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

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-14-2025, 06:39 AM

Bamako had the Western League’s best record at 102-60, winning the North Division for their first playoff trip in a decade. The Bullfrogs also guaranteed their first WLCS appearance since their 2021 pennant. Defending West African Baseball champ Dakar was second at 95-67 to extend their playoff streak to ten years. Banjul (89-73), Conakry (88-74), and Nouakchott (87-75) were competitive, but missed the cut. The Night Riders notably saw a three-year playoff streak end.

It was a high-scoring division which saw some notable team stats. The Dukes posted the second-best batting average (.308) and OBP (.363) in WL history, while the Bullfrogs’ .358 OBP was third-best. Dakar also struck out 1063 times as a team, the second-lowest in the WL. Banjul meanwhile had 382 doubles, which charted as the third-best in WL history. The Dukes were the league’s top scoring team in 2033 at 975 runs, while Bamako allowed the fewest at 631.

Monrovia ran away with the South Division, repeating in first place at 97-65. Accra was the only other team above .500 at 85-77, but earned a playoff spot with their second place finish. The Alligators ended a four-year drought with an impressive turnaround after three consecutive seasons below 70 wins. Freetown notably dropped to 77-85, ending their six-year playoff run. The Foresters suffered their first losing campaign since 2021.

Accra RF Emmanuel Marshall repeated as Western League MVP, leading in walks (121), OBP (.452), slugging (.760), OPS (1.211), wRC+ (193), and WAR (9.4). The 121 walks were the third-highest in WAB history and five short of the record 126 by Robbie Oaks in 1984.

Marshall also had 66 home runs, 136 RBI, 177 hits, and 126 runs. It was Kumasi’s Marc Kuchambi who beat him out for homers (71) and RBI (157). Kuchambi had only the eighth 70+ homer season in WAB history. For Marshall, he signed a mammoth eight-year, $308,500,000 extension the following May to stick with the Alligators.

Bamako’s Hugo Allagbe got the Pitcher of the Year as the leader in wins (20-3), ERA (2.47), WHIP (0.94), quality starts (20), FIP- (64), and WAR (6.7). The 27-year old from Benin struck out 275 in 204.1 innings, falling only three Ks behind Dakar’s Ousmane Seck for the Triple Crown. Allagbe had signed a five-year, $57,800,000 extension with the Bullfrogs before the season.

Dakar edged Accra 2-1 in the first round, then upset Monrovia 2-0 in round two to keep their repeat bid intact. It was the seventh time in a decade that the Dukes made it to the Western League Championship Series. Top seed Bamako held firm and took the series for their first pennant in 12 years. The Bullfrogs became nine time WL champs (1976, 83, 86, 2003, 15, 17, 19, 21, 33).

Douala and Benin City dominated their respective divisions with the Dingos at 106-56 atop the Coastal and Benin City at 104-58 in the Interior. For the defending EL champ Blue Devils, they got their fourth playoff appearance in five years. They had met in the prior season’s Eastern League Championship Series, although Douala had made it as a wild card.

It was historic offense leading the charge for Douala, who set WAB team records for triple slash (.326/.369/.539), runs scored (1065), and hits (1939). The batting average, runs, and hits were all-time records for any world league. It was only the third playoff berth in franchise history and their first time taking the top spot in the standings. As the top seed, they guaranteed their second-ever ELCS trip.

Both second place spots had tough competition. In the Coastal Division, Cotonou (92-70) edged out Libreville (90-72) to advance, extending the Copperheads’ playoff streak to eight years. Although they fell short, it was notably the Lakers’ first winning season since 2022. They had been 100+ game losers from 2030-32. Ouagadougou (89-73) edged out Ibadan (88-74) in the Interior for their second berth in three years. Kano’s three-year playoff streak ended with a 77-85 mark.

Ram Lengani led the way for Douala’s historic offense as Eastern League MVP, setting a new WAB single-season record with 478 total bases. Shafiu Hassan had the previous best of 471 from 2015. Lengani’s mark ranks as the 23^rd-best in world history as of 2037. The 25-year old righty from Burkina Faso also impressively won his third Gold Glove at second base. Lengani was the leader in runs (148), hits (251), homers (54), RBI (170), slugging (.737), OPS (1.168) and WAR (12.1).

The WAR ranked as the ninth-best by a WAB position player and the second-best by someone other than Darwin Morris. The runs ranked as third-best in WAB history and 18^th in world history as of 2037. It was also one of only 45 seasons in world history with 250+ hits. Lengani’s 170 RBI was fourth-best in WAB and is one of only 33 seasons in world history at 170+. He also had 43 doubles, 11 triples, .387 average, .432 OBP and 191 wRC+.

Lengani missed the Triple Crown due to Bata’s Diongolo Ganame at .4108. 2033 had two WAB hitters batting above .400 as Banjul’s William Green got .4066 in the WL. These ranked as the 4^th and 6^th best averages respectively in WAB history. As of 2037 on the world leaderboard for all leagues, their marks rank 11^th and 23^rd, respectively.

Benin City had the Pitcher of the Year in fourth-year righty Zach Fox. The 24-year old Liberian bounced back from a broken kneecap the prior spring. Fox won the ERA title at 2.86 and had an 18-3 record, 188.2 innings, 256 strikeouts, and 6.2 WAR. The Blue Devils gave him a four-year, $41,200,000 extension after the 2034 season, although his future prospects were seemingly sunk that fall by a stretched elbow ligament.

Ouagadougou edged Cotonou 2-1 in the first round, but was promptly swept 2-0 in round two by Benin City. Douala had home field this time in the Eastern League Championship Series rematch and used it to dethrone the Blue Devils 3-1. The Dingos won their first-ever pennant and had been the only original WAB team remaining without a title. Benin City had won their first the prior year. This left 2009 expansion team Bouake and the six expansion teams from 2030 as the only squads without a West African Championship appearance.

The finals had two teams looking for their first-ever WAB title. Unlike Douala, Bamako had gotten many chances, but had gone 0-8 in their prior appearances. The Bullfrogs finally slayed that beast with a 4-1 victory over the high-powered Dingos. 18 of WAB’s teams now have won it all at least once over its 59-year history. Fourth-year catcher Ibrahim Rabiu was finals MVP as the Togolese righty had 12 hits, 2 runs, 2 doubles, 1 homer, and 6 RBI in 9 playoff starts.

Other notes: Abdel Aziz Ashraf became WAB’s first player to 900 career home runs and the 22^nd across all of pro baseball history to reach the mark. On the negative side, Ashraf also became only the 3^rd in world history with 3500+ career strikeouts. El Hadj Sghair became the 8^th to reach 700 home runs while Edward Mumini was the 27^th to 500 homers. Youssoupha Diop and Rasaq Kadir both joined the 3000 hit club, a feat met by 11 WAB batters. Sghair, Kadir, and Morel Koffi all got to 1500 runs scored, now achieved by 20 players.

Touba’s Daouda Adamou had 64 doubles, which is one of only 28 such seasons in world history and tied for 6^th in WAB as of 2037. Abidjan’s Roman Numpuby got 33 triples, tied for the third-best in WAB history. Daloa’s Bogey Minogue had a four home run game on June 8 against Freetown. Then on June 23, Conakry’s Prince Kofi socked four dingers versus Dakar. There have now been only nine games in WAB history where a player hit four homers.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-14-2025, 06:19 PM

96-66 was good enough for Hangzhou to take the Northern League’s top seed in 2033, ending a four-year playoff drought. They were the only team in the Southeast Division above .500. The Hens also led all of Chinese League Baseball in 2033 with 706 runs scored. Northeast Division champ Harbin came close to the top seed at 94-68, extending their playoff streak to five years. The Hellcats fended off 87-75 Changchun and 85-77 Shenyang.

Lanzhou claimed the West Division at 86-76, earning their first playoff appearance since joining in CLB’s 2030 expansion. Urumqi, last year’s NLCS runner-up and the 2031 CLB champ, took second at 78-84. Defending China Series winner Shijiazhuang tied at 85-77 atop the East Central Division with Tianjin. The Serpents won the tiebreaker game over the Jackrabbits for a third consecutive division crown. Jinan was also in the mix at 81-81.

Fourth-year LF Mengjie Zhang earned Northern League MVP for Hangzhou, leading in walks (100), slugging (.624), OPS (1.025), wRC+ (206), and WAR (10.4). The 25-year old lefty had 168 hits, 109 runs, 47 home runs, and 105 RBI. It was only the seventh time in CLB history that a player drew 100+ walks. The Hens had taken Zhang sixth overall in the 2029 CLB Draft.

Jinan’s Boyu Chen repeated as Pitcher of the Year by getting his third ERA title at 1.79. The 29-year old lefty also led in WHIP (0.75), K/BB (27.5), and quality starts (26). Chen had a 19-8 record, 303 strikeouts, 251.2 innings, 177 ERA+, and 9.0 WAR. He also threw his first no-hitter on August 9 with 12 strikeouts and two walks facing Xi’an.

Hangzhou was the top team from the Triple Round Robin at 7-2, earning their first semifinal trip since 2028. Shijiazhuang and Harbin both went 4-5 and Lanzhou finished 3-6. The tiebreaker went to the Serpents to keep their repeat bid intact. However, the Hens rolled to a sweep over Shijiazhuang in the NLCS. Hangzhou earned their fourth appearance in the China Series (1979, 1990, 2013, 2033).

Nanchang was a shocking top seed out of the Southern League at 98-64 in East Division. The Crickets were the other 2030 expansion team alongside Lanzhou and hadn’t yet posted a winning record prior. Nanchang pulled away from Wenzhou (88-74) and Dongguan (87-75) down the stretch. Although they missed the playoffs, the Donkeys allowed the fewest runs in China at 492. It was only the second time in six years that Dongguan missed the playoffs.

Changsha at 93-69 repeated in the Central Division, besting Chengdu by four games. Defending SL champ Guangzhou at 88-74 was the only team above .500 in the Southwest Division and led the league with 651 runs. The Gamecocks grew their playoff streak to four seasons. Lastly, Shenzhen was the only winning team in the Southeast at 87-75, ending a four-year postseason drought. Hong Kong had taken first the prior three years, but dropped to 78-84 in 2033.

Chengdu 1B Hao Tian repeated as Southern League MVP despite missing nearly two months to a strained groin. Still in 129 games, the 23-year old lefty led in home runs (55) and slugging (.701). Already in his fifth season, Tian had 152 hits, 97 runs, 109 RBI, 1.087 OPS, 220 wRC+, and 8.8 WAR. After the 2034 season, the Clowns gave him an eight-year extension at a team-friendly $136,700,000.

In his tenth season for Changsha, Poziano Gonzalez won Pitcher of the Year. The 30-year old righty from Spain had led in strikeouts six times, but had never gotten the top honor. He actually wasn’t the Ks leader this year at 317, but had the best ERA (1.89) and WHIP (0.79). Gonzalez had a 14-5 record, 219 innings, 167 ERA+, and 8.4 WAR.

He also tossed his first no-hitter in an 18 K, 2 BB effort on June 29 against Wuhan. Gonzalez had an unusual path to China, leaving Spain as a teenager for MLB’s Calgary. He got cut before making the majors in 2023, but the Cannons scooped him up and found a diamond in the rough. In 2033, Gonzalez became only the 17^th pitcher in CLB history with 3000 career strikeouts.

Advancing out of the Southern League’s Triple Round Robin were Guangzhou (6-3) and Changsha (5-4), while Nanchang (4-5) and Shenzhen (3-6) were ousted. For the fourth consecutive year, the defending SL champ Gamecocks were in the LCS. The Cannons hadn’t been there since their last pennant in 2029. Changsha prevailed 4-2 over Guangzhou to earn their eighth trip to the China Series (1977, 97, 2004, 05, 06, 11, 29, 33).

In the 64^th China Series, Changsha took down Hangzhou 4-2 to become five-time CLB champs (1997, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2033). This tied the Cannons with Beijing for the third-most rings, while Dalian and Tianjin both had one more at six apiece. Pitcher of the Year winner Poziano Gonzalez had a big postseason, setting the CLB playoff record for strikeouts with 63. He had a 1.33 ERA over 40.2 innings and 1.6 WAR. It was only the 11^th time in any world league that a player had 60+ Ks in a postseason run.

Other notes: Four-time MVP Tao Cai finally got a ring after 15 years with Changsha, a fitting end for a fantastic run by their superstar slugger. He also finished the year with 1255 runs scored, passing Hongchen Wang’s 1215 as the CLB all-time leader.

Cai was already the all-time leader in homers (595), RBI (1426), and total bases (4759). This was his final year in CLB, although he’d have two more years in Europe for Liverpool before retiring from the game. As of 2037, Cai is also notably 5^th all-time in CLB for hits (2395), 13^th in doubles (341), 16^th in walks (751), and 6^th in WAR for position players (123.5).

In other milestones, Syamsul Azzahari was only the 17^th member of CLB’s 400 home run club. Guan Gan was the 19^th to reach 2000 hits. SS Weiman Hiang won his 7^th Gold Glove. 3B Qinghong Duan and CF Ming Li both won their 8^th Silver Sluggers. Hangzhou’s Mou Zhang set a single-season CLB record with 686 at-bats.

Shijiazhuang rookie Yasin Ahmet set a bad playoff record, getting caught stealing ten times. He only succeeded once and had an abysmal -0.5 WAR in 13 playoff starts. Hong Kong was great meanwhile at stealing bases, as their 365 team swipes broke the old CLB record by one (Foshan 1979).

Changsha also set a team pitching record with a 11.08 K/9. Chengdu allowed only 208 walks, second best in the Southern League ever. On the bad side, Shantou had the second-worst SL marks for hits allowed (1537), ERA (3.97), earned runs (655) and H/9 (9.30).

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-15-2025, 07:03 AM

No one team in the Taiwan-Philippine Association stood out far beyond the rest and five teams finished within only six wins of the #1 seed. Tainan took top billing at 94-68 atop the Taiwan League for their third straight playoff berth. The Titans set new Austronesia Professional Baseball team pitching records for strikeouts (1909) and K/9 (11.57). Taoyuan was a close second in the TL at 91-71 to end a three-year playoff drought. Last year’s TPA runner-up Taipei was the first team out at 88-74.

Depending TPA champ Quezon repeated on top of the Philippine League at 92-70 and allowed the fewest runs in the association at 498. Zamboanga was a competitive second at 89-73 to end an eight-year postseason drought for the Zebras. Cebu’s playoff streak ended at eight seasons as the Crows finished third at 84-78. Their streak of winning seasons dates back to 2023.

Hsinchu was notable despite finishing at 80-82, as they set a new Austronesia Professional Baseball record with 725 runs scored. Unfortunately for them, they also allowed 678. The Sweathogs also set new APB bests for triple slash (.266/.309/.435) and had the second-most hits (1496) and doubles (258). Binh Tang of course led the way with another excellent year, but he was denied a historic 13^th Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP, taking second to Taipei’s Chin-Tsai Lan.

The 31-year old Taiwanese righty Lan was in his tenth season with the Tigercats and broke the APB single-season record for total bases with 399. The previous best was 393 by Tang in 2025. Lan also led in home runs (53), slugging (.635), OPS (1.009), and wRC+ (191).

Lan also had 206 hits, 99 runs, 124 RBI, .328 average, and 9.4 WAR. He was less than a full point short of a batting title behind Hsinchu’s Wei-Ming Lan and fell only four RBI short for the top mark behind Tang. Tang notably was the WAR leader for the 11^th time in his career.

Hsinchu Joe Hok Prastowo also had a historic season, as the 26-year old Indonesian set the single-season runs scored record with 130. Tang had the top four spots previously with a peak of 122. Prastowo also set a new record for at-bats with 698 and his 215 hits were the fourth-best in the extremely low-scoring APB. Peter Luque had that record with 222 two years prior. Prastowo broke the ABs record the prior year with 696. The 698 at-bats rank as the fourth-most in world history with three West African Baseball guys ahead of him.

Tainan’s Kuan-Yang Kang became a three-time Pitcher of the Year winner, having also won it 2027 and 2028. The 32-year old lefty also earned his position-record tenth Gold Glove and is one of only six guys at any spot with 10+ Gold Gloves in APB. Kang led in wins (18-8) and WHIP (0.82) while posting a 2.30 ERA over 238.2 innings, 366 strikeouts, 145 ERA+, and 7.7 WAR. He also became the 37^th pitcher in APB with 3500 career strikeouts.

