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

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-01-2025, 06:15 PM

2022 ALB Hall of Fame (Part 2)

Abdullah Al-Tamtami – Starting Pitcher – Casablanca Bruins – 99.1% First Ballot

Abdullah Al-Tamtami was a 6’2’’, 205 pound right-handed pitcher from Muscat, the capital of Oman. Al-Tamtami was a hard thrower with excellent stuff, but he also had terrific control and good movement. His strongest offering was a 98-100 mph cutter, but he also had a rock solid slider and curveball in the arsenal along with a rarely used changeup. Al-Tamtami was also great at holding runners and a respectable defender.

The heat of the Arab League meant pitchers don’t go the distance nearly as often as in other leagues. Al-Tamtami though had great stamina and had more innings annually than most. He had pretty good durability in his 20s, but did run into issues in his early 30s. Al-Tamtami was a scrappy sparkplug type, known for his adaptability, work ethic, and intelligence.

Al-Tamtami was also one of the best pure athletes to be a full-time pitcher. He had incredible baserunning speed and stealing instincts, although his Casablanca coaches were adamently against any two-way use. With ALB having a universal DH, Al-Tamtami didn’t get a chance to flash his bat from the pitcher slot either. Dubai gave him a smattering of plate appearances late in his career with decent results. Some scouts still think that Al-Tamtami could’ve been a solid starting infielder in a two-way role had he gotten the chance in his prime.

His overall package of skills drew Casablanca’s attention for a developmental deal signed in February 1998. They had him focus on pitching and debuted Al-Tamtami in 2001 with four relief appearances at age 20. He also had one relief appearance in the playoffs as the Bruins won the Western Conference title, but lost the ALB Championship to Mosul. Al-Tamtami was split between full time relief and starting in 2002 with okay results. He got the go-ahead to be a full-time starter in 2003.

In his first full season, Al-Tamtami won Pitcher of the Year honors with 6.5 WAR, a 21-11 record, 2.92 ERA, and 268 strikeouts. He had a stellar postseason for the 108-54 Bruins with a 1.66 ERA and 29 strikeouts over 21.2 innings, helping Casablanca win the ALB title against Dubai. Forearm inflammation kept him out a chunk of 2004 and the Bruins surprisingly fell to 78-84, only their second losing season in franchise history to that point.

2005 was a banner year with Al-Tamtami’s second Pitcher of the Year win, leading the conference in strikeouts (364), K/BB (12.6), complete games (9), shutouts (4), and WAR (10.6). He tossed ALB’s third-ever perfect game on July 12, striking out 15 against Alexandria. Casablanca won another conference title, but dropped the ALB finale to Medina. Al-Tamtami again had a good playoff showing with a 2.37 ERA and 41 strikeouts over 30.1 innings.

Casablanca knew they had their ace, giving Al-Tamtami a seven-year, $12,180,000 extension in May 2005. He would go onto lead the conference four more times in WAR and strikeouts, twice more in WHIP and quality starts, and twice in both wins and ERA. He had seven total seasons worth 7+ WAR. Al-Tamtami was third in 2006’s Pitcher of the Year voting and second in 2007. The Bruins missed the 2006 playoffs, then had a conference finals loss in 2007.

2008 was Al-Tamtami’s third Pitcher of the Year win and saw his most dominant postseason run. He went 3-0 over 24.2 innings with a 0.73 ERA with 35 strikeouts and 1 walk. Casablanca won another conference title, but couldn’t beat 109-win Basra in the ALB final. Salaries had started to go up in the growing league and Al-Tamtami opted out of his extension with the goal of signing a new bigger one. Casablanca acquiesced with a seven-year, $24,640,000 extension.

With Pitcher of the Year wins in 2009 and 2010, Al-Tamtami pulled off the three-peat and joined Rashid Tariq as the only five-time winners to that point. He won back-to-back ERA titles and posted his finest season in 2012 with career bests in wins (22-5), ERA (2.02), strikeouts (367), WHIP (0.83), and WAR (11.6). Amman’s Tarek Samy denied his Triple Crown bid by only four strikeouts.

Casablanca had three more division titles from 2009-11, but lost in the conference final each year. They fell to a fledgling Aviators dynasty in 2009-10, then had a stunning upset to 81-81 Alexandria in 2011. Al-Tamtami was a bit shakier in these playoff starts, but still finished his career with excellent playoff numbers. In 122 innings, he had an 8-3 record, 2.58 ERA, 166 strikeouts, 21 walks, 145 ERA+, and 3.6 WAR. As of 2037, he is 8^th in playoff WAR and 3^rd in strikeouts.

Al-Tamtami was third in 2011’s Pitcher of the Year voting. He wasn’t a finalist in 2012 but he again had 7+ WAR and 300+ strikeouts. However, Casablanca fell below .500 and seemed to be possibly entering a rebuild. Al-Tamtami decided to opt out of his remaining contract, becoming a free agent for the first time heading into his age 32 season.

For Casablanca, Al-Tamtami had a 176-92 record, 2.68 ERA, 2539.2 innings, 3309 strikeouts, 407 walks, 56 complete games, 23 shutouts, 140 ERA+, and 83.9 WAR. His dominance made him one of the franchise’s most popular figures and got his #3 uniform eventually retired. It was hard though to turn down the six-year, $81,400,000 deal Al-Tamtami got from Dubai, which more than tripled his best year’s salary with the Bruins.

He didn’t live up to the price tag, although a chunk of that wasn’t his fault. On June 1, 2013, Al-Tamtami suffered a torn rotator cuff that put him out an entire calendar year. He was still effective when he returned in summer 2014, but the injury greatly damaged his movement and he started to have trouble allowing home runs. Al-Tamtami still posted a solid 5.4 WAR season in 2015, but his ERA was above three for the first time in a full season starting.

Despite his efforts, Dubai remained stuck in the middle tier as well. In 2016, Al-Tamtami was awful with a 5.79 ERA and conference-worst 37 homers allowed. The year did at least allow him to pass Rashid Tariq’s 4008 to become ALB’s career strikeouts leader. Al-Tamtami retired the winter at age 35 with his final Diamonds numbers seeing a 37-31 record, 3.89 ERA, 634.1 innings, 726 strikeouts, 103 ERA+, and 12.4 WAR.

Al-Tamtami ended at a 213-123 record, 2.92 ERA, 3174 innings, 4035 strikeouts, 508 walks, 307/429 quality starts, 72 complete games, 26 shutouts, 131 ERA+, and 96.3 WAR. He held the strikeout king crown for 11 years and still ranks 5^th as of 2037. Al-Tamtami also ranks 12^th in wins, 12^th in innings, and 6^th in pitching WAR.

Among all pitchers with 1000+ innings, Al-Tamtami is 24^th in ERA and his 0.99 WHIP is 11^th. His .632 opponent’s OPS ranks 25^th, his 1.44 BB/9 is 42^nd, his 7.45 H/9 is 33^rd, and his 11.44 K/9 is 27^th. Al-Tamtami’s opponent slash line was .223/.258/.374, which ranks 32^nd/7^th/54^th.

Without the rotator cuff injury and quick decline, Al-Tamtami probably gets more consideration for ALB’s GOAT pitcher. He still makes most scholar’s top ten lists and cracks the top five for some. Few guys were strong enough to co-headline a Hall of Fame class with a legend like Mohammed Mohamed, but Al-Tamtami fit the bill. He and Mohamed both had 99.1% atop an impressive three-player Arab League Baseball 2022 class.

Ivan “Cushion” Smirnov – Second/First Base/Designated Hitter – Baghdad Brown Bears – 75.7% First Ballot

Ivan Smirnov was a 5’11’’, 185 pound right-handed infielder from Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel’s most populous city. The nickname “Cushion” came from his ample posterior. Smirnov was an excellent contact hitter with solid home run and gap power. He had a decent eye for drawing walks, but was overall subpar at avoiding strikeouts. Smirnov wasn’t one to be a league leader, but he got you 32 home runs, 29 doubles, and 8 triples per his 162 game average. He did also have tremendous baserunning chops and very good speed, a definite threat anytime he was on base.

That baserunning speed didn’t translate to defensive range unfortunately. Smirnov made around 2/5 of his starts at second base and was a putrid defender. He spent four seasons in his early 30s at first base and was serviceable there. Around 1/3 of Smirnov’s career starts came as a designated hitter. His durability was great, playing 145+ games in 16 different seasons. Smirnov was also a team captain, garnering great respect for his leadership, work ethic, loyalty, and intelligence. This helped him achieve significant popularity in a career that spanned three continents.

Smirnov was noticed by a scout from Baghdad who brought him to Iraq on a developmental deal in March 1999. He spent three years in their academy, then debuted at age 19 in 2002 with 55 games and 19 starts. Smirnov was a full-time starter the next year and held a spot in the lineup for the next eight years. He was good in his first two full seasons, but became elite by his third year.

From 2005-09, Smirnov had five consecutive seasons worth 8+ WAR. He also scored 100+ runs with 200+ hits and 30+ homers each year of that run and four times had an OPS above one. Smirnov won Silver Sluggers each year with the first two as a DH and the next three at second base. He was third in 2005 and 2007’s MVP voting and took second in 2006. It was tough to get noticed though as Baghdad was terrible during this time despite his efforts. The Brown Bears never had a winning season during Smirnov’s tenure, averaging 70.67 wins per season.

Smirnov wasn’t a conference leader apart from his 2007 season, which saw a batting title at .360 along with the best WAR (10.0) and wRC+ (194). The average and WAR were single-season bests for Smirnov along with his 219 hits and 130 RBI. In 2006, he had his career best for home runs (54), OPS (1.081), and wRC+ (197). Smirnov’s best runs mark was 121 in 2009 while 2005 saw his high marks in doubles (45) and stolen bases (102). 2003 saw only the sixth six-hit game in ALB history to that point against Abu Dhabi.

With Baghdad’s struggles, they weren’t going to be able to match the free market offers for Smirnov. He left for free agency after the 2010 season at only age 28, which ended his Arab League run. For the Brown Bears, Smirnov had 1597 hits, 894 runs, 284 doubles, 56 triples, 327 home runs, 859 RBI, 654 stolen bases, a .324/.369/.604 slash, 165 wRC+, and 59.2 WAR. He was remembered fondly in the Iraqi capital as a great player in a lousy era, getting his #14 uniform eventually retired.

It made for a tricky Hall of Fame candidacy as Smirnov’s short run meant low accumulations. As of 2037, he’s outside the top 100 in counting stats apart from being 62^nd in stolen bases and 63^rd in WAR for position players. Smirnov’s rate stats though are strong as his .974 OPS is 32^nd amongst ALB batters with 3000+ plate appearances. His triple slash ranks 39^th/46^th/38^th.

Smirnov would play another decade of solid baseball elsewhere with many voters giving him at least partial credit for non-ALB stats. Supporters figured he’d have been prominently ranked on the leaderboards had he stayed. Plus, he was a well-respected and well-liked captain, which goes a long way. Even with the lower ALB specific totals, Smirnov received 75.7% in his ballot debut to cap off an impressive three-player 2022 Hall of Fame class for the Arab League.

Most of the time, international free agents didn’t come onto the market until their 30s. With Smirnov only at age 28, many MLB teams had strong interest. He ended up moving to Kentucky on a seven-year, $112 million deal with Louisville, becoming one of baseball’s highest paid players. Smirnov’s debut season was excellent with a Silver Slugger at second base, posting 7.7 WAR, 37 homers, and a .900 OPS.

Smirnov didn’t reach those highs again, but he was a reliably strong hitter over the life of the deal. Yet again, he’d be cursed by being on bad teams. The Lynx were around .500 when he arrived, but had fallen to the bottom by the time he was done. Sadly for Smirnov, he never played a single playoff game in his career. He only made a few World Baseball Championship appearances either for his native Israel in his final years, ending up as one of the better players to lack big game opportunities.

