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

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-27-2025, 02:34 PM

2024 ALB Hall of Fame

Arab League Baseball’s 2024 Hall of Fame ballot was a weak one with no debuts above 1/3 of the vote. It was very nearly blank, but reliever Souilem Boudiaf barely crossed the 66% requirement with 67.3% on his third ballot. The only other player above 50% was LF Abduwali Suleiman with 50.2% for his fourth try. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots.

Souilem “Mirror” Boudiaf – Relief Pitcher – Tripoli Privateers – 67.3% Third Ballot

Souliem Boudiaf was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed relief pitcher from Khemis Miliana, Algeria; a university town of around 200,000 located 120 kilometers west of Algiers. In his prime, Boudiaf had tremendous stuff with great movement and good control. Even after his stuff diminished in his later years, Boudiaf’s control remained strong enough to stay playable. He remarkably played for 22 seasons as one of the only relievers in world history to play into his mid 40s.

Boudiaf’s strength at his peak was an impressive 99-101 mph fastball mixed with a good slider. He had good stamina for a reliever and managed for most of his run to avoid the major arm injuries that ruined many pitchers. Boudiaf was subpar at holding runners with weak defense. He was a prankster in the clubhouse and a good leader, becoming appreciated in the many clubhouses he inhabited in his career.

Relievers often weren’t picked at the top of the draft, but Boudiaf was an exception as he went eighth to Tripoli in the 1999 ALB Draft. He had full time use in middle relief right away, but struggled immensely as a rookie with -1.3 WAR and a 6.44 ERA in 50.1 innings. Despite that, the Privateers promoted Boudiaf to closer in 2001 with decent results. He justified the selection in 2002, which was among Boudiaf’s finest seasons.

Boudiaf posted a career-best 45 saves to lead the Western Conference and led for the only time in his career with 75 games. He had 102.1 innings, 191 strikeouts, and 7.0 WAR; impressive numbers by any closer. Boudiaf won his first Reliever of the Year and was second in Pitcher of the Year voting. He tossed 4.1 scoreless innings in the playoffs as Tripoli fell to Alexandria in the conference final. The Privateers had a first round exit in 2004, but were generally below average for the rest of Boudiaf’s run.

2003 saw a third place in Reliever of the Year voting and 2005 had a second place. Tripoli struggled in 2006 and were sellers in the summer, trading Boudiaf to reigning ALB champ Medina for two prospects. For the Privateers, Boudiaf had 217 saves, 34-45 record, 2.27 ERA, 499.2 innings, 865 strikeouts, 155 walks, 172 ERA+, and 25.5 WAR.

Boudiaf had a strong second half for Medina, who took the top seed in the Eastern Conference at 107-55. He allowed one run in three playoff innings as the Mastodons were upset in the ECF by Basra. Boudiaf’s combined effort for the season earned his second Reliever of the Year with a career-best 7.1 WAR and 193 strikeouts. He then won the award again in 2007 and 2008 for Medina, becoming only the second in Arab League history to win the award four times.

In 2007, Boudiaf had his career best ERA at 1.08 and he led in saves for the second time in 2008 with 43. The 2008 effort allowed Boudiaf to become the fourth with 300 ALB saves. He was excellent in the 2007 postseason, allowing one run over 14 innings with 29 strikeouts. Boudiaf fanned 13 over seven scoreless in 2008. Medina won the 2007 ALB title over Jerusalem, but lost to Basra in the 2008 Eastern Conference Final.

For Medina, Boudiaf had 97 saves, 14-11 record, 1.32 ERA, 231 innings, 457 strikeouts, 58 walks, 302 ERA+, and 14.5 WAR. He became a free agent after the 2008 season at age 31 and ended his Arab League career. Boudiaf would pitch another 13 seasons across six continents for ten different teams, becoming an ace in the hole for any international Immaculate Grid.

In ALB, Boudiaf finished with 314 saves and 330 shutdowns, 48-56 record, 603 games, 730.2 innings, 1322 strikeouts, 213 walks, 199 ERA+, and 40.0 WAR. He didn’t stay long enough to qualify for rate stats, but he still ranked 8^th in saves as of 2037. Boudiaf also had the highest WAR of any Hall of Fame reliever in ALB, which worked in his favor with supporters. His 0.64 ERA over 28.1 playoff innings with 58 strikeouts also showed his value in his peak.

Still, Boudiaf’s candidacy had to overcome voters who thought he wasn’t around long enough to qualify. Many of them gave Boudiaf little to no credit for his post-ALB numbers. He debuted on the 2022 ballot at 54.6% and improved to 58.5% in 2023. Enough were impressed with his dominant peak to keep Boudiaf in the conversation. With a very weak 2024 group, Boudiaf got the bump just across the 66% threshold. At 67.3%, he was a third ballot inductee and the lone 2024 selection for the Arab League.

Even after he left the Arab World, Boudiaf still proudly represented his native Algeria in the World Baseball Championship. He was a stalwart from 2000-20 as one of the very few to play in more than 20 WBCs. Boudiaf had 58 games, 224 innings, a 17-14 record, 12 saves, 2.97 ERA, 330 strikeouts, 78 walks, and 7.1 WAR. He saw regular use as a starter in the WBC, most notably throwing a 17 strikeout, two walk no-hitter in 2010 against Switzerland. Boudiaf also helped Algeria earn its first-ever elite eight trip in 2012.

His WBC outings helped earn international attention ahead of his free agency entry. Boudiaf signed a three-year, $30 million deal with MLB’s Philadelphia Phillies. He was used in middle relief for Philly, but was efficient with a 1.98 ERA over 77.1 innings, 105 strikeouts, and 3.0 WAR. Boudiaf also allowed only one run over ten playoff innings in his run, helping Philadelphia to the National Association pennant in 2010. They lost the World Series to San Diego, but won the first-ever Baseball Grand Championship. Boudiaf allowed two runs (one earned) in four BGC innings.

After generally staying healthy, Boudiaf missed most of 2011 to shoulder inflammation. This made some teams leery as he returned to free agency heading towards age 35. Calgary gave him a shot at two years and $16,600,000. In 2012, Boudiaf had a 1.42 ERA over 50.2 innings for the Cheetahs. However, he was cut in the offseason and signed for 2013 with Chicago. Boudiaf remained effective in middle relief with a 2.29 ERA over 51 innings for the Cubs.

For his combined MLB tenure, Boudiaf had a 1.91 ERA over 179 innings, 24-12 record, 4 saves, 198 strikeouts, 45 walks, 183 ERA+, and 5.6 WAR. Now 37-years old, Boudiaf ended up in South America with Valencia on a two-year, $11,800,000 deal. He returned to a closer role with mixed results, getting 35 saves but posting a 3.18 ERA over 65 innings. The Velocity traded him in the offseason to Belo Horizonte for prospects, sending Boudiaf to his sixth different country.

He stayed the Hogs closer with 30 saves and a 2.46 ERA over 84 innings. Back to free agency at age 39, Boudiaf ended up with Chisinau for two years and $11,400,000. With that, Boudiaf played on his sixth continent, playing on all of the populated ones except Australia. He got 31 saves in 2016 for the Counts, giving Boudiaf more than 400 saves for his combined career. He had a 3.35 ERA and allowed two runs in 5.1 playoff innings as Chisinau lost in the second round of the playoffs.

Boudiaf spent the first half of 2017 with the Counts before getting traded to Dublin, finishing the year with 12 saves and a 3.21 ERA over 61.2 innings between the two. The now 41-year old Boudiaf signed for 2018 with Zaragoza with a 1.97 ERA in 64 innings, showing he could still go. After that, he moved to his fifth different league with Perm of Eurasian Professional Baseball. He was a full-time closer one last time with 27 saves and a 3.75 ERA over 74.1 innings for the Pitbulls.

In 2020, Boudiaf returned to South America with Asuncion, but struggled with a 4.95 ERA and 17 saves in 56.1 innings. He was back in Europe for 2021 with Rome, but had a 5.76 ERA of 25 innings. In late May, Boudiaf suffered a torn rotator cuff that effectively ended his career. Instead of trying to rehab back and hope for a new home, he retired at age 44. Between the EBF stints, Boudiaf had a 3.26 ERA over 237.1 innings, 17-13 record, 43 saves, 185 strikeouts, 115 ERA+, and 1.8 WAR.

For his combined pro career, Boudiaf had 470 saves and 557 shutdowns, an 111-107 record, 1139 games, 2.47 ERA, 1426.2 innings, 1976 strikeouts, 378 walks, 151 ERA+, 57 FIP-, and 53.0 WAR. As of 2037, Boudiaf ranked 5^th in world history in games pitched, 23^rd in saves, 24^th in shutdowns, 22^nd in strikeouts for relievers and 32^nd in WAR among relievers.

There were other great closers with more raw dominance, but Boudiaf’s longevity was unheard of for a relief pitcher. He pitched in five leagues across six continents for 13 teams in 12 countries. There may not have been any players with more stamps in their passports over a career. Boudiaf’s unique career was certainly worthy of a mention in the tale of baseball history and he was impressive enough in the Arab League to secure a spot in the Hall of Fame for 2024.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-27-2025, 07:42 PM

2024 AAB Hall of Fame (Part 1)

Three players were selected for the African Association of Baseball’s Hall of Fame for 2024. Each earned a first ballot pick, but 1B/DH Luke Tembo was the clear headliner at 98.1%. Joining him were pitchers Bahujnana Kaimal at 76.4% and Paul Lambote at 72.0%. 2B Gedeon Bukasa was the best returner at 62.1%, narrowly missing the 66% requirement in his sixth ballot. RF Anthony Chongo also was above 50% with 50.3% for his second try. No one was dropped after ten failed ballots.

Luke Tembo – First Base/Designated Hitter – Bujumbura Bighorns – 98.1% First Ballot

Luke Tembo was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Mwanza, Malawi; a town of 18,000 on the southern border with Mozambique. He joined Class of 2020 SP Michael Wakachu as the only Malawians to earn induction. Tembo was legendary for his prolific home run power and his remarkable eye for drawing walks. At his prime, both skills rated as a 10/10 according to many scouts.

However, Tembo was a below average contact hitter who struck out a ton. His 162 game average got you an outstanding 59 home runs, 124 RBI, and 128 walks; but also 202 strikeouts. He was the poster child for the “three true outcomes” with more than 58% of his plate appearances ending in homer, walk, or strikeout.

Tembo’s power was concentrated on dingers and his 162 game average only got you 26 doubles. He was also a clumsy and slow baserunner, which did limit the value of his walks. Tembo’s power was also far more pronounced against right-handed pitching with a career 1.081 OPS, .666 slugging, and 181 wRC+. Against lefties he had .887 OPS, .537 slugging, and 137 wRC+. His strikeout rate was around 30% against both, but the awesome power made him a dangerous batter despite his flaws.

