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

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 02-01-2025, 12:57 PM

2024 in OBA

The Australasia League incredibly saw a three-way tie for first place as Sydney, Canberra, and Christchurch each ended the regular season at 97-65. Thus, two tiebreaker games were required to determine the champ. First, the Centurions ousted the defending champ Chinooks. Then, the Snakes defeated Canberra to give Sydney its second pennant in three years and fourth in seven years. Sydney used impressive offense to prevail as their 861 runs were the second-most in AL history.

Christchurch had allowed the fewest runs (598) and had the second-most strikeouts (1729) and second-best K/9 (10.38) in league history. The Chinooks grew their streak of winning seasons to 14. The Centurions were still without their first pennant, but 98 wins was a new franchise record for the 2006 expansion team. Auckland was fourth at 90-72, successfully rebounding from a 67-95 mark in 2023. Brisbane had the opposite fate, going from 91-71 in 2023 to a lousy 68-94 in 2024.

Canberra 1B Jordy Vincent won Australasia League MVP for the second time in three years. The 25-year old lefty from New Caledonia led in OPS (1.012), wRC+ (171), and WAR (7.8). Vincent added 47 home runs, 142 RBI, 117 runs, and a .333/.390/.622 slash. The Centurions eventually inked Vincent in April 2026 to a seven-year, $178,400,000 extension to remain their franchise’s star.

Sydney’s Chuchuan Cao won his third consecutive Pitcher of the Year in his third OBA season. This made him an eight-time POTY winner counting his Chinese League Baseball dominance, becoming the seventh pitcher in world history to win the award 8+ times. The 35-year old Chinese lefty led in wins (23-5), WHIP (0.90), K/BB (8.6), and quality starts (25). Cao had a 2.47 ERA over 273 innings, 267 strikeouts, and 7.0 WAR.

Tragically, this marked the end of a brilliant career for the former two-way star. In September, Cao suffered a torn rotator cuff, although it wasn’t though to be career-ending at the time. Sydney voided the rest of his contract fearing the worst, but Cao was determined to rehab back. In December 2024, MLB’s San Diego Seals signed him to a three-year, $55,200,000 deal.

Cao seemed to be on track to return in 2025, but he suffered a setback in February 2025 that required surgery. This added another 15 months of recovery and Cao ultimately retired in November 2025, never tossing an inning for San Diego. Thus ended the run of one of the most impactful players in baseball history after three years with Sydney and ten with Shenyang.

Just as a pitcher, Cao was an all-timer with eight Pitcher of the Year wins, 253-108 record, 2.02 ERA, 3482.2 innings, 4217 strikeouts, 197 complete games, 64 shutouts, 146 ERA+, and 124.9 WAR. It was his two-way efforts with the Swans that made him a legend, winning five MVPs in CLB. Playing outfield, Cao posted 63.8 WAR, 169 wRC+, .291/.332/.483 slash, .815 OPS, 1377 hits, 630 runs, 236 doubles, 160 homers, 626 RBI, and 473 steals.

For his combined career, Cao ended with 188.7 WAR which placed his 7^th among all players in world history at retirement and was the best among two-way guys. He remarkably got there in only 13 seasons, while most of the other guys in that WAR orbit played at least 20 seasons. Cao averaged a staggering 14.5 WAR per season, which certainly puts him in the conversations for the best player in baseball history.

Reigning Oceania Baseball Association champ Port Moresby repeated as Pacific League champ at 103-59, leading the league in both runs scored (841) and fewest allowed (559). Vanuatu was their only real close foe at 97-65 with Timor third at 91-71. That did set a new franchise-best for the Tapirs, who posted their first-ever winning season in 2023 at 90-72. Guam notably dropped to 72-90, which was their first time below 80 wins since 2006.

The 2024 season was the ultimate crowning moment for Vanuatu 1B Roe Kaupa, who became the sixth player to win five MVPs in OBA. The 37-year old Papuan lefty had won one in 2011 with Timor and three with Christchurch in 2013, 2014, and 2016. Kaupa had continued to thrive since joining the Wizards in 2018, leading in homers for the sixth straight season with 61. Not only was it his 11^th season as the homer leader, but the effort pushed him into the top spot all-time in OBA.

Kaupa finished the season with 835 dingers, passing Vavao Brighouse’s 804 that had stood since 1999. Kaupa also became the new runs scored leader at 1749 to pass Adrian Kali’s 1704. Kali’s mark only stood one season, as he retired in 2023. Kaupa was also now at 1891 RBI, putting him within striking distance of passing Junia Lava (1989) and Kali (1979) for the top spot.

He won his 14^th Silver Slugger, becoming the only player in OBA history to win that many. Kaupa had won eight at first base and six as a designated hitter. He led the Pacific League in 2024 in total bases (398), OBP (.406), slugging (.712), OPS (1.118), and wRC+ (211). Kaupa added 112 runs, 1266 RBI, .318 average, and 9.9 WAR. He also hit for the cycle in in June against Samoa, his second. Kaupa inked a three-year, $65 million extension in April to remain with Vanuatu.

Port Moresby’s Colton Stark won his third consecutive Pitcher of the Year award. The 31-year old Australian righty won his third straight ERA title with a career-best 1.94 and led in K/BB (12.1), ERA+ (192), and FIP- (58). Stark added a 20-5 record, 213.2 innings, 230 strikeouts, and 7.7 WAR. His overall tallies were down from the prior years as he missed around two months to various injuries.

In a seven-game classic, Port Moresby defeated Sydney to win the 65^th Oceania Championship. The repeat victory gave the Mud Hens their third title, having also won in 1985. LF Garia Sakail earned finals MVP in his third year as a full-time starter for his hometown team. The 27-year old Papuan went 12-26 with 5 runs, 1 double, 2 triples, 1 homer, and 3 RBI.

Other notes: 2024 was the final full OBA season for eight-time Pitcher of the Year winner Akira Brady. After 17-years with Fiji, he would leave for MLB’s Phoenix in 2025 and spend two full seasons there. Brady would be released in early 2027 by the Firebirds and came back for 2.1 final OBA innings in 2027 for Port Moresby.

In 2024, he became only the 4^th pitcher in world history to cross 350 career wins. Brady’s final two seasons with the Fiji were plagued with injuries with shoulder inflammation in 2023 and a ruptured finger tendon in 2024. Still as of 2037, Brady is OBA’s all-time leader in wins (351), complete games (328), shutouts (75), innings (4976), strikeouts (6476), and WAR (173.52).

Port Moresby’s Stanley Yeo scored 134 runs, the 4^th-best season in OBA history. Roe Kaupa had the record of 142 from 2016. William Buchholz became the 24^th to reach 2500 hits. Buchholz and Isaac Endo became the 13^th and 14^th to 1500 RBI. Jarrod Hutchinson was the 12^th pitcher to reach 4000 strikeouts. Aidan Wray was the 3^rd closer to 400 saves. CF Pouvalu Manu won his 10^th consecutive Gold Glove. 2B Trey Cruz won his 8^th Silver Slugger.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 02-01-2025, 05:58 PM

2024 in EPB

In a competitive European League, reigning Eurasian Professional Baseball champ Volgograd took the top seed at 96-66. The Voyagers won their fourth consecutive South Division and earned their fifth straight playoff berth. It was also the first time in that stretch they didn’t win 100+ games. Volgograd was notably second in the EL in both runs scored (617) and fewest allowed (509).

St. Petersburg narrowly took the North Division at 93-69, edging out Nizhny Novgorod (92-70) by one. The Polar Bears got their second playoff slot in three years, but it was their first division title since 2006. The Ninjas earned their third wild card in four years. Nizhny Novgorod allowed the fewest runs in the European League at 506.

For the second wild card, there was a three-way tie at 87-75 between Samara, Voronezh, and Minsk. The Steelers defeated both the Zephyrs and Miners in one-game playoffs to earn their first-ever playoff berth. Samara was the only remaining team from the 2000 emergency expansion that had yet to make the playoffs. Also of note was Moscow falling to 79-83, their first losing season since 1998.

Samara swept the European League’s top awards with MVP going to RF Dmitri Khodakovsky in his third season. The 24-year old Russian posted the 12^th Triple Crown hitting season in EPB history and led in runs (102), hits (195), home runs (51), RBI (113), total bases (381), average (.337), slugging (.658), OPS (1.052), wRC+ (215), and WAR (10.0). Khodakvosky had been picked fifth overall by the Steelers in the 2019 EPB Draft.

His teammate Ivan Nikolin was Pitcher of the Year with the 15^th pitching Triple Crown in EPB history. Never before in all of pro baseball history had there been a Triple Crown pitcher and hitter on the same roster in the same season. For the 29-yaer old Nikolin, he had a 21-8 record, 2.18 ERA, and 346 strikeouts over 255.2 innings. He also led in WHIP (0.81) and K/BB (11.9) while adding 139 ERA+ and 7.2 WAR. Nikolin stayed committed to Samara with a six-year, $92,400,000 extension after the 2025 season.

Samara used those talents to upset reigning champ Volgograd 3-2 in the first round, earning their first-ever European League Championship Series trip. Nizhny Novgorod outlasted St. Petersburg on the road 3-2 for their second ELCS in four years. The matchup between the 2000 expansion teams guaranteed a first-time pennant winner. The Ninjas prevailed 4-2 over the Steelers to advance.

The top two records in EPB battled for the Asian League’s West Division with Yekaterinburg (103-59) outracing Chelyabinsk (100-62). Both were tied for the fewest runs allowed at 483, while the Cadets actually outscored the Yaks (642 to 603) despite getting stuck as the wild card. Yekaterinburg earned repeat playoff berths, but they hadn’t been division champ since 2008. Chelyabinsk’s playoff streak grew to six seasons; all wild card appearances.

Defending AL champ Krasnoyarsk dropped from 103-59 to 87-75 in 2024, but that was still enough to repeat as East Division champ. The Cossacks’ division title streak grew to six seasons and their playoff streak grew to seven. Ulaanbaatar was their nearest foe at 82-80. The Boars ended up one win short for the second wild card.

The West’s Omsk and Nur-Sultan tied for the final spot at 83-79 with the Otters winning the one-game playoff to advance. Omsk earned a second wild card in three years. The Setters in their fifth season became the first of the 2020 expansion teams to post a winning record. Khabarovsk came close in 2024 at 80-82. Also of note was Perm falling to 73-89, their first losing season since 2017. The Pitbulls had won the prior four West Division crowns.

RF Nikolay Kargopolcev had a remarkable resurgence, winning his fourth Asian League MVP in 2024. He had won the award for Ufa in 2011, 2013, and 2014. A decade later and now 37-years old, Kargopolcev was on top again now with Chelyabinsk. He had signed with the Cadets in 2021, but had been largely forgettable there, even getting relegated to a part-time role in 2022 and 2023.

For 2024, Kargopolcev led in runs (93) and slugging (.590). He added 164 hits, 21 doubles, 15 triples, 38 home runs, 116 RBI, .906 OPS, 173 wRC+, and 7.7 WAR. Kargopolcev finished the year at 695 career home runs and seemingly now had a shot at passing Konrad Mazur (740) and Zina Gigolashvili (720) for the top spots. Kargopolcev also became the fourth to reach 1500 runs scored and was one of nine with 1500+ RBI. He earned a three-year, $43,100,000 extension in the offseason for his efforts, getting his shot to continue up the leaderboards.

Chelyabinsk also had the Pitcher of the Year in fifth-year lefty Aleksandr Rossel. The 25-year old Russian won the ERA title (1.77) and led in WHIP (0.74), and shutouts (6). Rossel had an 18-5 record over 203 innings, 304 strikeouts, 182 ERA+, and 7.8 WAR. Also worth a mention was Omsk’s Vitali Kolyayev becoming a three-time Reliever of the Year winner.

Yekaterinburg topped Omsk 3-1 in the first round, while Krasnoyarsk used their home field advantage to beat Chelyabinsk 3-1 despite their 13-win difference. This set up a rematch in the Asian League Championship Series, but the results would get switched. This time the Yaks prevailed 4-1 over the Cossacks, giving Yekaterinburg their first pennant since 2012. The Yaks led all Asian League teams with 12 titles.

The 70^th EPB Championship was the first since 2008 to end in a sweep as Yekaterinburg crushed Nizhny Novgorod 4-0. The Yaks were now eight-time EPB champs (1955, 1970, 1989, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2024). They tied the departed Kyiv for the second-most EPB rings while Minsk had the most at 13.

Pitcher Georgi Nevdakh was finals MVP as the 26-year old Belarusian went 3-0 in his playoff starts with a 2.02 EREA over 26.2 innings and 21 strikeouts. Nevdakh had a one-hit shutout during the series. Teammate Abdulla Savitsky was also notable as the ALCS and first round MVP. Savitsky set a new EPB playoff record with 6 triples and added 20 hits, 11 runs, 2 doubles, 2 homers, and 8 RBI in 13 starts.

Other notes: Igor Gorbatyuk became the 27^th to reach 2500 hits. He also finished the year with 1597 runs scored at age 39, putting him close to Zaur Kadirov’s top mark of 1619. Evgeny Kiselev was the 20^th to 500 home runs. Kaysar Alkhasov was the 29^th to 4000 strikeouts.

1B Artur Sagadatullin won his 15^th and final Gold Glove. He was the only 15-time winner in EPB history and one of seven in all of world history. Two others in the group played first base with Beisbol Sudamerica’s D.J. Del Valle (16) and Austronesia Professional Baseball’s Kent Wang (15). LF Brandon Chunchignorov won his 9^th Gold Glove and 3B Daniil Wekshinsky won his 7^th.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 02-02-2025, 05:08 AM

2024 in EBF

Two-time defending European Champion Dublin again was dominant at 110-52 atop the West Division. The Dinos again were the Northern Conference top seed and earned a fifth consecutive division crown. Dublin has won 109+ games in four of those five seasons. Their offense was especially potent in 2024 with 931 runs scored, breaking Amsterdam’s conference record of 929 from 1986. The Dinos ranked third in all of European Baseball Federation history.

The most competitive division was the Central with Rotterdam winning a fourth straight title at 101-61. The Ravens allowed the fewest runs in the conference by a healthy margin at 538. Rotterdam was only two games better than 99-63 Cologne, who ended a six-year playoff drought as the first wild card. The Copperheads have won 80+ games each year since 2007. Third was 93-69 Hanover, taking the second wild card for repeat playoff berths.

Kharkiv claimed the East Division at 92-70 to end their own six-year playoff drought. Berlin was second at 88-74, finishing tied with the Central’s Amsterdam for the final wild card. The Anacondas defeated the Barons in a one-game playoff to advance. Amsterdam has amazingly earned nine playoff appearances in 12 years; all wild cards.

The first teams out were London (86-76), Hamburg (85-77), Glasgow (83-79), and Frankfurt (82-80). This ended a seven-year playoff streak for the Hammers, although their run of winning seasons grew to 10. For the Monarchs, it was their first winning season in the EBF Elite tier since 2003.

There was a lot of parity at the bottom with Paris (63-99) finishing last and getting relegated. Tallinn (65-97), Manchester (66-96), and Riga (69-93) only narrowly escaped the bottom spot or the 100+ loss threshold. The Poodles had historically been one of EBF’s strongest franchises and had won it all as recently as 2014. They hadn’t won more than 71 games from 2019-24 though and finally couldn’t avoid demotion.

Third-year Hanover LF Felix Timm won Northern Conference MVP. The 2022 Rookie of the Year led in 2024 in home runs (61), total bases (412), and slugging (.703). The 24-year old Austrian added 1.064 OPS, 184 wRC+, 9.5 WAR, 140 RBI, and 117 runs.

The Hitmen also had the Pitcher of the Year with veteran Federico Panesso. The 34-year old Italian lefty was in his fifth season for Hanover after spending his 20s mostly in the European Second League. Panesso won the ERA title at 2.43 and struck out 205 over 226.1 innings with an 18-5 record, 162 ERA+, and 6.1 WAR.

Despite their award wins, Hanover was ousted in the first round 2-1 by Cologne. Kharkiv swept Amsterdam in round one and gave Rotterdam a fierce challenge in round two, although the Ravens escaped 3-2. Top seed Dublin downed the Copperheads 3-1, setting up a rematch in the Northern Conference Championship.

Dublin again was victorious over Rotterdam with their 4-1 win giving the Dinos the conference three-peat and their fourth pennant in five years. They joined Amsterdam, Vienna, and Zurich as the only franchises to earn four finals trips in a five year stretch. The Irish capital now had 11 conference titles, which is tied for the most among all EBF teams along with Zurich.