With Louisville, Smirnov had 1231 hits, 599 runs, 166 doubles, 47 triples, 182 homers, 595 RBI, 295 steals, a .294/.333/.487 slash, 150 wRC+, and 35.9 WAR. He was a free agent again in 2018 at age 35, but MLB teams at this point were searching for younger and cheaper talent. Smirnov would find his next him in Australia on a three-year, $25,200,000 deal with Melbourne of the Oceania Baseball Association.

Smirnov would fall off significantly with the Mets, leading the Australasia League in strikeouts in both 2018 and 2019. This was Melbourne’s rebuild following their early 2000s dynasty run. Smirnov was benched eventually in 2020 after struggling, finishing his three Mets years with 419 hits, 205 runs, 65 doubles, 61 home runs, 173 RBI, 133 steals, a .248/.281/.435 slash and 0.9 WAR. After going unsigned in 2021, Smirnov retired at age 39.

For his combined pro career, Smirnov had 3247 hits, 1698 runs, 515 doubles, 137 triples, 570 home runs, 1627 RBI, 673 walks, 1082 stolen bases, a .301/.342/.532 slash, 148 wRC+, and 96.1 WAR. Certainly getting to 3000+ hits, 1500+ runs, 500+ doubles, 500+ homers, 1500+ RBI, 1000+ steals, and holding a .301 batting average shows Smirnov was a Hall of Fame level talent. He was in ALB just long enough and strong enough to get the HOF nod there despite only playing nine seasons with bad Baghdad teams. Smirnov also was arguably the best-ever Israeli born pro, posting the most career WAR from the nation.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-02-2025, 07:22 AM

2022 AAB Hall of Fame

The 2022 African Association of Baseball Hall of Fame ballot was unusual in having no debuts of any note with all five newcomers finishing below 9%. That opened up a chance for a few returners to breach the 66% threshold. Two long-standing candidates did just that. RP Abba Abdul on his ninth ballot led the way at 72.0%, while 1B Abebe Chekol got exactly enough with 66% on his tenth and final chance. 2B Gedeon Bukasa was the only other player above 50% with 51.3% for his fourth try. No players were cut after ten failed ballots.

Abba Abdul – Relief Pitcher – Kigali Guardians – 72.0% Ninth Ballot

Abba Abdul was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed relief pitcher from Zanzibar, an island group off Tanzania’s eastern coast with 1.9 million people. Abdul had very good powerful stuff, although his movement and stuff both graded as above average at best. He had a 98-100 mph fastball and a nearly equally quick splitter for his one-two punch. Compared to most relievers, Abdul had excellent stamina and durability. Along with his strong work ethic, he was ready to step up in any situation. He was also a strong defensive pitcher when he needed to field the position.

Despite his stamina, Abdul didn’t have a diverse enough arsenal to be projected as more than a reliever. That was still good enough for Kigali to pick him 21^st overall in the 1995 AAB Draft. This was the inaugural rookie draft and that was the first pick of round two. The Guardians made him the full-time closer immediately, although he stunk in his debut with a 5.58 ERA as a rookie.

He fared better in the next four seasons, although saves were hard to come by as Kigali was firmly AAB’s worst team in the initial years. In his first five seasons, Abdul managed 145 saves over 416.1 innings, a 3.24 ERA, 498 strikeouts, and 12.5 WAR. After the 2000 season, the Guardians traded the 27-year old Abdul to Johannesburg for three prospects. The Jackalopes wanted to shore up the bullpen and had won three straight Southern Conference titles.

Johannesburg won the pennant again in 2001 at 108-54, but still couldn’t win the Africa Series with a loss to Lubumbashi. They would lose in the 2002 conference final and just miss the playoffs in 2003. Abdul was mostly in a setup role with respectable results, although his limited playoff sample size had 4 runs allowed in 9 innings. For the Jackalopes, Abdul had 53 saves, a 2.95 ERA, 165 innings, 255 strikeouts, 141 ERA+, and 5.7 WAR.

Abdul was a free agent for the first time at age 30 and returned to his home country of Tanzania with Dar es Salaam in 2004, posting a 1.52 ERA over 53.1 innings. He allowed 4 runs in 7 playoff innings, but the Sabercats were a powerhouse this year despite that, going 114-48 to dethrone Kinshasa in the Africa Series.

His time back in Tanzania lasted one year, but Abdul did regularly represent his nation in the World Baseball Championship. He pitched from 2001-09 and in 2012, splitting between starting and relief. Abdul had a 2.29 ERA over 106 innings, 8-5 record, 6 saves, 145 strikeouts, 37 walks, 156 ERA+, and 2.1 WAR.

Abdul signed with Addis Ababa in 2005, but was traded in late June to Ndjamena for four prospects. This would be his only season as the saves leader, combining for a career best 41. This was also Abdul’s only time as a Reliever of the Year finalist, taking second. He would get rocked in his one playoff relief appearance as the Magic fell in the conference final.

For 2006, Abdul returned where he started with Kigali giving him a three-year, $4,440,000 deal. He had three respectable years as the Guardians closer and helped them to a 2008 playoff berth, although they lost to Addis Ababa in the conference final. Between the Kigali stints, Abdul had a 3.33 ERA over 660.1 innings, 243 saves, 845 strikeouts, 123 ERA+, and 22.0 WAR. The Guardians appreciated him enough to retire his #32 uniform at the end of his playing career.

Abdul’s AAB career ended in spring training 2009, as he was traded to Cardiff of the European Second League. He bounced around in middle relief from here, going to Beisbol Sudamerica in 2010 with Bogota and with Callao in 2011. Abdul ended up in Russia with Irkutsk in 2012. He was under contract with the Ice Cats in 2013 but wasn’t used all season, retiring that winter at age 40.

For his AAB run, Abdul had 340 saves and 390 shutdowns, a 77-82 record, 3.05 ERA, 755 games, 966.1 innings, 1296 strikeouts, 337 walks, 135 ERA+, and 32.7 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 6^th in saves and was the second to reach 300 saves. Abdul’s resume was highly predicated on the save tally, as his other stats were well below the other relievers that had already gotten in before him. Three of them had 50+ WAR and one had 40 by comparison.

AAB’s Hall of Fame voters were very pro reliever and more forgiving than most, but even many of them felt Abdul didn’t make the cut. He wasn’t particularly dominant, never won Reliever of the Year, and was underwhelming in the playoffs. He really was rarely even viewed as a top five closer in his prime, although in his defense he did have some strong contemporaries.

Abdul debuted at 47.8% in 2014 and held around there until getting to 57.2% in 2018. He bumped to 59.4% by 2020 and barely missed the cut in 2021 at 64.6%. With terrible debuts in 2022, Abdul got the bump he needed to 72.0% for a ninth ballot induction. Most scholars agree that he’s one of the weakest inductees in any world league, but Abdul has his spot in AAB’s 2022 class regardless.

Abebe Chekol – First Base – Lubumbashi Loggerheads – 66.0% Tenth Ballot

Abebe Chekol was a 6’4’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Alem Maya, a town of 15,000 in eastern Ethiopia. At his prime, Chekol graded out as having very good contact and power skills along with a decent eye for drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He was especially stronger against right-handed pitching with a career 162 wRC+ and .971. Chekol was merely average versus lefties for his career with a 99 wRC+ and .721 OPS.

Chekol’s power extended to the gap and over the fence with 37 home runs and 39 doubles for his 162 game average. It was impressive he got as many doubles as he did considering his abysmal baserunning speed and instincts. Chekol was a career first baseman with occasional starts as a designated hitter. He was a firmly below average defender, but he wasn’t a total liability.

Another positive was ironman durability with Chekol spending a grand total of three days on the injured list in his career for illnesses. However, he would get benched at various points due to laziness. Chekol was selfish and unmotivated, traits that limited his final production notably. His personality also played a role in having to wait ten ballots to barely make the Hall of Fame cut.

As a prospect, teams were very interested in Chekol ahead of the 1997 AAB Draft. He was picked 7^th overall by Lubumbashi, who used him mostly as a backup in his debut 1998 season. Chekol was a full-time starter for eight years after that with the Loggerheads. He drew plenty of attention in his first year starting, leading the Central Conference with 52 doubles.

In 2000, Chekol posted the first-ever hitting Triple Crown season in AAB history with 60 home runs, 159 RBI, and a .352 average. His RBI mark briefly was the single-season league record, pushing him to the MVP and a Silver Slugger. Chekol also had career bests in runs (126), hits (210), total bases (431), OBP (.428), slugging (723), OPS (1.151), wRC+ (199), and WAR (8.7). Lubumbashi earned its first-ever playoff berth, but couldn’t get around Kinshasa in the conference finals as the Sun Cats rolled to a four-peat.

Chekol repeated as MVP and a Slugger winner, leading the conference in runs, average, slugging, OPS, and wRC+. Lubumbashi took the top seed at 105-57 and dethroned Kinshasa in the conference final, then won their first Africa Series over Johannesburg. Chekol was named finals MVP, getting 11 hits, 9 runs, 3 homers, 5 RBI, and .942 OPS in 11 playoff starts. His efforts here cemented him in Loggerheads lore and was the main reason Chekol’s #30 uniform was eventually retired.

In 2002, Chekol won a Slugger as a DH and took second in MVP voting, leading in hits and doubles. Lubumbashi rewarded him that winter with an eight-year, $11,420,000 extension. Chekol remained solid for the next few years, but was never again a league leader or award winner. Some argued that he stopped trying as hard once he secured the bag. The Loggerheads would lose to Kinshasa in the 2004 conference final, but wouldn’t be back in the playoffs until 2021.

Chekol did also play for his native Ethiopia from 1999-2010 in the World Baseball Championship. In 86 games, he had 70 hits, 38 runs, 17 doubles, 17 homers, 38 RBI, 29 walks, a .236/.306/.465 slash, 120 wRC+, and 1.9 WAR. In 2006, Chekol helped the Ethiopians to their first-ever division title. He’d be on the 2008 squad that finished fourth as a reserve with only two pinch hit at-bats.

After the 2006 season, Chekol opted out of his remaining Lubumbashi contract, becoming a free agent at age 31. With the Loggerheads, he had 1461 hits, 796 runs, 364 doubles, 343 home runs, 1007 RBI, 534 walks, a .306/.377/.602 slash, 161 wRC+, and 47.2 WAR. Chekol had a complicated legacy as some criticized his effort, but others praised him for two MVPs and his role in their title win.

Chekol wanted to find big money, but teams weren’t willing to give him the long-term deal he wanted. He settled on a two-year, $4,480,000 deal with Johannesburg but immediately clashed with Jackalopes officials. By August 2007, they traded him away to Thessaloniki of the European Second League. Back then, AAB had trade agreements possible with the E2L and EBF. Johannesburg got three prospects and sent over $4,750,000 along with Chekol.

He wasn’t pleased to be traded to a ‘”second-rate” league, but Chekol stepped up in the 2007 playoffs, helping Thessaloniki win the championship and earn promotion to the European Baseball Federation’s Elite tier. In 17 playoff starts, Chekol had 24 hits, 11 runs, 4 doubles, 6 home runs, 16 RBI, and 1.036 OPS. He had a respectable 2008 season for the Tritons, finishing with 4.8 WAR over 187 games in Greece.

That effort got the attention of other European clubs, leading to a one-year, $3,960,000 deal for 2009 with Hamburg. Chekol had 5.0 WAR, 38 home runs, 110 RBI, and .929 OPS for a solid effort with the Hammers. He returned to free agency for 2010, but couldn’t find the money he wanted from big league teams. Chekol settled for an E2L deal with Toulouse, but got $10,080,000 over four years.

Chekol stunk as a part-time starter with the Toads, posting -0.4 WAR and a .580 OPS. In the offseason, Toulouse sent him back to Hamburg in a three-player deal. He was an okay starter in 2011 for the Hammers, finishing with 6.1 WAR, .841 OPS, and 137 wRC+ between the two stints in Germany. Chekol went unsigned in 2012 and retired that winter at age 37.

