 12^th and his .575 opponent’s OPS is 13^th.

He didn’t have the longevity to enter into the GOAT conversations, but Raja’s rate stats are among the most impressive for any SAB starter. Even those who thought he was a jerk couldn’t deny how dominant he was at his peak. Raja received 95.4% for an easy first ballot nod, headlining SAB’s 2019 Hall of Fame class.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 SAB Hall of Fame (Part 2)

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Sabuj Nath – Closer – Jaipur Jokers – 72.9% Second Ballot

Sabju Nath was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed relief pitcher from Bhadreswar, India; a city of 100,000 inhabitants in the West Bengal state. Nath had excellent stuff with very good control and above average movement. He had the one-two punch of fastball/slider with velocity around 95-97 mph. Nath had good stamina for a reliever and respectable durability, although he did have sporadic back troubles. He was well respected in the clubhouse for his leadership and work ethic.

Known relievers didn’t often get picked high in the draft, but Nath was an exception as he was selected 10^th overall in 1993 by Jaipur. He only saw 23 innings in his first year with poor results. Nath was an iffy setup guy the next year, but he earned the closer role for 1996. He posted five straight years with 30+ saves and an ERA below 1.50. Nath won Reliever of the Year in 1996 and 1999, while taking second in both 1997 and 1998; and third in 2000.

2000 had his highest save total with 49, his only time as a league leader. Nath’s best ERA, (1.18), ERA+ (266) and WAR (4.7) with the Jokers came in 1999, while his highest strikeout total was 152 in 1998. Jaipur became a regular playoff team in this era, but had no chance against Ahmedabad’s dynasty. From 1996-2002, the Jokers had six playoff appearances with five Indian League Championship Series losses to the Animals. Nath was more bad than good with a 4.57 ERA over 21.2 playoff innings for Jaipur.

Nath became a free agent after the 2000 season at age 28 and ended up going to the evil empire Ahmedabad for one year. He was used in a middle relief role, but was a beast with a 0.65 ERA over 55.1 innings. The Animals destroyed the Indian League at 125-37, but was upset by Yangon in the SAB Championship. Nath allowed two runs in his 1.1 innings of playoff relief.

He signed with Ho Chi Minh City in 2002 and 2003, doing well in his limited middle relief use. The Hedgehogs in the 2002 Southeast Asia League final, but started a SAB Championship three-peat from 2003-05. Nath left for expansion Da Nang in 2004 and was excellent as their closer with career highs in WAR (5.8), and strikeouts (163), winning his third Reliever of the Year award. The Nailers shocked SEAL by getting to the LCS in their inaugural season, but they were ultimately denied by HCMC.

Nath went back to Ho Chi Minh City for most of the next five years, generally again in middle relief. In the 2007 expansion draft, Nath was the fifth overall pick by Colombo. The Catfish would trade him back to HCMC for prospects in June 2008. That year, Nath was third in ROTY voting. The Hedgehogs won their final SAB title of their great run in 2009, giving Nath three rings with them. He generally stunk in the playoffs though with a 6.14 ERA over 14.2 innings.

In total for HCMC, Nath had a 1.62 ERA over 295.1 innings, 27 saves, 88 shutdowns, 463 strikeouts, 239 ERA+, and 11.5 WAR. He went back to Jaipur in 2010, but was traded near the deadline to Kolkata. Between his original stint and this partial season with Jaipur, Nath had 236 saves and 269 shutdowns, a 1.99 ERA, 591.2 innings, 853 strikeouts, 161 ERA+, and 18.5 WAR. He was well liked enough that the Jokers later retired his #16 uniform.

Nath had a weak 4.50 ERA in 22 regular season innings for the Cosmos but he stepped up in the playoffs. He threw 22.1 playoff innings and allowed only one run, striking out 23 with nine shutdowns, helping Kolkata upset 121-win Hanoi in the SAB Championship. He also allowed only one unearned run over 7.2 innings for the Cosmos in the inaugural Baseball Grand Championship.

Nath then went to Bangkok in 2011 with a 1.79 ERA over 55.1 innings. He finished with Yangon in 2012 with only 14.2 innings of work. Nath got destroyed allowing seven runs in 1.2 playoff innings for the Green Dragons, but earned his fifth SAB Championship ring between three teams that year. Nath retired that winter at age 40.

