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

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2019 ALB Hall of Fame (Part 2)

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Sultan Riaz – First Base – Mecca Marksmen – 70.9% Third Ballot

Sultan Riaz was a 6’2’’, 205 pound left-handed hitting first baseman from Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. Riaz was a great contact hitter with reliably strong home run and gap power. His 162 game average got you 34 homers, 32 doubles, and 13 triples. Riaz was a bit below average at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He was notably much better facing right-handed pitching (1.014 OPS, 172 wRC+) compared to lefties (.708 OPS, 95 wRC+).

Despite his power profile, Riaz had excellent speed and baserunning ability. He was far more nimble than you’d expect from a career first baseman. Riaz was very good defensively as well, winning five Gold Gloves. He did see sporadic starts in left and right field, struggling in both spots. Riaz had good durability and was a team captain. Few in the game were considered better people with Riaz showing excellent leadership, loyalty, and work ethic.

Riaz was one of the first big baseball superstars to come out of Yemen. The country had a limited infrastructure and wouldn’t get a pro team until Sanaa joined in a 2024 expansion. Still, Riaz’s talent got noticed in neighboring Saudi Arabia. Mecca signed him in September 1995 to a developmental deal as a teenager. He spent most of five years in the academy, officially debuting in 2000 at age 21 with 15 games and 5 starts. Riaz became a full-time starter the next year and earned 2001 Rookie of the Year honors.

From 2002-07, Riaz posted 5.9 WAR or better each year for Mecca. He won four Gold Gloves from 2004-07 and Silver Sluggers in 2004, 2006, and 2007. Riaz was second in MVP voting in both 2004 and 2007, but never won the top honor. However, 2006 was his best effort by many metrics with a batting title (.369) and conference-best 230 hits. Those were career highs, as was Riaz’s 1.101 OPS, 199 wRC+, and 10.1 WAR. Riaz’s most powerful season with 2007 with career bests in homers (53), RBI (130), and runs (124).

Despite his efforts, Mecca was stuck in mediocrity, averaging 76.25 wins per season with no playoff berths in Riaz’s tenure. He was going to be eligible for free agency after the 2008 season. With one year left under team control, the Marksmen felt they weren’t going to be able to afford to keep him around. Thus, Riaz was traded to Beirut for two prospects.

With Mecca, Riaz had 1408 hits, 741 runs, 259 doubles, 292 home runs, 796 RBI, 514 stolen bases, a .329/.369/.630 slash, 169 wRC+, and 49.9 WAR. He was a beloved superstar in the Holy City and saw his #11 uniform as the first retired by the franchise. Riaz was also a star back home in Yemen, representing his county from 2002-2015 in the World Baseball Championship. In 97 WBC games, Riaz had 75 hits, 41 runs, 11 doubles, 5 triples, 15 home runs, 34 RBI, a .221/.286/.416 slash, 101 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR.

His one year in Beirut was plagued by a fractured finger and oblique strain, although he still got 3.6 WAR over 97 games. The Bluebirds fell just short of the playoffs and Riaz became a free agent heading towards age 30. This ended his run in the still relatively new Arab League, as he received worldwide interest. Riaz made the big move to Australia, getting a seven-year, $42,700,000 deal with Adelaide of the Oceania Baseball Association.

Riaz had an impressive debut for the Aardvarks, leading the Australasia League in 2009 in batting average (.355), stolen bases (61), and OPS (1.037). He won a Silver Slugger and took third in MVP voting. Riaz couldn’t match that in his later years with Adelaide, although he was still a nice starter. His power numbers dropped, as he didn’t hit 30+ homers apart from the debut season. Riaz did notably earn a Gold Glove in 2013.

Adelaide was below average during his tenure, leaving Riaz without a playoff appearance for his whole career. In 2014, he lost half of the season to a fractured ankle. Riaz was reduced to a platoon role in 2015 with only 0.9 WAR for the season. In total with Adelaide, he had 1057 hits, 507 runs, 159 doubles, 85 triples, 148 home runs, 520 RBI, 312 stolen bases, a .302/.342/.522 slash, 134 wRC+, and 20.8 WAR. Riaz was unsigned in 2016 and retired that winter at age 37.

For his combined pro career, Riaz had 2580 hits, 1308 runs, 436 doubles, 170 triples, 465 home runs, 1379 RBI, 510 walks, 861 stolen bases, a .316/.356/.582 slash, 153 wRC+, and 74.2 WAR. However, his Arab League Hall of Fame candidacy was based on only seven and a half seasons worth of play with Mecca and Beirut. In ALB, Riaz had 1523 hits, 801 runs, 277 doubles, 85 triples, 317 home runs, 859 RBI, 549 stolen bases, a .326/.367/.626 slash, 168 wRC+, and 53.4 WAR.

The small sample size keeps him out of the top 100 in basically every counting stat, although he is 77^th in WAR among position players as of 2037. Notably, his .993 OPS ranks 25^th among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances, even against the inflated offense guys of the 2020s and 2030s. Riaz also ranks 33^rd in batting average, 51^st in on-base percentage, and 24^th in slugging. Still, there would be voters who dinged him for low totals and for being on forgettable Mecca teams.

However, Riaz was incredibly effective in his brief run. He was one of the most well respected and well liked guys in the game. Plus, he and Hall of Fame classmate Ali Al-Shakal both played a huge role in growing the game in Yemen and bringing an expansion team to Sanaa. Riaz just missed the cut in his first two ballots at 59.2% and 61.3%. On his third try in 2019, he got to 70.9% to secure his spot into ALB’s HOF.



Ali Al-Shakal – Starting Pitcher – Doha Dash – 70.5% Seventh Ballot

Ali Al-Shakal was a 6’3’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. Al-Shakal was a well-rounded pitcher with good to great stuff, movement, and control. His 95-97 mph sinker was his strongest pitch, but his forkball, changeup, and splitter were each viable options. Early in his career, Al-Shakal also had excellent stamina and durability. He struggled holding runners, but was otherwise a good defender. Al-Shakal was adaptable to his situation and considered a team leader.

Al-Shakal thrived in his amateur career, becoming arguably the top prospect for the 1996 ALB Draft. He was picked second overall by Doha and was a full-time starter right away. Al-Shakal tossed 240+ innings in each of his first nine seasons for the Dash, including a 6.1 WAR rookie season that got him second in Rookie of the Year voting. This helped Doha pull off one of the all-time great turnarounds in pro baseball history.

The Dash was abysmal in their first seven seasons and never won more than 65 games. They went 58-104 the year they picked Al-Shakal, but saw an amazing turnaround in 1997 at 95-67, winning their first Gulf Division title. Doha upset Mosul in the Eastern Conference Championship and beat Khartoum for the Arab League title. In 21.2 playoff innings, Al-Shakal had a 2.91 ERA and 21 strikeouts.

Al-Shakal won Pitcher of the Year in his second season, leading the conference in wins (20-13), WHIP (0.90), complete games (14), and shutouts (6). These were career bests, as was his 2.40 ERA and 158 ERA+. Doha got back to the conference final, but fell in a rematch with Mosul. Al-Shakal had a 1.76 ERA over his two starts, striking out 14 in 15.1 innings. The Dash would be mid-tier the next few years, then fell back into mediocrity, not making the playoffs again until 2018.

You couldn’t blame Al-Shakal for that though. He had a career and conference-best 9.3 WAR in 1999, but surprisingly wasn’t a POTY finalist. Al-Shakal finished second in 2001 with 9.1 WAR and a career-best 328 strikeouts. After the 2002 season, he signed a five-year, $7,620,000 contract. Al-Shakal kept rolling, but did see his first setback as a torn meniscus cost him the front end of the 2006 season. That was his final year in Qatar, as he declined the contract option and entered free agency heading towards age 33.

That also ended his time in the Arab League, as his next stop was in Nigeria. Al-Shakal signed a five-year, $16,040,000 with Port Harcourt of West Africa Baseball. The Hillcats were mostly below average in his run, as was he. Al-Shakal did lead in innings in 2009, but otherwise was an average innings eater there. He had a 48-41 record over 922.1 innings, 4.00 ERA, 924 strikeouts, 102 ERA+, and 14.1 WAR.

Like his Hall of Fame classmate Sultan Riaz, Al-Shakal did return home to Yemen for the World Baseball Championship. From 2002-11, he had a 6-9 record, 4.49 ERA, 118.1 innings, 118 strikeouts, 57 walks, 81 ERA+, and 1.0 WAR. Al-Shakal was unsigned in 2012 and retired that winter at age 38. Doha did bring him back to retire his #17 uniform. As of 2037, he’s the only player from the Dash with his number retired and the only Hall of Famer in their purple and orange.

For his combined career, Al-Shakal had a 200-166 record, 3.35 ERA, 3418 innings, 3634 strikeouts, 748 walks, 281/454 quality starts, 112 complete games, 24 shutouts, 116 ERA+, and 75.2 WAR. His ALB accumulations were hurt by leaving for WAB for his final five seasons. With Doha, Al-Shakal had a 152-125 record, 3.11 ERA, 2495.2 innings, 2710 strikeouts, 496 walks, 99 complete games, 21 shutouts, 122 ERA+, and 61.1 WAR.

As of 2037, Al-Shakal ranks 41^st in wins, 41^st in strikeouts, 26^th in WAR among pitchers, 39^th in innings, third in complete games, and eighth in shutouts. Among all pitchers with 1000+ innings, Al-Shakal’s ERA is 43^rd, his 1.05 WHIP is 39^th, and his opponent’s OPS of .637 ranks 31^st. However, many voters thought he didn’t have enough longevity or raw dominance to deserve the nod. Supporters noted his POTY win and key role in Doha’s incredible turnaround title run in 1997.