Top seeds held in the divisional round with Quezon sweeping Taoyuan and Tainan over Zamboanga 3-1. The Zombies were looking to repeat, while the Titans were making their second Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship trip in three years. However, Tainan was looking to end a 53-year pennant drought.

The series went all seven games with the Titans outlasting Quezon for their fourth pennant (1969, 1972, 1979, 2033). It was the longest gap between pennants in APB history. The old long was in the Sundaland Association as Pekanbaru was the first champ in 1965, then had to wait 46 years for the next one in 2014.

Reigning APB champ Bandung dominated the Sundaland Association at 107-55 atop the Java Sea League. The Blackhawks had their own impressive offense, setting association records for triple slash (.263/.300/.414) and hits (1408). They led the SA in both runs scored (612) and fewest allowed (396). Semarang took the second place spot at 90-72, five games better than closest foe Palembang. The Sliders got their third playoff berth in five years, while last year’s SA runner-up Depok dropped to 82-80.

Singapore and Kuala Lumpur tied atop the Malacca League at 91-71 with the tiebreaker favoring the Sharks for first place. This ended a 13-year playoff drought for Singapore, while the Leopards earned a second trip in three years. Medan and Batam were playoff teams the prior year, but both fell just short with the Marlins at 88-74 and Blue Raiders at 86-76.

In his Bandung debut, LF James Yuwono won Sundaland Association MVP and became only the third in APB history with 6+ MVPs. He had done it with Pekanbaru in 2024, 25, 28, 29, and 30. After 12 seasons for the Palms, Yuwono left for free agency for 2033 and joined the Blackhawks on a four-year, $112,800,000 deal. He also won his ninth Silver Slugger in 2033.

Yuwono led in runs (97), home runs (43), RBI (101), OBP (.377), slugging (.608), OPS (.985), and wRC+ (221). He added 160 hits, 20 doubles, 43 steals, .303 average, and 8.8 WAR. Yuwono also became only the 12^th in APB history with 500 career home runs.

For the fourth time in five years, Medan’s Pao-Huang Lin won Pitcher of the Year and had the ERA title. 2032 was the gap year because of elbow ligament reconstruction surgery in August 2031. Lin still had it, leading in ERA (1.18), wins (22-4), FIP- (32), and WAR (10.9). Still only 26-years old, the Taiwanese lefty struck out 342 over 221.2 innings with a 244 ERA+. Lin also had his first no-hitter on April 4 with 18 Ks and one walk against Johor Bahru.

Semarang upset Singapore 3-2 in the divisional round while Bandung rolled to a sweep of Kuala Lumpur. The Sliders earned their second Sundaland Association Championship trip in five years and hoped to end a 16-year pennant drought. However, the Blackhawks denied that 4-2 to secure the repeat. Bandung became nine-time SA champs (1967, 94, 95, 2003, 13, 15, 24, 32, 33).

The 69^th Austronesia Championship was the first finals sweep since 2005. Bandung battered Quezon to become the first repeat APB champ since the Devil Rays in 2009-10. The Blackhawks became seven-time APB champs (1967, 94, 2003, 15, 24, 32, 33); tied for the second-most with Taoyuan with only Jakarta (8) ahead of them. 3B Zachary Mercado was finals MVP, getting 10 hits, 10 runs, 7 homers, and 12 RBI over 12 playoff starts.

Other notes: Although Binh Tang was denied a 13^th MVP, he still continued to re-write the record books. He finished the season with 1528 runs and 5218 total bases, becoming the new career leader for both. Junior Sanchez was the previous runs leader at 1446 while Iqbal Safari had the most bases with 5188.

Tang was already the APB leader in WAR for position players with his 154.4 WAR behind only legendary pitcher Ching-Chen Yao (163.5) for all of APB. Keep in mind as well, Tang is still only 33-years old. He became the first in APB history with 13 Silver Sluggers, winning his second playing second base. Tang had won eight times as first base and got his first three as a DH.

Tang also became the 4^th to 600 career home runs and the 2^nd to 1500 career RBI. Wil Tabaldo holds the top spot for both stats with 766 dingers and 1658 RBI, the latter Tang could realistically break next year. In other hitting notables, Wei-Yin Wang became the 12^th to 2500 hits and Chia-Jung Su became the 32^nd to 400 home runs. Shih-Hao Chuang became the 38^th pitcher to 3500 strikeouts.

Bandung’s Peter Luque set a new APB record for the longest hitting streak at 37 games. Binh Tang had broken it the prior year with 35. Hari Xi threw his second no-hitter with 12 Ks and one walk on Jul7 3 for Kaula Lumpur against Pekanbaru. He had also done it in the 2031 APB Championship against Cebu. P Zulfadhmi Suhaimi won his 8^th Gold Glove.

With the new offensive team records by Hsinchu and Bandung also came new pitching worsts. The Sweathogs themselves had a new APB worst for H/9 (8.91) and allowed the 2^nd-most hits at 1451. Manila had a new all-time worst team ERA at 3.89. Depok allowed 1423 hits with an 8.80 H/9, which were Sundaland Association worsts.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-15-2025, 06:01 PM

Down the stretch, the race for the Australasian League title came down to defending champ Brisbane and Perth. The Black Bears narrowly prevailed at 100-62 over the 99-63 Penguins to earn their third title in four years. Brisbane became six-time AL champs (1991, 2002, 2017, 2030, 2032, 2033). Perth had their fifth straight year with 90+ wins, although their lone title came in 2031 from that run.

Also competitive were three teams at 90-72; Adelaide, Christchurch, and Hobart. That was a franchise record for the Tasmaniacs, who are still looking for their first title since joining in the 2006 expansion. Hobart led the league with 824 runs scored and the Chinooks allowed the fewest with 596. Champion Brisbane notably had a season attendance of 2,132,872; the second-largest in the history of the Oceania Baseball Association. The only team higher was Christchurch from 2026 with 2,169,152.

Australasia League MVP went to Hobart 2B Chaz Callihan in his fourth season. The 24-year old Australian lefty led in runs (125), hits (209), total bases (408), slugging (.680), OPS (1.082), wRC+ (190), and WAR (9.8). Callihan added 42 home runs, 118 RBI, 23 doubles, 25 triples, and a .348 average. He beat out Perth 1B Jody Riley for the top honor despite Riley leading with 59 homers and 141 RBI.

Christchurch’s Henry Fellows won Pitcher of the Year also in his fourth season. The 25-year old lefty from Adelaide wasn’t the league leader in any stat, but was top five for most of the important ones. In 293.2 innings, Fellows had a .306 ERA, 20-13 record, 348 strikeouts, 128 ERA+, and 7.7 WAR. That winter, the Chinooks gave him a four-year, $24,260,000 extension.

Port Moresby won six Pacific League titles in the 2020s, but had fallen down to start the 2030s with 72 wins in 2031 and 69 in 2032. The Mud Hens bounced back in a big way, taking first in 2033 at 102-60. They outperformed their expected win/loss by an absurd 18 games as they only had a +23 run differential. Out of ten teams, PM was fifth in runs and seventh in runs allowed; not what you’d expect from a 100+ game winner. Port Moresby picked up a ninth pennant (1978, 1985, 2023-27, 2029, 2033).

Tahiti was second at 95-67, their best record since their 2015 title. Guam was third at 93-69 and reigning OBA champ Guadalcanal finished fourth at 90-72. Also notable was a big collapse by Honolulu to 65-97 after winning 90 games in 2032. It was the first losing campaign in a decade for the Honu. The Green Jackets led in scoring with 761 runs and the Golden Eagles allowed the fewest at 543.

In his third year with Guam, 1B Henry Lui won Pacific League MVP. The 29-year old Samoan had signed in 2031 on a huge eight-year, $277,200,000 deal after spending his first six years between Samoa and Port Moresby. In 2033, Lui led in slugging (.659), OPS (1.014), wRC+ (184), and WAR (7.5). He added 164 hits, 106 runs, 55 home runs, and 111 RBI. Lui had to hold off Sun Sox DH Daniel Larusson for the top spot, as he had 65 dingers and 132 RBI. That was only the ninth time in OBA history that someone had 65+ homers and was four away from the single-season record.

Tahiti’s Dirk Murray took Pitcher of the Year in his second season in OBA. The 30-year old lefty rom Canada had spent his first seven seasons in MLB with Sacramento. The Tropics grabbed him at six years and $35,600,000 despite subpar MLB metrics and were rewarded. Murray led in wins (26-7), innings (341), strikeouts (379), complete games (19), shutouts (4), and WAR (8.2). He had a 2.77 ERA and 134 ERA+, finishing 30 points away from a Triple Crown.

The 74^th Oceania Championship was an all-time classic. It was the first to go all seven games since 2027 and was the fourth time in OBA history that game seven went extra innings. Game six had also gone extras with Port Moresby’s Pat Nicholson winning it on a solo walkoff home run in the 13^th inning for a 3-2 result. In game seven, it was 1B Kamali Tchao with the RBI single in the 13^th to give the Mud Hens a 5-4 walkoff victory. It was a fitting way to win it considering PM had been eking out close games all season long.

Port Moresby became six-time OBA champs (1985, 2023, 2024, 2026, 2027, 2033) and Brisbane was the runner-up for back-to-back years. Finals MBP was 2B Alzaabi Kundi, a 30-year old Pakistani journeyman who left the Asian Baseball Federation for Port Moresby in 2030. He was 9-27 for the series with 5 runs, 2 doubles, 2 homers, and 6 RBI. Kundi would struggle to start the next year and ended up traded to Hobart.

Other notes: In milestones, Jordy Vincent became the 18^th to 500 career home runs. Quinn burry became the 35^th pitcher with 200 wins. 1B David Odom won his 10^th Gold Glove while catcher Kristian Duenas won his 9^th. Odom set a position record while Duenas tied one.

Brisbane pitcher Andrew Pendlebury set a bad playoff record with 28 hits allowed. Guam had a 1,935,126 season attendance, the third-highest by a Pacific League team. Melbourne’s Frank Castro smacked four homers against Acukland on August 9, which was the eighth four-homer game in OBA history.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-16-2025, 08:58 AM

For the third straight year, Moscow was the European League’s top seed and the North Division champ. The Mules finished 99-63 to extend their playoff streak to five seasons, finishing second in both runs scored (691) and fewest allowed (575). Moscow had a 1,961,429 season attendance, second-best in Eurasian Professional Baseball history behind their own 2,005,017 from the prior year.

Over in the South Division, defending EPB champ Voronezh (92-70) edged out Volgograd (91-71) for first place. Both earned repeat playoff trips but switched spots in the standings. The Voyagers were the top scoring team with 725 runs and the Zephyrs allowed the fewest at 557. For Volgograd, they now have 12 playoff berths in the last 14 years.

It was a steep drop to the second wild card spot with Minsk (84-78) taking it over Tel Aviv (82-80), Samara (81-81), and Gomel (80-82). The Miners ended a four-year playoff drought and bounced back after a franchise-worst 57-105 the prior year. Nizhny Novgorod, last year’s ELCS runner-up, dropped to 74-88.

Moscow’s big offseason acquisition was OF Dmitri Khodakovsky, who had won seven Silver Sluggers in the outfield for Samara. The Mules gave him a five-year, $86 million contract and were rewarded as he won European League MVP as a designated hitter. It was his second MVP, having done it way back in 2024 with the Steelers.

The 33-year old Russian lefty led in runs (114), home runs (60), RBI (125), and total bases (423). Khadakovsky had 204 hits, a .328/.370/.680 slash, 196 wRC+, and 9.1 WAR. It was only the eighth time in EPB history that a slugger had 60+ homers and it hadn’t happened since 1993. He also won his eighth Silver Slugger.

Pitcher of the Year was Voronezh’s Sergei Stepanov, who led in wins (20-4), ERA (2.25), WHIP (0.86), shutouts (5), and FIP- (62). The fourth-year righty struck out 254 over 215.2 innings with 161 ERA+ and 7.3 WAR.

Minsk shocked Moscow 3-2 in the first round of the playoffs, giving the Mules back-to-back one-and-dones despite being the top seed. Voronezh held off Volgograd 3-1 on the other side of the bracket to keep their repeat hope intact. The Miners continued their unexpected hot streak and swept the Zephyrs in the European League Championship Series.

It was a remarkable turnaround for Minsk after suffering their worst-ever campaign the prior year. They led all EPB teams with 22 pennants, ending a five-year drought (1955, 56, 62, 64, 66, 69, 81, 85, 88, 89, 90, 91, 96, 2000, 01, 02, 03, 04, 08, 11, 27, 33).

The Asian League was incredibly top heavy with both division winners lapping the field. Ufa repeated as top seed at 107-55 and won a third consecutive West Division title. The Fiends were 28 games ahead of the next closest divisional rival and led in both runs scored (781) and fewest allowed (574). Novosibirsk won the East Division by 13 games at 99-63. The Nitros extended their playoff streak to five seasons and division title streak to four.

Only two other teams had winning records and thus snagged the two wild cards with Irkutsk at 86-76 and Ulaanbaatar at 83-79. Khabarovsk was next closest at 81-81, then Omsk at 79-83. Defending AL champ Vladivostok, who had won four pennants in the prior five seasons, fell to 74-88. The Ice Cats ended a 24-year playoff drought and the Boars snapped a six-year skid. Irkutsk’s drought had been the longest active one in EPB with that distinction now on to Rostov at 17 seasons.

Ufa DH Konstantin Antonov repeated as Asian league MVP, leading in runs (113), home runs (51), total bases (389), OBP (.389), slugging (.671), OPS (1.060), and wRC+ (191). The 25-year old Belarusian lefty was second in the AL for batting average (.329), RBI (121), hits (191) and WAR (8.4).

Novosibirsk lefty Denis Kropotkin won Pitcher of the Year, leading in strikeouts (296), FIP- (58), and WAR (8.4). The 26-year old Russian was second in wins (21-1) and ERA (1.87) over 236 innings. He missed the Triple Crown by nine ERA points and two wins. Kropotkin’s .955 winning percentage was a new EPB single-season record. It was only the ninth time in world baseball history that a pitcher recorded only one loss while winning 20+ games.

The top seeds prevailed in the first round with Ufa sweeping Ulaanbaatar and Novosibirsk surviving a fierce 3-2 challenge by Irkutsk. The Fiends earned a third consecutive trip to the Asian League Championship Series, setting up a 2031 rematch with the Nitros. Ufa was the underdog that year and had upset Novosibirsk in a seven-game classic. The 2033 rematch also went all seven games, but this time the Fiends won over the Nitros with home field advantage. Ufa became four-time AL champs (2015, 16, 31, 33).

In the 79^th EPB Championship, Minsk returned to the throne with one more playoff upset. The 84-win Miners held off 107-win Ufa in seven games for a historic 15^th title (1956, 62, 66, 69, 85, 88, 90, 91, 96, 2000, 01, 02, 11, 27, 33). The Belarusian capital is the first franchise in world history to win their league’s overall title 15 times.

Finals MVP was 27-year old RF Rashhad Bairyyev. The Kazakh righty in 16 playoff starts had 25 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 4 homers, and 11 RBI. In defeat, Ufa’s Konstantin Antonov set the EPB playoff record with 12 walks drawn. Two bad pitching playoff records were set as well in 2033. Minsk’s Talgat Suleimenov allowed 19 walks and Ufa’s Fikrat Ismailov allowed 9 home runs.

Other notes: In his penultimate season, OF/DH Timofei Averkin passed Nikolay Kargopolcev (5741) to become the EPB leader in total bases. He had become the hits leader the prior year. After spending 2009-33 between Krasnoyarsk and Volgograd, Averkin would return to his original term Perm in 2034 for his 20^th season at age 40.

Averkin was still solid in 2032 with the Voyagers, getting 31 homers, .861 OPS, and 5.0 WAR. He finished the season with 1632 runs and 1680 RBI, putting him within striking distance of the EPB records. Averkin is behind only Igor Gorbatyuk’s 1669 runs scored. He sits fifth in RBI, but the record 1755 by Ivan Mushailov is only 75 away. Averkin also became the 25^th member of the 500 home run club.