For his combined career, Chekol had 2117 hits, 1114 runs, 497 doubles, 467 home runs, 1374 RBI, a .294/.359/.566 slash, 151 wRC+, and 60.4 WAR. Those tallies are admittedly borderline and Chekol was to be mostly graded just on the AAB stint. That saw 1581 hits, 861 runs, 395 doubles, 367 home runs, 1063 RBI, 563 walks, .304/.374/.598 slash, 160 wRC+, and 49.8 WAR.

As of 2037, Chekol ranks 95^th in hits, 64^th in doubles, 69^th in homers, 55^th in RBI, and 55^th in WAR among position players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, his .972 OPS ranks 28^th. His triple slash ranks 32^nd/46^th/28^th. Chekol was certainly a very efficient batter in his prime, but many voters couldn’t get over the lower totals. Making it in with only a decade of play would require dominance more extreme than Chekol posted. Plus, some voters held a grudge over perceived attitude issues.

Supporters pointed out that Chekol had two MVPs, the first-ever Triple Crown for an AAB hitter, and was finals MVP for Lubumbashi’s first title. His rate stats also were clearly elite, but that wasn’t enough to get voters to budge for a long time. Chekol debuted at 60.7% and never fell below 52%, but he stayed stubbornly short of the 66% requirement.

In 2021, Chekol missed by one point at 65.0% for his penultimate try. 2022 was wide open with no notable debuts, but still almost all voters had their minds made up on Chekol. However, a tiny fraction changed their mind to get him to exactly 66.0%. It was the bare minimum, but it secured Chekol his Hall of Fame spot in the 2022 class. He joined Boubacar Mavinga from the prior year as the only tenth ballot inductees ever into AAB’s HOF.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-02-2025, 11:13 AM

2022 World Baseball Championship

The 2022 World Baseball Championship was the 76^th edition of the event and was centered around Kumamoto, Japan. In Division 1, Italy and Mexico tied for the top spot at 9-2 with the Italians advancing on the head-to-head tiebreaker. It was Italy’s second division title in four years and their 18^th overall.

The lone unbeaten team in 2022’s division play was England at 11-0 atop D2, also earning their second berth in four years. The English advanced for the tenth time, while the United States at 9-2 missed the elite eight for only the 18^th time. It was a rare back-to-back miss for the Americans as the overall competitiveness of the field continues to grow. The US won the 2020 world title, but they’ve missed the cut in four of the last five years.

China claimed Division 3 at 9-2, edging out rival Taiwan at 8-3. The Chinese advanced for the 27^th time, notably ending a five-year drought. In a competitive Division 4, 9-2 Costa Rica outlasted 8-3 runs by Canada, Japan, and Ukraine. This was the first ever division title for the Costa Ricans, becoming the 78^th unique nation to advance to the elite eight.

Indonesia and Belgium tied at 8-3 in Division 5, but it was the Indonesians advancing on the tiebreaker. This was Indonesia’s 23^rd time advancing, ending a four-year drought. D6 saw 10-1 Turkey fight off a strong 9-2 effort by Jamaica. The Turks advanced for the sixth time and earned their first division title since 2014.

Division 7 was incredibly tight with Nigeria and Paraguay tying at 8-3, while Iraq, Moldova, and Venezuela were each 7-4. The Nigerians got the tiebreaker for their ninth division title and second in four years. Defending world champion Brazil was a non-factor in the division at 5-6. Lastly Poland dominated Division 8 at 10-1for their ninth division title and their fourth in a decade. Last year’s runner-up Pakistan tied with the Czech Republic at 7-4 for a distant second place.

Italy took the top spot in Round Robin Group A at 5-1, earning their tenth semifinal trip and their second in four years. England and Indonesia tied at 3-3 and Costa Rica was 1-5. The English advanced over the Indonesians on the tiebreaker for their sixth trip to the final four, last doing it with their 2019 world title.

Nigeria and Poland both advanced out of Group B at 4-2, while 3-3 China and 1-5 Turkey were ousted. The Nigerians got their fifth semifinal berth, having last done it with a fourth place in 2011. It was the sixth time in the final four for Poland, most recently doing it was the 2018 world champ. This marked the first time ever that three of the four semifinalists were European teams. It was also the first time since 2013 without one Asian team.

Poland rolled to a sweep of England 3-0 and Nigeria defeated Italy 3-1. The Poles picked up their fourth-ever trip to the finals, having won in 2018 and lost in both 1959 and 1964. The Nigerians earned their third trip, having been runner-up in both 1979 and 1999. Italy officially finished third place and England was fourth.

The 76^th World Championship saw the first-ever title for an African nation as Nigeria defeated Poland 4-2. The Nigerians became the 17^th unique nation to earn the world title. They were led by an outstanding offensive performance by tournament MVP Okoro Yusuf, the two-time defending West African Baseball MVP with Cape Verde. In 27 starts, the 25-year old third baseman had 40 hits, 25 runs, 4 doubles, 14 home runs, 30 RBI, a .412/.457/.907 slash, 303 wRC+, and 3.0 WAR. Yusuf’s WAR ranked as the seventh-best by a position player.

Best Pitcher was given to Italy’s Elia Liotta, a second-year closer for Palermo. The 24-year old righty had 12 appearances with 11 saves and a win, allowing one run and seven hits over 17 innings with 34 strikeouts. This tied the WBC record for saves, previously hit in 1966 by American Wes Kihn.

Other notes: The lone no-hitter came from Bulgaria’s Dimo Antonov on January 13 with 13 strikeouts and 2 walks against the Ivory Coast. This was almost one year to the date of Antonov’s 2021 no-hitter against Australia. He joined Canada’s Christopher Fournier, Brazil’s Gustavo Telhados, America’s Joseph Ashcraft, and Myanmar’s Khon Aye Ko as the only pitchers with multiple WBC no-hitters.

This was the final WBC for legendary United States center fielder Morgan Short, the MLB all-time WARlord. He participated in 18 WBCs and 307 games, passing Beckham Hudson’s 304 for the most games. Short would get passed by Jude Hoffer in the mid 2030s for games played, but he still dominates the all-time WBC leaderboards. As of 2037, Short is the leader in at-bats (1237), runs (304), hits (414), singles (264), doubles (71), stolen bases (247), caught stealing (92), and WAR (22.94).

Short was a two-time WBC MVP (2009, 2020) and led the United States to nine world titles (2003, 05, 07, 08, 10, 11, 14, 17, 20) and a runner-up in 2009. Short is also 29^th in home runs (68) and 8^th in RBI (195). His .335 batting average is also 4^th best among any batters with 250+ plate appearances. On top of arguably being MLB’s GOAT player, Short has a solid case as the World Baseball Championship’s GOAT.

Below are the updated all-time tournament stats:

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-02-2025, 06:04 PM

2022 in A2L

2022 marked the fifth season of the African Second League, which had seen a solid growth in local talent as hoped. The fifth season was its most important yet, as promotion and relegation was to begin. Thus, a conference championship win earned you a spot into the African Association of Baseball’s top league.

Defending A2L champ Nampula repeated as Southern Conference champ to earn their spot in the top tier. The Pheasants finished 94-68, fending off challenges from 92-70 Maseru and both Blantyre and Port Elizabeth at 88-74.

Bangui continued their dominance of the Central Conference, taking first for the fourth time in five years. It was fitting that the Badgers earned the first promotion with their success. Bangui was 100-62 with only 93-69 Juba really in contention at all.

In a Second League Championship rematch, Nampula defeated Bangui to repeat as champs. With promotion/relegation in effect from now onward, the Pheasants would forever be the only repeat champ in A2L history.

Other notes: Leading the way for Nampula was 2B Abdoulaye Umba, who posted the first-ever A2L Triple Crown hitting season with 61 home runs, 177 RBI, and a .376 average.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-03-2025, 05:20 AM

2022 in E2L

Cardiff repeated as the first place finisher in the European Second League’s Western Conference, hoping this time it would earn them a promotion. The Crew took it at 106-56, fending off a strong challenge by 103-59 Seville. The Stingrays picked up their third consecutive playoff berth.

Stockholm (96-66) and Liverpool (94-68) took the remaining playoff spots with a steep drop to fifth place Belfast at 86-76. The Swordsmen earned their first berth since getting relegated to E2L for 2019. Liverpool earned their first berth since 2015 and is one of the few teams that have never been promoted even once. The Phantoms set a new E2L record with 62 triples as a team.

In the Double Round Robin, Stockholm had the best finish at 5-1 to advance to the Western Conference Championship. Seville joined them with a 3-3 finish, while top seed Cardiff and Liverpool were both ousted at 2-4. The Stingrays then routed the Swordsmen 4-1, sending Seville back to the European Baseball Federation’s Elite tier after an eight year stay in the Second League.

Gothenburg for the first time had the top record in the Eastern Conference at 102-60, earning their second playoff spot in four years. Last year’s #1 seed Chisinau took second at 99-63. It was a tight battle for the remaining two playoff spots with Riga finishing third at 95-67. The Roosters hadn’t been a playoff team since 2010.

Lodz and Odesa finished tied at 94-68 for the final spot, while Varna (92-70), Tallinn (90-72) and Sarajevo (88-74) each fell short. The Legion won the tiebreaker game over the Drifters to give Lodz back-to-back wild cards. They have five playoff appearances in seven years, but remain one of the squads to never be promoted. Athens, a wild card last year, fell to 77-85.

Riga surprised many by taking the best record in the Double Round Robin at 4-2. Top seed Gothenburg and Chisinau were 3-3 and Lodz went 2-4. The tiebreaker pushed the Counts forward, who then clobbered the Roosters 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Championship. Chisinau earned its second promotion after being back in E2L for only two years.

In an exciting Second League Championship, Seville outlasted Chisinau in a seven game classic. The Stingrays had also won it all in 2006, joining Valencia as the only two-time E2L champs. No extra teams would be relegated from the EBF Elite in 2022, meaning Seville and Chisinau were the only teams to earn promotion.

Other notes: Bratislava was booty at 52-110, scoring the fewest runs in E2L history at 361. They also had the second fewest homers (73) and the second worth batting average (.193) and slugging percentage (.274) in Eastern Conference history to that point. Their .260 OBP was an all-time EC worst as well.

Sarajevo’s Zurab Karpenko became the first E2L player with 500 career home runs, finishing his final season with 508. He would also retire as the E2L leader in RBI (1274) and WAR (106.94). Lodz’ Yuriy Naichukov won his third MVP in a row, joining Karpenko as the only three time MVPs in E2L.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-03-2025, 10:59 AM

2022 in AAB

Last year’s second place finisher in the African Association of Baseball’s Southern Conference was Antananarivo. They were first place in 2022 by a healthy margin at 100-62, taking the top spot by 12 games. The Eagles outperformed their expected win/loss by nine games, finishing second in both runs scored (767) and fewest allowed (670).

There were five teams within six games of the second playoff spot. Harare (88-74) narrowly took it to end a seven-year playoff drought. Defending conference champ Lilongwe and Johannesburg tied for third at 85-77, followed by Lusaka at 83-79 and Cape Town at 82-80.

2022 was the first year of promotion/relegation with the African Second League, meaning last place finishers in each conference were demoted. Maputo suffered the unfortunate relegation in the SC at 65-97, six games behind their closest foe Durban. The Piranhas were conference champ only five years prior. They would be replaced in 2023 by A2L champ Nampula.

Harare led the Southern Conference in runs (786) with designated hitter Maninho Magaia leading the way as MVP. The 27-year old Mozambican became the eighth in AAB history to smack 70+ home runs by getting 73 dingers. Magaia also led in runs (125), RBI (138), and total bases (396). He had a 1.044 OPS, 173 wRC+, and 6.5 WAR.

Lilongwe righty Julian Ndaya won Pitcher of the Year in his sixth season. The 28-year old from the Democratic Republic of the Congo won the ERA title at 2.89 and was the WARlord at 7.9. Ndaya won his fifth Gold Glove and posted a 16-6 record and 251 strikeouts in 249.1 innings.