The playoff stats were a very mixed bag for Nath. His Kolkata run was legendary, and he also had a strong showing for Da Nang and some good moments in HCMC. When he was bad though, he was really bad. Nath finished with a 9-8 record, 10 saves, 22 shutdowns, 4.05 ERA, 44 games, 80 innings, 111 strikeouts, 86 ERA+, and 1.8 WAR. He fared generally better in the World Baseball Championship for India, making 25 appearances from 1997-2009 with 35.1 innings, 61 strikeouts, and a 2.29 ERA. Nath was part of India’s first world championship team in 2009.

For his pro career, Nath had a 79-56 record, 322 saves, 442 shutdowns, 1.91 ERA, 1169 innings, 1749 strikeouts, 241 walks, 182 ERA+, and 40.5 WAR. He didn’t have as many saves as some of the other great SAB relievers, but his ERA was comparable. Nath also had the benefit of being on many championship teams, especially standing out at age 38 for Kolkata. The lower tallies kept him just out in 2018 at 65.4%, but he got across the 66% requirement on his second try at 72.9%. With that, Nath joined the three-player 2019 Hall of Fame class for South Asia Baseball.



Teerapat Siriyakorn – Outfielder – Chennai Cows – 69.6% Eight Ballot

Teerapat Siriyakorn was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed outfielder from Sawankhalok, Thailand; a district of around 87,000 people. Siriyakorn was a very solid contact hitter who was around average at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He was especially strong against right-handed pitching with a career 167 wRC+ and .889 OPS compared to a 116 wRC+ and .711 OPS against lefties. Siriyakorn had excellent gap power and had occasional bursts of home run power, getting 36 doubles, 9 triples, and 18 home runs per his 162 game average.

Siriyakorn had good running speed mixed with outstanding baserunning and base stealing instincts. Half of his career starts were in right field, where he graded as reliably good. Siriyakorn split the rest of his starts elsewhere in the outfield and was decent in left, but poor in center. He had excellent durability and almost never missed time to injury. The downside was Siriyakorn was considered a selfish and lazy jerk by many teammates, but his raw ability made him worth keeping around.

Despite coming from anonymity, Siriyakorn caught the eye of an Indian scout as a teenager. Chennai signed him to a developmental deal in June 1988 and had him in the academy for around three years. Siriyakorn became one of the select few in baseball history to debut at age 18, making 12 pinch-hit appearances in 1991. He was a part-timer with 87 games and 37 starts in 1992. The Cows put Siriyakorn into the lineup full-time from 1993-98.

All six of his full seasons with Chennai were worth 5.5+ WAR with three of the years getting 8+. Siriyakorn led in doubles in 1994 and led in both hits and batting average in 1997 and 1998. He won his lone Gold Glove in 1993, although he wasn’t in the other awards conversations. Part of that was the competition in the outfield, but part was due to Chennai’s general mediocrity. The Cows didn’t post a single winning season during Siriyakorn’s run, peaking at 80-82 in 1998.

While playing in the Indian League, Siriyakorn still returned home to Thailand for the World Baseball Championship from 1992-2007. He played 120 games and started 106, getting 125 hits, 68 runs, 27 doubles, 21 home runs, 54 RBI, 45 stolen bases, a .305/.358/.534 slash, 153 wRC+, and 4.9 WAR.

With Chennai, Siriyakorn had 1157 hits, 503 runs, 253 doubles, 75 triples, 84 home runs, 407 RBI, 379 stolen bases, a .316/.364/.495 slash, 167 wRC+, and 42.8 WAR. His play was one of the redeeming qualities for a bad franchise in the 1990s and they honored Siriyakorn later by retiring his #13 uniform. Unsurprisingly, he left when he became eligible for free agency after the 1998 season. Because he debuted so young, Siriyakorn was only 26-years old upon entering the market.

Siriyakorn signed a five-year, $8,500,000 deal with Ho Chi Minh City, who had been the dynasty in the Southeast Asia League. He only played three years with the Hedgehogs, but did well, including his lone Silver Slugger season in 2000. This saw career highs in WAR (9.0), hits (201), runs (120), home runs (41), and OPS (.970). The homer mark was especially surprising since he never topped 30 homers in any other season.