Three teams fought over the Southern Conference’s top seed with West Division champ Zurich ultimately getting it. The Mountaineers and Central Division champ Munich both finished 106-56, although Zurich had the tiebreaker for the top seed. The Mountaineers picked up their eighth playoff berth in nine years. The defending conference champ Mavericks had to outlast 104-58 Zagreb to take their fourth straight division title.

Both Munich and Zagreb had their playoff streaks extended to five seasons. The Gulls earned their fourth 100+ win season in five years despite being the first wild. The other wild cards came out of a loaded Central Division as well with Rome (96-66) and Palermo (92-70). The first teams out were Valencia, Zaragoza, and Skopje each at 88-74. The Red Wolves ended a nine-year playoff drought while the Priests got their second berth in four years.

Meanwhile the East Division saw Chisinau repeat as champ at 98-64 with Skopje a distant second. The Counts led the conference in scoring with 848 runs while Zaragoza allowed the fewest at 551. By far the conference’s worst team was 51-111 Toulouse, relegated after a four-year run amongst the European Baseball Federation Elite. Tirana (64-98) and Budapest (65-97) were both poor, but avoided the 100+ loss threshold and escaped demotion.

Southern Conference MVP went to Chisinau 1B Theodosio Gaytan in a surprisingly breakout year. The 28-year old Spaniard has posted 5.3 WAR in seven EBF Elite seasons prior, but exploded for a conference-best 9.8 in 2024. Gaytan also led in doubles (44), RBI (134), average (.352), slugging (.693), OPS (1.087), and wRC+ (210). He added 105 runs and 46 homers in his third year with the Counts, earning a seven-year, $172,400,000 extension the following spring.

Munich’s Nejc Novak won his second Pitcher of the Year in three seasons. The 28-year old Slovene righty was the WARlord at 9.0 and led with 54 FIP-. Novak had a 21-8 record in 232 innings, 2.56 ERA, 275 strikeouts, and 145 ERA+. Before the 2024 campaign, Novak inked a six-year, $153,600,000 extension with the Mavericks.

Zagreb edged Rome 2-1 and Chisinau outlasted Palermo 2-1 in the first round. The Gulls then upset Zurich 3-2 in the second round, sending Zagreb to repeat Southern Conference Championship trips and their third in four years. Even more stunning was the Counts not only upsetting Munich on the other side, but sweeping the Mavericks. Only two years prior, Chisinau was playing in the European Second League.

Chisinau earned their first-ever Southern Conference title, knocking out Zagreb 4-2. The Counts became the fourth pennant winner amongst teams that began with the E2L’s 2005 debut along with Zaragoza, Antwerp, and Thessaloniki. The Gulls yet again couldn’t get over the hump, now going 0-3 in four years in the conference final. Zagreb has lost five straight conference finals trips with a title drought back to 1975.

In the 75^th European Championship, Dublin was a heavy favorite over Chisinau and had a shot to be the first-ever three-peat champ in EBF. The Dinos had been the only team previously to win three titles in four years, doing that in 2010-13. Their party was spoiled though as the upstart Counts won decisively 4-1, bringing the cup to Moldova for the first time.

Chisinau became the 29^th different EBF franchise to win it all and Moldova became the 19^th country to have a European champ from their nation. The Counts joined Antwerp (2015) as the only EBF Elite champs that began in E2L in 2005. Conference MVP Theodosio Gaytan was also the MVP of the European Championship and the conference finals MVP. In 17 playoff starts, he had 24 hits, 14 runs, 4 doubles, 4 triples, 5 homers, and 17 RBI. Chisinau’s Cosmin Chivu also notably scored 20 playoff runs, tying the EBF postseason record hit twice before.

Other notes: 2024 featured EBF’s 38^th and 39^th Perfect Games. The first was April 22 by Cologne’s Vladyslav Zaporoshchenko, who struck out 12 against London. The second came from Zagreb’s A.J. Magee on May 16 with 10 Ks over Madrid. It was Magee’s second no-hitter, having also done it in 2017. Hanover’s Jaden Cardoso had 156 RBI, the first to reach 150+ RBI since 2006.

Oslo SS and EBF WARlord Harvey Coyle became the 1st EBF slugger to 900 home runs, the 6^th to 2000 RBI, and the 12^th to 3000 hits. Coyle ended his age 37 season with 197.6 career WAR, putting him in position to join MLB/OBA legend Jimmy Caliw (214.0) and world strikeout king Mohamed Ramos (205.1) in the 200 club. Coyle passed WAB SS Darwin Morris (194.4) and CABA/MLB SP Ulices Montero (191.7) on the world leaderboard with 7.5 WAR in 2024. He had a career worst .782 OPS, but his defense at shortstop was still world class even in his late 30s.

Nicolo Giotto and Johan Almgren became the 19^th and 20^th to reach 1500 runs scored. Nico Tofani was the 41^st to reach 2500 hits. Stefanos Emmanouilidis and Sisto Contreras made the 500 home run club, now 37 players strong. Luther Bowness became the 11^th pitcher to 4000 strikeouts and Forest Campbell became the 27^th to 3500 Ks.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 02-02-2025, 02:20 PM

2024 in BSA

Since 2009, Beisbol Sudamerica players required ten years of service time before being eligible for free agency, which was the most restrictive of all world leagues along with Eurasian Professional Baseball. Players were finally able to fight back against that and got the requirement lowered to nine years starting with 2024. It was still quite restrictive, but still a win. BSA’s requirements had been as low as seven years from 1968-77, but had gradually grown more restrictive.

The Bolivar League’s Colombia-Ecuador Division was absolutely stacked, led by Quito with a franchise-record 112-50. The Thunderbolts allowed the fewest runs at 585 and won plenty of tight games, tying the BSA record for team saves with 62. Quito ended a three-year playoff drought with the result. Barranquilla was 11 back in second place despite their own excellent 101-61 season. The Blues grew their playoff streak to three years, as did second wild card Cali at 94-68.

As BSA doesn’t give division champs seeding preference, the top three seeds ended up being Quito, Barranquilla, and Cali; meaning the other two division champs were relegated to the first round series. Peru-Bolivia Division champ Santa Cruz finished 94-68, but lost the seeding tiebreaker with the Cyclones. The Crawfish ended a three-way playoff drought, besting both Callao and Lima by nine games and Arequipa by ten. Santa Cruz was the BL’s top scoring team with 853 runs.

Two-time defending Copa Sudamerica champion Caracas had their three-peat bid thwarted. The Colts’ seven-year reign atop the Venezuela Division ended in 2024 by the thinnest margin. Caracas and Valencia tied for first at 89-73, but the Velocity prevailed in the tiebreaker game to advance. Although it was Valencia’s first division title since 2012, they earned their third playoff trip in four years.

Leading Valencia’s efforts was Bolivar League MVP Santino Garza. The 28-year old Venezuelan designated hitter led in hits (235), doubles (49), home runs (61), RBI (161), total bases (479), slugging (.731), and WAR (9.7). Garza’s .359 average fell one point short of a Triple Crown season and his RBI tally was the fifth-best single season in BSA history. He also had 1.126 OPS, 187 wRC+, and 123 runs. In the winter, the Velocity gave Garza an eight-year, $105,400,000 extension.

Santa Cruz righty Bartolo Flores won his second Pitcher of the Year, having also earned the honor in 2021. For 2024, the 26-year old Ecuadoran led in wins (21-4), strikeouts (330), WHIP (0.88), and WAR (7.8). Flores’ 2.68 ERA was second in the league to Arequipa’s Geraldo Garcia’s 2.47. Flores had 155 ERA+ over 245 innings.

The Crawfish beat Valencia 2-0 in the first round, then lost 3-1 to Quito in the Divisional Series. On the other side, Barranquilla topped Cali 3-1 to send the top two seeds to the Bolivar League Championship Series. It was the first BLCS since 2006 for the Thunderbolts and the first ever for the 2009 expansion Blues. #1 seed Quito clobbered Barranquilla with a sweep to end a 29-year pennant drought. The Thunderbolts became seven-time Bolivar League champs (1963, 1964, 1965, 1981, 1983, 1994, 2024).

At 103-59, Santiago was the Southern Cone League’s top seed for the third consecutive season. The Saints won their fifth straight South Central Division title and earned their ninth playoff trip in ten years. Santiago was the league’s top scoring team with 809 runs. Defending league champ Concepcion was second at 93-69, which grabbed them the first wild card. The Chiefs earned their third consecutive playoff berth and their 12^th playoff appearance since 2011.

The #2 seed went to Southeast Division champ Sao Paulo at 97-65, who allowed the league’s fewest runs at 583. The Padres picked up their second division title in three years. Porto Alegre was a distant second at 85-77 and ended up one game short in the wild card race. Last year, both Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro were playoff teams out of the Southeast, but both posted losing marks in 2024.

A tight North Division had Belo Horizonte (87-75) edge out Fortaleza (86-76), and Recife (85-77). The Hogs ended a 17-year playoff drought, which had been the league’s second-longest active drought. The Foxes managed to get the second wild card by one game over both the Retrievers and Armadillos. Montevideo (82-80), Salvador (81-81), Asuncion (81-81), and Cordoba (81-81) were all in the mix. Fortaleza’s playoff streak grew to four years as they set a new Southern Cone League record for team hits with 1678.

Santiago CF R.J. Cardenas won MVP in his eighth season with the Saints. The 27-year old Chilean led in runs (119), RBI (120), and stolen bases (82). Cardenas had 201 hits, 21 doubles, 39 home runs, .942 OPS, 174 wRC+, and 8.6 WAR. He remained committed to Santiago and signed a seven-year, $77,100,000 extension after the 2026 season.

Sao Paulo’s Café Vicente won Pitcher of the Year, leading in wins (19-8), innings (267.2), and complete games (14). The 26-year old Brazilian righty had a 2.52 ERA, 224 strikeouts, 143 ERA+, and 3.2 WAR. Vicente has the dubious distinction of being tied for the lowest WAR by a POTY winner in any world league ever along with Indian League winner Gandhalata Green from 2001.

Only four pitchers have ever won the honor with less than 4 WAR. Vicente was a footnote with only 11.2 WAR for his entire career. He was third in ERA in 2024, so that plus innings and wins made him jump out for traditionalist voters even if the advanced metrics were very underwhelmed.

Fortaleza edged Belo Horizonte 2-1 in the first round, then pulled off the 3-2 upset of Santiago in the Divisional Series. For the third straight year, the Saints didn’t win the pennant despite being the top seed. Although Santiago won Copa Sudamerica in 2020, they’ve largely struggled recently with the one title and only two LCS trips in the decade despite nine playoff berths. The Foxes had the inverse luck, earning their third Southern Cone League Championship trip in four years.

Sao Paulo defeated Concepcion 3-1 on the other side of the bracket, earning their first LCS trip since 2016. The Padres pounded the Foxes 4-1 to end a 30-year pennant drought going back to their 1993 cup win. Even with the lengthy drought, Sao Paulo still comfortably leads all Southern Cone League teams with 15 pennants.

The 94^th Copa Sudamerica was an all-time classic that needed all seven games and came down to the final frame. In the bottom of the ninth inning, 3B Garo Amaro had a two RBI single to give Quito a 5-4 walk-off win in game seven over Sao Paulo. It was the third time in Copa Sudamerica history that the series ended with a walk-off, joining the 1995 and 2003 finales.

Finals MVP went to CF Bruno Batista, who joined Quito as a free agent the prior year after nine years with Mendoza. In Batista’s seven playoff starts, he had 10 hits, 4 runs, 1 double, 1 triple, 3 RBI, and 3 steals. It was the third cup win for the Thunderbolts (1965, 1994, 2024) and the first by an Ecuadoran team since their 1994 win. The defeat moved Sao Paulo to 6-9 all-time in the finals, tying them with Caracas for the most runner-up finishes.

Other notes: Brasilia’s Zane Garbarino hit four home runs on May 9 against Buenos Aires, becoming the eighth in BSA history with a four homer day. Niccolo Coelho became the 3^rd to reach 2000 career RBI, joining Milton Becker (2226) and Arsenio Araujo (2056). Carlos Ulibarri and Raul Reis became the 71^st and 72^nd to reach 2500 hits. Sebastian Marquez was the 66^th pitcher to 200 wins.

Cicero Lugo became the 21^st BSA player to 1500 runs scored. Lugo was notably the first catcher in any world league to reach the mark. He won his 16^th and final Silver Slugger, becoming only the fourth at any position in any league to do so. Lugo joined OBA/MLB SS/2B Jimmy Caliw (17), CABA SS Emmanuel Zavala (16) and CABA/MLB 1B/DH Prometheo Garcia (16)

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 02-02-2025, 06:32 PM

2024 in EAB

Two-time defending East Asia Baseball champion Fukuoka won their fifth consecutive West Division title. The Frogs took the Japan League’s top seed at 104-58 and led the league with 709 runs. Tokyo grabbed the #2 seed at 96-66 atop the Capital Division for their second division title in three years. The Tides allowed the fewest runs at 496. Last year’s division winner Chiba finished six wins back.

The Central Division needed a tiebreaker game after Kobe and Nagoya both ended the regular season at 90-72. The Blaze prevailed for repeat playoff berths, while the Nightowls missed the field despite three straight 90+ win seasons. Osaka at 83-79 extended their streak of winning seasons to ten, while 75-87 Kyoto had only their second losing season since 2009. The weakest division winner was Sapporo at 84-78 who repeated in the North. Saitama finished two games behind at 82-80.

Niigata was 74-88, their sixth consecutive losing season. The Green Dragons had some optimism as 1B To****sugu Kobayashi won Japan League MVP. In his second year as a full-time starter, the 25-year old lefty led in hits (225), total bases (384), triple slash (.371/.418/.634), OPS (1.052), wRC+ (224), and WAR (10.1). Kobayashi added 98 runs, 37 doubles, 36 home runs, and 108 RBI.

Toshikuni Naikai’s reign as Pitcher of the Year ended in 2024 as a ruptured finger tendon kept him out four months, although he did make it back just in time for the playoffs. Assuming the top spot was Kobe’s Young-Pyo Park in his third full season, leading the league with 24 quality starts. The 24-year old righty had a 2.12 ERA over 245.2 innings, 19-6 record, 272 strikeouts, 156 ERA+, and 5.9 WAR.

Despite winning 20 fewer games, Sapporo shocked the defending champ Fukuoka 3-2 in the first round. The Swordfish earned their first Japan League Championship Series trip since 2012. Tokyo topped Kobe 3-1 on the other side, ending a JLCS drought back to 2008 for the Tides. Sapporo’s hot streak continued as they downed Tokyo 4-1 for their first pennant since 1998. Even with that hefty drought, the Swordsmen lead all Japanese teams with 14 titles.

Defending Korea League champ Busan took the top seed at 101-61, winning the South Division and growing their playoff streak to five seasons. The Blue Jays allowed only 505 runs, 100 fewer than the next closest KL squad. Both wild cards came out of the South with Changwon (92-70) and Gwangju (91-71) advancing, fending off Jeonju (89-73) and Hamhung (89-73). The Crabs’ playoff streak grew to four with their eighth berth in nine years. The Grays ended a nine-year drought.

In a tight North Division, Seongnam (90-72) prevailed to end a three-year playoff streak. The Heat were second at 89-73, missing the division by one and the second wild card by two. Last year’s division champ Bucheon fell to 75-87. The 2022 KL champ and 2023 KLCS runner-up Daegu also notably missed the playoffs at 83-79. The Diamondbacks were the top scoring team at 743 runs.

Gwangju 1B/DH Han Yi won Korea League MVP in his second year as a full-time starter. The 23-year old lefty led in runs (121), hits (212), doubles (40), average (.346), and OBP (.410). Yi added 36 homers, 111 RBI, 1.015 OPS, 176 wRC+, and 7.5 WAR. In May, the Grays gave Yi an eight-year, $136,800,000 extension.

Incheon at 83-79 missed the playoffs, but their veteran lefty Il-Hwan Lee got his first Pitcher of the Year at age 35. In his tenth year for the Inferno and 13^th season overall, Lee led in wins (22-8) while posting a 2.55 ERA over 257.1 innings, 220 strikeouts, 147 ERA+, and 6.3 WAR.

Busan survived 3-2 in the first round against Gwangju while Changwon cruised to a road sweep of Seongnam. This set up a rematch of the 2021 Korea League Championship Series, which the Crabs won despite being the underdog. Changwon couldn’t replicate that magic with the Blue Jays winning a seven-game classic. With the repeat, Busan now has 13 Korea League pennants.