Two-time defending Africa Series champ Kampala finished first in the Central Conference for the fourth time in five years. The Peacocks at 104-58 had by far the most runs in the league at 861 and allowed the second-fewest at 592. Allowing the fewest was Ndjamena at 567, which pushed the Magic to second place at 95-67. Ndjamena ended a 15-year playoff drought, beating last year’s wild card Lubumbashi and Nairobi both by five games at 90-72.

The cross-river rivals Kinshasa and Brazzaville battled at the bottom of the standings trying to avoid relegation. The Sun Cats ended up the worst at 62-100, while the Blowfish survived at 64-98. It was shocking that Kinshasa was the first to be demoted considering they had the first dynasty run in the 1990s and early 2000s. Bangui would take their place for 2023. Another former dynasty Addis Ababa had been god awful from 2018-21, but climbed out of the hole just in time to avoid demotion with a 78-84 record in 2022.

Central Conference MVP went to Nairobi third baseman Ibukun da Costa in only his third season. The 25-year old Angolan was the home run leader with 51 and added 104 runs, 103 RBI, .995 OPS, 170 wRC+, and 7.0 WAR. The Night Hawks had picked da Costa ninth overall in the 2019 AAB Draft and he had immediately delivered. He was the Rookie of the Year back in 2020.

Pitcher of the Year went to Ndjamena’s John Saya, who led in wins (26-5), innings (206.1), strikeouts (306), and quality starts (27). The 25-year old Tanzanian lefty had a 2.28 ERA, missing the Triple Crown by only nine points to teammate Bradley Lindsay. Saya had a 170 ERA+ and 7.3 WAR, bouncing back after missing much of the prior year to shoulder inflammation.

The Southern Conference Championship needed all seven games with top seed Antananarivo outlasting Harare. The Eagles became five-time pennant winners, ending a 13-year title drought (2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2022). Kampala continued to dominate the Central Conference with a sweep of Ndjamena, winning their third consecutive pennant and fourth in five years.

The 28^th Africa Series saw the continuation of Kampala’s dynasty, defeating Antananarivo 5-3 to complete the three-peat. The Peacocks also won their fourth title in five years, joining the great Kinshasa and Addis Ababa dynasties in achieving the feat. It also continued the Central Conference’s dominance of the final, now leading the Southern Conference 20-8 in the Africa Series.

Finals MVP went to 3B Javin Dinesh in his 11^th season with Kampala. The 31-year old South African in 11 playoff starts had 13 hits, 7 runs, 5 doubles, 4 homers, and 9 RBI. Peacocks manager Kirk Scott became the third in AAB history with three championships as the Englishman had joined in 2020. He also won his third consecutive Manager of the Year.

Other notes: In a losing effort, Antananarivo 3B Ibrahim Abdoulkader had 19 playoff RBI, setting an AAB record that still holds as of 2037. The Eagles offense had a bad stat with only 390 walks drawn all season as a team, a new AAB low. Bujumbura had the fewest doubles ever by an AAB squad at 194.

Franklin Goagoseb was the second pitcher to 200 wins and the 4^th to 3000 strikeouts. Goagoseb passed Henry Kibirige’s 203 to become the new wins leader and would get three more in 2023 to finish with 208. He’d only briefly hold the top mark with Ermias Tadele passing him almost immediately, but he still ranks 3^rd as of 2037. Relebogile Matima became the 7^th to reach 1500 RBI. 1B Patrick Babila won his seventh Gold Glove.

Promotion/Relegation: Maputo and Kinshasa were demoted to the African Second League, replaced by Nampula and Bangui, respectively.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-03-2025, 04:58 PM

2022 in ALB

Amman narrowly earned the Arab League Baseball Western Conference’s top seed at 97-65, fending off a 93-69 Jerusalem to take the Levant Division crown from the Jets. The Aviators earned their second berth in three years, but guaranteed their first conference finals berth since 2012. Amman allowed the fewest runs in ALB (614) and their staff had the second most strikeouts (1815) and second-best K/9 (11.15) in conference history.

On top of racing Jerusalem for the division, Amman beat Mediterranean Division champ Casablanca by one for the top seed. The 96-66 Bruins won the division by 14 games to end a four-year playoff drought. Casablanca set new conference records for runs scored (944) and home runs (301). The Nile Division had an intense battle for first with Cairo (88-74) squeezing by Giza (87-75). The two-time defending conference champ Pharaohs grew their playoff streak to six seasons.

Tripoli and Algiers were both non-factors at 79-83, but their stars claimed the Western Conference’s top awards. Privateers third baseman Malik Zouaoui won MVP in his fourth season, leading in home runs (64), total bases (429), slugging (.723), OPS (1.137), wRC+ (186), and WAR (9.2). The 24-year old Tunisian added 131 runs, 131 RBI, and a .342 batting average. Tripoli had given Zouaoui an eight-year, $60.3 million extension the prior spring.

Arsenal lefty Muhammad Nour repeated as Pitcher of the Year in his fourth season for Algiers. The 24-year old Algerian lefty led in ERA (2.45), quality starts (26), and WAR (7.8). Nour tossed 227.1 innings with 302 strikeouts and an 18-5 record.

Casablanca survived 2-1 in the first round over Cairo, earning their first Western Conference Final berth since their 2017 title. The Bruins’ great offense overpowered top seed Amman’s pitching, winning the WCF 3-1. Casablanca won its tenth pennant, becoming the first franchise to double-digits. As of 2037, the Bruins are still the only team with 10+ conference titles.

Basra ran away with the Eastern Conference’s top seed at 108-54, guaranteeing a fourth straight conference finals trip. The Bulldogs earned their fifth straight Mesopotamia Division by allowing the fewest runs at 625. Divisional foe Kuwait at 95-67 set a runs scored high mark at 948, but were sank by also allowing 835.

Each of the division titles were won by 13+ games. Reigning Arab League champ Jeddah continued their ALB-record reign atop the Saudi Division at 97-65, extending their streak to 12 seasons. Abu Dhabi ended a five-year playoff drought as the only Gulf Division team above .500 at 94-68.

Eastern Conference MVP was Abu Dhabi first baseman Mohamed Ali Mansour in his third season. The 23-year old Moroccan led in RBI (134) and added 58 home runs, 113 runs, 1.086 OPS, 170 wRC+, and 6.9 WAR.

Basra’s Ahmed Hussain won his second Pitcher of the Year, having also done it in 2018. The 30-year old Qatari lefty was in his 11^th season with the Bulldogs and led in wins (23-4), ERA (1.87), WHIP (0.84), K/BB (11.0), quality starts (27), ERA+ (239), FIP- (46), and WAR (11.6). Hussain’s WAR was the sixth-best single-season to that point by an ALB pitcher. He struck out 329 batters, missing the Triple Crown by 11 to Riyadh’s Diyar Abbas.

Jeddah swept Abu Dhabi in the first round for their fifth Eastern Conference Final in a row and their eighth of the playoff streak. It was the fourth straight year the Jackals battled Basra for the pennant. The Bulldogs had won in 2020, while Jeddah took it in 2019 and 2021. Notably, the team with home field advantage had lost in 2020 and 2011.

Basra was the heavy favorite by wins, but the trend of road winners continued. Jeddah cruised to a stunning sweep of the Bulldogs to earn repeat pennants. The Jackals earned their fourth pennant in five years, joining 1992-95 Medina as the only teams to do that in ALB history. It was their sixth conference title overall, becoming the first franchise with six finals berth over a ten year period.

Despite both teams’ recent success, the 33^rd Arab League Championship was the first finals battle between Jeddah and Casablanca. The Bruins denied the Jackals’ repeat bid, taking the series 4-2. Casablanca became ALB’s first team with six rings (1994, 1995, 2003, 2015, 2017, 2022). Manager Dong-Yeon Kim had taken over in 2015 and became the second ALB manager to win three titles, joining former Mosul skipper Bertel Pitkamaki.

In a losing effort, Jeddah 1B Zach Aubin was finals MVP. The 36-year old Canadian had also earned the award back in 2018. In 2022, he started 11 playoff games with 20 hits, 8 runs, 6 doubles, 4 homers, and 6 RBI. Aubin had emerged as a playoff stud in his brief time in Saudi Arabia, also winning three conference finals MVPs with a career 1.216 OPS, 221 wRC+, and 4.1 WAR in 51 playoff starts.

Other notes: Doha’s pitching staff allowed only 266 walks with a 1.68 BB/9, the second-best in Eastern Conference history. Dubai set an ALB worst as their staff allowed 1697 hits. Bahrain also set a new worst with their pitching staff posting a lousy 1.502 WHIP. Both Livan Martinez and Ali Khalaf had four home run games, a feat now achieved 14 times in ALB. For the first time in ALB, there were back-to-back seasons without a no-hitter thrown.

Mohamed Hassan and Hamdan Fahed became the 10^th and 11^th members of the 600 home run club. Hassan and Khaled Mohamed both reached 1500 RBI, a mark achieved by 14 in ALB. Yahya bin Hakam became the 13^th to reach 2500 hits and won his tenth Silver Slugger. He now had eight at first base and two as a DH.

Fawaz Hussein became only the third pitcher to 4000 strikeouts, retiring at 4022. He just passed Rashid Tariq’s 4008 for second, but finished just behind Abdullah Al-Tamtami’s 4035 for the #1 spot. Herdi Wahib and Atef Abdelhakim became the 7^th and 8^th to 200 wins. Four pitchers earned their 3000^th strikeout, making that club 17 strong. SP Mohamed Taleb won his seventh Gold Glove, tying the position record.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-04-2025, 05:12 AM

2022 in ABF

The Asian Baseball Federation’s East League had the same playoff teams for the third straight year, although some positions were switched in the North Division. Dushanbe went from a 2021 wild card to the top seed at 109-53. The Dynamo now stood alone with the longest playoff streak in ABF history at ten seasons. Almaty (99-63) got their third straight wild card and last year’s division champ Bishkek earned the second wild card at 97-65.

Over in the South Division, reigning ABF champ Faisalabad rolled to a fourth straight division title at 105-57. The Fire narrowly beat Dushanbe for the most wins in the EL (747 to 741) and was just behind Bishkek for the fewest allowed (494 to 503). Multan was the next closest at 88-74, 17 short in the division race and nine away from the second wild card.

After missing part of 2021 to a fractured hand, Dushanbe shortstop Nizami Aghazade returned to the perch as East League MVP for the eighth time. This was the ABF record and to this point, only six players in world history had won more MVPs. Aghazade also got his ninth Silver Slugger in his 11^th season for the Dynamo.

The 34-year old Kazakh righty led in runs (109), total bases (361), OBP (.413), OPS (1.049), and WAR (12.5). Aghazade added 42 home runs, 120 RBI, and a 219 wRC+. In all eight of his MVP seasons, Aghazade posted at least 12.5 WAR; amazingly this was his weakest outing as he grew to an ABF-best 130.6 career WAR. The prior seven MVP seasons held seven of the top eight WAR seasons by an ABF position player. Aghazade would sign another three year, $66,600,000 extension with Dushanbe after the 2023 season to remain their franchise icon.

Pitcher of the Year went to Almaty righty Stanislav Mukhamadiev in his second season in the rotation. The 23-year old Russian led in shutouts (6) while adding a 2.47 ERA over 248 innings, 17-6 record, 326 strikeouts, and 6.5 WAR.

Top seed Dushanbe was shocked with a first round sweep loss to Bishkek, while Faisalabad survived 3-2 against Almaty. This set up an East League Championship Series rematch between the EL’s most recent champs. The Fire beat the Black Sox in 2021, while Bishkek beat Faisalabad in the 2020 first round end route to a title. Round three saw the Black Sox continue to roll on the road, taking the series 4-1. This was Bishkek’s third pennant since joining ABF (2007, 2020, 2022) and their 12^th when factoring in their Eurasian Professional Baseball days.