HCMC lost in the 1999 SAB Championship to Ahmedabad, then got revenge and beat the Animals in 2000. They had the top seed again in 2011, but were upset in the LCS by Yangon. Siriyakorn played well in the postseason over 37 games and 35 starts, getting 47 hits, 26 runs, 14 doubles, 4 triples, 3 homers, 19 RBI, a .315/.348/.523 slash, 148 wRC+, and 1.8 WAR. In total for the Hedgehogs, Siriyakorn had 530 hits, 300 runs, 103 doubles, 27 triples, 81 home runs, 220 RBI, a .305/.348/.536 slash, 149 wRC+, and 20.3 WAR.

His production had dropped a bit in 2001 and he had started to clash a bit in the locker room with his attitude. Siriyakorn exercised his contract option and switched sides in the great dynasty war on a one-year deal with Ahmedabad. He had a strong 6.8 WAR season for the Animals and again was solid in the playoffs with 16 hits, 13 runs, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs, 9 RBI, a 1.053 OPS, and 0.9 WAR. The Animals went 118-44 and won their 12^th SAB Championship of the dynasty run, beating Dhaka in the final.

Siriyakorn was a free agent again in 2003, but went unsigned as no one who could afford his price tag wanted to deal with his baggage. After sitting out except for the WBC, Siriyakorn returned to the IL on a one-year deal in 2004 with Delhi. He posted 4.0 WAR for the Drillers, which was still a good starter, but the weakest full season of his career. Siriyakorn could still hit righties well, but he was starting to struggle against lefties.

Due to that, Siriyakorn’s final two seasons were in a platoon role. He spent 2005 with Kanpur with 2.9 WAR, then had a 3.0 WAR effort in 2006 for Yangon. He played for Thailand in the 2007 WBC, but went unsigned that season. Siriyakorn retired from the game that winter at age 35.

Siriyakorn finished with 2246 hits, 1071 runs, 465 doubles, 121 triples, 227 home runs, 911 RBI, 460 walks, 657 stolen bases, a .306/.351/.495 slash, 155 wRC+, and 79.8 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 72^nd in hits, 57^th in doubles, 65^th in stolen bases, and 49^th in WAR among position players.

Siriyakorn was in a weird spot where he put up good numbers, but was considered by some to have underperformed based on how quickly he entered the league. Also working against him was many people generally disliking him as a person. Siriyakorn also didn’t have many awards despite his success. However, he did play very well in the playoffs and helped for two title runs for two teams. Two batting titles also went over well with traditionalists.

In 2012, Siriyakorn debuted on the ballot at 57.3%. He dropped to 51.4%, then 39.9%, making his future look bleak. Siriyakorn bounced back and forth the next few years between the low 50s and upper 30s. 2019 was his eighth ballot and he got a surprising renaissance, jumping up to 69.6%. That pushed Siriyakorn across the 66% line to become the third member of SAB’s 2019 Hall of Fame class.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 ABF Hall of Fame (Part 1)

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The Asian Baseball Federation’s 2019 Hall of Fame class was an impressive three-pitcher group, each making it on their debut. Two were slam dunks with Oskar Tamm at 98.4% and Demir Gunes at 95.3%. Lakhani Mustafa joined them at 69.6%, narrowly crossing the 66% requirement. Fellow SP Omar Ma’mur was the only other player above 50%, debuting at 55.3%. The top returner was 1B Altaf Aslam at 45.5% on his fourth try. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots in 2019.



Oskar “Checkmate” Tamm – Starting Pitcher – Bishkek Black Sox – 98.4% First Ballot

Oskar Tamm was a 6’2’’, 205 pound left-handed pitcher from Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. He had the nickname “checkmate” due to his love of chess, but also because how often he won the chess matches that were at-bats. Tamm was well rounded with good to great stuff, movement, and control. He had a good fastball that peaked at 95-97 mph mixed in with a slider and a changeup.

Tamm’s stamina and durability were his biggest strengths, leading his league six times in innings pitched and five times in complete games. He was good at holding runners and average defensively. Tamm had very high character, known for a tireless work ethic and strong leadership skills. He became the first major baseball superstar from his native Estonia and was beloved both at home and in his eventually second home of Kyrgyzstan.

As Tamm grew up, Estonia’s limited baseball scene was in the Eurasian Professional Baseball sphere as a former Soviet occupied territory. With just over a million people, it wasn’t an area that was extensively scouted and wouldn’t have a major pro team until 2005 in the European Second League. Tamm emerged as a standout prospect as a teenager and caught the eye of a scout from Bishkek. They convinced Tamm to come to Kyrgyzstan, signing a developmental contract in October 1994.