Throughout his career, Tembo had very good durability, starting 140+ games all but one year from 2003-17. Around 60% of his career starts were at first base, where he was a firmly mediocre but not abysmal defender. The rest of his starts were as a designated hitter.

When you hit a ton of homers, you’re bound to become extremely popular. But Tembo became one of Africa’s biggest baseball superstars also because of his winning smile and personality. No one would have a bad word about Tembo as a man, renowned for his loyalty, work ethic, leadership, intelligence, and selflessness. He gladly and humbly took on the role as one of the best ambassadors for the game from the continent.

Tembo came from humble beginnings, but his eye and power were well beyond his years as a teenager. That caught the attention of a scout in Burundi who convinced Tembo to join the Bujumbura academy in February 1998. He spent his entire career with the Bighorns, staying loyal despite the franchise rarely being in serious contention. Tembo debuted in 2002 at age 21 with 58 games and two starts.

He was moved to a starting role the next year, which was his first of 11 seasons leading the Central Conference in walks drawn. Tembo also led in on-base percentage and strikeouts, winning a Silver Slugger at first base. He led in OBP in five of his first six seasons starting for Bujumbura. 2003 started a 13-year streak of 100+ RBI, 100+ walk, 48+ home run seasons. It was his first of 11 seasons scoring 100+ runs, his first of eight with an OBP above .400, first of 10 with an OPS above one, and first of ten with 6+ WAR.

In 2004, Tembo drew 156 walks, breaking the previous world record of 146 set by Miguel Melis in the 1993 MLB season. Tembo got 155 walks in 2005 and 163 in 2006, which remain the three best single-seasons in world history. He’d also get 144 in 2008, holding four of the six seasons above 140+ in baseball history. 130+ has been hit 32 times as of 2037; Tembo has seven of those seasons.

2005 was Tembo’s first MVP and second Silver Slugger at 1B, leading the conference for the first time in homers (61), OPS (1.123), wRC+ (185), and WAR (8.0). He won his third Slugger in 2006 and was second in MVP voting. 2007 was Tembo’s second MVP and fourth Slugger, leading again in homers (64), OPS (1.156), wRC+ (192), and WAR (8.2). The Bighorns also ended a seven-year playoff drought, but lost to Addis Ababa in the Central Conference Championship. Bujumbura had hovered around .500 for most of Tembo’s run to that point.

Tembo won his third MVP and another Slugger in 2008 with career highs in RBI (150), total bases (398), triple slash (.301/.455/.678), OPS (1.224), wRC+ (197), and WAR (9.2). His OBP ranks as the fifth-best AAB season as of 2037. It was also Tembo’s only season leading in total bases despite leading in homers eight times in his career. His power peaked with 71 homers in 2009, which was only the fourth 70+ homer season in AAB to that point, falling six short of Mwarami Tale’s 77 from 2006. He won his first Silver Slugger as a DH and finally got a big payday the following spring at seven years and $26,760,000.

Despite Tembo’s efforts, Bujumbura didn’t make the playoffs from 2008-16; averaging 79.2 wins during that stretch. He led the conference with 60+ homers four times in his 30s, giving him eight 60+ homer seasons for his career; an AAB record. Tembo won Sluggers in 2011, 2012, and 2015 at first base and one in 2013 as a DH.

He was third in 2012’s MVP voting, but was getting less play in MVP conversations by this point. Tembo’s strikeouts had started to go up in his 30s and he’d have the most whiffs in the conference eight times. His 241 strikeouts in 2013 are the AAB all-time worst and his 234 from 2012 is the third-worst. There have been 60 seasons of 200+ Ks in AAB and Tembo has eight of them.

Tembo did have a bit of resurgence in 2015 at age 34, winning his fourth MVP and leading in homers (61), OBP (.409), slugging (.699), OPS (1.108), wRC+ (189), and WAR (7.4). He was one of only five to that point in AAB with four MVP wins. Tembo also earned his tenth and final Silver Slugger.

2016 had a setback with a hamstring strain keeping him out seven weeks. Still, Tembo hit 40 home runs and became the second member of AAB’s home run club. Felix Chaula had been the first in 2013 and Mwarami Tale also joined the club in 2016. Tembo was now in a battle with those two for the top power numbers on the AAB leaderboard. Both also gave chase for the most walks, but Tembo stayed ahead in that battle. In 2014, he became the first in AAB history to record 1500+ walks drawn.

2017 was Tembo’s last shot at the playoffs, as Bujumbura took second in the standings at 99-63. He did his part, going 4-15 with 4 solo homers, but the Bighorns lost the conference final 4-1 to Mogadishu. Tembo hit 51 homers that year and Bujumbura gave him a three-year, $29,500,000 deal in the winter. The thought was that he could still chase Chaula and Tale’s home run and RBI marks. Tembo also had a shot at being the second in world history to reach 2000 walks.

However, his decline was steep in 2018, leading to a benching. Tembo played 80 games and started 65 with -0.1 WAR and a .163/.302/.389 slash. With his power gone, Tembo realized it was time to retire that winter at age 37. The beloved slugger immediately had his #3 uniform retired by Bujumbura.

Tembo finished with 2466 games, 1964 hits, 1616 runs, 390 doubles, 6 triples, 893 home runs, 1888 RBI, 1956 walks, 3073 strikeouts, .246/.399/.633 slash, 1.032 OPS, 170 wRC+, and 95.7 WAR. As of 2037, Tembo is AAB’s all-time leader in both walks and strikeouts. He’s second on the world leaderboard in walks behind MLB’s Chris Louden, who had 2106 form 1902-23. Tembo is also 21^st in strikeouts, one of only 29 in world history in the 3K whiffers club.

On the AAB leaderboards, Tembo ranks 3^rd in homers, 4^th in RBI, 44^th in hits, 8^th in runs, and 4^th in WAR among position players. Among AAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Tembo’s 1.032 OPS sits 10^th. He also is 13^th in OBP and 12^th in slugging. On the world leaderboard, Tembo is 27^th in homers. Among Hall of Famers, his slugging is 32^nd and his OPS is 22^nd.

Guys like Chaula and Tale were far more complete players with multiple championship rings, which keeps Tembo out of GOAT conversations. He’s easily in most AAB top five lists when discussing power bats and makes some scholars’ top five lists when talking about position players altogether. Tembo’s time as a DH, strikeout tallies, and lack of playoff success does ding him with some.

Still, almost all would consider him an inner-circle player and person. Tembo was beloved for good reason among baseball fans and participants in Africa. He received 98.1% of the vote to headline the three-player Hall of Fame class for 2024 in the African Association of Baseball.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-28-2025, 05:02 AM

2024 AAB Hall of Fame (Part 2)

Bahujnana “Beagle” Kaimal – Starting Pitcher – Harare Hustlers – 76.4% First Ballot

Bahujnana Kaimal was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Piments-Baie Topaze, Mauritius; part of the 41,000 person Rodrigues island. As of 2037, Kaimal is the only Hall of Famer from the small island nation. Nicknamed “Beagle,” his biggest strengths were excellent control and very good movement. Kaimal’s stuff was merely above average to good, but he knew how to spot his pitches.

Kaimal’s velocity peaked in the 94-96 mph range with a five pitch arsenal of slider, forkball, changeup, sinker, and splitter. He had an extreme groundball tendency and was especially dominant against fellow lefties with a career 2.58 ERA and 160 ERA+. He was plenty good versus right-handed bats with a 2.91 ERA and 141 ERA+.

AAB pitchers went the distance far more rarely than most leagues, but even by that standard Kaimal had subpar stamina for an ace. He made up for it by being an ironman who almost never missed a start to injury. Kaimal had an excellent pickoff move, but was a weak defender otherwise. Personality wise, he was fairly unremarkable with no major positive nor negative traits.

The amateur scene in Mauritius was limited, but Kaimal dominated it and drew plenty of eyes ahead of the 2003 AAB Draft. Harare selected him sixth overall and he’d spend his entire pro career with the Hustlers. Kaimal was split between the bullpen and starting in 2005, then was a part-time starter only in 2006. With decent results both years, Harare made him a full-time starter in 2007.

Without big strikeout numbers, Kaimal didn’t get a huge amount of attention. Still he kept his ERA low, winning his first of three ERA titles in 2009 at 2.95. He was third in 2008 and 2009’s Pitcher of the Year voting, then took second in 2010. 2010 was Harare’s first-ever playoff berth, winning the Southern Conference pennant. They lost in the Africa Series to the historic 120-win Addis Ababa squad. Kaimal had a 2.57 ERA over his 21 playoff innings.

Kaimal regressed to a career-worst 3.79 ERA in 2011, but bounced back with his second ERA title in 2012 at 2.34. In June 2012, he signed a three-year, $8,880,000 extension with Harare. Kaimal finished third in 2013’s POTY voting and the Hustlers got back to the playoffs, having just missed the prior two seasons. They lost to Lusaka in the conference final with Kaimal allowing five runs in five innings in his one start.

In 2014, Harare won their first-ever Africa Series, defeating Nairobi in the final. Kaimal was an absolute beast in the postseason with a 0.34 ERA over four starts and 26.2 innings with 23 strikeouts and 4 walks. That role in the Hustlers’ first title was a big reason that Kaimal’s #13 uniform was eventually retired. Harare fell four wins short of the playoffs in 2015. They then plummeted to 62-100 in 2016 and began a rebuild for the rest of the decade.

Harare finally gave Kaimal the big extension before the 2015 season at five years and $50,500,000. Kaimal earned his third ERA title in 2015 with a blistering 1.75, which was the second-best by a qualified starter in AAB history to that point behind Yves Munyaneza’s 1.59 from 1996. Kaimal’s mark still ranks third as of 2037, but he still only took third in Pitcher of the Year voting.

Kaimal took third one more time in 2017, never winning the top award. That year at age 34, he posted his career best WAR at 7.6. He dropped off a bit in 2018 with a 3.09 ERA, but still posted a very good 5.1 WAR. Kaimal surprised many by retiring with that just after his 36^th birthday despite seemingly having a few more good years left in him.

In total, Kaimal had a 175-118 record, 2.82 ERA, 2655 innings, 2358 strikeouts, 536 walks, 15 complete games, 6 shutouts, 146 ERA+, 72 FIP-, and 73.0 WAR. As of 2037, Kaimal ranks 11^th in wins, 18^th in innings, 33^rd in strikeouts, and 2^nd in pitching WAR. Among those with 1000+ innings, Kaimal’s ERA ranks 6^th. His .635 opponent’s OPS is 9^th and his 1.03 WHIP is 8^th.

Kaimal was certainly one of the most efficient starting pitchers AAB has ever had, but he was somewhat under-rated since he lacked the big dramatic strikeout numbers. He also didn’t stick around to pad his stats, although he still pulled in solid tallies. Kaimal received 76.4% for his ballot debut, not considered an inner-circle type. But he was a first ballot pick and the second of three in the African Association of Baseball’s 2024 Hall of Fame class.