The 104^th East Asian Championship was not the first finals meeting between the two storied franchises, although few were still alive to remember the most recent encounters. Busan’s first title came over Sapporo back in 1933, denying a repeat bid by the Swordfish. They met again in 1944 with the Blue Jays winning in a seven game battle. Round three in 2024 would go down as one of the most exciting finales in EAB history.

The series needed all seven games and extra innings in game seven. Sapporo ended up winning the finale 7-6 in 11 innings, marking the fourth time that the EAB Championship had an extra innings game seven (1987, 2004, 2018, 2024). The improbable win for the 84-win Swordfish made them seven-time EAB champs (1932, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1981, 1998, 2024), second only to Pyongyang (9).

Veteran 1B Masaru Ochiai was finals MVP in his first year with Sapporo. The 35-year old had won finals MVP back in 2021 for Kyoto and had been league MVP in 2016 for Kobe. In 12 playoff starts, Ochiai had 19 hits, 9 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, and 10 RBI. The Japan League earned its fifth consecutive title over the Korea League, giving them the series lead 53-51 all-time. It was the longest streak for the JL, although the KL had a six-year run from 1953-58.

Other notes: Hitoshi Kubota became the 5^th EAB slugger to reach 2000 career RBI. Kunihiko Ishiguro was the 34^th member of the 600 home run club. Nobuyoshi Yamauchi became the 41^st pitcher with 3500 strikeouts. Yamauchi, Hyun-Min Hu, and Yasutoshi Tanada each got to 200 wins in 2024, a mark now reached by 63 pitchers. SS Min-Jae Lim and LF Ji-Hwan Kim both won their 7^th Silver Sluggers.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 02-03-2025, 04:59 AM

2024 in CABA

After posting the Mexican League’s best-ever record at 117-45 in 2023, Mexico City managed to do even better in 2024. The reigning Central American Baseball Association champ broke the wins record for all of CABA at 120-42. The Aztecs became the 28^th team in all of world history to win 120+ games in a season. The previous CABA best was 118-44 by 1933 Jamaica and 1969 Guatemala.

Mexico City set a new ML record for runs scored with 891 and set a team slugging record of .516. The Aztecs also had a .294 batting average (second in ML history) and 1674 hits (3^rd). The #2 seed was 23 games away with North Division champ Juarez at 97-65. The Jesters won their third straight division title and grew their playoff streak to 11 seasons.

Both wild cards came from the North with Torreon (93-69) and Tijuana (90-72) advancing. The first teams out came from the South with Ecatepec (89-73), Puebla (88-74), and Queretaro (88-74). The Tomahawks got their second wild card in three years and extended their run of winning seasons to 25. The Toros ended a two-year playoff drought and allowed the fewest runs at 531.

Leading Mexico City’s dominance was Mexican League MVP Franklin Madrid, who set a new CABA record with 481 total bases, beating Stevie Montoya’s 469 from 1998. In his second full season, the 24-year old Cuban posted CABA’s 22^nd Triple Crown hitting effort and the first since 2010. Madrid led in runs (145), hits (241), home runs (68), RBI (152), triple slash (.384/.428/.766), OPS (1.194), wRC+ (249), and WAR (12.6).

Madrid’s runs ranked as the third-most in a CABA season, his hits ranked eighth, homers ranked fifth, and OPS ranked sixth. By WAR, it was the 19^th-best for a position player. In April 2025, the Aztecs signed Madrid to an eight-year, $154,700,000 extension. Mexico City also got an awesome Rookie of the Year effort by RF Basil Torres, who had 7.2 WAR, .922 OPS, and a league-best 30 triples.

Tijuana’s Richard Wright won his fourth Pitcher of the Year in five years. Still in only his sixth season, the 26-year old Jamaican lefty got his fifth straight ERA title with a staggering 1.27. This was the second-best qualifying ERA in CABA history, only behind Lian Llanes’ 1.24 a century earlier in 1922. Wright also led in strikeouts (333), WHIP (0.80), K/BB (10.7), shutouts (7), FIP- (29), ERA+ (282), and WAR (12.4).

Wright had a 17-7 record and 10 saves over 226.2 innings. His WAR was the 12^th-best single season effort by a CABA pitcher thus far. Wright was the first pitcher with a 12+ WAR season since Junior Vergara in 1988. He tossed two one-hitters in the regular season and would throw another in the Mexican League Championship Series.

Tijuana made it there in large part due to Wright’s efforts as the Toros shocked Mexico City 3-1 in the first round. This ended the Aztecs’ repeat bid and went down as an all-time disappointment. Of the 28 teams in world history to win 120+ games in a season, Mexico City became the 7^th of those to lose in the first round. Only eight of those teams won it all with 18 of the 28 making it to the championship.

Juarez swept Torreon on the other side, giving the Jesters their sixth consecutive MLCS trip and their 11^th since 2012. The Toros had made it once during Juarez’s run, beating them in 2021 en route to the CABA title. In a seven-game classic, Tijuana pulled off the upset of the Jesters to become ten-time Mexican League champs (1913, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1923, 1998, 2021, 2024). Juarez is now 6-5 in their MLCS trips since 2012.

Two-time defending Caribbean League champ Guatemala took the top seed and the Continental Division for the fourth consecutive season. The Ghosts finished 108-54, leading in runs scored (846) and fewest allowed (570). It was a 17 game drop to second place in the division with both Guyana and Honduras at 91-71. These teams took the two wild card slots. The Horsemen matched Guatemala’s 846 runs and earned back-to-back wild cards. The Golden Knights ended a three-year playoff drought.

Haiti picked up the Island Division title for the third year running at 93-69. Puerto Rico was their closest foe at 89-73, also finishing two back in the wild card race. Last year’s CLCS runner-up Santo Domingo was a distant third at 83-79. Also of note was Bahamas at 82-80, which was the first winning season since 2005 for the generally inept Buccaneers. Meanwhile Havana dropped to 77-85, their first losing campaign since 2015.

Santo Domingo 3B Jamel Forsyth was named Caribbean League MVP in his sixth season. The 27-year old Grenadan led in homers (51), average (.388), OBP (.430), OPS (1.129), wRC+ (192), and WAR (12.3). Forsyth added 239 hits, 124 runs, and 139 RBI. He beat out Honduras’s Juan Gusman for MVP despite Gusman leading in hits (251), runs (125), and RBI (154). The 251 hits fell only one short of the CABA record of 252 set by Prometheo Garcia back in 1949.

Guatemala ace Israel Montague won his fourth consecutive Pitcher of the Year in his fifth season. The 27-year old Panamanian posted the 20^th Triple Crown pitching season in CABA history with a 24-4 record, 2.04 ERA, and 387 strikeouts over 233.1 innings. Montague also led in WHIP (0.79), ERA+ (200), FIP- (38), and WAR (11.8). The 387 Ks were the most any CABA pitcher has gotten since the 1980s.

The Ghosts topped Guyana 3-1 in the first round to keep their three-peat hopes intact while Haiti edged Honduras 3-2. It was the first trip to the Caribbean League Championship Series since 2018 for the Herons. Guatemala’s dynasty rolled on with a 4-1 victory over Haiti, becoming the first team to win three Caribbean crowns in a row since the Herons did it from 2000-02. It was the ninth pennant for the Ghosts, who had three-peated previously back from 1969-71.

The 114^th CABA Championship had Guatemala defeat Tijuana 4-1 for their second overall title in three years. It was only the third CABA ring for the Ghosts in total (1974, 2022, 2024). Veteran 1B Pascal Candelaria was finals MVP in his fifth season with Guatemala. The 37-year old American had posted a solid 11-year MLB run prior to signing with the Ghosts. In 13 playoff starts, Candelaria had 19 hits, 12 runs, 4 doubles, 5 homers, 1 triple, and 8 RBI.

Other notes: Noah Breton became the 8^th member of the 700 home run club and Lucas Martinez became the 22^nd to reach 600. Both Breton and Clayton Morgan reached 1500 runs scored, making 20 CABA players to do so. Morgan, Americo Negron, and Max Valentin each reached 1500 RBI, a mark hit by 35 batters. Negron was also the 58^th to 2500 hits and the 59^th to 500 homers. Luis Ruiz became the 11^th pitcher to 250 wins. RF James Figueroa won his 7^th Gold Glove.

As an opener, Costa Rica’s Chamorro Ramires started a CABA record 68 games on the mound, although he stunk with a 5.60 ERA in 106 innings. The Rays allowed 1720 hits and 909 runs as a team, both the second-worst in Caribbean League history. San Luis Potosi had only 68 home runs as a team, the third-lowest in Mexican League history.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 02-03-2025, 10:29 AM

2024 in MLB

The National Association was very competitive in 2024 as only seven wins separated the top seed from the lowest wild card. Philadelphia came out as the #1 squad at 99-63 atop the East Division, ending a four-year playoff drought. The Phillies only won the division by two games with Washington right behind at 97-65. The Admirals got the first wild card for repeat playoff trips and their third in four years. Philadelphia allowed the NA’s fewest runs at 552.

Detroit was the #2 seed by winning the Upper Midwest Division at 97-65, finishing five ahead of Chicago and seven better than Minneapolis. The Tigers won the division for the 12^th time in the last 17 seasons. In the Lower Midwest Division, defending World Series champ Cincinnati prevailed at 95-67. The Reds grabbed their fifth consecutive division title, edging out St. Louis by two games.

Montreal had a remarkable recovery after winning only 64 games in 2023, taking the Northeast Division in 2024 at 93-69. The Maples ended an eight-year playoff drought, topping Quebec City by two games and Ottawa by five. Last year’s division winner Toronto fell to 79-83.

For the remaining two wild cards, St. Louis (93-69) and Chicago (92-70) advanced with Quebec City (91-71), Minneapolis (90-72), Ottawa (88-74), and Milwaukee (85-77) as the first teams out. The Cubs extended their playoff streak to five and led in runs scored at 742. The Cardinals ended a three-year playoff skid. Notably wild cards from last year Virginia Beach and Brooklyn dropped off at 82-80 and 76-86, respectively.

National Association MVP went to Milwaukee 1B Gilbert Windemere, who led in home runs (63), RBI (135), total bases (411), slugging (.712), OPS (1.100), and wRC+ (220). The 27-year old from Wadena, Minnesota had 109 runs, 193 hits, 9.7 WAR, and a .334 average. He was second in batting average to Chicago’s Milton Ramirez (.353) and was only four homers short of the MLB single-season record. Windemere was the 7^th MLB slugger to hit 63+ dingers in a season. The Mustangs locked him up prior to the season at eight years and $136,500,000.

In his lone season with Cincinnati, Paxton Watson won Pitcher of the Year. The 30-year old righty from Somers, New York had been mostly strong with Baltimore, but got traded in the last year of his deal after struggling in 2023. He bounced back with an ERA title at 2.12, posting a 13-5 record in 216.1 innings, 203 strikeouts, and 6.9 WAR. This effort earned Watson a six-year, $168,200,000 deal in the offseason with Los Angeles. Major injuries would ultimately make the deal a bust as he’d never pitch another full season.

Cincinnati swept St. Louis and Detroit edged Chicago 3-2 in the first round, while Washington was the lone wild card winner 3-1 over Montreal. The Admirals ousted their divisional foe and top seed Philadelphia 3-1 in the second round, earning their first National Association Championship Series trip since 2008. The Reds swept the Tigers, giving them a shot at a historic three-peat. They were also hoping for a fourth title in five years, which had only happened once ever in NA history.

Washington played spoiler to Cincinnati’s aspirations, winning the NACS 4-1 to end a 57-year pennant drought for the American capital. It was the fifth National Association pennant for the Admirals (1912, 1914, 1930, 1966, 2024). They’re the first team from the East Division to win the pennant since the Phillies in 2013.

The American Association was far more top heavy with two teams battling for the #1 seed by the end. The top spot went to Houston at 106-56 for their second South Central Division title in three years. The Hornets outraced defending AA champ San Diego, who repeated in the Southwest Division at 103-59. Houston led all teams in scoring with 826 runs. Although they were sixth in runs allowed, the Hornets’ pitching staff set new AA single-season records for strikeouts (1457) and K/9 (8.83).

Seattle repeated as Northwest Division champ at 99-63. There was a steep drop to the fourth division winner as Orlando (85-77) was the only team above .500 in the Southeast. This was only the second time (2003) that the Orcas made the playoffs since joining MLB in the 1982 expansion. Orlando had been as bad as 59-103 only three years prior. Last year’s Southeast Division champ Atlanta fell to 78-84.

Austin took the first wild card at 96-66, ending a 12-year drought for the Amigos. San Francisco at 93-69 picked up the second spot for their third wild card in four years. The final slot had a tie at 91-71 between Calgary and Salt Lake City. Both Phoenix and Portland fell one short at 90-72, while Denver (88-74), Las Vegas (86-76), and New Orleans (86-76) each were in the mix much of the year.

The one-game tiebreaker saw the Cheetahs victorious over the Loons, ending a lengthy 29-year postseason drought for Calgary. The only American Association team with a longer drought was Miami, which grew to 52 seasons. Despite missing the cut, the Firebirds allowed the AA’s fewest runs at 565. The Dragons fell short for back-to-back years, but still posted a 15^th consecutive winning season.

American Association MVP went to Calgary DH Kevin Juarez in his seventh season. The 27-year old Spaniard led in hits (214) and total bases (387). Juarez added 46 homers, 124 RBI, 125 runs, .963 OPS, 158 wRC+, and 6.7 WAR. This effort earned him one of the richest deals so far in MLB at $207,200,000 over eight years.

Seattle’s Kendrick Dodd took Pitcher of the Year in his eighth season for the Grizzlies. The 28-year old righty from Columbus, New Mexico had a 2.42 ERA over 278.2 innings, 21-8 record, 259 strikeouts, 162 ERA+, and 9.5 WAR. Dodd took second in both ERA and WAR to Denver’s Oscar Dissard (2.35, 11.3). Dodd never had a season this impressive again, but he remained a steady arm for the next decade in Seattle.

The big first round shock was #7 seed Calgary upsetting #2 San Diego 3-2. Austin was also a wild card winner, but that was more expected over a weak Orlando team 3-1. The lone division champ to advance was Seattle over San Francisco 3-1. The Cheetahs couldn’t keep the magic going as Houston swept them in round two. The Grizzlies meanwhile outlasted the Amigos 3-2.

Seattle earned back-to-back trips in the American Association Championship Series. For the Hornets, it was their first since winning the World Series in 2019. Houston showed why they had the top seed by beating the Grizzlies 4-1 for their 11^th pennant. (1905, 1906, 1908, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1920, 1922, 1952, 2019, 2024). They have the second-most behind Phoenix’s 13.

The 124^th World Series was the first to need all seven games since Houston’s 2019 win over Kansas City. This time, the Hornets were on the losing end to Washington, winning their third MLB title (1914, 1930, 2024). The Admirals had a 94-year gap between titles, the fourth-longest in baseball history behind Tampa (110), CABA’s Tijuana (102), and Milwaukee (98).

Sixth-year middle infielder Jude Hoffer had an all-time postseason run, winning MVP of the World Series, NACS, and second round. The 26-year old from Gibbstown, New Jersey in 19 playoff starts had 32 hits, 20 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers, 19 RBI, 1.332 OPS, and 2.2 WAR. Hoffer was only the 8^th in MLB history to score 20 runs in a playoff run, falling one short of Patrick White’s 1959 record. The 32 hits tied for 4^th most, becoming the 7^th player to get 32+ hits in one postseason. The already extremely popular Hoffer signed an eight-year, $197,100,000 extension in May to remain DC’s baseball icon for the long haul.

Other notes: Entering the season, Killian Fruechte, Isaac Cox, and Graham Gregor all hoped to make a run at Cody Lim’s all-time home run mark of 758. For Cox, he hit 29 homers in 2024 at age 37, which was a career low. But he still posted 5.4 WAR for the season for Detroit and got to 751 total homers, passing Elijah Cashman’s 750 for the #2 spot. Cashman had held the #1 spot for 85 years until passed by Lim in 2021. Lim’s hold of the crown at 758 seemed very likely to fall in 2025 to Cox barring a major setback.

Fruechte and Gregor officially came up short at 739 and 718 respectively in their final seasons. Fruechte hit 34 the prior year, but struggled and only got 9 over 71 games in 2024. He finished with 124.46 career WAR, retiring 11^th among MLB position players.