Tamm spent most of five years in the Black Sox academy, although he did see eight relief appearances between 1998 and 1999. He earned his full-time spot in the rotation in 2000 at age 23. This was Bishkek’s first year in the Asian Baseball Federation, joining along with its Central Asian neighbors in the great EPB exodus. As a rookie, Tamm led the new East League in innings, complete games, and shutouts; earning Rookie of the Year honors.

Bishkek had immediate success joining the ABF, earning nine playoff appearances from 2000-10. They had trouble getting over the playoff hump, losing in the ELCS in 2000 and 2001. The Black Sox took the top seed in 2002 and 2004, but lost in the first round both years. Bishkek missed the playoffs in 2003, then had first round exits as a wild card in 2005 and 2006. Tamm’s playoff numbers were a mixed bag in these early years.

His regular season numbers were excellent though, getting 5.9 WAR or better each year from 2001-12. Tamm earned ERA titles in 2005 (1.80) and 2007 (1.79) and threw a no-hitter in 2005 against Hyderabad, striking out 11. He led twice in wins, once in WHIP, and four times in WAR in his career. Tamm was second in Pitcher of the Year voting in both 2001 and 2002. Bishkek locked Tamm up after the 2002 campaign on a six-year, $16,420,000 extension.

Tamm then won the award three straight years from 2003-05. He wasn’t a finalist in 2006, but won it for the fourth time in 2007. That year as a wild card, Bishkek finally got over the hump and won the East League pennant, although they fell to Istanbul in the ABF Championship. Tamm had a 3.71 ERA over 26.2 playoff innings.

Bishkek lost in the 2008 ELCS to Karachi, then narrowly missed the playoffs in 2009. The Black Sox had the top seed in 2010, but were upset in the ELCS by Rawalpindi. For his playoff career, Tamm was a bit underwhelming. He posted a 4-7 record over 138.1 innings with a 3.19 ERA, 145 strikeouts, 22 walks, 97 ERA+, and 2.5 WAR.

Tamm was second in 2008 Pitcher of the Year voting. Now 32-years old, Bishkek gave him another five-year extension at $34,500,000. Tamm was third in POTY voting in 2009, then won it for the fifth time in 2010. He took it for the sixth time in 2012, joining Yazeed Anwari as the only six-time winners in ABF history as of 2037. However, Bishkek had fallen to the middle of the standings, beginning what would be a seven-year playoff drought.

After the 2013 season, Tamm was a free agent for the first time at age 37. He parted ways amicably with Bishkek, where he remains a beloved figure to this day. The Black Sox would later retire his #6 uniform and Tamm continued to serve as a franchise ambassador after his playing career. He had one chance left likely to get the big MLB payday and took it, signing a three-year, $31,500 deal with Tampa.

Tamm had a strong debut with the Thunderbirds, leading the American Association in wins at 23-9 and posting a 6.4 WAR. Tampa earned the #1 seed at 109-53, but was upset in the second round. Tamm’s one MLB playoff start saw three runs and seven strikeouts over seven innings. Unfortunately, Tamm’s velocity quickly regressed in 2015, now peaking in the 90-92 mph range.

In 2015 for Tampa, Tamm had a 9-3 record, but an average 3.87 ERA over 107 innings with 56 strikeouts. The Thunderbirds abruptly cut him in early July to make room on the roster. Tamm was picked up two weeks later by Winnipeg and finished the season there with a 4.14 ERA over 95.2 innings. For his combined MLB run, Tamm finished with a 38-19 record, 3.20 ERA, 488.2 innings, 277 strikeouts, 116 ERA+, and 7.1 WAR.

Now 38-years old, Montreal gave him a look for spring training 2016, but he didn’t make the final squad. Tamm ended up going to Russia with limited use in 2017 for Krasnoyarsk, posting a 3.62 ERA over 69.2 innings. He went back to MLB in 2017 with Omaha and posted 6.1 scoreless innings in relief, but the Hawks cut him in April 2017 after three appearances. Tamm went back to ABF on a one-year deal with Tashkent, but never saw the field for the Tomcats. He retired from professional baseball in the winter shortly after turning 41.

For his ABF career, Tamm had a 224-149 record, 2.30 ERA, 3726.2 innings, 4325 strikeouts, 702 walks, 350/439 quality starts, 202 complete games, 57 shutouts, 134 ERA+, and 97.8 WAR. As of 2037, Tamm remains the all-time ABF leader in both complete games and shutouts. Adding his MLB shutouts, he ranks 27^th with 62 among all pro pitchers. He also ranks fifth in wins, fourth in innings, ninth in strikeouts, and fourth in WAR among pitchers.