Tabriz’s reign atop the West League Central Division continued for a fifth straight year with the Tiger Sharks’ playoff streak growing to seven seasons. At 103-59, Tabriz also earned the top overall seed for the fifth year running. They took it by just one game over West Division champ Baku this year. The 102-60 Blackbirds ended a four-year playoff drought with their effort.

ABF doesn’t use tiebreaker games, which made the wild card race tricky with three teams tying for two spots. Isfahan, Mashhad, and Ankara each were 90-72 with the spots going to the Imperials and Mercury. Isfahan ended a decade-long playoff drought while Mashhad earned repeat berths. Last year’s WL champ Izmir and Asgabat both finished 85-77. The Ice Caps had a four-year postseason streak ended and the Alphas saw their five-year run ruined.

Bursa was right at .500, scoring the most runs (805) but allowing the second most (792). Leading the offense was West League MVP Emre Fez in his fifth season. The 25-year old Turkish left fielder led in runs (139), hits (217), RBI (143), total bases (415), average (.360), slugging (.689), OPS (1.103), wRC+ (177), and WAR (11.1). Fez added 44 homers, 38 doubles, 14 triples, and 85 stolen bases. He would remain with the Blue Claws for the long haul, inking an eight-year, $117,400,000 extension after the 2023 campaign.

Istanbul veteran Temuri Omarov won Pitcher of the Year in his ninth season. The 30-year old Georgian righty won the ERA title at 2.16 and led in WHIP (0.87), quality starts (22), ERA+ (190), FIP- (59), and WAR (7.4). Omarov struck out 299 over 212.1 innings with a 14-9 record and 7 saves.

Tabriz survived 3-2 against Mashhad in the first round and Baku cruised to a sweep of Isfahan. The Tiger Sharks earned their fourth West League Championship Series try in five years, while it was the first since 2017 for the Blackbirds. Baku pulled off the win 4-2 on the road to secure their fourth pennant (2010, 2012, 2013, 2022). Despite five straight years as the top seed, Tabriz only had their 2019 title to show for it, going 1-3 in the WLCS.

In the 38^th ABF Championship, Bishkek continued its impressive run as the #4 seed by besting Baku 4-2, winning their second title in three years. Veteran LF Ramin Abilov won finals MVP, having signed with the Black Sox in 2021 after 14 years between Tehran and Dushanbe. The 33-year old Uzbek in 14 playoff starts had 18 hits, 10 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 3 RBI, and 1.028 OPS.

Other notes: Mehmet Fatih Canaydin became ABF’s new career hits leader, passing the previous high mark of 2795 by Petri Viskari. The 37-year old Canaydin finished 2022 at 2829 hits. He also got to 1412 runs scored, just behind Viskari’s 1446. Shadi Alam (1408) was also in position to surpass Viskari’s mark in the next season. Canaydin was also the stolen bases leader at this point by a healthy margin at 1284.

Rafkat Kudabergenov, Emmanouil Karakostas, and Eser Haspolatli all reached 2500 hits, making eight ABF batters to do so. Fakhri Rajavi became the 4th member of the 600 home run club and Habib Saquib became the 12^th to reach 500 home runs. Ozgur Ermalci was the 10^th pitcher to 200 wins and Dabir Arif was the 13^th to reach 3500 strikeouts.

Rawalpindi and Samarkand’s offenses both drew only 249 walks, setting a new ABF team worst. The Spurs’ pitching staff also had a 4.48 ERA, the third-worst in East League history. Shahid Safaq had a 31-game hit streak, tying the fifth-longest in ABF history.

3B Eser Haspolatli won his 14^th straight and final Gold Glove. He has won the award more than any other ABF player and is just one of 12 to win the award 14 times in any world league. Haspolatli is one of four in that group that were third basemen. RF Hana Zuhair won his tenth consecutive Gold Glove. CF Bardia Petrosian won his seventh Silver Slugger.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-04-2025, 11:36 AM

2022 in SAB

The Indian League’s top seed in 2022 went to Hyderabad at 101-61 atop the South Division. The Hippos led in scoring with 766 runs, ending a three-year playoff drought. Mumbai won the West Division at 99-63 to end a three-year playoff drought. Defending South Asia Baseball champ Delhi won the Central Division at 96-66 to grow their playoff streak to three. The Drillers had the fewest runs allowed at 528.

In the wild card race, Kolkata and Ahmedabad tied for the spot at 89-73, while Visakhapatnam (87-75) and Nagpur (86-76) just missed the cut. The tiebreaker game went to the Cosmos for back-to-back berths. For the Patriots, their playoff streak ended at four seasons. Pune (81-81) had their playoff streak ended at three years despite having SAB’s largest payroll at just over $152 million.

Indian League MVP went to Ahmedabad right fielder Vij Kumaragupta. The 29-year old righty led in runs (113), home runs (53), RBI (124), walks (78), total bases (381), OPS (1.091), wRC+ (220), and WAR (9.5). Kumaragupta added a .323 average and 42 stolen bases. The Animals gave him an eight-year, $94.7 million extension the prior summer.

Pitcher of the Year was fourth year Delhi righty Amir Kapur. The 26-year old Indian led in ERA (1.99), strikeouts (332), quality starts (25), ERA+ (187), FIP- (44), and WAR (9.3). Kapur pitched 213 innings with a 16-7 record, falling two wins short of a Triple Crown. The Drillers gave Kapur a six-year, $37,020,000 extension in late April to lock him up into his 30s.

Hyderabad survived 3-2 over Kolkata in the first round while Mumbai ousted reigning champ Delhi 3-1. The Hippos earned their third Indian League Championship Series try in six years, while it was the Meteors’ first since their back-to-back pennants in 2015-16. Hyderabad again couldn’t get over the hump with a 4-2 series win for Mumbai. The Meteors secured their fifth IL title (2006, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2022).

Five teams finished within six wins of the #1 seed in the Southeast Asia League, making for an intense fight for the four playoff spots. Hai Phong got the top spot at 102-60 to win a third consecutive North Division title. Dhaka was close behind in the division, ending the regular season at 98-64. Meanwhile, the South Division’s Yangon and Vientiane both ended at 98-64 as well, while Da Nang was the odd team out at 96-66.

In a tiebreaker game for the division title, the Green Dragons defeated the Vampires. For seeding, the Dobermans then beat Vientiane for the #3 seed. Yangon’s world record playoff streak grew to 28 seasons. The Vampires earned their ninth berth in 11 years, while Dhaka got back-to-back spots. The Nailers’ had their bid for a third straight spot denied despite leading in scoring at 823 runs. The Dobermans allowed the fewest runs at 606. Dhaka’s pitching staff allowed only 253 walks with a 1.55 BB/9, setting new SEAL team records.

Winning Southeast Asia League MVP was Vientiane second baseman Shivansh Mahapatra. The 28-year old Indian had the best batting average (.360) and WAR (8.4). Mahapatra scored 107 runs on 218 hits with 40 doubles, 39 homers, 125 RBI, 1.026 OPS, and 173 wRC+. In June, the Vampires paid Mahapatra for his efforts with an eight-year, $84 million extension.

Dhaka lefty Dusit Kyo secured Pitcher of the Year in his fourth season in the rotation. The 25-year old from Thailand led in WAR (8.5), complete games (12), shutouts (3), and FIP- (63). Kyo had a 16-10 record over 251 innings, 2.80 ERA, and 342 strikeouts. He earned his five-year, $25,580,000 extension from the Dobermans in the prior offseason.

Top seed Hai Phong swept Vientiane in the first round while Yangon swept Dhaka, setting up a rematch of the 2020 Southeast Asia League Championship. Again the Prowlers were the top seed, but were denied their first-ever pennant by the Green Dragons. Yangon cruised to a 4-1 win for their sixth pennant in 11 years and their 12^th SEAL title overall. It was their ninth pennant of the historic playoff streak.

The 43^rd South Asia Baseball Championship was the second finals meeting between Yangon and Mumbai with the Green Dragons winning in their 2015 encounter. Yangon would prevail again 4-2 to become five-time SAB champs (2001, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2022). The Meteors’ bad finals fortune continued, moving to 0-5 all-time in the SAB Championship. They had the most runner-up finishes amongst the SAB teams that hadn’t won it all at least once.

Finals MVP went to journeyman shortstop Kader Ahmed in his third year with Yangon. The 31-year old Bangladeshi in 14 playoff starts had 18 hits, 7 runs, 5 extra base hits, and 7 RBI.

Other notes: World home run king Majed Darwish added world RBI king to his titles, passing the 2618 set by CABA/MLB legend Prometheo Garcia from 1943-1968. Darwish ended the year at 2655 and grew his record homer mark to 1123. Darwish also finished the year at 2366 runs, only eight from passing Garcia’s world record 2374. Darwish became the new SAB runs leader in 2022, passing Ratan Canduri’s 2334 and beat MLB’s Stan Provost (2348) for the #2 spot on the world list. It was also the final year for Darwish with Hanoi after a 20-year odyssey. The 39-year old Bahraini would play three more seasons between Da Nang and Dhaka.

Chennai’s Gotam Bhagwan set a new SAB single-season record with 60 doubles, beating the previous high mark of 59 by Kasi Kumar in 2009. Bhagwan’s mark wouldn’t be beaten until 2034. Hanoi’s Arush Jitender set a bad record, allowing 51 home runs on the season. Bengaluru’s offense only hit 159 doubles, an all-time SAB low. Their 21 triples tied for the third lowest. Kathmandu’s pitching staff had 1167 strikeouts and 7.27 K/9, both were the second-lowest in SAB history behind Phnom Penh from the prior year. CF Omer al-Jabiri won his seventh Gold Glove.

Delhi’s Oliver Cook had the lone no-hitter of 2022, striking out 17 against Chennai on July 6. This tied Sakar Sheikh’s 2012 record for most Ks in an SAB no-hitter. Baladhya Jain was the 6^th reliever to 400 saves. Duc Son became the 24^th member of the 500 home run club. Mohan Zaman and Nyi Moe Win became the 24^th and 25^th to reach 2500 hits. 3B Yasir Malkawi won his tenth Silver Slugger, tying Jatinder Chowdhary for the position record.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-04-2025, 06:18 PM

2022 in WAB

Abidjan had the best overall record in West African Baseball at 104-58. It was the fourth playoff berth in five years for the Athletes and their first time in the Western League’s top spot since 2018. Conakry was second at 98-64 to grow their playoff streak to five seasons. The Coyotes allowed the fewest runs at 689. Abidjan was third in both runs scored (923) and fewest allowed (713).

For the remaining two playoff spots, Freetown (92-70) and Cape Verde (91-71) advanced with Accra (88-74) falling short. The Foresters had both their first playoff berth and winning season since 2014, while the Vulcans ended an 11-year postseason drought. CV had the most runs (964) with Freetown next (949). Defending WL champ Bamako was sixth at 83-79, which ended their seven-year postseason streak.

Cape Verde 3B Okoro Yusuf kept rolling with his third straight Western League MVP. The 25-year old Nigerian had just led his country to the World Baseball Championship title as WBC MVP. In 2022, he led the WL in hits (245), total bases (464), batting average (.404), OBP (.456), OPS (1.222), wRC+ (206), and WAR (11.5).

Yusuf’s average was the third-best in WAB history to that point and was the seventh-ever WAB effort above .400. His OBP ranked seventh-best and his OPS was third. Yusuf also had 126 runs, 52 home runs, 49 doubles, and 150 RBI. The Vulcans had wisely given him an eight-year, $113,500,000 extension the prior summer.

It took an effort that strong to overshadow Freetown’s Youssoupha Diop, who became WAB’s single-season home run king. The 25-year old Senegalais first baseman socked a nice 69 dingers, besting Shahnawaz Ikram’s 66 from 2006. Diop’s 169 RBI was the fourth-best in WAB history. Diop also had 143 runs, 1.215 OPS, 194 wRC+, and 9.1 WAR.