Gregor retired 2^nd in WAR for position players with 147.95 and was third among all players. He was one of the very select few in baseball history to play at age 45, starting all of 2024 with 1.5 WAR and 15 homers for Atlanta. Gregor became the 6^th to 2000 career RBI and he ended with 1956 runs, falling short of being the 2^nd to reach 2k. Gregor also retired with 3666 hits, ranking 4^th in MLB.

Ichisake Kawasaki became the 31^st to reach 600 home runs, while Fritz Louissi and Alberto Peron became the 94^th and 95^th members of the 500 home run club. Louissi won his 12^th Silver Slugger at shortstop, joining CF Morgan Short as MLB’s only 12+ Slugger winners at any spot. Vincent Lepp and Sunny Williams became the 45^th and 46^th pitchers to reach 250 wins.

Raleigh’s offense had only 139 doubles all season, tied for the 2^nd lowest in MLB history. Brooklyn’s Lindsey Crismond had a four home run game against Baltimore; the 30^th four homer game in MLB history. SS Ledell Pinnock, LF Max Baldwin, and CF Clark Patushi each became eight-time Gold Glove winners.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 02-03-2025, 06:01 PM

2024 Baseball Grand Championship

The 15^th Baseball Grand Championship was hosted in Taipei, Taiwan. The auto-bids for the 2024 event were MLB’s Washington and Houston, CABA’s Tijuana and Guatemala, EAB’s Busan and Sapporo, BSA’s Sao Paulo and Quito, EBF’s Chisinau and Dublin, EPB’s Yekaterinburg, OBA’s Port Moresby, APB’s Bandung, CLB’s Urumqi, WAB’s Port Harcourt, SAB’s Visakhapatnam, ABF’s Baku, ALB’s Amman, and AAB’s Lubumbashi. The at-large spot went to AAB runner-up Antananarivo, who had finished 111-51 for the second-highest win tally amongst the field.

There ended up being a three-way tie for the top spot at 13-6 between the European Baseball Federation representatives Dublin and Chisinau along with Southern Cone League champ Sao Paulo. The head-to-head tiebreaker was useless with a rock-paper-scissors between the three. The Dinos beat the Padres 4-1, but lost to the Counts 6-1. Meanwhile, Chisinau was defeated by Sao Paulo 5-3.

The next tiebreaker in line was fewest runs allowed, which ranked Dublin first (53), Chisinau second (58), and Sao Paulo third (74). The Dinos caught a break as they had the worst run differential (+21) of the three. The Counts led all teams at +37 while the Padres were at +22. Regardless, Dublin was crowned and was the first European team to win the Baseball Grand Championship. The Dinos had finished third the prior two years, which had been the best finishes for an EBF team.

With Dublin’s win, ten of the 14 major world leagues had won a Grand Championship and each populated continent had one. Chisinau’s second place was the first runner-up by an EBF team. Sao Paulo’s third place meant Beisbol Sudamerica had a top four team in three straight events.

Both one back at 12-7 were Bandung and Houston with the Blackhawks officially taking fourth on the tiebreaker. It was the third consecutive year without an MLB team in the top four officially. Bandung was tied with Dublin for the fewest runs allowed with 53.

Next at 11-8 were Lubumbashi and Tijuana with the Loggerheads officially sixth and the Toros seventh. Lubumbashi led all teams in scoring with 96 runs. The other two teams above .500 at 10-9 were Port Harcourt and Port Moresby. Last year’s runner-up Guatemala joined Quito, Washington, and Yekaterinburg at 9-10. Visakhapatnam was alone at 8-11. Five teams (Amman, Antananarivo, Baku, Sapporo, Urumqi) finished 7-12. Busan was alone in last place at 6-13.

World Series MVP Jude Hoffer of Washington continued his hot streak into the BGC, winning Tournament MVP. The 26-year old American in 19 starts had 20 hits, 12 runs, 4 doubles, 7 home runs, 13 RBI, 14 walks, 1.238 OPS, 278 wRC+, and 1.8 WAR. Hoffer had also taken second in MVP voting in the World Baseball Championship earlier in the year. Also notable offensively was Chisinau’s Abdullah Iosif with 21 runs, one short of the BGC record.

Best Pitcher went to Tijuana ace Richard Wright as the four-time Mexican League Pitcher of the Year had a 0.61 ERA over 29.1 innings, six appearances, a 3-0 record, 3 saves, 56 strikeouts, 6 walks, and 2.19 WAR. Wright’s WAR was the 6^th-highest by a pitcher in the event. Also notable was Guatemala’s Aamir Mujahid with a 0.39 ERA over 23 innings, which was the 3^rd-lowest ERA in event history (21 IP required)

Other notes: Tijuana’s Francis Newman had the 9^th no-hitter in BGC history on November 22, striking out 12 with three walks against Baku.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 02-04-2025, 05:16 AM

2025 MLB Hall of Fame (Part 1)

Major League Baseball boasted a strong three-player Hall of Fame class for 2025 with RF Ezekiel Thomas as the clear headliner with a near unanimous 99.3%. The other two made it with solid debuts as LF Ustad Shaikh received 83.9% and SP Easton MacGregor earned 77.9%. The top returner was catcher Sebastian Van Velzen at 59.1%, missing the 66% requirement in his penultimate try.

Five other returners were above 50%, but short of the 66% mark. 2B Adrian Vega had 58.1% in his fifth ballot. SP Victor Burke grabbed 56.0% on his seventh try. 3B Jeanpaul Vick’s sixth go landed 54.4%. CL Sebastian Gomez received 54.0% on his second ballot and CL Jeremy Dau nabbed 50.0% even for his fourth go.

Catcher Brayan Varela fell off the ballot after ten failed tries, getting as close as 58.1% in 2019 and ending with 40.3%. Varela was hurt by the usual anti-catcher bias, but he didn’t have the big awards to make up for the lower counting stats of the position. He had three Silver Sluggers, 18 seasons, 2356 hits, 1096 runs, 447 doubles, 243 home runs, 1119 RBI, 678 walks, .293/.348/.448 slash, 117 wRC+, and 69.5 WAR. Varela ranks 14^th in WAR among catchers and didn’t draw tons of publicity playing for mostly wear teams in the small Salt Lake City market.

SP Ken Whelan also made it ten ballots, ending at only 5.0% after peaking at 30.2% in 2018. He was purely a longevity guy who never had any awards, but he played 16 years with six teams. Whelan had a 248-208 record, 3.73 ERA, 4100.1 innings, 3249 strikeouts, 1132 walks, 100 ERA+, and 43.8 WAR. Definitely a Hall of Pretty Good type

RF Emmanuel Kao was also notable, falling below 5% on his eighth try at the MLB Hall of Fame. He had three tries on the West African Baseball ballot at 58.6%, 62.9%, and 59.1%, but was oddly disqualified from future WAB ballots. Kao won three MVPs in his six year WAB run, then had one MVP in MLB with New York. He had a combined 2593 hits, 1456 runs, 470 doubles, 703 home runs, 1693 RBI, .283/.346/.575 slash, 166 wRC+, and 91.3 WAR.

The combined ballot would be pretty surefire in one league, but his most dominant years came in WAB. In MLB, Kao had 1597 hits, 886 runs, 232 doubles, 453 home runs, 1034 RBI, a .271/.330/.545 slash, 163 wRC+, and 52.6 WAR. He was extremely popular, but not quite tenured enough in MLB to make it.

LF Leegan Shea was also worth a mention, who dropped after only six ballots. He won 1998 Rookie of the Year with a 53 homer, 8.9 WAR performance, then won MVP in 1999 with San Francisco with 56 homers. Injuries greatly limited him after that, finishing with 1787 hits, 1068 runs, 258 doubles, 449 home runs, 1115 RBI, .283/.342/.565 slash, 148 wRC+, and 60.2 WAR. It was one of the best starts to an MLB career, but Shea couldn’t sustain it.

Ezekiel “Dutch” Thomas – Right Field – Montreal Maples – 99.3% First Ballot

Ezekiel Thomas was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed right fielder from New York City. Nicknamed “Dutch,” Thomas was an incredible contact hitter with strong reliable power, especially against right-handed pitching. At his peak, some scouts called his contact ability a scale-breaking 11/10. He was excellent at avoiding strikeouts and solid at drawing walks.

Thomas’s 162 game average got you 42 home runs and 27 doubles, consistently putting him among the top sluggers in MLB. He absolutely mauled righties with an incredible 1.036 OPS and 218 wRC+ for his career. Thomas was still plenty good versus lefties with a .803 OPS and 144 wRC+. He was a very smart baserunner, but his usefulness was limited by poor speed.

His biggest flaw was defense as Thomas was truly abysmal with his glove. He played right field primarily, although he did start at first base in his final three seasons. Thomas also sporadically played left field and was hot garbage at any spot. He would’ve been ideal as a designated hitter, but he spent his whole career in the DH-less National Association. You would tolerate terrible defense when you got one of the most efficient bats of all-time.

Thomas wasn’t a trouble maker in the clubhouse, but he was considered a bit of a selfish loner. He cared most about his personal results and paycheck more so than the team. But his outstanding bat made him one of the era’s more popular stars. Thomas’s missed some notable time in three of his 16 seasons, but he otherwise had decent enough durability.

He attended the University of Missouri with excellent numbers, despite missing a good chunk of his sophomore season to injury. Thomas started 114 games with 138 hits, 88 runs, 25 doubles, 46 home runs, 93 RBI, 64 walks, .324/.422/.707 slash, 232 wRC+, and 10.1 WAR. In the 2003 MLB Draft, Thomas was picked fourth overall by Virginia Beach. He was a starter immediately for the Vikings and took second in Rookie of the Year voting for 2004.

Thomas had 6+ WAR each of the next four seasons for Virginia Beach, winning a Silver Slugger in 2006 and earning a third place in 2005’s MVP voting. He would miss a chunk of 2009 between a fractured foot and fractured hand, then lost six weeks in 2010 to biceps tendinitis. Thomas was full strength in 2011 to win his first MVP and second Slugger.

In 2011, Thomas posted only the sixth-ever Triple Crown hitting season in MLB history. It hadn’t been done in MLB since Sebastian Lunde in 1946. Thomas had 51 homers and 143 RBI with a .355 average, along with NA-bests in slugging (.659), OPS (1.072), wRC+ (222), and 9.7 WAR. The season would mark his career highs in RBI and hits (211). Virginia Beach had their best season in more than a decade at 91-71, but missed the wild card by one game.

The Vikings had been largely mediocre in Thomas’s tenure with losing seasons from 2004-09. They had finally started to turn things around, but a Triple Crown in a contract year made Thomas’s stock rise dramatically. He knew he could get a historic payday and the smaller market Virginia Beach was going to have a tough time affording such a deal. To the chagrin of Vikings fans, Thomas left for free agency at age 28.

With Virginia Beach, Thomas had 1390 hits, 673 runs, 200 doubles, 289 home runs, 802 RBI, 357 walks, .328/.385/.587 slash, 196 wRC+, and 49.6 WAR. He had also become very popular nationwide with some dominant runs for the United States in the World Baseball Championship. Thomas won world titles for the Americans in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2017.

Thomas’s 2008 run was legendary, winning WBC MVP with 39 hits, 31 runs, 18 homers, 46 RBI, 39 hits, 1.453 OPS, 313 wRC+, and 3.49 WAR over 23 starts. He set new WBC records for WAR by a position player and RBI. The RBI mark is still the WBC record as of 2037 and the WAR ranks 2^nd. Thomas‘s homers ranked as the 5^th-best WBC, the hits rank 12^th, and runs rank 8^th.

In 2009, Thomas was second in MVP voting with 42 hits, 25 runs, 10 homers, 36 RBI, 1.214 OPS, and 2.7 WAR. The 42 hits are tied for the 4^th-best in WBC history. Thomas won his second WBC MVP in 2011 and is one of nine players in event history to win MVP twice. That run had 36 hits, 26 runs, 10 doubles, 14 homers, 32 RBI, 1.565 OPS, 317 wRC+, and 3.05 WAR. Thomas’s 2011 WAR is the 5^th-best by a position player. As of 2037, the only players in WBC history to record 3+ WAR twice are Thomas, OF Connor Neumeyer, and SP Bo Jackson.

That dominance certainly raised Thomas’s stock and popularity even more. Despite being one of the more notable American WBC players, the most famous years of his pro career came in Quebec. After the 2011 season, Thomas signed an eight-year, $177,600,000 deal with Montreal. The Maples had just ended an 11-year playoff drought the prior year. They fell back below .500 in 2012, but did earn three straight playoff berths from 2013-15. Montreal lost in the second round of 2013 and had first round exits in 2014 and 2015.

Thomas’s bat couldn’t bring them to the promised land, but her certainly held up his end with five straight seasons with 6.5+ WAR. He won batting titles in 2013 and 2014, leading in hits and total bases both years. Thomas’s 2014 was stellar with career and association bests in runs (129), homers (53), triple slash (.384/.456/.733), OPS (1.189), wRC+ (271), and WAR (11.3). His OPS was the second-best single season to that point and still ranks fifth as of 2037. Thomas also led in OPS, slugging, and wRC+ in 2015.

From these efforts, Thomas won MVPs in 2013, 2014, and 2015; while taking second in 2012. Thomas became the sixth player in National Association history with four or more MVP wins. He won Silver Sluggers from 2011-15 and hit for the cycle in 2012. In the 2018 season, Thomas had a fractured rib and torn thumb ligament keep him out nearly half of the season. His pace was still excellent that year, bouncing back after a slight dip in 2017.

Thomas had a shocking decline in 2019 with a 1.5 WAR, .748 OPS season. His strikeout rate soared to 20.8% with 114 Ks after having generally kept the rate below 10% for his career. That was the final year of his Montreal deal with the Maples having fallen back into mediocrity by 2016. For Montreal, Thomas had 1343 hits, 772 runs, 181 doubles, 298 home runs, 771 RBI, a .325/.394/.592 slash, 204 wRC+, and 53.6 WAR.

He hoped to fix his batting issues and play again somewhere in 2020. Between the price tag, declining bat, and atrocious defense, no MLB teams were interested in Thomas. After sitting out all of 2020, he retired that winter at age 37. Soon after, Montreal announced that they would retire his #45 uniform.

Thomas finished with 2287 games, 2733 hits, 1445 runs, 381 doubles, 587 home runs, 1573 RBI, 758 walks, 889 strikeouts, .327/.390/.589 slash, .979 OPS, 200 wRC+, and 103.2 WAR. Thomas didn’t have the longevity to soar up the counting stat leaderboards. As of 2037, he ranks 61^st in home runs and 45^th in WAR among position players, but doesn’t crack the top 100 in the other counting stats.

His efficiency stats though are quite impressive. Among MLB batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Thomas’s OPS still ranks 20^th. His batting average is 45^th, OBP is 43^rd, and slugging is 28^th. Among all of the world’s Hall of Famers as of 2037, Thomas is one of only ten with a career wRC+ of 200 or better. Few batters ever have been more consistently effective than Thomas in baseball history.

Because of the lower tallies and no playoff success, Thomas’s name doesn’t come up in the inner circle conversations as often as his rate stats might suggest they should. The abysmal defense also didn’t help his cause, but most agree that there have been few pure hitters in MLB history better. Thomas was a no-doubt Hall of Famer either way at 99.3% to headline a strong three-player class in 2025.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 02-04-2025, 11:50 AM

2025 MLB Hall of Fame (Part 2)

Ustad “Deacon” Shaikh – Left Field – Los Angeles Angels – 83.9% First Ballot

Ustad Shaikh was a 6’2’’, 195 pound left-handed left fielder from Timargara, Pakistan; a city of 47,600 people in the country’s north. He was the first Pakistani inducted into MLB’s Hall of Fame and was one of the few in world history to get inducted into a league that he didn’t begin his career in. Shaikh got the nickname “Deacon” in the United States for his booming, preacher-like manner of speaking.

Shaikh was an outstanding home run hitter and was especially dominant facing right-handed pitching with a career .957 OPS and 165 wRC+. He wasn’t bad against lefties with .793 OPS and 126 wRC+. On the whole, Shaikh graded as a very solid contact hitter with a great eye for drawing walks and decent strikeout rate. His power was concentrated on dingers with 41 home runs and 22 doubles per his 162 game average. Shaikh was comically slow and sluggish on the basepaths, so he wasn’t going to leg out many extra bags.

Around 70% of Shaikh’s career starts were in left field, but he was an awful defender. He played some first base near the end of his career and was only marginally better. About 20% of his starts were as a designated hitter, but most teams were content to keep him in left mostly. Shaikh had excellent durability, playing 140+ games each year from 1998-2012. He was one of the few in baseball history to play in 24 different seasons and nearly competed in four different decades.