Looking at all ABF pitchers with 1000+ innings, Tamm’s ERA ranks 13^th, his 0.92 WHIP is 18^th, and his .559 opponent’s OPS is 14^th. He’s also 32^nd in H/9 (6.62). Tamm is easily in the inner-circle among ABF’s all-time best pitchers, but generally is ranked behind his contemporary Anwari for the GOAT spot. He’s an excellent ambassador and face of Estonian baseball, headlining ABF’s 2019 Hall of Fame class at 98.4%.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 ABF Hall of Fame (Part 2)

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Demir Gunes – Starting Pitcher – Lahore Longhorns – 95.3% First Ballot

Demir Gunes was a 6’3’’, 180 pound left-handed pitcher from Gaziantep, Turkey’s sixth most populous city. Gunes had excellent control with very good stuff and solid movement. His 98-100 mph fastball was easily his strongest offering, but Gunes also had a nice forkball along with a changeup, curveball, and circle change.

His main downside was poor stamina relative to most ABF aces. Gunes also ran into some major injuries that shortened his career. He was good defensively and was effective at holding runners. Gunes was a major fan favorite everywhere he went and was known for an excellent work ethic.

Despite growing up in Turkey, most of Gunes’s pro career came in Pakistan. He was scouted and signed to a developmental deal by Lahore in March 1993. Gunes spent most of five years in their academy, debuting in 1997 at age 20 with 5.2 innings of relief. He was a full-time starter the next year and excelled, leading the Pakistan League in wins at 21-7. Gunes also had his career best ERA at 1.84 to earn 1998 Rookie of the Year honors and second in Pitcher of the Year voting. He was far and away the best rookie, winning Rookie of the Month five times.

Lahore took second in the PL that year to end a decade-long playoff drought, but they got ousted in the PLCS by 113-win Hyderabad. Gunes’s one playoff start saw four runs allowed over 7.1 innings. The Longhorns would fall below .500 for the next four seasons as the PL became the East League in 2000 with the Central Asian teams joining ABF in the exodus from Eurasian Professional Baseball. Gunes saw a major setback around this time with a torn rotator cuff in late June 2000, putting him out for 11 months.

Gunes bounced back with a good 2002, which led Lahore to give him a five-year, $16,600,000 extension in April 2003. He then went on his strongest run of his career, leading the league in WAR three straight seasons, topping 8+ each time. In that stretch, Gunes led twice in K/BB, thrice in FIP-, and once in both WHIP and wins. 2005 saw his career high with 342 strikeouts. Despite his efforts, Gunes never won Pitcher of the Year. He was second in 2003 and 2005 with a third in 2004.

Lahore started to contend again, starting with a first round loss in 2003. They missed the playoffs in 2004, then won back-to-back East League pennants in 2005-06. The Longhorns lost to Shiraz in the 2005 ABF Championship, but won their first-ever title in 2006 in a rematch with the Suns. In the 2005 run, Gunes had a 2.48 ERA over 32.2 innings with 31 strikeouts. Unfortunately, he would miss the entire 2006 season.

The year had started well enough with a 2.49 ERA in 21.1 innings in the World Baseball Championship for Turkey. He tossed 110.2 innings from 1999-2010 for the Turkish team with a 3.82 ERA, 5-8 record, 123 strikeouts, 40 walks, 93 ERA+, and 1.3 WAR. However in spring training 2006, Gunes suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament, knocking him out 13 months. His first live action was the 2007 WBC, allowing 10 runs over seven innings.

Gunes did post respectable numbers in 2007, but his strikeout rate was far down from his peak. He had posted 300+ each year from 2002-2005 and wouldn’t get higher than 237 for the rest of his career. Gunes was actively below average in 2008 with his worst ERA to that point at 3.31. Lahore made the playoffs both years, but lost in the first round each time. For his playoff career, Gunes had mixed results with a 3.45 ERA over 57.1 innings, 88 ERA+, 3-4 record, 59 strikeouts, and 0.6 WAR.

Lahore didn’t re-sign Gunes after the 2009 season, making him a free agent for the first time heading towards age 32. With the Longhorns, he had a 155-79 record, 2.29 ERA, 2276.2 innings, 2758 strikeouts, 342 walks, 133 ERA+, and 59.7 WAR. Gunes was still a fan favorite and a part of the franchise’s biggest success to date. Lahore would later retire his #13 uniform and Longhorn fans were proud to see him inducted in the burnt orange.