Al-Shakal debuted at only 42.6% in 2013 and fell to 34.3% the next year, making it look like he might be doomed to the Hall of Pretty Good. However, his next four ballots were all above 50%, peaking at 57.5% in 2018. Al-Shakal got another look in 2019 and made it across the 66% requirement at 70.5%. With that, he earned a seventh ballot induction and along with Riaz, became the first Yemenis into the Arab League Hall of Fame.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 AAB Hall of Fame

The African Association of Baseball’s 2019 Hall of Fame ballot was an underwhelming one. It nearly was blank, but also had four candidates right near the 66% requirement. RF Gabriel Rakotomamonjy was the only one to make it in, receiving 66.7% on his second ballot. CL Mandla Ndungane barely missed it with a debut at 65.1%. Also close behind was 1B Boubacar Mavinga at 62.5% for his eighth ballot and 1B Abebe Chekol with 62.1% for his seventh go. Also above 50% were SP Alemayehu Legesse at 54.8% for his eighth ballot and CL Abba Abdul at 50.2% on his sixth go.



Dropping after ten failed ballots was CL Markus Shahanga, who had a 13-year career with seven teams. He won two Reliever of the Year awards and two championships with Kinshasa, posting a 2.03 ERA and 220 saves over 705 innings, 1008 strikeouts, 233 walks, 199 ERA+, and 29.2 WAR. Shahanga had a nice run, but needed more longevity or crazy dominance to make the cut. He still got as high as 42.5% in 2011 before ending at 12.3%.



Gabriel Rakotomamonjy – Right Field – Cape Town Cowboys – 66.7% Second Ballot

Gabriel Rakotomamonjy was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed right fielder from Mahanoro, Madagascar; a town of about 38,000 people in the eastern coast. He was the first Malagasy inductee into AAB’s Hall of Fame. Rakotomamonjy was a solid contact hitter and was above average relative to other AAB batters in terms of drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He had a powerful bat in his prime, regularly hitting 30+ homers and topping 40+ in three seasons.

Rakotomamonjy also would get 32 doubles per his 162 game average. You couldn’t expect him to leg out extra bases though, as he was abysmally slow. Rakotomamonjy’s poor range also hurt him defensively despite having a good arm and decent glove work. He was a career right fielder and graded as reliably bad. Rakotomamonjy did also see some work as a designated hitter, accounting for about 1/6 of his starts. For most of his career, Rakotomamonjy’s durability was pretty good. However, he did earn a reputation for being a bit lazy and dumb.

The 1995 AAB Draft was the first rookie draft for the new league and Rakotomamonjy had emerged as Madagascar’s top prospect. That got noticed in the capital, with Antananarivo picking him 12^th overall. Rakotomamonjy didn’t play much initially with only 42 games and 3 starts in his first two seasons. He earned a starting job in 1998 and held it for five seasons with the Eagles.

In 1999, Rakotomamonjy had his strongest season, taking a Silver Slugger in RF and finishing second in MVP voting. He led the Southern Conference in hits (190), RBI (141), and batting average (.337). Those were all career highs, as was his 56 homers, 1.116 OPS, 190 wRC+, and 8.3 WAR. Rakotomamonjy fell only two home runs shy of earning a Triple Crown.

Rakotomamonjy was above 7+ WAR again in 2001 and 2002, leading both years in hits with second place MVP finishes in both. He had the most RBI and total bases in 2002, winning a Silver Slugger as a DH. Antananarivo made the playoffs for the first time in 2002 and dethroned Johannesburg, who had won four straight conference titles. The Eagles fell to Kinshasa’s dynasty in the Africa Series. Rakotomamonjy was unremarkable in his lone postseason with 10 hits, 4 runs, 2 doubles, and a .694 OPS in 10 starts.

His stock was high though with only one year left before being eligible for free agency. Antananarivo surprised many by trading Rakotomamonjy in the offseason to Cape Town for veteran 2B Nathan Friedman and prospect SS Timothy Sekgaya. With the Eagles, Rakotomamonjy had 841 hits, 474 runs, 161 doubles, 221 home runs, 565 RBI, a .307/.394/.612 slash, 171 wRC+, and 30.8 WAR.

He had more WAR with Antananarivo than with the Cowboys despite playing almost half as many games, but Rakotomamonjy would chose to be inducted in Cape Town colors, in part annoyed that his home country team shipped him out. The Cowboys wanted him long-term right away, giving Rakotomamonjy a four-year, $7,520,000 extension only a month into the 2003 season. His CT debut was his best year there with 5.6 WAR, 40 home runs, and 104 RBI.

However, Rakotomamonjy never was an award winner or league leader with Cape Town. Still, he was a reliably good starter for a struggling franchise that averaged 68.1 wins during his tenure. Apart from a near playoff miss at 90-72 in 2007, Cape Town didn’t post a winning season with Rakotomamonjy. They kept him around though with a five-year, $11,600,000 extension in May 2007.

In his later years, Rakotomamonjy had some injury issues, but also was reduced to a part-time role. He was a free agent after the 2012 season, but went unsigned in 2013 and retired that winter just after his 39^th birthday. In total for Cape Town, Rakotomamonjy had 1181 hits, 636 runs, 251 doubles, 273 home runs, 772 RBI, a .266/.353/.512 slash, 132 wRC+, and 26.0 WAR. For his tenure, the Cowboys made Rakotomamonjy’s #14 uniform the first one they retired.

Rakotomamonjy had 2022 hits, 1110 runs, 412 doubles, 494 home runs, 1337 RBI, 920 walks, a .282/.369/.550 slash, 147 wRC+, and 56.9 WAR. He was the fourth player to reach 2000 hits, the fifth to 1000 RBI, and the sixth to 1000 runs scored. Rakotomamonjy’s tallies would look less impressive though as AAB aged and as offensive numbers went up generally.

As of 2037, Rakotomamonjy ranks 38^th in hits, 47^th in runs, 60^th in doubles, 25^th in home runs, 23^rd in RBI, and 35^th in WAR among position players. His reputation was dented by being on some bad Cape Town teams with merely decent numbers for much of his career. Supporters pointed at his near Triple Crown MVP season and helping Antananarivo to their first-ever conference title as points in his favor.

Rakotomamonjy debuted in 2018 at 61.6%, missing the cut. 2019 was a wide open field with no standouts, which allowed him to get the slight boost needed to 66.7%. Rakotomamonjy crossed the 66% requirement narrowly and earned his spot as AAB’s lone Hall of Fame inductee in 2019.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 World Baseball Championship

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The 2019 World Baseball Championship was the 73^rd edition of the event and was hosted Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Division 1 was incredible tight with 6-3 England edging out 5-4 efforts by Australia, Chile, Ivory Coast, Serbia, and Sweden. This was the ninth division for the English and their first since winning the world title in 2013.

Italy and the United States tied atop Division 2, with Greece, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia each one back. The Italians had the head-to-head tiebreaker for their 17^th division title and their first since 2015. It was also a rare back-to-back miss for the Americans. It was the 16^th time in WBC history that the US didn’t make it at least to the elite eight.

France won Division 3 at 7-2, holding off 6-3 efforts by China, Iraq, and Spain. The French advanced for the 13^th time and for the second time in four years. Japan had a dominant 8-1 run in Division 4, moving forward for the 20^th time. This ended a six-year division title drought for the Japanese. Canada, fourth place last year, was their nearest foe at 6-3.

Argentina claimed Division 5 at 7-2, topping both India and Indonesia at 6-3. This was the 13^th division title for the Argentinians and their second in five years. Mexico snagged Division 6 at 8-1, while Bangladesh and Ecuador at 6-3 were the closest foes. The Mexicans advanced for the 31^st time and were the only team from the prior year to make it back to the elite eight. Mexico took third place in 2018.

Division 7 was very top heavy with both Nigeria and South Korea at 8-1, plus Peru at 7-2. The Nigerians won over SK head-to-head for their eighth division title and first since 2011. Last year’s runner-up Iran was 5-4. Lastly in D8, Uzbekistan was a surprise winner at 7-2, topping reigning world champ Poland and Russia at 6-3. It was the fifth division win for the Uzbeks, who last did it in 2010.

Italy dominated Round Robin Group A at 5-1, earning their ninth semifinal berth and first since taking runner-up in 2012. Uzbekistan at 3-3 also advanced, while France and Mexico both went 2-4. This sent the Uzbeks to their first-ever final four appearance.

Japan took top honors in Group B at 5-1 for their 11^th semifinal appearance, last making it when they were third in 2012. England and Argentina tied at 3-3 and Nigeria was 1-5. The English advanced on the tiebreaker for their fifth-ever semifinal berth. For Argentina, they’ve been to the elite eight 13 times, but have only gotten beyond that once.

England ousted Italy 3-1 in the semifinal, earning their third championship appearance (2011, 2013). Uzbekistan knocked off Japan 3-1 for their first-ever finals try. Uzbekistan became the 29^th different nation to advance to the championship and the tenth from Asia. The Japanese were officially third place while the Italians were fourth. Italy now has finished fourth six times, tied with the Philippines for the most.



In the 73^rd World Championship, England defeated Uzbekistan 4-1 to claim their second world title (2013). The English became the seventh to have won the world title twice, joining the United States, Canada, China, Mexico, Brazil, and Japan. Leading the way for England was Tournament MVP Warren Gascoyne, a journeyman shortstop with EBF’s Rotterdam. The 25-year old switch hitter in 24 starts had 28 hits, 15 runs, 2 doubles, 7 home runs, 16 RBI, and 1.1 WAR.



Winning Best Pitcher was France’s Yohan Soisson, an European Second League lefty signed for 2019 with Tallinn. He tossed 11.1 scoreless innings, allowing one run with 18 strikeouts and two walks.

Other notes: WBC’s 11^th Perfect Game came from Norway’s Mathias Aalberg, striking out 13 against Ireland. Also notably, Pakistan’s Raghid Yazdani had a 20 strikeout no-hitter, walking three against Hungary. Japan’s Heihachiro Okasawa had a 21 strikeout game versus Canada.

Bolivia’s Antonio Arceo had a four home run game against Hungary, becoming the 12^th player to do it in the WBC. Arceo notably is the only one who had only solo homers. Between 2018 and 2019, Nicaragua’s Miguel Gonzalez had a 25-game hitting streak. This was the second-longest streak in WBC history. Below are the latest all-time tournament stats.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 in A2L

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2019 was the second year of the African Second League. After taking second in the Southern Conference in the inaugural season, Mauritius took first at 89-73. They switched spots with Maseru, who was one back in second at 88-74. It was a competitive field with Gaborone (85-77), Windhoek (83-79), and Bulawayo (82-80) all right in the mix.