Paul Lambote – Starting Pitcher – Luanda Landsharks – 72.0% First Ballot

Paul Lambote was a 6’4’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lambote was really the antithesis of his Hall of Fame classmate Bahujnana Kaimal. While Kaimal was very quietly efficient with his great control, Lambote was extremely boom-or-bust. His raw stuff was awesome when he was on, but his movement was average and his control was mediocre.

Lambote’s velocity only peaked in the 94-96 mph range, but he had a tricky six-pitch arsenal of fastball, slider, curveball, screwball, forkball, and changeup. His skillset meant a lot of strikeouts, but also a ton of walks, meaning he certainly wasn’t boring. Lambote ended up with more strikeouts and more walks than anyone in AAB history.

His stamina was very good and like Kaimal, he had excellent durability. Apart from his first two years, Lambote had 220+ innings each year of his AAB run. He was a good defensive pitcher with an adequate pickoff move. Part of Lambote’s erratic results could be traced to his personality. His work ethic was lackluster and he wasn’t smart enough to make some of the corrections that would’ve helped his game.

Lambote was picked tenth in the 2003 AAB Draft by Luanda. He pitched 86.2 innings as a rookie and struggled to -0.6 WAR and a 4.47 ERA. Lambote started most of 2005 with better results, although it was his first of eight seasons leading the conference in walks. Five of those were within his first six seasons in the rotation.

However, 2006 was Lambote’s first of five straight seasons leading in strikeouts. He led eight times in his career and was above 300 K in six seasons. 2006 also had his career bests in ERA (3.17), wins (20-7), and WAR (7.0), taking third in Pitcher of the Year voting. Lambote’s highest strikeout total was 327 in 2007, one short of the then record by Joel Mwasesa. As of 2037, Lambote’s 2007 ranks as the 20^th best single-season in AAB as league strikeout rates would rise in later decades.

Luanda lost in the 2006 Southern Conference Championship to Durban. After narrowly missing the playoffs the next two years, they won their first pennant in 2009. They were denied the Africa Series title to the Addis Ababa dynasty, which won its second of six straight titles. Lambote had good playoff showings these years with 29 innings, 39 strikeouts, 2.48 ERA, and 1.0 WAR, although his record was 1-3.

2009 also was Lambote’s lone Pitcher of the Year win with a 14-8 record, 3.27 ERA, 279 strikeouts, and a conference-best 6.0 WAR. He also got his walks down to only 87 after four straight 120+ seasons. Lambote also set the AAB single game record with 21 strikeouts against Johannesburg on April 9. He broke his own league record of 19 from three years earlier. As of 2037, Lambote is the only AAB arm with a 21K game.

Lambote’s ERA jumped up to 4.27 though in 2010 and he started 2011 with 5.23 in 156.2 innings. The Landsharks had fallen to the bottom of the standings and weren’t inclined to give Lambote an extension if this is how he was going to pitch. He’d be due a deal by the following year or would enter free agency. Luanda decided to trade Lambote in the summer to Kigali for prospects.

He looked much better in the final months with the Guardians and had a solid enough effort in 2012. Kigali made the playoffs both years, but couldn’t dislodge Addis Ababa’s hold on the Central Conference’s top spot. Lambote’s three playoff starts for the Guardians saw a 4.82 ERA over 18.2 innings. In total with Kigali though, he had a 3.21 ERA over 308.2 innings, 21-10 record, 398 strikeouts, 140 walks, 125 ERA+, and 5.5 WAR.

Lambote looked good enough with the Guardians though to rebuild his stock entering free agency at age 31. He had also pitched for his native DR Congo with mixed results from 2006-14 in the World Baseball Championship. Lambote had 97 WBC inning with a 7-6 record, 4.36 ERA, 124 strikeouts, 58 walks, 82 ERA+, and 1.2 WAR.

His next stop would be Chad, signing a six-year, $32,400,000 deal with Ndjamena. The Magic had been at the bottom tier to start the decade and stayed there with no winning seasons in the 2010s. Lambote had his usual inconsistent stats, leading twice in strikeouts and twice in walks. In five seasons with Ndjamena, Lambote had a 64-73 record, 4.08 ERA, 1181.1 innings, 1432 strikeouts, 574 walks, 98 ERA+, and 16.7 WAR.

While there though in 2014, Lambote became the second in AAB history to 3000 strikeouts. He finished 2016 with 3591 Ks, passing Joel Mwasesa’s 3583 to become AAB’s strikeout king. During the run, he had also passed Osama Nour’s 1296 to have the most walks in AAB history. With one year left on his deal, the Magic traded Lambote after the 2017 season to Luanda for two prospects.

Lambote had one final season back in Angola and became the first (and as of 2037, only) AAB pitcher with 4000 strikeouts. He struggled in his one playoff start as the Landsharks lost the conference final to Johannesburg. For his playoff career, Lambote had a 3.35 ERA over 51 innings, 2-3 record, 68 strikeouts, 24 walks, 118 ERA+, and 1.1 WAR. His role in the 2009 pennant was a big reason that his #14 uniform would later be retired by Luanda.

Between stints with the Landsharks, Lambote had a 113-90 record, 3.85 ERA, 1846 innings, 2263 strikeouts, 972 walks, 106 ERA+, and 30.6 WAR. That was the end of his career in Africa, although Lambote had two more seasons as a below average starter in the European Baseball Federation. He spent 2019 in Amsterdam and 2020 in Frankfurt, posting a 19-12 record, 4.29 ERA, 262.1 innings, 246 strikeouts, 78 walks, 91 ERA+, and 2.6 WAR between the two seasons. Lambote was unsigned for 2021 and finally retired that winter at age 40.

For his AAB career, Lambote had a 198-173 record, 3.87 ERA, 3336 innings, 4093 strikeouts, 1686 walks, 94 complete games, 17 shutouts, 105 ERA+, 94 FIP-, and 52.8 WAR. As of 2037, Lambote remains AAB’s all-time leader in both walks and strikeouts. He also ranks third among all world pitchers in walks behind only Casey Esnault’s 1810 and Arul Anustasravas’ 1780.

In AAB, Lambote ranks 5^th in wins, 2^nd in innings, 8^th in complete games, 8^th in shutouts, but only 30^th in WAR among pitchers. His 11.04 K/9 is 17^th among AAB pitchers with 1000+ innings. Among all of the Hall of Fame starters in world history as of 2037, Lambote has the second-worst ERA. While AAB’s higher-offense environment is part of that, the advanced stats generally rate Lambote’s overall value as merely above average.

By efficiency metrics, his HOF classmate Kaimal was a far more effective pitcher. Still, if you asked fans on the street who was better, many would still say Lambote. Striking out a ton of guys is sexy. Lambote also had the longevity to hit other counting benchmarks that rate him favorably.

As mentioned earlier, Lambote certainly wasn’t boring. Some argued he was way too inefficient to belong, but most thought that being AAB’s strikeout king was a clincher by itself. At 72.0%, Lambote got enough for the first ballot nod to cap off a three-player 2024 Hall of Fame class for the African Association of Baseball.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-28-2025, 11:27 AM

2024 World Baseball Championship

The 2024 World Baseball Championship was the 78^th edition of the event and was centered in Cape Town, South Africa. Division 1 had Australia and Italy tied at the top at 9-2 with the Australians advancing on the head-to-head tiebreaker. Australia earned its eighth division title and first since 2017. Last year’s runner-up United States dominated D2 at 10-1, advancing to the elite eight for the 60^th time. Distant second places went to 7-4 Spain and the DR Congo.

In a very tight Division 3, Ethiopia and Taiwan tied for first at 7-4 while Bolivia, China, Finland, Guatemala, the Philippines, and Portugal were all 6-5. The tiebreaker went to the Ethiopians, earning their fourth division title and first since 2013. Division 4 went to France at 10-1, outracing 9-2 Japan. The French got their 14^th division title to end a four-year playoff drought. Reigning world champ Canada was tied for third with Ukraine at 7-4.

India cruised to Division 5 at 10-1 for their eighth division title, their first since 2010. Indonesia won Division 6 at 10-1, fending off a 9-2 South Korea. The Indonesians earned a third straight division title and their 25^th division crown. D7 had Yemen and Vietnam tied at 8-3, while Greece was next at 7-4. The tiebreaker went to the Yemenis for their first-ever elite eight trip. Yemen became the 80^th unique nation to earn a division title.

Division 8 was a mess with Afghanistan, Germany, Puerto Rico, and Tajikistan all tied at 7-4. Colombia, Poland, and Russia were right behind at 6-5. The tiebreaker formula favored the Germans for their third division title in five years. Germany secured its 13^th division title.

The United States went unbeaten at 6-0 atop Round Robin Group A, advancing with 3-3 Ethiopia. India (2-4) and Australia (1-5) were both ousted. The Americans advanced to the semifinal for the 53^rd time, while the Ethiopians earned their third final four (2008, 2013).

France led Group B at 4-3, earning their fifth semifinal berth and first since 1986. Germany and Indonesia tied at 3-3 and Yemen was 2-4. The Germans advanced on the tiebreaker to earn an eighth semifinal trip. It was their first since taking runner-up in 2020.

In the semifinals, the United States outlasted Germany 3-2 to earn back-to-back championship trips. France rolled to a sweep of Ethiopia for their first-ever finals trip. The French became the 31^st different nation to make it to the finals. The Germans officially were third for the third time, while the Ethiopians finished fourth for the second time.

France defeated the United States 4-2 in the 78^th World Championship, becoming the 18^th country to win it all and the seventh European nation. The Americans were back-to-back runner up, moving to 41-8 in their finals trips. This was also the first time in WBC history that the USA went four straight years without a title. Parity continued for the top spot as the French were the seventh different champ in seven years and the first European champ since England in 2019.

Leading the way for France was Tournament MVP Daniel Dumoulin, a tenth-year second baseman for Rotterdam. The 30-year old righty in 24 starts had 22 runs, 32 hits, 5 doubles, 14 home runs, 33 RBI, 79 total bases, a .330/.393/.814 slash, 248 wRC+, and 2.1 WAR. The French had a +63 run differential, second only to the Americans’ at +72.

Best Pitcher went to Norway’s Elias Bohn, a third-year reliever for his home country squad Oslo. The 23-year old righty tossed 15.2 scoreless innings with a 3-0 record in five appearances, 32 strikeouts, 5 walks, and 1.2 WAR.

Other notes: Uganda’s Miracle Rukundo had the lone no-hitter in 2024 with 11 strikeouts and 4 walks versus Singapore. Guatemala’s Juan Gusman became the 19^th player to hit for the cycle in the WBC, doing it on January 16 versus Ghana. The United States had 82 stolen bases as a team, the third-most in WBC history behind their own 87 from 1964 and 83 from 2003.