Gunes opened up his search worldwide and ended up in the European Baseball Federation on a one-year deal with Paris. He had a career resurgence of sorts with 6.1 WAR and a 2.71 ERA for the Poodles. Gunes went back to ABF after that on a two-year, $7,760,000 deal with Kabul. The Black Knights were about to begin their second season after joining in a 2009 expansion. While not his old dominant self, Gunes’s strong control gave him a solid 5.5 WAR effort.

The young Kabul franchise was still trying to build its base and traded Gunes in the offseason to Hyderabad for five prospects. Sadly, Gunes never pitched an inning for the Horned Frogs, suffering his second torn UCL in spring training. He was determined to pitch again and Bishkek gave him a shot for 2012. Gunes missed part of the summer to a torn labrum, but still looked good with a 2.01 ERA and 3.7 WAR over 152 innings. The Black Sox brought him back on a qualifying offer in 2013, but his velocity dropped notably. Bishkek used him mostly in relief with 0.9 WAR and a 2.66 ERA over 91.1 innings. Gunes retired that winter at age 36.

In ABF, Gunes had a 184-99 record, 2.30 ERA, 2736.1 innings, 3207 strikeouts, 416 walks, 278/354 quality starts, 46 complete games, 16 shutouts, 134 ERA+, and 69.8 WAR. As of 2037, Gunes ranks 30^th in wins, 40^th in strikeouts, and 18^th in pitching WAR. Among all pitchers with 1000+ innings, his ERA ranks 11^th best. Gunes’ 0.91 WHIP ranks 15^th and his .569 opponents’ OPS ranks 26^th.

The injuries really dented his totals and kept Gunes from soaring up the leaderboards. His rate stats proved how impressive he was though even without a Pitcher of the Year award or ERA title to his name. That and his general likeability made Gunes an easy pick for the voters, giving him 95.3% to co-headline ABF’s 2019 Hall of Fame class.



Lakhani “Soldier” Mustafa – Starting Pitcher – Istanbul Ironmen – 69.6% First Ballot

Lakhani Mustafa was a 6’6’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. His military family background earned him the nickname “soldier” as a young kid. Mustafa had great movement and with solid control, although his stuff was merely average. He had a 96-98 mph fastball, which was his strongest pitch. Mustafa also had a slider, curveball, and changeup.

Mustafa had good stamina early in his career and had strong durability for much of his run. He was weak at holding runners and below average defensively. Mustafa did have great intelligence and adaptability, which helped him greatly through a 16-year pro baseball career.

As a teenager, Mustafa quickly became one of the most promising prospects in Karachi. A visiting scout from Turkey saw him at a camp and convinced him to come to Istanbul in March 1993 on a developmental deal. Mustafa spent four years in their academy, then debuted with 26 relief innings in 1997 at age 21. He was a part-time starter with okay stats in 1998, then earned a full-time spot in the rotation from then on. Mustafa’s fourth season was his first of eight consecutive seasons worth 5.5+ WAR.

In 2001, Mustafa led the West League in wins (21-10), innings (295.1), quality starts (27), and WAR (9.7). These were all career highs, along with his 312 strikeouts, but he wasn’t a Pitcher of the Year finalist. Istanbul ended a 13-year playoff drought in 2003 and started a seven-year streak. They lost in the WLCS to Ankara in 2003 with Mustafa struggling to a 6.20 ERA over 20.1 playoff starts. Still, the Ironmen were generally with Mustafa’s production, giving him a six-year, $21,160,000 extension that winter.

Istanbul had the top seed in 2004 at 104-58, but was upset in the first round by the Alouettes. The Ironmen had another first round exit in 2005, then fell in the 2006 WLCS despite the top seed. Mustafa fared better in these playoff runs and started to get attention again as an ace. He led in wins in both 2006 and 2007 and claimed the ERA title in 2007 at 2.40. These efforts earned Mustafa back-to-back Pitcher of the Year wins.

In 2007, Istanbul got over the playoff hump, winning the WL at 104-58 and defeating Bishkek in the ABF Championship. Mustafa was 4-0 in his four starts with a 2.23 ERA, 32.1 innings, 33 strikeouts, 162 ERA+, and 1.0 WAR. For his playoff career with the Ironmen, Mustafa had a 7-5 record, 3.47 ERA, 93.1 innings, 94 strikeouts, 12 walks, 101 ERA+, and 3.0 WAR.