Defending A2L champ Bangui repeated as Central Conference champs, dominating at 101-61. They were 14 games better than second place Bukavu and 15 ahead of both Djibouti and Mwanza.



Mauritius denied Bangui’s repeat bid, winning the second African Second League Championship 5-4. Both teams hoped this early success would carry on and allow them to be promoted once the promotion/relegation with the African Association of Baseball officially began in 2022.



Other notes: Asmara’s Kent Neal had the first A2L no-hitter against Mombasa on July 27. With the incredibly inflated offense and low strikeouts of A2L, no-hitters and shutouts would be incredibly rare.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 in E2L

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In their third season in the European Second League, Glasgow finished atop the Western Conference standings at 100-62, getting back-to-back playoff berths. The Highlanders set conference records in hits (1430) and batting average (.256) while scoring the second-most runs at 742. It was an eight game drop to second place Toulouse at 92-70, giving the Toads their third straight playoff berth. For the final two playoff spots, there were seven teams within six games of each other.

Advancing at 88-74 were Gothenburg and Nantes. Reykjavik (86-76), Lyon (84-78), Turin (84-78), London (82-80), and Marseille (82-80) were in the mix but fell short. The Gales got their second playoff berth in four years, while it was the second in five years for the Trappers.

In the Round Robin, top seed Glasgow and Gothenburg both finished 4-2 to advance to the Western Conference Championship. Toulouse at 3-3 and Nantes at 1-5 were ousted. In an intense seven-game battle, the Highlanders edged the Gales to guarantee promotion for Glasgow.



Cluj-Napoca clobbered the Eastern Conference field at 116-46, which broke the record for most wins by an E2L team by one game (Kharkiv 2017). The Paladins set single-season E2L records for team ERA (2.03), fewest runs (378), earned runs (333), and WHIP (0.928) each of which hold as of 2037. Their 1018 hits allowed, 354 walks, and 2.16 BB/9 are each top three seasons in conference history as of 2037. It was C-N’s third playoff berth in four years.

Quietly finishing a strong second place was Helsinki at 102-60 for their second playoff berth in three years. Also advancing was 93-69 Odesa and 91-71 Bratislava. Athens finished at 88-74 in their E2L debut, just missing the cut. The Drifters got their first playoff appearance since 2011, while it was the first for the Blue Falcons since getting relegated for 2013. Lodz, who had been a playoff team the prior three years, was a distant sixth at 83-79.

The Round Robin had a three-way tie at 4-2 between Bratislava, Odesa, and Cluj-Napoca; while Helsinki was 0-6. The tiebreaker sent the Paladins and Blue Falcons to the Eastern Conference Championship. The top seed Cluj-Napoca took it 4-1 over Bratislava to guarantee promotion. The Paladins had been promoted once before in 2007, but only lasted one season in the European Baseball Federation’s Elite tier.



Cluj-Napoca capped off the winningest season in E2L history by defeating Glasgow 4-1 in the Second League Championship. There would be an extra promotion spot available with two 100+ loss teams in the EBF Southern Conference. As the semifinalist with the better record, Bratislava earned the spot over Gothenburg. The Blue Falcons made it back to the top tier after seven seasons in E2L.



Other notes: Three perfect games were thrown in 2019, making 13 in E2L history. The first was March 29 by Turin’s Montae Zaragoza with five strikeouts against Gothenburg. On April 15, Sarajevo’s Caspar de Boer had 8 Ks over Odessa. Then on June 1, Helsinki’s Sebastian Kjaersgaard did it with 15 strikeouts versus Vienna. There wouldn’t be another perfect game in the Second League until 2032. Nottingham’s Leonid Bostan had a 28-game hit streak, the longest in E2L history to that point.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 in AAB

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Johannesburg took first again in the Southern Conference standings at 104-58, giving the reigning SC champ their fifth first place finish in six years. The Jackalopes had 522 earned runs allowed and a 1.084 team WHIP, which both were the third-best in conference history. They also led all teams offensively with 785 runs.

Luanda earned their third straight wild card at 95-67, fending off a 93-69 Dar es Salaam. The Landsharks had a 3.15 team ERA and 505 earned runs allowed which remain conference records as of 2037. They also allowed the second-fewest hits (1131) and third-fewest runs (522) in SC history. Maputo was a distant fourth at 86-76, but notably broke their own conference record with 553 stolen bases. That remains the high mark as of 2037.

Lilongwe was fifth at 84-78, but they had the Southern Conference MVP Lubomir Javorsky. The 28-year old Slovak DH ended up traded as a prospect to Africa after starting his developmental career in Europe. In his fifth season as a full-timer for the Lightning, Javorsky led in home runs (58), RBI (134), and total bases (386). He added a 1.022 OPS, 181 wRC+, and 6.5 WAR.

Johannesburg’s Vally Nzamba earned Pitcher of the Year in his fifth season as a starter. The 28-year old Angolan righty led in wins (25-5), ERA (2.05), innings (263.1), quality starts (27), complete games (15), shutouts (6), FIP- (56), and WAR (10.1). Nzamba also had 302 strikeouts and a 191 ERA+ and was only the fourth in AAB history with 25+ wins. He also fell just short of the AAB WAR record by a pitcher set by Mobutu Kandol (10.17) in 2001. As of 2037, Nzamba’s ERA ranks seventh among qualifying starters.

Also of note, Luanda’s Abiy Mutukum repeated as Reliever of the Year and became the fourth AAB closer to win the award four times. He came to the Landsharks in a 2017 deadline trade from Lilongwe. In 2019, Mutukum led in saves (40) and had a 1.73 ERA, 83 innings, 157 strikeouts, and 5.4 WAR.



The Central Conference was very top heavy with last year’s wild card Brazzaville grabbing first place at 107-55. Although it was their fourth playoff berth in five years and they’ve won two Africa Series titles, this was the first time that the Blowfish took first in the standings. Bujumbura was a close second at 104-58, earning their second wild card in three years. This also tied the Bighorns franchise record for wins set in 1997.

Kampala was the reigning Africa Series champion having won 111 games in 2018. The Peacocks were still strong in 2019, but their drop to 96-66 left them in third place. Lubumbashi (91-71) and Mogadishu (88-74) were the other squads above .500. The Loggerheads had an impressive turnaround from a 67-win campaign the prior year, getting their first winning season in a decade.

Bujumbura 3B Warren Biloa repeated as Central Conference MVP. The 27-year old Central African led in runs (126), homers (56), RBI (146), total bases (406), slugging (.710), OPS (1.132), wRC+ (190), and WAR (10.4). His .348 batting average fell only five points shy of earning a repeat Triple Crown. This season would have career highs for Biloa in all of the stats noted above except for wRC+.

Pitcher of the Year was Brazzaville righty Teo Tokala. The 27-year old Congolese righty led in wins (21-9), and quality starts (22). Tokala saw a 2.79 ERA over 248 innings, 222 strikeouts, 146 ERA+, and 6.3 WAR. The Blowfish would sign him to a five-year, $36,320,000 extension the following spring.

In the Southern Conference Championship rematch, Luanda upset Johannesburg 4-2 to give the Landsharks their second-ever pennant (2009). The Jackalopes were now 8-4 all-time in the conference final, second only to Kinshasa (13) for appearances. Top seed Brazzaville won their third Central Conference pennant in five years, defeating Bujumbura 4-2.



In the 25^th Africa Series, Lunada surprised many by defeating the Blowfish 5-2. The Landsharks earned their first AAB title, becoming the 13^th of AAB’s original 20 franchises to win it all. Veteran CF Ronny Safari was Africa Series MVP in his 20^th pro season and only run with Luanda. The 39-year old Kinshasa native only started 38 games in the regular season. In the playoffs, Safari had 10 games and 6 starts with 9 hits, 6 runs, 2 homers, and 5 RBI.



Other notes: Mwarami Tale became AAB’s all-time home run king, as the 38-year old Tanzanian passed Felix Chaula’s 925 and finished the year at 933. He became the tenth in all of pro baseball history to join the 900 homer club. Tale also finished the season with 1898 runs, passing Chaula’s 1874 for the top mark. He also was AAB’s all-time leader in RBI, WAR, and total bases; marks Tale still holds as of 2037.

Playing for Johannesburg in 2019, Tale won his 14^th Silver Slugger in center field, tying Chaula for the most by any AAB player. This also tied him with MLB’s Morgan Short for the most Silver Sluggers in center field by any player in world history. Catcher Steven Isaac won his tenth Silver Slugger, growing his AAB position record. RF Rusty Tchite won his eighth Gold Glove and CF Q.F. Aziz won his seventh.

Less than a decade removed from a historic dynasty, Addis Ababa posted AAB’s worst-ever record in 2019 at 48-114. Only one team would eventually fare worse with the Brahmas lucky that relegation wasn’t in effect yet. AA’s 495 runs scored remains the AAB all-time worst as of 2037. Their .284 OBP is the second worst in conference history and their .346 slugging ranks third worst. Brahmas pitcher Kodion Ahmat recorded 23 losses, tying the AAB record.

For the 2010s, the African Association of Baseball’s league average ERA was around 4.06, the second highest of any of the world leagues. Despite this, the league batting average was around .244, which was slightly below average relatively. AAB’s high walk rate and home run numbers helped make it a higher scoring league. These numbers were in line with the prior decades, as AAB had remained remarkably consistent. Like many leagues though, AAB would see a noticeable spike and reach very high offense numbers in the 2020s.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 in ALB

Although the Arab League already had above average offensive numbers relative to other world leagues, officials wanted to see offense spike even further. This would be the worldwide trend in the coming decades with higher offense between rule adjustments and with increasing temperatures worldwide. Rule changes were introduced to increase scoring starting in 2019. The league’s ERA went from around 3.77 in 2018 to around 4.29 in 2019, while the batting average grew from around .250 to .269. By the 2020s, ALB’s offensive output would be very high relative to historical averages.

For the 2010s, ALB had a league ERA around 3.90 and batting average around .252, which were both generally above average. This was essentially the same as the 2000s. Notably despite no rules differences between conferences, the Eastern Conference had a higher ERA for the decade (3.99) compared to the Western Conference (3.83).