Below are the updated all-time tournament stats. Germany’s third place put them ahead of the Philippines for 12^th place in via the points system.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-28-2025, 06:24 PM

2024 in A2L

After finishing second in the African Second League’s Southern Conference in 2023, Gaborone took the top spot in 2024 and earned a promotion. The Golden Bears finished 93-69, beating Mauritius by five games, Blantyre by six, and Maseru by seven.

Bangui was the first team to earn promotion out of the Central Conference in 2022, but they struggled in their 2023 debut in the top tier and got relegated right back. The Badgers earned another shot at the African Association of Baseball, taking first at 99-63. Their nearest foes were 91-71 Bukavu and 89-73 Asmara.

In the seventh edition of the Second League Championship, Gaborone defeated Bangui in a 5-4 classic.

Other notes: Asmara set an A2L team record with 612 stolen bases. Gaborone’s Thabiso Mlambo had the second hitting Triple Crown in the A2L with a .386 average, 64 home runs, and 177 RBI.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-29-2025, 05:25 AM

2024 in E2L

Luxembourg took first in the European Second League’s Western Conference at 104-58, their first playoff berth in E2L since their 2015 arrival. The Lancers had only just gotten to around .500 in the prior two years after a near decade of struggles. Luxembourg was the top scoring team in E2L at 737 runs.

Marseille and Stuttgart tied for second at 95-67 and Stockholm got the final playoff spot at 94-68. There was a nine game gap down to fifth place Liverpool. The Musketeers earned their first playoff spot since their relegation for 2019. The Silver Sabres, one of the few teams to never get promoted, secured their first playoff spot since 2013. It was the second berth in three years for the Swordsmen. Cardiff also notably fell to a tie for seventh at 82-80 after three straight playoff berths prior.

#4 seed Stockholm surprised many by taking first in the double round robin at 5-1. Stuttgart also advanced at 4-2, while Marseille (2-4) and top seed Luxembourg (1-5) were eliminated. The Swordsmen then defeated the Silver Sabres 4-2 in the Western Conference Championship. The Swedish capital earned a promotion back to the European Baseball Federation’s Elite after a six year stint in E2L.

Odesa crushed the Eastern Conference competition at 110-52 for back-to-back playoff spots. The Drifters had never taken first place prior and led the conference in both runs scored (688) and fewest allowed (475). Second was Tbilisi at 98-64, which was their first playoff spot since getting relegated for 2018.

Right behind was 97-65 Cluj-Napoca, who had gotten demoted the prior year after four years in the top tier. The fourth playoff spot was Varna at 95-67 with Dnipro (90-72) as their only real competition. The Vigilantes picked up their first playoff trip since their relegation for 2021. The Defenders had just gotten relegated back after two seasons amongst the Elite.

Odesa and Cluj-Napoca advanced out of the round robin at 4-2, while Varna (3-3) and Tbilisi (1-5) got knocked out. The top seeded Drifters prevailed 4-2 over the Paladins in the Eastern Conference Championship. It was Odesa’s first promotion since getting relegated in 2008, ending a 17-year tenure in E2L.

In the Second League Championship, Odesa capped off one of the most impressive seasons in league history by winning a seven game thriller. Stockholm started the series up 3-0, but the Drifters rallied to force game seven. The finale saw a 4-3 ending with a dramatic walk-off for Odesa. Unlike the prior year that had five teams shifted, the EBF Elite wouldn’t have extra 100+ loss teams in 2024. Therefore, only the Drifters and Swordsmen would be promoted for 2024.

Other notes: Multiple playoff records were set in 2024. Stockholm’s Theo Thomsen set new bests for hits (36) and singles (23). His Swordsmen teammate Svenn Madsen set pitching records for WAR (2.3), innings (41), and strikeouts (59). Varna’s Jean-Louis Lucas set a pitching record with an opponent’s slugging of .096 (15+ innings required to qualify).

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-29-2025, 09:31 AM

2024 in AAB

The African Association of Baseball had already been one of the higher offense leagues in the world, but officials were dead set on pumping up those numbers even more. After experimentation in the African Second League, AAB announced some adjustments for the 2024 season.

It had an immediate effect as the league ERA went from around 4.08 in 2023 to around 4.55 for 2024. The league batting average grew from the .243 range in 2023 up to .259 in 2024. This put AAB just behind West African Baseball as the highest-scoring league in the world. The ERAs would be very high on the historical scale, although the batting averages were still merely average. AAB’s tighter strike zones led to more walks and home runs compared to most leagues.

Defending Africa Series champ Antananarivo took advantage of the new rules and dominated the Southern Conference at 111-51. The Eagles took first for the third straight year and got a fourth consecutive playoff spot. Antananarivo led all of AAB in both runs scored (937) and fewest allowed (616). The Eagles also set new conference team records for batting average (.289), hits (1637), and fewest strikeouts (1039).

It was a tight battle for the second playoff spot with Lilongwe (93-69) edging out Lusaka (90-72), Maputo (89-73), and Harare (88-74). The Lightning got their second playoff spot in four years. The Hustlers had their bid for a third wild card in a row thwarted despite allowing only 395 walks with a 2.46 BB/9; both the third-lowest in conference history.

In a stunning collapse, Johannesburg finished 54-108 to suffer relegation. The Jackalopes had been historically the best team in the Southern Conference and had won four pennants from 2015-20. Johannesburg had finished 74-88, which was their first losing season even since 2012. Luanda was awful at 60-102, but still finished six games better than the Jackalopes to avoid demotion.

Antananarivo had the very rare major awards sweep by getting MVP, Pitcher, Rookie, and Reliever of the Year for the Southern Conference. Leading the way was MVP Helmi Yousif in his ninth year with the Eagles. The 29-year old Ethiopian DH led in runs (140), hits (212), doubles (57), RBI (171), total bases (471), OBP (.429), slugging (.766), OPS (1.195), wRC+ (186), and WAR (8.8). Yousif was the third in AAB history to record 170+ RBI in a season.

Yousif also was in Triple Crown contention with 64 home runs and a .345 batting average, taking third in both stats. Teammate Matolo Langa had the best average (.353) while Harare’s Marinho Magaia led in homers (69). This would be Yousif’s last season in AAB, as his efforts earned worldwide offers in free agency. He would head to MLB’s Baltimore Orioles in the winter for $156,800,000 over seven years.

Pitcher of the Year was Labama Nkurunziza in his tenth year for the Eagles. Nicknamed “Catfish,” the 29-year old Rwandan righty led in wins (21-10), quality starts (21), complete games (10), and shutouts (2). Nkurunziza had a 3.38 ERA over 234.1 innings, 250 strikeouts, 136 ERA+, and 5.5 WAR. He had committed long-term to Antananarivo with a six-year, $80,500,000 extension after the 2022 campaign.

After a near decade of struggles, Addis Ababa returned to the Central Conference throne for the first time since their epic dynasty run. The Brahmas at 103-59 ended their nine-year playoff drought, leading the conference in both runs scored (870) and fewest allowed (691). AA had epic power, setting a new AAB team home run record with 351 dingers. They also won a lot of close games, tying the AAB record for saves with 58.

It was a steep drop to second place Lubumbashi at 94-68, earning their second wild card in four years. It was another big drop to Kampala and Bujumbura tied for third at 84-78. This seemed to mark the end of the Peacocks dynasty, as they had won the conference title in five of the last six years. Ndjamena, who had been back-to-back wild cards, was fifth at 81-81.

Mogadishu at 66-96 took last to suffer relegation. Kigali (70-92) and Brazzaville (71-91) were the closest opposition. The Mighty Mice won the Africa Series as recently as 2017 and although they had dropped to the lower half of the standings, they hadn’t fallen that far until now.

Central Conference MVP went to Addis Ababa left fielder Sayyid Pius. The 26-year old Tanzanian led in runs (122), total bases (396), slugging (.735), OPS (1.155), wRC+ (197), and WAR (8.3). Pius added 59 homers, 112 RBI, and a .323 average. He had been picked to start the second round of the 2019 AAB Draft by the Brahmas.

Pitcher of the Year was Nairobi righty Fasika Mulatu in his sixth season. The 27-year old Ethiopian set the new AAB single-season strikeout record with 369, beating Ali Amour Osman’s record 366 from 2011. Mulatu had fanned 359 the prior season and his 2024 effort ranks fifth best as of 2037. He only held the top spot for two years.

Mulatu also became the first AAB pitcher to have multiple 19 strikeout games, doing it twice in 2024. The mark had only been hit four times prior. Mulatu also led in WHIP (0.89), K/BB (8.8), FIP- (66), and WAR (7.0). He posted a 14-10 record over 221 innings, 3.14 ERA, and 143 ERA+. The Night Hawks eventually gave him a four-year, $38,200,000 extension after the 2025 season.

Antananarivo won their third consecutive Southern Conference Championship, defeating Lilongwe 4-2. The Eagles became seven-time pennant winners, having also gotten four in the 2000s. Lubumbashi upset Addis Ababa 4-3 in a Central Conference Championship classic to earn their second-ever pennant (2001).

The 30^th Africa Series was the first to need all nine games since 2015. Many thought Antananarivo was primed to repeat, but Lubumbashi outlasted the Eagles 5-4 to become two-time league champs, joining their 2001 title. Finals MVP was 1B Panya Hailemariam, as the 24-year old Ethiopian in 15 playoff starts had 22 hits, 15 runs, 5 doubles, 6 home runs, 15 RBI, and 1.207 OPS.

Other notes: Matheus Mabanza had the fifth-ever six hit game in AAB on April 21. Adrian Schneider became the 11^th member of the 500 home run club. Patrick Babila became the 8^th to earn 1500 RBI. Herve Otepa was the 7^th to reach 2500 hits. C Destin Kette and 2B Sphamandla Madinane both won their 8^th Gold Gloves and SP Julian Ndaya won his 7^th.

Promotion/Relegation: Suffering demotion were Johannesburg and Mogadishu. Gaborone would replace the Jackalopes in the Southern Conference and Bangui took the Mighty Mice’s slot in the Central Conference.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-29-2025, 08:54 PM

2024 ALB Expansion

Arab League Baseball’s first expansion came in 2016, adding four teams to get to 28 total teams. The long-term plan was to get to 30 so that each division would have five teams, but officials wanted some time to pass to avoid potentially diluting the talent pool. They also wanted to finalize which cities would earn the new franchises.

The 2024 season marked the addition of these two new teams. In the Western Conference, the Syria-based Aleppo Alliance joined the Levant Division. In the Eastern Conference, Yemen got its first team with the Sanaa Shockers joining the previously named Saudi Division. Now that there was a team from outside of Saudi Arabia in the group, the division was renamed as the Arabia Division. The 15/15 conference divide also meant there would be limited inter-conference play for schedule purposes.