Despite his and the team’s success, the soon-to-be 32 year-old Mustafa was traded for three prospects in February 2008 to Bishkek, the team Istanbul just beat in the ABF Championship. In total for the Ironmen, Mustafa had a 162-119 record, 3.01 ERA, 2537.2 innings, 2605 strikeouts, 566 walks, 117 ERA+, and 62.5 WAR. For his efforts, Istanbul would eventually retire his #6 uniform.

Mustafa had two respectable seasons with the Black Sox, posting a 27-21 record, 2.85 ERA, 448.2 innings, 482 strikeouts, 110 ERA+, and 10.2 WAR. Bishkek lost in the 2008 East League Championship Series to Karachi, although Mustafa had a solid 1.69 ERA over 16 playoff innings. The Black Sox missed the last wild card in 2009 by a tiebreaker. With that heading towards age 34, Mustafa was a free agent for the first time.

Isfahan signed him to a five-year, $29,000,000 deal, but Mustafa’s time in Iran would be snake bitten. He missed half of 2010 to a strained AC joint in his shoulder. Mustafa was decent in the front half of 2011 and in total had 4.3 WAR, a 3.29 ERA, and 104 ERA+ over 238 innings for the Imperials. They traded him at the 2011 deadline to Almaty for veteran 3B Josh Kapral and SP prospect Bill Bryars. Mustafa was okay in the second half of the Assassins, notably posting a solid 2.70 ERA in 20 playoff innings. Almaty made it to the ELCS, but fell there to Faisalabad.

Mustafa missed most of the 2012 season to a broken bone in his elbow. With his velocity dwindling, he only saw 8.1 innings of use in 2013 despite being healthy. Mustafa only pitched 139.1 innings total for Almaty with a 3.62 ERA, 90 ERA+, and 1.0 WAR. Multan signed him for 2014, but he never made it off the reserve roster. Mustafa retired that winter at age 38.

In total, Mustafa had a 205-163 record, 3.03 ERA, 3363.2 innings, 3424 strikeouts, 723 walks, 296/437 quality starts, 103 complete games, 29 shutouts, 113 ERA+, and 78.0 WAR. His 80 FIP- suggested he might have had some bad luck in his career weakening his rate stats. Still, as of 2037 Mustafa ranked 15^th in wins, 31^st in strikeouts, 16^th in innings, and 10^th in pitching WAR. He didn’t crack the top 100 in any rate stats.

Some sabermetric-minded voters thought Mustafa wasn’t dominant enough to deserve the nod despite hitting some nice accumulation benchmarks. With other strong pitchers on the ballot, Mustafa might have looked less impressive comparatively. Still, he had two POTYs, an ERA title, 200+ wins, 3000+ strikeouts, and a championship ring. Mustafa got a surprisingly low 69.6% on his debut, but that was nice enough to cross the 66% requirement to cap off a solid 2019 ABF Hall of Fame class.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 ALB Hall of Fame (Part 1)

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It was a three-player Hall of Fame class for Arab League Baseball in 2019, although the three additions weren’t locks as they each failed to get ¾ of the vote. 1B/DH Fadi Adwan led the way with a debut at 73.6%. 1B Sultan Riaz got to 70.9% on his third try and SP Ali Al-Shakal had 70.5% on his seventh ballot. SP Mohamed Abdou missed the cut on his second by only one point at 65.0%. CL Ramy Kayat was also above 50%, debuting at 57.5%. No one else was above 50% and no players were removed after ten failed ballots.



Fadi Adwan – First Base/Designated Hitter – Dubai Diamonds – 73.6% First Ballot

Fadi Adwan was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Irbid, Jordan’s second largest city with around two million in the metropolitan area. Adwan was a very good contact hitter with an average eye for drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He had reliably good home run power, topping 30 dingers in seven different seasons. Adwan also regularly got you 30-40 doubles per year, but he wouldn’t leg out many extra bases due to mediocre speed and baserunning ability.

Adwan’s starts were split fairly evenly between first base and designated hitter. He was a DH at the front and back ends of his career, playing the field mostly in the middle. Adwan was a consistently poor defender, but he wasn’t a complete liability. He had respectable durability and good adaptability, which kept him around for an 18-year career.