The Western Conference’s top seed again went to Cairo, winning their third straight Nile Division. The Pharaohs were 111-51, setting a franchise record and matching the second-most wins in conference history. Cairo led all teams with 908 runs. Giza had a good season at 92-70, but was a distant second. The Goats have six straight winning seasons, but only one playoff berth.

Defending conference champ Tripoli also set a franchise record, repeating in the Mediterranean Division at 107-55. Casablanca was the distant second there at 89-73. Damascus secured a sixth straight Levant Division at 98-64, which is the longest playoff streak in conference history. Jerusalem was the closest of the second place teams, but still far away 12 back at 86-76. The Dusters had the fewest runs allowed in the conference at 616.

Western Conference MVP went to Cairo RF Abdul Jaleel Aboud in only his second season as a starter. The 26-year old Iraqi lefty led in total bases (440), OBP (.412), slugging (.739), OPS (1.152), wRC+ (193), and WAR (8.5). Aboud added 58 home runs, 142 RBI, 119 runs, and a .360 average. The Pharaohs gave Aboud an eight-year, $28,660,000 prior to the season.

Damascus had the Pitcher of the Year in Tunisian righty Ahmed Essa. In his third season, the 24-year old led in wins (21-6), innings (255.1), strikeouts (367), and WAR (8.1). Essa had a 2.93 ERA and 145 ERA+. Unfortunately for the Dusters, a late season strained abdominal muscle kept him out of the playoffs. Damascus would lock Essa up the following spring at six years and $45,400,000.

Tripoli swept Damascus 2-0 in the first round to set up a rematch in the Western Conference Final. Despite again being the top seed, Cairo was swept 3-0 by the Privateers, giving Tripoli the repeat and its fourth pennant overall (1991, 2012, 2018, 2019). The Pharaohs have been the runner-up three straight years and have lost their last five WCF appearances.



The Eastern Conference’s Saudi Division was absurdly stacked with the top three records, however only one could advance with the no wild card setup of the ALB playoffs. Reigning Arab League and Baseball Grand Champion Jeddah finished 104-58 to extend their playoff streak to nine seasons, one shy of Basra’s record. The Jackals had to fight off 100-62 Riyadh and 91-71 Mecca. Jeddah guaranteed its fifth Eastern Conference Final appearance in seven years.

At 100 wins, the Rats set the ALB record for most wins by a team to miss the playoffs. The previous high was 99-63, which Riyadh themselves hit in 2007. Their playoff drought grew to 17 seasons, the longest active one in the conference. The Rats offense notably hit 414 doubles, which remains the ALB team record as of 2037. They had the most runs in the EC (905), but Jeddah prevailed with the fewest runs allowed at 572.

Basra was the next best division winner at 88-74 atop the Mesopotamia Division, beating out Mosul by six games. In the Gulf Division, Doha (86-76) edged Muscat (85-77) by one game. Both the Bulldogs and Dash repeated as division winners. The Threshers became the first of the 2015 expansion teams to post a winning season.

Mecca DH Omar Abdel Rahman repeated as Eastern Conference MVP. The new offensive rules served him well as he posted ALB’s sixth 70+ home run season and the ninth 150+ home run season. The only player to achieve both in the same year was Nordine Soule in 2005. The 24-year old Egyptian led in runs (138), homers (71), RBI (157), total bases (474), slugging (.775), OPS (1.115), wRC+ (199), and WAR (9.5).

Jeddah’s Herdi Wahib won his third Pitcher of the Year, having previously taken it in 2011 and 2014. The 32-year old Palestinian lefty led in wins (21-4), strikeouts (312), quality starts (24), FIP- (62), and WAR (8.3). Wahib tossed 236.1 innings and was second in ERA at 2.70, posting a 160 ERA+. He seemed to be on pace to set some all-time pitching records in ALB, but Wahib would suffer a torn UCL the next fall. He would come back in 2022 and still look strong, but that season, and his career, was ended by a torn rotator cuff.

Also worth a note, Nasser Al-Jarrah won his third Reliever of the Year. It was his first with Basra, as he was traded there in the winter after seven seasons with Giza. Al-Jarrah had a career best 5.1 WAR with 154 strikeouts and 38 saves over 91.1 innings with a 1.28 ERA. He would bounce around between MLB and ALB and play for eight different teams in the next nine seasons.

Basra swept Doha in the first round for their first Eastern Conference Final appearance since 2012. The Bulldogs were the heavy underdog and gave Jeddah a tough fight. However, the Jackals survived 3-2 to repeat and win their fourth pennant in seven years (2013, 14, 18, 19). The series had a dramatic end with the Jackals scoring a tenth inning walkoff to win game five by a 2-1 final.



The 30^th Arab League Championship was only the second-ever rematch, joining the Casablanca versus Medina trilogy from 1992-94. The 2019 ALB final between Tripoli and Jeddah had an even more dramatic end than the ECF. Not only did the series need all seven games, but the finale was a marathon 17 innings. It was the first-ever extra innings game seven in ALB history and set a world record for the longest-ever championship clincher. The previous high was 15 innings, which happened in the CABA Championship in both 1930 and 1966.

Tripoli survived the war of attrition 4-3 over the reigning Grand Champion Jeddah to deny the Jackals repeat and claim their second-ever title (1991). Rookie 3B Malik Zoaauoi only played 92 games and started 47 in the regular season, but he was the playoff hero. The 22-year old Tunisian won ALB Championship and conference finals MVP with 20 hits, 15 runs, 4 doubles, 6 home runs, and 14 RBI over 12 playoff games. He tied the ALB playoff record for runs scored. Notably his teammate Samir Ben Brahim also set a playoff record with 11 doubles.



Other notes: 2019 was the final season for Farouk Adam, who retired at 3266 hits, only behind his longtime Basra teammate Nordine Soule’s 3339. Adam was ALB’s stolen bases king at retirement at 1386, although two would pass him in later years. He also retired second to Soule with 1817 runs scored and third in doubles at 689. Adam was the tenth to reach 1500 career RBI in 2019. As of 2037, Adam is third in hits, fifth in runs, and ninth in doubles in ALB. He also ranks 30^th in all of pro baseball history in steals.

Cairo’s Ismail Yusuf had a 19-1 record, setting the ALB single-season mark for win percentage (.950). Jeddah’s Zach Aubin had a 30-game hitting streak, four short of the then-ALB record. Both Yahya bin Hakam and Ali Jassem reached 600 career home runs, making that an eight-player club. Jassem also won his eighth Silver Slugger and seventh at first base. LF Adnan Al-Hija won his seventh Gold Glove.

Hazen El-Morsy became the fifth pitcher to 200 wins. Herdi Wahib was the 13^th pitcher to reach 3000 strikeouts. Nour Al-Haj became the first reliever to 400 saves. He pitched three more years and retired ALB’s leader with 465, holding the top mark for about a decade. As of 2037, he ranks 25^th in world history.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 in ABF

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Dushanbe had the ABF East League’s top record at 96-66, repeating as North Division champ. The Dynamo also grew their playoff streak to seven seasons and led the EL with 671 runs. Two-time defending EL champ was a close second at 93-69, snagging the first wild card. The Alphas grew their playoff streak to four seasons.

Faisalabad took the South Division at 90-72 to end a three-year playoff drought. Multan was a close second at 88-74 to get the second wild card, ending a 13-year playoff skid. Falling short in the wild card race were 86-76 Bishkek, 84-74 Kabul, and 83-79 Rawalpindi. The Black Sox fell despite setting an ABF pitching team record with 2002 strikeouts and an 11.97 K/9, marks that still hold as of 2037. Bishkek allowed the fewest runs at 462, but still only had a +43 differential.

East League MVP went to Multan SS Nawaz Kurnaz in his fourth season. The 24-year old Pakistani righty led in hits (185) and WAR (10.9). Kurnaz added 88 runs, 18 home runs, a .308/.363/.468 slash, and 168 wRC+. The #1 overall draft pick in 2013, Kurnaz singed an eight-year, $63,120,000 extension with the Mighty Cocks in the winter.

Bishkek’s Sijad Khaleel won his second Pitcher of the Year, having previously taken it in 2015. The 29-year old Afghan led in ERA (1.96), strikeouts (354), WHIP (0.77), K/BB (11.4), quality starts (27), FIP- (48), and WAR (10.0). He pitched 248 innings with poor run support for a 14-11 record despite a 155 ERA+. Khaleel won his fourth ERA title and received a fat seven-year, $85,900,000 extension in the offseason.

Both division winners won in the first round of the playoffs, but needed all five games to survive with Dushanbe over Multan and Faisalabad over the defending champ Asgabat. The Dynamo earned their fifth East League Championship Series appearance in seven years, while the Fire got their first since their 2014 pennant. In a seven game classic, Dushanbe defeated Faisalabad for their fifth ABF pennant (2001, 2004, 2015, 2016, 2019). It is the eighth overall for the Dynamo counting their three from Eurasian Professional Baseball.



Tabriz again had the West League’s top seed and beat their own franchise best from the prior year, finishing 107-55 in 2019 atop the Central Division. The Tiger Sharks earned their fourth consecutive playoff berth, leading in both runs (697) and fewest allowed (488). Izmir earned the Turkish Division narrowly at 91-71. Although the Ice Caps got repeat playoff berths, they hadn’t been a division champ since 1993. Istanbul was two back in the division race at 89-73.

Tehran earned the first wild card at 91-71, while the Ironmen got the second spot and Isfahan at 88-74 fell one game short. The Tarpons grew their playoff streak to nine seasons, tying Bursa (1997-05) and the Imperials (1995-03) for the longest streak in Asian Baseball Federation history. The defending ABF champ Ankara was a non-factor, struggling to 72-90.

Izmir 3B Hakan Mocuk won West League MVP. The 25-year old Turkish righty had 51 home runs, 121 RBI, a .292/.332/.639 slash, 185 wRC+, and 8.5 WAR. The Ice Caps signed Mocuk to an eight-year, $65,640,000 extension during the summer. He beat out Baku DH Fakhri Rajavi for the top spot despite the latter’s league-best 59 home runs and 132 RBI.