ALB also decided to change its playoff format, which had been steady since the league’s formation in 1990. Previously, only the three division winners had earned playoff spots. Some in ALB had disliked the format as there had been seasons where a 90+ win second place team had to sit out while the weakest division winner made it in just above .500. Twice before a team finished at 100-62 but missed the cut as the second place team in their division.

Officials didn’t want to punish great teams in strong divisions, but also wanted to maintain a reward for division titles. They decided to add a separate wild card round where the two-best wild cards met. It was a “best of three,” but the higher ranked wild card got a one-game advantage and home field. They would only have to win twice, while the lower wild card had to win three-in-a-row.

The wild card winner advanced to a best-of-three hosted by the #1 seed, while the #2 seed hosted #3 on the other side. Some argued for re-seeding to avoid having a strong wild card against the #1 seed if the other division winners were weak, but simplicity won out. The second round winners still met in a best-of-five conference final, followed by the best-of-seven Arab League Championship.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-30-2025, 08:02 AM

2024 in ALB

Reigning Arab League champ Amman took the top seed in the Western Conference at 104-58, earning their third consecutive Levant Division title. The Aviators allowed the fewest runs in all of ALB at 636 and scored the most in the WC with 878. The Levant Division also had both wild cards with Jerusalem (92-70) and Beirut (84-78). The Jets earned their second playoff berth in four years, while the Bluebirds ended a decade-long drought.

Algiers repeated as Mediterranean Division at 93-69. Tripoli was a distant second at 82-80, falling two games short of the second wild card. Casablanca fell to 73-89, their first losing season since 2014. Cairo’s Nile Division title streak grew to eight years with their 90-72 finish. No one else in the division had a winning record.

An interesting skillset helped Jerusalem 2B Hassan Shanshol win Western Conference MVP. The 22-year old Iraqi set the world baseball single-season record for stolen bases with 157. The previous world record was 152 by Beisbol Sudamerica’s Pascal Garcia from 1996; who was the only player to that point to crack 150. The old ALB record was 143 by Amir Rasmi from 2018. As of 2037, only Shanshol himself has topped the 157 mark.

Shanshol also led in 2024 in runs (140), triples (20), OBP (.431), and WAR (9.1). He had 212 hits, 41 doubles, 5 homers, .943 OPS, and 150 wRC+. His 140 runs fell four short of Farouk Adam’s ALB record. Jerusalem gave Shanshol an eight-year, $120,200,000 extension in September 2025. It was rare for a leadoff guy to win MVP, but Shanshol had a special case. He beat out a 67 home run effort by Algiers’ Wissam Magdy.

Arsenal ace Muhammad Nour won his fourth consecutive Pitcher of the Year in only his sixth full season. He became only the fifth pitcher to win POTY 4+ times in ALB history. The 26-year old Algerian led in ERA (2.19), strikeouts (357), WHIP (0.82), quality starts (27), FIP- (57), and WAR (9.3). Nour had a 202 ERA+ and 17-5 record, missing the Triple Crown by three wins. Nour had a major setback in 2025 with a bone spur in his elbow keeping him out almost all season, but he would bounce back impressively.

In the first ever wild card round, Beirut upset Jerusalem 2-1. The Bluebirds were promptly swept in round two by top seed Amman while Algiers swept Cairo 2-0. In an Eastern Conference Championship rematch, the Aviators again prevailed with a 3-1 win. Amman earned its fifth pennant with the result (1999, 2009, 2010, 2023, 2024).

Jeddah and Basra both extended their lengthy division title streaks with 100-62 finishes. By tiebreaker, the Jackals earned the #1 seed by extending their ALB record playoff streak to 14 seasons atop the Arabia Division. The Bulldogs led the Mesopotamia Division for the seventh year running. Neither division win came easy though with tough competition.

Kuwait chased Basra and fell short by two games at 98-64. That secured the first wild card for the Whales to end a 14-year playoff drought. Mecca (96-66) and Riyadh (93-69) fought with Jeddah in the Arabia Division. The Marksmen grabbed the second wild card to end their own 14-year playoff drought. The Rats missed the cut despite having the second-most team doubles in ALB history with 396. Medina at 88-74 was also competitive and expansion Sanaa had a solid debut season at 80-82.

Meanwhile defending conference champ Abu Dhabi finished 91-71 to win their third Gulf Division in a row. Muscat was their only close competitor at 84-78. At the bottom was 52-110 Dubai with a historically poor pitching staff. The Diamonds set new ALB team worsts for ERA (5.71), and H/9 (10.72). They also allowed 1691 hits, 944 runs, and 901 earned runs; each the second worst in conference history to that point.

Eastern Conference MVP was American 1B Elijah Snyder, who was in his third year for Riyadh after playing nine years for MLB’s Memphis. The 32-year old led in runs (142), RBI (154), walks (87), total bases (452), OBP (.456), slugging (.775), OPS (1.231), wRC+ (193), and WAR (9.2). Snyder was two runs short of the ALB single-season record. His OPS was the seventh-best qualifying season to that point and his OBP was the third-best mark. Snyder’s efforts beat out Muscat’s Walid Bennani with 70 home runs, which was the ninth 70+ homer effort in ALB history.

Pitcher of the Year was actually a split between Medina’s Bakr Mahdi and Basra's Ahmed Hussain. For Hussain, he became a four-time POTY winner by leading in WAR (10.1) and FIP- (49). The 32-year old Qatari had a 2.97 ERA over 230.1 innings, 20-3 record, and 305 strikeouts. For Mahdi, it was his fourth season in the rotation for the Mastodons. The 26-year old Omani righty led in wins (21-4), ERA (2.71), WHIP (0.95), and quality starts (28). Mahdi struck out 263 over 242 innings with a 164 ERA+ and 7.1 WAR. The Mastodons had given him a six-year, $45,240,000 extension after the 2022 season to keep him there through his 20s.

Kuwait swept Mecca in the wild card round, then upset Jeddah 2-1 in the second round. The Whales earned their first Eastern Conference Championship trip since their 2009 pennant. Basra edged reigning champ Abu Dhabi 2-1 on the other side, giving the Bulldogs a sixth straight trip to the EC final. Basra’s bad luck continued though, falling to 1-5 in the conference final in that run. Kuwait ousted their divisional rival 3-1 to become three-time conference champs (2000, 2009, 2024). They also were the first wild card to earn a finals trip in the first year of the new playoff format.

The 35^th Arab League Championship was not the first finals meeting between Amman and Kuwait, as the Aviators defeated the Whales back in 2009. Amman rolled to a sweep in 2024 for the first repeat since 2013-14 Jeddah. It was the sixth repeat in ALB history with the Aviators also having done it in 2009-10. Amman now had four titles, tied with Jeddah, Medina, and Basra for the second most behind Casablanca (6).

Finals MVP went to catcher Eyal Gazal in his first year as a starter. The 24-year old Israeli in 10 playoff starts had 17 hits, 4 runs, 5 doubles, and 1 RBI. Also notable was closer Faraj Al-Yafeai, who set a playoff record with 8 saves. The Reliever of the Year winner allowed only two runs over 16 innings for a 1.12 ERA with 17 strikeouts.

Other notes: In the spring, Amman’s Alaa Dinari had a 36-game hitting streak to set the new ALB record. The previous best was 34 by Hassan El Zamek in 2010. Aleppo’s Sameh Sabry set a bad single-season record by allowing 56 home runs. Bahrain’s Ismaeel Al-Kuwari had the 14^th four home run game in ALB history on April 16 against Casablanca. Damascus’s Ahmed Essa struck out 21 against Sulaymaniyah on May 11, tying ALB’s regulation single-game record.

In a historical quirk, Mecca’s Samah Fathy and Iqbal both had six hit performances in the same extra innings affair versus Amman on April 17. Never before had teammates done that in all of pro baseball history. Once before in baseball history had there been two six-hit performances in the same game, happening in an extra innings European Baseball Federation game on 4/21/04 between Zurich and Naples. However, both teams had a player do it instead of it being done by teammates.

Yahya bin Hakam crossed 2000 career RBI, a mark only previously hit in ALB by Nordine Soule. He still had a long way to go to catch Soule’s 2518, which was 4^th in world history. Mohamed Hassan became the 7^th member of the 700 home run club and Khaled Mohamed became the 12^th to reach 600 dingers. Hassan and Amar Rasmi became the 18^th and 19^th to reach 2500 hits. Hassan and Abdham Abdallah also got to 1500 runs scored, a mark now hit by nine. Abdallah also became the 15^th to reach 1500 RBI.

Ahmed Hussain became the 6^th pitcher to 3500 strikeouts. Hussain, Ryan El Hadi, and Ali Hussaini all joined the 200 win club in 2024, making that group 11 pitchers strong. Nasser Al-Jarrah became the 8^th closer to reach 300 saves. SS Ayoud El Taib won his 9^th Silver Slugger.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-30-2025, 12:24 PM

2024 in ABF

The Asian Baseball Federation’s East League was fairly competitive with six teams emerging as contenders for the four playoff spots. Almaty took the top seed at 95-67 for their fifth consecutive playoff berth. It was the first time in that streak that the Assassins won the North Division. Faisalabad at 92-70 meanwhile secured the South Division’s title for the sixth year in a row. Hyderabad was one back on the Fire, which gave the Horned Frogs the first wild card to end a seven-year playoff drought.

Multan and Shymkent tied for the second wild card at 87-75 with two-time defending EL champ Bishkek falling short at 85-77. The tiebreaker went to the Squirrels, impressively making the postseason in only their fifth season since joining with the 2020 expansion. Shymkent led the EL in scoring with 678 runs while the Mighty Cocks allowed the fewest at 540.

Leading Shymkent’s efforts was East League MVP Safdar Kahlwan, who the Squirrels picked#2 overall with their first-ever draft pick in 2019. A two-way player. Kahlwan played primarily second base in 2024 with 129 games offensively, 142 hits, 86 runs, 15 homers, 71 RBI, 53 stolen bases, a .344/.439/.564 slash, 1.003 OPS, 216 wRC+, and 7.8 WAR. The 27-year old Afghani righty also tossed 225 innings with a 2.64 ERA, 15-8 record, 228 strikeouts, 130 ERA+, and 3.8 WAR. Shymkent gave Kahlwan a four-year, $21,540,000 extension in the offseason.

Almaty ace Stanislav Mukhamadiev won his second Pitcher of the Year in three seasons. The 25-year old Russian led in ERA (2.28) while posting 293 strikeouts in 221.1 innings, a 19-7 record, 152 ERA+, and 7.5 WAR. Tragically, Mukhamadiev would only throw 306.1 more total innings for the rest of his career. He would be derailed by a torn UCL in 2025. Mukhamadiev did at least get paid, as the Assassins gave him five years and $54 million after the 2024 season.