The Foresters would have the Pitcher of the Year Koku Omouroun in his fourth season, earning the tenth Triple Crown pitching season in WAB history. The 26-year old Togolese lefty had an 18-6 record, 2.53 ERA, and 300 strikeouts. Omouroun pitched 206.2 innings and also led in WHIP (0.95), quality starts (22), FIP- (61), and WAR (7.2). Freetown had given him a six-year, $36,540,000 extension the prior winter.

Cape Verde edged Freetown 2-1 in the first round, but got rolled 2-0 in round two by Conakry. The Coyotes earned their fourth consecutive Western League Championship Series appearance and shocked top seed Abidjan with a 3-0 sweep. Conakry secured its second pennant in three years and its fourth overall (1989, 1990, 2020, 2022).

In the Eastern League, Niamey (98-64) narrowly took the top spot from last year’s ELCS runner-up Libreville (97-65). The Atomics got their second playoff berth in four years, although they hadn’t taken first place since their 2007 pennant. For the Lakers, their playoff streak grew to three seasons. Niamey led in scoring (915) and fewest runs allowed (729).

Ibadan (93-69) and Lome (90-72) earned the remaining playoff spots, while defending WAB champ Yaounde (87-75) and Ouagadougou (85-77) were the first teams out. The Iguanas ended a four-year playoff drought while the Lasers stopped a five-year skid. The Yellow Birds’ playoff streak ended at four and Kano (74-88) had their streak end at six years.

Niamey swept the top awards with fourth-year LF Kevin Serville taking Eastern League MVP. The 25-year old Central African led in RBI (142) while adding 36 homers, 50 doubles, 17 triples, 120 runs, a .371/.405/.694 slash, 174 wRC+, and 7.4 WAR. Serville signed an eight-year, $54,760,000 extension with the Atomics the prior winter. His 2022 included hitting for the cycle during a 26-game hit streak.

Teammate Sabado Balde won his third Pitcher of the Year in four seasons. The 30-year old Bissau-Guinean led in wins (21-7), ERA (2.92), quality starts (21), and WAR (8.5). Balde struck out 290 in 249.1 innings, missing a Triple Crown by only 17 Ks. He spent one more year with Niamey, then departed for five years to MLB’s Columbus Chargers.

Ibadan beat Lome 2-0 in the first round, then knocked off Libreville 2-1 in round two. The Iguanas earned their first Eastern League Championship Series trip since 2013. They couldn’t overcome top seed Niamey as the Atomics took the ELCS 3-1. Niamey became four-time EL champs (1987, 2006, 2007, 2022).

The 48^th West African Championship saw Conakry earn their second title in three years. Like their 2020 win over Yaounde, the Coyotes got the sweep in their victory over Niamey. Conakry became three-time champs having also won back in 1990. The Coyotes finished undefeated in the playoffs at 9-0, becoming the first team in WAB history to achieve the feat.

Finals MVP was RF Romeo Volz in his second year for the Coyotes as the 32-year old French journeyman arrived after eight years in Europe. In 2022, Volz had 9 playoff starts, 12 hits, 2 doubles, 9 RBI, 7 walks, and 6 stolen bases. Reliever Mamba Diallo was also notable for going 5-0 with 2 saves in seven appearances, posting a 1.84 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 14.2 innings. Five wins set a new WAB playoff record.

Other notes: WAB hits leader Lawrence Nassif also became the RBI and doubles leader in his penultimate season. The 37-year old 1B finished the year at 2215 RBI and 671 doubles, passing Darwin Morris’s 2129 RBI and Jack Kiadii’s 659 doubles. Nassif also got to 716 home runs, joining Morris (806) and Ahamad Mathew (740) in the 700 club. He also finished 2022 at 3592 hits, becoming the first in WAB to breach 3500.

Port Harcourt’s Jacques Ahouansou set a new WAB single-game record by striking out 23 in only eight innings against Niamey on May 25. He was only the ninth in world history to fan 23+ in a game and one of only four to do it without extra innings. Ahouansou hit his mark with the fewest total outs with a remarkable 23/24 outs via strikeout.

Libreville’s Ahmed Kone had a 41-game hitting streak in the summer, falling two games short of Fares Belaid’s record 43 from the prior year. Kone himself had notably posted a 37-game streak in 2021 as well. Kone is only the 15^th player in world history to have a 40+ game hit streak and is the only player to have multiple 35+ game streaks. Belaid barely misses that cutoff, having two 34-game streaks along with his 43-game record. Belaid won his eighth Silver Slugger in 2022 and seventh as a DH.

Ibrahim Sani became the 9^th to reach 1500 RBI and Clarence Cole was the 7^th to 1500 runs scored. Cole and three others reached 2500 hits, a mark met by 21 WAB batters. Kadir Onyeali was the 7^th pitcher to reach 3500 strikeouts. 3B Seidath Boni won his 11^th consecutive Gold Glove, becoming only the third 11+ GG winner at any position in WAB. SS Romuald Assane won his seventh Gold Glove

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-05-2025, 04:34 AM

2022 in CLB

Defending Chinese League Baseball champ Nanjing finished first in the Northern League at 100-62 in 2022, earning a fourth playoff berth in five years. The Nuggets barely beat out Tianjin (99-63) for the top spot as the Jackrabbits ended a decade-long playoff drought. Qingdao was third at 92-70 to end their own five-year playoff drought. The Devils led the NL in scoring with 597 runs.

In a tight fight for the final playoff spot, Urumqi (88-74) edged out 87-75 efforts by last year’s first place team Changchun and Hangzhou. Shanghai (84-78) was seventh despite allowing the fewest runs in CLB at 431. The Unicorns got their second-ever playoff berth (2017) since joining in the 2009 expansion. Also notable was Shenyang falling to 73-89, ending a five year streak of semifinal appearances by the Swans.

Nanjing’s Kenny Sang won his third Northern League MVP, having also won in 2018 and 2019. The 28-year old second baseman led in runs (108), hits (191), home runs (58), RBI (115), total bases (404), slugging (.667), wRC+ (256), and WAR (12.8). As of 2037, Sang’s 2022 has the 21^st highest single-season WAR by a position player. He remained committed to the Nuggets by signing an eight-year, $60,100,000 extension before the season.

The Pitcher of the Year trophy also came to Nanjing with seventh-year lefty Ling Yu. He won the ERA title at 1.42 and led in K/BB (12.7), quality starts (30), and WAR (10.5). Yu had 318 strikeouts over 259 innings and a 19-5 record. The Nuggets also invested in keeping Yu around with a five-year, $46 million extension signed after the 2022 campaign.

Nanjing was the strongest team in the Round Robin at 5-1, advancing to the semifinal along with Urumqi (3-3) while Qingdao (2-4) and Tianjin (2-4) were eliminated. The Nuggets were looking to repeat and earn their third NL title in five years. However, the Unicorns pulled off the shocking 4-1 semifinal upset. Urumqi became the fourth of the six 2009 expansion teams to earn a trip to the China Series.

Defending Southern League champ Hong Kong and Dongguan both finished 96-66 atop the standings. The tiebreaker officially went to the Donkeys, who hadn’t taken first in the standings since 1986. It was also their first playoff appearance at all since 2009. The Champions meanwhile got their fifth straight playoff berth. Dongguan was the top offense in China with 658 runs scored.

Both Changsha and Foshan at 94-68 took the remaining playoff spots, missing first place by only two games. The Flyers’ streak grew to five years, while the Cannons ended a nine season drought. Xiamen was fifth at 89-73 despite allowing the SL’s fewest runs at 468. Kunming (86-76) and Guangzhou (85-77) were next, both unable to earn repeat playoff berths.

Changsha LF Tao Cai repeated as Southern League MVP in only his fourth season. The 25-year old righty was the leader in runs (114), homers (59), slugging (.664), OPS (1.028), wRC+ (213), and WAR (11.5). Cai added 128 RBI and a .296 batting average.

Guangzhou righty Kamesh Sajeev earned Pitcher of the Year in just his second season. The 23-year old Indian was the WARlord at 8.5 and led with 8 shutouts. Sajeev tossed 232.2 innings with 287 strikeouts, a 1.93 ERA, and 16-7 record.

Hong Kong finished 5-1 atop the Southern League’s round robin, Foshan and Changsha were 3-3 and top-seed Dongguan was 1-5. The tiebreaker sent the Flyers forward for over the Cannons. Both HK and Foshan earned their fourth semifinal trip in five years. The luck yet again favored the Champions, who moved to 4-0 in those trips and while the Flyers moved to 0-4. It was their third meeting of this run, this time going to Hong Kong 4-2. The Champions became only the third franchise to earn four China Series trips in five years, joining Dalian (1989-94) and Beijing (1984-87).

The 53^rd China Series saw Hong Kong roll Urumqi 4-1 to become four-time CLB champs (1984, 2007, 2019, 2022). LF Shikai Xu was finals MVP in his ninth season with the Champions. The 32-year old in 17 starts had 31 hits, 7 runs, 6 doubles, 2 homers, and 12 RBI. The 31 hits set a new CLB playoff record, beating the old high mark of 26. Xu’s 31 wouldn’t be matched for a decade. This marked the end of his CLB career, as Xu left in the offseason on a five-year, $32 million deal with Amman of the Arab League.

Other notes: The season saw an exciting chase as Wenzhou’s Boyu Long and Shijiazhuang’s Cheng Kang both chased Tao Yang’s CLB home run career record of 497. Long passed it barely to end the season at 498, while Kang finished tied with Yang at 497.

Both were chasing Xinze Yan’s RBI record of 1157 as well. Long finished 2022 with 1148 RBI with Kang at 1124. Foshan’s Zhen Zhang was also right in the mix at 1128. Kang won his tenth Silver Slugger with his eighth in left field along with two in right. Long became an eight-time Slugger winner in RF and Zheng an eight-time winner in CF.

CLB’s 53^rd perfect game was thrown by Huikang Liu of Guangzhou on June 29, striking out seven against Wenzhou. 3B Chan Koh and CF Cheung Huang both won their seventh consecutive Gold Glove.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-05-2025, 11:32 AM

2022 in APB

The Taiwan-Philippine Association saw two lengthy playoff droughts ended. In the Taiwan League, Taoyuan took the top spot at 101-61 for their first playoff berth since their 2008 Austronesia Championship. The Tsunami led in scoring (613 runs) and were five ahead of defending TPA champ Hsinchu at 96-66. Kaohsiung was also competitive at 90-72. Meanwhile, Taipei collapsed to 63-99 to end their APB-record 14-year stretch of winning seasons.

Quezon (94-68) beat out Zamboanga (92-70) and Manila (91-71) in a very competitive Philippine League. This ended a 23-year playoff drought for the Zombies back to 1998. Pitching led the way, as they allowed the fewest runs at 433. Last year’s PL winner Cagayan de Oro was a non-factor at 76-86.

Hsinchu designated hitter Binh Tang won his third consecutive Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP. Still only 22-years old, the Vietnamese lefty led in runs (101), hits (193), RBI (102), walks (65), and total bases (360). Tang had 42 homers, .970 OPS, 196 wRC+, and 9.3 WAR.

For the first time since 2014, someone other than Ching-Chen Yao won Pitcher of the Year. Quezon’s Donald Daang broke up that streak as the 27-year old Filipino lefty led in ERA (1.44), innings (287.1), strikeouts (309), quality starts (29), complete games (19), shutouts (8), and WAR (8.8). Daang had a 17-10 record, three wins shy of the Triple Crown. This was the peak for Daang, who would be derailed by back-to-back UCL tears in the next two seasons.

As for Yao, he was third in 2022’s POTY voting despite missing a month to a strained hamstring. The Zamboanga ace still led in strikeouts with 309, his tenth time as the leader. Even in a “down year,” Yao threw two no-hitters, striking out 16 versus Kaohsiung on 5/16 and fanning 13 versus Manila on 7/20. He became the fifth APB ace with 4+ career no-nos.