On top of his hitting prowess, Shaikh was a true fan favorite for his intelligence, work ethic, and selflessness. He became beloved at every stop and became one of the most famous baseball stars to come out of Pakistan. Shaikh pulled that off despite never playing for a pro team in his home country, splitting his career between Turkey and the United States.

Despite that, Shaikh proudly represented Pakistan from 1999-2017 in the World Baseball Championship. He did so with impressive stats over 176 games and 148 starts with 147 hits, 101 runs, 16 doubles, 56 home runs, 119 RBI, 81 walks, .272/.392/.617 slash, 190 wRC+, and 9.5 WAR. Shaikh led Pakistan to a fourth place in 2007 and third place in 2010. In 2001, he was second in MVP voting with 1.822 OPS over nine games, 14 hits, 13 runs, 8 homers, 15 RBI, 1.6 WAR, and 412 wRC+.

As of 2037 among Pakistanis, Shaikh ranks 2^nd in WAR among position players, 3^rd in hits, 2^nd in runs, 2^nd in homers, and 1^st in RBI. He’s also 2^nd in games played and is the only Pakistani with an OPS above one with more than 100 at-bats. Shaikh ranks 49^th in WAR among all position players, 78^th in homers, and 73^rd in RBI.

Shaikh’s professional career began in Turkey with Ankara, who spotted him despite humble beginnings and signed him to a developmental deal in December 1992. After three years in the Alouettes’ academy, Shaikh debuted in the Asian Baseball Federation in 1996 at age 20 with 59 games and 7 starts, although he struggled in limited use. He saw 35 games and 14 starts in 1997 with better results. Shaikh got a full-time roster spot in 1998 and started 109 games, but still wasn’t quite ready with a -0.2 WAR season.

Ankara gave him the full-time job in 1999 and he put it all together with a 5.8 WAR effort. He led the league in walks thrice for the Alouettes (1999, 2001, 2002). Shaikh emerged as a top flight player in 2001 and 2002, leading both years in runs scored and on-base percentage. Both seasons had 9+ WAR, 45+ homers, 100+ RBI, and an OPS above one. Shaikh was second in MVP voting both seasons. 2002 had his career highs in runs (125), OPS (1.076), and WAR (9.7).

Shaikh’s efforts and the expanded playoffs starting in 2000 helped Ankara go on a six-year playoff streak from 2000-05. They had only first round exits from 2000-02, although Shaikh was great in his limited sample size with 14 starts, 1.079 OPS, and 1.0 WAR. His final Ankara years and his excellent 2001 World Baseball Championship effort put Shaikh on the radar for franchises around the world. He decided not to re-sign with the Alouettes and entered free agency for 2003 heading towards age 27.

With Ankara, Shaikh had 779 hits, 472 runs, 153 doubles, 184 home runs, 467 RBI, 408 walks, .282/.386/.542 slash, 168 wRC+, and 31.7 WAR. He was still much younger than most international stars hitting free agency for the first time, putting Shaikh in high demand. He joined Major League Baseball and landed in Tennessee on a four-year, $37,500,000 deal with Nashville. The Knights had won the World Series in 2001 and were the American Association’s runner-up in 2002.

Shaikh debuted with 44 home runs and 3.9 WAR, then had 38 homers and 5.6 WAR in 2004. He won his first Silver Slugger in 2004 as a DH. Nashville just missed the playoffs in 2003, then won the division and lost in the second round of 2004. Two years in, Shaikh decided to opt-out and return to free agency heading towards age 29. With Nashville, he had 315 hits, 189 runs, 46 doubles, 82 home runs, 199 RBI, .275/.371/.536 slash, 143 wRC+, and 9.5 WAR.

Next was a four-year, $45,500,000 deal with Houston, who had won three straight division titles. Shaikh also only spent two years with the Hornets, but was far more dominant than with the Knights. He won a Silver Slugger in 2006 and took second in MVP voting, leading the AA in homers (53), RBI (132), runs (123), total bases (398), slugging (.649), and wRC+ (180). Houston lost in the second round in 2005 and fell incidentally to Nashville in the 2006 AACS. In 19 playoff starts, Shaikh had 26 hits, 12 runs, 5 doubles, 4 homers, 12 RBI, .942 OPS, and 1.1 WAR.

Shaikh again left and for 2007 signed a six-year, $87,400,000 deal with Los Angeles. This started his most famous run shortly before turning 31. In 2008, Shaikh led the American Association with a career-best 59 home runs and won his third Silver Slugger. He led in both homers and RBI in 2012 with 51 and 143. Shaikh also hit 50 homers in 2008 and 52 in 2011.

2010 saw Los Angeles end an 11-year playoff drought, although they lost in the first round in both 2010 and 2011. After the 2010 season, Shaikh opted out of his contract but signed a new four-year, $73,800,000 deal with the Angels. They lost in the second round in 2012 as a wild card.

LA exploded in 2013 for a 119-43 record, the second-most wins in MLB history. However, the Angels were stunned with a second round upset loss to Phoenix. Los Angeles won 100 games in 2014 as a wild card behind the Firebirds in the Southwest Division, eventually losing the AACS to Phoenix. Shaikh was underwhelming in his Angels playoff trips with 27 starts, 21 hits, 10 runs, 2 doubles, 3 home runs, 12 RBI, .226/.301/.366 slash, 83 wRC+, and 0.2 WAR.

Shaikh missed most of the 2014 season between a torn quadriceps and fractured finger, but did make it back for the playoffs. Although he may have underperformed in the playoffs, Shaikh’s regular season numbers were quite good and he was beloved by Angels fans. With LA he had 1092 hits, 669 runs, 115 doubles, 320 home runs, 769 RBI, 393 walks, .281/.365/.562 slash, 155 wRC+, and 35.4 WAR. The Angels retired his #34 uniform at the end of his career for his eight-year efforts.

After the 2014 season, Shaikh was now 38-years old and a free agent again. Houston brought him back on a one-year deal and he returned to form with 40 home runs and 5.9 WAR. Between the Hornets stints, Shaikh had 545 hits, 314 runs, 70 doubles, 138 home runs, 326 RBI, 187 walks, .307/.389/.590 slash, 163 wRC+, and 19.4 WAR.

Shaikh signed for two years and $35,200,000 with Atlanta in 2016. Back issues cost him a chunk of 2016, but he still managed 3.1 WAR over 109 games. The Aces traded him in the offseason though to St. Louis, where he put up similar stats in 2017. The Cardinals extended Shaikh for two-years and $21,000,000 and used him in a platoon role for 2018. He was reduced to the bench completely though in 2019.

Although he only played 70 games and started one in 2019, Shaikh hit four homers; becoming the 26^th member of MLB’s 600 home run club. For the Cardinals, Shaikh had 199 hits, 124 runs, 21 doubles, 54 home runs, 114 RBI, 85 walks, a .233/.321/.457 slash, 139 wRC, and 5.6 WAR. Those were still pretty solid numbers from a guy in his 40s. Shaikh retired after the 2019 campaign at age 43.

In MLB, Shaikh played 2274 games with 2253 hits, 1356 runs, 272 doubles, 617 home runs, 1472 RBI, 850 walks, a .280/.366/.551 slash, 153 wRC+, and 73.1 WAR. As of 2037, Shaikh ranks 47^th in homers, but misses the top 100 in other stats. Still, it is worth a reminder that his MLB run started in his age 27 season. Some think Shaikh could have been the first to break Elijah Cashman’s long-standing home run record had he been in MLB from the beginning.

Counting his ABF stats, Shaikh had 3131 games, 3032 hits, 1828 runs, 425 doubles, 801 home runs, 1939 RBI, 1258 walks, .281/.372/.549 slash, 157 wRC+, and 104.7 WAR. That stat line would make him an easy lock and most MLB Hall of Fame voters gave him at least some credit for the Ankara run. Shaikh wasn’t an inner circle guy, but the voters felt he was worthy of the first ballot selection at 83.9%, joining the three-player 2025 class.

Easton “Kingfish” MacGregor – Starting Pitcher – Memphis Mountain Cats – 77.9% First Ballot

Easton MacGregor was a 6’8’’, 205 pound left-handed pitcher from Warren, Michigan; a Detroit suburb with around 139,000 people. MacGregor had very solid stuff and movement along with great control. His fastball peaked at 96-98 mph and was his best pitch. MacGregor also had a stellar changeup along with a nice splitter and okay curveball. For reasons never really explained, he earned the nickname “Kingfish.”

MacGregor’s stamina was quite good early in his career and he had excellent durability for most of his run. He tossed 215+ innings each year from 2005-17. MacGregor had a very good pickoff move, but was a weaker defender. He was a team captain who earned tons of respect for his leadership, loyalty, and work ethic. MacGregor wasn’t a megastar with fans, but he was a favorite among players and coaches.

Nothing gets scouts more excited than seeing a tall lefty. MacGregor had a lot of potential from the start, but most teams figured that he’d attend college. Straight out of Detroit Community High School, Memphis picked MacGregor in the sixth round of the 2000 MLB Draft. He was the 294^th overall pick and would be the latest-ever draft pick to earn induction into the MLB Hall of Fame. Rarely even did guys picked that late even make the roster.

MacGregor decided to sign with the Mountain Cats and skip college, spending four years in minor league Jackson. He struggled there and clearly wasn’t ready for pro baseball yet. Still, MacGregor’s high character allowed him to take his lumps and power on. He debuted for Memphis with four poor relief appearances in 2004 at age 21. The Mountain Cats didn’t give up on MacGregor, debuting him with good results as a full-time starter in 2005. He did get rocked in his one playoff start, allowing six runs in 5.2 innings.

Memphis was mostly mediocre despite MacGregor’s efforts. The 2005 first round exit had ended a 12-year playoff drought. They won their division but lost in the second round of 2007’s postseason. Unfortunately, that was their final winning season for two decades. You certainly couldn’t blame MacGregor for the team’s failings, as he had seven seasons above 5+ WAR.

MacGregor’s best effort came in 2008 with his lone ERA title at 2.23. He also had his career bests in strikeouts (238), innings (290.1), and WAR (9.2), but finished third in Pitcher of the Year voting. During the campaign, Memphis signed him to a six-year, $59,900,000 extension. MacGregor was third again in 2009 with a 2.34 ERA effort and 7.6 WAR.

His production dipped a bit for the remaining Memphis seasons, but MacGregor remained a good starter. For the Mountain Cats, MacGregor finished with a 142-111 record, 3.13 ERA, 2399.2 innings, 1915 strikeouts, 479 walks, 121 ERA+, and 57.2 WAR. Memphis would later retire his #8 uniform for efforts. The struggling Mountain Cats decided to move on from MacGregor after the 2013 season, trading him to Philadelphia for two prospects.

MacGregor started with the Phillies at age 31, joining a team that had won back-to-back National Association pennants and had won the World Series in 2012. Philadelphia wanted him long-term from the start and before his first start gave MacGregor a five-year, $116 million extension. Philly remained competitive with five playoff berths from 2014-19, although they never made it beyond the second round. In 46 playoff innings, MacGregor was quite good with a 1.96 ERA, 49 strikeouts, and 1.8 WAR.

In 2015, MacGregor finished second in Pitcher of the Year voting with a 2.23 ERA, 70.0 WAR season. Then in 2016, he posted his career best ERA at 2.16 and led in wins for the only time at 21-7, which earned MacGregor his lone Pitcher of the Year win. He was solid again in 2017 and 2018, but lost some time in 2018 due to shoulder inflammation.

MacGregor had one year left on his deal, but Philadelphia voided the team option year and sent him to free agency at age 36. In five seasons, he had an 81-48 record, 2.62 ERA, 1208 innings, 1040 strikeouts, 153 walks, 133 ERA+, and 27.9 WAR. MacGregor was generally well liked by Phillies fans for his efforts and had interested teams for 2019. He ended up inking a two-year, $35,800,000 deal with Dallas.

He still ate innings that year for the Dalmatians for 4.4 WAR, but his ERA rose to 3.92, the second-worst of his career. Dallas traded him in the offseason to San Francisco for two prospects. Sadly, MacGregor never pitched for the Gold Rush as he suffered a partially torn UCL in spring training 2020. Instead of trying to make a comeback, MacGregor retired shortly after his 38^th birthday.

MacGregor finished with a 3.02 ERA, 234-174 record, 3853.1 innings, 3129 strikeouts, 675 walks, 309/476 quality starts, 237 complete games, 45 shutouts, 123 ERA+, and 89.5 WAR. As of 2037, MacGregor ranks 89^th in wins, 83^rd in strikeouts, 34^th in complete games, 45^th in shutouts, and 65^th in WAR amongst pitchers.

He was rarely considered THE guy, but MacGregor was a solid top ten to top five level pitcher for much of his career. He hit most of the minimum pre-requisite milestones and had a Pitcher of the Year award and an ERA title. MacGregor had garnered plenty of respect within the game and it got him 77.9% and a first ballot induction to cap off Major League Baseball’s 2025 Hall of Fame class.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 02-04-2025, 06:13 PM

2025 CABA Hall of Fame

Pitcher Cristian Mata was the lone inductee for the Central American Baseball Association Hall of Fame in 2025 with a debut at 89.0%. Two other debuting pitchers barely missed the 66% requirement with Adrian Estrella at 65.0% and Mateo Ramirez at 62.9%. SP Secretario Sanz was the best returner with 54.1% on his eighth ballot. 1B Hasan Alvizo was the best position player with a 54.1% debut. Also cracking 50% was SP Montell Donald with 53.0% on his third go and LF Hugo Garcia with 50.9% with his third ballot.

The lone player dropped after ten tries was RF Enrique Mendoza, who peaked at only 13.6% but managed to survive to a 5.7% tenth ballot. Mendoza was a nice leadoff man who led in hits thrice and had a batting title. However, his 18-year career had forays to Africa and Europe that greatly lowered his CABA tallies.

Mendoza had 1672 hits, 719 runs, 277 doubles, 146 triples, 35 home runs, 397 RBI, 615 stolen bases, a .349/.367/.489 slash, 150 wRC+, and 36.9 WAR. He does notably rank 16^th in batting average as of 2037 among CABA hitters with 3000+ plate appearances. However, few disagreed that he was a “Hall of Pretty Good” type guy.

Cristian Mata – Starting Pitcher – Nicaragua Navigators – 89.0% First Ballot

Cristian Mata was a 6’6’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Las Guias Oriente, a town of about 1,200 people on Panama’s southern coast. Mata was a fireballer with great stuff, movement, and control. His 99-101 mph cutter was world class and was often countered by an excellent forkball. Mata also had a good curveball and a rarely seen changeup, leading to an extreme groundball tendency. Few aces in his era splintered more opponent bats.

Mata’s stamina was considered weak relative to most CABA aces, but he stayed healthy in his 20s and early 30s to still deliver solid innings. He had a strong pickoff move and was considered a solid defensive pitcher. Mata was a fan favorite and one of the hardest working guys in the game. He became absolutely adored in Nicaragua, where he spent his entire pro career.

Despite growing up in a small town in Panama, Mata was tall and threw hard even as a teenager. That caught the eye of a scout from nearby Nicaragua who gave him a developmental deal in December 2001. Mata spent four full years in the Navigators’ academy and was brought up at age 21 in 2006. He struggled as a rookie in a split starter/relief role with a lousy 5.52 ERA. Mata fared much better in year two with a 3.76 ERA and earned a full-time rotation slot after that.

From 2008-17, Mata was worth 5+ WAR each season. On May 24, 2008, Mata tossed a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts against Havana. He took third in Pitcher of the Year voting and helped Nicaragua end a 17-year playoff drought. They were the second wild card, but went on a surprise run and won the Caribbean League, eventually losing to Hermosillo in the CABA Championship. In 32.1 playoff innings, Mata had a 2.23 ERA, 37 strikeouts, and 1.2 WAR.

Mata was second in 2009’s Pitcher of the Year voting and signed a six-year, $52,660,000 extension in the offseason. Nicaragua became a regular contender and had the top seed in 2009, 2010, and 2011. However, each year they were denied in the CLCS. The Navigators would narrowly miss the playoffs in 2012 and 2013. Mata was iffy in the 2009 playoffs, but was solid in both 2010 and 2011.

He took third in 2011’s Pitcher of the Year voting, second in 2012, second in 2013, and second in 2014. Mata ultimately never won the top honor despite leading the Caribbean in WAR from 2012-14. He led with 300 strikeouts in 2012 and 303 Ks in 2014. Mata led in wins in 2014 at 20-9 and had career highs in wins, strikeouts, and WAR (8.0).