In ALB’s 1992 Draft, only the third-ever rookie draft for the league, Adwan was picked 13^th overall by Beirut. He was 18-years old when he was picked, but the Bluebirds had plans to develop him. Adwan never played ultimately for Beirut, getting traded after the 1993 season to Dubai. He and prospect SS Tareq Madi were moved for veteran pitcher Ehab Gamal. The Diamonds kept Adwan as a reserve in 1994, then debuted him in 1995 at age 21 with 24 games and 7 starts. He did also had two plate appearances in the playoffs as Dubai lost in the first round.

Adwan was a part-time starter in 1996, then had the full-time gig for the next 13 years in Dubai. He won a Silver Slugger in 1997 as a DH despite missing six weeks to plantar fasciitis. 1998 would be his strongest season, leading the Eastern Conference in hits (232), RBI (140), and total bases (424). Those were career highs for Adwan, as was his 117 runs, 46 doubles, 48 home runs, .364/.414/.666 slash, 1.079 OPS, 194 wRC+, and 8.8 WAR. Adwan won his second Slugger as a DH and was third in MVP voting.

He never again was an MVP candidate after that, but Adwan would post eight more seasons worth 4+ WAR for Dubai. The closest he came to that 1998 campaign was 2004, posting 7.1 WAR, 41 homers, 133 RBI, and a 1.054 OPS. In August 1999, Dubai gave Adwan a five-year, $3,538,000 extension. In March 2004, he inked another five-year, $6,880,000 extension.

Dubai was a regular atop the Gulf Division in this era, but they had playoff woes early on in Adwan’s run. The Diamonds saw first round exits in 1995, 1996, 1999, and 2001. Dubai finally broke through in 2002, winning their first-ever Arab League title over Alexandria. Adwan had 18 hits, 6 runs, 2 doubles, 2 homers, and 9 RBI in 14 playoff starts. The Diamonds improved to 109-53 and won the conference again in 2003, but lost the finale to Casablanca. Adwan had 11 hits, 4 runs, 4 doubles, and a .685 OPS that year.

Dubai won four more division titles from 2004-07, but lost in the first round each year. They began a rebuild after that with back-to-back losing seasons. Adwan kept chugging along, although he notably had a major injury with a torn labrum in July 2007. The Diamonds extended him for another three years at $6,140,000 in October 2009.

Adwan’s third Silver Slugger came in 2010 at age 36 with a 5.8 WAR, 36 home run, 112 RBI season. Dubai got back above .500, but missed the division title by a game to Abu Dhabi. The Diamonds made it back to the conference final as the top seed in 2011, but fell to defending champ Basra. For his playoff career, Adwan was solid with 46 games, 42 starts, 52 hits, 21 runs, 11 doubles, 9 home runs, 29 RBI, a .323/.357/.559 slash, 155 wRC+, and 1.5 WAR.

2011 also marked the end of Adwan’s run in Dubai, failing to meet the vesting criteria for the remainder of the deal. In total, he had 2558 hits, 1211 runs, 534 doubles, 473 home runs, 1490 RBI, a .312/.359/.556 slash, 150 wRC+, and 67.3 WAR. His #46 uniform would be the first retired by the Diamonds and he kept a good relationship with the franchise once his playing career was done. However, Adwan was now a free agent for the first time heading towards age 38.

Adwan signed a two-year, $9,600,000 deal with Kuwait. He was merely a decent starter for the Whales, but did reach the 500 career home run and 1500 RBI milestones there. In 287 games, Adwan had 271 hits, 121 runs, 63 doubles, 40 home runs, 143 RBI, a .276/.321/.475 slash, 116 wRC+, and 3.3 WAR. He retired after the 2013 season at age 39.

In total, Adwan had 2829 hits, 1332 runs, 597 doubles, 513 home runs, 1633 RBI, 530 walks, a .308/.355/.547 slash, 146 wRC+, and 70.6 WAR. As of 2037, Adwan ranks 17^th in hits, 46^th in runs, 23^rd in doubles, 42^nd in home runs, 22^nd in RBI, and 37^th in WAR among position players. Supporters noted his reliable production and longevity, along with good playoff stats and a championship win with Dubai.

Detractors thought he didn’t have enough awards or black ink to belong. Others held spending half of his career as a DH against him, plus there were more powerful contemporary sluggers. The supporters outweighed the detractors for 73.6%, which was enough to cross the 66% requirement in his debut. Adwan earned a first ballot nod and was the headliner of ALB’s 2019 Hall of Fame class.