EPB’s 35^th perfect game came on May 9 by Vladivostok’s Lev Soldatenko with 13 Ks against Ulaanbaatar. Perm’s offense drew only 231 walks all season, a new EPB low. Nehor Pomerantz became the 62^nd pitcher with 200 wins. CF Robert Albrecht won his 12^th consecutive Gold Glove. He has the position record and is only one of six at any position in EPB with 12+ Gold Gloves.

The legendary Nizami Aghazade played his final season of professional baseball at age 45 in EPB, although it was a rough going. The nine-time Asian Baseball Federation MVP with Dushanbe had spent the last five years in Major League Baseball still playing at a high level, although dealing with injuries. Aghazade fell off in his lone EPB season with Nizhny Novgorod with .597 OPS and -0.9 WAR over 153 games.

It lowered his combined career WAR to 202.0, which is still good for fourth in all of professional baseball history behind only SS Harvey Coyle (234.9), SS/2B Jimmy Caliw (214.0), and SP Mohamed Ramos (205.1). Since he had been gone from ABF for more than five years and was immediately eligible, Aghazade was an obvious lock for their Hall of Fame in 2034.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-16-2025, 07:13 PM

Hanover was the Northern Conference’s top seed for the third consecutive season and extended their impressive playoff streak to 11 years. It was the fifth time in six years that the Hitmen took the division crown, finishing 104-58 atop the East. It was also their third year in a row with the best overall record for the European Baseball Federation’s Elite Tier. Hanover led all of EBF in 2033 with 829 runs scored.

The division wasn’t a pushover though as both Kharkiv and Warsaw finished 97-65 as the first two wild cards. The Wildcats got their second playoff berth in three years, while the Killer Bees returned after having an eight-year streak thwarted in 2032. Warsaw allowed EBF’s fewest runs at 550, while Kharkiv’s pitching set an new EBF record for fewest walks (206) and best BB/9 (1.28). 97-65 was also good for the West Division title by Dublin. The Dinos had been a powerhouse earlier in the 21^st Century, but this ended a six-year playoff drought in the Irish capital.

Five back on Dublin was Rotterdam at 92-70, taking the third wild card. The Ravens got their third straight playoff berth and have only missed once in 13 years. Rotterdam also has a streak of winning seasons going back to 2017. The fourth and final wild card saw a tie at 91-71 between Edinburgh and Frankfurt. The Enforcers won the tiebreaker game for their first playoff berth since 2023. Edinburgh had only just gotten promoted back up from the European Second League in 2031.

Falling just short in the wild card race was defending conference champ Cologne (89-73), Tallinn (89-73), Antwerp (88-74), and Helsinki (86-76). Copenhagen had the worst record at 56-106 in the East Division and was relegated after a four-year run back in the Elite Tier. Stockholm was the next closest team in danger in the East at 63-99.

It was a competitive fight at the bottom in the West, but Brussels was the worst at 65-97 below Reykjavik (66-96), Birmingham (67-95), and Liverpool (71-91). The Beavers continued a roller-coaster ride, having just gotten promoted back up for 2033. Brussels had also spent 2028-31 in the top tier, but had been in E2L from 2022-27.

Cologne 1B Robert Frohlich won Northern Conference MVP in his eighth season. The 29-year old German righty led in his (205), home runs (58), RBI (141), total bases (411), OBP (.413), slugging (.694), OPS (1.107), and wRC+ (191). Frohlich had 115 runs, .346 average, and 9.1 WAR. He had signed an eight-year, $277,400,000 extension after the 2031 season to stick long-term with the Copperheads.

Takao “The Anvil” Watanabe was the Pitcher of the Year in his third year with Warsaw. The 29-year old, 6’7’’ lefty had shown promise in his native Japan, but became a free agent for 2030 after a partially torn UCL. The Wildcats gave him a big deal anyway for 2031 at five years and $148 million. Watanabe in 2033 led in ERA (1.90) and WHIP (0.82). He struck out 218 over 184.1 innings with a 11-5 record, 198 ERA+, and 5.7 WAR.

The first round of the playoffs had Rotterdam over Kharkiv 2-1 and Edinburgh over Warsaw 2-0. Both division champs prevailed in round two, but needed all five games as Hanover survived the Enforcers and Dublin outlasted the Ravens. For the Dinos, this was their first trip to the Northern Conference Championship since their 2022-24 three-peat.

It was the third straight trip for the Hitmen, who got upset in 2032 by Cologne and beat Rotterdam in 2031. The series went all seven games with top seed Hanover holding on for their third pennant (2028, 2031, 2033). It was the fourth consecutive year that a German team took the Northern Conference’s top prize.

Krakow made an explosive return to the top tier after spending the last two years in the European Second League. The 2032 E2L champs were the Southern Conference’s top seed in 2033 at 99-63 atop the East Division. Although the Canines had spent 28 of their first 33 seasons in the Elite Tier, they had never been a playoff team until now. Krakow had only posted a winning record four times prior, generally hovering in the lower-mid tier.

Barcelona earned the West Division title at 97-65, growing their playoff streak to seven seasons. The Bengals had a 2,536,268 season attendance, the second-best in conference history. Both second place finishers got wild cards at 92-70 with Lyon in the West and Budapest in the East. The Lords earned repeat wild cards while the Bombers ended an 18-year drought. Budapest had managed to avoid relegation despite said drought. Lyon was the conference’s highest-scoring team with 786 runs.

Three teams finished tied for the final two wild cards with Milan, Belgrade, and Munich each at 89-73. Defending EBF champ Zurich had a rare playoff miss as they and Thessaloniki both were 87-75. The Maulers and Bruisers both defeated the Mavericks in tiebreaker games to advance, ending Munich’s 13-year playoff streak.

Milan ended a 17-year drought and like Budapest, had avoided relegation despite that. Belgrade had just gotten promoted back up after a five-year stint in E2L. Ljubljana had been the top seed the prior two years with 113 and 108 wins, but their five-year streak ended with an 80-82 finish. Cluj-Napoca was also 80-82 despite allowing the conference’s fewest runs at 579.

Sarajevo at 56-106 had the worst record and was relegated. Sofia was 63-99 in the East, but got bailed out by the Salukis. In the West, Nantes got the boot at 68-94. The Trappers had a seven-year run in the EBF Elite and had only winning seasons before 2033 with four playoff berths. Sarajevo’s stint lasted three years, just missing the playoffs with 96 wins in 2031.

Lyon’s big offseason signing was 1B Attila Sebek, earning Southern Conference MVP in his debut in France. He had won the award in 2030 with Budapest, but cashed in for 2033 on an eight-year, $231 million free agent deal with the Lords. The 28-year old Czech lefty led in home runs (64), OBP (.444), slugging (.764), OPS (1.208), and wRC+ (238). His OPS was the eighth-best single season in EBF history and he’s one of a select few in world history with multiple seasons with a 1.200+ OPS. Sebek also had 189 hits, 122 runs, 139 RBI, and a .353 average.

Krakow’s Mert Dolezal won Pitcher of the Year in his fifth season. The 25-year old Austrian righty led in wins (21-5) and complete games (16). Dolezal had a 2.96 ERA over 258.2 innings, 259 strikeouts, 125 ERA+, and 6.3 WAR. The Canines rewarded him in the winter with a six-year, $140,800,000 extension.

Lyon edged Milan 2-1 and Belgrade topped Budapest 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs. Krakow bested the Bruisers in the second round 3-1, while the Lords upset Barcelona 3-1. Both teams earned their first-ever appearance in the Southern Conference Championship. Lyon got the road upset 4-1 over Krakow, becoming the first French team in the finals since Paris it all in 2014.

The 84^th European Championship brought the cup back to France with Lyon defeating Hanover 4-2. The Lords became the 32^nd different franchise to win it all and the fourth team to win that started with E2L’s inaugural 2005 season, joining the Hitmen, Chisinau, and Antwerp. This also continued a run of parity for the #1 spot as the seventh different champ in as many years.

SS Marian Ciupitu won finals MVP, having joined Lyon in 2032 after starting with Tirana. In 18 playoff starts, the 30-year old Romanian had 26 hits, 11 runs, 2 doubles, 2 homers, and 12 RBI. It was the eighth EBF title for a French team as Marseille had four (1981, 1985, 1986, 2009) and Paris had three (1970, 1998, 2014).

Other notes: Two playoff records were set in 2033. Lyon’s Hugo Cary had a bad one as he was caught stealing 13 times, although he did at least success 14 times. Hanover’s Manuel D’Alessio meanwhile set the record for singles with 25. He also had 32 hits, the third-most and three behind Lucas Falacheira’s record 35 from 2015.

Zagreb’s Aleksandr Parts became only the third player in world baseball history with 450+ career triples. He had 454, still three behind Carsten Dal for the EBF record. World hit king Fares Belaid was the world triples king with 472. Parts and Felix Timm became the 35^th and 36^th EBF batters with 1500 career RBI. Timm also was the 21^st member of the 600 home run club. Vince Corapi became the 48^th to reach 2500 hits.

Parts also picked up his position record 10^th Gold Glove at first base. CF Kamil Bufka and SS Ernst Scheuermann won their 8^th Gold Gloves and 3B Hans Wolf won his 7^th. In pitching milestones, Nejc Novak became the 31^st to 3500 strikeouts. Maksym Mavrov and Deitrich Hoft became the 14^th and 15^th to 300 saves.

Promotion/Relegation: Noticeable shifting was required as the four promoted teams from E2L all were Southern Conference additions. The full details can be found below.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-17-2025, 08:44 AM

Lima took the top seed in the Bolivar League at 107-55 atop the Peru-Bolivia Division. The Lobos extended their playoff streak to seven seasons with their fifth division title of that run. They were also Beisbol Sudamerica’s top scoring team with 878 runs. Lima held off solid competition for the top seed from two teams that ended playoff droughts.

In the Venezuela Division, Valencia took first at 102-60 to end a five-year skid. In the Colombia-Ecuador Division, Quito at 100-62 snapped a six-year drought. The fourth-best record in the BL was last year’s Peru-Bolivia winner Arequipa at 95-67. Their wild card slot extended the Arrows’ playoff streak to five seasons.

For the final spot, defending Copa Sudamerica winner Caracas tied at 92-70 with Barranquilla. The Blues bested the Colts in the tiebreaker game to keep their playoff streak intact at three seasons. Barranquilla has only missed once since 2022. For Caracas, they’re notably on an 18-year run of winning seasons. La Paz was also three back in the wild card hunt at 89-73. Barquisimeto, winners of 102 games in 2032, fell to 75-87 for 2033. Despite going 78-84, Maracay allowed the fewest runs at 600.

Bogota was respectable at 83-79 led by Bolivar League MVP 1B Manuel Zahara. The second-year starter exploded out of nowhere with the 13^th hitting Triple Crown in BSA history. The 26-year old Colombian led in runs (127), hits (239), home runs (57), RBI (162), total bases (454), average (.384), slugging (.730), OPS (1.154), wRC+ (197), and WAR (9.7). The RBI mark tied for the third-best single-season in BSA history. Zahara would only have 5.7 WAR over the next three seasons combined, making some wonder if this great year was a fluke.

Another newcomer emerged as Pitcher of the Year with 22-year old Colombian lefty Geraldo Ahumada for Valencia. He had debuted in 2032 with nine starts with a poor 4.87 ERA. In 2033, Ahumada had a 21-4 record, 2.79 ERA, 232 innings, 222 strikeouts, 145 ERA+, and 5.7 WAR.

Arequipa ousted Barranquilla 2-1 in the first round, then stunned their divisional rival Lima 3-2 in the divisional series. The Arrows earned their third trip to the Bolivar League Championship Series in five years. Valencia swept Quito on the other side to earn their first BLCS trip since winning the pennant in 2021. The Velocity raced by Arequipa 4-2 in the BLCS to become nine-time Bolivar League kings (1974-78, 2007, 2011, 2021, 2033).

Belo Horizonte repeated as North Division champs and took the Southern Cone League’s top seed at 100-62. It was the first time since 1990 that the Hogs won 100+ games and/or took the #1 seed. Santiago again claimed the South Central Division at 95-67. The Saints tied Lima (1988-2001) for the longest playoff streak in BSA history at 14 seasons. It was their 13^th division title of the run while their streak of winning seasons dates back to 2010. Santiago has 20 playoff appearances in that stretch, but only one pennant in 2020.

Montevideo earned repeat playoff berths and won the Southeast Division at 93-69. It was their first division title since 2015 as they set new league records for batting average (.308), OBP (.351), and hits (1728). The Venom led the league with 834 runs while Santiago allowed the fewest at 570.

Both wild cards came out of the North with Brasilia (91-71) and Recife (89-73) advancing. Defending league champ Sao Paulo missed the cut at 87-75, as did Salvador. Salta was next at 85-77 with both Valparaiso and Belem at 83-79. The Bearcats got their sixth playoff trip in eight years. The Retrievers earned a second berth in three seasons.

Another second year guy had a standout year with Montevideo’s Adiel Garcia taking Southern Cone League MVP. The 24-year old Paragyuan LF was the leader in total bases (367), OBP (.414), OPS (1.063), wRC+ (198), and WAR (8.8). Garcia had 198 hits, 119 runs, 45 homers, 107 RBI, and a .350 average. The Venom had picked him 25^th overall in the 2031 BSA Draft.

In his fifth year for Recife, veteran pitcher Bradley Mulenga was Pitcher of the Year. The 35-year old Zambian had spent his first eight years in the African Association before signing in 2029 to a five-year, $112,600,000 deal with the Retrievers. He won repeat ERA titles, this time at 2.13, and led in WAR (7.6) and FIP- (56). Mulenga had an 18-6 record, 215 innings, 251 strikeouts, and 170 ERA+. He would return to Africa in the offseason on a three-year, $61,400,000 deal with Djibouti, although injuries would tank his production.

Brasilia bested Recife 2-0 in the first round, then got a surprise 3-0 sweep over the top seed Belo Horizonte in the divisional series. Santiago downed Montevideo 3-1 on the other side of the bracket. Although the Bearcats have been a playoff regular in the last decade, they earned their first trip to the Southern Cone Championship since 2012.

Santiago was making repeat trips and their seventh of their 14-year playoff streak. Despite their regular season dominance in the 21^st Century, the Saints’ 2020 Copa Sudamerica win had been their only pennant. Santiago finally reversed that trend by beating Brasilia in a seven-game classic to end the 12-year drought. The Saints earned their tenth league crown 100 years removed from their first pennant (1933, 34, 36, 61, 64, 66, 68, 71, 2020, 33).

The 103^rd Copa Sudamerica went to Santiago 4-2 over Valencia, making the Saints seven-time Cup winners (1936, 61, 64, 66, 71, 2020, 33). This tied them with Caracas for the second-most Cups with only Buenos Aires ahead at eight. It was also the first win for a Chilean team since Santiago’s last title.

In his 14^th season with the Saints, 2B Edwar Miron won finals MVP. The 34-year old Chilean in 17 playoff starts had 20 hits, 3 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, and 6 RBI. Teammate Samson Ibanez also notably set a playoff record with 9 doubles. Brasilia’s Gerardo Pegan also had a playoff record with 7 triples.

Other notes: Quito’s James Tavares had the 11^th four home run game in BSA history on March 31 against Barranquilla. Buenos Aires’ Daniel Penaloza had a 37-game hitting streak in the summer, which tied for the 3^rd-longest in BSA history. The record remained 43 by Remberto Borja in 1955.

Santino Garza became the 23^rd member of the 600 home run club and the 39^th to reach 1500 RBI. Paco Amorim became the 27^th to score 1500 runs. Amorim and Walter Perez became the 83^rd and 84^th to 2500 hits. In pitching milestones, Otavio Furtado and Bartolo Flores became the 16^th and 17^th pitchers to 250 career wins. Flores became the 18^th with 4500 strikeouts, while Furtado became the 31^st to 4000. Noel Sandoval became the 72^nd with 200 wins and Ivan Marin became the 43^rd closer with 300 saves.