Nicaragua made it back to the playoffs as a wild card in 2014 and went on another surprise run, winning the Caribbean League again. This time, they upset Torreon to win their first-ever CABA Championship. Mata was underwhelming in this run with a 4.78 ERA over 26.1 innings. However, he was excellent in the Baseball Grand Championship with a 2.12 ERA in 29.2 innings, 2-2 record, 44 strikeouts, 4 walks, 191 ERA+, and 1.6 WAR. Despite Mata’s efforts, Nicaragua finished 19^th at 6-13. His career playoff stats mirrored his regular season career fairly closely with 119.2 innings, 3.08 ERA, 9-2 record, 125 strikeouts, 17 walks, 128 ERA+, and 2.9 WAR.

Even with the weaker 2014 playoff run, Mata earned a six-year, $78,900,000 extension in March 2015. He never reached his previous peaks, but gave the Navigators three more solid years of starting. Nicaragua fell back into the middle of the standings at this point and were near the bottom by the 2020s. Mata was still a beloved figure for Navigators fans and his #17 uniform was often the most common at the ballpark. Nicaragua would retire his #17 at the end of his career.

In 2018, the 33-year old Mata only made it two starts before suffering a damaged elbow ligament, knocking him out 12 months. It was the first major injury of his career and he rehabbed back for 2019. Unfortunately, Mata blew out his elbow again in July 2019. He hoped to return possibly in late 2020 or by 2021, but he suffered a setback in June 2020. Doctors advised Mata to retire at only age 35.

Mata finished with a 179-122 record, 3.01 ERA, 2784 innings, 3029 strikeouts, 505 walks, 231/371 quality starts, 60 complete games, 12 shutouts, 132 ERA+, and 68.7 WAR. His shortened career limits his spot on leaderboards, but he does rank 84^th in strikeouts and 69^th in pitching WAR as of 2037. Mata never won POTY or had an ERA title, but some argued he was perhaps the best CABA pitcher that never earned the honor.

His rate stats were certainly impressive and he was easily a top five pitcher in his prime. Mata’s popularity and his role in a sustained run for Nicaragua pushed him across the line for all but the most stringent doubters. At 89.0%, Mata was a first ballot selection and the lone inductee for the Central American Baseball Association Hall of Fame in 2025.

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

2025 EAB Hall of Fame

East Asia Baseball’s 2025 Hall of Fame class had two players both receiving 99.0% in their debut with OF Sang-Jun Gang and 2B/1B Yoo Sen. The best returner was SP Jong-Hyeon Chung at 50.5% on his sixth ballot. No one else was above 50% and no one was dropped after ten failed ballots.

Sang-Jun Gang – Outfield – Kumamoto Monsters – 99.0% First Ballot

Sang-Jun Gang was a 6’3’’, 210 pound left-handed outfielder from Daegu, South Korea. Gang was an excellent contact hitter with reliably strong power and a respectable eye for walks, although his strikeout rate was subpar. He absolutely mashed against right-handed pitching with a career 1.022 OPS and 188 wRC+. Versus lefties, Gang had .778 OPS and 129 wRC+

His 162 game average got you 40 home runs, 25 doubles, and 12 triples. Around 45% of Gang’s career hits went for extra bases. He had very good speed to leg out extra bags, although his baserunning instincts were merely okay. Gang was too aggressive on steal attempts and got caught far more than he succeeded. Still, he was dangerous enough to force pitchers to pay close attention.

Gang bounced around the outfield in his career with just over 40% of his starts coming in left, where he graded as a reliably good defender. Close to 30% of his starts came in center field mostly earlier in his career, but Gang was mediocre without the needed range. He played a bit of right at the end of his career with iffy results. Gang also saw a decent number of starts as a designated hitter.

The versatility helped Gang’s value as did his ironman durability. Apart from his rookie year, Gang played 153+ games in each year of his 18 year career. He did frustrate some coaches and teammates though with a perceived selfishness and poor work ethic. Even if he coasted on natural talent, that talent was remarkable and helped Gang emerge as one of the biggest Korean baseball stars of his era.

Gang was impressive playing for Chung-Ang University in Seoul and was picked first overall in the 2002 EAB Draft by Kumamoto. The Monsters had him as a part-timer with inconsistencies as a rookie. Gang was a full-timer in his sophomore campaign and won his first of three consecutive Silver Sluggers in center field. It also started a streak of nine straight seasons at 6+ WAR for Kumamoto. After the 2005 season, the Monsters gave Gang an eight-year, $43,420,000 contract extension.

2006 was Gang’s first time leading the Japan League in a good stat with 129 RBI, 360 total bases, and .659 OPS. It was also his first of four seasons with an OPS above one for the Monsters. In 2007, Gang led with a career best 1.116 OPS, .704 slugging, and .412 OBP. He posted 9.9 WAR, 133 RBI, 47 homers, and 107 runs. Gang also had his career highs in hits (200) and batting average (.352), taking third in MVP voting.

Kumamoto had bounced back for winning seasons from 2005-09, but it wasn’t until 2010 that they ended an 11-year playoff drought. That year, Gang won his first Silver Slugger in left field and his first MVP. He won his first batting title (.349) and led in OPS (1.079), and wRC+ (221). Gang also had a career high 117 runs. He had a strong postseason with 1.031 OPS, 13 hits, 9 runs, 5 homers, and 13 BRI in 10 starts. The Monsters would fall in the Japan League Championship Series to Kyoto. Kumamoto got the top seed in 2011 at 100-62, but was upset by Sapporo in the first round.

Gang repeated as MVP and won another Slugger in 2011, winning another batting title, hitting for the cycle and posting his career bests in WAR (11.2) and wRC+ (234). In 2012, he won his lone Gold Glove in left. Kumamoto dropped to 79-83 that year and Gang disappointed Monsters fans by opting out of his contract. This made him a highly touted free agent at age 31.

For Kumamoto, Gang had 1643 hits, 900 runs, 262 doubles, 120 triples, 366 home runs, 998 RBI, 492 walks, 292 steals, .307/.369/.607 slash, 190 wRC+, and 69.8 WAR. Despite the awkward ending, Gang remained very popular with Monsters fans and his #28 uniform would eventually be retired. Gang ended up returning to his hometown Daegu on a five-year, $90,800,000 deal with the Diamondbacks.

Gang’s addition helped Daegu post an impressive 109-53 record in 2013, going all the way to defeat Hiroshima for the EAB Championship. Gang won his third MVP and sixth Slugger, posting league bests in homers (49), and RBI (139). He also led in OPS for the fourth time and slugging for the fifth. In the playoff run, Gang had 17 starts, 17 hits, 15 runs, 8 homers, 15 RBI, and .966 OPS. However, he did struggle with .594 OPS and -0.1 WAR in the Baseball Grand Championship. Daegu would finish at 10-9 in the event in a three-way tie for seventh.

Daegu shockingly collapsed to 67-95 in 2014 and wouldn’t be back above .500 until 2019. Gang was still strong in 2014 with his seventh Silver Slugger, but did see his production decrease and strikeout rate increase the next two years. He opted out of his deal after the 2016 season, but signed a new three-year, $33,100,000 deal with the Diamondbacks. Gang bounced back a bit in 2017 to win his lone Silver Slugger in right field, giving him eight for his career.

While in his hometown, Gang crossed the 600 home run and 2500 hit thresholds. The run ended after six seasons as Daegu traded him before the 2019 campaign to Busan for two prospects. For the Diamondbacks, Gang had 1030 hits, 562 runs, 139 doubles, 71 triples, 239 home runs, 623 RBI, .303/.355/.596 slash, 155 wRC+, and 28.9 WAR.

Gang’s one year with the Blue Jays was impressive at age 37 with a career high 54 home runs, his only 50+ season. Gang also had a league-best 172 wRC+ and posted 6.7 WAR, although Busan finished 79-83. This surprisingly was his final season in EAB as despite his 2019 efforts, he couldn’t get the big deal he wanted. He found that money in an unexpected spot by moving to Belarus on a three-year, $35 million deal with Minsk of Eurasian Professional Baseball.

He didn’t adjust well to EPB though, posting only 0.4 WAR and .739 despite starting the full season for the Miners. They got a wild card, but lost in the first round. Gang decided to retire that winter shortly after his 39^th birthday. For his combined pro career, Gang had 2796 games, 2986 hits, 1651 runs, 439 doubles, 215 triples, 687 home runs, 1846 RBI, 831 walks, 539 steals, .301/.358/.596 slash, 172 wRC+, and 105.8 WAR.

In EAB, Gang finished at 2635 games, 2850 hits, 1575 runs, 420 doubles, 201 triples, 659 home runs, 1739 RBI, 790 walks, 2234 strikeouts, 514 steals, 691 caught stealing, .305/.363/.605 slash, .968 OPS, 176 wRC+, and 105.4 WAR. As of 2037, Gang ranks 36^th in hits, 26^th in runs, 13^th in total bases (5649), 92^nd in doubles, 89^th in triples, 20^th in homers, 21^st in RBI, 85^th in walks, 40^th in strikeouts, 9^th in caught stealing, and 24^th in WAR among position players.

Against all EAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Gang’s OPS ranks 25^th, his OBP is 97^th, and slugging is 22^nd. He falls just outside of the inner-circle tier of guys, but will crack some top 25 lists of EAB position players. Gang was certainly a slam dunk for the Hall of Fame in 2025 and was nearly unanimous at 99.0% to co-headline with Yoo Sen.

Yoo “Hands” Sen – Second/First Base – Incheon Inferno – 99.0% First Ballot

Yoo Sen was a 6’0’’, 200 pound switch-hitting infielder from Incheon, South Korea. He was nicknamed “hands” simply because he had unusually large hands. Sen was best known for his extraordinary eye at the plate, as he drew more walks than any other EAB player ever by a healthy margin. He was an above average contact hitter and his strikeout rate was merely decent, but his eye was so strong that he regularly was at the top of the on-base percentage leaderboards.

Sen’s power wasn’t prolific, but it was healthy and reliable with 32 home runs, 26 doubles, and 3 triples per his 162 game average. Unfortunately, Sen wasn’t a baserunning threat with poor speed and skills. His career was split almost even defensively between second and first base along with occasional games as a designated hitter.

In his 20s, Sen was basically exclusively at 2B, but he was an absolutely atrocious defender there. He split between 2B/1B in his early 30s before moving full-time to 1B from 2012 onward. Sen graded as below average on the whole at first, but he wasn’t actively awful like at 2B. He even showed occasional flashes of skill at first, even winning a Gold Glove in 2017.

Durability was generally a strength, although he did run into some back and knee issues. Sen had a 22-year career and played 130+ games in most of those sans the very start and end. He was a true fan favorite with a terrific work ethic, strong loyalty, and selflessness. Sen became beloved by fans across all of South Korea, but he was the favorite son of his hometown Incheon.

Sen got to live out his childhood dream with his hometown squad, who inked him to a developmental deal in November 1994. He spent most of four years in the Inferno academy, but did debut in 1998 at age 19 with 30 games and two starts. Sen was rostered full-time in 1999 for 120 games, but only started 47 with decent results. Sen started most of 2000, then was an undisputed starter for the next 16 years after that in Incheon.

2000 was the first of 14 seasons where Sen led the Korea League in walks. From 2000-17, he had at least 80 walks in all but one season because of injury. Sen drew 100+ walks in eight different seasons, peaking with 114 in 2007. That was the fifth-most in an EAB single-season with those in front of it all coming in the 1920s. As of 2037, there have only been 31 seasons in EAB of 100+ walks with ¼ of them from Sen.

Incheon had been hot garbage for most of the 1990s, but 2001 marked the start of a four-year playoff streak. They lost in the first round in 2011, then had a surprise run all the way to the EAB Championship in 2002 as a wild card. The Inferno beat Osaka in the final with Sen getting 15 hits, 10 runs, 2 homers, 6 RBI, and 7 walks in 16 playoff games. Truly the childhood dream was fulfilled for Sen winning the title with his hometown team.

The Inferno lost to Seongnam in the 2003 KLCS. That season saw Sen’s first Silver Slugger at 2B and started a five-year streak leading the KL in on-base percentage. That winter, Sen signed an eight-year, $68,800,000 extension with Incehon. He won additional Sluggers from 2004-10 at second base, then got one at first base in 2011.

Incheon got the top seed in 2004 at 103-59, but was upset in the first round by Seoul. The Inferno missed the playoffs in 2005, then lost in the first round of 2006. They dropped to below .500 for the next two years before hovering around .500 from 2009-11. Sen carried on at a high level, although he generally didn’t have enough power to get MVP looks. In 2005, he had his career highs in homers (49), RBI (121), batting average (.336), OPS (1.057), wRC+ (188), and WAR (8.7).

Before the 2011 season, the now 32-year old Sen signed a new five-year, $52,500,000 extension. This year he finished third in MVP voting with a career-best .439 OBP, his seventh time leading in the stat. As of 2037, this ranks as the 15^th-best single-season OBP in EAB. It was also one of three seasons for Sen with 8+ WAR and one of four with an OPS above one.

Incheon got back to the playoffs but went one-and-done in 2012. They were below .500 in 2013, but Sen led the league with 8.7 WAR and 181 wRC+, taking third in MVP voting. The Inferno won the division at 102-60 in 2014, but again was ousted in the first round. They spent the next three years around .500 outside of the playoffs. For his playoff career for Incheon, Sen had 47 games, 49 hits, 28 runs, 8 doubles, 7 homers, 27 RBI, 23 walks, .314/.389/.500 slash, 144 wRC+, and 1.9 WAR. He also saw limited play from 2002-05 for South Korea in the World Baseball Championship with .687 OPS, 101 wRC+, and 0.6 WAR.

In 2015, he crossed the 2500 hit, 1500 run, and 500 home run milestones. Unfortunately that year, he missed the autumn with a torn back muscle. Sen didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the remainder of his contract and became a free agent for the first time at age 37. He was disappointed to leave, but understood and remained beloved in his hometown.

Sen signed for two years and $24,400,000 with Seoul, maintaining his usual strong production even in his late 30s. In 2016, Sen became EAB’s all-time leader in walks by passing Ji-U Shin’s 1549 mark which had held since 1972. Both seasons, the Seahawks lost in the KLCS to Changwon. Sen made 20 playoff starts with 21 hits, 13 runs, 4 doubles, 7 homers, 15 RBI, 10 walks, a .300/.395/.657 slash, 179 wRC+, and 1.2 WAR. In total for Seoul, Sen had 305 hits, 184 runs, 42 doubles, 62 home runs, 176 RBI, 204 walks, .297/.414/.529 slash, 156 wRC+, and 12.8 WAR.

Now 39-years old and a free agent again, Sen wanted to return home and finish his career with Incheon. The Inferno were bottom-tier by this point, but were happy to welcome Sen back home on a two-year, $27,600,000 deal. Sen barely played in 2018 though with a torn ACL knocking him out most of the season. He didn’t meet the vesting criteria for 2019, but negotiated a new smaller one year, $6,400,000 deal for Incheon in 2019.

Sen struggled in this last year with 0.6 WAR and .680 OPS over 125 games. He wanted to play somewhere in 2020, but went unsigned and retired that winter at age 42. Immediately upon retirement, Sen’s #16 uniform was retired by Incheon. Between runs for the Inferno, Sen had 2649 games, 2671 hits, 1604 runs, 432 doubles, 52 triples, 521 home runs, 1542 RBI, 1637 walks, .299/.407/.534 slash, 156 wRC+, and 101.7 WAR.

The final tallies had 2949 games, 2976 hits, 1788 runs, 474 doubles, 57 triples, 583 home runs, 1718 RBI, 1841 walks, 2025 strikeouts, 96 steals, .299/.408/.533 slash, .941 OPS, 156 wRC+, and 114.5 WAR. Sen is the undisputed EAB walks leader still in 2037 with a 292 walk gap to second place. Among all players in world history, Sen is 4^th in walks behind only MLB’s Chris Louden (2106) and B.J. Pasternack (1997) as well as AAB’s Luke Tembo (1956).

On the EAB leaderboards, Sen ranks 14^th in games, 29^th in hits, 10^th in runs, 26^th in total bases (5313), 37^th in doubles (474), 45^th in homers, 25^th in RBI, and 17^th in WAR among position players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, his on-base percentage is second only to Ji-Hoo Kim’s .420 and he ranks 18^th amongst all world Hall of Famers. Sen’s OPS also still ranks 50^th best among EAB qualifiers.