Tabriz’s Hafez Farzani won Pitcher of the Year with only the second-ever Triple Crown pitching season in ABF history, joining Ziad Khan’s 1986 effort. The 25-year old Iranian righty had a 20-4 record, 1.72 ERA, and 412 strikeouts over 246.1 innings. He posted the seventh-highest strikeout total in ABF history to that point. Farzani also led in WHIP (0.73), K/BB (10.8), quality starts (25), and WAR (9.4) while posting a 195 ERA+ and 54 FIP-. The Tiger Sharks secured their ace for the long haul right after the season with a seven-year, $46,180,000 extension.

Division champs won in the first round in the WL as well with Tabriz sweeping Istanbul and Izmir surviving 3-2 against Tehran. The Tiger Sharks earned repeat West League Championship Series berths, while the Ice Caps hadn’t been there since 1993. Tabriz defeated Izmir 4-2 to win their first pennant. The Tiger Sharks had been the only of ABF’s original 18 franchises still without one entering the year. This left the expansion Kabul and Gaziantep squads, along with EPB defector Almaty, as the teams without a pennant in ABF.



In the 35^th Asian Baseball Federation Championship, Tabriz dropped Dushanbe 4-2 to become the 20^th franchise to win it all in ABF. 2016 league MVP Shadi Alam was finals MVP in his 12^th season for the Tiger Sharks. In 15 playoff starts, Alam had 17 hits, 7 runs, 4 doubles, 3 homers, and 7 RBI.

Tabriz also had a record setting effort by closer Ananthakrishnan Khan, who tossed 16.1 scoreless innings in nine appearances with 25 strikeouts, 3 walks, and 3 hits allowed. Khan set ABF playoff records for H/9 (1.65), opponent’s average (.059) and opponent’s slugging (.078) among pitchers with 15 innings. The 37-year old was in his first year with the Tiger Sharks, returning the prior season to ABF after a nine-year MLB stint. Khan had won five Reliever of the Year awards in his first ABF run between Peshawar and Istanbul.



Other notes: Ali Sungu became the third to reach 600 career home runs. He finished the season with 632, one away from passing Radi Umar as ABF’s home run king. Hossein Hatami became the 10^th pitcher to 3500 career strikeouts. Kabul set an EL team record with 78 triples. Multan’s Yaman Muhammad stole 118 bases, falling three short of the ABF record 121 set by Abdul Rahman Karwan in 1993.

3B Eser Haspolatli won his 11^th straight Gold Glove, joining fellow 3B Shaheed Abbas as the only 11-time winners at any position in ABF. CF Marat Gadmaliyev won his eighth Gold Glove and RF Hana Zuhair won his seventh. 2B Mehrdad Javadi won his ninth Silver Slugger, a position record. DH Fakhri Rajavi won his seventh Slugger.

For the 2010s, the West League (with a DH) saw a league ERA around 3.32 and batting average around .235. The East League (sans DH) had an ERA around 3.17 and average around .227. On the greater historical scale, this graded as a low offense environment, although not as low as the likes of CLB or APB. ABF stayed in roughly the same range as the prior decade. Like many other leagues, ABF would have a bump in offense in the 2020s with the leagues separating more notably offensively.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 in SAB

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Nagpur was the only team in the Indian League in 2019 with 90+ wins, winning the South Division at 96-66. The 2004 expansion Patriots earned repeat playoff berths and their first-ever division title, leading the league in both runs scored (729) and fewest allowed (563). Hyderabad, the ILCS runner-up in back-to-back years, was a distant second at 85-77. That ended a three-year division title streak for the Hippos.

Fellow 2004 expansion squad Lucknow earned their first-ever playoff berth by winning the Central Division at 89-73. Reigning South Asia Baseball champ and two-time defending IL champ Kanpur was next at 84-78, which ended their four-year playoff streak. Delhi was also in the division mix at 83-79, an impressive bounce-back from an abysmal 54-win 2018.

Ahmedabad won a tight West Division at 89-73, finishing only one game ahead of both Pune and Mumbai. The Purple Knights defeated the Meteors in a one-game playoff to snag the wild card spot. The Animals ended a five-year playoff drought, while Pune snapped an eight-year skid. For the Meteors, their playoff streak ended at five years. However, Mumbai did still post a 19^th consecutive winning season.

Repeating as Indian League MVP was Ahmedabad first baseman Abhiji Srivas. The 24-year old Indian lefty led in home runs (54), total bases (414), slugging (.753), OPS (1.173), wRC+ (229), and WAR (10.7). Srivas added 105 runs, 121 RBI, 60 stolen bases, and a .358 batting average. In the spring, Srivas had a 35-game hitting streak, breaking the previous SAB record of 31 games. Srivas’ mark held until passed in 2031.

Pitcher of the Year was also a repeat with Lucknow righty Charan Asoka. The 30-year old again won the ERA title, this time at 2.44. He also led in WHIP (0.80), K/BB (11.0), and FIP- (52). Asoka had a 12-11 record, 276 strikeouts, 195.2 innings, 154 ERA+, and 7.2 WAR. This was Asoka’s final year with the Larks, as he’d leave for Da Nang in free agency on a five-year, $52,000,000 deal.

Pune upset top seed Nagpur 3-2 in the first round of the playoffs, while Lucknow ousted Ahmedabad 3-1. The Purple Knights hadn’t been in the Indian League Championship Series since 2010, while it was the first-ever berth for the expansion Larks. Pune prevailed 4-2 over Lucknow to earn their fourth pennant, but first since the 1980s (1981, 83, 84).



Yangon officially established the longest playoff streak in professional baseball history at 25 years, passing EPB’s Minsk. The Green Dragons had the Southeast Asia League’s best record at 104-58 and won South Division for the third consecutive year. It was Yangon’s eighth division title in nine years and their eighth 100+ win season in that same stretch.

Both wild cards also came out of the South Division with Colombo (91-71) and Vientiane (90-72). The Catfish earned repeat wild cards and the Vampires extended their playoff streak to four seasons. Vientiane also got a seventh playoff appearance in eight years. Phnom Penh in the division was also in the hunt, but fell short at 84-78.

In a tight North Division, defending SEAL champ Mandalay narrowly repeated at 88-74. The Mammoths grew their playoff streak to three seasons, fending off Dhaka (86-76), Hai Phong (84-78), and Khulna (84-78). The Dobermans were four away from the second wild card. The Claws posted their first winning season since joining in the 2004 expansion. Also of note was Hanoi falling to 77-85, the first losing record by the Hounds since 2002.

Hai Phong LF Rahul Anand repeated as Southeast Asia League MVP. The 24-year old Indian lefty led in home runs (48), RBI (128), slugging (.682), OPS (1.081), wRC+ (194), and WAR (9.2). Anand added 109 runs and a .335 average. In late July, the Prowlers gave Anand an eight-year, $95,800,000 extension. He would have three more good years, but regressed sharply in 2023 after suffering a fractured hand.

Mandalay’s Quang Thinh Phan won Pitcher of the Year in his fifth year as a full-time starter. It was the breakout year for the 27-year old Vietnamese righty, leading in strikeouts (308), WHIP (0.95), and quality starts (23). Phan posted a 2.57 ERA over 227.1 innings, 13-9 record, 149 ERA+, and 6.2 WAR. The Mammoths signed him to a three-year extension in the offseason, but ultimately traded Phan in June 2021 to Kolkata.

Vientiane shocked Yangon with a 3-2 first round upset, while Mandalay swept Colombo to set up a rematch in the Southeast Asia League Championship. The Vampires got their revenge in a seven-game classic to claim their first-ever pennant. Vientiane had gone 0-4 in their previous LCS tries.



In the 40^th South Asia Baseball Championship, Pune defeated Vientiane 4-2 to become three-time champs, having previously won in 1983 and 1984. Finals MVP went to 1B Jyotin Nayyar in his seventh year with the Purple Knights. In 17 playoff starts, Nayyar had 23 hits, 16 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 8 home runs, and 20 RBI. He was one run shy of the SAB playoff record.



Other notes: SAB home run king Majed Darwish became the second in pro baseball history to reach 1000 homers. The 36-year old Bahraini DH finished the year with 1011, 62 away from the world record 1073 set by ALB’s Nordine Soule. The Hanoi slugger lost six weeks to a strained groin and hit only 37 home runs in 2019, which ended a 14-year streak of 50+ homer seasons. It was also his first time since 2004 missing 100+ RBI. Darwish did also become SAB’s fourth member of the 3000 hit club.

Kolkata’s Asim Anuha became the seventh member of the 700 home run club. Lwin Swe Ko became the 13^th to 600 homers and the 18^th to 1500 RBI. Three batters crossed 2500 hits, making 21 to do so thus far in SAB. Tamim Hasan was the 11^th pitcher to 3500 strikeouts and Baladhya Jain was the 12^th closer to 300 saves. 3B Yasir Malkawi won his ninth Silver Slugger and 2B Nyi Moe Win won his seventh. C Anjana Ratnasbapathi and RF Bobby Pacubas both became seven-time Gold Glove winners.

Three SAB playoff records were set in 2019 that still hold in 2037. Vientiane RF Wai Chi Dway had six triples. Yangon’s Veasna Sok had a .636 batting average (minimum 20 plate appearances required), and Lucknow’s Charan Asoka didn’t allow a single walk (minimum 15 innings required).

For the 2010s, the Indian League’s ERA was around 3.61 with a .248 batting average, both of which grading around average on the historical scale. With the DH, the Southeast Asia League’s ERA was 3.88 and batting average was .255, giving them above average offensive stats. SAB was generally in the middle compared to other world leagues in the 2010s. The IL’s scoring was up from the prior decade, while SEAL’s was about the same. Like many other world leagues, the 2020s would see a boost in offense.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 in WAB

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It was an intense battle for the WAB Western League’s top spot between Bamako and Abidjan. The Bullfrogs narrowly took it at 109-53, matching their franchise record from two years prior. The Athletes were one back at 108-54 to earn repeat 100+ win seasons. Bamako’s playoff streak grew to five seasons. The Bullfrogs had the most runs (949) and second fewest allowed (635), while Abidjan was the inverse at 931 scored and 619 allowed. The Athletes also set a new WL team record with 395 doubles.