In team stats, Caracas’s pitching staff allowed 201 walks with a 1.23 BB/9, ranking third and second best in Bolivar League history. Salvador’s staff had 200 walks and a 1.23 BB/9, both second in Southern Cone lore. On the bad side, Ciudad Guayana set a new BSA worst with 1844 hits allowed. Their 11.36 H/9 was second-worst behind their own 11.52 the prior year.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-17-2025, 05:10 PM

Hamamatsu shocked the Japan League with their 115-47 record atop the Central Division in 2033. The Chickenhawks were the first of the 2025 expansion teams to earn a playoff spot and had only just gotten their first winning season in 2032 at 85-77. Little did they know then that this would start a run of dominance for Hamamatsu. The Chickenhawks led the JL with 743 runs.

Kawasaki made a strong run for the top seed as well at 109-53 atop the Central Division. The Killer Whales earned a third straight playoff berth, but this was their first division title or 100+ win season since 2021. They broke their franchise wins record of 107 set during their 2000 championship season. Kawasaki allowed only 435 runs, the best in East Asia Baseball.

Sendai won the North Division at 102-60 for their second berth in three years and first division title since 2016. Niigata was close behind at 99-63 and got the first wild card, continuing their playoff streak to seven seasons. Hiroshima’s postseason streak grew to eight as they won the West Division again at 98-64. Last year’s division champ Kitakyushu fell to 84-78.

For the second wild card, defending JL champ Chiba took it at 90-72, fending off 89-73 Osaka and 88-74 Kobe. This ended a 10-year playoff streak for the Blaze. Nagoya notably was 78-84, their first losing season since 2021. Tokyo was also notable falling to a lousy 61-101, as the Tides had been at 91+ wins the past four seasons.

Niigata LF Masanori Fukuoka became only the sixth player in EAB history to win 5+ MVPs. He took the Japan League’s top honor after having previously won in 2026, 28, 29, and 31. Fukuoka also won his seventh Silver Slugger in left field. He pulled it off in 2033 despite losing more than a month to a strained back.

In 134 games, Fukuoka led the league in home runs (48), total bases (367), slugging (.725), OPS (1.086), and wRC+ (231). The 31-year old lefty added 8.6 WAR, 162 hits, 87 runs, 23 doubles, 19 triples, 109 RBI, and a .320 average. Fukuoka also hit for the cycle for the second time in his career, doing it on August 21 facing Chiba. He earned his 1000^th run scored earlier in the month.

Mitsumasa Suzuki won his second Pitcher of the Year, having also done it in 2031 with Suwon. He left the Snappers after that win for free agency and signed with Kawasaki at $201,300,000 over six years. In his second year with the Killer Whales, Suzuki led in strikeouts (369), WHIP (0.76), FIP- (48), and WAR (10.1). The 27-year old righty had a 20-4 record and 1.82 ERA in 252 innings. He finished 0.22 and two wins away from a Triple Crown.

Hiroshima swept Niigata 3-0 in the wild card round and Sendai outlasted defending champ Chiba 3-2. The top seeds prevailed in the divisional round with Hamamatsu over the Hammerheads 3-1 and Kawasaki over the Samurai 3-2. For the Killer Whales, this was their first appearance in the Japan League Championship Series since their 2019 pennant. On the other side was the upstart Chickenhawks making their first appearance.

It was a highly anticipated matchup with a 115-win team facing a 109-win squad. This set a JLCS record for most combined wins between the two participants. The still-new Hamamatsu couldn’t go all the way as Kawasaki took the series 4-2. The Killer Whales became nine-time Japan League champs (1938, 41, 67, 82, 99, 2000, 01, 19, 33).

Goyang had their fourth straight 100+ win season and grew their playoff streak to seven years. The Green Sox won their sixth division title of the stretch at 106-56 atop the North Division for the Korea League’s #1 seed. They had the most runs in EAB at 865. Pyongyang was a strong second in the division at 97-65, which secured the first wild card. The Pythons extended their playoff streak to four years.

The #2 seed and bye went to Incheon at 102-60 atop the Central Division, allowing the fewest runs with 518. The Inferno ended a three-year drought and got their first division title since 2026. Reigning EAB champ Busan won the Southeast Division at 98-64 by two games over Ulsan. The Blue Jays grew their EAB record playoff streak to 14 seasons and got their tenth straight division title. The Swallows at 96-66 ended up with repeat wild cards.

96-66 also got Gwangju the Southwest Division, ending a six-year playoff drought. The Grays hadn’t been a division champ since 2011. The first teams out in the wild card race were Seongnam at 90-72, Suwon at 89-73, and Jeonju at 88-74. This ended a four-year playoff streak for the Snappers, who had been in three of the last four KLCS.

The competition for Korea League MVP was tight, but Hamhung’s Toichi Kimura became a three-time winner. The 28-yar old 1B from Japan had won it in 2028 and 2029 for the Heat. In 2033, Kimura led in runs (122), homers (64), total bases (425), and slugging (.708). He added 206 hits, 145 RBI, .343 average, 1.094 OPS, and 9.0 WAR.

Two other first basemen were right behind him in the MVP race. It was Cheongju’s Han Yi that actually got the Silver Slugger, matching Kimura’s 64 home runs and beating him with 158 RBI. Yi became the 79^th member of the 500 home run club at age 32 and the RBI total was tied for the sixth-best single season in EAB. He would opt of his deal with the Checkers two years early and sign a new four-year, $126 million deal with Yongin.

Gwangju’s Dendi Hidayat meanwhile tied EAB’s single-season hits record with 257, a mark previously set in 1997 by Hyeon-Seong Lim. In all of pro baseball history, this was one of only 18 seasons ever where a batter had 257 or more hits. Hidayat also had a .407 batting average, second in EAB history only to Si-Hun Lee’s .411 from 1993. The 26-year old Indonesian righty’s average ranked as the 16^th-best qualifying single season in baseball history.

Goyang’s Oniji Yamamoto won his second Pitcher of the Year, having also won in 2030. For 2033, the 28-year old lefty led in wins (22-8), strikeouts (313), WHIP (0.89), K/BB (18.4), and WAR (9.7). Yamamoto tossed 247 innings with a 2.59 ERA, 54 FIP- and 153 ERA+. The Green Sox locked him up long-term in February 2034 to a seven-year, $204 million extension.

Ulsan upset divisional rival Busan 3-2 in the wild card round to dethrone the defending champs. Gwangju swept Pyongyang on the other side and gave top seed Goyang a battle, although the Green Sox survived in five in the divisional round. Incheon meanwhile bested the Swallows 3-1.

The Inferno got their first Korea League Championship Series trip since the 2026-27 repeat. Goyang was making their fourth KLCS trip in six years, having won the pennant in 2028 and 2030. Incheon pulled off the road upset 4-2 to become six-time Korean champs, having also won in 1950, 1954, and 2002.

The 113^th East Asian Championship was guaranteed to deliver a sixth different champ in as many years. Incheon defeated Kawasaki 4-1 to become four-time EAB champs (1950, 1954, 2002, 2033). Finals MVP went to SS Jae-Won Park in his 14^th year with the Inferno. In 15 playoff games, Park had 17 hits, 7 runs, 1 triple, 4 homers, 8 RBI, and 0.9 WAR.

Park was best known for his stellar defense, winning a historic 14^th Gold Glove in 2033. He joined LF Ki-Chun Park as the only 14+ GG winners in EAB history and joined world WARlord Harvey Coyle as the only guys in world history with 14+ Gold Gloves specifically at shortstop. Entering 2037, only 19 players total in baseball history have won the award 14+ times.

Other notes: Kunihiko Ishiguro became EAB’s all-time home run leader in 2033, hitting 27 at age 40 for Niigata. This got him to 935 homers, passing Soo-Geum Yim’s 921. Ishiguro also scored 81 runs to become the runs scored leader, passing Byung-Oh Tan’s 2010 that had stood since 1953. Ishiguro would return in 2034 on a one-year deal with Yokohama and still had a shot as passing Yim’s RBI (2279) and total bases (7015) records. He had 2081 RBI and 6812 total bases, as well as 3211 games played. Hitoshi Kubota’s games played record (3304) was also in play.

In other milestones, Iemitsu Naiya became the 51^st to 1500 RBI and I-Sol Chang became the 52^nd. Naiya, Han Yi, and Jun’ichiro Fusejima all joined the 500 home run club, making that club 79 players strong. Four pitchers reached 3000 career strikeouts, a feat achieved by 117 EAB aces. SS Anh Vu Nguyen won his 7^th Silver Slugger.

Kitakyushu’s Ju-Won Hyun had two no-hitters in 2033, the first on March 26 with 8 strikeouts and 1 walk against Utsunomiya. The second was with 6 Ks and 2 BB on May 22 facing Kyoto. Hyun joined Sawamura Umemoto (2010) as the only EAB pitchers with multiple no-hitters in the same season. Busan’s Seong-Jun Mho had the 19^th four home run game in EAB history, doing it April 4 against Daegu.

In a bad playoff record, Incheon’s Kwang-Su Chwa struck out 32 times. He was an abysmal 7-56 in the postseason with -0.6 WAR. Maebashi’s pitching staff set all-time Japan League worsts for team ERA (4.79), hits allowed (1666), earned runs (769), and H/9 (10.37). Their 867 runs were second-worst to Sendai’s 958 from 1923.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-18-2025, 05:27 PM

Torreon had an all-time offense and lapped the Mexican League field at 116-46. The Tomahawks tied the league record for runs scored with 891, matching Mexico City’s 2024 effort. Torreon also had the second-most homers (269) and second-best team slugging (.505) in ML history. 116 wins was the third-highest ever in the Mexican League, behind only the 2024 Aztecs (120) and 2023 Aztecs (117). Torreon repeated as North Division champ and had their third consecutive 100+ win season.

It was a 19 game gap to the next best teams at 97-65. One was Puebla, who repeated as South Division champ easily and earned a third straight playoff berth. The other was Torreon’s North Division rival Tijuana as the first wild card. The Toros earned their seventh playoff appearance in a decade and allowed the fewest runs at 557. Notable in the South was Ecatepec falling to 83-79. That ended a four-year playoff streak for the Explosion.

Three teams finished within two games of each other in the Central Division. Aguascalientes took first at 91-71, while Culiacan (90-72) and defending ML champ Leon (89-73) grabbed the remaining wild cards. It was the first playoff berth for the Cactus in only their fourth season since the 2030 expansion. The Cocks secured a fourth wild card in five years and the Lions grew their playoff streak to nine seasons. Leon did see a six-year run of division titles and 100+ win seasons snapped.

In perhaps the fiercest competition ever for the honor, Mexican League MVP went to Torreon CF Oliver Lemus in his eighth season as a starter. Still only 26-years old, Lemus led with 150 runs, 24 triples, and 12.5 WAR. He was one run short of Donald Gonzalez’s record 151 from 2005. This was only the 14^th time in all of pro baseball history that a player scored 150+ runs in a season. It was also one of 34^th times in the Central American Baseball Association that a position player had a 12+ WAR season.

Lemus added 213 hits, 24 doubles, 59 home runs, 130 RBI, .362/.423/.786 slash, 1.208 OPS, and 243 wRC+. The Mexican righty’s OPS was the sixth-best in CABA history, but it showed how strong the competition was that he finished second in OPS. Chihuahua’s Jeronimo Moreno had a 1.236 OPS and 10.7 WAR with a .361/.431/.805 slash. Moreno’s slugging was the second-best in CABA history and his OPS was fourth. Even then, Moreno was third in MVP voting.

Four-time MVP Franklin Madrid of Mexico City was second with 71 home runs, 175 RBI, .363/.414/.764 slash, 1.178 OPS, and 12.0 WAR. Madrid was one homer short and five RBI from the CABA single-season records. There have been seven 70+ homer seasons in CABA, Madrid has smacked 71 twice. His 473 total bases were the third-most behind his own 481 and 480 from 2024-25. It is also one of only 17 times in world history that a player had 175+ RBI. Madrid also earned his eighth Silver Slugger at first base.

Torreon also had a historic Pitcher of the Year season by 29-year old Johan Moreno, who had been a reliever in his prior four seasons. He won the ERA title at 1.53 and had an undefeated 22-0 record. Moreno is the second qualifying pitcher (162+ innings required) in world history with a perfect winning percentage and the first to do it and win 20+ games. The only other unbeaten pitcher was MLB’s Calvin Becerra, who was 14-0 over 165 innings in 1926 for Las Vegas.

Moreno’s ERA also ranked as the 22^nd-best qualifying season in CABA history. Over 200.1 innings, he struck out 225 with a 243 ERA+, 71 FIP-, and 5.6 WAR. He also had a no-hitter on April 11 against Guadalajara with 12 strikeouts and three walks. Moreno was wildly inconsistent with scouts rating his stuff as a 10/10 but his control as an abysmal 2/10.

In the first round of the playoffs, Tijuana edged Culiacan 2-1 and Aguascalientes ousted the reigning champ Leon 2-0. The Cactus gave Puebla a fierce battle in round two, but the Pumas survived 3-2. Puebla earned its first Mexican League Championship Series trip since their 2019 pennant. On the other side, the Toros shocked top seed Torreon with a 3-0 sweep.

It was revenge for two years prior when the Tomahawks upset a 115-win Tijuana squad in round two. It also marked back-to-back years that Torreon went one-and-done despite 105+ wins and a bye. The Toros took home their second pennant in four years as they rolled to a 4-1 road upset of Puebla in the MLCS. This was Tijuana’s third Mexican League title in a decade and their 12^th overall (1913, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 98, 2021, 24, 30, 33).

Santo Domingo claimed the Caribbean League’s best record at 104-58 atop the West Division, setting a new CABA record with 947 runs scored. The Dolphins had previously set the top mark of 938 in 2028. SD also had a 2,810,584 season attendance, behind only the 2028 season (2,868,844) for the best-ever in CABA. Santo Domingo earned a fourth consecutive playoff berth and have only missed the field twice since 2022. They also have a streak of winning seasons back to 2020.

Defending CABA champ Honduras was the next best at 98-64 for a third consecutive Central Division title. They extended their postseason streak to 11 years. The wild cards came from the West and Central with Haiti (91-71), Jamaica (89-73) and Salvador (89-73) advancing. The Herons’ grew a playoff streak to seven seasons. The Jazz got back-to-back wild cards and the Stallions nabbed their third in five years. Nicaragua, who had been back-to-back wild cards, missed at 84-78 along with Costa Rica.

The weakest playoff team was East Division champ Suriname at 84-78. They had a tough fight for that spot, fending off Trinidad (82-80), Curacao (81-81) and defending division champ Barbados (78-84). The Silverbacks snapped a five-year playoff drought. It was the Trail Blazers who allowed the fewest runs in the CL with 614.

Barbados 1B Jose Angel Esqueda earned a third consecutive Caribbean League MVP in his fifth season. The 26-year old Dominican lefty led in WAR (10.0), walks (98), total bases (429), OBP (.440), slugging (.727), OPS (1.167), and wRC+ (191). Esqueda had 207 hits, 130 runs, 34 doubles, 62 home runs, 142 RBI, and a .351 average. He played one more year with the Baycats, then cashed in on a huge Major League Baseball free agent deal at $249,800,000 over eight years with Las Vegas.

For the second time in three years, Haiti’s Raimundo Zuniga was Pitcher of the Year. The 35-year old Mexican righty led in WAR (9.1) and FIP- (63). Zuniga had a 2.51 ERA over 265.2 innings, 19-7 record, and 317 strikeouts. Tragically, this was the final season of his career. Zuniga would develop an arthritic elbow in the 2034 World Baseball Championship that forced an abrupt retirement.

Haiti edged Salvador 2-1 and Suriname outlasted Jamaica 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs. The Herons upset their rival Santo Domingo 3-1 in round two, meaning both leagues’ had their top seeds ousted despite new run scoring records. Haiti earned their third trip to the Caribbean League Championship Series in four years. It would be a rematch of 2031 as Honduras bested Suriname 3-1 on the other side of the bracket. The Horsemen were making their fifth CLCS trip in six years.

Honduras ultimately got their fourth pennant of that run, but it took a massive comeback to do it. The Horsemen lost the first three games to Haiti, but rallied back to win the series in seven for the repeat. It was the first-time in Caribbean League history that a team rallied from 3-0 in the CLCS. Honduras led all teams with an impressive 21 pennants.