Division champs prevailed in the first round with Almaty over Shymkent 3-1 and Faisalabad over Hyderabad 3-0. The Assassins earned their first East League Championship Series trip since 2020, while it was the fourth in a row for the Fire. In a seven-game classic, Almaty earned their first-ever EL pennant, although it was their sixth overall counting their Eurasian Professional Baseball days.

Apart from the expansion teams, the Assassins had been the only ABF team without a championship berth to that point. Almaty had gone 0-6 previously in the ELCS and hadn’t won a pennant since their 1971-73 three-peat in EPB’s Asian League. The defeat for Faisalabad was their third straight ELCS loss, putting them at 1-4 in their trips over the last six years.

Bursa had the Asian Baseball Federation’s top record by a healthy margin at 105-57. The Blue Claws earned repeat playoff berths, but it was their first West Division title since 2020 and their first time as the top seed since 2005. Bursa led in scoring (863) and set new ABF team records for batting average (.300), on-base percentage (.344), hits (1732), and fewest strikeouts (1161). The 2024 Blue Claws remain the only ever team with a .300 average in ABF as of 2037.

Reigning ABF champ Tabriz won the Central Division at 94-68 to grow their playoff streak to nine years, one short of the ABF record set by Tehran from 2011-19. The Tiger Sharks earned their sixth division title of the run. The first wild card was the West’s Baku at 94-68, earning a third straight playoff spot. Mashhad took the second spot at 91-71, placing the same four teams into the WL playoffs as the prior year.

The Mercury finished three behind Tabriz in the division title race and three behind Baku for the first wild card. However, Mashhad was one better than Gaziantep (90-72) and five ahead of Istanbul (86-76) for the second wild card. The Mercury allowed the fewest runs in the WL at 611 to grow their playoff streak to four seasons. Although their playoff drought grew to 12 years, the Gorillas set a new franchise win record since joining ABF in a 2009 expansion.

Istanbul OF Khalaf bin Abdullah repeated as West League MVP in only his fourth season, setting a new ABF record for RBI with 162. The previous RBI high mark was Fakhri Rajavi’s 158 from 2015. Bin Abduallah’s would only be passed once in the following 15 years.

The 23-year old Kuwaiti led in runs (124), homers (63), total bases (439), slugging (.722), OPS (1.074), and wRC+ (173). Additionally, bin Abdullah had 8.1 WAR and a .314 average. The Ironmen gave him an eight-year, $97,800,000 extension in the offseason. To their chagrin, bin Abdullah opted out after the 2027 season and left for Major League Baseball.

Mashhad’s Kristof Farago won Pitcher of the Year in his third season with the Mercury. The 31-year old Hungarian came to ABF in 2022 after mostly pitching with Lyon of the European Second League. Farago led in ERA in 2024 with 2.36 and posted a 17-8 record over 217 innings, 214 strikeouts, and 5.2 WAR. Farago’s world travels continued after this, heading to Austarlia in 2025 on a six-year, $84,600,000 deal with Melbourne.

Bursa bested Mashhad 3-1 in the first round and Baku upset the reigning champ Tabriz 3-0. The Blue Claws earned their first West League Championship Series since 2020 and the Blackbirds made it for the third straight season. Baku continued to roll on the road with a shocking sweep of Bursa, staring the playoffs 7-0. The Blackbirds secured their fifth pennant (2010, 2012, 2013, 2022, 2024).

The 40^th ABF Championship was a 4-2 victory for Baku over Almaty for their second federation championship (2012, 2024). 39-year old Emmanouil Karakostas won finals MVP, having signed with the Blackbirds in the offseason. The ageless Greek outfielder in 13 playoff starts had 18 hits, 5 runs, 3 triples, 1 double, 2 homers, and 6 RBI.

Other notes: Multan’s Farid Kerimov tossed ABF’s 17^th Perfect Game on May 27, striking out 14 against Adana. Rawalpindi’s Ethan Shelton had two no-hitters in 2024, both against Hyderabad with the first April 25 and the second May 16. Shelton joined Ibrahim Bulak (2011) as the only ABF pitchers with multiple no-hitters in the same season.

Mehmet Fatih Canaydin became the first ABF batter to reach 3000 hits. Canaydin was already the hit king entering the year, but also passed Shadi Alam’s 1491 runs to becoming ABF’s runs leader and the first to pass 1500. Ramin Abilov became the 9^th to 2500 hits. Habib Saquib became the 5^th member of the 600 home run club. Fakhri Rajavi in his final season finished with 678 home runs, falling just short of Ali Sungu’s 683 for the top spot. After 16 years with Baku, Rajavi tried to chase the spot in one final year with Shymkent, but only managed to hit 13 dingers.

RF Hana Zuhair won his 12^th consecutive Gold Glove, becoming only the second in ABF history at any position to win the award 12+ times. SS Nizami Aghazade won his 11^th Silver Slugger. It was his 8^th at shortstop with three wins at second base. Aghazade became the 1^st (and only as of 2037) ABF player to reach 150+ career WAR. He led the EL with 10.8 WAR in 2024, his 10^th time leading the league and getting 10+ in a season. 3B Hakan Mocuk won his 7^th Silver Slugger.

Baku’s Tamaz Rogava set a bad playoff record as he was caught stealing eight times. He had three successful steals. In an unusual record, Tashkent’s Agaselim Ovezov started 62 games on the mound in an opener role. He didn’t fare well, going 0-18 with a 4.45 ERA over 83 innings.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-30-2025, 06:10 PM

2024 in SAB

In a competitive Indian League in 2024, only six wins separated the top seed from the lowest. Reigning South Asia Baseball champ Visakhapatnam took the top seed at 97-65 and repeated as South Division champ. The Volts were the only division champ to win their crown by double-digit games, 11 games better than 86-76 Hyderabad.

The Central Division was again a three-team battle between Jaipur, Kolkata, and Delhi. Last year, the Jokers missed the cut at 101-61 since the Cosmos (103-60) and Drillers (102-61) both narrowly edged them out. This time, Jaipur was first at 93-69 to end a seven-year playoff drought. It was only their second berth in 15 years.

Like 2023, Kolkata and Delhi ended the regular season tied, but this time only one could advance. The Cosmos won the tiebreaker game to win the wild card, extending their playoff streak to four years and ending the Drillers’ streak at four. Kolkata allowed the fewest runs in the IL at 569.

Meanwhile in the West Division, Ahmedabad was first at 92-70 to end a three-year playoff drought. Last year’s division champ Pune was second at 87-75, missing the wild card by three and the division by five. The Purple Knights scored the most runs (726) despite falling short. Mumbai’s collapse was complete at 64-98, a steep drop after winning the pennant only two years prior.

Ahmedabad’s Abhiji Srivas became the fifth player in SAB history to win MVP five times. The 29-year old first and second baseman had previously taken the Indian League’s top honor from 2018-21. In 2024, Srivas led in runs (114), RBI (113), triple slash (.357/.413/.721), OPS (1.134), wRC+ (242), and WAR (10.4). Srivas added 47 home runs and 39 stolen bases, winning his seventh Silver Slugger.

Picking up Pitcher of the Year was Kolkata’s Bounthavy Xayavong. The 28-year old Laotian righty won the ERA title (1.99) in his sixth season. Xayavong had a 14-4 record in 194.2 innings, 233 strikeouts, 179 ERA+, and 6.6 WAR.

Both first round playoff matchups needed all five games. Visakhapatnam survived against Kolkata and Ahmedabad got the road win over Jaipur. For the Animals, this was their first Indian League Championship Series berth since 2012 with a title drought going back to 2002 and the end of the epic dynasty run. Meanwhile the Volts were going for the repeat, which they had also previously done in 2012-13 (including a win over Ahmedabad).

The series went all seven games and came down to the final frame. In the bottom of the ninth inning, part-time starting first baseman Gian Babul won it for Visakhapatnam on a solo home run, taking game seven and the series 4-3. The series had seen plenty of drama, including a 6-5, 12 inning Volts win back in game three.

Both Dhaka and Bangkok shared the Southeast Asia League’s best record at 98-64. The tiebreaker gave the defending Baseball Grand Champion and SEAL champ Dobermans the top seed to grow their playoff streak to four seasons. The competition in the North Division for Dhaka was much weaker with their closest rivals being Hanoi and Hai Phong both at 86-76. The Bobcats ended an eight-year playoff drought and won their first South Division title since 2010.

It wasn’t a cakewalk for Bangkok, who outlasted Da Nang (97-65) and Ho Chi Minh City (94-68) for the division crown. The Nailers earned repeat playoff spots and their fourth berth in five years. For the Hedgehogs, this ended a 14-year playoff drought dating back to their 2009 SAB title.

The Bobcats led SEAL in scoring with 931 runs and set a new league team record with 355 doubles. HCMC allowed the fewest runs at 607. Also of note was Yangon’s drop to 76-86, ending their historic world record playoff streak at 29 seasons. The Green Dragons hadn’t missed the playoffs or posting a losing season going back to their 68-94 finish in 1994.

Southeast Asia League MVP went to Bangkok CF Pyae Sin Nyo in his fifth season. The 25-year old Burmese righty led in runs (218), triple slash (.380/.426/.678), OPS (1.103), wRC+ (189), and WAR (11.3). Nyo added 217 hits, 34 doubles, 40 home runs, 135 RBI, and 69 stolen bases. Nyo was originally spotted by Hanoi, but was traded before his debut in 2019. The Bobcats found a gem and gave Nyo a seven-year, $111,300,000 extension after the 2025 season.

Dhaka lefty Dusit Kyo won his second Pitcher of the Year in three seasons. The 27-year old from Thailand led in WHIP at 0.96 and posted a 2.79 ERA over 212.2 innings. Kyo had 281 strikeouts, a 14-7 record, 151 ERA+, and 6.6 WAR.

Ho Chi Minh City upset Dhaka 3-1 in the first round while Bangkok survived 3-2 against Da Nang. The Bobcats were one of two original SEAL teams without a pennant and their only prior LCS trip was way back in 1987. That was against the Hedgehogs and was the first of their 14 titles from 1987-2009. Since that last one in 2009, HCMC had largely struggled with no playoff berths and only one 90+ win season until 2024. In a seven-game classic, Ho Chi Minh City prevailed to return to the throne.

In the 45^th South Asia Baseball Championship, Visakhapatnam defeated Ho Chi Minh City to become the first repeat champ since Hanoi in 2007-08. This also ended a run of parity for the top spot as the prior six years had seen six different champs. The walkoff hero of the ILCS Gian Babul won finals MVP as well. The 26-year old 1B had 16 playoff starts with 15 hits, 10 runs, 8 homers, 14 RBI, and 4 doubles.

Other notes: World home run leader Majed Darwish became SAB’s all-time WARlord, finishing his second season with Da Nang at 172.0. This passed Ratan Canduri’s 169.1 for the top spot and made Darwish only the seventh position player in baseball history to get above 170. At age 41, Darwish led the league in home runs (53) for the 12^th time and RBI (146) for the 13^th time. He won his SAB-record 14^th Silver Slugger and his third as a first baseman, having won ten as a DH and one in left field.