Sen is the unquestionable EAB GOAT when it comes to drawing walks and is a top five level guy in world history at that skill. He’s probably just on the borderline of being considered “inner circle” for East Asia Baseball’s Hall of Fame since he never won MVP. Sen makes many top 25 and top 20 lists, but lacked the raw power or great defense needed to raise higher up the list. He was a slam dunk HOFer though and remains one of Korea’s favorite players well into retirement. At 99.0%, Sen co-headlined the 2025 class with Sang-Jun Gang.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 02-05-2025, 10:50 AM

2025 BSA Hall of Fame

Two first basemen were no-doubters for Beisbol Sudamerica’s 2025 Hall of Fame class with Arsenio Araujo at 98.6% and Alex Dos Santos at 96.1%. SP Oliverio Garza barely missed joining them on his debut with 65.1%, less than a point from the 66% requirement. SP Ulisses Natividad also had a nice debut with 61.9%. The only other player above 50% was Izan Espinoza at 53.7% in his tenth and final opportunity on the ballot.

Espinoza’s peak was two years earlier at 55.6%, although he was as low as 13.5% in 2024. He had a 20-yaer career mostly with Salvador, although four final years in Europe slightly limited his BSA tallies. In BSA, Espinoza had one Gold Glove, one Silver Slugger, two Copa Sudamerica rings, 2104 hits, 1326 runs, 279 doubles, 117 triples, 528 home runs, 1337 RBI, 1024 walks, 575 stolen bases, .276/.361/.552 slash, 159 wRC+, and 69.4 WAR.

With the EBF numbers included, Espinoza got to 2583 hits, 1643 runs, 617 homers, and 1603 RBI; thresholds that probably get him across the line. Competition was tough at first base and both guys inducted in 2025 had more decorated resumes at the same spot. Espinoza had limited black ink and was only MVP finalist once, keeping him on the borderline.

Arsenio Araujo – First Base – Callao Cats – 98.6% First Ballot

Arsenio Araujo was a 6’4’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Pisco, Peru; a city of around 104,000 on the country’s south central coast. Araujo was a reliably solid contact hitter with impressively steady power. His 162 game average saw 40 home runs and 28 doubles. He was never the league leader in home runs, but he topped 50+ twice. Araujo had a great eye for drawing walks and struck out less than most in Beisbol Sudamerica.

He was especially dominant against right-handed pitching with a career 1.011 OPS and 160 wRC+. Versus lefties, he was merely decent at .792 OPS and 114 wRC+. Araujo was a painfully slow and sluggish baserunner. Despite that, he was quite slick and skilled with his glove. Araujo played exclusively at first base and won five Gold Gloves in his career. His durability stayed generally good over an impressive 21-year career.

By the 1998 BSA Draft, many had Araujo pegged as Peru’s best prospect. Callao selected him with the seventh overall pick and he became synonymous with the Cats. Araujo was a full-time starter immediately and spent his entire career with Callao. He had an impressive 37 home run, .948 OPS, 6.5 WAR debut to win 1999 Rookie of the Year and his first of eight Silver Sluggers. Araujo’s additional Sluggers came in 2000, 02, 04, 05, 06, 07, and 08. His Gold Glove wins were 2005, 06, 10, 11, and 15.

Araujo led the Bolivar League in walks drawn eight times. Apart from that, his only other time as the league leader was with his .418 OBP in 2004. Still, Araujo was steady with ten seasons above 6+ WAR, six above one OPS, and eight above 40 home runs. Araujo was only an MVP finalist once, taking second in 2005. That year had his career highs in homers (57), walks (90), slugging (.702), OPS (1.121), wRC+ (185), and WAR (9.4).

He perhaps was overlooked in his impressive 20s as Callao was lousy early in his run. From 1999-2007, the Cats averaged only 73.1 wins per season with no playoff berths. Araujo was very popular though with Callao fans and was appreciative of the franchise, signing a seven-year, $48,700,000 extension in August 2005. Things would soon start to turn around for the Cats, who were a regular contender in Araujo’s 30s.

Araujo was popular nationwide as he was a fixture for Peru in the World Baseball Championship. He participated in 180 games and 22 editions of the event from 1998-2019 with 149 hits, 105 runs, 23 doubles, 54 home runs, 103 RBI, 102 walks, .245/.378/.550 slash, and 8.3 WAR. As of 2037, Araujo has the most games, hits, runs, and homers of any Peruvian in the WBC. He also ranks second in WAR among Peruvian position players.

He remained remarkably consistent into his 30s as Callao finally ended an era of ineptitude. In 2008, the Cats snapped a 39-year playoff drought, falling to Santa Cruz in the BLCS. This also started a run of 11 straight winning seasons with nine playoff berths in that stretch. They had first round losses in 2009 and 2010, then missed the playoffs in 2011.

In 2012, Callao broke through as the top seed at 103-59, eventually beating Concepcion in Copa Sudamerica. Araujo was underwhelming in that playoff run with 0.1 WAR, .738 OPS, and 101 wRC+. For his playoff career, he was surprisingly mid with 51 games, 45 hits, 24 runs, 5 doubles, 9 homers, 21 RBI, 18 walks, .245/.319/.440 slash, 102 wRC+, and 0.7 WAR.

The Cats missed the playoffs in 2013, then couldn’t get beyond in the divisional series in 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018. They did win a second Copa Sudamerica though in 2016, defeating Rio de Janeiro in the final. Araujo was excellent in that playoff run at age 40 with 11 starts, 13 hits, 8 runs, 7 homers, 11 RBI, 1.186 OPS, 200 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR. That effort generally overshadows those who would critique Araujo’s earlier whelming playoff trips.

His performances were mixed in the Baseball Grand Championship. Araujo was solid in 2012 with .821 OPS and 0.8 WAR, but he stunk in 2016 with .531 OPS and -0.1 WAR. Callao finished 8-11 in both editions. In 33 BGC games, Araujo had 22 hits, 12 runs, 5 doubles, 3 homers, 11 RBI, .200/.367/.327 slash, and 0.7 WAR.

Araujo signed a three-year, $34,200,000 extension after the 2012 season, then another three-year, $27,400,000 extension in fall 2015. His production dropped only slightly into his late 30s, remaining remarkably consistent. Araujo signed another three-year, $27,400,000 extension after the 2018 season at age 42. His longevity allowed him to reach a number of statistical milestones. Araujo was the 11^th to 3000 hits, the 15^th to 1500 runs scored, the 5^th to 700 home runs, and the 2^nd to 2000 RBI.

Despite never leading the league in RBI, Araujo remains one of only three in the 2k club as of 2037 in BSA. Some thought he might chase Milton Becker’s then-record 2226. He also shad a shot at the BSA walks record of 1379 by Matias Amaro, but age finally caught up to Araujo in 2019. He declined sharply and was benched, posting -0.9 WAR and .622 OPS for the season. Araujo retired that winter at age 43 and immediately had his #34 uniform retired by Callao.

Araujo ended with 3103 games, 3349 hits, 1853 runs, 541 doubles, 49 triples, 765 home runs, 2056 RBI, 1336 walks, 1861 strikeouts, .307/.387/.575 slash, .962 OPS, 150 wRC+, and 117.2 WAR. As of 2037, Araujo ranks 4^th in games, 5^th in runs, 6^th in hits, 6^th in total bases (6283), 7^th in doubles, 5^th in home runs, 3^rd in RBI, 4^th in walks, and 15^th in WAR among position players. Among all batters with 3000 plate appearances, Araujo’s OPS ranks 51^st, his OBP 28^th, and slugging 88^th.

His leaderboard spots are especially impressive since Araujo never won MVP and never led the league in a counting stat except for walks. It shows the importance of longevity and consistency; two traits Araujo had well beyond most players in baseball history. The lack of raw dominance may keep him out of some of the top 10 player ranking lists even if his tallies are there. Regardless, Araujo was a slam dunk Hall of Famer at 98.6% to co-headline Beisbol Sudamerica’s 2025 class.

Alex “Buzzy” Dos Santos – First Base – Brasilia Bearcats – 96.1% First Ballot

Alex Dos Santos was a 6’2’’, 195 pound right-handed first baseman from the capital of Chile, Santiago. In his prime, Dos Santos had excellent contact and power skills against both righties and lefties. He smacked 40+ home runs in nine different seasons and had a 162 game average of 41 homers and 28 doubles. He was average to above average at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. Dos Santos’s speed and baserunning were both mediocre, but you could find worse.

Dos Santos was exclusively a first baseman and graded as reliably just below average defensively. He mostly had strong durability with 150+ games in all but one year from 2006-18. Dos Santos was a team captain and one of the most widely respected players in the game, known for great leadership, loyalty, intelligence, and work ethic. Unsurprisingly, an awesome person who was a strong hitter made Dos Santos one of the most popular stars of his era.

As a teenager, Dos Santos quickly drew attention as a promising prospect in the Chilean capital. Word of his talent made it to Brazil and it was a scout with Brasilia that convinced Dos Santos to make the move. He signed a developmental deal in September 1996 with the Bearcats. Dos Santos was a somewhat late bloomer as he spent around seven full years in their academy. He officially debuted in 2002 at age 22, but only played 20 games with one start between 2002-03. Dos Santos also went 0-6 in the playoffs these years as a pinch hitter, but did earn a championship ring as Brasilia beat Guayaquil in the 2002 Copa Sudamerica.

Dos Santos was a full-timer on the roster in 2004-05, but still was mostly a pinch hitter with only 42 starts. The Bearcats lost in the 2004 Southern Cone League Championship to Salvador, then were mostly in the upper-middle part of the standings with no playoff berths from 2005-11. Dos Santos earned the full-time starting gig in 2006 with great success, posting 44 home runs, .992 OPS, and 7.4 WAR.

In 2007, Dos Santos missed most of the season to a broken kneecap. He had an impressive bounce back in 2008 by winning his lone MVP and first Silver Slugging, leading the league in homers (53), triple slash (.372/.408/.701), OPS (1.109), wRC+ (212), and WAR (9.5). The OPS, slugging, and homers would be career highs as was his 116 runs scored. Dos Santos was only ten RBI short of posting a Triple Crown season. It started a seven-year streak of at least 48 homers and 109 RBI each year.

He stayed healthy for the rest of his Brasilia run, which lasted another seven years, signing a seven-year, $53,200,000 extension in July 2009. Dos Santos was third in 2009’s MVP voting and won another Slugger. He won additional Sluggers in 2010, 2012, and 2013. Dos Santos had a career and league-best 9.9 WAR in 2012, a year which also had his career highs in hits (226), RBI (137), average (.367), and OBP (.417). Dos Santos took third in 2012’s MVP voting.

Brasilia ended their playoff drought in 2012, losing in the Southern Cone League Championship to Concepcion. Dos Santos had a stellar run in defeat with 12 starts, 20 hits, 6 runs, 4 doubles, 4 homers, 13 RBI, 1.368 OPS, 286 wRC+, and 1.2 WAR. Despite his efforts, the Bearcats started a decade-plus postseason drought after that. In 2013, Dos Santos notably led in doubles (45), RBI (134), and total bases (408); his only season leading in any of those stats.

Dos Santos had limited big game experience in his prime, although he did return home to Chile for the World Baseball Championship. From 2005-19, he played 133 games with 114 hits, 83 runs, 23 doubles, 48 home runs, 91 RBI, .231/.300/.574 slash, and 4.7 WAR. Dos Santos’ first appearance saw Chile finish in the elite eight, although they didn’t get that far again.

Brasilia was seemingly going nowhere after a 71-91 finish for 2015. Looking to rebuild, the soon-to-be 36-year old Dos Santos was traded with one year left in his deal. He was sent to Bogota with a fourth round draft pick for prospects. Only one amounted to anything with Yusmani Canizalez starting for a few years and winning three Gold Gloves.

Fans hated to see Dos Santos go, but he had no hard feelings towards the organization for the move. With Brasilia, Dos Santos had 1980 hits, 1002 runs, 289 doubles, 469 home runs, 1155 RBI, .331/.370/.624 slash, 179 wRC+, and 74.4 WAR. His #16 uniform was eventually retired by the Bearcats.

The trade with Bogota was a surprise considering they had been a consistently below average team for the last few years. They didn’t fare much better in 2016 with Dos Santos, but he held up his end with 45 homers, .897 OPS, and 4.3 WAR. A free agent for the first time, Dos Santos signed for two years and $16,200,000 with Santa Cruz. The Crawfish had been a dynasty only a few years prior, but they were now in a full rebuild mode.

Dos Santos’ power dipped to only 22 homers, but he still was a good contributor with .869 OPS and 5.0 WAR in 2017. Santa Cruz traded him to Recife in the offseason for three prospects. The Retrievers had been in the playoffs eight of the prior nine years with one cup and three pennants. In 2018, they fell in the divisional series. The 38-year old Dos Santos still gave them 5.1 WAR and .915 OPS, thus they extended him for two years and $20 million.

He missed part of 2019 to a strained hamstring, but also got reduced to a part-time role with 77 games and 51 starts. Recife pulled a surprise Copa Sudamerica upset win over Trujillo. Dos Santos played 7 games and started 3 in the playoffs with 0.3 WAR. He then was a full-time starter in the Baseball Grand Championship, but fared terribly with .423 OPS and -0.3 WAR. The Retrievers finished 14-5, second only to 15-4 Tabriz.

In 232 games for Recife, Dos Santos had 226 hits, 121 runs, 41 doubles, 41 homers, 118 RBI, .305/.357/.539 slash, 159 wRC+, and 6.9 WAR. He didn’t meet the vesting criteria in his contract and was a free agent for 2020. Dos Santos had hoped to still play somewhere, but he went unsigned and ultimately retired that winter at age 40.

Dos Santos finished with 2280 games, 2593 hits, 1323 runs, 400 doubles, 38 triples, 577 home runs, 1472 RBI, 531 walks, 1686 strikeouts, .325/.366/.602 slash, 171 wRC+, and 90.6 WAR. As of 2037, Dos Santos ranks 70^th in hits, 67^th in runs, 36^th in homers, 52^nd in total bases (4800), 46^th in RBI, and 55^th in WAR among position players. His .967 OPS is 43^rd among batters with 3000 plate appearances. His slugging ranks 39^th and batting average is 94^th.

He was remembered very fondly amongst fans and teammates for his efforts. Dos Santos was one of the more efficient sluggers of his era, although he didn’t quite have the longevity for a prominent spot on the leaderboards. While not an inner-circle type guy, Dos Santos’ resume was a no doubter for the Hall of Fame voters. At 96.1%, Dos Santos co-headlined a strong two-player 2025 class for Beisbol Sudamerica.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 02-05-2025, 05:56 PM

2025 EBF Hall of Fame

A pair of first baseman were inducted upon their ballot debuts in 2025 for the European Baseball Federation Hall of Fame. Francisco Cruz was the clear headliner at 98.3%, but Yvonnick Bello got a rock solid 77.4%. SP Johannes Jol was the best returner with 57.5% on his seventh ballot, still a bit short of the 66% requirement. 3B Kyle Evrard was next at 54.5% for his seventh go. No one else cracked 50%.

Nick Hudson was dropped after ten failed ballots, but it was remarkable he made it ten ballots since his EBF career lasted only four years. Hudson started his career in MLB with Phoenix with strong hitter and okay pitching in a two-way role. He came to Europe from 2006-09 with Kyiv primarily as a RF. In that short stretch, he won four Silver Sluggers, one MVP, two championship rings, and a finals MVP. Hudson was a beast in 42 playoff starts for the Kings with 1.035 OPS and 2.4 WAR.

In four seasons, Hudson had 770 hits, 447 runs, 132 doubles, 186 homers, 455 RBI, .359/.423/.698 slash, 210 wRC+, and 37.6 WAR. He went back to MLB after that for his final six seasons, finishing his combined career with 81.0 offensive WAR and 13.7 WAR pitching. The combined resume maybe gets him in somewhere, but the separated resumes doesn’t. Hudson’s EBF run was way too short and he was never particularly elite in his MLB tenures. Still, his four years with Kyiv were so awesome that Hudson stayed on the ballot ten years, peaking at 39.6% in 2024 and ending at 9.6%.

Francisco Cruz – First Base – Brussels Beavers – 98.3% First Ballot

Francisco Cruz was a 6’3’’, 210 pound left-handed first baseman from Canidelo, Portugal; a parish of around 28,000 on the northwestern coast. Cruz was an excellent contact hitter with a penchant for extra base hits, posting a 162 game average of 34 home runs, 35 doubles, and 15 triples. He was great at putting the ball in play with a low strikeout rate, although he was average at best at drawing walks.