The 123^rd CABA Championship was the second time Honduras met Tijuana in the final, as the Toros won way back in 1919 as part of their 1910s dynasty. Tijuana had similar success with a 4-1 victory in the 2033 encounter for their seventh CABA title (1913, 1914, 1918, 1919, 2021, 2030, 2033). The Horsemen’s record in the final all-time moved to 10-11.

In his CABA return, LF Vicente Vasquez won finals MVP. The 37-year old Mexican spent his first seven seasons in CABA, then spent nine years in MLB. In 15 playoff starts, Vasquez had 17 hits, 6 runs, 3 doubles, 3 homers, and 9 RBI. Teammate Alton Reinoso was MLCS MVP and notably smacked 9 home runs, tying the CABA playoff record reached four times prior. The 25-year old Nicaraguan had 16 hits, 15 runs, and 12 RBI in the postseason.

Other notes: Santo Domingo’s Niles Albury had 39 triples, breaking the CABA single-season record of 37 held by three guys. This is one of only 25 seasons in all of world history of 39+ triples. Albury also had 145 runs and 244 hits, ranking as the 4^th and 8^th-best respectively for those stats in CABA history. He already co-held CABA’s hits record of 252 alongside the legendary Prometheo Garcia.

Havana set multiple team records, one good and several bad during a 78-84 season. The good was 305 doubles, a new Caribbean League best and the third-most by any CABA team. The bad were all-time CABA worsts for runs allowed (959), earned runs (870), hits (1766), H/9 (11.02), and team WHIP (1.529). The Hurricanes’ 5.43 ERA was second-worst behind Guyana’s 5.46 from 2003. Mexico City’s pitching had a 10.22 H/9, the second-worst in ML history.

In hitting milestones, Franklin Madrid became the 27^th member of the 600 home run club. Jamel Forsyth and Ortiz Rosales were the 67^th and 68^th to 500 homers. Forsyth also earned his 9^th Silver Slugger at third base. Martin Diaz-Garcia was the 67^th to reach 2500 hits. In pitching milestones, Angel Brea and Israel Montague became the 6^th and 7^th to 4500 career strikeouts. They crossed that mark a week apart in early June. Vicente Perez became the 33^rd to 3500 Ks.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-19-2025, 02:26 AM

Toronto repeated as the National Association’s top seed at 100-62 atop the Northeast Division. It was the third consecutive playoff trip for the Timberwolves, who allowed the fewest runs in Major League Baseball at 542. They were the only team to allow less than 600 runs for 2033.

The next best division champ was Washington at 95-67 in the East, earning their eighth playoff trip in a decade. The Admirals were the top scoring team in the NA at 95-67 and won their fourth division title in five years. The only other 90+ win teams were also in the East with Baltimore and Brooklyn both getting wild cards at 91-71. The Dodgers ended a nine-year playoff drought and the Orioles got their second wild card in four years.

There were 17 teams that won between 89 and 80 games, leaving a mess for the final wild card and two division titles. The best of those was Cleveland at 88-74 atop the Upper Midwest Division, ending a four-year playoff skid. Defending NA champ Omaha was two back in the division and Detroit was four behind.

In the Lower Midwest, Indianapolis and Cincinnati finished even at 84-78 with St. Louis one back, Columbus two away, and Louisville three back. The Racers won the tiebreaker game for the division crown, snagging their fifth playoff trip in seven years.

The final wild card ultimately came from the Northeast with 87-75 Montreal getting repeat berths. Omaha’s repeat bid was thwarted at 86-76, followed by Quebec City (84-78), Cincinnati (84-79), St. Louis (83-79), Columbus (82-80), Ottawa (82-80), Louisville (81-81), Buffalo (81-81), New York (81-81), and Milwaukee (81-81). Worth mentioning was Chicago at 78-84, as this was the Cubs’ first losing season since 2018.

In his third season with Louisville, RF Indiana Hill earned National Association MVP. A native of Valparaiso, Indiana; he led in runs (119), homers (57), total bases (416), slugging (.694), OP S(1.104), and WAR (10.0). The 23-year old lefty added 204 hits, 31 doubles, 132 RBI, .341 average, and 213 wRC+. The Lynx took Hill with the #1 pick in the 2030 MLB Draft and he was already living up to the billing.

Toronto’s Mason Pechart grabbed Pitcher of the Year in his seventh season in the rotation. He posted a 1.49 ERA, the second-lowest qualifying mark (162 IP required) in all of MLB history. Only Seth Southworth’s 1.34 from 2018 was better. Pechart also led in WHIP (0.81), shutouts (6), FIP- (53), and WAR (9.1). His WHIP was tied for the eighth-best single season in MLB history.

Pechart’s .241 opponent’s slugging percentage was a new MLB record and his .473 OPS was the second-best ever behind only Grayson Whittaker’s .459 in 2005. His .180 average ranked sixth, and the .232 OBP was good for 17^th. The 28-year old lefty from Madison, Wisconsin also had a 16-2 record and 241 strikeouts over 223.2 innings. The following winter, the Timberwolves gave Pechart a six-year, $207 million extension.

The three East Division teams swept the first round playoff matchups. Brooklyn went over Indianapolis 3-2 and Baltimore over Cleveland 3-2, while Washington swept Montreal. Top seed Toronto promptly sweep the Orioles in round two and the Admirals swept the Dodgers.

The Timberwolves had a shot at their second pennant in three years, while Washington was going for a second in three years. In the National Association Championship Series, the Admirals upset the top seed Toronto 4-2 to claim their third pennant in a decade. Washington became seven-time NA champs (1912, 1914, 1930, 1966, 2024, 2030, 2033).

Houston had one of the all-time great regular seasons in MLB history at 116-46, the fourth-highest win total in league history. The Hornets set all-time MLB records for batting average (.308) and hits (1769) while scoring 1022 runs. The run total was the second-best ever behind their own 1024 from all the way back in 1913. Houston cruised to the American Association’s top seed and a fifth consecutive South Central Division title. They’ve made the playoffs nine times in the last decades.

The second-best record in the AA was Vancouver at 99-63 atop the Northwest Division. The Volcanoes were on the second-longest active playoff drought at 34 seasons. Since their 1998 World Series win, Vancouver had only had four winning seasons until their 2033 success. This dethroned Seattle, who had won ten consecutive division titles. The Volcanoes had the fewest runs allowed in the AA at 671.

Las Vegas claimed the Southwest Division at 97-65, their second division title in three years. Albuquerque was second at 93-69 and got the first wild card, getting repeat berths. Tampa at 91-71 took the Southeast Division by four wins over both Nashville and Atlanta. While the Thunderbirds did make repeat playoff trips, this was their first division title since 2015.

The second wild card went to Seattle at 90-72, extending their playoff streak to 11 years even if the division title streak ended. For the final spot, Anchorage, Atlanta, and Nashville each were tied at 87-75. The Avalanche defeated both the Knights and Aces in tiebreaker games to take the spot for their fifth wild card in seven years.

Defending World Series champ San Diego was two back on that crew at 85-77, which ended their repeat hopes. Los Angeles was also 85-77 with Orlando at 84-78 and Edmonton at 82-80. Oakland, a division champ last year, fell to 76-86 for their first losing season since 2024. Charlotte (76-86) also had their first losing campaign in nine years.

Leading Vancouver’s resurgence was 1B Alair White, who repeated as American Association MVP in only his third season. The 23-year old lefty from Clarksdale, Mississippi led didn’t lead in any stat, but had 53 home runs, 146 RBI, 201 hits, 125 runs, .326/.405/.628 slash, 161 wRC+, and 7.6 WAR. White narrowly held off Houston’s Milton Ramirez for the honor despite a record-breaking campaign.

The 32-year old Filipino RF signed a five-year, $162 million deal with the Hornets for 2033 after 12 years in Chicago. With the Cubs, Ramirez had led eight times in hits and nine times in both batting average and on-base percentage. In 2029, he set MLB records for hits (249) and batting average (.410).

For 2033, Ramirez broke the hits record by one with 250, which is one of only 43 seasons in world history of 250+ hits. He had a .406 batting average, second only to his 2029 and the fourth .400+ season in MLB history. It ranks as the 25^th-best qualifying average in any league ever. Ramirez also led in runs (132), OBP (..459), OPS (1.071), wRC+ (173), and WAR (9.0). The OBP ranked as the sixth-best in MLB history.

Vancouver also had the Pitcher of the Year Norman Branca, who bounced back from a torn triceps that cost him much of 2032. The 24-year old lefty from Yarmouth, Massachusetts was the leader in wins (24-5), ERA (2.18), quality starts (25), and shutouts (5). Branca struck out 182 in 272.1 innings with 8.4 WAR. After the 2034 campaign, the Volcanoes gave him a four-year, $39,500,000 extension.

In the first round, Las Vegas ousted Seattle 3-1 which kept Seattle from the American Association Championship Series for only the third time in their 11-year playoff streak. Albuquerque ousted Tampa 3-1 and Vancouver defeated Anchorage 3-1. The Volcanoes then topped the Vipers 3-1, giving Vancouver its first AACS appearance since winning the World Series in 1998.

On the other side, Albuquerque shocked 116-win Houston 3-1, leaving only disappointment for the record-setting Hornets. The Isotopes also had a significant drought ended, last making the AACS in 2005 with their pennant drought at an even 30 years. In a seven-game classic, Albuquerque outlasted Vancouver for the road upset. The Isotopes became six-time American Association kings (1926, 1934, 1948, 1975, 2002, 2033).

The 133^rd World Series went the distance as Albuquerque hung on 4-3 over Washington. The Isotopes snapped a 57-year title drought becoming four-time MLB champs (1926, 1934, 1975, 2033). This continued the American Association’s dominance in the Fall Classic over the National Association with eight straight wins. Second-year LF Rick Kinney was finals MVP with 25 hits, 9 runs, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 6 homers, and 13 RBI over 20 playoff games.

Other notes: MLB’s 36^th perfect game came on May 20 by Birmingham’s John Solum with two strikeouts against Miami. This was the lowest strikeout total for any of MLB’s perfectos. Unfortunately for the Mallards, their league record playoff drought grew to 61 seasons. Almost quietly, Orlando’s Jackson Brafford had 162 RBI, good for the fifth-best single season total in MLB history.

Mike Rojas became the 9^th player to 2000 career RBI. Jeff Bonner became the 14^th to 700 home runs, while Jackson Brafford was the 47^th member of the 600 homer club. Five players joined the 500 home run club, making 126 MLB sluggers to reach the mark; Ethan Clark, Thomas Rich, Tommy Sy, Will Desbiens, and James Simmons.

Brafford, Sy, and Pat Eichelberger each crossed 1500 RBI, a feat met by 138 in MLB. Sy, Milton Ramriez, and Mark Johnston got to 1500 runs scored; now achieved by 128 batters. RF Edhar Baranov won his 9^th Gold Glove (8 in RF, 1 in CF) as did 2B Kieran de la Cruz. They are two of only 26 players in MLB history to win 9+ Gold Gloves at any position. RF Milton Ramirez won his 7^th Silver Slugger.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-19-2025, 06:09 PM

The 2033 Baseball Grand Championship was the 24^th edition of the event and was hosted in Honolulu, Hawaii. Earning the autobids for the event were MLB’s Albuquerque and Washington, CABA’s Tijuana and Honduras, EAB’s Incheon and Kawasaki, BSA’s Santiago and Valencia, EBF’s Lyon and Hanover, EPB’s Minsk, OBA’s Port Moresby, APB’s Bandung, CLB’s Changsha, WAB’s Bamako, SAB’s Visakhapatnam, ABF’s Baku, ALB’s Algiers, and AAB’s Kinshasa. The three at-large spots went to EPB’s Ufa, ALB’s Doha, and WAB’s Douala.

In the earlier 20-team format, no team ever finished better than 15-4. Since switching to the 22-team format for 2030, Berlin notably had gone 17-4 to win in 2030 and Nairobi was 16-5 in 2032. For 2033, the first place finisher set a new best record and the second place finisher matched Berlin’s pervious effort.

World Series runner-up Washington took that top spot at 18-3, marking the tenth time an MLB team was Grand Champion and the third time for a National Association team. Bandung was right behind them at 17-4, which was the second time an Austronesia Professional Baseball team took second (Zamboanga 2013).

The Admirals offense set new event records for team on-base percentage (.342) and home runs (56). Their 119 runs fell one short of Berlin’s record 120 from 2030. Washington also set new pitching records for strikeouts (269) and K/9 (12.88) and tied the saves record of 10. Both the Admirals and Blackhawks had a +55 run differential; Bandung scored one fewer but allowed one fewer run. This was one short of the Barons’ +56 from 2030.

Washington’s offense was led by Tournament MVP Jude Hoffer, who became the first to win the honor thrice (2024, 2030, 2033). The 35-year old 2B was in his 15^th season for the Admirals. In 20 starts, Hoffer had 24 hits, 23 runs, 9 homers, 16 RBI, 16 walks, 1.115 OPS, and 1.6 WAR. The 23 runs set a new event record, which Kinshasa’s Martin Kulatilaka also reached in 2033.

The Admirals also had Best Pitcher winner Bernard Chiba, who joined Washington that year in an offseason trade with Las Vegas. The 29-year old Papuan righty had a 0.72 ERA over five starts with a 4-0 record, 37.2 innings, 58 strikeouts, and 2.2 WAR. Chiba had three complete games and two shutouts.

Kinshasa was alone in third at 15-6 with Hanover fourth at 14-7 and Douala fifth at 13-8. Both the African Association of Baseball and MLB have had teams in the top three over the last three tournaments. Albuquerque, Lyon, and Baku were each next at 12-9. Algiers rounded out the teams with a winning record at 11-10.

Each at 10-11 was Honduras, Kawasaki, Santiago, and Tijuana. Doha and Port Moresby were 9-12, then at 8-13 sat Changsha, Valencia, and Visakhapatnam. Bamako and Incheon both finished at 7-14. The EPB teams had the bottom two spots with Ufa 6-15 and Minsk 5-16.

Other notes: Visakhapatnam SS Trung Ha was the first player in event history with a six-hit game. In extras against Santiago, Ha was 6-8.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-20-2025, 06:07 AM

For only the fourth time in its history, the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame had a five-player class. The 2034 group joined the 1970, 1960, and 1934 classes in the distinction. Four of the selections were first ballot picks with one making it barely on his sixth try. The only true inner-circle type guy though was SS Fritz Louissi with 96.6%.

RF Alberto Peron and 1B Titan Gormley both made it solidly with 85.5% and 80.6%, respectively. SP Emmett Pierson got 71.4% to make it across the 66% requirement. The fifth pick was LF/1B Lorenzen Campbell squeaking in with 66.8% on his sixth ballot. Two others were above 50% with 1B/2B Thomas Lewis at 53.2% on his tenth and final try, plus Luke Harrison with 51.7% for his fourth go.

For Lewis, he got as close as 60.5% in 2033 after hovering in the 30-50% range much of his time on the ballot. He was extremely popular over a 17-year career with four teams, primarily with Atlanta. Lewis had one Silver Slugger and one batting title, finishing with 2764 hits, 1281 runs, 479 doubles, 129 triples, 325 home runs, 1273 RBI, 747 walks, .310/.363/.502 slash, 141 wRC+, and 65.8 WAR.

Those totals weren’t impressive enough though to overcome a lack of awards and accolades. Lewis was also on mostly subpar teams and voters especially prefer power hitters out of primary first basemen. It was a steady career and no one has a bad word to say about Lewis, but he’s a firm Hall of Pretty Good talent.

LF/DH Parker Richardson was also notable, falling below 5% on his eighth ballot and peaking at only 21.1%. He had 584 home runs, 1477 RBI, 2332 hits, 1291 runs, 298 doubles, 743 walks, .273/.334/.520 slash, 133 wRC+, and 65.5 WAR. Richardson is 64^th in homers as of 2037, but he also lacked black ink and won only two Silver Sluggers. Even with that power, it was easy to be ignored playing for mostly forgettable Portland and Oakland teams.

Fritz “Dragoon” Louissi – Shortstop – New Orleans Mudcats – 96.6% First Ballot

Fritz Louissi was a 6’1’’, 200 pound right-handed shortstop from Miramar, Florida; a city with about 143,000 people within the metropolitan Miami area. Nicknamed “Dragoon,” Louissi ended up as one of the most universally beloved players of his era by both peers and fans alike. He was renowned for his high character with a strong work ethic, impressive loyalty, great intelligence, and adaptability. Those traits helped him become arguably the best-ever shortstop in Major League Baseball history.