Darwish’s world records grew to a staggering 1225 home runs, 2947 RBI, and 2586 runs scored. He also became the third SAB player to reach 3500 hits, ending the season at 3645. Darwish was still third behind Manju Abbas (3897) and Canduri (3770). After two years for the Nailers, the long-time Hanoi legend would sign with Dhaka in 2025 to a three-year, $46,900,000 deal.

In more mortal tallies, Yasir Malkawi became the 14^th member of the 600 home run club and the 19^th to 1500 RBI. Saw Kyaw Hla was the 26^th to reach 500 homers. Franklin Tung became the 16^th pitcher to 3500 strikeouts. Amu Singh and Akram Pnnuru became the 14^th and 15^th to get 300 saves. Singh set a playoff record for K/9 at 18.80. He struck out 39 batters over 18.2 innings with a 2.89 ERA for Visakhapatnam.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-31-2025, 06:33 AM

2024 in WAB

Defending West African Champion Abidjan did even better in 2024 at 114-48, the second-best record in Western League history behind their own 118-44 from 1978. The Athletes took first in the WL standings for the third consecutive year and earned their sixth playoff berth in seven years. Abidjan led in both runs scored (966) and fewest allowed (660).

17 games away in second place as Freetown at 97-65, earning their third straight wild card. There was another 15 game drop to third place Dakar at 82-80, who snapped a six-year playoff drought. It was an impressive bounce-back for the Dukes, who had lost 100+ games in three of the prior four seasons.

The fourth and final playoff spot was Bouake at 81-81, who had the weakest record by a playoff team in WAB history. Seven different teams finished within six games of the Blood Hawks with Accra three back at 78-84 and both Bamako and Conakry at 77-85. Boauke earned their third playoff berth since joining in the 2009 expansion (2013, 2020, 2024). Cape Verde, last year’s WLCS runner-up, was tenth at 75-87.

Western League MVP went to Dakar third baseman Junior Jose, who had won Rookie of the Year the prior year. The 24-year old Mozambican led in slugging (.714) and posted 201 hits, 128 runs, 45 doubles, 57 home runs, 138 RBI, 1.133 OPS, 164 wRC+, and 8.5 WAR.

Jose took the award over some tough competition. Abdel Aziz Ashraf of Abidjan was in the mix with 66 home runs, as was Cape Verde’s Okoro Yusuf with a .407 batting average. It was the third-best average in WAB history, but Yusuf was denied winning his fifth consecutive MVP.

The Dukes had another up-and-coming star in Pitcher of the Year Chidozie Iyakson. He won the award as a rookie, but was second in Rookie of the Year voting. The #1 pick from the 2023 WAB Draft debuted with an ERA title at 2.39 and a league-best 62 FIP-. Iyakson had an 11-5 record, 8 saves, 191.2 innings, 261 strikeouts, 195 ERA+, and 6.4 WAR.

Bouake beat Dakar 2-0 in the first round as that young core wasn’t fully developed yet for the Dukes. Freetown then swept the Blood Hawks to set up the expected matchup in the Western League Championship Series. This was the Foresters’ first WLCS since their 2011 pennant and they were the heavy underdog against the defending champ Abidjan. The Athletes were making their third consecutive WLCS appearance. Despite the lopsided expectations, Freetown pulled off the stunning upset over Abidjan and won the series 3-1. It was the third pennant for the capital of Sierra Leone (1977, 2011, 2024).

The Eastern League wasn’t nearly as top heavy, although Port Harcourt repeated as the first place finisher at 104-58. The Hillcats allowed the fewest runs in WAB at 602 and set new WAB team records for fewest walks allowed (218) and BB/9 (1.36). Five games back in second was Ibadan at 96-66, earning their third consecutive wild card.

Right behind the Iguanas were Niamey (95-67) and Lagos (94-68) to take the remaining playoff slots. Just missing the cut were Yaounde (90-72), Ouagadougou (89-73), and defending EL champ Kano (87-75). The Atomics earned their second playoff spot in three years, while the Lizards ended an eight-year drought. It was the first 90+ win season for Lagos since their 2008 pennant.

Although they missed the playoffs, Yaounde got plenty of attention for scoring 1003 runs, tied for the second-most in WAB history. They allowed 896 runs though, which kept them on the outside. The Yellow Birds had another historic performance from DH Fares Belaid, who took second in Eastern League MVP voting despite another record breaking campaign.

The 35-year old Tunisian broke WAB’s single-season record for runs scored with 160, passing Darwin Morris’s 152 from 2001. This was the fourth-best season in any world league, only behind SAB’s Majed Darwish’s 172, 167, and 167 from 2008-10. Belaid also had 282 hits, tying his own world record from 2020. To this point, there had been only eight seasons in world history with 260+ hits and Belaid had six of them. He also had a .403 batting average, becoming the only player ever to have four seasons above .400.

Another stellar year for Belaid allowed him to become WAB’s all-time leader in hits, doubles, and stolen bases in 2024. He finished the year with 3943 hits, passing Lawrence Nassif’s previous high mark of 3766. Belaid was now in striking distance of becoming the fifth in all of world history to join the 4k hit club. Belaid also got to 733 doubles to pass Nassif’s 704 and become the 11^th in world history with 700+ doubles. His 1252 steals passed Mandjou Adado’s 1199 for the WAB lead.

Belaid also reached 2000 runs scored for his career, a mark only previously hit in WAB by Morris. Belaid got to 2012 runs scored, needing at least two seasons still to catch Morris’s top mark of 2234. Belaid also hit for the cycle for the fifth time in his career, making him the first in world history to achieve that feat.

Despite that fanfare, it was Lagos’ Desmond Jaiyeola who won MVP, but for good reason. In his second year for the Lizards, the 30-year old Nigerian DH smacked 78 home runs, breaking the WAB record of 71 set the prior year by Abdel Aziz Ashraf. That was the sixth-most homers in any season in world history to that point.

Jaiyeola also led in RBI with 160, which was the 11^th-best in WAB history thus far. He led in total bases (457) and slugging (.721) while adding 1.068 OPS, 160 wRC+, 6.3 WAR, 128 runs, and 189 hits. Jaiyeola was a very rare case of a batter winning MVP but not the Silver Slugger at his position, which fell to Belaid for DH. It was the ninth Slugger for Belaid with all but one as a DH. However, the voters thought the dingers and ending the Lizards’ playoff drought gave the edge to Jaiyeola.

Pitcher of the Year was Port Harcourt left Ngalle Eto’o in his fourth season. The 25-year old Cameroonian lefty led in wins (20-3), ERA (2.17), WHIP (0.80), K/BB (29.3), quality starts (25), FIP- (48), and WAR (9.3). He pitched 207.1 innings with a 218 ERA+, 293 strikeouts, and only 10 walks. The Hillcats eventually locked Eto’o up after the 2025 season to a seven-year, $174,400,000 extension.

Lagos edged Niamey 2-1 in the first round, but fell 2-1 in a tough second round battle with Ibadan. The Iguanas earned their second Eastern League Championship Series trip in three years, while it was a repeat try for Port Harcourt. The top seeded Hillcats won with a 3-0 sweep, earning their seventh pennant and first since 2015.

Port Harcourt kept rolling in the 50^th West African Championship, sweeping Freetown 4-0 to become five-time WAB champs (1980, 1989, 1995, 2015, 2024). The five rings tied them with Abidjan for the third most, while Kano (12) and Lagos (80) were still well ahead. The 2024 Hillcats (7-0) joined 2022 Conakry (9-0) as the only teams in WAB history to go undefeated in the postseason.

1B Biano Beckley was the star of the playoffs for Port Harcourt, winning finals MVP and ELCS MVP. The 28-year old first baseman from Sierra Leone had a relatively undistinguished career, but went 12-25 in his 7 playoff starts with 6 runs, 6 doubles, 3 homers, 9 RBI, 1.560 OPS, and 0.8 WAR.

Other notes: Kano’s Hadj Sagna had 64 doubles, which tied for the 4^th-most in WAB history. The top mark was Adrian Kollie’s 70 from 2021. Ibrahim Sani became the 4^th member of the 600 home run club and the 8^th to reach 1500 runs scored. Clarence Cole was the 13^th to reach 500 homers. 3B Seidath Boni won his 12^th Gold Glove, a WAB position record. Boni was only the third at any spot to win 12 GGs.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-31-2025, 12:25 PM

WAB After 50 Years

With the 2024 season complete, West African Baseball became the tenth world baseball league to complete 50 seasons of play. Below is a quick look at the history of WAB thus far

The most successful team overall has been Kano with 12 championships, a mark only hit to this point in world history by EPB’s Minsk and SAB’s Ahmedabad. The Condors lead all teams in finals berths (15) and have the most playoff berths (30) and first place finishes (14) among the Eastern League teams. Despite sharing the EL with Kano, Lagos has the second most titles with 8. The EL has beaten the Western League 35-15 in the championship so far.

Abidjan has been the best regular season team by a healthy margin, averaging an impressive 95 wins per season. They also led all teams in playoff appearances (34) and first place finishes (19). The Athletes have the most runner-up finishes, going 5-9 in the finals. Bamako notably has gone 0-8 in their finals tries.

Abidjan and Kano are the only teams to make the playoffs in more than half of WAB’s seasons, although both Lagos and Kumasi are close at 24 berths. The Athletes and Condors also both have made it to the LCS in almost half of the seasons with 23 trips apiece.

Despite the lopsided finals record between the leagues and some dynasty runs, 16 of WAB’s 22 teams have won it all at least once. All but four teams have made it to the finals at least once. Ouagadougou, Benin City, and Douala are the originals without a pennant along with expansion Bouake. The Dingos are the only of that group to never make the LCS. Douala has been easily the worst team with only one playoff trip and an average of 69.7 wins per season over 50 years. They’ve only finished above .500 in five seasons.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 01-31-2025, 06:06 PM

2024 in CLB

Last year’s Northern League runner-up Dalian finished atop the standings in 2024 at 100-62. That was the best record for all of Chinese League Baseball as the Gold Dragons allowed the fewest runs at 402. 2022’s NL champ Urumqi was second at 95-67, getting back to the playoffs after missing the cut in 2023. Nanjing also was back after missing in 2023 by taking third at 93-69. The Nuggets earned their fifth playoff appearance in seven years.

Reigning China Series winner Tianjin got the fourth and final playoff spot at 91-71, growing their postseason streak to three years. The Jackrabbits edged out Changchun (87-75) and Jinan (85-77) for the final slot. Qingdao led all teams in scoring with 597 runs, but allowed the most in the NL (589). Thus the Devils went 80-82, failing to earn a third straight wild card.