There was a 17-game drop from second place to third place, but the other two playoff spots went decisively to 91-71 Conakry and 87-75 Nouakchott. The Coyotes grabbed repeat wild cards and the Night Riders got their second in three years. Reigning WL champ Banjul dropped to a tie for fifth at 80-82 with Kumasi. Dakar also notably struggled to 68-94, their first losing season since 2008.

Conakry LF Ibrahim Sani repeated as Western League MVP and won the award for the third time, having also grabbed it with Cape Verde in 2014. In his third year with the Coyotes, the 31-year old Nigerien lefty led in home runs (56) and slugging (.710). Sani added 125 runs, 136 RBI, a 1.108 OPS, 178 wRC+, and 8.3 WAR. He also earned his seventh Silver Slugger.

Bamako lefty Minusu Ekong won Pitcher of the Year. The 28-year old Nigerian lefty joined the Bullfrogs the prior year in a trade with Nouakchott. In 2019, Ekong led with 23 quality starts and posted a 21-3 record, 2.47 ERA, 301 strikeouts, 6.2 WAR, and 182 ERA+ over 237 innings. Ekong entered free agency in the winter and signed a six-year, $72,400,000 deal with Conakry.

Conakry topped Nouakchott 2-0 in the first round, then shocked Abidjan 2-1 in the second round. The Coyotes hadn’t been to the Western League Championship Series since 2005. They couldn’t keep the magic going as top seed Bamako rolled to a 3-0 sweep. The Bullfrogs won their third pennant in five years and their seventh overall (1976, 1983, 1986, 2003, 2015, 2017, 2019).



Kano claimed the Eastern League’s top spot at 106-56, growing their playoff streak to four seasons. The Condors had the fewest runs allowed in the EL at 650 and surrendered 240 walks, the second-fewest in EL history. Reigning West African Champion Yaounde was second at 98-66 with an explosive 999 runs scored. To that point, WAB’s runs record was 1012 by Cotonou in 2014.

The other playoff spots went to Ouagadougou at 91-71 and Niamey at 88-74. The Osprey got repeat wild cards and the Atomics had their second in three years. Missing the cut were 85-77 Libreville and 83-79 Cotonou. That ended a nine-year playoff streak by the Copperheads, although their run of winning seasons grew to 11. Lome was terrible at 65-97, but they were fast. The Lasers stole 441 bases as a team, setting an Eastern League record that still stands in 2037.

Yaounde DH Fares Belaid repeated as Eastern League MVP and joined the legendary Darwin Morris as WAB’s only players with 5+ MVP wins. Belaid had won in 2012, 2014, and 2016 with Cotonou. In his second season for the Yellowbirds, the 30-year old Tunisian led in runs (134), hits (248), and WAR (7.5). Belaid added 39 doubles, 20 triples, 16 homers, 92 stolen bases, a .981 OPS, .379 average, and 150 wRC+. He led in hits for the eighth time, although was down from his prior record-breaking seasons. Belaid did become the 13^th member of the 2500 hit club and posted a career-best 34-game hit streak.

Niamey lefty Sabado Balde won Pitcher of the Year with an ERA title at 2.93. The Bissau-Guinean also was the WARlord at 7.6. Balde posted a 17-7 record over 230.1 innings with 282 strikeouts and a 163 ERA+. The prior winter, the Atomics signed him to a five-year, $29,600,000 extension.

In the first round of the playoffs, Niamey outlasted Ouagadougou 2-1. The Atomics gave Yaounde a fight, but lost 2-1 in the second round. This set up a rematch in the Eastern League Championship Series with the defending champ Yellowbirds and Kano. The Condors were making their fourth consecutive ELCS appearance. Kano got revenge for their 2018 defeat with the top seed cruising to a 3-0 sweep. The Condors grabbed their second pennant in three years and their WAB-record 15^th overall.



The 45^th West African Championship continued the finals rivalry between Kano and Bamako. The Bullfrogs had been denied their first-ever title multiple times by the Condors, most recently two years prior. Kano also defeated Bamako in the 2003, 1986, and 1976 finales. The 2019 encounter was a seven game classic for the first time between the two, but the end result was ultimately the same with Kano coming out on top.

The win made the Condors 12-time WAB champs (1975, 76, 86, 97, 98, 99, 2001, 02, 03, 05, 17, 19). That matched South Asia Baseball’s Ahmedabad for the second-most titles in any world league and was only behind Minsk’s 13 Eurasian Professional Baseball titles.



Leading the way for Kano was 40-year old LF Diego Carmona, who was finals and ELCS MVP. The Mexican righty had seen quite the eclectic career, beginning with an 11-year run and MVP with Chihuahua of the Mexican League. He spent the next five years in MLB for Indianapolis before coming to WAB with Nouakchott for 2017-18. Carmona joined the Condors for 2019 and in 10 playoff starts had 14 hits, 9 runs, 2 doubles, 6 home runs, and 10 RBI.

Bamako again couldn’t win the big one, falling to 0-7 in their championship appearances. Only one team in world history to that point had lost that many finals without winning at least once, as Major League Baseball’s Indianapolis Racers were 0-9 in the World Series.

Other notes: Lawrence Nassif and Lamin Sowe became the third and fourth to reach 1500 career runs scored. Christopher Larbi was the 17^th pitcher to 3000 strikeouts. LF Julius Ayuba joined RF Jacob Jamil as the only 12-time Gold Glove winners in WAB history. 3B Seidath Boni won his eighth Gold Glove. Bright Abubakar won his 10^th Silver Slugger. It was his eighth at 2B with two others as a DH.

In the 2010s, West Africa Baseball had the highest scoring environment in world baseball history to that point. WAB had a big jump from the prior two decades with a league ERA around 4.46 and batting average around .272. The Western League specifically had a bonkers .285 batting average in 2013, which is the highest season in any subleague ever as of 2037. WAB remained the highest scoring league in baseball and even saw the already very high numbers go up a bit the next decade.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 in CLB

Chinese League Baseball increased the service time required to reach free agency from eight years to nine years. This made CLB among the most restrictive of the world leagues. CLB hadn’t adjusted this rule prior to 2019 and remained at nine years through the 2037 season.



Shijiazhuang took the top spot in the Northern League at 97-65 for back-to-back playoff berths and their third in four years. This was the first time the Serpents had finished first place since joining in the 2009 expansion. Shenyang, the NL runner-up in the last two seasons, was a close second at 94-68. There were then five teams within three games of third place fighting for the final two playoff spots.

Advancing was Changchun (89-73) and Harbin (88-74), while falling short was defending China Series winner Nanjing (87-75), Shanghai (86-76), and Xi’an (86-76). The 2016-17 champ Camels bounced back after their surprisingly awful 68-94 in 2018. The Hellcats earned repeat wild cards. The Attack scored the most runs in the NL at 583, while Harbin allowed the fewest at 438.

Nanjing’s Kenny Sang repeated as Northern League MVP. Still in only his third season, the 25-year old second baseman led in runs (101), home runs (60), slugging (.698), and WAR (13.2). It was only the 11^th time that a CLB position player had 13+ WAR in a season and was one of only four 60+ home run seasons. Sang also had a 1.041 OPS and 253 wRC+.

Changchun’s Ta Choi won Pitcher of the Year and posted only the sixth-ever pitching Triple Crown in CLB history. The 27-year old Hongkonger had a 20-6 record, 1.39 ERA, and 346 strikeouts. Choi also led in WHIP (0.77) and posted a 199 ERA+ and 8.4 WAR over 233.1 innings. He had a few more good seasons, but would shockingly regress and be out of the game by age 32 due to the yips.

In the Round Robin, Changchun (5-1) took top honors, advancing to the semifinal along with 3-3 Shenyang. Top seed Shijiazhuang and Harbin both were ousted at 2-4. This set up a rematch of the 2017 semifinal between the Camels and Swans. The series went all seven games and ended in dramatic fashion with a 3-1 walkoff Changchun win. The Camels have earned three finals berths in four years, while Shenyang has lost in three straight semifinal tries.



For the third consecutive season, Shantou took first in the Southern League standings at 99-63. The Scorpions earned their fourth straight playoff berth and fifth in six years. Tying for second at 96-66 was defending SL champ Hong Kong and Wenzhou. The Wild earned their first-ever playoff berth and were the last of the 2009 expansion teams to earn a berth. The Champions led in scoring at 642 and Shenzhen allowed the fewest at 475.

There was a 12 game gap from third to fourth place. 84-78 Foshan took the final playoff spot with eight other teams within seven games of them. Dongguan (82-80), Guangzhou (82-80), and Chengdu (81-81) were the closest foes. The Flyers earned repeat wild card berths. Wuhan, who took second last year at 96-66, tied for ninth at 79-83.

Shantou 1B Xugang Zheng won his second Southern League MVP in three years and again earned a Triple Crown. It was the seventh Triple Crown hitting season in CLB history, joining Cheng Kang as the only players to do it multiple times. Zheng led in homers (61), RBI (134), runs (114), hits (201), total bases (419), triple slash (.336/.381/.699), OPS (1.080), wRC+ (233), and WAR (10.8). His 61 homers were the third-most in CLB history. Zheng played one more year for the Scorpions, then left CLB for a six-year, $65,400,000 deal with Port Harcourt of West African Baseball.

The Pitcher of the Year also came from Shantou in 30-year old Mark Luo. In his seventh season, Luo led in WHIP (0.71), K/BB (14.4), and shutouts (6). He added a 1.65 ERA over 212.2 innings, 230 strikeouts, 12-7 record, 13 saves, 175 ERA+, and 6.1 WAR. The Scorpions also would be able to lock Luo up long-term, leaving for the 2022 season for Omsk of Eurasian Professional Baseball.

Despite being by far the weakest playoff team, Foshan was the top team in the Round Robin at 4-2 to earn repeat semifinal berths. Hong Kong and Wenzhou were both 3-3, while top-seed Shantou was 2-4. The Champions advanced on the tiebreaker to set up the semifinal rematch with the Flyers. Hong Kong earned the repeat, rolling 4-1 over Foshan for their sixth China Series berth.