Louissi was an excellent pure hitter against both sides with great contact ability and a very firm pop in his bat. His 162 game average got you 41 home runs, 22 doubles, and 11 triples. Louissi was above average at drawing walks and very good at avoiding walks. He was stronger facing left-handed pitching (1.046 OPS, 176 wRC+) but was still quite potent against righties (.914 OPS, 145 wRC+).

He was also one of the most skilled and adept baserunners you’d find. Louissi’s speed was merely above average-to-good, but few ever were better at the nuances and timing required for baserunning success. Louissi was a career shortstop and a reliably great defender. He was generally just a notch below Gold Glove level, although he did win the award once in 2015. Louissi would have some recurring rib injuries that kept him out a few weeks some years, but he held up decently over 17 years considering the high physical demands of the position.

Rarely could you find great defensive shortstops that were also elite batters, thus Louissi immediately stood out as a prospect. He won two Silver Sluggers in his college career at Virginia Tech, but missed out as a sophomore due to a sprained ankle. In 105 games as a Hokie, Louissi had 126 hits, 79 runs, 16 doubles, 47 homers, 94 RBI, .335/.417/.763 slash, 248 wRC+, and 9.3 WAR. New Orleans took him second overall in the 2010 MLB Draft and he became a reliable starter for the next 15 years with the Mudcats.

Louissi debuted with a 6.2 WAR, 36 home run, 1.007 OPS season but took second in Rookie of the Year voting thanks to a 43 homer, 7.5 WAR effort by Salt Lake City’s B.J. Pasternack. From 2012-19, Louissi was good for 8.5+ WAR and a Silver Slugger each season. Five times in that stretch, Louissi led the American Association in WAR.

2014 would be Louissi’s best year and an all-time effort for any player. It started with a Tournament MVP win for the United States in the World Baseball Championship. In 23 games, he had 19 runs, 26 hits, 7 doubles, 7 homers, 19 RBI, 1.018 OPS, 197 wRC+, and 1.7 WAR. This led the Americans to a championship sweep over Indonesia. Louissi played in the WBC from 2012-16 and had 65 games, 74 hits, 57 runs, 16 doubles, 18 homers, 51 RBI, .310/.403/.628 slash, and 4.4 WAR.

In the 2014 regular season, Louissi earned MVP honors and was the leader in runs (121), home runs (53), RBI (138), total bases (394), and WAR (12.96). The WAR mark was the second-best single-season by any MLB player behind only Killian Fruechte’s 13.04 from 2012. Louissi also had a .322/.388/.663 slash, 1.051 OPS, and 180 wRC+. This would be career highs for homers, RBI, doubles (28), total bases, slugging, OPS, wRC+, and WAR.

New Orleans finished 89-73, but saw their playoff drought extend to 14 seasons. Apart from their 1970-72 three-peat, the Mudcats were historically a lower-tier franchise. Louissi would help them contend more regularly in the latter 2010s and early 2020s. In 2015, he was third in MVP voting and led with 16 triples. Louissi was third again in 2016’s MVP voting and New Orleans snapped the playoff drought with a South Central Division title, although they lost in the first round.

Louissi in 2017 had his career best for runs scored (128) and hits (192) while leading again in total bases (383) and WAR (11.9). He had his second 50+ homer season with 52 and a 1.041 OPS, earning his second MVP. The Mudcats remained above .500, but miss the playoffs. They knew they had a megastar with Louissi and finally got a long-term deal locked down in April 2018 at eight years and $261,500,000.

He was the WARlord again in 2018 and 2019, getting 48 homers, 121 runs, and 10.8 WAR in the latter. Louissi was second in 2018’s MVP voting and surprisingly wasn’t a finalist in 2019. His Silver Slugger streak continued in 2020 despite losing a month to a fractured thumb. The streak ended in 2021 despite that year having a second place in MVP voting.

2021 was ultimately the year for New Orleans. They had seen division titles in 2018 and 2020, but suffered first and second round exits those years. In 2021, the Mudcats broke through with a franchise-best 112-50. They carried the top seed through to the American Association pennant, dethroning defending World Series champ Denver. New Orleans then defeated Detroit in the Fall Classic for their fifth MLB ring and first since the 1970s dynasty.

In 18 playoff starts, Louissi had 21 hits, 15 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 9 RBI, .304/.360/.580 slash, 152 wRC+, and 1.0 WAR. New Orleans’ dominance carried over to the Baseball Grand Championship, taking the top spot at 15-4. In the BGC, Louissi had 25 hits, 14 runs, 6 doubles, 5 homers, 9 RBI, .329/.370/.605 slash, 172 wRC+, and 1.1 WAR. In his 11^th season in the Bayou, Louissi had brought them to the pinnacle of professional baseball.

It wouldn’t be the start of a dynasty though. New Orleans missed the playoffs in 2022 and 2024 at 86-76. They won the division in 2023 at 96-66, but suffered a second round exit. Louissi held up his end over 30 career playoff starts with 33 hits, 22 runs, 4 doubles, 5 triples, 7 homers, 18 RBI, .295/.360/.607 slash, 157 wRC+, and 1.6 WAR. Louissi won Silver Sluggers all three years despite losing a big chunk in 2022 to a strained hip muscle. He was second in 2024’s MVP voting with 9.4 WAR, his sixth and final time as the AA’s WARlord.

2025 was an all-around disaster for Louissi and New Orleans. He suffered a fractured finger and saw multiple setbacks, requiring surgery. Louissi played only 41 games all season at the Mudcats collapsed to 67-95, their first losing season in a decade. New Orleans likely had a long rebuild ahead and Louissi had one year left on his contract at age 35. Even still, they shocked many by trading their long-time superstar in November to Las Vegas for two pitching prospects.

With New Orleans, Louissi had 2089 games, 2442 hits, 1423 runs, 279 doubles, 144 triples, 538 home runs, 1382 RBI, 755 walks, 348 steals, .308/.373/.584 slash, 157 wRC+, and 129.2 WAR. No grudges were held over the trade and he would maintain a strong relationship with Mudcats management. Louissi’s #30 uniform would be retired shortly after the end of his career.

In his one season with Las Vegas, Louissi had 149 games, 165 hits, 96 runs, 42 home runs, 111 RBI, .291/.346/.577 slash, 138 wRC+, and 4.4 WAR. The Vipers extended an impressive streak of winning seasons to 19, but missed the playoffs at 87-75.

While it was easily his weakest full season, Louissi still won his 13^th Silver Slugger. This joined MLB WARlord Morgan Short (14) as the only players in MLB history to win the award 13+ times. As of 2037, Louissi is one of only 28 players in any league to win 13+ Sluggers. In Las Vegas, Louissi also passed the 2500 career hit and 1500 runs scored milestones.

He was a free agent for the first time at age 36 and signed a two-year, $50,800,000 deal with Sacramento. The Shamrocks were a 2021 expansion team, but were fresh off their best effort yet at 89-73. They dropped to 72-90 in 2027 and Louissi played poorly while also dealing with a concussion. In 120 games, he had -0.2 WAR, .780 OPS, and 97 wRC+. On the positive side, Louissi did each 600 career home runs and 1500 RBI. He looked decent in his first five games of 2028, but Sacramento opted to release Louissi on April 8. He was unsigned the rest of the season and retired that winter at age 38.

Louissi finished with 2363 games, 2718 hits, 1586 runs, 315 doubles, 158 triples, 605 home runs, 1562 RBI, 830 walks, 1026 strikeouts, 374 steals, .305/.368/.579 slash, 153 wRC+, and 133.7 WAR. As of 2037, Louissi ranks 8^th in WAR among MLB position players and 14^th when including all players. He only narrowly misses the top 100 for WAR among all players in world history.

Defensive value played a huge part in that as for counting stats in MLB, Louissi is 92^nd in runs, 67^th in total bases (5164), 80^th in triples, and 53^rd in home runs. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Louissi’s .947 OPS is 48^th and his slugging ranks 43^rd. Specifically among MLB shortstops, Louissi is the career leader in slugging, OPS, total bases, homers, and WAR.

He’s undoubtedly an inner-circle Hall of Famer for Major League Baseball and a strong case can be made for Louissi as MLB’s best-ever shortstop. Currently active Jude Hoffer is the only guy really approaching his WAR at SS (119.58), although he’s moved to second base late in his career. Only Tom Burstein (112.2) also had 100+ career WAR accrued specifically playing shortstop.

Even by traditional metrics, it’s hard to argue against Louissi. He has two MVPs, 13 Silver Sluggers, one Gold Glove, and a key role in an all-time great 112-win New Orleans squad that won the World Series and the Baseball Grand Championship. Louissi is easily one of baseball’s immortals and on the shortlist for the best-ever shortstops in the game’s history. He headlined a loaded five-player class for 2034 at 96.6%.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-20-2025, 06:39 PM

Alberto “Rainmaker” Peron – Right Field – Portland Pacifics – 85.5% First Ballot

Alberto Peron was a 5’10’’, 200 pound left-handed right fielder from San Miguelito, Panama; a district of around 375,000 within the Panama City metropolitan area. Nicknamed “Rainmaker,” Peron was the third Panamanian to make Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame along with 1B Martin Medina (1972) and SP Duke Mercedes (1934). Peron had remarkable durability as one of baseball’s great ironmen, playing 150+ games in all but the final season of a 21-year career.

In his prime, Peron was a very good contact hitter with reliable home run and gap power. He was never a league leader, but he was incredibly reliable and steady with 38 home runs and 28 doubles per his 162 game average. In 20 seasons as a full-time starter, he got 30+ homers in all but two years and had 40+ six times. Peron’s power and bat was much stronger against right-handed pitching (.916 OPS, 156 wRC+), but he was still decent against lefties (.752 OPS, 111 wRC+).

Peron graded as above average-to-good at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts compared to most MLB bats. He was a very skilled and crafty baserunner, although he was still limited by mediocre speed. Almost all of Peron’s career starts came in right field where he was a reliably adequate defender on the whole. In his earlier years, he was considered a positive value glove man, but the career stats had him just below average. Peron was also one of the smarter guys in the game, helping him become one of the more popular guys of the era.

As a teenager, Peron left Panama for the United States to play college baseball at Clemson. In four years for the Tigers, he had 190 games, 203 hits, 125 runs, 31 doubles, 62 home runs, 136 RBI, .275/.331/.575 slash, 174 wRC+, and 10.5 WAR. As a player born outside of the US and Canada, he wasn’t eligible until the fourth round of the MLB Draft due to the regional restrictions. Still, many teams felt he’d be an immediate contributor.

San Antonio was one of those, selecting Peron with the third pick of the round and 182^nd overall in the 2009 MLB Draft. However, the Oilers couldn’t come to terms with him and he returned for his senior year with Clemson. In 2010, Portland picked Peron 181^st overall, the ninth pick of the fourth round. The Pacifics locked him up successfully and he’d be a reliable starter for the next 11 years.

Peron’s debut was maybe his best season with what would be career highs for OPS (.945), RBI (115), and batting average (.324). He also had 6.8 WAR and 41 home runs, but was third in 2011’s American Association Rookie of the Year voting. This was a loaded group, as his Hall of Fame classmate Fritz Louissi was in it as well with both behind Salt Lake City’s B.J. Pasternack.

His lone Silver Sluggers came in 2012 and 2016 and he was never an MVP finalist. Peron was rarely overwhelmingly dominant, but he was good for 5+ WAR in all 11 of his Portland seasons. He was a redeeming quality in an otherwise forgettable era for the Pacifics, who never made the playoffs in his tenure. They averaged 77.3 wins per season and were above .500 five times, peaking at 90-72 in 2020. After the 2016 season, Peron inked a five-year, $109,600,000 extension to stay with Portland.

Peron was due free agency after the 2021 campaign and pursued that at age 33. With Portland, he finished with 1734 games, 2003 hits, 1048 runs, 323 doubles, 417 home runs, 1149 RBI, 498 walks, .299/.348/.547 slash, 146 wRC+, and 69.5 WAR. Peron remained a very popular figure in Portland and his 12 uniform would eventually be retired. His next step was a five-year, $91 million deal with Raleigh. The Raptors were one of the eight expansion teams set for their sophomore campaigns in 2022.

Peron’s 2023 for Raleigh was arguably his best overall season with a career high 8.0 WAR. His other four seasons were steady, albeit at a lower standard than what he had done in Portland. Raleigh did notably become the first of the expansion teams to make the playoffs. They had a first round exit as a wild card in 2025, then a second round exit in 2026 as a division champ. Peron was 7-34 over his nine playoff starts.

In total for Raleigh, Peron played 780 games with 761 hits, 429 runs, 106 doubles, 170 home runs, 441 RBI .272/.329/.498 slash, 142 wRC+, and 23.1 WAR. While there, he reached the 2500 hit, 500 home run, and 1500 RBI milestones. In these later years, Peron also played for his native Panama in the World Baseball Championship.

Panama had failed to qualify for the event from 2014-20, but were back as a regular after the field expanded for 2021. From 2022-32, Peron played 128 games with 109 hits, 73 runs, 20 doubles, 32 home runs, 72 RBI, .236/.319/.488 slash, 133 wRC+, and 4.4 WAR. The Panamanians notably qualified for the playoffs in the 2031 event.

Now 38-years old for 2027, Peron joined Grand Rapids on a two-year, $21,400,000 deal. He reached 600 homers and 1500 runs with the Growlers with 150 games, 116 starts, 139 hits, 75 runs, 30 homers, 75 RBI, .308/.375/.545 slash, 161 wRC+, and 4.7 WAR. Although his production was good, Peron was traded to Seattle in the offseason for a five prospect haul. They had been defeated in the AACS in five consecutive seasons and hoped Peron’s veteran depth could get them across the line.

For the Grizzlies in 2028, Peron played 150 games with 178 hits, 102 runs, 32 doubles, 35 home runs, 95 RBI, .304/.354/.549 slash, 130 wRC+, and 4.2 WAR. He also became the 67^th member of MLB’s 3000 hit club. Seattle’s division title streak grew to six seasons, but they were ousted in the first round of the playoffs. Although Peron could still clearly give you steady numbers, this marked the end of his MLB tenure.

Peron continued professionally though in Mexico on a two-year, $33,600,000 deal with Juarez. The Jesters were rebuilding after their 2014-26 playoff streak. Peron again was steady and solid with 316 games, 352 hits, 187 runs, 60 doubles, 67 home runs, 175 RBI, .311/.352/.557 slash, 166 wRC+, and 9.3 WAR. After that, he was 42 years old and even with reliable numbers, many teams didn’t want to commit to someone that age.

He wasn’t ready to call it quits and put out fliers across the globe. Peron landed in Arab League Baseball on a one-year, $10,100,000 deal with Algiers. Age finally caught him as he was forgettable with the Arsenal with only 70 games, 32 starts, .774 OPS, and 0.2 WAR. Peron still wanted to play and represented Panama in the 2032 World Baseball Championship. However, he was unsigned all season and finally retired shortly after his 44^th birthday.

In MLB, Peron played 2814 games with 3081 hits, 1654 runs, 478 doubles, 53 triples, 652 home runs, 1760 RBI, 819 walks, 126 steals, .293/.345/.534 slash, 145 wRC+, and 101.5 WAR. As of 2037, Peron ranks 54^th in games, 67^th in runs, 56^th in hits, 26^th in total bases (5621), 69^th in doubles, 34^th in home runs, 40^th in RBI, and 50^th in WAR among position players.

In a strange way, Peron quietly accumulated such impressive numbers. He wasn’t in MVP conversations, wasn’t a league leader, and was on mostly forgettable teams. Peron was a guy who rarely would’ve made any top five or top ten lists in any given year, but he was remarkably steady and consistent. Some voters at the initial suggestion might think he was a Hall of Pretty Good type until seeing the totals, as very few guys got to 3000+ hits, 1500+ runs, 1500+ RBI, and 650+ homers.