Nanjing 1B Houzhi Ding won Northern League MVP and posted only the eighth Triple Crown season by a CLB hitter. The 26-year old lefty led in homers (63), RBI (119), total bases (405), triple slash (.319/.388/.702), runs (104), hits (184), OPS (1.090), wRC+ (255), and WAR (12.8). Ding became the fourth CLB slugger to hit 60+ dingers in a season and posted the fourth-most total bases to that point.

Pitcher of the Year was Len Goh in his lone season for Dalian. He had won the award in 2021 with Shijiazhuang, where Goh played his first 11 seasons. 2024 was the last year of his deal with the Serpents and they traded him and $47,030,000 in the offseason to the Gold Dragons for two prospects.

Goh won his second ERA title (1.64) and led in WHIP (0.68) and K/BB (17.3) in 2024 for Dalian. The 32-year old Hongkonger added a 13-9 record over 219 innings, 242 strikeouts, 169 ERA+, and 7.9 WAR. It was Goh’s final season in China, as he’d sign in the offseason with MLB’s Oakland Owls at $73,200,000 over four years,

Urumqi fared the best in the double round robin at 4-2, while Nanjing and Dalian were both 3-3 and Tianjin was 2-4. The tiebreaker favored the Nuggets over the Gold Dragons for their third semifinal trip in four years. Their last appearance in 2022 saw a defeat to the Unicorns despite Nanjing being the top seed. Urumqi had homefield this time and again was the victory, winning 4-2 to secure their second trip to the China Series.

Seven teams were realistically in the playoff mix in the Southern League. Xiamen again finished atop the standings, although they fell from 107-55 in 2023 down to 97-65. Still, last year’s SL runner-up Mutts allowed the fewest runs at 414. Tying for second at 94-68 were defending SL champ Guangzhou and Wenzhou. The Gamecocks earned their third playoff spot in four years, while the Wild ended a four-year drought. Guangzhou led the league in scoring with 590 runs.

For the final spot, there was a three-way tie at 89-73 between Shantou, Chongqing, and Macau. Changsha at 85-77 faded down the stretch. The Scorpions won tiebreaker games over both the Cavaliers and Magicians to advance, ending a three-year playoff drought. Meanwhile both Foshan (75-87) and Hong Kong (71-91) struggled in 2024, which ended a six-year playoff streak by both teams.

Kunming was largely irrelevant at 75-87, but they had the Southern League’s MVP in Shimin Loy. The fourth-year second baseman led in the triple slash (.321/.360/.619), OPS (.979), wRC+ (226), and WAR (12.5). Loy added 91 runs, 40 homers, 22 doubles, 11 triples, and 95 RBI. He was living up to the billing as the #1 overall draft pick in 2020. After the 2026 season, the Muscle extended Loy at eight years and $143,500,000.

Another impressive up-and-comer was Chengdu’s Zhiyang Zhuang, who won Pitcher of the Year in his second season. He was one win shy of a Triple Crown with a 1.44 ERA over 249.1 innings, 349 strikeouts, and 17-9 record. Zhuang also led in WHIP (0.75), complete games (18), shutouts (7), and WAR (9.2) with a 190 ERA+. Zhuang was also a #1 overall draft pick, selected in 2022 by the Clowns.

Shantou carried the momentum from their play-in game wins with a rare round robin sweep at 6-0 for their second-ever semifinal appearance (2014, 2016, 2024). Top seed Xiamen at 4-2 earned a repeat semifinal berth, while Guangzhou and Wenzhou both finished 1-5. The Scorpions kept rolling, stinging the Mutts 4-1 in the semifinal. Shantou secured its second-ever trip to the China Series (2014) while Xiamen was left holding the bag again despite their #1 seed.

The 55^th China Series was the first to pit two teams from the 2009 expansion against each other. It was also the first since 2016 to use all seven games, as there had been a long run of lopsided series. Urumqi outlasted Shantou 4-3 to earn their first title. RF Yang Shao won finals MVP in his second season for the Unicorns. The 27-year old RF started 19 playoff games with 15 hits, 7 runs, 3 doubles, 1 homer, 4 RBI, and 6 walks. Urumqi became the 21^st of CLB’s 30 teams to win it all.

Other notes: After 11 years with Shijiazhuang, the Serpents were sellers and traded Cheng Kang to Guangzhou for 2024. It was the final CLB season for the 35-year old slugger, as he’d spent the next six seasons in the Oceania Baseball Association. In his final run in China though, Kang became CLB’s all-time leader in both home runs and RBI.

Kang hit 28 homers with 73 RBI in 2024, giving him 552 dingers and 1272 RBI. He passed Boyu Long’s 537 homers and 1238 RBI to take first place with Long having retired the prior year. Kang also left was the third-most WAR among position players (137.1) and was fourth in runs (1140) and sixth in hits (2210). Kang remained the homer and RBI leader until Tao Cai passed him for both in 2032.

Wenzhou’s Xiaotian Shu set a playoff OPS record at 1.593 (20 plate appearances required). In six games, Shu had 11 hits,7 runs, 1 double, 2 triples, 2 homers, 4 RBI, and 1 walk. 2B Yusheng Cai and CF Zuhairi Arif both won their 7^th Gold Gloves. 2B Kenny Sang won his 8^th Silver Slugger.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 02-01-2025, 07:48 AM

2024 in APB

Defending Taiwan-Philippine Association champ Zamboanga again sat atop the Philippine League, breaking their own franchise record at 110-52. It was the sixth time in the last decade that the Zebras won 100+ games. Great pitching led the way, setting new TPA records for ERA (1.78), runs allowed (335), earned runs (296), and WHIP (0.817). Zamboanga’s 978 hits allowed and 5.88 H/9 were both second-best in TPA history behind only 1969 Tainan.

The Zebras’ ERA, runs, and earned runs were each the second-lowest in all of Austronesia Professional Baseball history. The only team better was 1985 Jakarta with a 1.73 ERA, 324 runs, and 287 earned runs. In all of world history to that point, the 2024 Zamboanga squad had the fourth-best ERA, third-fewest runs allowed, and fourth-fewest earned runs.

In the Taiwan League, Kaohsiung was first at 96-66 to end a 12-year playoff drought. Last year’s top seed Hsinchu finished second at 90-72 with Tainan third at 86-76. The Steelheads led the association with 593 runs scored. Although the Sweathogs missed the cut, their superstar Binh Tang continued to dominate with his fifth consecutive Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP. It was amazingly Tang’s best season yet, setting APB single-season records for OPS (1.100), slugging (.702), and total bases (384).

The 24-year old Vietnamese first baseman earned his third Triple Crown with career highs to that point of 53 home runs, 119 RBI, and a .338 average. He joined Tunggul Widhyasari as the only three-time Triple Crown hitters in APB history. Tang also led in runs (102), OBP (.398), wRC+ (241), and WAR (13.5). His WAR mark was the second-best by an APB position player in a season behind Gavin Loh’s 14.0 from 1996. Tang was the fifth player in APB history to win five MVPs and he was far from done.

Pitcher of the Year was Kaohsiung lefty Shih-Hao Chuang. The 25-year old from Taiwan led in strikeouts (343), quality starts (29), shutouts (6), and WAR (9.0). Chuang had a 19-8 record and 1.69 ERA over 272.1 innings for a 161 ERA+. The Steelheads signed him to four-year, $68,100,000 extension the following spring.

Pekanbaru surprised many by posting the Sundaland Association’s best record at 93-69, getting their first playoff berth since their 2014 APB title. Defending APB champ Medan was second to the Palms in the Malacca League at 89-73 with Johor Bahru (86-76) and Kuala Lumpur (84-78) both in the mix. The Marlins missed the cut despite having the top offense with 552 runs.

In the Java Sea League, Bandung (87-75) edged out Surabaya (85-77) for first place. Last year’s JSL winner Jakarta fell to third at 80-82. The Blackhawks earned their second playoff berth in three years and allowed the fewest runs in the Sundaland Association at 404.

MVP honors went to Pekanbaru LF James Yuwono in his fourth season. The 25-yar old Indonesian led in slugging (.553), and wRC+ (206). Yuwono had 8.1 WAR, 40 homers, 78 RBI, 78 runs, and .892 OPS. This effort got Yuwono paid big time, signing an eight-year, $100,060,000 extension with the Palms in the offseason.

Surabaya’s Rahman Omar won Pitcher of the Year in his eighth season. The 29-yer old Malaysian righty led in strikeouts (384), WHIP (0.69), K/BB (16.7), FIP- (20), and WAR (13.1). Omar had a 1.66 ERA, 153 ERA+, and 16-8 record over 243.2 innings. It was the 23^rd time in APB history that a pitcher had a 13+ WAR season and as of 2037, it is the last time it happened. Prior to the season, Omar and the Sunbirds signed a four-year, $97,200,000 extension.

Despite Zamboanga’s historic pitching success, Kaohsiung easily upset the Zebras 4-1 in the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship. The Steelheads earned their seventh pennant and first since 2007. Bandung bested Pekanbaru 4-2 in the Sundaland Association Championship, also earning their seventh pennant. The Blackhawks’ last title came in 2015.

The 60^th Austronesia Championship was the third straight final to need all seven games. Bandung outlasted Kaohsiung 4-3 to become five-time APB champs (1967, 1994, 2003, 2015, 2024). Pitcher Gosner Rahmawati had a dominant run, winning Sundaland Association Championship MVP. The 36-year old three-time Pitcher of the Year went 4-0 in four starts with a 0.53 ERA over 33.2 innings, 38 strikeouts, 4 walks, and 1.5 WAR. Rahmawati became only the fourth pitcher in APB playoff history to win four games in one postseason.

Other notes: 2024 was the final season for APB home run king Wil Tabaldo, who had an impressive 17-year run with Singapore. Tabaldo retired as the APB leader in homers (766) and RBI (1658), while also retiring second in runs (1388). He got to 2524 hits, becoming the ninth to breach 2500 in APB. Tabaldo’s 121.44 WAR also placed him third among APB position players at retirement.

APB’s 49^th Perfect Game came on May 20 from Semarang’s Fakarudin Zainudin with 10 strikeouts against Medan. Yee Husin threw his second no-hitter in three years, this time with Medan after doing it for Palembang in 2022. Semarang’s offense was historically poor, scoring the fewest runs in APB history with 343 with the worst-ever OBP at .225. Their .183 batting average and 955 hits ranked as second-worst in Sundaland Association history.

Along with his epic postseason run, Gosner Rahmawati became the 6^th pitcher to 250 wins and the 21^st to 4000 strikeouts. Jay Abiad and Marco Yudho became the 14^th and 15^th to reach 300 saves. 1B Widodo Megawati won his 14^th Gold Glove, joining fellow 1B Kent Wang (15) as APB’s only 14+ time winners. C Muhammad Aqsar won his 8^th Gold Glove and SS Dale Saley won his 7^th. C Yi-Hsiang Chang won his 7^th Silver Slugger.

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

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