Despite his many doubles/triples, Cruz had merely average speed, but he was a crafty baserunner. He also surprisingly never hit for the cycle despite those averages. Cruz’s power was especially noticeable against right-handing pitching with a career 1.038 OPS and 184 wRC+. His power averages were almost cut in half against lefties for a career .765 OPS and 116 wRC+. Cruz was remarkably consistent as a hitter and had excellent durability. From 2000-17, he started 142+ games each year.

In his first few years, Cruz mostly played left field and was considered a solid defender. He moved to first base full-time by age 26 and thrived there, winning eight consecutive Gold Gloves from 2010-17. As of 2037, Cruz ranks third in EBF for accumulated zone rating at 1B. Cruz was also a team captain and was considered an excellent leader. It’s no surprise that such a well-rounded talent was one of the biggest superstars of his era for European baseball.

Although he didn’t grow up in a huge city, Cruz’s talent caught the attention of a Belgian scout visiting Portugal. They brought him to Brussels in January 1995 on a developmental deal. He’d become famous in Belgium, but Cruz did still regularly return home to Portugal for the World Baseball Championship. From 2000-19, he had 170 WBC games with 148 hits, 71 runs, 31 doubles, 34 home runs, 96 RBI, .247/.301/.477 slash, 119 wRC+, and 3.4 WAR.

Cruz spent most of three years in Brussels’ academy, although he debut in 1098 at age 20 with six plate appearances. He was a part-time starter in 1999 with a very solid 3.4 WAR and .928 OPS over 126 games and 89 starts, earning Rookie of the Year honors. Cruz spent the next 16 years starting for the Beavers and all but his final season would be worth 5.5 WAR, showing his remarkable consistency.

His lone Silver Sluggers came from 2003-05 with the first two in left field and the other at first base. Cruz’s lone MVP came in a stellar 2004 effort where he led the Northern Conference in runs (128), hits (218), total bases (422), average (.360), slugging (.698), OPS (1.105), wRC+ (198), and WAR (9.9). The runs, WAR, total bases, and his 26 triples were career bests. Cruz was second in 2005’s MVP voting with a career best 46 doubles along with 1.109 OPS and 205 wRC+.

Cruz wasn’t an MVP finalist after that as it was especially hard to get noticed against the many big boppers at first base. He led the conference four more times in doubles and led in RBI twice. Cruz also won the batting title in 2011 with a career best triple slash of .380/.424/.702 with 1.126 OPS, 213 wRC+, and 9.9 WAR. 2011 also had Cruz’s highest home run tally at 41.

After the 2004 season, Cruz signed an eight-year, $64,140,000 extension with Brussels. The Beavers were middling for Cruz’s first decade, but had a competitive window begin in with a first round loss in 2008. They barely missed the wild card in 2009, then surprised many with a 112-50 season in 2010. Brussels had home field for the Northern Conference Championship, but was ousted by Dublin in the start of the Dinos’ dynasty run. The Beavers won division titles again in 2011 and 2012, but suffered second round postseason defeats both years.

Cruz’s playoff stats were respectable with 23 starts, 27 hits, 18 runs, 6 doubles, 6 homers, 18 RBI, .303/.319/.573 slash, 153 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR. He had officially become a free agent after the 2012 season at age 35, but ended up signing a new three-year, $41,400,000 deal with Brussels. The Beavers won 98 games in both 2013 and 2014, but missed the playoffs both years narrowly. They fell to 85-77 in 2015, his final season in Belgium.

That year, Cruz’s production finally took a notable dip from his usual reliable stats. He was still worth 3.6 WAR and had been at 8.4 the year prior. In 2014, Cruz had passed Roberto Baccin’s 567 doubles to become EBF’s all-time leader. He became the first to reach 600 doubles in EBF history in 2015. Still, Brussels decided not to re-sign their long-time superstar at age 38. The split was amicable and Cruz’s #20 uniform would soon be retired.

For the Beavers, Cruz had 3299 hits, 1714 runs, 610 doubles, 262 triples, 555 home runs, 1833 RBI, 460 steals, .333/.376/.615 slash, 173 wRC+, and 118.7 WAR. He would sign a two-year, $13,700,000 deal with Sheffield, who had just earned a promotion from the European Second League. The Steelhounds narrowly escaped getting demoted right back in 2016 at 65-97 with Cruz posting a 3.9 WAR, .835 OPS season.

Cruz regained some of the old glory in 2017 at age 39 with 40 homers, .995 OPS, 170 wRC+, and 7.1 WAR. It was also the final of his eight straight Gold Gloves. Sheffield surprised many by winning a division title, although they lost in the second round of the playoffs. In two seasons in England, Cruz had 355 hits, 169 runs, 47 doubles, 18 triples, 77 home runs, 192 RBI, .305/.341/.575 slash, 153 wRC+, and 11.1 WAR.

While there, Cruz also hit some important statistical milestones. In 2017, he passed Carsten Dal’s 3633 hits to become EBF’s all-time hits king. He held the crown only briefly with Jiri Lebr passing him in 2020. Cruz also became the third to reach 2000 career RBI and seemingly was in striking distance of becoming the fourth to 2000 runs. Based on how he played in 2017 at age 39, many thought Cruz had a good shot at reaching those marks.

Cruz signed a two-year, $25,800,000 deal with Warsaw in 2018, but declined sharply. He only played 86 games and started 9 in 2018 with 115 wRC+ and 0.8 WAR. Cruz didn’t look much better in 2019 before having a severely strained hip muscle knock him out four months. As much as he wanted to stick around, Cruz appeared cooked and opted for retirement at age 42.

In total, Cruz had 3105 games, 3720 hits, 1923 runs, 665 doubles, 283 triples, 651 home runs, 2066 RBI, 749 walks, 1445 strikeouts, 521 stolen bases, .327/.370/.607 slash, .977 OPS, 169 wRC+, and 130.9 WAR. He remains EBF’s all-time doubles leader as of 2037 and ranks 2^nd in hits, 5^th in runs, 3^rd in games, 4^th in total bases (6904), 29^th in triples, 8^th in singles (2121), 14^th in homers, 5^th in RBI, 77^th in walks, and 11^th in WAR among position players.

Against EBF batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Cruz ranks 48^th in OPS, 71^st in average, and 47^th in slugging. On the world leaderboards as of 2037, Cruz is 22^nd in hits, 33^rd in doubles, and 50^th in RBI. Of all of the world’s Hall of Famers, Cruz is the only player to have 650+ doubles, 650+ home runs, and 250+ triples.

Despite these amazing tallies, Cruz was almost under-appreciated in his time. He didn’t have the jaw-dropping tallies too often, but he was incredibly consistent and well-rounded for two decades. Cruz wasn’t incredible at any one thing outside of gap power, but he was at least good at pretty much everything. Thus, you end up with one of the most impressive resumes in European Baseball Federation history.

Still, Cruz falls just outside of some top ten lists as a few others had more accolades and more eye-popping tallies. He also never had the signature playoff run with Brussels. However, you’d have to call Cruz an inner-circle level Hall of Famer and few players were more universally beloved in EBF. He was a deserved headliner for the 2025 class at 98.3%.

Yvonnick Bello – First Base – Barcelona Bengals – 77.4% First Ballot

Yvonnick Bello was a 6’6’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Pau, a commune of around 78,000 in southern France. On the whole, Bello was a very good contact hitter with impressive home run power and a solid eye for drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He dominated right-handing pitching with a career .981 OPS and 181 wRC+. Bello was average at best for his career against other lefties with 103 wRC+ and .708 OPS.

Bello’s 162 game average had 40 home runs and 25 doubles. He reached 50+ homers twice and 40+ nine times. Bello’s speed was poor, but he was a decent baserunner and was deceptively good at getting occasional steals. Every start in his career came at first base where he was a consistently mediocre defender. Bello’s bat was reliable and he had good durability, leading to an impressive 22-year career. His ability to hit towering home runs made him one of the most popular sluggers of his era.

Nothing gets a scout more excited than spotting a tall lefty in the wild. Bello stood out among the prospects in southern France and drew attention south of the border in Spain. Barcelona was one of the closest franchises to Bello’s hometown and the Bengals courted him, signing Bello to a developmental contract in August 1999. He spent around four years in their academy, officially debuting in 2003 at age 20 with 36 games and 4 starts. He struggled in that small sample size, but earned a starting job for 2004.

Bello delivered in his first full season, leading the Southern Conference with 385 total bases. The 46 homer, .987 OPS, 6.4 WAR effort earned Bello the 2004 Rookie of the Year. His production remained consistent the next few years as Barcelona re-emerged as a contender. They ended a six-year playoff drought in 2005, but lost in the first round. The Bengals then were an impressive 111-51 in 2006, winning the conference title but losing in the European Championship to Kyiv. Bello was conference finals MVP, posting 22 hits, 9 runs, 3 homers, 9 RBI, and 0.6 WAR over 16 playoff starts.

Barcelona was 96-66 and repeated as conference champs, this time defeating Kyiv in a rematch for the EBF title. Bello was a playoff hero, winning MVP of the European Championship and of the Southern Conference Championship against Bratislava. In 16 playoff starts, Bello had 24 hits, 12 runs, 8 homers, 17 RBI, 1.530 OPS, 306 wRC+, and 1.6 WAR. That run forever made him a fan favorite throughout Catalonia.

Bello signed a four-year, $25,120,000 extension with Barcelona in July 2008. That year was actually the worst of his Bengals run with only 4.7 WAR. He bounced back with his four strongest seasons, each winning Silver Sluggers with 8+ WAR, 1.000+ OPS, 40+ homers, 100+ runs, and 100+ RBI. In 2009, he led the conference in runs (122) and home runs (55). That would be his highest homer tally. Barcelona narrowly missed the playoffs in 2008-09, but got back in 2010 with a conference finals loss to Zurich. Bello was the conference finals MVP despite the loss, winning it for the third time.

In 2011, Bello won his lone batting title at .355 and posted career bests in runs (123), RBI (140), and WAR (10.2). 2011 also had Bello finishing second in MVP voting, his only time as a finalist. For the third time in his run, Barcelona won the pennant in 2011. The 108-54 Bengals would fall to the fledgling Dublin dynasty in the European Championship. In the Baseball Grand Championship, Bello was strong again with .978 OPS, 14 hits, 12 runs, 8 homers, and 15 RBI over 19 starts. Barcelona struggled as a team though at 6-13.

Bello’s career playoff numbers for Barcelona were impressive with 57 starts, 81 hits, 41 runs, 8 doubles, 18 home runs, 53 RBI, .391/.445/.720 slash, 219 wRC+, and 4.1 WAR. He didn’t have enough games to soar up the counting leaderboards, but you would be hard-pressed to find many batters more efficient than Bello was over his sample size.

In 2012, he led in on-base percentage (.439) and had his career best triple slash (.369/.439/.680), OPS (1.118), and wRC+ (211). However, the Bengals struggled to 77-85. This also marked the end of Bello’s time in Europe, as he entered free agency at age 30. While he remained extremely popular with fans, some in the Barcelona organization were frustrated that he didn’t commit longer. The Bengals would win one more pennant in 2015, but then fall into mediocrity for the rest of the 2010s, eventually getting relegated in 2021.

With Barcelona, Bello had 1449 games, 1728 hits, 980 runs, 283 doubles, 380 home runs, 1023 RBI, 464 walks, 746 strikeouts, 151 stolen bases, .334/.394/.620 slash, 1.014 OPS, 178 wRC+, and 66.9 WAR. He wasn’t around long enough to climb up the leaderboards for counting stats. However as of 2037, Bello’s OPS ranks 13^th among all EBF batters with 3000+ plate appearances. His triple slash ranks 42^nd/25^th/27^th.

That efficiency, plus Bello’s impressive playoff numbers won over most voters even if he was gone before his 30^th birthday. Few players had a better nine-year run and a lot of voters gave him partial credit for his later MLB tenure; arguing that he easily would’ve hit the pre-requisite counting milestones had he stayed. Bello received 77.4%, enough for the first ballot selection into the European Baseball Federation’s Hall of Fame in 2025.

However, Bello actually played 108 more Major League Baseball games than he did EBF games. Even after leaving, he still returned home each year to represent France in the World Baseball Championship. From 2005-22, Bello played 115 games with 104 hits, 68 runs, 9 doubles, 42 home runs, 75 RBI, .309/.399/.721 slash, 1.121 OPS, and 6.6 WAR. His big game excellence carried onto the world stage. Among all batters with 250+ plate appearances in the WBC as of 2037, Bello’s OPS ranks 20^th. France had limited success in this era, but they did win a division title in 2011.

Bello’s MLB career began in Canada’s largest city on a big six-year, $149,200,000 deal with Toronto. He was never an award winner or league leader in MLB, but he was a reliably strong starter with five seasons above 4+ WAR for the Timberwolves. He flashed some of the elite greatness in 2015 with 43 homers, 108 RBI, .998 OPS, and 7.1 WAR; each career bests for his MLB career. His down year was 2017, but that was because he missed almost the entire season to torn ankle ligaments.

In 2015, Toronto ended a 14-year playoff drought. The Timberwolves would fall in the 2015 National Association Championship Series to St. Louis, then fall again in the 2016 AACS to Kansas City. Bello’s playoff dominance from EBF didn’t transfer to MLB with 0.4 WAR, .673 OPS, and 96 wRC+ over 26 starts. He certainly delivered solid value in total for Toronto with 758 games, 696 hits, 447 runs, 87 doubles, 213 home runs, 508 RBI, .263/.341/.542 slash, 170 wRC+, and 26.8 WAR.

A free agent again at age 36, Bello joined Detroit on a two-year, $40,800,000 deal. He maintained his same steady production with a .263/.361/.508 slash, 159 wRC+, and 9.0 WAR. The Tigers won a division title in 2019 and Bello had a nice postseason, but they lost in the second round. Bello still had value even at age 38, especially facing righties. For 2021, signed a two-year, $32,800,000 deal with Brooklyn.

Bello was starting to struggle some versus lefties, but he was again a positive value starter for the Dodgers over two years with .800 OPS, 57 home runs, 139 wRC+, and 7.1 WAR. Now 40-years, old, Bello joined Montreal for two years at $19,400,000. He was more in a platoon role and somewhat diminished, but still had a role to play over 232 games with .749 OPS, 126 wRC+, and 4.0 WAR. Bello retired after the 2024 season shortly after his 42^nd birthday.

In MLB, Bello had 1557 games, 1318 hits, 817 runs, 183 doubles, 368 home runs, 926 RBI, 637 walks, .253/.343/.506 slash, 157 wRC+, and 46.9 WAR. If he maintained a similar pace and played in MLB in his 20s, Bello probably would’ve been good enough to make their Hall of Fame. It was a rock solid career though for a guy who came over in his 30s.

For his combined pro career, Bello had 3006 games, 3046 hits, 1797 runs, 466 doubles, 748 home runs, 1949 RBI, 1101 walks, .294/.368/.563 slash, 167 wRC+, and 113.8 WAR. Bello wasn’t at the tip-top of players in his era, but there weren’t many with more reliably hitting prowess. He was beloved everywhere he went and his playoff exploits make Bello a favorite in Barcelona years later. Certainly his run was one worthy of recognition.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 02-06-2025, 06:32 AM

2025 EPB Hall of Fame

Eurasian Professional Baseball didn’t add any players into the Hall of Fame in 2025, its first blank ballot since 2021. Two got painfully close to the 66% requirement with SP Nijat Statsky at 65.3% on his sixth ballot and CL Povilas Zdancius with 64.9% in his debut. 1B Benjamin Bodnar was the only other player above 50% with 54.1% for his sixth try.

Catcher Nikita Romaschenko fell off the ballot after ten failed tries, peaking at 30.3% in 2017 and ending at 14.2%. He was hurt by the general anti-catcher bias of voters, but Romaschenko also was merely an above average hitter even by catcher standards. Still, he ranks third in WAR at the position in EPB history as of 2037. However, there still hasn’t been a single catcher added into EPB’s HOF despite more than 80 seasons of the league.

Romaschenko had four Silver Sluggers, one Gold Glove, 2000 games, 1655 hits, 703 runs, 318 doubles, 169 home runs, 701 RBI, 716 walks, 1641 strikeouts, .244/.317/.373 slash, 115 wRC+, and 64.0 WAR. He also had three championship rings and was finals MVP for Yekaterinburg in 2004. Still, even if you gave catchers some grace, his offensive stats were never going to be impressive enough to get the nod.

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

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