For his combined pro career, Peron had 3200 games, 3475 hits, 1860 runs, 548 doubles, 62 triples, 726 home runs, 1954 RBI, 896 walks, 154 steals, .294/.345/.535 slash, 146 wRC+, and 110.9 WAR. Still, Peron isn’t one really viewed as an “inner-circle” type guy even if he just cracks the top 100 in world history in some of the big stats. He received 85.5% of the vote, still plenty for a first ballot nod as part of the five-player 2034 class for Major League Baseball.

Titan Gormley – First Base – Seattle Grizzlies – 80.6% First Ballot

Titan Gormley was a 6’5’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from Springdale, Arkansas; a city of 89,000 in the state’s northwest self-declared as the “Poultry Capital of the World.” Gormley was a very well-rounded batter who wasn’t considered outstanding at any one thing. However, he was graded as good-to-great in terms of contact, power, and eye.

In all but the last of Gormley’s 17 MLB seasons, he hit 30+ home runs, but he only breached 40+ thrice. His 162 game average had 37 homers, 31 doubles, and 2 triples. Gormley’s stats were very similar against both right and left-handed pitching. His strikeout rate graded as below average, although he drew more walks than most in MLB. On the downside offensively, Gormley was a terrible baserunner with poor speed.

Despite the baserunning clumsiness, Gormley was a reliably impressive defender as a career first baseman and won three Gold Gloves (2013, 14, 19). Gormley’s durability also near ironman levels with 142+ starts in all of his MLB seasons. He was adaptable and a good teammate, becoming appreciated by peers and fans alike in his long stay in Seattle.

Gormley stayed relatively close to his Arkansas home by playing college baseball at Memphis. In four seasons for the Tigers, he had 195 games, 214 hits, 135 runs, 37 doubles, 62 home runs, 161 RBI, 87 walks, .301/.381/.619 slash, 201 wRC+, and 12.6 WAR. As of 2037, Gormley ranks 34^th in WAR among position players, 26^th and runs, and 24^th in RBI in NCAA history.

He was among the top prospects after his junior year and was picked third overall by Miami in the 2010 MLB Draft. The Mallards were the absolute dregs at this point in MLB and amidst what would be a league-record postseason drought. Gormley didn’t want any of that and negotiations went poorly, spurning Miami for his senior year of college.

The Mallards were determined and picked Gormley again fourth overall in the 2011 MLB Draft. However, the potential relationship was already spoiled and Gormley made it clear that he didn’t want to play for Miami. He refused to sign and eventually was granted free agency, a very rare thing for MLB prospects. Seattle grabbed him on a minor league deal with a major’s option.

Gormley started right away for the Grizzlies and held the role for 17 years. His third season was his best, winning his lone Silver Slugger with career bests for home runs (47), slugging (.596), OPS (.982), wRC+ (168), and WAR (8.4). He wasn’t generally a league leader, but like his Hall of Fame classmate Alberto Peron, Gormley was reliably consistent. In March 2019, Seattle gave him his first extension at five years and $130,600,000.

He did also play sporadically for the United States in the World Baseball Championship, competing in 2016-17, 19-20, and 25-26. In 52 WBC games and 31 starts, Gormley had 37 hits, 24 runs, 8 doubles, 14 home runs, 28 RBI, .325/.395/.781 slash, 235 wRC+, and 2.6 WAR. He earned championship rings with the 2017 and 2020 American squads.

Seattle was largely stuck in the middle tier for the 2010s, but they emerged as a contender in the 2020s. They broke a seven-year playoff drought in 2021 as a wild card, but went one and done. After a miss in 2022, the Grizzlies began a ten-year streak as the Northwest Division champ. Frustratingly, they couldn’t get over the hump for a while. From 2023-27, they got to the American Association Championship Series each year only to be promptly defeated.

Gormley was playing some of his best baseball into his early to mid 30s, even leading the association for the only time with a career-best 131 runs in 2024. Gormley officially became a free agent for the first time that winter, but returned to Seattle after a few weeks on the market with a four-year, $135 million deal. His playoff stats were a mixed bag, although he was particularly impressive in the 2026 run. Over 69 playoff starts, Gormley had 85 hits, 41 runs, 15 doubles, 15 home runs, 40 RBI, .309/.357/.542 slash, 134 wRC+, and 2.6 WAR.

Seattle had a one-and-done in 2028 and Gormley had easily his worst season of his MLB career with .835 OPS, 114 wRC+, and 2.0 WAR. That marked the end of his Grizzlies contract and they didn’t look to renew. He remained on good terms though and would see his #31 uniform eventually retired. Gormley also got an honorary World Series ring when Seattle finally broke through to win it all in 2030.

Gormley wanted to still play, but big league clubs felt he was over the hill. He had to settle for the African Second League in 2029 with Kampala, where he was lackluster with 0.1 WAR and 95 wRC+ over 102 games. Gormley went unsigned almost all of 2030 apart from a few minor league games in September with Tallahassee. He finally retired that winter at age 40.

The final MLB tallies saw 2665 games, 2995 hits, 1681 runs, 503 doubles, 31 triples, 625 home runs, 1758 RBI, 1110 walks, 1904 strikeouts, .295/.364/.534 slash, 140 wRC+, and 90.2 WAR. As of 2037, Gormley ranks 57^th in runs, 75^th in hits, 38^th in total bases (5435), 36^th in doubles, 44^th in homers, 43^rd in RBI, 100^th in walks, and 89^th in WAR among position players.

Like Peron, Gormley wasn’t usually figured into top five or top ten player conversations during his prime. But he was remarkably steady as not many guys could say they had 600+ homers, 1500+ runs, 1500 RBI+, 500+ doubles, and just under 3000 hits. Gormley wasn’t an inner-circle Hall of Famer, but most voters agreed that he firmly belonged. He received 80.6%, the third of five added into Major League Baseball’s HOF for 2034.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-21-2025, 06:01 AM

Emmett “Black Jack” Pierson – Starting Pitcher – Buffalo Blue Sox – 71.4% First Ballot

Emmett Pierson was a 5’10’’, 190 pound right-handed pitcher from Ashburn, Virginia; a city with about 46,000 people within the Washington metropolitan area. He was nicknamed “Black Jack” for his outspoken love of the casino, which did earn plenty of side eyes from concerned officials. Pierson was never caught up in any gambling scandals, but his loud mouth and lack of intelligence did get him in trouble at times. Still, most teammates felt he was well meaning and several gave him high grades for his leadership skills.

At his peak, Pierson had excellent stuff along with very good movement and control. He had a solid 97-99 mph fastball, but it was his changeup that was world class and frustrated batters to no end. Pierson also had a good slider and okay curveball in the arsenal. His stamina was better than most and he had generally great durability over a 20-year career. Pierson struggled at holding runners, but he fielded the position very well and won a Gold Glove in 2016.

Pierson spent three years in college at the University of North Carolina, where he tossed 308 innings with a 2.60 ERA, 18-14 record, 346 strikeouts, 54 walks, 125 ERA+, 46 FIP-, and 13.5 WAR. Buffalo thought he looked excellent in light blue and picked him second overall in the 2012 MLB Draft. Pierson was a full-time starter right away for the Blue Sox and maintained that role generally for 12 seasons. Six times, his ERA would be below three.

In 2016, Pierson led the National Association in strikeouts with 268. He bested that with 282 in 2017 and won his lone Pitcher of the Year, also leading in wins (21-7) and WAR (8.6). Those were all career bests as was his 2.40 ERA, finishing 0.39 away from a Triple Crown. Pierson was also the leader in 2018 with 15 complete games and was third in 2019’s Pitcher of the Year voting. After the 2017 season, Buffalo signed him to a seven-year, $143,700,000 extension.

The Blue Sox were historically one of the weaker franchises in MLB. They got above .500 a few times during Pierson’s tenure, but only had one playoff berth with a one-and-done wild card in 2017 at 98-64. His lone MLB playoff start was a complete game loss, allowing three runs in eight innings. Buffalo averaged 76.8 wins per season during Pierson’s run.

Pierson had remained generally solid through, but did fall off noticeably in 2022. A sprained ankle cost him six weeks and he had easily his worst ERA to that point at 4.30. Pierson was better in 2023, but closer to league average after being a clear ace before that. He executed his player option in his contract, but Buffalo was ready to move on.

In December 2023, Pierson was traded to Phoenix for C David Story and CF Hugh Coatsworth. It was a nice haul for Buffalo, as the latter would win two Silver Sluggers and the former got a Gold Glove. With the Blue Sox, Pierson had a 175-146 record, 2.91 ERA, 3002.2 innings, 2926 strikeouts, 667 walks, 118 ERA+, 79 FIP-, and 72.6 WAR. Pierson’s #6 uniform would eventually be retired, joining Hall of Fame Class of 1940 Derek Edwards as the only jerseys retired by Buffalo.

Pierson got to 3000 career strikeouts in one respectable season for the Firebirds with a 16-15 record, 3.88 ERA, 255.1 innings, 204 Ks, and 3.3 WAR. Phoenix finished 90-72, but fell two wins short of a wild card. He became a free agent for the first time at age 34 and signed a four-year, $44,000,000 deal with Calgary. The Cheetahs had just ended a 29-year playoff drought as a wild card and hoped Pierson could help them become a more regular contender.

In his three seasons there, they were stuck in the 70s for wins. Pierson also dealt with a herniated disc for the early part of 2026. His production was good though especially for a guy in his mid 30s with 623 innings, 36-34 record, 3.96 ERA, 454 strikeouts, 114 ERA+, 82 FIP-, and 14.5 WAR. Calgary wasn’t going anywhere though and traded Pierson with a year left on his deal to Salt Lake City for two prospects.

Pierson’s one season with SLC was merely decent with a 10-13 record, 4.31 ERA, 201.2 innings, 133 strikeouts, 101 ERA+, and 3.5 WAR. He also lost more than a month to biceps injuries. Pierson was a free agent again at age 38, but MLB teams felt they could find similar production from younger and cheaper options. Thus, his time in Major League Baseball came to close. Pierson wasn’t ready to retire yet and opened up an international search.

He landed in Ivory Coast on a three-year, $40,000,000 deal with Abidjan of West African Baseball. Pierson had some back troubles bothering him in 2029, then missed much of 2030 to shoulder inflammation. In two years, Pierson tossed 255.2 innings with a 14-14 record, 4.22 ERA, 181 Ks, 109 ERA+, and 3.2 WAR. He didn’t meet the vesting criteria and was a free agent again for 2031.

Pierson had one more season in WAB on a one-year, $3,200,000 deal with Touba, an expansion team entering its second season. He struggled over 143.2 innings with a 5.58 ERA, 5-15 record, 129 strikeouts, and 79 ERA+, although the 102 FIP- and 1.5 WAR suggested bad defense made him look worse than he was. Still, he was clearly below average at this point and retired that winter shortly after his 41^st birthday.

In MLB, Pierson finished with a 237-208 record, 3.20 ERA, 4091.2 innings, 3717 strikeouts, 951 walks, 340/530 quality starts, 195 complete games, 51 shutouts, 115 ERA+, 81 FIP-, and 93.9 WAR. As of 2037, Pierson ranks 75^th in wins, 78^th in innings, 12^th in shutouts, 18^th in strikeouts, and 41^st in WAR among pitchers. He does sit outside of the top 100 for rate stats. For his combined pro career, Pierson had a 256-237 record, 3.34 ERA, 4491 innings, 4027 Ks, 1062 walks, 113 ERA+, 83 FIP-, and 98.6 WAR.

Pierson reached some important statistical milestones, but some voters felt he was borderline. He was perhaps overlooked too having played on almost exclusively mediocre teams. The strikeouts and Pitcher of the Year award carried the day for most voters though. Pierson received 71.4% on his debut ballot, narrowly breaching the 66% requirement for a first ballot nod. This made him the fourth of five added into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame for 2033.

Lorenzen Campbell – Left Field/First Base – Milwaukee Mustangs – 66.8% Sixth Ballot

Lorenzen Campbell was a 6’2’’, 195 pound left-handed left fielder and first baseman from the capital of Jamaica, Kingston. Campbell was the first Jamaican inducted into MLB’s Hall of Fame. He was known for impressive home run power, especially facing right-handed pitchers. Campbell’s 162 game average got you 42 homers, 20 doubles, and 3 triples.

Against righties, Campbell was dominant with a .942 career OPS and 185 wRC+. He was middling against lefties though with a .680 OPS and 106 wRC+. The weakness against LHP gave Campbell merely above average contact stats overall. He was solid at drawing walks with a merely okay strikeout rate. Campbell was a skilled baserunner, but he was limited by average-at-best speed in his prime.

Campbell made about 55% of his starts at left field, where he was a subpar defender. About 1/3 of his starts came at first base with the rest in right field with awful grades in both spots. LF was where his best results came and you’d put up with iffy defense for a strong bat. Campbell’s durability was mostly good over a 16-year career and he mostly avoided big injuries. He was considered a great leader in the clubhouse and became well respected and liked throughout the game.

Jamaican prospects generally ended up in the Central American Baseball Association, but MLB teams occasionally scouted the Caribbean. A scout from Milwaukee took a liking to Campbell and signed him to a developmental deal in December 2003. After three full years in their academy, he was sent to minor league Madison with decent results in 2007. Campbell impressed enough to earn a starting job for 2008 and held it for 11 years.

Campbell took the National Association’s Rookie of the Year in 2008 with 39 homers, .899 OPS, and 4.9 WAR. His second year was arguably his best with Milwaukee with career highs for runs (106) and home runs (51). He also had 8.0 WAR, his highest with the Mustangs. Milwaukee had generally been mediocre with occasional flashes earlier in the decade. Campbell’s 2009 effort helped them make a shocking turnaround, going from 57-105 in the prior year to 92-70 and an Upper Midwest Division title.

Milwaukee had the worst record of the playoff teams, but managed to make it to the National Association Championship Series where they eventually fell to defending champ Cincinnati. Campbell had a strong showing over 14 playoff games with 14 hits, 12 runs, 4 doubles, 5 home runs, 11 RBI, 1.106 OPS, 222 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR. Mustangs fans had hopes that they’d contend regularly, but that wasn’t the case.

For the rest of Campbell’s tenure, Milwaukee didn’t make the playoffs and only had three more winning seasons. For his entire run, they averaged 77.3 wins per season. Campbell carried on with solid production and won his lone Silver Slugger at first base in 2012. He signed an eight-year, $108,600,000 extension after the 2011 season.

In 2017, Campbell was third in MVP voting, his only time as a finalist. He was on a stellar pace, but a torn hamstring in mid-August required surgery and sidelined him the rest of the year. Campbell had by far his best triple slash of .332/.382/.677 with a 1.058 OPS, 219 wRC+, and 7.8 WAR. He regressed back to more merely decent numbers in 2018 with 138 wRC+, .796 OPS, and 4.0 WAR. Still, Campbell was again good for 40+ home runs. Milwaukee had shown promise in 2017 at 88-74, but fell back to 72-90 in 2018.

With Campbell approaching age 32 with one year left on his deal, the Mustangs traded him before the 2019 season to St. Louis for four prospects. For Milwaukee, Campbell finished with 1649 games, 1592 hits, 945 runs, 204 doubles, 456 home runs, 1035 RBI, .272/.349/.550 slash, 173 wRC+, and 63.5 WAR. He remains extremely popular with Mustang fans, but he surprisingly never saw his #37 uniform retired.

The Cardinals had won pennants in 2013-14, but had just missed the playoffs in 2017-18. They also didn’t look at Campbell as a rental, giving him a five-year, $111,600,000 extension in February 2019. In his debut, Campbell led the NA with 48 home runs. His 2020 had his career high for WAR at 8.3, but his power fell off after that as for the first time, he failed to hit 30 home runs in 2021. St. Louis got a wild card in 2020 with a one-and-done, but otherwise were usually stuck around .500 with Campbell.

In his later years, Campbell did play for his native Jamaica in the World Baseball Championship. From 2021-24, he played 40 games with 29 hits, 16 runs, 5 doubles, 9 homers, 18 RBI, 13 walks, 10 steals, .204/.302/.444 slash, 118 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR. Ultimately though, Campbell’s opportunities to play in big games were limited by fate.