Yao was denied the WARlord title for only the second time since 2012, but still had a great year at 8.0. This got him to 144.7 career WAR, passing fellow pitchers Hadi Ningsih (144.5), Wisnu Mahmudiana (143.3), and Donnie Luzon (137.8) to become the all-time WARlord in Austronesia Professional Baseball. It also moved him to 15^th on the all-time world leaderboard for pitching WAR.

Medan had the Sundaland Association’s best record at 95-67, winning the Malacca League title for the second time in three years. The Marlins held off 92-70 Singapore for the spot despite the Sharks leading in scoring with 526 runs. Medan was second in runs scored (508) and fewest allowed (415). Last year’s ML winner Kuala Lumpur fell to fourth place at 79-83.

Bandung earned their first Java Sea League crown since their 2015 APB title. The Blackhawks at 92-70 dethroned reigning APB champ and three-time defending SA winner Palembang at 89-73. Bandung allowed the fewest runs at 408. Depok was also in the mix with an 86-76 record, their first winning campaign since 2011.

Sundaland Association MVP went to Medan right fielder Mohd Aqmal Kunanlan. The 27-year old Malaysian led in runs (102), RBI (91), triple slash (.317/.395/.626), OPS (1.021), wRC+ (264), and WAR (11.5). He hit 47 home runs, missing the Triple Crown by three to Pekanbaru’s James Yuwono’s 50. The Marlins had given Kunanlan an eight-year, $41,920,000 extension prior to the 2022 campaign.

Medan also had the Pitcher of the Year as Purnadi Supriatna won it for the second time in three years. The 27-year old Indonesian lefty led in strikeouts (401), FIP- (38), and WAR (12.2). Supriatna saw a 1.71 ERA over 273.1 innings and a 19-8 record. He also had a 22 strikeout game against Depok on September 2, tying the APB record for Ks in a regulation game. Vhon Lasam had 23 over 10.1 innings in 1984.

The Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship went all seven games for the fourth consecutive year. Quezon outlasted Taoyuan to win their third pennant (1984, 1998, 2022), ending a 23-year title drought. Medan beat Bandung 4-2 in the Sundaland Association Championship to snap their own 11-year drought. The Marlins won their ninth pennant (1966, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 2000, 2010, 2022), tying them with Jakarta for the most.

The 58^th Austronesia Championship was a rematch of the 1984 final, which was Quezon’s lone title. The Zombies secured their second ring in 2022, defeating Medan in a 4-3 classic. Seventh-year CF Som Sous won finals MVP as the 28-year old Cambodian in 14 starts had 15 hits, 13 runs, 3 doubles, 3 homers, 9 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. The 13 runs set a new APB playoff record that hasn’t been passed as of 2037. Quezon’s Widodo Megawati also set a playoff record by drawing 10 walks.

Other notes: APB’s 46^th perfect game came on June 3 from Kaohsiung’s Tse-Chun Fu, striking out 10 versus Manila. The 47^th perfecto then came on October 2 from Batam’s Cirmezi Khan, striking out 17 versus Johor Bahru. Singapore’s Fahrudin Ramli threw his second no-hitter on June 2 against Jakarta. Ching-Chen Yao became the 20^th pitcher to 4000 strikeouts.

APB home run king Wil Tabaldo became the 1^st member of the 700 home run club and the first to reach 1500 career RBI. Iqbal Safari became the 2^nd to 3000 career hits, finishing his career at 3045. Safari also was the 9^th to reach 500 homers, ending at 518. LF Liu Hu won his 8^th Silver Slugger.

Achmad Albaar became the third to 400 saves. He pitched two more years and ended at 418, second to Metta Adam’s 437. Rob Bruja was the 26^th pitcher to 200 wins and the 33^rd to 3500 strikeouts. Earlier in the year, Gosner Rahmawati also reached 3500 Ks. 1B Widodo Megawati won his 12^th consecutive and final Gold Glove. C Muhammad Aqsar won his 7^th Gold Glove.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-05-2025, 04:33 PM

2022 in OBA

For the first time since 1984, the Australasia League had a tie for first place. Sydney and Auckland were both even at 101-61, which led to a one-game playoff won by the Snakes. Sydney earned its third pennant in five years, while the Avengers’ drought grew to 21 seasons. The Snakes allowed the fewest runs (599) while Auckland scored the most (793).

Sydney’s offense had 165 triples, 552 stolen bases, and only struck out 875 times. All of these were new OBA team records. Melbourne (93-69) and Canberra (91-71) were distant third and fourth place finishers. Two-time defending AL champ Christchurch dropped to fifth at 85-77. The Chinooks did extend their streak of winning seasons to 12.

Australasia League MVP went to third-year first baseman Jordy Vincent. The 23-year old New Caledonian led in home runs (53), RBI (149), and slugging (.641). Vincent added 8.2 WAR, 115 runs, 1.032 OPS, and a 173 wRC+. Vincent also earned a Gold Glove for his efforts. The Centurions gave him a five-year, $24.5 million extension before the season.

In his Oceania Baseball Association debut, Sydney’s Chuchuan Cao won Pitcher of the Year. The 33-year old lefty won his sixth POTY overall, having won five in Chinese League Baseball with Shenyang. Cao also had won five MVPs as a two-way player, although the Snakes limited him just to pitching. He signed a four-year, $43,200,000 deal to join Sydney.

Cao led the AL in wins (28-6), innings (319), K/BB (12.0), complete games (19), shutouts (5), FIP- (68), and WAR (10.0). He added a 2.93 ERA and 361 strikeouts. Between CLB and OBA now, Cao had a combined 169.3 career WAR, which places him inside the top 15 among all pro baseball players.

Defending Oceania Champion Vanuatu repeated as Pacific League champion at 99-63. The Wizards edged out Guadalcanal (97-65) and Guam (93-69) for the top spot. Vanuatu allowed the fewest runs (564) and scored the second most (780). The Green Jackets had the top offense at 784 runs for their 14^th consecutive winning season. Vanuatu had 102 triples, the second-most in a PL season. The Golden Eagles set new OBA team pitching records for walks (209) and BB/9 (1.29).

Vanuatu LF Hama Brotherson won his second Pacific League MVP, having also won back in 2017. The 30-year old Tahitian led in hits (203), total bases (357), stolen bases (85), average (.343), OBP (.370), wRC+ (183), and WAR (8.1). Brotherson had 101 runs, 24 doubles, 20 triples, 30 homers, and 103 RBI. It was the final year of his Wizards run, leaving in the offseason for a $150,400,000, six-year deal with MLB’s Sacramento Shamrocks.

In fourth place was Port Moresby at 87-75, led by Pitcher of the Year Colton Stark. The 29-year old Australian righty led in wins (23-11), ERA (2.25), WHIP (0.93), FIP- (56), and WAR (10.9). Stark struck out 321 over 292.1 innings with a 161 ERA+. The Mud Hens signed him in spring training 2023 to a six-year, $152 million deal.

The 63^rd Oceania Championship saw Sydney sweep the defending champ Vanuatu, giving the Snakes their third title in five years (2018, 2019, 2022). In only his second year as a starter, 1B David Odom won finals MVP. The 22-year old New Zealander went 7-17 with 2 runs, 1 double, 1 home, and 4 RBI.

Other notes: Auckland’s Nilton Paiva set multiple single-season records in 2022. He had a .374 batting average, 238 hits, and 42 triples; all new OBA records. The 42 triples tied for the fourth-most by any player in any world league. Sydney’s David Odom matched him with 42 triples and had 230 hits, which also broke the old OBA record of 226. Paiva had a 33-game hit streak and Odom had a 31-game streak as well, both just missing the OBA record of 34.

Fiji ace Akira Brady became OBA’s all-time wins leader by going 22-14, finishing the season with 333 to pass Tarzan Rao’s 314 for the top mark. The 35-year old New Zealander now was OBA’s leader in wins, strikeouts, and WAR. Brady passed 6000 strikeouts in 2022, becoming only the fifth pitcher in all of world baseball history to reach the mark. Brady would see his first major setback in 2023 with shoulder inflammation knocking him out five months.

Roe Kaupa became the 4^th member of the 700 home run club and the 18^th to reach 1500 runs scored, hitting both marks in the same week in mid-August. Kaupa also won his 12^th Silver Slugger with them split between 1B/DH. CF Pouvalu Manu won his 8^th Gold Glove.

Closers Nathan Bouye and Aidan Wray became the 3^rd and 4^th members of the 300 save club. Nathan Henderson was the 8^th pitcher to 250 wins and Alison Kila was the 21^st to reach 3500 strikeouts. Hobart was last in the AL at 59-103 with historically bad pitching. The Tasmaniacs allowed the most runs (902) and earned runs (817) in OBA history and posted the second-worst ERA (5.02), hits allowed (1695), and H/9 (10.41).

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-06-2025, 05:00 AM

2022 in EPB

Minsk returned to the top spot in the EPB European League standings for the first time since 2009. The Miners finished 104-58 to win the North Division and earn their second playoff berth in three years. Volgograd repeated as South Division champ at 100-62 and earned a third straight playoff berth. The Voyagers were league leaders in runs scored (717) with Minsk close behind (705). Both teams were 100+ runs ahead of the rest of the EL.

Both wild cards came from the North Division with Nizhny Novgorod at 91-71 and St. Petersburg at 87-75. The Ninjas earned back-to-back wild cards and allowed the fewest runs at 508. The Polar Bears ended a 15-year postseason drought, while reigning EL champ Moscow had their four-year streak ended. Voronezh also had a three-year run snapped, finishing 81-81 along with the Mules. For Moscow, the .500 finish was their first non-winning season since 1998.

No position players in the European League had above 7 WAR, opening up the MVP race to pitchers. Minsk’s Nehor Pomerantz took advantage, winning both MVP and Pitcher of the Year in his third season. The 24-year old Israeli lefty led in wins at 24-3, adding a 1.70 ERA, 232.2 innings, 314 strikeouts, 190 ERA+, and 8.3 WAR. Pomerantz was the first pure pitcher to win MVP in Eurasian Professional Baseball since Matvey Ivanov in 2002.

Pomerantz was a surprising choice since he was fourth in WAR among pitchers. Three-time defending POTY Svyatoslav Tyahnybok of Volgograd was the leader in WAR (11.2) and strikeouts (378), but missed the top five in ERA at 2.37. St. Petersburg’s Jack Burge had the best ERA at 1.46, which was the lowest qualifying season since 2006. However, he missed the final month of the year to a torn flexor tendon that sadly largely derailed his remaining career.

St. Petersburg shocked top seed Minsk 3-2 in the first round, giving the Polar Bears their first European League Championship Series trip since 2006. Volgograd rolled to a sweep of Nizhny Novgorod. The Voyagers claimed their second pennant in three years, besting the Polar Bears 4-3. That extended St. Petersburg’s pennant drought to 45 seasons, the longest active drought in EPB.

Krasnoyarsk was miles ahead of the competition in the Asian League, winning their third straight East Division title and earning a fifth playoff berth in a row. The Cossacks cruised to 106-56 while no other AL teams got above 90 wins. Krasnoyarsk led in scoring at 723 runs and allowed the second fewest at 549. Omsk allowed the fewest runs at 484.

Six teams were within six games of the other three playoff spots. Five of those teams were in the West Division, won by defending EPB champ Perm at 89-73. The Pitbulls secured a third straight division title, although it was a big drop from their prior 100+ win campaigns. The Otters took the first wild card at 86-76, ending Omsk’s four-year playoff drought.

For the second wild card, Chelyabinsk (84-78) squeaked by 83-79 efforts by Ufa, Yekaterinburg, and Vladivostok. The Cadets snagged a fourth wild card in a row. Ulaanbaatar was down at 80-82, ending their bid for a third straight wild card. For the Shibas, 83-79 was the first winning campaign of their so-far unimpressive tenure. The other three 2008 expansion teams have each made it to the LCS already.

Asian League MVP went to Yekaterinburg LF Brandon Chunchignorov. In his seventh season, the 30-year old Mongolian lefty also won his seventh consecutive Gold Glove. Chunchignorov led in runs (95), OBP (.393), slugging (.636), OPS (1.029), wRC+ (189), and WAR (9.7). He added 43 home runs and 125 RBI.