In the 50^th China Series, Hong Kong handled Changchun 4-1 to give the Champions their third CLB title (1982, 2007, 2019). Pitcher Min-Yen Fu was finals MVP, posting a 1.24 ERA over 36.1 playoff innings with 50 strikeouts, 21 hits, 8 walks, and a 229 ERA+. In the series, the 27-year old Taiwanese lefty had a three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts.



Other notes: Changchun’s Zhifeng Gao set a playoff record with a 16.82 K/9, fanning 38 over 20.1 innings. Nanjing’s Youzu Linn broke his own strikeout record with 279 whiffs, which remains the CLB all-time worst as of 2037. Linn is the only CLB batter to strike out 250+ times in a season, am unfortunate feat he’d reach ten times. Linn retired after the 2020 season with 3090 strikeouts, making him CLB’s bigger whiffer by a healthy margin. As of 2037, he’s one of 29 batters in world history with 3000+ career strikeouts. OF Cheng Kang won his eighth Silver Slugger.

Chinese League Baseball in the 2010s was again the lowest-scoring league in the world with a batting average around .215 and ERA around 2.54. Both marks grade as extremely low in the historical scale, although it was about the same as the prior decade. 2015 had all-time CLB lows in batting average with the NL at .205 and the SL at .203. The NL also had a 2.28 ERA in 2015, which is tied for the lowest-ever season in baseball history. Like most leagues in the 2020s, CLB would change rules to increase offense, bringing them to merely very low scoring as opposed to extremely low.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

CLB After 50 Years

Chinese League Baseball became the ninth of the major professional leagues to reach 50 seasons of play. In part due to more pronounced revenue sharing rules compared to other leagues, CLB showed a remarkable level of parity in its first 50 seasons.



The highest average wins per season was Chengdu at 85.6, while the lowest losses per season by a non-expansion team was Xiamen at 78.0, showing how small the gap was between the “haves” and “have nots.” The Clowns, Tianjin, Beijing, and Xi’an each had the most playoff berths at 14, while four other teams had made the playoffs 13 times.

Dalian had the most overall titles with six, followed by Beijing with five and four apiece from Tianjin, Xi’an, and Changsha. The Bears had been to the China Series the most times with nine, followed by Dalian and Kunming at seven. The Gold Dragons had finished first in the standings the most (10). For many years, CLB’s setup allowed the finals to feature two teams from the same league with the Northern League (54) having more finals teams than the Southern League (46). 30 titles went to NL teams with 20 to SL teams

By team score, the top five teams were Beijing (95), Dalian (93), Tianjin (86), Xi’an (85), and Guangzhou (79). The worst among non-expansion teams was Jinan at 28. All of the original teams had made the playoffs at least six times and each had advanced to the China Series at least once. Seven original teams (Shenyang, Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Macau, Shenzhen, Chongqing) had yet to win it all.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 in APB

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For the sixth time in seven years, the top teams from the Taiwan-Philippine Association were Zamboanga and Taipei. The reigning Austronesia Professional Baseball champ Zebras were 107-55 atop the Philippine League yet again with their fourth 100+ win season in five years. Zamboanga matched their franchise-record mark from two years prior. Manila gave them a strong challenge but fell short at 99-63.

Taipei had their most competitive field in the Taiwan League in some time. The 97-65 Tigercats outlasted 94-68 Hsinchu and 91-71 Tainan. Taipei set the longest playoff streak in APB history at eight seasons and earned their tenth TL title in eleven years. The Tigercats also posted a 12^th straight winning season, also the longest APB streak. For the 2007 expansion Sweathogs, they had their best season in franchise history.

Repeating as Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP was Taiwan CF Sheng-Chie Wu. The 36-year old righty was the WARlord at 9.1 and posted a 171 wRC+, .841 OPS, 81 runs, 27 home runs, and .295 batting average. The veteran played another two years and dropped off, ending a 19-year career between APB and EAB with 95.6 WAR.

Zamboanga ace Ching-Chen Yao won his fifth straight Pitcher of the Year and joined Afiq Parker as the only seven-time winners in APB history. The 31-year old lefty led in WAR (10.3), strikeouts (316), WHIP (0.66), K/BB (11.7), and FIP- (22). Yao had a 1.64 ERA over 191.2 innings, 164 ERA+ and a 13-3 record. He led in WHIP for the eighth consecutive year and led in both WAR and strikeouts for the seventh time. The Zebras gave him a six-year, $105,400,000 extension the prior year.



While the TPA was more of the same, the Sundaland Association showed some notably parity. The two-time defending SA champ Johor Bahru limped to 73-89, which opened up the door for new contenders. There were five teams within six games of the #1 seed, although only two could advance. The top three records were in the Java Sea League.

Palembang narrowly repeated there at 94-68, holding off 92-90 Semarang and 91-71 Bandung. The Malacca League saw Singapore prevail at 89-73, edging Batam by one game. The Sharks ended a nine-year playoff drought and led the SA in scoring at 522. The Blackhawks allowed the fewest runs at 366.

Singapore LF Masperi Setyo picked up Sundaland Association MVP in his fifth year starting. The 27-year old Indonesian switch hitter led in runs (90), and WAR (10.3). Setyo added 35 home runs, 85 RBI, and a 197 wRC+. His Sharks teammate Wil Tabaldo was in the MVP mix with 45 home runs and 96 RBI, leading in both stats for the ninth consecutive season. Tabaldo committed to another five years with Singapore in the winter at $77,000,000.

Although Depok struggled to 70-92, they had the Pitcher of the Year Uttam D’Souza. The 29-year old Singaporean righty led in WAR (7.3) and FIP- (60), while adding a 1.64 ERA over 241.2 innings, 321 strikeouts, 12-11 record, and 150 ERA+. This was a contract year for D’Souza and it allowed him to cash in big time, leaving for MLB on a six-year, $124,400,000 deal with Winnipeg.

Taipei had gone 0-5 in their Taiwan-Philippine Association battles with Zamboanga and 1-9 overall since 2009, getting their lone win in 2016 over Davao. The Tigercats were the heavy underdog as well against the reigning APB champ Zebras, but the series finally went Taipei’s way in a seven-game classic. The Tigercats earned their sixth pennant overall (1968, 1988, 1989, 1993, 2016, 2019). Palembang downed Singapore 4-2 in the Sundaland Association Championship, giving the Panthers their fifth pennant (1974, 1976, 1978, 2005, 2019).



The 55^th Austronesia Championship had the seventh different champ in as many years as Palembang cruised 4-1 over Taipei. This was the first overall title for the Panthers, which left only Tainan, Depok, and Singapore as original APB teams without a ring. Palembang is now 1-4 all-time in the finals, while the Tigercats are 2-6 and had their title drought extended to 31 seasons.

Leading the way in the playoffs was 1B Nazer Fairusshi in his seventh season with the Panthers. The Indonesian lefty won MVP of both the Austronesia Championship and the Sundaland Association final. In 11 playoff starts, Fairusshi had 17 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 5 home runs, 9 RBI, a 1.283 OPS, and 1.5 WAR.



Other notes: 2019 saw APB’s 42^nd and 43^rd perfect games. The first came on June 8 from Singapore’s Fahrudin Ramli, striking out seven against Pekanbaru. Then on August 2, Manila’s Troy Caluag did it with eight Ks over Taoyuan. Raja Kamal became the 30^th pitcher to reach 3500 strikeouts. Hendrawan Aririsana was the 23^rd to join the 200 win club.

Metta Adam became APB’s career saves leader, leading the league with 40 in his final APB season with Semarang. He got to 437, becoming the second to 400 and passing Evan Yanizar’s previous high mark of 417. Adam held the APB record until passed in 2036. He finished out his career between EBF and MLB and got to 500 career saves for his entire pro career, becoming only the eighth to do so. Also in 2019, Achmad Albaar became the 12^th to reach 300 saves in APB.

Iqbal Safari became the eighth batter to 2500 career hits. Paolo Baptista became the eighth to 500 career homers and retired after the 2019 season with 506. Wil Tabaldo and Suparman Sena both crossed 1000 runs scored, making 23 APB players to reach that mark. RF Shih-Chieh Tseng won his 11^th Gold Glove, becoming only the third in APB at any position to do so. 1B Widodo Megawati won his ninth straight Gold Glove.

3B Nicky Abizar won his tenth Silver Slugger, becoming the eighth to win 10+ Sluggers. This was also notably the first full season as a starter for Hsinchu’s Binh Tang, although he had debuted with 46 games the prior year at only age 18. Tang would very shortly establish himself in the eyes of most as APB’s all-time greatest player.

For the 2010s, the Taiwan-Philippine Association had very low scoring with a .222 batting average and 2.74 league ERA. They had the DH, while the DH-less Sundaland Association had extremely low offense with a 2.50 ERA and .215 batting average. These stats were slightly down from the prior decade, but remained generally consistent with APB’s historical profile. APB wouldn’t change much in the 2020s despite many other world leagues opting for rules changes to increase offense.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 in OBA



After winning their first-ever Oceania Championship in 2018, Sydney repeated atop the Australasia League standings in 2019. The Snakes finished 99-63 and led the AL in scoring with 814 runs. Sydney had a .289 team batting average, setting an AL record that still holds as of 2037. Brisbane (96-66) was a close second with Auckland (93-69) in the mix as well. The Avengers allowed the fewest runs at 650. Notably Perth saw a big collapse, going from second place and 93 wins the prior year to 66-96 in 2019. That was their first losing season since 2012.

Brisbane RF Merlin Megson won his seventh Australasia League MVP, joining Jimmy Caliw, Sione Hala, and Vavao Brighouse as OBA’s only seven-time MVP winners. It was his second in three years since joining the Black Bears, having won his previous five with Canberra. For the third straight season, Megson led in both home runs (52), and RBI (135). He has led the league in both stats seven times.

Megson also led in total bases (436), slugging (.722), OPS (1.090), and wRC+ (194). The 33-year old Englishman added 115 runs, a .328 average, and 7.7 WAR. This marked the end of an illustrious OBA career for Megson, as he opted out of the remaining three seasons on his Brisbane deal. He cashed in on an MLB deal at $81,800,000 over four years in Atlanta.

Fans would speculate if Megson could’ve taken the top spot on some leaderboards if he stayed, since he played seven more years in MLB and had a nice run there. In his final OBA season, he became 8^th member of the 600 home run and the 10^th to reach 1500 RBI. Megson also won ten Silver Sluggers in OBA, although they were split by position with six in right field, one in left, one as a DH, and two at first base.

Steve Stringer repeated as AL Pitcher of the Year in an impactful debut for Auckland. He signed as a free agent for $66,100,000 over six years in the winter after starting with Hobart. The 27-year old Australian righty led in wins (24-12), innings (333.1), WHIP (0.96), and complete games (17). Stringer added a 2.62 ERA, 321 strikeouts, 145 ERA+, and 9.0 WAR.



Reigning Pacific League champ Samoa struggled to 71-91, opening up the field for a new champ. For the first time since 1996, Honolulu claimed that top spot. The Honu won it at 99-63, edging Guam (95-67) and Vanuatu (94-68). Honolulu led all PL teams in scoring with 777 runs and won their 14^th pennant. That tied them with Melbourne for the most of all OBA teams despite their 22-year drought. The 2006 expansion Wizards matched their franchise best record from 2015.

Securing Pacific League MVP was Honolulu LF Suliano Nadruku. It was the second MVP for the 34-year old Fijian, who won way back in 2010 with Port Moresby. Nadruku had spent the prior five years with Perth before signing with the Honu for 2019 on a five-year, $61,000,000 deal. Nadruku led in total bases (368) and posted 35 home runs, 111 RBI, a .986 OPS, 183 wRC+, and 7.6 WAR.

Fiji’s Akira Brady won his historic seventh Pitcher of the Year award, a mark no others have reached in OBA. The 32-year old New Zealander led in ERA (2.09), innings (340), strikeouts (462), WHIP (0.80), K/BB (11.0), quality starts (29), complete games (30), shutouts (10), FIP- (48), and WAR (15.0). Brady added a 22-12 record and 174 ERA+.

It was his tenth straight year leading in strikeouts and getting 440+ Ks, matching a feat only achieved by world strikeout king Mohamed Ramos of Beisbol Sudamerica. Brady also became the sixth OBA pitcher to 5000 career strikeouts and as of 2037, is one of only 44 in world history to reach the 5K club. Brady also earned his sixth ERA title and led in WAR for the ninth time. The 15.01 WAR was the second-best of his career and fourth-highest in OBA history. As of 2037, this is one of only 48 seasons by any player in any world league worth 15+ WAR and one of only 22 purely from pitching.

His 2019 was also historic as he tossed two no-hitters in the same season, which had only been done twice before in OBA history. On May 21, he had 12 Ks and 2 walks against Vanuatu. Then on June 16, he no-hit Timor with 15 Ks. This gave Brady three no-hitters, as he threw a perfect game back in 2009. Fiji obviously wanted to keep things rolling with their superstar ace, signing Brady to a six-year, $75,600,000 extension in April.



In the 60^th Oceania Championship, Sydney earned the repeat in a seven-game classic over Honolulu. The Snakes have gone from no playoff berths in 58 years to back-to-back titles. The Honu are now 8-6 all-time in their finals tries. In his ninth year with the Snakes, LF William Bucholz won finals MVP, going 10-25 with 5 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, and 6 RBI.



Other notes: Christchurch’s Naldo Soto had 56 doubles, breaking the previous OBA single-season record of 54 set in 1996 by Russ Horn. Soto’s mark still holds as of 2037. Adrian Kali became the 15^th member of the 500 home run club and the 9^th to 1500 RBI. Ashton Hughes and Samson Gould both reached 2500 hits, a mark achieved by 18 OBA batters. Isaac Tague became the 8^th pitcher to record 4500 strikeouts. SS Romeo Acas won his eighth Gold Glove. Roe Kaupa won his ninth Silver Slugger. It was his fourth as a first baseman with five wins as a designated hitter.

For the 2010s, the Australasia League’s batting average was around .253 with an ERA around 3.83, which grades as just above average compared to other leagues on the historical scale. The Pacific League’s ERA was 3.65 and batting average was .246, grading as average overall. OBA was very mid-grade compared to other leagues in the 2010s. The output was basically unchanged from the 2000s, while the decades prior saw low scoring. OBA’s output in the 2020s would continue on the same pace as the 2010s.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

2019 in EPB

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Voronezh dominated the European League at 108-54 for their second playoff berth in three years and a new best record by any Eurasian Professional Baseball expansion team. The Zephyrs had 786 runs, scoring 100+ more than any other EPB team. Their record was the best by any EL team in the last 20 years. Voronezh pulled it off even with one of the few payrolls below $100 million. Second place Moscow meanwhile had the largest payroll in EPB at over $271 million.

The Mules allowed the fewest runs at 487 and easily took the #2 spot at 94-68. Their closest foes were more double-digits behind with Kazan (84-78), Rostov (83-79), and Volgograd (82-80). Moscow earned repeat wild cards and their fifth playoff berth in six years. The Mules also extended its streak of winning seasons to 21 years. Krasnodar, the two-time defending EL champ, fell off a cliff at 68-94.

Moscow’s Yuriy Isakov repeated as European League MVP and won his third overall. The 29-year old Azeri outfielder led in hits (212), batting average (.383), on-base percentage (.453), OPS (1.073), wRC+ (199), and WAR (10.0). Isakov added 99 runs, 31 doubles, 14 triples, 24 home runs, and 107 stolen bases. Isakov’s batting average and OBP were both the second-best in EPB history to that point, only behind his own .410/.476 marks from 2012. He was in his 11^th season with the Mules and would spend another five years in the Russian capital.

Pitcher of the Year was Volgograd’s Svyatoslav Tyahnybok. The 25-year old Ukrainian righty was in his fourth season and led in ERA (2.12), wins (21-6), complete games (15), and shutouts (6). Tyahnybok posted 322 strikeouts over 254.1 innings with a 160 ERA+ and 9.0 WAR. He also tossed a no-hitter on September 11 with nine strikeouts and one walk versus Samara.



The Asian League had a lot of party with most of the league still in the fight entering September. Defending EPB champ Krasnoyarsk took first place at 90-72. Even though it was the Cossacks’ third playoff berth in four years, it was their first time atop the standings since 2009. Chelyabinsk was a close second at 87-75, ending a 21-year playoff drought for the Cadets. They had the second-longest active drought in EPB with Novosibirsk one season worse.

Perm at 86-76 fell one game short of the wild card slot. Omsk (82-80), Irkutsk (81-81), Ulaanbaatar (80-82), Novosibirsk (79-83), Ufa (79-83), and Vladivostok (78-84) all had genuine playoff hopes at some point. The Fiends notably missed the playoffs for only the second time in six years and had their first losing season since 2011.

The Pitbulls almost earned their first-ever playoff berth with the strength of the Asian League’s MVP and Pitcher of the Year. MVP was designated hitter Talgat Nurgaliev, who led in runs (104), home runs (55), RBI (140), slugging (.620), OPS (.972), wRC+ (191), and WAR (8.0). The 25-year old Tajik fell one RBI short of Dzmitry Kuliev’s EPB record of 141 from 2019. Nurgaliev was third in batting average at .305, falling .025 short of a Triple Crown season. He would sign a five-year, $28,500,000 extension the following summer with Perm.

His Perm teammate Yaroslav Alalykin meanwhile did earn the Triple Crown, posting the 12^th-ever TC season by an EPB pitcher. The 26-year old Russian righty had a 20-6 record, 1.93 ERA, and 309 strikeouts over 247.1 innings. Alalykin also led in WHIP (0.78), K/BB (20.6), and quality starts (26). He added a 164 ERA+ and 8.2 WAR. The Pitbulls also extended Alalykin after the 2020 season at $30,280,000 over five years, keeping a strong core intact for Perm into the 2020s.

Also of note, Omsk’s Julian Wrzesniak won his third consecutive Reliever of the Year, posting a 1.02 ERA, 35 saves, and 7.3 WAR with 171 strikeouts over 96.2 innings. Unfortunately, his career would be derailed by injuries soon after, missing all of 2020 to shoulder inflammation.

Despite Voronezh being the heavy favorite in the European League Championship Series, Moscow rolled them 4-1 with pitching for their third pennant in five years. The Mules became 11-time EL champs, tied for second-most with the departed Kyiv. The top seed also fell in the Asian League Championship Series as Chelyabinsk stunned defending champ Krasnoyarsk with a sweep. This was the Cadets’ fourth pennant, ending a 27-year drought.



The 65^th EPB Championship went all seven games with Chelyabinsk outlasting Moscow, giving the Cadets their second-ever title (1978). This continued a remarkable run with nine different champs in nine years, despite multiple repeat appearances in that stretch.

Finals MVP went to 2B Gleb Korelin in his sixth season with Chelyabinsk. In 11 playoff starts, the 26-year old Kazakh had 13 hits, 6 runs, 2 doubles, 3 triples, 3 RBI, and 6 stolen bases. This helped raise Korelin’s stock entering a contract year. Incidentally, the Cadets would trade him at the deadline in 2020 to Moscow, where he’d spend the following five seasons.



Other notes: Yekaterinburg pitcher Konstantin Ostapenko set a bad record, walking 160 batters. That remains the EPB all-time worst as of 2037. Voronezh’s Vladyslav Chychykov had a 32-game hitting streak, falling one short of Wolfgang Lind’s EPB record 33 from 2006. Chychykov also won his tenth Silver Slugger at third base, joining Boxuan Long as the only 10+ winners at 3B. C Nicat Kazimov and 2B Pavel Khuzin both won their seventh Silver Sluggers. 1B Artur Sagdatullin won his tenth consecutive Gold Glove.

Eurasian Professional Baseball’s league ERA for the 2010s was around 3.26 with a batting average around .245. Both marks were below average relative to other leagues on the historical scale. This was still a notable bump up from the prior few decades in EPB, putting them back in line with averages from the 1960s. The ERAs had been low in the upper twos from the 1970s-2000s. EPB’s scoring would dip back down in the 2020s.