Campbell’s numbers against lefties were becoming quite poor in his later years, getting reduced to a platoon role in 2023 with .728 OPS and 1.0 WAR in 130 games and 78 starts. He had a year left on his deal in 2024, but St. Louis cut him after a poor spring training. Campbell spent the year unsigned and retired in the winter at age 37. With the Cardinals, he had 696 games, 602 hits, 348 runs, 89 doubles, 158 home runs, 355 RBI, .263/.335/.518 slash, 158 wRC+, and 20.9 WAR.

In total, Campbell played 2345 games with 2194 hits, 1293 runs, 293 doubles, 614 home runs, 1390 RBI, 828 walks, 1535 strikeouts, 107 stolen bases, .269/.345/.541 slash, 169 wRC+, and 84.3 WAR. As of 2037, Campbell ranks 49^th in homers, but he was out of the top 100 for all other stats. Much of his resume was dependent on dingers. Even though homers were more common in the 21^st Century, Campbell was still one of only 54 guys in MLB’s 130+ year history to make the 600 club.

The rest of his stats though were fairly borderline and Campbell was hurt by the lack of big seasons, lack of awards, and being stuck on mostly mediocre teams. Still, only one guy in MLB history previously had gotten 600+ homers and failed to make the Hall of Fame after ten ballots. Campbell’s popularity also helped his cause, but the skeptics made him wait it out.

Campbell never was below 50%, debuting in 2029 with 56.5% of the vote. He barely budged with 54.1% and 54.7% the next two years. Campbell then jumped up to 62.3% and 65.5%, painfully close to the 66% requirement. On his sixth try in 2034, he just barely stepped over the line at 66.8% to make it in even amongst a loaded group. Campbell became the fifth and final addition for Major League Baseball’s HOF in 2034.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 08-21-2025, 06:04 PM

The Central American Baseball Association had two players inducted on the first ballot for the Hall of Fame in 2034, but neither guy was a lock. C Luis Moran had 70.9% and RF James Figueroa got 66.9%, both narrowly crossing the 66% requirement. 1B Hasan Alvizo painfully missed out at 64.5% on his tenth and final chance. Three other returners were above 50% with LF Marvin Orellana at 55.1% on his ninth ballot, RF Jose Leal with 55.1% for his second go, and 1B Ivan Moran at 51.4% on his ninth try.

For Alvizo, he was hurt by a lack of longevity with some injuries in his 15-year career. He won MVP in 2011 for Panama and had two Silver Sluggers, finishing with 1849 games, 2223 hits, 1126 runs, 336 doubles, 117 triples, 413 home runs, 120 RBI, 521 walks, .326/.372/.591 slash, 154 wRC+, and 59.5 WAR. Playing on mostly weaker teams didn’t help, but he still got close despite the borderline resume. Alvizo’s 64.5% finish was his best with a low of 46.4% the prior year. Most agreed he was best left to the Hall of Pretty Good.

3B Alexander Trinidad also was dropped after ten ballots, although he didn’t get as close with a finish of 9.5% and a peak of 40.0% in 2026. He was arguably more statistically impressive than Alvizo over his 16-year career with three Silver Sluggers, 2320 games, 2317 hits, 1364 runs, 433 doubles, 543 home runs, 1365 RBI, 750 walks, .273/.331/.534 slash, 142 wRC+, and 81.7 WAR.

On the bad side, Trinidad struck out a lot and his 2556 whiffs rank as the fifth-most in CABA history as of 2037. Still, he ranks 74^th in WAR for position players and 50^th in home runs. Trinidad also won pennants with both Mexicali and Torreon with strong showings in both runs. Despite that, he never got any serious momentum towards induction.

Luis Moran – Catcher – Cancun Captains – 70.9% First Ballot

Luis Moran was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed hitting catcher from Allende, Mexico; a town of 35,000 in the northeast. Moran’s home run power and eye for walks were both quite good, especially for a catcher. His 162 game average got you a healthy 32 homers along with 20 doubles and 3 triples. Against right-handed pitching, Moran was a good contact hitter and had a career .924 OPS and 153 wRC+. He was actively bad against lefties with a .621 OPS and 73 wRC+. Moran also struggled with strikeouts against both sides, but especially versus LHP.

As you’d expect from a catcher, Moran’s speed and baserunning were terrible. He also was a pretty lousy defensive catcher, but teams were willing to put up with that in exchange for the strongest bat available at the spot in all of CABA. Moran’s durability was quite solid over a 20-year career at a very demanding spot. He was also a good team player and became popular amongst teammates and fans.

Moran was one of the highest-rated catching prospects in a long while and made many top five boards for the 2008 CABA Draft. Cancun picked him third overall and he’d be a full-time starter eight years for the Captains. Moran won Silver Sluggers in each of his Cancun seasons and was always good for 4.5 WAR. He took second in 2009’s Rookie of the Year voting. Moran was quickly viewed as the best offensive catcher in the Mexican League.

Cancun was a 2003 expansion team and stayed at the bottom of the standings for a long while not getting a winning season until 2024. Moran did help them to 81-81 in 2011, their only non-losing season until 2024. The fans appreciated his efforts though and he’d be the Captains’ first Hall of Famer. Moran’s #9 uniform would also be the first retired by the franchise. 2012 had his career highs for hits (154), runs (84), RBI (92), triple slash (.321/.386/.596), OPS (.982), wRC+ (177), and WAR (7.5).

After the 2012 season, Moran signed an eight-year, $108,100,000 extension with Cancun. That season, he also picked up All-Star Game MVP honors. Moran would become a staple of the game and would be selected 16 times as an all-star. With the Captains making seemingly no progress towards team success, Moran opted out of his contract after the 2016 season, becoming a free agent for the first time at age 30.

With Cancun, Moran played 1129 games with 1072 hits, 577 runs, 170 doubles, 223 home runs, 615 RBI, 442 walks, .291/.367/.529 slash, 151 wRC+, and 44.7 WAR. He ended up signing a seven-year, $84,500,000 deal with Nicaragua. Moran spent six years with the Navigators and won Silver Sluggers in 2018, 2019, and 2022. He did notably miss the entire 2020 season because of a torn PCL in spring training.

Nicaragua had been competitive in recent memory with pennants in 2008 and 2014, but they had only losing seasons during Moran’s tenure. He hadn’t gotten to play in any big games yet apart from the World Baseball Championship with Mexico. His WBC stats were unremarkable from 2010-28 with 122 games, 65 hits, 42 runs, 13 doubles, 18 homers, 40 RBI, .181/.294/.372 slash, and 1.2 WAR. Moran was notably a starter for the 2015 runner-up Mexican squad, but had an abysmal .393 OPS, -0.6 WAR, and 46 strikeouts in 23 starts.

Moran was still quite steady with Nicaragua over 685 games with 592 hits, 346 runs, 84 doubles, 145 home runs, 345 RBI, .258/.340/.496 slash, 127 wRC+, and 24.0 WAR. He had one year left on his deal entering 2023, but the Navigators traded him for prospects to Honduras. Moran’s first season with the Horsemen was his weakest statistically to that point, but they still gave him a three-year, $29 million extension after the season. He inked another three-year, $54,800,000 extension in September 2026.

In 2026, Moran won his 12^th and final Silver Slugger. This set the CABA position record, passing 11-time winners Mar Pavia and Chip Perez. Apart from that year, he had merely decent production and started to get used more in a platoon role in his later years. Still, he was a passable starter for a squad that started up another playoff streak in 2023. Honduras had wild cards and first round exits from 2023-25.

In 2026, the Horsemen got the top seed at 105-57, but lost to Bahamas in the Caribbean League Championship Series. They had a first round exit and division title in 2027. Then in 2028 as a 102-win wild card, Honduras beat the Buccaneers to take the Caribbean crown. They then went onto defeat Leon for the CABA Championship.

Moran’s career playoff stats were lackluster over 31 games with 18 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 5 homers, 11 RBI, .191/.283/.383 slash, 80 wRC+, and 0.1 WAR. He was used only five games in the Baseball Grand Championship, but did go 4-15 with a homer. Honduras finished 11-8 in the event, tied for seventh. In that season, he also joined the 500 home run club; only two other CABA catchers had even breached 300.

For Honduras, Moran had 713 games, 545 hits, 318 runs, 63 doubles, 134 home runs, 306 RBI, 248 walks, .239/.313/.452 slash, 108 wRC+, and 14.8 WAR. He didn’t meet the vesting criteria in his contract and was let go for 2029. Moran wanted to still play, but wasn’t signed all season and eventually retired that winter at age 43.

Moran finished with 2527 games, 2209 hits, 1241 runs, 317 doubles, 41 triples, 502 home runs, 1266 RBI, 974 walks, 2346 strikeouts, .268/.344/.498 slash, 132 wRC+, and 83.4 WAR. As of 2037, Moran ranks 51^st in games, 94^th in runs, 71^st in home runs, 18^th in walks, 19^th in strikeouts, and 70^th in WAR among position players.

Among CABA catchers, Moran is the career leader in slugging, OPS, runs, total bases (4114), homers, RBI, and walks. He does rank third in WAR behind Chip Perez (93.9) and Mar Pavia (91.1), who many cite as being better all-around catchers. Both of those guys won Gold Gloves along with solid bats and Pavia in particular played a big role in CABA’s first-ever dynasty with Tijuana in the 1910s.

Still, Moran has a case for being the best batting catcher and/or the best power-hitting catcher in the Central American Baseball Association’s history. He’s rarely outside of the top three for the position in league history. Still, the usual biases voters seem to hold against the position kept Moran to only 70.9% in his ballot debut. That was still enough for a first ballot nod as part of the two-player Hall of Fame class for 2034.

James Figueroa – Right Field – Guatemala Ghosts – 66.9% First Ballot

James Figueroa was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed right fielder from Mejicanos, El Salvador; a district of 141,000 people within greater San Salvador. Figueroa was good-to-great in terms of contact and power. He was better than most in CABA at avoiding strikeouts, but was subpar at drawing walks. Figueroa’s 162 game average got you 34 home runs, 25 doubles, and 8 triples. You weren’t going to generally get league-leading stats, but he provided a steady diet of extra-base hits.

Figueroa’s stats were stronger facing right-handed pitching (.909 OPS, 141 wRC+) compared to lefties (.769 OPS, 110 wRC+). His speed and baserunning ability graded as generally solid. Figueroa spent the vast majority of his career in right field and was an excellent defender, winning nine Gold Gloves. He occasionally played center and had good production there as well. Figueroa’s durability was impressive, playing 140+ games in all of his CABA seasons. He was considered a good leader, but his overall intelligence and loyalty graded as subpar. Still, Figueroa was very well liked at each of his career stops.

In the 2015 CABA Draft, Figueroa was picked 23^rd overall by Guatemala and spent his entire 11-year CABA run with the Ghosts. He was a full-time starter immediately with decent results as a rookie offensively and his first Gold Glove. Figueroa became a great starter after that and was good for 5+ WAR in each of his remaining Guatemala seasons except for 2025.

Figueroa’s additional Gold Gloves came in 2017, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26. In 2017, he hit for the cycle against Panama. In 2020, Figueroa had his finest season and his only one as a Caribbean League leader. He led in runs (118), homers (49), RBI (134), total bases (424), slugging (.684), OPS (1.075), wRC+ (185), and WAR (10.5). Those were all career bests as were his 228 hits, .368 average, and .391 OBP. He won his first MVP and Silver Slugger and would’ve been a Triple Crown winner if not for Haiti’s Fabino Salasar and his .393 average.

Guatemala finished 85-77 that year and missed the wild card by four wins. They had been stuck in perpetual mid-ness for most of the decade, but with Figueroa’s leadership, they soon became a regular contender. In 2021, he repeated as MVP and won another Silver Slugger with 7.9 WAR, 31 homers, and .977 OPS. The Ghosts took the top seed at 109-53, but got upset in the first round by Havana. Still, they knew they were on the cusp and gave Figueroa an eight-year, $129,600,000 extension that winter.

Figueroa never reached MVP or Silver Slugger caliber again in the regular season, but he remained a reliable starter. He did hit for the cycle in 2023 against Nicaragua, becoming one of the select few to do it twice in a career. Most importantly, he stepped up huge in the postseason as Guatemala built a dynasty. From 2022-25, they won 106, 105, 108, and 115 games; winning four consecutive Caribbean League titles. They were the first CL team to four-peat since Salvador in the 1990s.

Guatemala won the 2022 CABA Championship over Juarez, but dropped the 2023 final to 117-win Mexico City. The Ghosts reclaimed the title in 2024 against Tijuana, but couldn’t repeat in 2025 thanks to the Jesters. Figueroa was the CLCS and CABA Championship MVP in 2022 and won CLCS MVP again in 2025. For his playoff career, Figueroa started 72 games with 94 hits, 40 runs, 12 doubles, 20 home runs, 53 RBI, 23 steals, .341/.362/.616 slash, 163 wRC+, and 3.8 WAR.

The Ghosts’ first Baseball Grand Championship trip saw a 10-9 record and 11^th place finish in 2022. In 2023, they finished 13-6 and were second only to 14-5 Dhaka for the title. Guatemala took 12^th in 2024 at 9-10 and eighth in 2025 at 11-8. Over 75 starts, Figueroa had 70 hits, 37 runs, 11 doubles, 18 home runs, 46 RBI, .265/.340/.519 slash, and 2.5 WAR. He was a critical reason that the Ghosts became THE top Caribbean team in four straight years.

Guatemala was 104-58 in 2026, but lost the division by a win to Honduras and lost in the first round. Their playoff streak continued through 2030, but they never made it back to the CLCS. A big reason for that was likely Figueroa’s surprising departure, opting out of his deal after the 2026 season. This made him a free agent for the first time at age 33. It also marked the end of his run in CABA. Ghosts fans were sad to see him go, but he remained popular for his role in the dynasty and his #44 uniform would later be retired.

Although he left the region, Figueroa did continue to represent his native El Salvador in the World Baseball Championship. He was a regular from 2017-31 and played 159 games with 142 hits, 88 runs, 20 doubles, 37 home runs, 76 RBI, .248/.317/.490 slash, and 4.3 WAR.

Figueroa left for Major League Baseball and signed a four-year, $72 million deal with Hartford. He wasn’t exceptional or award winning with the Huskies, but he gave them four years as a very reliable and solid starter. Hartford ultimately hovered around the .500 mark during his time there. Figueroa played 573 games with 608 hits, 348 runs, 84 doubles, 129 home runs, 361 RBI, .278/.323/.510 slash, 126 wRC+, and 16.5 WAR. He did lose about two months in his final summer in Connecticut to a fractured thumb.

Now 37-years old heading into 2031, Figueroa was a free agent again. Teams were generally averse to a guy his age and he had to settle for a two-year, $15,600,000 deal with Timor of the Oceania Baseball Association. Figueroa fell completely off a cliff in 2031 with the Tapirs and was reduced to a bench role in 2032. In 179 games, he had -1.2 WAR, .580 OPS, and 63 wRC+. He wanted to still play in 2033, but was clearly completely washed at this point. Figueroa retired in the winter of 2033 at age 40.

For his combined pro career, Figueroa had 2723 hits, 1438 runs, 374 doubles, 125 triples, 517 home runs, 1548 RBI, 475 walks, 1568 strikeouts, 504 steals, a .297/.338/.534 slash, 133 wRC+, and 80.9 WAR. As a combined resume, those numbers would usually be plenty. However, Figueroa’s candidacy for the Central American Baseball Association’s Hall of Fame was to be primarily based on the 11 seasons with Guatemala.

With the Ghosts, Figueroa had 1705 games, 1992 hits, 1041 runs, 271 doubles, 102 triples, 380 home runs, 1148 RBI, 338 walks, 1059 strikeouts, 428 steals, .310/.349/.561 slash, .910 OPS, 141 wRC+, and 65.6 WAR. The shorter tenure meant he was outside of the top 100 in all stats. Even getting some partial credit for his post-CABA years, there were voters who felt his totals were very borderline.

However, the strong playoff stats and role in Guatemala’s dynasty made a huge difference. Figueroa was top 30 for most playoff stats in CABA, had two CLCS MVPs and a finals MVP. Nine Gold Gloves and two MVP wins also went a very long way with many voters favoring important accolades like that over the counting stats. Still, those who fixate on tallies kept Figueroa to only 66.9% upon his debut ballot. Since 66% was the threshold, this was just enough for a first ballot selection as part of CABA’s 2034 class.

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