Omsk’s Mark Luo won Pitcher of the Year in his EPB debut. The 33-year old Chinese righty had won the award previously in CLB for Shantou in 2019. With the Otters, he led in ERA (1.62), WHIP (0.76), K/BB (20.0), and quality starts (28). Luo added 9.5 WAR, 272.1 innings, 260 strikeouts, and an 18-8 record.

Krasnoyarsk downed Chelyabinsk 3-1 in the first round while Omsk ousted Perm 3-1. The Cossacks earned their fifth Asian League Championship Series trip in seven years, while it was the Otters’ first since 2017. Krasnoyarsk was the huge favorite, but Omsk shocked them in a seven-game classic. The Otters earned their first pennant since 2014 and their eighth overall. The Cossacks have gone 1-4 in their recent ALCS trips and have gone 0-3 with home field advantage. This was also the first time since 2004 that both the ALCS and ELCS went all seven games.

In the 68^th EPB Championship, Omsk kept their unlikely run rolling by upsetting Volgograd 4-2. This was the third title for the Otters (2010, 2014, 2022) and gave the Asian League a fifth straight title over the European League. It also kept a run of wild card success going, as six of the last seven champs have been wild cards with three of them doing it despite winning fewer than 90 regular season games.

Veteran journeyman 1B Markus Lohmus won finals MVP in his third season with the Otters. The 34-year old Estonian had started in the European Second League, then spent eight years as a backup in Africa for Johannesburg. In 17 playoff starts, Lohmus posted 24 hits, 9 runs, 6 doubles, 5 RBI, and 9 stolen bases.

Other notes: Krasnoyark’s Yevgeni Lyubimov threw EPB’s 33^rd Perfect Game, the first one since 2005. On August 30, he struck out 12 in the effort against Ufa. That had been the longest gap between perfect games in EPB history and the next wouldn’t come until 2031.

Sergei Stoev became the 19^th member of the 500 home run club. Tayyar Abdualiyev and Nikolay Kargopolcev became the 23^rd and 24^th to reach 2500 career hits. 1B Artur Sagdatullin won his 13^th Gold Glove, joining RF German Daugelo as the only EPB players to win the award 13+ times at any spot. LF Yuriy Isakov and DH Pavel Khuzin both won their 8^th Silver Sluggers. It was Khuzin’s first as a DH, having won his prior seven at second base.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-06-2025, 09:05 AM

2022 in EBF

Dublin had the European Baseball Federation Elite’s best record in 2022 at 116-46 atop the Northern Conference’s West Division. This was a new franchise record, beating Dublin’s 115-47 championship season in 2013. The Dinos allowed the fewest runs in EBF at 524 and scored the third-most runs at 817. They picked up their third straight division title. All three division winners in the NC reached triple digit wins. Defending conference champ Hamburg took the #2 seed at 107-55 atop the East Division. The Hammers won their sixth division crown in a row and led EBF in scoring with 875 runs.

Rotterdam repeated as Central Division champs at 100-62. They had the tightest division race with both Amsterdam and Frankfurt finishing 94-68. Those squads got the first two wild cards with the Anacondas grabbing their eighth berth in a decade. The Falcons had their fourth playoff berth in five years.

For the final wild card, Edinburgh and Cologne tied at 89-73, while Manchester, Berlin, and Warsaw were each four back at 85-77. The Enforcers won the tiebreaker game over the Copperheads, giving Edinburgh its second wild card in four years. Cologne missed despite having the second-most hits (1692) and third-most doubles (291) in conference history. For the Wildcats, their playoff streak ended at three years.

Finishing last and getting relegated from the Northern Conference was Kyiv at 60-102. The next closest team to demotion was 66-96 Birmingham, missing the 100+ loss demarcation line by four games. The Kings had made it back to the top tier in 2016, but had fallen back below .500 from 2018 onward. They were now paying for some bad contracts as Kyiv’s nearly $362 million payroll was the second-highest in EBF.

Dublin swept the Northern Conference’s top awards, led by MVP Theofilos Psarras. The 29-year old Greek left fielder became a two-time winner, having grabbed it in his 2018 Dinos debut. In 2022, Psarras led in runs (132), total bases (420), slugging (.712), OPS (1.100), and wRC+ (197). He added 19 doubles, 35 triples, 41 home runs, 116 RBI, 81 stolen bases, and 8.5 WAR. Psarras also hit for the cycle in August against Wroclaw. Psarras won his 8^th Silver Slugger and 2^nd in LF. He had won four times in RF and twice at 1B.

Pitcher of the Year was Johann Soderstijerna in his third season for Dublin. The 33-year old Swedish righty had a 2.35 ERA over 252.1 innings, 166 ERA+, 21-7 record, 195 strikeouts, and 7.4 WAR. He had joined Dublin in 2020 after playing previously with Stockholm and Cluj-Napoca.

Amsterdam edged divisional foe Frankfurt 2-1 in the first round while Rotterdam swept Edinburg 2-0. Both top seeds prevailed in the second round, although they needed all five games to survive. Dublin outlasted the Anacondas and Hamburg held off the Ravens. This set up a rematch in the Northern Conference Championship between the Dinos and Hammers.

Both had been recent powerhouses with Hamburg winning the 2021 and 2019 pennants, while Dublin grabbed the 2020 title. The Dinos got some revenge from the prior year, dropping the Hammers 4-1. They had the third-best record in EBF history by a conference champ. Dublin now had nine pennants (1962, 1967, 1968, 1995, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2020, 2022), tying Amsterdam for the most from the Northern Conference. The Southern Conference’s Barcelona had the most overall with ten.

Two-time defending European Champion Munich was the only team with 100+ wins in the Southern Conference at 107-55. It was their third division title in five years. The Mavericks led the conference in both runs scored (776) and fewest allowed (593) from atop the West Division. The Central Division title and #2 seed went to Naples at 98-64. The Nobles earned their second division title in three years and third playoff berth since returning to the top tier in 2019.

Those two divisions had each of the contenders for the three wild cards. Lisbon (94-68), Prague (92-70), and Zagreb (92-70) got the slots, while Zurich (90-72), Palermo (89-73), and Madrid (86-76) missed the cut. The Gulls got their third straight playoff berth. The Pilots ended an eight-year drought and the Clippers snapped a three-year skid.

In a weak East Division, it was Skopje (86-76) fending off Bucharest (82-80) and last year’s division champ Belgrade (81-81). It was the first-ever playoff berth for the Stags, who were the Second League’s runner-up two years prior. At the bottom was Thessaloniki at 59-103 as the relegated team from the Southern Conference. Ljubljana nearly suffered their own demotion but at 64-98 managed to avoid the 100+ loss threshold narrowly.

Thessaloniki’s decline had been quick and steep. The Tritons had won the conference title in 2017 and had division titles in 2018 and 2018. They fell to 76-86 in 2021, then plummeted off the cliff in 2022. Thessaloniki had lasted 15 years in this run within the EBF Elite and had been perhaps the most successful franchise of those that had debuted in E2L in 2005.

For the second time in three years, Zagreb’s Aleksandr Parts won MVP. The 28-year old Estonian first baseman led in hits (228), average (.373), OPS (1.058), wRC+ (195), and WAR (10.0). Parts added 115 runs, 36 doubles, 28 triples, 21 homers, and 82 steals.

Munich righty Nejc Novak earned Pitcher of the Year in his sixth season. Nicknamed “Big Shot,” the 26-year old Slovene righty was the WARlord at 8.7. Novak had an 18-7 record, 2.56 ERA, 246.1 innings, 277 strikeouts, and 148 ERA+. He would commit to the Mavericks after the 2023 campaign on a six-year, $153,600,000 deal.

Zagreb swept Lisbon and Skopje swept Prague in the first round. The Gulls gave top seed Munich a fierce battle, but the Mavericks survived 3-2. Munich’s hopes for a three-peat and a fourth pennant in five years remained in play. Naples held on 3-1 against the Stags on the other side. For the Nobles, this was only their third-ever Southern Conference Championship appearance, joining their 1957 and 1998 pennants.

Munich was hoping for the first SC three-peat since Zurich in the early 1980s. The series went all seven games for the first time since 2006 with Naples pulling off the upset over the Mavericks. The Nobles also were the first Italian team to make the finals since their own 1998 title.

In the 73^rd European Championship, Dublin crushed Naples in the first finals sweep since 2014. The Dinos at 116-46 posted the second-best record by an EBF champ, besting their own history 115-47 campaign from 2013. 1954 Amsterdam at 118-44 still holds the top spot, although Dublin’s 2022 effort has to be in the conversation for EBF’s best-ever team. The Dinos became the first franchise to win six EBF rings (1962, 1967, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2022),

In his only season in Ireland, catcher Vince Noort earned finals MVP. The 28-year old Dutchman arrived in Dublin in a deadline trade from Athens. Noort started 14 playoff games with 14 hits, 11 runs, 2 doubles, 3 home runs, and 6 RBI. It was a major highlight in an otherwise forgettable career that saw only 9.8 WAR in the top tier.

Other notes: Oslo shortstop Harvey Coyle at only age 35 became EBF’s all-time WARlord. He posted 9.0 WAR in 2022 and finished the year at 178.0 for his career, passing Jacob Ronnberg’s 169.2. The Englishman also won his 12^th Silver Slugger and just missed out on a 14^th Gold Glove. Coyle also became the third EBF member of the 800 home run club, leading the conference with 53. At 818, he ranks just behind Villum Kliest (823) for second and could conceivably pass Jack Kennedy’s 875 as soon as next year. Coyle also became the 19^th to reach 1500 runs scored.

Coyle moved to 6^th in WAR among all players in pro baseball history. He was behind OBA/MLB SS/2B Jimmy Caliw (214), BSA ace and strikeout king Mohamed Ramos (205.1), WAB GOAT SS Darwin Morris (194.4), CABA/MLB ace Ulices Montero (191.7), CABA/MLB 1B Prometheo Garcia (189.1), and EPB two-way star Igor Bury (180.0).

Jiri Lebr finished the year with 2210 RBI, passing Ronnberg’s 2184 to become EBF’s new leader. EBF’s hit king became only the fourth in world history to reach 4000 career hits. Lebr finished the year at 4187, passing MLB’s Stan Provost (4133) and EAB/MLB standout Min-Seong Ryu (4043) for #2 on the all-time list. Only Prometheo Garcia ranks higher at 4917 between his CABA/MLB run. The 41-year old Slovak would spend 2023 with MLB’s Washington before returning for two more EBF seasons.

Jean-Luc Tapie became the 9^th member of the 700 home run club. Tapie and Nicolo Giotto both reached 2500 hits, making that a 39-player club. Pavel Pajitnov was the 28^th to reach 1500 RBI. Luther Bowness was the 26^th pitcher to 3500 strikeouts and the 38^th to 200 wins.

After going seven years without a perfect game, EBF had two in 2022. The 36^th perfecto came on May 27 from Belgrade’s Mykola Mischenko with 12 strikeouts versus Malta. The 37^th was August 30 as Amsterdam’s Elias Obexer struck out 11 against Helsinki.

The day prior to Mischenko’s perfect game (5/26) was a no-hitter by teammate Mario Reichenbach also against Malta. This may be the only time in world history that a team no-hit an opponent on back-to-back days. Reichenbach would throw a second no-hitter in 2022 on July 19 against Ljubljana. He became EBF’s 5^th pitcher to throw two no-nos in the same season.

Promotion/Relegation: Kyiv and Thessaloniki were the relegated teams while Seville and Chisinau were promoted. This required some shuffling as both promoted teams made more sense in the Southern Conference. The Counts took the Tritons East Division spot straight up, while the Stingrays were moved in the West Division. Malta was switched from the West to the Central. Krakow was swapped from the SC Central into Kyiv’s former spot in the NC East. In the E2L, Gothenberg was switched from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference to regain the balance.

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

Recommended Videos

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment