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

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-21-2025, 06:51 PM

Defending Austronesia Professional Baseball champ Tainan was looking to three-peat as the Taiwan-Philippine Association champ. The Titans took the top seed for the third straight year at 104-58 and earned a fifth consecutive playoff berth. They had the TPA’s fewest runs allowed at 445. Taipei took the second place slot in the Taiwan League at 89-73 for their third playoff trip in six years. Taoyuan was third at 84-78 despite being the top scoring team at 619. Kaohsiung, a playoff team in 2034, plummeted to 66-96.

Zamboanga claimed the Philippine League crown at 97-65, fending off 95-67 Quezon and 91-71 Batangas. It was the second playoff trip in three years for the Zebras, but their first time atop the standings since 2024. The Zombies’ playoff streak grew to four seasons. The Beach Bums had their first winning season since joining in the 2029 expansion. Cebu was 84-78 for a rare playoff miss, although their streak of winning seasons extends back to 2023.

Hsinchu had the Taiwan-Philippine Association’s worst record at 64-98 thanks to putrid pitching. The Sweathogs had the worst team ERA (4.06), worst WHIP (1.269), and most earned runs allowed (648) in APB history. Their 711 runs allowed ranked as the second-worst and 8.78 H/9 was the third worst. Despite that, Hsinchu’s Binh Tang continued to make history at the plate. After finishing second in MVP voting the prior two years, “The King” returned to the throne in 2035.

Tang won an unprecedented 13^th MVP, a mark never before met by any player in baseball history. Still only 35-years old, the Vietnamese 2B led in runs (101), slugging (.602), OPS (.987), and WAR (9.7). Tang had 191 hits, 30 doubles, 41 home runs 93 RBI, .330 average, and 187 wRC+. It was his 13^th season leading in WAR and in OPS. Tang also got his 15^th Silver Slugger, one of only 13 in world history to do so and the only in APB. It was his fourth straight at 2B with eight at 1B and three as a DH.

In 2035, Tang became APB’s third batter with 3000 career hits and the second with 700 home runs. He was already the career leader for runs, RBI, total bases, and WAR. Tang finished the season at 525 doubles, tying Iqbal Safari’s APB career record. With 706 homers, he was 60 shy of Wil Tabaldo’s record 766. Tang was also at 3155 hits, putting him potentially 2-3 good years from passing Junior Sanchez’s 3564.

Tainan’s Yu-Lin Hsu repeated as Pitcher of the Year, earning the ERA title (1.82) and leading in quality starts (27) and shutouts (5). The 31-year old Taiwanese lefty had a 21-9 record over 276.2 innings with 362 strikeouts, 176 ERA+, and 10.7 WAR. Hsu had to fend off teammate Kuan-Yang Kang for the award, as Kang led in WAR (11.5) and strikeouts (431).

The first place teams rolled to divisional round sweeps with Zamboanga over Taipei and Tainan over Quezon. For the Zebras, this was their first trip to the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship since 2024. The series went all seven games with only home victories, allowing the Titans to pull off the three-peat. Tainan became six-time TPA champs (1969, 72, 79, 2033-35).

At 112-50, Bandung set the record for the most wins by a Sundaland Association team. The Blackhawks won the Java Sea League for the fourth year running and got the top seed for the third straight year. Bandung set new SA team records for the triple slash (.265/.305/.424) and hits (1448). Their 633 runs were the second-best in SA history behind Johor Bahru’s 653 in 2018. The Blackhawks also had 96 triples, second also to the 2018 Blue Wings (106).

Even with that dominance, the Java Sea League wasn’t a pushover at the top with Semarang second at 101-61. The Sliders had to hold off Depok at 93-69 to claim a third consecutive wild card. Semarang’s 410 runs allowed was the best in APB with Bandung close behind at 414.

Reigning SA champ Kuala Lumpur repeated atop the Malacca League at 92-70 for their fourth playoff trip in five years. Medan finished second for the fifth time in six years with their 88-74 finish. The next closest foes were Johor Bahru and Pekanbaru both at 82-80.

Leading Bandung’s record-setting offense was Sundaland Association MVP Azmi Lim. The 27-year old CF from Hong Kong led in doubles (36), RBI (106), total bases (318), average (.333), slugging (.633), OPS (1.019), wRC+ (236), and WAR (9.9). Lim had 167 hits, 77 runs, 17 triples, and 27 homers. Before the season, the Blackhawks committed to an eight-year, $163,800,000 extension. Lim had been a sleeper fourth round draft pick for Bandung in 2028.

Kuala Lumpur’s Thipanraj Shahdan won Pitcher of the Year in his sixth season in the rotation, leading in ERA (1.37) and quality starts (29). The 27-year old Malaysian lefty had a 16-7 record, 235.2 innings, 357 strikeouts, 204 ERA+, and 8.2 WAR. Shahdan notably struck out 20 in a 3-hit win over Medan in September. The Leopards gave him a five-year, $114,600,000 extension in August 2034.

Also worth a mention from Kuala Lumpur was Craig Chia, who joined Ting-Wei Ping as APB’s only five-time Reliever of the Year winners. The 29-year old Filipino lefty came to the Leopards in 2035 in a trade after starting with Batangas. Chia led with 41 saves and had a 0.50 ERA over 89.2 innings, 153 strikeouts, and 5.2 WAR.

Bandung survived a fierce 3-2 challenge from Medan in the divisional round while Kuala Lumpur beat Semarang 3-1 to set up a Sundaland Association Championship rematch. The Leopards won in 2034, denying the Blackhawks’ three-peat bid despite being the road underdog. KL again was the underdog and upset 112-win Bandung in a seven-game war. It was Kuala Lumpur’s third pennant, having also won in 2031.

The 71^st Austronesia Championship was the first finals rematch since Taipei versus Palembang in 2019-20. Tainan had cruised to a sweep of Kuala Lumpur in 2034, but the Leopards got their revenge in 2035. The 4-2 win gave KL its second title along with the 2031 victory. SP John Gonzalez was finals MVP, notably tossing a three-hit shutout in the game six clincher. The 26-year old Filipino had a 2.81 ERA in 32 playoff innings with 40 Ks.

Other notes: Quezon leadoff man Vanne Long set APB single-season records for batting average (.3657), hits (230), and singles (166). Tainan’s Kuan-Yang Kang had 23 strikeouts facing Hsinchu on April 10, tying the league record set in 1984 by Vhon Lasam. Kang notably didn’t need extras like Lasam to do it and was only the 5^th in world history with 23 Ks over nine or fewer innings. Additionally, Kang became the 12^th APB ace with 4500 career Ks

APB’s 58^th perfect game came on May 5 by Medan’s Fitri Izwan with 10 strikeouts facing Surabaya. In other pitching notables, Hakimi Aziz, Hari Xi, and Ferry Iilang each got to 3500 strikeouts; a mark met by 42 APB aces. In batting milestones, Roland Arias became the 13^th member of the 500 home run club. Shen Chang, Kevin Lozano, and Wei-Yin Wang grew the 400 homer club to 36 sluggers.

James Yuwono and Kai Yu were the 69^th and 70^th to 2000 hits. Adam Mapiut was the 36^th to 1000 runs scored and the 47^th to 1000 RBI. RF Jeremiah Lang won his 8^th consecutive Gold Glove and SS Husni Slamet won his 7^th Gold Glove. SS Robb Rivera won his 7^th Silver Slugger.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-22-2025, 05:32 AM

After winning their first Australasia League title in 2034, Hobart pulled off the repeat in 2035. The Tasmaniacs won a competitive race at 95-67, holding off Christchurch (93-69), Melbourne (91-71) and Gold Coast (87-75). The Chinooks were the top scoring team at 795 runs and the Mets allowed the fewest at 553. Christchurch notably had 298 team doubles, a new Oceania Baseball Association record. Perth notably dropped to 73-89; the Penguins had won 88+ games in each of the prior six seasons.

Captaining Hobart’s effort was ninth-year Davy Boyle who earned Australasia League MVP. The 31-year old Australian LF led in OBP (.411), slugging (.591), OPS (1.002), wRC+ (194), and WAR (7.2). Boyle had 33 home runs, 93 RBI, 197 hits, 91 runs, 33 doubles, and a .350 average. Prior to the season, Boyle inked a seven-year, $184,800,000 extension with the Tasmaniacs. Hobart had picked him fifth back in the 2026 OBA Draft.

The Tasmaniacs also had the Pitcher of the Year Ashton Aucoin in his sixth season. The 28-year old Australian righty had been the #1 draft pick in 2029. Aucoin led in wins (21-16), complete games (18), and shutouts (3). He had a 3.20 ERA and 109 ERA+ over 329 innings with 333 strikeouts and 6.0 WAR. Aucoin would get his extension after the 2036 campaign at $112,800,000 over six seasons.

At the start of the 2030s, Samoa was at the very bottom at 59-103. They had gotten back on the winning track by 2032 and in 2035 would end a 16-year pennant drought. The Sun Sox won the Pacific League at 100-62, becoming five-time PL champs (1972, 1973, 1987, 2018, 2035). Samoa was the PL’s top scoring team with 759 runs.

Four other teams were in the fight for most of the year. Guam was second at 94-68, followed by Guadalcanal at 93-69, defending OBA champ Tahiti at 92-70, and Fiji at 90-72. The Tropics allowed the fewest runs at 536 and had some key individual efforts, sweeping the Pacific League’s top awards.

LF Jun Lopez-Torres won MVP honors with Melbourne in 2030 and Guam in 2034. He opted out of his contract for 2035 and signed a six-year, $162 million deal with Tahiti. The 30-year old Australian repeated as MVP in his Tropics debut, leading in runs (116), total bases (387), slugging (.666), OPS (1.038), wRC+ (184), and WAR 99.6). Lopez-Torres added 193 hits, 32 doubles, 18 triples, 42 homers, 115 RBI, and a .332 average.

Dirk Murray won his second Pitcher of the Year in three years for the Tropics and missed a Triple Crown by one win. The 32-year old Canadian lefty had joined Tahiti in 2032 after a seven-year run with MLB’s Sacramento Shamrocks. Murray led in ERA (2.26), innings (338), strikeouts (402), quality starts (34), shutouts (3), and WAR (9.6). He had a 22-12 record and 161 ERA+. Murray led in strikeouts for the fourth consecutive season.

The 76^th Oceania Championship saw the 17^th different franchise to win it all. Hobart won its first title in a seven-game classic against Samoa. The Tasmaniacs joined Vanuatu as 2006 expansion teams with a ring. The other two expansion teams Canberra and Timor along with charter franchise Fiji were the only remaining teams yet to claim a ring. The Tapirs are the only team to never make it to the championship.

Series MVP was backup OF Rainer Lange, who played only 85 games and started 36 in 2035 for Hobart. The German journeyman started the whole series and went 7-25 with 4 runs, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 5 RBI, and 0.5 WAR. Samoa’s Tommy Mou was notably for setting a playoff record for K/9 of 15.0 (minimum 15 innings required). He pitched 15 innings exactly with 25 Ks and a 3.60 ERA.

Other notes: David Odom and John Skeffington became the 27^th and 28^th to 2500 hits. Four reached 2000 hits to grow that group to 77 batters. Peter Gosden and Timmy Ellis were the 78^th and 79^th to 1000 runs. The 400 home run club grew to 55 members with the addition of Vic Ahn and Pat Nicholson. Alec Taika was the 51^st pitcher to 3000 strikeouts. Odom also won his 12^th Gold Glove at first base and C Kristian Duenas won his 11^th at catcher. SS Mathew Bellamy won his 8^th Silver Slugger.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-22-2025, 05:19 PM

Defending European League champ Moscow grew their playoff streak to seven seasons and won their fifth consecutive North Division title. This was easily their strongest season of the run at 110-52, allowing the fewest runs in all of Eurasian Professional Baseball at 539. The Mules broke their own league attendance record at 2,081,874 tickets sold.

The division wasn’t a lock even with that record as St. Petersburg gave chase at 104-58. The Polar Bears led EPB with 781 runs and ended a seven-year playoff drought as the first wild card. The division also had the second wild card in Gomel at 90-72, ending a three-year skid. Kazan, a wild card last year, fell completely off a cliff to 59-103. Last year’s ELCS runner-up Minsk also notably dropped off to 70-92.

Voronezh won the South Division for the third straight year. The Zephyrs were 102-60 for the best record of their four-year streak. Voronezh notably set a new single-season EPB team record with 1680 hits and had the second-best batting average at .292. Krasnodar was the only other team in the division above .500 at 86-76, falling four wins short of Gomel for the second wild card. The Steamers had 113 triples, breaking the EL record and falling two short of the EPB top mark.

Nizhny Novgorod was decent at 83-79, but their star Maksim Krutov was again excellent. For the fourth time in five years, the Russian LF was European League MVP. Krutov was the fifth player in EPB history with 4+ MVP wins. The 29-year old former #1 overall pick led in runs (120), home runs (58), average (.364), slugging (.746), OPS (1.161), wRC+ (211), and WAR (9.7). Krutov’s slugging was a new single-season EPB record, breaking Amam Charyyew’s .713 which had held since 1963.

Krutov had 203 hits, 23 doubles, and 125 RBI, falling five RBI short of the Triple Crown behind Voronezh DH Aleksandr Belov. Belov was third in MVP voting, but was notable for setting two single-season records of his own with 244 hits and 435 total bases. The previous EPB hits record was 241 by Vladimir Pyatrenka in 2030, while Dzmitry Kuliev had the total bases mark of 429 from 1988. Belov had 24 doubles, 25 triples, 39 homers, and 7.1 WAR.

Voronezh’s Sergie Stepanov won his second Pitcher of the Year in three years, leading in ERA (2.11), strikeouts (345), WHIP (0.88), FIP- (53), and WAR (9.8). The 26-year old Russian righty had a 179 ERA+, 247.2 innings, and 18-7 record; two wins shy of a Triple Crown.

The division champs prevailed in the first round of the playoffs with Moscow over Gomel 3-0 and Voronezh over St. Petersburg 3-1. The Mules were looking to repeat, while the Zephyrs were in their third European League Championship Series in four years; although they missed each other in 2034. Moscow took the series 4-2 for their fourth pennant in six years and 17^th overall, second only to Minsk’s 22.

Irkutsk had won the 2034 EPB Championship as a wild card. The Ice Cats would take the Asian League’s top seed in 2035, albeit barely. Irkutsk and Novosibirsk tied atop the East Division standings at 96-66 with the Ice Cats winning in a tiebreaker game. The Nitros’ playoff streak grew to seven seasons and Irkutsk’s to three years. Last year’s top seed and ALCS runner-up Ulaanbaatar also grew their playoff streak to three, taking the second wild card at 89-73.

Over in the West Division, Yekaterinburg took first at 93-69 to end a seven-year playoff drought and run of losing campaigns. Last year’s division champ Nur-Sultan was their only real competitor at 85-77, falling four short in the wild card race and eight in the division hunt. Novosibirsk led the AL with 780 runs and Irkutsk allowed the fewest at 590.

In his fourth season, Yekaterinburg LF Andrey Golovin won his first Asian League MVP. He had led in homers, RBI, and OPS the prior season but just missed the honor. The 26-year old Kazakh in 2035 was the leader for homers (53), walks (88), slugging (.670), OPS (1.086), wRC+ (198), and WAR (9.3). Golovin had 179 hits, 118 runs, 125 RBI, and .325 average. He was living up to being the #1 overall draft pick in 2031 by the Yaks.

Irkutsk’s Vardan Aslan won his third Pitcher of the Year, having previously done it in 2028 and 2030 with Nur-Sultan. He had gotten traded to the Ice Cats for 2034 and quickly signed a five-year, $99 million extension with them. The 31-year old Uzbek righty was the WARlord at 8.0 and had a 2.57 ERA over 273.2 innings, 285 strikeouts, 148 ERA+, and 17-9 record.

Also notable was Novosibirsk’s Kazybek Orazow becoming the fifth EPB closer to win five Reliever of the Year awards. He had won his first four with Vladivostok and had joined the Nitros in 2034. The 31-year old Tajik righty had 40 saves, 2.52 ERA, 96.1 innings, 144 Ks, and 4.0 WAR. Orazow moved up to fifth on the EPB career saves list at 376, but that chase would be paused as he’d leave for MLB’s Brooklyn Dodgers in 2036.

Ulaanbaatar upset Irkutsk 3-2 in the first round, avenging their ALCS loss from the prior season. Novosibirsk outlasted Yekaterinburg 3-2 on the other side of the bracket. The Nitros got their fourth Asian League Championship Series trip in six years, but their only pennant win was way back in 1988. Novosibirsk ended that 46 season drought by besting the Boars 4-2.

The Nitros were the only remaining original EPB franchise in the league that hadn’t won it all. Moscow had five titles to their name, but had lost in six consecutive EPB Championships, including in 2030, 31, and 34. The 81^st EPB Championship would go to the Mules 4-1 over Novosibirsk, bringing the cup back to the Russian capital.

Moscow’s previous wins were 1974, 1975, 2006, 2009, and 2016; putting them at 6-11 all-time in the finals. They were the seventh different EPB champ in as many years. In a losing effort, Novosibirsk’s Daniyar Aliyev was finals MVP. In 16 playoff starts, he had 19 hits, 9 runs, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, 7 RBI, and 1.0 WAR.

Other notes: Aleksandr Belov had a 32-game hitting streak, tied for the 2^nd-longest in EPB history. He was one game short of Wolfgang Lind’s record 33 in 2006. Erik Farkas became the 28^th member of the 500 home run club and Mariyan Kazakov was the 83^rd to 400 dingers.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-23-2025, 06:24 AM

Defending European Champion and defending Baseball Grand Champion Warsaw repeated as the Northern Conference’s top seed at 103-59 atop the East Division. The Wildcats had the best record in the entire European Baseball Federation Elite Tier and allowed the fewest runs in EBF at 553. Warsaw also was the NC’s top scorer with 774 runs. They won the division by 15 games for their fourth playoff trip in five years.

West Division champ Dublin gave them a run for the top seed at 101-61. The Dinos grew their playoff streak to three with their second division crown of the run. All four wild cards came out of the West with Hamburg (94-68), Cardiff (91-71), Cologne (90-72), and Antwerp (89-73) advancing. The first three teams to miss the cut came from the East with Helsinki (88-74), Oslo (87-75), and last year’s conference runner-up Berlin (86-76).

It was an impressive return for the Hammers, who were the 2034 European Second League champ. Hamburg hadn’t been above .500 in the Elite Tier since 2026 and it was their first playoff trip since 2023. The Crew and Copperheads both earned repeat playoff trips while the Airedales ended a five-year drought. Notable was Rotterdam at 80-82 and Hanover at 76-86, ending long runs for both teams of winning seasons. The Ravens hadn’t posted a losing season since 2016 and the Hitmen since 2022. Edinburg, a wild card the last two seasons, notably dropped as well to 76-86.

Manchester was by far the worst team at 59-103 in the West, suffering relegation after 17 seasons in the EBF Elite. The Crushers had been a playoff team from 2028-31, but had dropped off in recent years. Lodz was last in the East at 67-95, finishing just behind Prague (70-92) and Gothenburg (72-90). The Legion had a seven-year stint in the top tier, but was unable to post a winning season.

Stockholm was a non-factor at 76-86, but they had the Northern Conference MVP Harvey Smith. The 24-year old Englishman repeated as a Gold Glove winner at third base and led in runs (123), hits (223), total bases (438), OPS (1.121), wRC+ (206), and WAR (11.7). Smith smacked 60 home runs with 127 RBI, 27 doubles, and a .367/.401/.720 slash. He had to fend off some big boppers to take MVP with Antwerp’s Bohuslav Vlasko smacking 70 homers and Wroclaw’s Adam Nebowski with 68. Vlasko was only the eighth in EBF history with a 70+ homer campaign.

Warsaw’s Takao Watanabe won his second Pitcher of the Year in three years. The 31-year old Japanese lefty led in wins (19-6), FIP- (58), and WAR (7.2). Watanabe had a 2.20 ERA, 209 innings, 291 strikeouts, and 169 ERA+. He posted 28.9 WAR over five seasons in Poland, having arrived after playing his first five years in his native Japan. Watanabe would cash in as a free agent for 2036 and stay in Europe on a six-year, $165,200,000 deal with Dublin.

Cardiff beat Cologne and Hamburg topped Antwerp in the first round of the playoffs, both by 2-0 margins. The division champs prevailed in round two with Dublin surviving 3-2 against the Hammers and Warsaw over the Crew 3-1. The Dinos earned their second Northern Conference Championship trip in three years and the Wildcats were shooting for the repeat.

In a seven-game classic, Dublin dethroned the defending champ Warsaw to become 12-time conference champs. That leads all NC teams and ended one of the Dinos’ longer pennant droughts at ten seasons. The only teams with more pennants are the Southern Conference’s Zurich and Munich, who have 13 each. Dublin has eight pennants in the 21^st Century.

Krakow claimed the top seed in the Southern Conference at a franchise-best 102-60 and led all teams with 878 runs. The Canines have three straight playoff berths and two East Division titles since getting promoted back up for 2033. Barcelona at 99-63 won the West Division, bouncing back after having their seven-year playoff streak thwarted in 2034. The Bengals allowed the conference’s fewest runs with 568.

Getting the first three wild cards outright were Budapest (96-66), Zurich (94-68), and Belgrade (94-68). The Bombers got a third straight wild card, while the Mountaineers earned their fourth berth in five years and the Bruisers got their second in three years. The final spot saw a tie at 92-70 between Zaragoza and Bucharest, two teams both in their second year back in the Elite Tier. The Gold Hawks won the tiebreaker game to advance for their first playoff trip since 2017. The only other teams in the wild card hunt were 87-75 Lyon and 86-76 Thessaloniki, which ended a three-year streak for the Lords.

The three worst records in the conference were in the East Division, but only last place suffers relegation. That fate fell to Lviv at 63-99, who were behind Odesa (66-96), Chisinau (66-96), and Tirana (67-95). The Lunkers lasted only one year in the EBF Elite, having been the 2034 E2L runner-up. Naples at 67-95 was the clear last place in the West, falling back to the Second League after only a two-year return.

In his first year as a full-time starter, Krakow LF Rafal Mazurek won Southern Conference MVP. The hometown hero had been a part-time starter in the prior three seasons. Mazurek led in total bases (427), triple slash (.383/.418/.712), OPS (1.129), and wRC+ (218). The 25-year old Pole added 230 hits, 124 runs, 25 doubles, 23 triples, 42 homers, 124 RBI, and 10.6 WAR. Mazurek’s childhood dream came through with the Canines picked him 38^th in the 2031 EBF Draft. He would commit to his hometown Krakow after the 2036 season on an eight-year, $177,500,000 extension, although he would suffer a torn PCL in August 2036.

Pitcher of the Year was 6’8’’ German righty Karl-Heinz Wege in his fifth season with Zurich. The 30-year old led in WAR (9.2), quality starts (25), shutouts (6), and FIP- (55). Wede had a 14-6 record, 2.21 ERA, 169 ERA+, 240 innings, and 263 strikeouts. This was a contract year for Wege, who had arrived in Switzerland in a 2031 trade from Sofia. He would sign in the winter with Belgrade for $153,600,000 over six years.

Zurich swept Belgrade 2-0 and Budapest swept Zaragoza in the first round. The division champs held firm 3-1 in the second round with Krakow over the Mountaineers and Barcelona over the Bombers. Despite eight playoff trips in nine years, this was only the second Southern Conference Championship trip of that run for the Bengals. Their pennant drought went back to 2015.

The Canines had never been a playoff team prior to starting their current three-year streak. Krakow’s first conference finals trip was the 2033 defeat to Lyon. In a fierce seven-game battle, the Canines outlasted Barcelona for their first pennant. With their title, 41 different franchises will have competed in the European Championship.

Krakow became the 34^th club to win it all, surviving in seven games facing Dublin in the 86^th European Championship. The defeat puts the Dinos at 7-5 all-time in their finals trips. The Canines were the ninth different champ in as many years, but kept the cup in Poland following Warsaw’s 2034 triumph.

Conference MVP Rafal Mazurek had a big postseason for his hometown club and was conference finals MVP. In 18 starts, he had 32 hits, 12 runs, 6 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, 7 RBI, 1.114 OPS, 219 wRC+, and 1.5 WAR. The hit tally was the third-highest in EBF playoff history. Finals MVP was Dublin 1B Sal Kirwan in a losing effort, who had 11 hits, 8 runs, 5 homers, and 8 RBI in 13 playoff games.

Other notes: Wilmer Hottinen and Rabiola Lierta both had four home run games, a feat now accomplished 22 times in EBF. Mark Schroder became the 22^nd member of the 600 home run club and the 37^th to 1500 RBI. Danut Alecsandrescu became the 49^th to reach 500 homers and Stanislav Sahakyan was the 50^th.

In pitching notables, Nejc Novak was the 12^th to reach 4000 strikeouts and Vijay Wesley was the 18^th to 300 saves. CF Kamil Bufka won his 10^th Gold Glove and 1B Waldemar Riemers grabbed his 8^th. Bufka is one of six at any position in EBF with 10+ GGs and the leading center fielder.

Promotion/Relegation: See the image below for the teams moving up and down in the European baseball pyramid following the 2035 season.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-23-2025, 02:58 PM

Last year’s Bolivar League runner-up Lima took the top seed in 2035 at 105-57 atop the Peru-Bolivia Division. The Lobos extended their playoff streak to nine seasons with their sixth division crown of the run. Lima scored 914 runs, the third-most in any Beisbol Sudamerica season. Still, they had to fend off a tough 99-63 Arequipa for the division crown. The Arrows, the 2034 top seed, grew their playoff streak to seven seasons as the first wild card.

Reigning Copa Sudamerica champ Quito was 99-63 for a third consecutive Colombia-Ecuador Division title. Cali was second at 93-69 and ended a three-year postseason skid as the second wild card. The Cyclones allowed 616 runs, the fewest in the BL. Barranquilla was third in the division at 89-73 and was the nearest wild card foe. La Paz, a wild card last year, was next in that hunt at 87-75. The Pump Jacks offense notably had only 922 strikeouts all season, setting a BL record.

In 2034, Caracas had their first losing season since 2015. The Colts returned to the top of the Venezuela Division in 2035 with a 90-72 record; their 37^th division crown in franchise history. It was a tight race with Valencia (87-75), Maracaibo (84-78), and Barquisimeto (83-79) each giving chase. The Velocity had won 100+ games the prior two years and the pennant in 2033.

Lima RF Marc Melgar won his fourth Bolivar League MVP, having previously done it from 2028-30. The hometown hero also won his seventh Silver Slugger in his 12^th season with the Lobos. The 33-year old righty led in runs (131), RBI (158), total bases (431), slugging (.716), and OPS (1.129). Melgar had 224 hits, 34 doubles, 13 triples, 49 home runs, .372 average, .413 OBP, 182 wRC+, and 8.9 WAR. His effort was tied for the seventh-most RBI in a BSA season and was one of only 36 seasons of 130+ runs. Melgar also hit for the cycle on April 2 against Barranquilla, the second of his career.

Maracay was awful at 68-94, but their ace Orlando Cepeda still won his second Pitcher of the Year, having also done it in 2031. He managed to lead in wins at 21-8 while posting a 2.98 ERA, 137 ERA+, 244.2 innings, 286 strikeouts, and 6.9 WAR. Cepeda was the first-ever draft pick by the expansion Misfits, taken third in 2028. After more failures in 2036, Maracay would trade the Venezuelan ace to Bogota.

Cali outlasted Caracas 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs, but got promptly swept by top-seed Lima in the divisional series. Arequipa bested Quito 3-1 on the other side of the bracket. Every Bolivar League Championship Series since 2027 has featured the Lobos or Arrows, but their only time meeting in the BLCS was Lima’s 2031 pennant.

Never before had two Peruvian teams met in the LCS. However, the rivals had met recently in the 2029, 2033, and 2034 divisional series. The Arrows won in 2029 and 2033 with a Lobos win in 2034. For 2035 in six games, Arequipa got the road upset over Lima to earn their second title (2029). The Lobos are now 2-4 in their LCS trips during their postseason streak.

A competitive Southern Cone League had the five playoff teams separated by only six wins. Santiago’s BSA-record playoff streak grew to 16 seasons as they took the top seed at 97-65. The Saints won their seventh consecutive South Central Division title and have only once been a wild card in the playoff streak. Santiago was also the top scoring team at 776 runs. Defending league champ Salta was second in the division at 92-70, which was good enough for the first wild card.

The other division winners finished 94-68 with Brasilia in the North and Porto Alegre in the Southeast. They both were first by four wins after 162 games. In the last decade, the Bearcats have seven playoff berths, bouncing back after going 80-82 in 2034. The Armadillos earned only their third-ever playoff trip (2017, 2020). Brasilia allowed the fewest runs in BSA at 530.

Both divisions’ second place teams were 90-72; Sao Paulo and Recife. The Padres, last year’s LCS runner-up, defeated the Retrievers in the tiebreaker game to advance. Since 2022, SP has only missed the playoffs thrice. Montevideo was also in the wild card race but fell just short at 88-74. Rio de Janeiro was 84-78, notably getting their first winning campaign since 2023.

Mendoza was among the worst teams at 67-95, but 1B Zosimo Serraro wouldn’t be denied Southern Cone League MVP in his fifth season. The 27-year old Argentine lefty led in runs (117), doubles (45), homers (52), total bases (434), slugging (.705), OPS (1.120), wRC+ (222), and WAR (10.4). Serrano had 223 hits, 113 RBI, a .362 average, and .416 OBP. The Mutants had taken him with the #1 pick in the 2030 BSA Draft. Although Serrano has delivered individually, the team success hasn’t followed.

In only his second season in the rotation, Porto Alegre’s Bryan Neves won Pitcher of the Year. The 23-year old Brazilian righty led in wins (23-10) and innings (285). Neves had a 2.46 ERA, 148 ERA+, 233 strikeouts, and 6.2 WAR. The Armadillos had picked Neves with the #6 selection in the 2029 BSA Draft. He saw limited relief use from 2032-33, then became a starter in 2034.

In a rematch of last year’s Southern Cone League Championship, Sao Paulo got revenge on Salta 2-1 in the first round. The Padres then upset top seed Santiago 3-1 in the divisional series to earn their eighth LCS trip since 2024. The Saints suffered one-and-dones in back-to-back years as the #1 seed.

Brasilia on the other side downed Porto Alegre 3-1 to earn their second LCS trip in three years. However, the Bearcats were looking to snap a 32-year pennant drought. They succeeded, stopping Sao Paulo 4-2 to become six-time Southern Cone kings (1935, 1937, 1938, 1999, 2002, 2035).

The 105^th Copa Sudamerica saw the 28^th unique franchise to claim the Cup. Arequipa became a first-time winner as they cruised to a 4-1 win over Brasilia. RF Blair Vidal was finals MVP in his fifth year with the Arrows. A platoon starter generally, Vidal only had seven postseason at-bats, but got five hits, three runs, 1 double, 2 homers, and 6 RBI.

Other notes: Longtime Arrows star Paco Amorim finished the season with 1445 walks, passing Matias Amaro (1379) to become BSA’s all-time leader. Next year, he could reach 1500+ walks, which has only been met by 41 players in all of pro baseball history. In 2035, the 35-year old Amorim led in on-base percentage for the 13^th time. He also became the 20^th member of BSA’s 3000 hit club, but most importantly helped his team to their first Cup in his 17-year odyssey. Prior to the season, the five-time MVP re-upped for another four years and $101,200,000 with Arequipa.

In other batting milestones, Matty de Sousa became the 68^th member of the 500 homer club. Edwar Miron and Miguel Cruz were the 87^th and 88^th to 2500 hits. Jesus Fresco had a six-hit game on May 7, joining Juan Rizo as the only BSA players to do it twice in a career. Only ten batters in world history have multiple six-hit games. Fresco had also done it in 2033, both with Sao Paulo.

Otavio Furtado became the 19^th pitcher with 4500 strikeouts and Ivan Scaccabarozzi was the 55^th to 3500 Ks. Santino Condori became the 74^th with 200 wins and Baltar Orellana the 44^th to 300 saves. In bad pitching, Curitiba’s staff was quite poor with a 4.82 ERA, 1730 hits, 767 earned runs, 974 strikeouts, 10.88 H/9, 6/13 K/9, and 1.451 WHIP. Each of those was either the second or third-worst in Southern Cone League history. The #1 worst for was also the Carnivores during their 2029 season.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-24-2025, 05:57 AM

Three teams battled for the Japan League’s top seed in 2035. Capital Division champ Kawasaki narrowly took it at 101-61 ahead of North Division winner Sendai (100-62) and the reigning East Asia Baseball champ and Central Division winner Hamamatsu (98-64). The Killer Whales allowed the fewest runs in EAB at 500 and the Samurai led the JL with 724 runs scored. This was the third straight 100+ win season for Kawasaki and Sendai. The Killer Whales’ playoff streak grew to five, while the Samurai and Chickenhawks both made it three straight.

Their divisions also featured the wild card fight with Saitama (92-70) and Sapporo (90-72) advancing ahead of Osaka (88-74) and Niigata (85-77). Both the Sting and Swordfish snapped six season playoff skids. The weakest playoff record came from Kitakyushu at 87-75, repeating as West Division champs. Fukuoka was their nearest foe at 82-80 and Hiroshima was 79-83.

Niigata’s Masanori Fukuoka made history, joining Hitoshi Kubota as the only EAB players with 6+ MVPs. The 33-year old LF had also taken the Japan League’s top honor in 2026, 28, 29, 31, and 33. Fukuoka picked up his ninth Silver Slugger as he led in home runs (53), total bases (382), slugging (.701), OPS (1.041), and wRC+ (205). He added 166 hits, 106 runs, 33 doubles, 12 triples, 109 RBI, .305 average, and 8.8 WAR. Fukuoka had been the Green Dragons’ superstar player since going #1 in the 2023 EAB Draft.

In his seventh-year starting for Kitakyushu, Ju-Won Hyun won Pitcher of the Year by leading in quality starts (28) and innings (278). The 28-year old South Korean lefty had a 21-11 record, 2.04 ERA, 169 ERA+, 274 strikeouts, and 7.1 WAR. In May 2036, the Kodiaks would keep Hyun via a six-year, $170,400,000 extension.

Hamamatsu swept Sapporo and Kitakyushu beat Saitama 3-1 in the wild card round. The Kodiaks shocked top seed Kawasaki with a divisional round 3-0 sweep, earning their first trip to the Japan League Championship Series since 2019. Kitakyushu was going for a Cinderella playoff run, trying to end a pennant drought back to their 1992-94 three-peat.

The Chickenhawks outlasted Sendai 3-2 to earn their third straight JCLS trip. Hamamatsu quickly snuffed out the Kodiaks’ upset attempt, winning 4-1 to repeat as Japan League champ. The Chickenhawks are the first repeat JL champ since Fukuoka in 2022-23.

Two teams jockeyed for the Korea League’s top seed with Busan (111-51) successfully defending that spot against Goyang (107-55). The Blue Jays took the Southeast Division for their 12^th straight division title while growing their EAB-record playoff streak to 16 seasons. The Green Sox won the North Division to extend their own impressive playoff streak to nine with seven division crowns. Goyang was EAB’s top scoring team with 884 runs.

Defending KL champ Suwon won the Central Division for the fifth time in six years with their 99-63 finish. In the Southwest, Gwangju at 90-72 made it three straight division wins and allowed the fewest runs in the KL at 563. The Grays had no one else in their division above .500, while the Snappers were six games better than Seongnam and nine ahead of Incheon.

The Southeast’s #2 Ulsan picked up the first wild card at 95-67. The Spiders at 93-69 got the second slot over the 90-72 Inferno and 89-73 Pyongyang. The Swallows earned a third playoff trip in four years, while Seongnam snapped a 10-year drought. The Spiders had won 90+ in four straight seasons, but had just missed the cut. The Pythons saw their own postseason streak snapped at five seasons.

Goyang swept the Korea League’s top awards, captained by LF Sung-Hoon Ma as MVP. In his eighth season starting, the 31-year old lefty led in home runs (55) and total bases (383). Ma had 183 hits, 118 runs, 29 doubles, 129 RBI, a .313/.362/.656 slash, 174 wRC+, and 7.9 WAR. He would opt out of his contract in the winter, but sign a new five-year, $177,500,000 extension with the Green Sox. Ma was drafted in 2025 by Gwangju but never played for them, getting traded to Goyang in December 2026.

Oniji Yamamoto won his third Pitcher of the Year, having done it in 2030 and 2033 with the Green Sox. The 30-year old lefty debuted in 2025 and had been in the rotation full-time since 2027 for Goyang. Yamamoto won his third ERA title (1.91) and led in strikeouts (328), WHIP (0.76), K/BB (19.3), shutouts (6), FIP- (46), and WAR (10.9). He had a 202 ERA+ over 249.2 innings and 20-4 record, missing the Triple Crown by three wins. Yamamoto got his big payday in February 2034 on a seven-year, $204 million extension.

The wild card round had two sweeps with Gwangju over Ulsan and Suwon over Seongnam. The defending champ Snappers easily secured a 3-0 road sweep over Goyang in the divisional round, earning their fifth Korea League Championship Series appearance in seven years. On the other side, Busan survived a fierce challenge 3-2 against the Grays. This was sweet revenge for the Blue Jays, who won 112 games in 2034 but had been upset by 85-win Gwangju.

Busan got their seventh KLCS trip of their playoff streak and were looking for their fifth pennant of the run. The Blue Jays’ most recent pennants were in 2029 and 2032, both featuring KCLS victories over Suwon. Busan continued that trend and dethroned the Snappers 4-2. With their 16^th Korea League pennant, the Blue Jays are tied with Daegu and the JL’s Sapporo for the most pennants amongst EAB teams.

The 115^th East Asian Championship was an all-timer and the first since 2024 to need all seven games. Like in 2024, game seven went extra innings. Hamamatsu went up 4-3 in the top of the tenth inning and held on from there to defeat Busan. The Chickenhawks claimed repeat titles, the 13^th repeat champ in EAB history. The Blue Jays are now 6-10 all-time in the finals and 1-4 in their trips since starting the playoff streak in 2020.

LF Tae-Gyeong Kee was finals MVP for Hamamatsu. In 19 playoff starts, he had 25 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 2 homers, 12 RBI, and 0.7 WAR. Also worth mentioning was JLCS MVP Sang-Soo Lee, who set the EAB playoff record for pitching wins with six. In 40 innings, Lee went 6-1 with a 2.25 ERA, 46 strikeouts, and 1.4 WAR.

Other notes: Baseball had continued to thrive in East Asia with both leagues seeing new attendance records. Goyang sold 3,186,173 for the overall EAB and Korea League records, while Kawasaki set a Japanese high mark at 3,146,568. Prior to 2035, a team season attendance above three million had only happened in Major League Baseball.

EAB”s 47^th perfect game came on September 14 as Hamamatsu’s Naka Sakurai struck out five facing Kyoto. In other pitching notables, Byung-Cheol Ban and Takehiro Nakajima became the 73^rd and 74^th to 200 wins. Si-Won Joon was the 50^th ace to 3500 career strikeouts and Chae-Min Ryom was the 37^th closer to 300 saves.

Bucheon’s Ryun-Do Kok had the 20^th four home run game in EAB history on August 30 facing Incheon. Han Yi became the 38^th member of the 600 homer club, the 53^rd to 1500 RBI, and the 103^rd to 2500 hits. Yosai Ishizuka was the 82^nd to 500 homers. I-Sol Chang also reached 2500 hits and was the 37^th to score 1500 runs. SS Anh Vu Nguyen won his 9^th consecutive Silver Slugger.

Shortstop Jae-Won Park won a historic 16^th consecutive Gold Glove. He joined legendary OBA/MLB SS/2B Jimmy Caliw, BSA 1B D.J. Del Valle, and ABF C Ali Mahdian as the only 16-time Gold Glovers in all of pro baseball history. Caliw holds the world record as he made it to 17, but he was split between SS/2B. Park only has done it at shortstop.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-24-2025, 06:01 PM

It ended up a two-team race down the stretch for the Mexican League’s top seed, although six teams between the North and Central Divisions were in the hunt most of the season. The #1 spot went to Central champ Culiacan at 99-63, bouncing back after having a three-year playoff streak snapped in 2034. This was the first-ever division title for the Cocks, who were among the six expansion teams from 2025. Culiacan allowed 557 runs, the fewest of any Central American Baseball Association team.

North Division champ Torreon was one back for the top seed at 98-64, extending their playoff streak to five seasons with a fourth consecutive wild card. The Tomahawks led the ML in scoring at 795 runs. Tijuana was a close second at 95-67 for their third straight wild card. Reigning CABA champ Leon was second in the Central and got the second wild card at 94-68. The Lions grew their impressive postseason streak to 11 seasons.

For the third and final wild card, Hermosillo and Juarez tied at 91-71. The Hyenas took the tiebreaker game over the Jesters for back-to-back berths. Meanwhile, the South Division had an intense fight with Puebla and Ecatepec tied for first at 86-76. Tuxtla (85-77), Cancun (83-79), and Merida (83-79) were all right in the mix. The Pumas beat the Explosion in the tiebreaker game for a fourth straight division title and fifth straight playoff berth.

In his fifth season as a starter, Tijuana 1B Alton Reinoso won Mexican League MVP. It was his third time leading in home runs as he smacked 67 while leading in runs (121), total bases (435), slugging (.712), OPS (1.094), wRC+ (208), and WAR (9.6). The 27-year old Nicaraguan lefty had 196 hits, 34 doubles, 141 RBI, and a .321 average. Reinoso is committed long-term to the Toros, having signed an eight-year, $201,800,000 extension back in May 2032.

For the second time in four years, Hermosillo lefty Kian Baromeo earned Pitcher of the Year. The 27-year old from Curacao led in ERA (1.89) and FIP- (55). Baromeo had a 17-5 record, 229 innings, 329 strikeouts, 199 ERA+, and 8.3 WAR. The Hyenas gave him a six-year, $126,300,000 extension back in summer 2032.

Both first round playoff matchups went 2-1 with Leon over Tijuana and Puebla over Hermosillo. Culiacan survived 3-2 over the Lions in the second round, ousting the defending CABA champ. Torreon topped the Pumas on the other side 3-1. This was the Tomahawks first trip to the Mexican League Championship Series since 2031. Their pennant drought stretched back to the 2013-14 repeat.

The Cocks were making their second MLCS trip (2032) and were shooting to be the first 2025 expansion team with a pennant. It was the first time since 2028 that the top two seeds faced off for the Mexican League crown. In a seven-game classic, Torreon outlasted Culiacan to become five-time champs (1979, 1987, 2013, 2014, 2035).

Five teams in the Caribbean League finished within four wins of the #1 seed. Salvador narrowly grabbed it at 102-60 atop the Central Division, fending off three-time defending CL champ Honduras at 99-63. For the Stallions, it was their third straight playoff trip, but first division title since 2016 and first 100+ win season since 2003. The Horsemen grew their playoff streak to 13 years, one shy of tying the CABA record. Salvador led CABA with 916 runs scored, but Honduras set a new CABA single-season record with 1714 hits.

West Division champ Jamaica and East Division champ Suriname both finished 99-63, but the tiebreaker formula gave the bye to the Jazz. Jamaica only earned back-to-back division crowns by one game over 98-64 Haiti. The Herons are back in the postseason field after having a seven-year streak snapped the prior year.

Suriname also had to fend off 95-67 Puerto Rico to get their second division title in three years. The Silverbacks allowed the CL’s fewest runs at 614. The Pelicans earned the third wild card to end a six-year playoff drought. PR had been sub .500 in the prior five seasons. The only other team in the wild card hunt was last year’s CLCS runner-up Santo Domingo at 90-72, ending a five-year playoff run. The Dolphins continued their run of winning records going back to 2020. Curacao, the East Division champ in 2034, fell to 78-84.

Jamaica RF Amadeo Garcia repeated as both Caribbean League MVP and as a Triple Crown winner. He joins Hall of Famers Kiko Velazquez, Prometheo Garcia, Donald Gonzalez, and Casimiro Salceda in having repeated as a Triple Crown batter in CABA. Perhaps most impressive about Garcia is that he is only 22-years old. The Guatemalan lefty debuted at age 18 in 2031 for the Jazz and has been a starter since 2033.

For 2035, Garcia led in runs (130), homers (62), RBI (157), average (.360), slugging (.728), OPS (1.139), and wRC+ (185). He added 217 hits, 28 doubles, .411 OBP, and 10.0 WAR. Garcia was already locked up after the 2033 season to an eight-year, $174,600,000 extension. He would see a major setback though in 2036, missing the entire season from a broken bone in the elbow suffered in spring training.

Although Guatemala was forgettable at 79-83, their ace Oscar Ruiz won Pitcher of the Year in his third season. The 25-year old Nicaraguan lefty led with 23 quality starts and had an 18-10 record, 2.46 ERA, 263.1 innings, 177 strikeouts, 172 ERA+, and 6.9 WAR. Ruiz was picked 26^th in the 2033 CABA Draft by the Ghosts.

Honduras swept Haiti 2-0 and Suriname outlasted Puerto Rico 2-1 in the first round. The Horsemen upset top seed Salvador 3-1 in round two on the road, keeping alive a four-peat bid for Honduras. In the last decade, the Horsemen have been in the Caribbean League Championship Series eight times with five pennants. Jamaica survived in five on the other side over the Silverbacks.

The Jazz were making their first CLCS trip since their 2032 defeat to Honduras. Jamaica’s pennant drought was at 54 seasons and many thought the series was a toss-up even with home field advantage in Kingston. The Jazz would be the ones to finally dethrone the Horsemen, taking the series 4-2. Jamaica became eight time Caribbean champs (1930, 1933, 1934, 1950, 1966, 1968, 1980, 2035).

The 125^th CABA Championship saw a 4-1 Torreon victory over Jamaica, giving the Tomahawks their second overall title (2013). LF Oliver Lemus was finals MVP in his tenth season with Torreon. In 16 playoff starts, the 28-year old Mexican had 17 hits, 9 runs, 8 homers, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 13 RBI, and 0.7 WAR. Two other Tomahawks hit CABA playoff records with Robinson Renteria drawing 12 walks and Jhon De Valle with 6 triples. Culiacan’s Uzzia Everett also set a playoff record for OBP at .619, just passing the 20 plate appearance minimum to quality.

Other notes: 2035 was the final season for the legendary Richard Wright, who won 11 Pitcher of the Year awards with Tijuana. At age 37, the Jamaican lefty had a 3.63 ERA over 243 innings, 230 Ks, and 3.9 WAR in 2035. While still a decent season for normal pitchers, this was well below Wright’s previous high standard. He had won 11 ERA titles and led the league nine times in strikeouts.

Wright finished with a 283-124 record, 2.06 ERA, 3791 innings, 5193 strikeouts, 572 walks, 177 ERA+, 52 FIP-, and 150.7 WAR. He is the CABA leader in shutouts (74) and ranks 4^th in wins, 3^rd in strikeouts, and 2^nd in pitching WAR. Wright is 50^th on the all-time WAR leaderboard among all players ever in baseball history and is one of only 44 pitchers ever with 5000 Ks.

Both Wright and Israel Montague joined the 5000 strikeout club in 2035. Previously only Ulices Montero had reached the mark in CBA with 5849. Montero is 3^rd in world history with 6796 Ks when adding his MLB totals and is the world wins leader with 398 between CABA/MLB; a distinction he’s held since 1935.

Montague joined Montero as the only 300+ winners in CABA. The 10-time Pitcher of the Year was in his second season with Leon after dominating with Guatemala before that. Montague got to 300 wins exactly, putting him within striking distance of Montero’s CABA record 314 wins. He’s also one of only 46 pitchers in all of pro baseball history with 300+ victories on the mound.

In other pitching milestones, Vicente Perez became the 17^th in CABA to 4000 strikeouts. Perez and Skyler Earle joined the 200 win club, now 60 pitchers strong. Earle and Xavier Rodriguez both got to 3000 strikeouts, now met by 90 CABA acese. Cancun’s Ricardo Perez threw CABA’s 42^nd perfect game on May 12 against Mexicali with 10 strikeouts.

Salvador’s Edgar Moreno made history with a six-hit game on May 2 against Guadeloupe, followed by another six-hit game on May 16 facing Costa Rica. He joined Casimiro Salceda as the only CABA batters with multiple six-hit games and is one of ten in world history to do it. Moreno is also the only one to get his both in the same year, amazingly doing it in the same month.

In batting milestones, Leonardo Martinez and Martin Diaz-Garcia became the 70^th and 71^st members of the 500 home run club. Diaz-Garcia also became the 28^th to 1500 runs scored and the 42^nd to 1500 RBI. Franklin Madrid was the 69^th to 2500 hits. SS Alvaro Valverde won his 8^th Gold Glove.

Diego Carrasco had a 34-game hitting streak, tied for the ninth-best longest in CABA history. Incidentally, Carrasco was tied with himself after also posting a 34-game streak the prior season, joining a very short list in world history of guys with multiple 30+ game streaks.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-25-2025, 05:23 AM

Three teams in the National Association won 100+ games and battled for the #1 seed and bye. Louisville took it as the Lower Midwest Division champ at 105-57, ending an eight-year playoff drought for the Lynx. It was notably only their second playoff berth of the last 49 years. Louisville was the top scoring team at 881 runs and had a .496 team slugging percentage, breaking the NA record of .484 by Tulsa in 2029.

The Lynx also had 289 home runs, two short of Washington’s NA record 291 from 2027. The 2035 Admirals smacked 287 homers for the third-highest en route to the East Division crown and #2 seed at 103-59. Washington was the reigning World Series champ and two-time defending National Association champ. The Admirals picked up their sixth division title in seven years.

Toronto at 102-60 won the Northeast Division, their third division title and 100+ win season in four years. The Timberwolves allowed 580 runs, the lowest in all of Major League Baseball for 2035. Louisville, Toronto, and Washington each won their divisions by double-digits. Amazingly, there was only one other team with even 90+ wins. That was Milwaukee at 93-69, winning their second Upper Midwest Division crown in five years. The Mustangs finished five games ahead of Grand Rapids in the divisional race.

Baltimore (89-73) got the first wild card with the Growlers (88-74) taking the second slot. GR grabbed repeat berths and the Orioles got their second in three years. For the final spot, Halifax (86-76) prevailed barely over New York (85-77), Pittsburgh (84-78), Boston (84-78), Buffalo (84-78), Detroit (84-78), Hartford (83-79), Montreal (82-80), and Cincinnati (82-80).

The Hound Dogs ended a six-year playoff drought with their third wild card since joining in the 2021 expansion. Two division champs from 2034, Quebec City and Cleveland, fell to 72-90 and 81-81 respectively. Brooklyn, the NACS runner-up last year as a wild card, dropped to 79-83.

Leading Louisville’s turnaround was RF Indiana Hill, winning his second National Association MVP in three years. The 25-year old lefty from his namesake state led in runs (142), homers (68), RBI (154), total bases (446), slugging (.755), OPS (1.168), wRC+ (230), and WAR (11.5). Hill had 212 this, 24 doubles, a .359 average, and .413 OBP and was easily living up to being the #1 overall pick in t he 2030 MLB Draft by the Lynx.

The 68 homers ranked as the third-best MLB single-season behind only Simon Trejo’s 74 from 2031 and Jackson Brafford’s 69 from 2028. Hill’s 142 runs ranked as the fifth-best single-season in MLB, challenging Lukas Warrell’s record 150 from 1994. The total bases were good for the sixth-best and it was the ninth-best qualifying OPS and third-best slugging. It also ranked as the 14^th-best WAR mark by an MLB position player and only the 33^rd MLB season with 150+ RBI.

Although Omaha was forgettable at 76-86, they had the Pitcher of the Year in Callum McGonagal. It was an impressive comeback season for the 33-year old Irish righty, who missed most of 2034 to a torn meniscus and much of 2033 to a herniated disc. It was his third POTY, having also won in 2027 and 2028 with Grand Rapids.

In 2035, McGonagal was the leader in WAR (7.3) and quality starts (26). He had a 17-9 record, 2.43 ERA, 259.1 innings, 219 strikeouts, and 159 ERA+. McGonagal was traded to the Hawks in July 2032 as the Growlers quickly had trouble paying for his record-setting $349 million, seven-year contract signed earlier that summer. At $53 million per season, McGonagal is tied for the largest single-season salary of any player in the world.

Division champs all won in the first round with Washington posting the lone sweep over Halifax. Toronto topped Grand Rapids and Milwaukee bested Baltimore, both by 3-1 margins. Top-seed Louisville cruised to a 3-0 sweep of the Mustangs in the second round, earning their first trip to the National Association Championship Series since their 1978 World Series win.

The Timberwolves defeated Washington 3-1 to end the Admirals’ three-peat hopes and get revenge for their 2033 NACS loss to DC. Toronto was shooting for a second pennant in five years. The top seed held as Louisville ended their 56-year drought with a 4-2 victory against the Timberwolves. The Lynx became four-time National Association champs (1906, 1933, 1978, 2035).

Houston had the American Association’s top spot at 104-58, winning the South Central Division for the 11^th time since 2022. The Hornets earned a seventh straight division title and grew their playoff streak to nine seasons. They were the top scoring team with 969 runs and had a .504 team slugging percentage. That was the second-best in all of MLB history, behind only Sacramento’s .505 from 2030.

Tampa’s playoff streak grew to four with their second Southeast Division title of that stretch. At 101-61, the Thunderbirds held off 96-66 Atlanta for their first 100+ win season since 2014. The Aces ended an 11-year playoff drought as they grabbed a wild card. Defending AA champ Birmingham was third at 88-74 and missed the playoffs.

The Northwest Division had a tie for first at 97-65 between Edmonton and Anchorage, although both got playoff spots. The tiebreaker game for the division went to the Eels, ending a 35-year playoff drought. The only MLB team that had a longer active drought was Miami, whose record of futility grew to 63 years in 2035. The Avalanche were a wild card for the sixth time in nine years. Seattle had controlled the division, but their 12-year playoff streak came to an end in 2035. The Grizzlies finished 92-70, falling two games short of the final wild card. Seattle’s run of winning seasons extends back to 2020.

Los Angeles won the Southwest Division at 95-67, holding off San Francisco (94-68), Las Vegas (91-71), and San Diego (89-73). That ended a six-year postseason drought and nine-year division title drought for the Angels. The Gold Rush got the final wild card to end a four-year playoff skid and allowed the AA’s fewest runs at 652. In the wild card race, SF beat out Seattle by two, Vegas by three, SD by five, Dallas and Birmingham by six, and Orlando by seven. Albuquerque, the 2033 World Series champ, finished 81-81 to end a three-year playoff streak.

Vancouver stunk at 71-91, but Alair White won his fourth consecutive American Association MVP. He’s only the 11^th in MLB history with 4+ MVPs and joined Elijah Cashman and Sebastian Lunde as the only guys to do it consecutively. Still only in his fifth season, the 25-year old 1B led in home runs (61), and total bases (416). White had 119 runs, 205 hits, 26 doubles, 144 RBI, 1.086 OPS, 174 wRC+, and 8.5 WAR.

It was tough competition with Dallas CF Silvio Menoud, who likely would’ve taken it if not for injuries costing him ¼ of the season. The 34-year old Swiss lefty won his eighth Silver Slugger and led with a triple slash of .367/.423/.756 and 1.179 OPS. The slugging was the second-best qualifying season in MLB history and the OPS ranked sixth. Menoud had 8.0 WAR, 165 hits, 98 runs, 29 doubles, 46 homers, and 121 RBI over 123 games.

Third-year San Francisco lefty Fatin Rasil won Pitcher of the Year, leading in strikeouts at 250. The 23-year old Indian had a 19-8 record, 3.15 ERA, 271.2 innings, 55 walks, 139 ERA+, and 7.8 WAR. Rasil was the #2 pick by the Gold Rush in the 2032 MLB Draft. Some Sabermetric-minded voters preferred Edmonton's Iwo Lyko, who led with 10.3 WAR. It was one of only 78 seasons in MLB history of 10+ WAR by a pitcher, but Lyko missed the top five for the traditional stats.

Two wild cards earned first round upsets with Anchorage over Los Angeles 3-1 and San Francisco over Tampa 3-2. Edmonton was the only division champ to win, defeating Atlanta 3-1. The Eels then outlasted their divisional rival Avalanche 3-2 in the second round. Edmonton’s last American Association Championship Series trip was also their last playoff trip, their 1999 World Series season.

Top seed Houston held 3-1 over San Francisco in the second round. The Hornets were making their third AACS trip in five years and their 27^th appearance overall; the most of any team. In six games, Houston defeated Edmonton to win their 13^th American Association pennant (1905, 06, 08, 10, 11, 12, 20, 22, 52, 2019, 24, 31, 35). This tied them with Phoenix for the second-most AA titles and was behind only San Diego’s 15.

The 135^th World Series was a rematch of the 6^th World Series, which Louisville won over Houston way back in 1906. The Hornets prevailed 4-2 in the 2035 encounter for their tenth MLB ring (1908, 10, 11, 12, 20, 22, 52, 2018, 31, 35). SS Rizvan Nasonkin was finals MVP in his MLB debut at age 38, joining Houston after 15 seasons in Eurasian Professional Baseball. The Russian SS in 16 playoff starts had 15 hits, 8 runs, 2 doubles, 6 homers, and 11 RBI.

Houston joined San Diego (12) as the only MLB teams with 10+ overall titles. The only other teams in any world league to win their overall title 10+ times were CABA’s Mexico City (11) and Honduras (10), EAB’s Pyongyang (10), EPB’s Minsk (15), WAB’s Kano (12), SAB’s Ahmedabad (13), and Kyiv (8 in EPB, 2 in EBF).

Other notes: New York’s Ximeno Jimenez made world history in an extra-innings affair on May 12 against Baltimore. He went 8-11, becoming the only player in all of pro baseball history with eight hits in a single game. There had previously been six players in MLB who had seven hit games. The Yankees leadoff man got on base nine times as he also had a walk along with one double, triple, and two runs.

MLB’s 38^th perfect game came on July 27 by Austin’s Arundel Mallard, striking out 11 against Albuquerque. In other pitching milestones, Rhet Thompson became the 31^st ace to 3500 strikeouts and Fabien Muller became the 32^nd. Tampa’s Will Desbiens and San Francisco’s Doogie Wright both had four home run games. There have now been 50 such games in MLB.

Jackson Brafford became only the 16^th member of MLB’s 700 home run club and the 134^th to 1500 runs scored. Also reaching 1500 runs earlier in the season were Jude Hoffer, Steve Castro, and Thomas Rich. Desbiens and Rich both got to 1500 RBI, now met by 142 MLB sluggers. Rich also became the 51^st to 600 homers. The 500 homer club became 132 players strong with the additions of Ethan Valentin, Jude Hoffer, Paul Mayrhofer, and Silvio Menoud. Tommy Sy became the 73^rd to 3000 hits.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-25-2025, 04:52 PM

The 2035 Baseball Grand Championship was the 26^th edition of the event and was hosted in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Earning the auto-bids were MLB’s Houston and Louisville, CABA’s Torreon and Jamaica, EAB’s Hamamatsu and Busan, BSA’s Arequipa and Brasilia, EBF’s Krakow and Dublin, EPB’s Moscow, OBA’s Hobart, APB’s Kuala Lumpur, CLB’s Nanchang, WAB’s Libreville, SAB’s Mandalay, ABF’s Gaziantep, ALB’s Basra, and AAB’s Dar es Salaam. The at-large teams were APB’s Tainan, OBA’s Samoa, and ALB’s Algiers.

The two Major League Baseball teams dominated the field with World Series champion Houston earning Grand Champion honors at 18-3, tying 2033 champ Washington for the best record in event history. The Hornets had a +50 run differential and allowed only 50 runs, the lowest under the current 22-team format.

Houston had a 2.15 team ERA, second-best in event history behind only Recife’s 2.12 from 2019. It was a balanced effort as the rotation had a 1.38 ERA in 32.2 innings by Youssef Awada, 2.31 ERA in 39 innings by Colton Salo, 2.10 ERA in 34.1 innings by Shannon Hughes, and a 1.84 ERA in 29.1 innings from Truman Bloodworth. Salo had 67 strikeouts, the third-best in event history.

Offensively, the Hornets were led by CF Rex Seguin, who set a new BGC record for hits with 32. He scored 19 runs with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 8 homers, 19 RBI, 1.168 OPS, and 1.5 WAR. Houston joins the short list of teams with multiple top two finishes, as they also were second in 2031. They’re the 11^th MLB team to win the Grand Championship distinction and the eighth from the American Association.

Louisville was second at 16-5 and actually had the best run differential at +53. Dublin and Arequipa were next at 14-7 with the Dinos officially third via the head-to-head tiebreaker. Dublin is the only franchise to earn four finishes in the top three; the Dinos won it all in 2024 and were third in both 2022 and 2023. The Arrows are the first South American team in the top four since Sao Paulo’s third place in 2024.

Four teams were next at 12-9 and by tiebreakers, the official placing was Basra fifth, Krakow sixth, Algiers seventh, and Dar es Salaam eighth. The Arsenal scored 120 runs, tying 2030 Berlin for the most in event history. Algiers 179 hits were second only to the Barons’ 190. In other offense records, Louisville set the new top mark for walks drawn at 97 and both Dublin and Arequipa tied the triples record at eight apiece.

Hamamatsu and Jamaica rounded off the winning records at 11-10, followed by Busan and Hobart at 10-11. Both Samoa and Torreon were 9-12, then five teams finished 8-13; Gaziantep, Kuala Lumpur, Libreville, Moscow, and Tainan. It was a three-way tie for last at 7-14 between Brasilia, Mandalay, and Nanchang.

Tournament MVP went to Arequipa’s Caio Mergulho, a 28-year old Brazilian RF and seventh-year starter. He had 28 hits, 17 runs, 5 doubles, 10 homers, 21 RBI, 1.247 OPS, and 1.9 WAR. Notable was Nanchang’s Jinhao Lin, whose 2.34 WAR was the third-best by a position player in event history.

The two-time defending MVP in the Chinese League had 27 hits, 20 runs, 14 homers, 26 RBI, and 1.419 OPS. Lin’s 71 total bases tied for the eighth-best in BGC history. Hobart’s Jody Riley was also notable, as his 23 runs scored tied the event record reached thrice prior. Dublin’s Spyridon Peppas had 31 hits, one off the record set by Seguin.

Best Pitcher went to Dar es Salaam’s Basaula Kumwimba, who had been a reserve in the regular season with only 70.2 innings and didn’t pitch in the AAB playoffs. However, the 28-year old Congolese righty had a 0.92 ERA over 29.1 innings, 2-1 record, 30 strikeouts, and 1.7 WAR. Elsewhere, Louisville’s Reggie Hackett posted 2.41 WAR, the seventh-best by a pitcher in BGC history.

Other notes: Two bad pitching records were set as Hobart’s Theodore Weikel allowed 46 hits and Tainan’s Nasir Ganassan allowed 33 walks.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-26-2025, 06:29 AM

A pair of corner outfielders earned Hall of Fame spots in 2026 for Major League Baseball at nearly even margins with Peter Schon receiving 85.5% and Itumeleng Sagandira at 85.2%. SP Rowney Simpson almost was also a first ballot selection, but his 63.3% just missed the 66% requirement. SP Luke Harrison was the top returner at 59.7% on his sixth ballot. 3B Kwang-Sik Oh debuted at 53.4% and was the only other player above 50%.

Reliever A.J. Briggs was the lone man dropped after ten failed ballots, peaking at 43.7% in 2028 before ending with 20.5%. In an 18-year career with ten teams, Briggs had 370 saves and 410 shutdowns, 80-74 record, 2.78 ERA, 856 games, 1016.1 innings, 1182 strikeouts, 135 ERA+, 74 FIP-, and 27.5 WAR. He ranks 13^th in saves and 26^th in games, but he was never overly dominant like the other great closers. Briggs never won Reliever of the Year (he was a finalist twice) and led in saves only once. He had nice tenure, but was definitely a “Hall of Pretty Good” level guy.

Peter Schon – Left Field – Nashville Knights – 85.5% First Ballot

Peter Schon was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed left fielder from Stuttgart, Germany; the country’s seventh-largest city with around 613,000 inhabitants. He was the fourth German-born player to make MLB’s HOF. Schon was remarkably consistent and well-rounded facing right-handed pitching with good-to-great grades for contact, power, and eye along with average strikeout rates. Against RHP, he had a career .967 OPS and 168 wRC+. Schon’s bat was just above average facing lefties with a 105 wRC+ and .720 OPS.

Schon didn’t have prolific power, but his 162 game average was good for 39 home runs, 106 RBI, and 29 doubles. His baserunning instincts were good, but he was extremely limited by abysmal speed. That also led to terrible range and lousy defensive metrics as a career left fielder. Around 80% of his starts were in LF with occasional play at 1B, RF, and DH. Schon was an ironman who played in 145+ games in all but his first and final seasons. His remarkable reliability and consistency made him very productive over an 18-year run.

After an impressive high school career, Schon left Germany for the United States to play college baseball at Alabama. With the Crimson Tide from 2010-12, he played 145 games with 159 hits, 104 runs, 33 doubles, 49 home runs, 110 RBI, 1.032 OPS, 207 wRC+, and 10.2 WAR. Schon was a top prospect out of the college ranks, but the regional draft restrictions still limited the first three rounds to players born in the US or Canada.

He was the first pick of the fourth round, 175^th overall, by Cleveland in the 2012 MLB Draft. Schon was a part-time starter in 2013 and was third in Rookie of the Year voting with 3.7 WAR and 171 wRC+ in 111 games. He was a full-time starter the next four seasons for the Cobras and had 7.5+ WAR each year from 2015-17. Schon’s career high was 7.6 WAR in 2015. He won a Silver Slugger in 2017 with his career best 47 home runs.

Cleveland was terrible during Schon’s tenure, averaging 71.2 wins per season. After the 2017 season, they opted to trade him to Nashville for pitching prospects Jonah Donato and Rich Berg. In five seasons for the Cobras, Schon had 747 games, 826 hits, 407 runs, 120 doubles, 191 home runs, 46 RBI, .304/.375/.569 slash, 188 wRC+, and 31.6 WAR.

Schon’s signature run came with Nashville, who were hoping to become a regular contender. They had gotten to the American Association Championship Series in 2016, but had just missed the playoffs in 2017. The Knights saw Schon as a long-term piece and not a rental, giving him an eight-year, $158,500,000 extension after the 2018 season.

He maintained consistency with 6+ WAR in each of his first four seasons with Nashville with 45+ homers in the first three. Schon’s second Silver Slugger win came in 2020. The Knights won division titles in 2018-19 and 2021-22, but had little playoff success. 2019 was the only year they got out of the first round, falling to Houston in the AACS. Schon had nice numbers in that run with a 1.085 OPS, 17 hits, and 10 runs over 13 starts.

While Schon spent his entire pro career in the US, he did regularly represent his native Germany in the World Baseball Championship. From 2012-28, Schon played 154 games with 141 hits, 85 runs, 28 doubles, 40 homers, 108 RBI, .273/.353/.563 slash, and 6.9 WAR. Schon was third in 2020’s MVP voting, which saw a runner-up finish by the Germans to the US. That year, he had 25 hits, 21 runs, 11 homers, and 26 RBI. The Germans would also take fourth place in 2024.

Schon dipped slightly in 2023-24 as Nashville dropped just below .500 both years. He bounced back in 2025 with career highs for OPS (1.012), and runs (124) along with 7.0 WAR. The Knights won the Southeast Division at 94-68 and upset Seattle to claim the American Association title. Nashville fell to Detroit in the World Series with Schon posting merely okay playoff stats with a .724 OPS, 93 wRC+, and 0.4 WAR in 18 starts.

He fared much better in the Baseball Grand Championship with 19 hits, 11 runs, 8 homers, 4 doubles, 16 RBI, 1.057 OPS, 180 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR. Nashville finished tied for first at 14-5 with Lusaka, but the Lake Monsters earned the title as they beat the Knights 6-4 in the head-to-head meeting. Schon was now 33-years old and Nashville rewarded that effort with a new five-year, $157,500,000 extension signed in February 2026.

Schon never reached his previous peaks, but he was still a decent starter for another four seasons. The Knights had division titles in 2027 and 2029, but suffered second round playoff exits both years. For his playoff career, Schon started 56 games with 64 hits, 30 runs, 12 doubles, 11 home runs, 28 RBI, .302/.330/.514 slash, 130 wRC+, and 1.7 WAR.

In his later years, Schon reached the 600 home run, 1500 RBI, 1500 runs, and 2500 hits milestones. He finally dropped off hard and was benched in 2030, posting -0.4 WAR over only 31 games and 22 starts. He retired that winter at age 38, finishing the Nashville run with 1877 games, 2034 hits, 1146 runs, 353 doubles, 441 homers, 1250 RBI, 634 walks, .293/.355/.541 slash, 140 wRC+, and 55.7 WAR. The Knights would retire his #1 uniform for his 12 years of service and role in the 2025 pennant

Schon finished with 2624 games, 2860 hits, 1553 runs, 473 doubles, 36 triples, 632 home runs, 1716 RBI, 928 walks, 1606 strikeouts, .296/.361/.549 slash, 154 wRC+, and 87.3 WAR. He ranks 38^th in homers, 57^th in RBI, 54^th in total bases (5301), and 76^th in doubles. Schon is outside of the top 100 in the other stats and notably never was a league leader or MVP finalist.

Despite that, his reliability and consistency made him one of the more reliable power hitters of his era. Getting 600+ homers, 1500+ RBI, and 1500+ runs will lock you in for most Hall of Fame voters and Schon wasn’t an exception. He wasn’t an inner-circle level guy, but most were plenty sold by his tallies and role in Nashville’s playoff successes of the 2020s. At 85.5%, Schon co-headlined a two-player class for Major League Baseball in 2036.

Itumeleng “Big Stick” Sagandira – Right/Left Field – Minneapolis Moose – 85.2% First Ballot

Itumeleng Sagandira was a 6’4’’, 200 pound right-handed corner outfielder from Richards Bay, South Africa; a small eastern coastal city of around 57,000 people. He was only the fourth African-born player added to MLB’s Hall of Fame, joining Kaby Silva (Cape Verde), Abdul Karim Hussein (Somalia), and Tijani Matibuze (Nigeria). Sagandira was nicknamed “Big Stick” appropriately as one of the more consistent home run hitters of his era.

Sagandira never had prolific power, but he was reliably strong with good contact ability against both sides. His 162 game average got you 43 homers, 109 RBI, 28 doubles, and 3 triples. Sagandira was surprisingly below average at drawing walks with a middling strikeout rate. He was a bit better facing lefties (.935 OPS, 170 wRC+) but was still plenty dangerous against righties (.860 OPS, 152 wRC+). His baserunning ability was abysmal with subpar speed.

Around ¾ of Sagandira’s starts came in right field with most of the rest in left. He graded as a reliably average defender in RF and was mediocre in LF. Sagandira’s durability was mostly good over a 21-year pro career. He was generally liked by fans and teammates alike and remains popular in Minneapolis, where he had his primary run.

Like his HOF classmate Peter Schon, Sagandira left his home country to enter the American college system. He would likewise return home to South Africa as a regular starter from 2011-32 in the World Baseball Championship. Over 185 WBC games, Sagandira had 180 hits, 102 runs, 35 doubles, 56 home runs, 121 RBI, .266/.325/.572 slash, 155 wRC+, and 7.9 WAR. South Africa never made the playoffs in his run, but he is the country’s WBC career leader in games, hits, runs, doubles, homers, RBI, and batting WAR.

For college, Sagandira ended up at Cincinnati from 2010-12 with 145 games, 177 hits, 102 runs, 28 doubles, 60 home runs, 121 RBI, 73 walks, .344/.431/.753 slash, 254 wRC+, and 13.1 WAR. Sagandira ranks 23^rd in WAR among position players in college baseball history and won Silver Sluggers as a freshman and sophomore. He was also third in NCAA MVP voting in 2010 and second in 2011.

Because of the regional restrictions, Sagandira wasn’t eligible until the fourth round of the 2012 MLB Draft. He was the fifth pick of the round, 179^th overall, by Minneapolis. Sagandira was a full-time starter right away and an immediate success, winning 2013 Rookie of the Year with 7.5 WAR and career bests for OPS (.948), OBP (.383), and wRC+ (202).

Sagandira’s two Silver Sluggers came in 2017 and 2019, but he was never an MVP finalist. 2017 had his career bests for runs (100), hits (186), homers (50), and WAR (8.1). Sagandira had 6.5+ WAR in each of his first seven seasons with Minneapolis and six times had 40+ homers. Despite his best efforts, the Moose had a postseason drought that ran from 1998-2024. They would come close to the playoffs with 94 wins in 2017 and 91 in 2018, but fell just short. Minneapolis dropped back to below .500 the next two years, then hovered just above .500 in the early 2020s.

His efforts were appreciated and his #21 uniform would be the first retired by Minneapolis. Despite being a charter franchise, the Moose only had one previous Hall of Famer in their cap; hits king Stan Provost. However, Provost only played seven of his 25 seasons with Minneapolis. Sagandira had signed an eight-year, $132,600,000 extension after the 2016 season. However, he opted out of the deal following the 2021 campaign, becoming a free agent for the first time at age 29.

With the Moose, Sagandira had 1376 games, 1517 hits, 779 runs, 221 doubles, 365 home runs, 867 RBI, 388 walks, .293/.346/.556 slash, 176 wRC+, and 62.7 WAR. 2021 had been his weakest season statistically, but he had also missed more than a month to a strained shoulder. Sagandira had plenty of suitors and signed a seven-year, $174 million deal with Halifax. The Hound Dogs were entering only their second season as one of the eight expansion teams that had begun play in 2021.

Halifax hovered around the lower-mid tier in their first few seasons. Sagandira’s pace in his debut season was excellent, but he lost a month to a torn ligament in his thumb. In 2023, Sagandira was a National Association leader for the only time in his career with 127 RBI and 343 total bases. He wouldn’t reach that level for the rest of his run, but remained a steady starter worth around 3-4 WAR most years.

The Hound Dogs earned their first-ever playoff berths as a wild card in 2027-28, but lost both times in the first round. Sagandira only had four playoff games for his career, going 4-15. Halifax gave him a three-year, $46,300,000 extension after the 2027 season. In his later years, Sagandira crossed the 600 home run, 2500 hit, 1500 run, and 1500 RBI milestones.

In August 2030, Sagandira became only the 11^th member of MLB’s 700 home run club. Back troubles cost him about a month that season, keeping him just short of 3000 hits in MLB. With Halifax, Sagandira played 1321 games with 1461 hits, 755 runs, 236 doubles, 336 home runs, 923 RBI, .287/.318/.542 slash, 146 wRC+, and 39.8 WAR. He was a free agent for 2031 heading towards age 39 and MLB teams felt they could find younger and cheaper options in the outfield.

Sagandira put out international feelers and ended up in West African Baseball on a one-year, $5,800,000 deal with Monrovia. He had a solid showing in Liberia with 4.3 WAR, 37 homers, .953 OPS, and 143 wRC+ in 147 games. Cotonou gave him a two-year, $25 million deal for 2032. However, Sagandira lost two months to back spasms and only mustered 0.5 WAR and .828 OPS in 77 games. He didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the second season with the Copperheads.

Abuja, a recent WAB expansion team, gave Sagandira a shot in 2033 but he struggled with -0.7 WAR and .713 OPS over 87 games. In three WAB seasons, Sagandira had 311 games, 312 hits, 159 runs, 63 doubles, 66 homers, 220 RBI, .287/.328/.549 slash, 118 wRC+, and 4.1 WAR. He still wanted to play and was signed in summer 2034 by minor league Richmond, playing 43 games. Sagandira retired that winter at age 42.

In MLB, Sagandira had 2697 games, 2978 hits, 1534 runs, 457 doubles, 50 triples, 701 home runs, 1790 RBI, 595 walks, 1950 strikeouts, .290/.332/.549 slash, 161 wRC+, and 102.5 WAR. Sagandira ranks 96^th in games, 78^th in hits, 24^th in total bases (5638), 17^th in homers, 35^th in RBI, 91^st in strikeouts, and 48^th in WAR among position players. Adding his WAB stats, Sagandira had 3008 games, 3290 hits, 1693 runs, 520 doubles, 767 homers, 2010 RBI, .290/.332/.548 slash, 157 wRC+, and 106.6 WAR.

Sagandira was a guy that was underappreciated since he had limited awards, never led in any stat outside of 2023, and was stuck on mostly bad teams. Some Hall of Fame voters were almost surprised to see how solid his tallies were. With 700+ homers, 1500+ RBI, 1500+ runs, nearly 3000+ hits, and 100+ WAR; Sagandira was an easy yes for most. He received 85.2% to co-headline Major League Baseball’s 2036 class. Sagandira is also generally considered a top five player to come out of South Africa.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-26-2025, 06:10 PM

The Central American Baseball Association’s 2036 Hall of Fame class was among its strongest with four first ballot inductees. Three were absolute slam dunks with DH Marcelo Campa at 99.4%, home run king 1B Noah Breton at 99.0%, and SP Rodney Louis with 96.5%. SP Quirino Brito also earned a rock solid 83.3% as the fourth member. SP Amauris Huerta was the best returner with 51.8% on his second ballot. No one else cracked 50%.

Falling from the ballot after ten failed tries was 3B Uranio Vences, who peaked at 35.6% in 2028 and ended with only 4.2%. He had a 19-year run mostly with Costa Rica and had 2655 games, 2560 hits, 1325 runs, 405 doubles, 529 home runs, 1523 RBI, .264/.310/.481 slash, 117 wRC+, and 72.8 WAR. Vences had two Gold Gloves and one Silver Slugger. He had some nice tallies from tenure, but Vences wasn’t dominant enough to get beyond the Hall of Pretty Good.

Marcelo Campa – Designated Hitter – Guatemala Ghosts – 99.4% First Ballot

Marcelo Campa was a 6’7’’, 200 pound left-handed slugger from San Miguel, El Salvador; a city of about 290,000 people. Facing right-handed pitching, Campa was a great contact and power hitter with a career .993 OPS and 161 wRC+. He was still respectable against lefties with a .795 OPS and 118 wRC+. Campa got you plenty of extra base hits with a 162 game average of 40 homers, 34 doubles, and 2 triples. He graded as above average relative to other CABA players at drawing walks with an average strikeout rate.

Campa’s baserunning skills were actually pretty good, but he was limited by mediocre speed. His glove work was abysmal as a corner outfielder or first baseman, thus more than 80% of his career starts came as a designated hitter. With that bat though, Campa provided plenty of value over a 21-year career. He had some injury issues, but held up pretty well all things considered. Campa was a popular player and was highly respected in the clubhouse for his leadership, intelligence, and team-first attitude.

In the 2009 CABA Draft, Campa was picked seventh overall by Guatemala. He wasn’t quite “big league” ready right away with only 44 games and 3 starts in 2010. Campa spent all of 2011 in the developmental system, then had 98 games and 73 starts in 2012. He was on pace to start most of 2012, but had a few injuries limit him. Campa earned a full-time gig in 2013 and remained a starter for the rest of his career when healthy.

Campa earned Silver Sluggers in 2013-16 for the Ghosts, who at that point were stick in the upper-mid tier just outside of the playoffs. He won his lone batting title and led in OBP in 2014 with .360 and .435, respectively. Campa was also the Caribbean League doubles leader in 2014-15, the latter with a career-best 46. 2015 also had his best WAR at 7.8 while 2014 was his best OPS at 1.092. Campa also led in RBI with a career high 140 in 2016.

Guatemala and Campa couldn’t come to terms on a long-term deal and he entered free agency for 2018 at age 28. He signed a five-year, $70,700,000 deal with Jamaica, who had earned four straight playoff berths with little postseason luck. Although he left continental Central America, Campa did still return home to El Salvador regularly for the World Baseball Championship.

From 2012-31, Campa played 184 WBC games with 149 hits, 86 runs, 37 doubles, 42 home runs, 98 RBI, .262/.352/.556 slash, and 7.1 WAR. El Salvador never won a division title, but Campa was appreciated for his steady service to his country. He leads all Salvadorans in WBC history for games, hits, doubles, RBI, and WAR among position players.

Campa’s Jamaica debut in 2018 was his finest season, winning his lone MVP and his fifth Silver Slugger. He led in doubles (38), homers (52), RBI (133), total bases (417), and WAR (7.5). The total bases would both be a career high and it was one of two 50+ homer seasons. The Jazz earned wild cards in 2018-19 and failed to make it beyond the divisional round. Campa was 6-14 in his four playoff games.

He led in doubles again in 2020 with 46 and had 40+ homers in both 2019-20. Jamaica’s playoff streak ended in 2020 at 78-84 and Campa opted out of his contract with two seasons left. Now 31-years old, Campa inked a five-year, $46,200,000 deal with Trinidad. Incidentally, this was a notable pay cut from the Jamaica deal, perhaps over-estimating what a DH could draw. The Trail Blazers were the 2020 Caribbean League champ after ending a 26-year playoff drought and hoped to become a regular contender.

Trinidad ultimately had no such luck as they were .500 in 2021 and below .500 for the following seven years. Campa had a good 2021 debut, but missed more than half of 2022 with an undisclosed injury. He bounced back very strong in 2023 with his career high 53 home runs, along with 136 RBI, 1.031 OPS, and 7.4 WAR. Again, he utilized the power of the contract opt-out and was back to free agency at age 34.

For Trinidad, Campa had 362 games, 431 hits, 228 runs, 73 doubles, 103 home runs, 284 RBI, .317/.371/.601 slash, 158 wRC+, and 13.9 WAR. His stock was high and Guatemala brought him back on a four-year, $61,500,000 deal. By this point, the Ghosts were amidst a dynasty run with three straight seasons of 105+ wins. Guatemala had won the CL pennant in 2022-23 and the CABA title in 2022. They had also finished second in the 2023 Baseball Grand Championship.

Although Campa’s regular season numbers in 2024-25 were down from his usual peaks, Guatemala’s dynasty rolled on with two more Caribbean titles. In 2024, the Ghosts were 108-54 and defeated Tijuana for the CABA Championship. Guatemala then was 115-47 in 2025, but fell to Juarez in the CABA finale.

Campa was strong in both playoff runs, but especially in 2024 with 18 hits, 15 runs, 8 homers, 18 RBI, 1.564 OPS, and 1.4 WAR. He was MVP in the 2024 CLCS win over Haiti. Campa’s Baseball Grand Championship stats were underwhelming with 29 hits, 16 runs, 7 doubles, 3 homers, 9 RBI, .216/.295/.336 slash, and 0.5 WAR over 37 games. Guatemala was 9-10 in 2024 and 11-8 in 2025.

The Ghosts continued their playoff streak through 2030, but didn’t get beyond the divisional round again. Campa looked like his old self in 2026 with 45 homers, 131 RBI, 1.002 OPS, and 6.9 WAR. 2027 had a nice pace, but he missed a good chunk between a torn abdominal and back issues. Campa’s deal expired and he was back to free agency for 2028 at age 38.

Between Guatemala stints, Campa had 1449 games, 1652 hits, 891 runs, 316 doubles, 331 home runs, 1022 RBI, 461 walks, 968 strikeouts, .315/.378/.574 slash, 151 wRC+, and 48.5 WAR. His role in extending the dynasty made him popular and his #31 uniform would later be retired. Campa signed a two-year, $21,200,000 deal with Havana and got to 600 home runs and 1500 RBI in 2028. For the Hurricanes, he had 133 games, 144 hits, 82 runs, 31 doubles, 28 home runs, 88 RBI, .308/.363/.553 slash, 139 wRC+, and 3.5 WAR.

Almost all of that was 2028, as Campa played only two games in 2029 after suffering a broken kneecap in late March. Many figured that was the end of his career, but Campa was determined to make it back. Jamaica gave him another stint on a one-year, $5,700,000 deal. Campa had an impressive return at age 40 with 47 home runs, 110 RBI, .939 OPS, 150 wRC+, and 5.0 WAR.

Between his four Jamaica seasons, Campa had 754 hits, 414 runs, 133 doubles, 187 home runs, 475 RBI, .305/.351/.597 slash, 155 wRC+, and 22.0 WAR. You’d think that 2030 bounce-back would get him a new CABA deal, but that was his final season there. Campa wasn’t ready to call it quits quite yet and opened an international search. He landed in Russia of all places on a one-year, $10 million deal with Ufa of Eurasian Professional Baseball.

Campa regressed to merely okay levels with the Fiends with 155 games, 27 homers, 89 RBI, .749 OPS, 105 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR. He was awful in the playoffs with .490 OPS, 39 wRC+, and -0.3 WAR, but Ufa earned the EPB Championship regardless. Campa retired that winter at age 42 and opted out of the 2031 BGC.

In CABA, Campa had 2589 games, 2981 hits, 1615 runs, 553 doubles, 41 triples, 649 home runs, 1869 RBI, 744 walks, 1795 strikeouts, 153 steals, .312/.369/.583 slash, .952 OPS, 152 wRC+, and 87.9 WAR. He ranks 40^th in games, 17^th in runs, 20^th in hits, 15^th in total bases (5563), 7^th in doubles, 19^th in homers, 10^th in RBI, 62^nd in walks, and 59^th in WAR among position players. Among CABA bats with 3000+ plate appearances, Campa is 84^th in OBP, 72^nd in slugging, and 61^st in OPS.

Some Hall of Fame voters are skeptical towards career DHs, but being a top 20 guy the big counting stats through 100+ years of history makes you an absolute lock. Campa also played a big role on the back-end of Guatemala’s historic CL four-peat. DH skeptics might keep him out of the inner-circle, but there was no denying Campa’s spot among the Central American Baseball Association’s greats. At 99.4%, he had the highest percentage in a loaded four-player 2036 class, even beating out home run king Noah Breton.

Noah Breton – First Base – Torreon Tomahawks – 99.0% First Ballot

Noah Breton was a 6’5’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from the capital of Puerto Rico, San Juan. Breton had legendary home run power with few hitting the ball as far as often. He was a league leader seven times with ten seasons of 50+ homers, along with a 15-year streak of 40+ homers. In each of his full seasons, Breton hit at least 35 homers. Breton’s power was definitely concentrated on dingers with a 162 game average of 51 homers, but only 23 doubles and 3 triples.

Breton was especially dominant facing right-handed pitching with a career 1.070 OPS and 188 wRC+, but he was solid against lefties with a .845 OPS and 135 wRC+. Breton’s eye for drawing walks was fantastic and many teams opted to pitch around him for obvious reasons. He was merely an above average-to-good contact hitter with a middling strikeout rate. Breton had subpar baserunning skills and speed, but you could do worse.

All of Breton’s starts with his glove came at first base with occasional stints as a designated hitter, grading as a mediocre defender. He was one of baseball’s great ironmen, playing 149+ games each year from 2012-29. The biggest criticism of Breton from teammates was that he was selfish and a bit dumb. With his prolific power though, Breton became one of the most popular superstars in CABA history.

Rarely in CABA were players drafted out of high school, as teams usually only drafted college prospects and signed teenagers to developmental deals. Breton dominated at Colegio Angelo David, but no teams could lock him down to an academy deal. In the 2008 CABA Draft, Santo Domingo picked him with the 19^th pick of the third round, 87^th overall. Breton signed with the Dolphins and spent all of 2009 in their academy.

Breton was a rare 19-year old debut in 2010 with 44 games and two starts. He took a part-time role in 2011 with 103 games and 46 starts, performing well in the limited sample. Santo Domingo was a playoff team at this point, losing in the first round both years. Breton struggled in his first postseason at-bats, going 1-12 with 8 strikeouts. Still, he had shown plenty of promise and got the full-time job in 2012. This was the first of 18 consecutive seasons for Breton as a starter somewhere.

He was an immediate success, leading the Caribbean League with 56 home runs and .660 slugging in 2012. Breton also had his first of 11 seasons with an OPS above one. Santo Domingo won the division at 98-64 and upset top seed and defending champ Honduras in the CLCS for their first pennant since the 1980s; Breton was the MVP of the series.

Santo Domingo then defeated Juarez to claim the CABA Championship. In 12 playoff games, Breton had 8 hits, 8 runs, 5 homers, and 6 RBI. He then dominated the Baseball Grand Championship with 21 hits, 17 runs, 4 doubles, 12 homers, 21 RBI, 1.291 OPS, 247 wRC+, and 1.7 WAR. Despite his efforts, the Dolphins tied for last in the event at 6-13.

Breton won his first Silver Slugger in 2013 and was second in MVP voting, getting his first of three straight 60+ homer seasons. He led with 130 runs, 63 homers, 129 RBI, 97 walks .737 slugging, and 1.164 OPS. This would be Breton’s career best for OBP (.427), slugging (.737), OPS (1.164), and WAR (9.9). It was his first of three seasons with 9+ WAR.

Santo Domingo took the top seed at 105-57 and repeated as Caribbean Champs with Breton taking MVP in the CLCS win over Panama. The Dolphins would be denied the CABA Championship repeat by Torreon. This was Breton’s strongest postseason with 21 hits, 13 runs, 8 homers, 14 RBI, 1.272 OPS, and 1.5 WAR. SD was a middling 9-10 in the BGC, but Breton was strong again with 17 hits, 14 runs, 4 doubles, 9 homers, 18 RBI, and 1.076 OPS.

That marked the end of Santo Domingo’s brief dynasty run, as they finished 81-81 in 2014 and fell below .500 for the rest of the decade. Breton continued to dominate, leading in homers, runs, and total bases in both 2014-15. Both years, he was second in MVP voting, but won Silver Sluggers. Breton had his career best for homers (65), runs (131), and total bases (413) in 2014 with 1.139 OPS both years. His lone cycle came in 2015 in June against Bahamas.

Breton surprisingly struggled in a contract year of 2016. He was still good by normal person standards, but his 43 homers, .900 OPS, and 3.7 WAR were easily the worst of his full-time career. Breton was only 26-years old, but a struggling Santo Domingo was worried he peaked and weren’t prepared to match his contract demands. With the Dolphins, Breton finished with 939 games, 903 hits, 635 runs, 128 doubles, 319 homers, 673 RBI, 437 walks, .300/.389/.678 slash, 178 wRC+, and 40.6 WAR.

Plenty of teams backed up the Brinks truck and Breton signed an eight-year, $109,100,000 deal with Torreon. The Tomahawks were on a five-year playoff streak at that point, but had suffered three straight one-and-dones after having won the Mexican League in 2013-14.

Torreon remained competitive with Breton and stayed above .500 from 2018-24. However, their only playoff trips would be wild card first round exits in 2022 and 2024. The division was firmly locked down by Juarez’s dynasty for the last 2010s and early 2020s. Breton’s playoff numbers were unremarkable in the small sample size with 0.2 WAR and 118 wRC+ in 7 games.

Overall, Breton held up his end though, hitting 48+ homers with 105+ RBI in each of his Tomahawks seasons. He led in homers and walks thrice and posted a career high 163 RBI in 2020, which ranks as the sixth-best single-season in CABA history. Breton won Silver Sluggers in 2019, 20, 21, and 22; getting seven for his career. He was second in 2024’s MVP voting.

Breton’s lone MVP win came in 2022, which was easily the best of his Torreon seasons. He led Mexico in runs (117), homers (63), walks (86), total bases (388), OBP (.403), slugging (.697), OPS (1.100), wRC+ (205), and WAR (8.5). During the Tomahawks run, Breton also made his first appearances in the Baseball Grand Championship playing for his native Puerto Rico. From 2018-28, Breton had 95 games, 60 hits, 54 runs, 10 doubles, 25 home runs, 46 RBI, .199/.355/.493 slash, and 3.6 WAR.

With Torreon, Breton had 1280 games, 1346 hits, 866 runs, 207 doubles, 433 home runs, 1031 RBI, 695 walks, .302/.397/.650 slash, 185 wRC+, and 58.9 WAR. The Tomahawks would retire his #5 uniform and he was beloved by fans for his eight year run, even if the team didn’t make any deep playoff runs. Breton quickly was climbing the leaderboards, reaching 1500 RBI and 2000 hits in 2023, then 700 home runs and 1500 runs scored in 2024. He was only the eighth in CABA to join the 700 home run club, and was amazingly only 32 years old when he did it.

Back to free agency for 2025, Breton signed a four-year, $94,400,000 deal with Juarez. The Jesters were 11 years into their playoff streak which had three CABA rings, five Mexican League titles, and 10 MLCS trips to that point. Breton would post a solid debut with 45 homers, .964 OPS, and 6.6 WAR. Juarez got the #1 seed at 103-59 and went all the way, defeating reigning CABA champ Guatemala in the final.

Breton had one more strong postseason run with 24 hits, 15 runs, 7 doubles, 4 homers, 11 RBI, and 1.0 WAR. He took third in MVP voting in the Baseball Grand Championship, although the Jesters were mid-tier at 10-9. Breton had 22 hits, 16 runs, 3 doubles, 9 homers, 19 RBI, 1.394 OPS, and 1.9 WAR. In 57 BGC games for his career, Breton had 60 hits, 47 runs, 11 doubles, 30 homers, 58 RBI, .306/.429/.821 slash, and 4.7 WAR. He is one of only 24 players with 30+ homers in event history.

For his CABA career, Breton had 63 playoff games and 56 starts with 64 hits, 43 runs, 12 doubles, 20 homers, 40 RBI, 28 walks, .292/.369/.639 slash, 176 wRC+, and 2.9 WAR. Juarez fell to 88-74 and barely kept the playoff streak alive, falling in the divisional round. That was Breton’s last truly great season with 46 homers, 110 RBI, 97 walks, 1.036 OPS, and 7.2 WAR. He also became the second in CABA to 800 home runs that year as he chased Hugh Boerboom’s career record of 866.

Juarez’s streak ended in 2027 at 81-81, followed by a 71-91 effort in 2028. Breton still led in walks both years, but he fell below 40 homers, 100+ RBI, and .900 OPS both years; marks he previously hit regularly. Still, Breton finished the 2027 season with 879 homers, passing Boerboom to become CABA’s all-time home run king. Breton also became CABA’s career leader for walks drawn that year and crossed 2000 career RBI. In 2028, he was the first CABA slugger to sock 900 dingers.

With the Jesters, Breton played 636 games with 581 hits, 364 runs, 83 doubles, 162 home runs, 414 RBI, 344 walks, .274/.376/.551 slash, 166 wRC+, and 22.1 WAR. Even with his production dipping, Breton was still a solid starter at that point as he entered free agency at age 38. He was at 2118 career RBI, just behind Solomon Aragon’s 2137 for the all-time mark.

For 2029, Breton returned home to Puerto Rico on a two-year, $23,800,000 deal. He had an okay year, still leading in walks with 42 homers, but his wRC+ (130) and WAR (2.7) were career lows. Breton became the RBI king, became the seventh in CABA with 3000 games played, and was now close to reaching 2000 runs scored and 3000 hits. He ultimately missed both though as he struggled and was benched in 2030, playing only 66 games with 32 starts, .665 OPS, and -0.1 WAR.

In two seasons for the Pelicans, Breton had 223 games, 165 hits, 117 runs, 15 doubles, 49 homers, 115 RBI, 89 walks, .243/.331/.485 slash, 119 wRC+, and 2.6 WAR. He wanted to still play in 2031, but he was clearly washed at this point and no teams were interested. Breton retired that winter at age 41.

Breton finished with 3078 games, 2995 hits, 1982 runs, 433 doubles, 60 triples, 963 home runs, 2233 RBI, 1565 walks, 1835 strikeouts, .292/.386/.627 slash, 1.013 OPS, 175 wRC+, and 124.3 WAR. He remains CABA’s leader for homers, RBI, and walks. On the all-time world leaderboards for all of pro baseball history, Breton sits 9^th in homers, 24^th in RBI, 31^st in walks, and 38^th in runs scored.

In the CABA ranks, Breton is 5^th in games, 3^rd in runs, 6^th in total bases (6437), 46^th in doubles, 91^st in strikeouts, and 14^th in WAR among position players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Breton is 32^nd in OBP, 20^th in slugging, and 15^th in OPS. Among world Hall of Famers and retired locks, Breton sits 46^th in slugging and 29^th in OPS.

Breton certainly goes down as one of baseball’s true immortals and as an inner-circle Hall of Famer. While many argue he’s the best-ever power hitter in the Central American Baseball Association, Breton doesn’t usually factor into the GOAT conversations. Those who specifically love homers and RBI place him in the top five or top ten, but he is 14^th in WAR and some scholars keep him around there on the rankings.

Some also argue he’s the best-ever out of Puerto Rico, but he has very tough competition there from the likes of CABA runs/hits leader Matias Esquilin and Donald Gonzalez, who had 161.3 WAR between CABA and MLB. Breton is a legend regardless and got a near unanimous 99.0% as part of a stacked four-player 2036 CABA class.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-27-2025, 05:35 AM

Rodney Louis – Starting Pitcher – Guyana Golden Knights – 96.5% First Ballot

Rodney Louis was a 6’2’’, 195 pound right-handed pitcher from Gonaives, Haiti; a commune of 356,000 people in the country’s north. Excellent control for his entire career was Louis’ biggest strength, although he had good-to-great stuff and movement in his prime. His velocity peaked in the 96-98 mph range with an arsenal of fastball, slider, changeup, and curveball. Louis’ changeup was often viewed as his strongest pitch as he was excellent at changing speeds.

Louis showed very good stamina and durability throughout his run, tossing 220+ innings in all 17 of his professional seasons. He was strong at holding runners and had average defensive grades. Louis also had an impressive work ethic, allowing him to make the absolute most out of his abilities.

By the 2017 CABA Draft, Louis was right at the top of the prospect lists. He went third overall to Guyana, who had joined with the 2003 expansion. To that point, the Golden Knights had been atrocious with their best season being 72-90 back in 2006. Nobody could’ve expected what would happen with Louis’ debut in 2018.

Louis joined a very short list in world history to earn Pitcher of the Year in their rookie season, leading the Caribbean League with 7.6 WAR. He had 270.2 innings with 244 strikeouts and 3.3 WAR. Amazingly, Louis finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, as the voters are usually biased towards hitters for that honor. This pushed Guyana to a division title at 93-69, their first-ever playoff berth

The Golden Knights got hot, beating Haiti for the Caribbean League title and Leon for the CABA Championship; a shocking result considering where Guyana had been in their first 15 seasons. Louis had an impressive playoff run, winning his four starts with a 2.87 ERA in 31.1 innings and 27 strikeouts. Guyana finished 8-11 in the Baseball Grand Championship with Louis posting a 3.79 ERA over 35.2 innings with 30 Ks.

Louis was third in 2019’s Pitcher of the Year voting and led in complete games with 18. He had the most CG twice more and led in innings once for Guyana and had five seasons above 6.5 WAR. The Golden Knights won the division again in 2019, but fell to Havana in the CLCS. Louis struggled in his two playoff starts with a 6.14 ERA. Guyana was a wild card and lost in the first round in 2020, then spent the next three years below .500.

After the 2020 season, Louis signed a five-year, $52,800,000 extension with the Golden Knights. He was second in 2024’s Pitcher of the Year voting with a career best 2.04 ERA, 24 quality starts, and 8.1 WAR. 2022 had his strikeout peak of 285, but he never led the league in Ks or ERA. Guyana got back to the playoffs as a wild card in 2024, but went one-and-done with Louis only used in one relief appearance. He had a 3.62 ERA over 54.2 playoff innings with 56 Ks for his Golden Knights run.

After the great 2024 campaign, his ERA rose to 3.45 in 2025 and Guyana fell to 73-89. Coming up on age 31, the Golden Knights were worried Louis had peaked and didn’t have the resources for a big money deal. He left for free agency, ending his Guyana run with a 128-79 record, 3.10 ERA, 2029.2 innings, 1941 strikeouts, 308 walks, 130 ERA+, 75 FIP-, and 52.9 WAR. Louis’s #13 uniform would later be retired as a huge reason they saw their first ever successes as a franchise.

Louis returned to his native Haiti on a six-year, $115,200,000 deal with the Herons. He had been a regular since 2023 for his country in the World Baseball Championship. From 2023-34, Louis had an 8-11 record, 3.07 ERA, 176 innings, 181 strikeouts, 42 walks, and 4.4 WAR. As for the Herons, they had just missed the playoffs in the two seasons prior to his arrival.

Haiti would start a seven-year playoff streak in 2027, although the first three years had wild cards with first round exits. Louis was second in 2027’s Pitcher of the Year voting, leading in wins at 24-7 along with a 2.38 ERA. Winning the top award would be very difficult in the 2020s Caribbean League thanks to Israel Montague, who won it eight times from 2021-30. In 2029, Louis finished third with a 2.39 ERA and a career and league-best 0.82 WHIP.

The Herons broke through as the top seed in 2030 at 101-61 and won the CLCS over Curacao, but they would fall to Tijuana in the CABA Championship. Louis struggled in his lone playoff start with four runs allowed over 1.2 innings. He suffered bone chips in his elbow from that outing, knocking him out for the rest of the postseason. Louis only had two playoff starts total with Haiti with nine runs allowed in 6.2 innings.

In five seasons for the Herons, Louis had a 92-46 record, 2.74 ERA, 1195.2 innings, 1209 strikeouts, 150 walks, 146 ERA+, 71 FIP-, and 33.0 WAR. His production had been very solid for the whole run, but Haiti opted to void the team option sixth year of his deal. Louis was heading towards age 36 as a free agent for 2031. His CABA run concluded, as he would leave for Major League Baseball on a three-year, $55,200,000 deal with Oklahoma City.

Louis missed some time to shoulder inflammation in his Outlaws debut, but was respectable overall with a 3.78 ERA and 4.0 WAR over 228.1 innings. For the next two seasons, he provided average-at-best production, OKC would get a wild card in 2031, but lost in the first round. In three years, Louis had a 40-39 record, 4.19 ERA, 686 innings, 373 strikeouts, 94 walks, 104 ERA+, 99 FIP-, and 9.3 WAR. His velocity had dipped into the 92-94 mph range, but Louis’ excellent control allowed him to still eat innings in the middle or back of a rotation.

Detroit felt he still had value and gave Louis a three year, $28,800,000 deal. Unfortunately, he never took to the field for the Tigers, suffering radial nerve compression in spring training. Louis missed all of 2034 and retired in the winter at age 39. For his combined pro career, Louis had a 260-164 record, 3.18 ERA, 3911.1 innings, 3523 strikeouts, 552 walks, 129 ERA+, 78 FIP-, and 95.2 WAR.

In CABA, Louis had a 220-125 record, 2.97 ERA, 3225.1 innings, 3150 strikeouts, 458 walks, 244/391 quality starts, 144 complete games, 22 shutouts, 136 ERA+, 74 FIP-, and 85.9 WAR. Louis ranks 39^th in wins, 66^th in innings, 27^th in complete games, 88^th in shutouts, 63^rd in strikeouts, and 26^th in pitching WAR. He’s outside the top 100 for rate stats.

Louis was rarely overwhelmingly dominant, but he was remarkably consistent and almost quietly was one of the most effective aces of his era. He probably wouldn’t be considered an inner-circle Hall of Famer, but he was a slam dunk inductee. Louis’ debut and push to Guyana’s first title in 2018 certainly earned him an important spot in history. At 96.5%, Louis joined the four-player 2036 class for the Central American Baseball Association.

Quirino Brito – Starting Pitcher – Guyana Golden Knights – 83.3% First Ballot

Quirino Brito was a 6’1’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Jaguey Grande, Cuba; a town with about 59,600 people. Brito was known for having tremendous stuff and very good control along with above average movement. His velocity peaked in the 97-99 mph range with a five-pitch arsenal of curveball, changeup, splitter, cutter, and forkball. Brito was a master at changing speeds and got the most whiffs from a stellar changeup.

Brito’s stamina was relative to most CABA aces, but his durability was fantastic so you could reliably expect 200+ innings each year. He was a good defensive pitcher, but he was terrible at holding runners. Brito was highly intelligent and used his smarts for the best pitch selection each situation required. He was a top prospect for the 2014 CABA Draft and went fourth overall to Guyana.

As a rookie, Brito was a reliever with nice results with 24 saves, 2.02 ERA, and 58 innings. He was awful in a split bullpen/starting role in 2016, but was a full-time starter after that. Brito had a lousy 5.16 ERA in 2017, but was hurt by some terrible defense behind him. Guyana to that point in their first 15 seasons post expansion hadn’t come particularly close to even having a winning season.

With the arrival of his Hall of Fame classmate Rodney Louis in 2018, Guyana had a shocking 93-69 season en route to a CABA Championship win over Leon. Brito had 5.2 WAR in the regular season, but did struggle to a 5.87 ERA in his two playoff starts. He was decent with a 3.69 ERA in four starts for the 2018 Baseball Grand Championship as Guyana finished 8-11.

The Golden Knights lost in the 2019 Caribbean League Championship Series to Havana, then had a first round exit in 2020. Brito got his timing down and became a top tier strikeout pitcher with 2019 beginning a nine-year streak of 300+ K seasons. He was the CL leader from 2019-21, peaking with 355 in 2020. Brito had some trouble allowing home runs though, giving up a league-worst 36 in 2021.

Guyana gave Brito a three-year, $36,700,000 extension after the 2020 season. They would fall below .500 for the length of that extension and decided to let him leave for free agency after the 2023 campaign. With the Golden Knights, Brito had a 105-119 record, 3.92 ERA, 1933.2 innings, 2279 strikeouts, 301 walks, 103 ERA+, 82 FIP-, and 41.9 WAR. Guyana would retire Brito’s 23 uniform, which would be the first retired by the young franchise.

Now 31-years old, Brito signed a six-year, $70 million deal with Ecatepec. While in Mexico, he would still make some appearances back home in Cuba for the World Baseball Championship. Brito pitched from 2021-26 and in 2029-30 in the WBC with a 4.07 ERA, 8-8 record, 115 innings, 171 strikeouts, and 2.8 WAR.

The Explosion hovered mostly around the middle tier for Brito’s early years in Ecatepec. He posted his career best WAR at 8.5 in 2024, then had his best ERA in 2026 at 2.81 along with a league-best 21 wins. Brito was second in Pitcher of the Year voting, his only time as a finalist. He quickly climbed up the all-time strikeout lists and in 2029 became CABA’s 13^th ace with 4000 Ks.

Ecatepec returned to relevance in 2029 at 100-62, although they were second in the division to 104-win Leon. The Explosion upset the Lions in the MLCS, then dethroned defending champ Honduras in the CABA Championship. Brito had a solid postseason with a 2.67 ERA over 30.1 innings, 36 strikeouts, and 0.8 WAR. He had bad luck in the BGC with a 1-4 record despite a 2.52 ERA over 35.2 innings and 51 Ks. Ecatepec finished 9-12 for the event.

2029 was also the end of Brito’s time with the Explosion, who opted not to give the now 37-year old a new deal. With Ecatepec, Brito had an 88-57 record, 3.25 ERA, 1365 innings, 1858 strikeouts, 249 walks, 112 ERA+, 67 FIP-, and 40.1 WAR. Brito signed a two-year, $27,400,000 deal with Tuxtla, who was an expansion team beginning play for 2030.

Brito had a strong first half with the Terror, posting a 2.58 ERA, 157 innings, 161 Ks, and 3.2 WAR. However, Tuxtla traded him at the deadline along with $19,870,000 to Santo Domingo for three prospects. Brito struggled in the second half with a 4.71 ERA in 70.2 innings for the Dolphins, who earned a wild card. In his one playoff start, he gave up five runs over seven innings. Brito decided to retire that winter at age 38.

In total, Brito had a 208-187 record, 82 saves, 3.62 ERA, 3526.1 innings, 4365 strikeouts, 590 walks, 257/433 quality starts, 123 complete games, 21 shutouts, 107 ERA+, 77 FIP-, and 85.7 WAR. Brito ranks 53^rd in wins, 38^th in innings, 57^th in complete games, 8^th in strikeouts, and 27^th in WAR among pitchers. His 11.14 K/9 ranks 35^th among all CABA pitchers with 1000+ innings. On the downside, he’s 12^th in homers allowed (418).

Perhaps most fascinating was the difference in ERA+ and FIP- for Brito. Hall of Fame starting pitchers usually had an ERA+ of 120 or better and an FIP- around 80 or lower. His ERA+ of 107 suggested above averageness, but his 77 FIP- was better than most greats. Brito’s 3.62 ERA was the second worst by a Central American Baseball Association HOFer; only Ian Paniagua’s 3.66 was worse.

Some traditionalist voters pointed to Brito’s ERA and win/loss record as a major mark against him, plus he wasn’t one with a ton of accolades. Sabermetric minded voters argued his WAR and FIP meant he was a lot better than the traditional stats suggested. One thing they could all agree on was the value of his 4365 Ks. Ranking eighth in strikeouts in a league’s 100+ year history is going to be a clincher on its own for most voters. At 83.3%, Brito got the first ballot nod to cap off a loaded four-man 2036 crew.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-27-2025, 03:36 PM

In a quiet 2036 Hall of Fame ballot for East Asia Baseball, reliever Ga-On Kwan was the lone inductee with 80.7% on his first ballot. Four returners were above 50% but short of the 66% induction threshold. LF Jae-A Choi led that group at 56.3% on his sixth ballot. SP Hiroshi Yama****a had 55.9% on his second try, SP Takeo Kobayashi saw 55.% for his fourth ballot, and C Ha-Jun Au had 50.0% even on his tenth and last opportunity.

Au was another victim of the general anti-catcher bias that voters have with the lower accumulations that come with the position. He peaked at 58.8% in 2028 and bottomed at 36.1% in 2035. In 17 seasons, Au won nine Silver Sluggers and was a big part of Goyang’s 2012 championship. He was KLCS MVP that year and had 21 hits, 14 runs, 9 homers, and 17 RBI in that playoff run.

Au played 2166 games with 1941 hits, 1047 runs, 335 doubles, 39 triples, 430 home runs, 1141 RBI, 722 walks, .270/.337/.508 slash, 132 wRC+, and 82.4 WAR. Among catchers, Au has the most homers and is third in WAR, ranking 97^th in WAR among all position players. You could easily call Au a top three catcher in EAB history, but even the top WAR catcher Shintaro Onishi ended up missing the Hall and only two others had been inducted in EAB’s 100+ year history. Yet again, catchers seem to get held to the same accumulation standards of other positions and the nature of the position makes that a near impossible mark to clear.

Closer Geon-U Kang also fell off the ballot after ten tries, peaking at 53.9% in 2030 before ending with 38.6%. He won three Reliever of the Year awards with Seongnam and helped them to their 2019 championship. Kang had 307 saves and 415 shutdowns, 2.58 ERA, 1040.1 innings, 1349 strikeouts, 221 walks, 145 ERA+, 62 FIP-, and 34.4 WAR.

Kang is 34^th in saves and notably had a 1.59 ERA over 51 playoff innings. His resume is fairly comparable to some of the lower-end relievers to make EAB’s HOF, but he needed either a bit more longevity or more raw dominance to stand out. Kang’s 24 uniform is retired by the Spiders, but he remains confined to the Hall of Pretty Good.

Ga-On Kwan – Closer – Osaka Orange Sox – 80.7% First Ballot

Go-On Kwan was a 6’0’’, 185 pound left-handed relief pitcher from Anseong, South Korea; a city with around 196,000 inhabitants. Kwan had impressive stuff and very good movement, although his control was average at best. His one-two punch was a 98-100 mph fastball and a curveball.

Kwan’s stamina was good by reliever standards and he held up decently well in a 16-year run. He was solid at holding runners, but subpar defensively otherwise. Kwan was one of the most respected men in the clubhouse as a team captain, known for excellent leadership, selflessness, and an impressive work ethic. It also made him quite popular in Osaka as a rare closer who played nearly his entire career with one team.

Relievers didn’t usually get a first round pick and it was even rarer for one to be taken out of high school. Gwangju were wowed by Kwan’s potential though from Woosung High School, taking him 31^st overall in the 2011 EAB Draft. Most people don’t realize he started with the Grays, since he never played for them. He spent three full years in their academy, then was one of four prospects traded in December 2014 to Osaka for LF Munoto Miyamoto.

Kwan debuted in 2015 at age 21 for the Orange Sox and had mostly long relief, but did make two starts for 83.1 innings. He was moved to the closer role in 2016 and took second in Reliever of the Year voting with a career-high 44 saves. From 6/5/15 to 7/2/16, he had a 36 consecutive successful saves. Kwan was relegated to a set-up role in 2017, but reclaimed the closer spot the next year and generally held it for the rest of the Osaka run.

2015 started a six-year playoff streak for the Orange Sox and an eventual dynasty run. After first round exits in 2015-16, Osaka earned back-to-back Japan League titles in 2016-17. They lost the 2017 EAB Championship to Changwon, but won it all in 2018 over Seongnam. Kwan was especially strong in the title runs, tossing 8.2 scoreless innings in 2017 followed by a 1.53 ERA over 17.2 innings with 31 Ks in 2018.

Osaka struggled to 5-14 in the 2017 Baseball Grand Championship, but they were one of four teams tied for third in 2018 at 11-8, officially fourth after tiebreakers. Kwan was third in 2018’s Best Pitcher voting, allowing only one unearned run with 20 strikeouts and eight saves over 11.2 innings and 10 appearances. Kwan was also a regular from 2017-29 in the World Baseball Championship for South Korea and split between starting and relief there. In 124 innings, he had a 12-5 record and 9 saves, 2.47 ERA, 207 strikeouts, and 4.2 WAR.

2019 saw a major setback for Kwan with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow suffered on July 27. This knocked him out for the rest of 2019 and almost all of 2020. Osaka lost in the first round of 2019, but bounced back with the top seed in 2020 at 102-60. They earned their third JL pennant in four years and defeated Hamhung for another EAB Championship.

Kwan was back in September 2020 with limited regular season luck, but he stepped up for 5.1 scoreless playoff innings with 10 Ks. He was merely okay with a 3.86 ERA over 4.2 innings in the BGC with the Orange Sox finishing 7-12. For his playoff career, Kwan had a 2.38 ERA over 41.2 innings, 67 strikeouts, 5 saves, 11 shutdowns, 6-4 record, 139 ERA+, 33 FIP-, and 2.4 WAR. He had a 1.93 ERA and 9 saves in his BGC appearances with 23.1 innings, 39 strikeouts, and 1.5 WAR.

Osaka’s dynasty ended there, although they remained above .500 through 2027. They would only make one more playoff appearance in that stretch with a first round wild card exit in 2025. Kwan was firmly the closer from then onward and signed a three-year, $25,200,000 extension in March 2024. He would win three Reliever of the Year awards (2022, 26, 28) while taking second in voting thrice more (2021, 24, 27) and third in 2023.

Kwan was the saves leader in 2026-27 with 43 and 42, respectively. 2021 had his career high for WAR (4.8) and strikeouts (143). 2023 was his best ERA at 1.21 and that year had a 40-inning scoreless streak and 46-appearance scoreless streak. By 2029, he became the eighth in EAB history with 400 career saves and the first to join that club since 1992. Kwan signed another two-year, $11,600,000 extension in February 2027.

Although Kwan won Reliever of the Year in 2028, Osaka finally bottomed out at 69-93 for their first losing season of his career. They were worse at 64-98 in 2029, which saw Kwan’s career highs for innings (121.2) and games (80). However, his 3.48 ERA was his weakest full season except for the rookie year. Kwan’s velocity was in the 96-98 mph range this year, still high enough to be passable. However, the struggling Orange Sox decided not to re-sign him, sending Kwan to free agency for the first time at age 36.

Incheon gave Kwan a one-year, $5,600,000 deal for 2030, but his velocity plummeted to the 90-92 mph range in spring training. He saw 73.2 innings for the Inferno in long relief and occasional starting with a 3.91 ERA and only 25 strikeouts. Kwan retired that winter at age 36 and Osaka immediately brought him back in to retire his 23 uniform for his 15 years of service and role in the dynasty.

Kwan finished with 419 saves and 525 shutdowns, 90-94 record, 2.26 ERA, 1010 games, 1271.2 innings, 1683 strikeouts, 385 walks, 149 ERA+, 61 FIP-, and 42.0 WAR. He ranks 4^th in saves and 4^th in games pitched in EAB and among the EAB Hall of Fame relievers ranks 3^rd in strikeouts and 4^th in WAR. Among all EAB pitchers with 1000+ innings, Kwan is 21^st in ERA, 19^th in H/9 (6.55), 12^th in K/9 (11.91), and 33^rd in opponent’s OPS (.571).

On the world leaderboard, Kwan is 46^th in shutdowns and 28^th in games pitched, but just outside of the top 50 for saves. He also is 48^th in strikeouts for RP, but isn’t nearly as dominant as the other world greats for rate stats. Kwan probably doesn’t belong on a top 50 list for closers in world history. However, he had impressive longevity and was a top three reliever for most of his prime with Osaka, playing an important role in a dynasty run.

Kwan usually is cited as a top five reliever in East Asia Baseball history and some might even put him as high as #2, although no one can top Oki Tanaka for the top spot. At 80.7%, he earned a first ballot induction and was the lone player added into the EAB Hall of Fame for 2036.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-28-2025, 05:41 AM

Beisbol Sudamerica had an impressive four-man 2036 Hall of Fame class with each earning first ballot honors. LF Michael Escalante was the headliner at 98.1% with OF Benjamim Pinheiro (90.6%) and LF Emmanuel Angel (87.5%) close behind. 1B Nuno Escalante barely made the 66% cut to join them with 67.5%. The best returner was CL Antonio Kercado at 50.6% on his second try. No one else was above 50%.

3B Pedro Gutierrez fell off the ballot after ten tries, getting as close at 55.8% in 2029 but finishing at only 22.6%. In a 19-year career, he won three Silver Sluggers with 2723 games, 2996 hits, 1475 runs, 503 doubles, 114 triples, 393 home runs, 1388 RBI, 501 walks, 588 steals, .310/.345/.507 slash, 126 wRC+, and 85.3 WAR.

Gutierrez ranks 73^rd in WAR among position players and 13^th among third basemen and is 22^nd in hits. He had nice longevity and good tallies, but he was never a league leader with little in accolades. Gutierrez was also on mostly forgettable teams, banishing him to the Hall of Pretty Good.

Michael Escalante – Left/Right Field – Concepcion Chiefs – 98.1% First Ballot

Michael Escalante was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed hitting corner outfielder from Puente Alto, Chile; a city of around 568,000 people within metropolitan Santiago. At his peak, Escalante was a very well-rounded batter against both sides with good-to-great contact, power, and eye. He was terrific at earning extra-base hits with a 162 game average of 34 doubles, 13 triples, and 36 home runs. Escalante was a league leader thrice in walks drawn, but he did have a poor strikeout rate.

Escalante also had rock solid speed and was a highly skilled baserunner. About 2/3 of his starts came in left field where he graded as a great defender, winning two Gold Gloves. Escalante also occasionally started in right field with good metrics there. He was a below average first baseman at the very end of his career and filled in rarely in center field, but his range was nowhere near good enough for that spot.

With his diverse skillset and long run with Concepcion, Escalante emerged as one of the most popular Chilean players of all time. Few guys could outwork him and he was very adaptable, plus he had generally strong durability over a 21-year career. However, Escalante was considered a bit selfish at times and couldn’t be counted on for vocal leadership. He didn’t need to be the captain though to help push the Chiefs to a 15-year run as a regular contender in the Southern Cone League.

Escalante was picked ninth overall by Concepcion in the 2009 BSA Draft. He saw part-time use and struggled a bit as a rookie with -0.1 WAR and .678 OPS in 88 games and 46 starts. Escalante earned a full-time gig the next year and exceled, posting 6.5+ WAR each of the next 15 seasons. During that stretch, he was also good for 30+ homers each year and eight times had an OPS above one. Escalante’s first accolades came with Gold Gloves in 2011 and 2013.

This also started a sustained run for the Chiefs, who hadn’t made the playoffs since 1991. 2011 would start a 15-year stretch of winning seasons with 13 playoff appearances and five division titles. After a first round exit in 2011, the Chiefs narrowly took the top seed in 2012 at 97-65. They defeated Brasilia to win the Southern Cone crown with Escalante earning series MVP. Concepcion would be denied in Copa Sudamerica by Callao.

2012 was easily Escalante’s strongest playoff effort with 23 hits, 10 runs, 5 homer, 11 RBI, .941 OPS, and 0.8 WAR over 17 starts. He also had a nice showing in the Baseball Grand Championship with 18 hits, 12 runs, 6 homers, 16 RBI, .897 OPS, and 0.7 WAR. Escalante was the second in event history to hit for the cycle, doing it against Addis Ababa. Concepcion was one of five teams tied for the best record at 12-7, but ended up officially in fifth place after tiebreakers were sorted out.

The Chiefs won back-to-back division titles in 2013-14, but lost both years in the divisional series. They fell to 82-80 and missed the playoffs in 2015, which would be the weakest season of Escalante’s tenure. He was performing quite well though and was a league leader for the first time in 2013 with 120 runs scored. That year also had his career best 44 doubles.

Concepcion started a new five-year playoff streak in 2016 with a division title, but again had no playoff luck. Then in 2017-18, the Chiefs earned back-to-back Southern Cone titles. They were a wild card who got hot in 2017, but dropped Copa Sudamerica to Ciudad Guayana. Concepcion won the division in 2018 at 98-64 and won the cup with a finals victory over Maturin. Escalante had a solid showing in the 2017 playoffs, but was middling in 2018.

Escalante stepped up big in the 2017 BGC with 20 runs, 19 hits, 3 doubles, 7 homers, 13 RBI, 15 walks, 1.171 OPS, and 1.6 WAR. Concepcion again was 12-7 and tied for the top spot, but tiebreakers placed them second behind Juarez, but ahead of Bamako. Escalante was less impressive in the 2018 run with .757 OPS, 111 wRC+, and 0.6 WAR. The Chiefs finished 12-7 for the third time, this time finishing second place outright behind only 14-5 Jeddah. Concepcion became the first franchise with back-to-back runner-up finishes.

2018 was Escalante’s first Silver Slugger and he’d get four in-a-row. Concepcion would be a wild card and fail to advance beyond the division round in both 2019-20. Escalante was peaking though in his early 30s and had his career best 47 home runs in 2019. In February 2020, the Chiefs gave him a five-year, $84 million extension. This would be his best season and lone MVP win, leading the league with career highs for runs (125) and WAR (10.9).

Concepcion missed the playoffs in 2021 at 86-76, but Escalante was second in MVP voting as he led in walks (82), total bases (394), slugging (.712), and OPS (1.139). This season had his bests for total bases, triple slash (.340/.426/.712), OPS, and wRC+ (205). Escalante won an additional Silver Slugger in 2023, leading that year with his career high 85 walks.

The Chiefs got four straight wild cards from 2022-25, but couldn’t claim the division title over Santiago. Concepcion only made it beyond the divisional round in 2023, ultimately earning their seventh Southern Cone pennant and fourth of Escalante’s career. They’d be denied in Copa Sudamerica as Caracas completed a repeat bid. The Chiefs tied for eighth in the Baseball Grand Championship at 10-9 with Escalante posting .855 OPS and 0.6 WAR.

In 96 playoff starts with Concepcion, Escalante had 106 hits, 58 runs, 13 doubles, 6 triples, 19 homers, 55 RBI, 30 steals, .285/.347/.505 slash, 138 wRC+, and 2.6 WAR. His role in their sustained success led to his #26 uniform getting retired at the end of his career. 2024 was Escalante’s weakest full season by WAR, although 5.9 still meant he was a very good starter even at age 37. However, the Chiefs voided the team option year and Escalante was sent to free agency for the first time.

With the Chiefs, Escalante played 2275 games with 2459 hits, 1491 runs, 492 doubles, 201 triples, 542 home runs, 1405 RBI, 911 walks, 1962 strikeouts, 809 steals, .308/.382/.624 slash, 176 wRC+, and 108.7 WAR. He ended up signing a two-year, $35,600,000 deal with Fortaleza, who were on their own four-year playoff streak. The Foxes had won the pennant in 2021-22 and had an LCS loss in 2024.

Although he was now in Brazil, Escalante continued representing Chile proudly in the World Baseball Championship alongside his cousin and Hall of Fame classmate Nuno. From 2012-30, Escalante played 174 game with 138 hits, 104 runs, 30 doubles, 51 home runs, 111 RBI, .226/.342/.538 slash, and 6.0 WAR. He is the leader among Chileans in the WBC for homers, RBI, doubles, and walks while ranking second in WAR and runs scored.

A sore elbow cost Escalante more than a month in 2025 for Fortaleza, but he still earned his 1500^th run and 2500^th hit while posting 6.1 WAR and .988 OPS over 113 games. The Foxes were a division champ at 96-66 and won the Southern Cone League over defending champ Sao Paulo, but they would be denied Copa Sudamerica by Barranquilla. Escalante had 18 hits, 8 runs, .840 OPS, and 0.3 WAR over 15 playoff starts.

Fortaleza was 10-9 in the Baseball Grand Championship in a tie for ninth with Escalante getting 18 hits, 14 runs, 4 doubles, 8 homers, 16 RBI, .951 OPS, and 0.8 WAR. Escalante is one of a select few to participate in four BGCs, finishing with 94 games, 79 hits, 73 runs, 11 doubles, 30 homers, 65 RBI, 65 walks, 131 strikeouts, .234/.370/.558 slash, and 4.4 WAR. He ranks 21^st in games, 6^th in runs, 24^th in hits, 19^th in homers, 14^th in RBI, 3^rd in walks, 4^th in strikeouts, and 18^th in WAR among position players.

Escalante certainly earned a big game reputation if nothing else than from volume, as his playoff awards were limited. Adding 2025 with Fortaleza, he had 111 games, 124 hits, 66 runs, 16 doubles, 7 triples, 21 homers, 62 RBI, 38 walks, 129 Ks, 37 steals, .288/.347/.503 slash, 136 wRC+, and 2.9 WAR in his BSA playoff career. Escalante ranks 5^th in games, 4^th in runs, 4^th in hits, 6^th in total bases (217), 11^th in homers, 6^th in RBI, and 3^rd in walks. On the bad side, he is 2^nd in strikeouts and has been caught stealing the most at 39.

2025 was Escalante’s final Beisbol Sudamerica playoff run and also ended his first run in the league. He didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the second season of the Fortaleza deal and was back to free agency at age 38. He earned Major League Baseball attention and signed a two-year, $29,200,000 deal with El Paso. The Prairie Dogs were one of the expansion teams from 2012 and were still looking for their first winning season.

El Paso got it in 2026 at 82-80, then earned their first playoff berth with a wild card round exit in 2027 at 94-68. Escalante had an excellent 2026 debut season, but was merely above average in 2027. In two seasons in Texas, he had 289 games, 309 hits, 197 runs, 65 doubles, 18 triples, 50 homers, 172 RBI, 134 walks, .284/.370/.515 slash, 130 wRC+, and 10.0 WAR. Escalante stayed in MLB for his next deal on a two-year, $17,800,000 deal with Winnipeg.

Escalante was used in a part-time role in 2028 for the Wolves with 111 games, 88 starts, .769 OPS, 116 wRC+, and 1.8 WAR. He didn’t meet the vesting criteria and was a free agent once more, now at age 41. Escalante returned to BSA and signed a two-year, $13,600,000 deal with Ciudad Guayana.

In 2029, he had the most strikeouts in the Bolivar League at 197, but was still passable with .761 OPS and 1.5 WAR. Escalante fell hard in 2030 with -1.4 WAR, .608 OPS, 66 wRC, and a 34.4% strikeout rate over 125 games. He retired that winter at age 42.

In Beisbol Sudamerica, Escalante had 2661 games, 2810 hits, 1719 runs, 563 doubles, 236 triples, 593 home runs, 1549 RBI, 1077 walks, 2440 strikeouts, 919 steals, 676 caught stealing, .299/.373/.598 slash, 166 wRC+, and 114.8 WAR. Escalante ranks 34^th in games, 9^th in runs, 35^th in hits, 15^th in total bases (5624), 5^th in doubles, 34^th in triples, 26^th in homers, 30^th in RBI, 28^th in steals, 35^th in caught stealing, 15^th in walks, 15^th in strikeouts, and 18^th in WAR among position players.

For BSA batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Escalante is 72^nd in OBP and 47^th in slugging with his .971 OPS ranking 40^th. For his combined pro career, Escalante had 3061 games, 3207 hits, 1973 runs, 646 doubles, 259 triples, 657 home runs, 1776 RBI, 1257 walks, 2817 Ks, 979 steals, .295/.371/.584 slash, 161 wRC+, and 126.6 WAR. He cracks the world leaderboards ranking 43^rd in runs scored and just misses the top 50 for doubles.

Escalante was almost never considered THE guy during his career, but he was remarkably valuable and consistent over a 20-year run and almost quietly built an inner-circle Hall of Fame career. He was one of the main reasons Concepcion was a regular contender in the 2010s and 2020s. Escalante is also in the conversation for the best batter to ever come out of Chile. At 98.1%, he headlined a strong four-man 2036 HOF class for BSA.

Benjamim Pinheiro – Right/Center Field – Asuncion Archers – 90.6% First Ballot

Benjamim Pinheiro was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed outfielder from Capelinha, Brazil; a southeastern municipality of around 38,000 people. Pinheiro was known for his excellent speed and baserunning skills along with a knack for extra base hits. His 162 game average got you 23 doubles and 18 triples, but he got you a rock solid 31 home runs as well. Pinheiro was far better facing right-handed pitching (.942 OPS, 157 wRC+) compared to lefties (.711 OPS, 96 wRC+).

On the whole, Pinheiro graded as above average at best in terms of contact and eye, but his speed and knack for extra base hits made his opportunities count more than most. He also was subpar at avoiding strikeouts. Pinheiro’s durability was strong in his prime and he held up pretty well over a 21-year career. Few guys garnered more respect in the clubhouse as Pinheiro was a team captain with high marks for leadership, work ethic, and loyalty.

Defensively, Pinheiro made about 2/3 of his starts in right field and most of the rest in center. He graded as an excellent defender in RF and won four Gold Gloves. In CF, Pinheiro gave you reliably above average metrics as well. His unique skillset and leadership made him a very popular player back home in Brazil and in Paraguay, where he spent his prime seasons with Asuncion.

Pinheiro signed a developmental deal with the Archers in May 2006 and spent around four years in their academy. After being generally mediocre for much of their history, Asuncion had posted a dynasty run and become a contender from the late 1990s into the 2000s. Pinheiro only caught the very end of that run, debuting in 2010 at age 20 with .736 OPS and 1.7 WAR over 135 games. Asuncion was a division champ in 2010 who lost in the divisional series. They would have a seven-year playoff drought after that but weren’t atrocious, averaging 78.6 wins per season in that stretch.

He was a full-time starter after that for the next 14 years. Pinheiro’s four Gold Gloves came consecutively from 2011-14 in RF. From 2012-20, he was good for 5.5+ WAR each year and finished above 9 WAR four times. Those four seasons also were above 1.000 OPS. Pinheiro won his first Silver Sluggers from 2015-17 while starting in CF.

2016 was Pinheiro’s best effort, taking second in MVP voting by leading the Southern Cone League in OBP (.412) slugging (.719), OPS (1.131), wRC+ (212), and WAR (11.3). Those were all career bests as was his .350 average, 45 home runs, and 394 total bases. During the 2016 run, Asuncion gave Pinheiro an eight-year, $91,600,000 extension. Pinheiro was third in 2019’s MVP voting with his one Slugger playing RF, leading in triples (30), and steals (93). 2019 also saw him hit for the cycle in May against Santiago. He got one more Slugger in 2023 in CF.

Asuncion had brief team success to end the decade. They were a 93-69 wild card in 2018 and got to the LCS, but fell to Concepcion. The Archers then had the top seed in 2019 at 104-58, but were upset in the division round. They spent the rest of Pinheiro’s tenure hovering at or just above .500 but outside of the playoffs. His small playoff sample size was unremarkable with 19 starts, .596 OPS, 71 wRC=, and 0.1 WAR.

Pinheiro did play on the World Baseball Championship stage for his native Brazil from 2013-24 and from 2028-30. In 156 games, he had 117 hits, 83 runs, 18 doubles, 31 home runs, 63 RBI, .217/.326/.446 slash, and 3.5 WAR. Pinheiro notably had 18 hits, 10 runs, 6 homers, and 13 RBI in Brazil’s 2021 world championship win over Pakistan. The Brazilians also notably took third in 2016.

After impeccable durability in his 20s, Pinheiro ran into some injury issues in his early 30s. Forearm inflammation kept him out a month in 2021. Then in 2024, a broken hamate bone in his wrist kept him out more than two months. That season also saw career lows when healthy with a .676 OPS and 87 wRC+ in 99 games. This was Pinheiro’s last year under contract and Asuncion was worried he was finished and let him leave for free agency at age 35.

With the Archers, Pinheiro had 2247 games, 2317 hits, 1405 runs, 320 doubles, 265 triples, 446 home runs, 1175 RBI, 718 walks, 1807 strikeouts, 1102 steals, .289/.355/.561 slash, 152 wRC+, and 93.8 WAR. He remained very popular with Asuncion fans and his #28 uniform eventually was retired. Pinheiro’s previous successes drew attention from teams across the world and ultimately he went to Major League Baseball on a three-year, $25,200,000 deal with Nashville.

Pinheiro missed most of 2025 dealing with a concussion, but he was healthy for the final stretch. The Knights won the division at 95-67 and took the American Association Championship Series over Seattle with Pinheiro earning series MVP. In 18 playoff starts, Pinheiro had 17 hits, 11 runs, 6 homers, 18 RBI, 2 doubles, 2 triples, and .903 OPS. Nashville would fall in the World Series to Detroit.

The Knights very nearly earned the Baseball Grand Championship, finishing tied for the top spot with Lusaka at 14-5. The Lake Monsters won the head-to-head matchup 6-4 for the tiebreaker. Pinheiro had 14 hits, 11 runs, 2 doubles, 6 homers, 11 RBI, .803 OPS, and 0.5 WAR in the event.

Pinheiro was a respectable starter in the next two years for Nashville. The Knights missed the playoffs in 2026 at 76-86, then bounced back at 100-62 in 2027. They couldn’t get beyond the second round with Pinheiro struggling in the postseason with -0.3 WAR. In his three seasons with the Knights, Pinheiro had 339 games, 346 hits, 220 runs, 46 doubles, 33 triples, 67 homers, 138 RBI, 110 walks, 74 steals, .267/.338/.508 slash, 114 wRC+, and 9.5 WAR.

Now 38-years old, Pinheiro was a free agent again and went home to Brazil on a three-year, $42,900,000 deal with Sao Paulo. In 2028, Pinheiro had a remarkable resurgence for his sixth Silver Slugger, leading the league with 21 triples while adding .922 OPS, 164 wRC+, and 6.8 WAR. The Padres made the LCS for the fourth time in five years, but were defeated by Buenos Aires. Sao Paulo had another LCS loss in 2029, that time upset by Belo Horizonte. Pinheiro had good playoff stats in 22 starts with 25 hits, 16 runs, 5 doubles, 5 homers, 13 RBI, .929 OPS, 174 wRC+, and 0.9 WAR.

Pinheiro couldn’t match his impressive 2028, but still had a solid 4.1 WAR in 2029. In 2030, an oblique strain and fractured foot kept him out nearly half the year. Pinheiro struggled when healthy with -0.1 WAR, .617 OPS, and 71 wRC+ in 105 games. He retired that winter at age 41, finishing his Padres tenure with 417 games, 406 hits, 260 runs, 57 doubles, 44 triples, 60 homers, 172 RBI, 180 staels, .262/.323/.473 slash, 125 wRC+, and 10.7 WAR.

In Beisbol Sudamerica, Pinheiro played 2664 games with 2723 hits, 1665 runs, 377 doubles, 309 triples, 506 home runs, 1347 RBI, 841 walks, 2193 strikeouts, 1282 steals, 731 caught stealing, .284/.350/.547 slash, 148 wRC+, and 104.5 WAR. Pinheiro ranks 32^nd in games, 13^th in runs, 44^th in hits, 24^th in total bases (5236), 10^th in triples, 69^th in homers, 78^th in RBI, 4^th in steals, 20^th in caught stealing, 48^th in walks, 43^rd in strikeouts, and 32^nd in WAR among position players.

Combining his three Nashville seasons, Pinheiro played 3003 games with 3069 hits 1885 runs, 423 doubles, 342 triples, 573 home runs, 1485 RBI, 951 walks, 2512 strikeouts, 1356 steals, 775 caught stealing, .282/.349/.542 slash, 144 wRC+, and 114.0 WAR. On the world leaderboard for all of pro baseball history, Pinheiro ranks 33^rd in stolen bases, 32^nd in caught stealing, and 43^rd in triples.

Pinheiro is another guy who was never considered the absolute best in the league during his run, but was remarkably consistent for a long time. Things like leadership, baserunning, and defense made him far more valuable than many gave him credit for in his prime. On traditional stats alone though, Pinheiro had more than enough to join the impressive four-man 2036 Hall of Fame class with 90.6%.

**MrNFL_FanIQ** · 09-28-2025, 05:38 PM

Emmanuel Angel – Left Field – Caracas Colts – 87.5% First Ballot

Emmanuel Angel was a 6’4’’, 195 pound left-handed hitting left fielder from Valencia, Venezuela; the country’s third-largest city at around 1.6 million people. Angel had reliably good-to-great contact and power skills, especially facing right-handed pitching. His 162 game average got you 43 home runs and 113 RBI, along with 28 doubles and 4 triples. Angel was merely okay at drawing walks and struggled with strikeouts.

Angel posted a career .966 OPS and 152 wRC+ facing righties, but he wasn’t bad against lefties with a .872 OPS and 128 wRC+. His speed was below average and his baserunning ability was abysmal, only succeeding on 1/3 of his steal attempts. Despite iffy sped, Angel actually graded as reliably solid defensively in left field. His strong arm played a big role, but his glove work was good too. Angel did run into some knee troubles over a 15-year career that cost him some playing time.

He was a strong clubhouse leader, which made him popular across Venezuela but especially with Caracas. Angel’s entire career came with the Colts, who picked him fifth overall in the 2014 BSA Drat. He saw limited use initially with only 102 games and 90 starts in his first two seasons, struggling to -0.3 WAR. Angel missed a month in 2017 to a hamstring strain, but emerged as a good full-time starter with 4.8 WAR and .914 OPS that year in 127 games.

This also marked the start of run of dominance for Caracas, ending a ten-year playoff drought. From 2017-23, the Colts would win the Venezuela Division and win 100+ games each season. Initially, they couldn’t get over the playoff hump despite winning 117 games in 2019 and 110 in 2020. Caracas was upset in the 2018 and 2019 Bolivar League Championship Series and didn’t even get that far in 2017, 20, or 21.

Angel was starting to thrive, including his first Silver Slugger in 2018 and a second place in MVP voting. That year he scored 139 runs, only two short of the BSA single-season record at the time and it still ranks as the fourth-best. Angel also had his career highs in 2018 for hits (224), doubles (33), homers (50), total bases (419), average (.365), OBP (.407), wRC+ (183), and WAR (9.8). He was BLCS MVP in defeat with a 1.447 OPS over 10 playoff starts. 2018 was also Angel’s first time playing in the World Baseball Championship for Venezuela. From 2018-29, he played 103 games with 80 hits, 52 runs, 14 doubles, 19 homers, 36 RBI, .227/.316/.440 slash, and 2.3 WAR.

He led in homers with 48 in 2019, then led in runs again in 2020 at 110. Angel was third in 2020’s MVP voting. In June 2022, Angel signed an eight-year, $89,800,000 to stay with Caracas. That year, he won his second Silver Slugger and was third in MVP voting. It was Angel’s only time leading the league in WAR (9.1) and saw his career best OPS (1.092) and slugging (.692). He also matched his high for homers with 50.

Caracas finished 114-48 in 2022 and finally got over that playoff hump, beating Cali in the BLCS and Fortaleza in Copa Sudamerica. Angel was LCS MVP, although for the entire run he had a middling .716 OPS and 0.2 WAR. He struggled in the Baseball Grand Championship as well with .575 OPS, 64 wRC+, and -0.1 WAR. Despite his personal woes, the Colts finished 13-6 and had the tiebreaker win over Kampala to claim Grand Champion honors.

In 2023, Caracas was 100-62 and repeated as Copa Sudamerica winners, this time beating Concepcion in the finale. Statistically, Angel had a much better postseason with 25 hits, 10 runs, 6 homers, 14 RBI, 1.081 OPS, and 1.1 WAR in 19 starts. He also did much better in the BGC with 20 hits, 13 runs, 6 doubles, 7 homers, 21 RBI, 1.000 OPS, 200 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR. The Colts’ repeat bid failed, but they still earned a very respectable fourth place finish at 12-7.

Angel’s first big injury setback came in 2024 with a torn meniscus in May, limiting him to only 34 games all season. Caracas fell to 89-74, missing the playoffs after losing a divisional tiebreaker game to Valencia. The Colts did bounce back with four more division titles from 2025-28, but they wouldn’t get beyond the divisional round in any of those seasons.

In 2025, Angel had an impressive return from injury by leading with 48 homers and posting 80 WAR. He had three more solid years starting after that, then missed much of 2029 with a fractured finger. Angel’s final season was 2030 and while down from his prime, Angel still posted 30 homers, .832 OPS, and 3.1 WAR in 152 games. Caracas had one final division title with Angel, but lost in the first round.

For his playoff career, Angel had 90 starts with 102 hits, 49 runs, 10 doubles, 26 homers, 67 RBI, .297/.332/.566 slash, 133 wRC+, and 2.9 WAR. For his role in their dynasty run, Angel’s #39 uniform was quickly retired. He wasn’t re-signed after the 2030 season and seemed to still have something left in the tank. However, Angel was unsigned in 2031 and eventually retired that winter at age 38.

Angel finished with 2007 games, 2396 hits, 1310 runs, 347 doubles, 54 triples, 537 home runs, 1404 RBI, 499 walks, 1957 strikeouts, .316/.360/.589 slash, 148 wRC+, and 78.4 WAR. He ranks 69^th in runs, 86^th in total bases (4462), 55^th in homers, 62^nd in RBI, and 85^th in strikeouts. Angel’s .950 OPS is 72^nd among BSA batters with 3000+ plate appearances and his slugging is 62^nd, although he missed the top 100 for WAR.

While he wasn’t an inner-circle level Hall of Famer, Angel was one of the more consistent and steady power hitters of his era. He was certainly a critical piece for Caracas’ dominance of the Venezuela division for more than a decade, winning two cups and a Grand Championship along the way. Angel earned 87.5% of the vote to secure a first ballot spot with the four-man 2036 class for Beisbol Sudamerica.

Nuno Escalante – First Base – Santiago Saints – 67.5% First Ballot

Nuno Escalante was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Arica, Chile; the country’s northernmost city with about 222,000 people. Escalante was a fantastic contact hitter with a low strikeout rate, although he rarely drew walks. He did differ from that traditional lead-off man role though in that he had nice home run power. Escalante also differed as he had terrible speed and baserunning skills.

Escalante’s 162 game average got you 35 doubles, 3 triples, and 29 home runs; so he wasn’t just a singles slap hitter. He was especially potent facing right-handed pitching with a career .938 OPS and 161 wRC+. Facing lefties, Escalante was still respectable with a .781 OPS and 117 wRC+. Excellent durability also pushed him to a 21-year career, playing 140+ games each year from 2016-33.

Defensively, Escalante played almost exclusively at first base and graded as a reliably solid defender. He was a fan favorite with a strong work ethic, helping Santiago to consistent success during his tenure. The Saints picked Escalante 27^th in the 2013 BSA Draft, but he saw limited usage initially. In 2014, he played 96 games with five starts, then had only 14 games and zero starts in 2015.

Santiago made him a full-timer in 2016 with immediate success, starting a seven-year streak as the Southern Cone League leader in hits with at least 6.5 WAR each year. Escalante also won three straight batting titles from 2016-18 and earned MVP honors in 2017 as the WARlord at 9.9. He had 248 hits, a .383 average, and career highs for total bases (420) and homers (42).

Escalante won his only Silver Slugger in 2018, but wasn’t an MVP finalist despite a record-setting 262 hits. This remains the BSA record and ranks as the eighth-best single-season in world history and the second-best outside of West African Baseball Escalante also had a .4068 average, the fifth-best in BSA history and 22^nd-best qualifying season in world history.

Santiago had a four-year playoff streak from 2015-18, but didn’t get beyond the divisional series. After a miss in 2019, the Saints started what would be a league-record 17-year playoff streak in 2020. Santiago defeated Santa Cruz to win Copa Sudamerica in 2020 with Escalante earning series MVP. In 15 playoff starts, he had 23 hits, 14 runs, 5 doubles, 4 homers, 15 RBI, 1.083 OPS, and 1.1 WAR. He continued onto the Baseball Grand Championship with 22 hits, 12 runs, 7 doubles, 5 homers, 13 RBI, 1.065 OPS, 188 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR. Santiago finished 8-11 for the event.

Escalante remained a strong playoff performer, even winning LCS MVP in 2022, but Santiago would have to wait until the 2030s for their next pennant despite the streak. They lost in the Southern Cone final in both 2021-22, then had back-to-back one-and-dones despite being the top seed. For his playoff career with the Saints, Escalante had 67 games, 92 hits, 47 runs, 16 doubles, 17 home runs, 52 RBI, .397/.405/.685 slash, 213 wRC+, and 4.2 WAR.

2022 was Escalante’s fourth batting title and second time as the WARlord at 9.8, taking second in MVP voting. He also had his career high of 135 RBI and 1.071 OPS. Escalante had a strong 2023, then had a mere .308 average and 3.5 WAR in 2024; easily the weakest of his starting run. This was in a contract year and Santiago let him leave for free agency at age 33. They eventually retired his #40 uniform for his solid decade of service.

Surprisingly, that was the end of Escalante’s time in Beisbol Sudamerica, although he still had another decade of pro baseball ahead. Although he left the continent, he would still be a regular for Chile in the World Baseball Championship. From 2015-34, Escalante played 183 games with 165 hits, 74 runs, 25 doubles, 30 homers, 78 RBI, .283/.342/.484 slash, and 5.1 WAR. He leads all Chileans in event history in games and hits and ranks third in WAR among position players.

Escalante’s next step came in Turkey with a four-year, $22,400,000 deal with Ankara in the Asian Baseball Federation. He won his lone Gold Glove in 2025 and was a respectable four-year starter there. With the Alouettes between two stints, Escalante played 774 games with 845 hits, 354 runs, 179 doubles, 126 home runs, 401 RBI, .291/.327/.489/ slash, 121 wRC+, and 14.8 WAR.

Back to free agency for 2029 at age 37, he stayed in ABF on a one-year deal with Istanbul. Escalante played 149 games with 152 hits, 67 runs, 34 doubles, 21 homers, 79 RBI, .832 OPS, and 2.6 WAR. He kept chugging along and spent the next two years with Shymkent, playing 286 games with 284 hits, 130 runs, 49 doubles, 45 homers, 156 RBI, .783 OPS, 133 wRC+, and 6.3 WAR.

Escalante stayed remarkably consistent into his 40s, posting 4.0 WAR and .859 OPS in 2032 in Tabriz. He had similar results in a return for 2033 with Ankara. For his ABF tenure, Escalante had 1360 games, 1454 hits, 634 runs, 294 doubles, 222 home runs, 745 RBI, .290/.326/.490 slash, 125 wRC, and 27.7 WAR. This did get him to 3500 hits for his pro career and puts him just outside of the top 50 in all of pro baseball history.

He wanted to keep playing, but the big league teams were done with him. Escalante played in the African Second League from 2034-35 with Blantyre and struggled to -0.5 WAR in 135 games, retiring after the 2035 season at age 44. A2L stats don’t count towards all-time pro totals. Between BSA/ABF, Escalante had 2904 games, 3504 hits, 1534 runs, 642 doubles, 521 homers, 1751 RBI, and 96.8 WAR. He also just misses the world top 50 for doubles.

Just in Beisbol Sudamerica with Santiago, Escalante played 1544 games with 2050 hits, 900 runs, 348 doubles, 38 triples, 299 home runs, 1006 RBI, 251 walks, 292 strikeouts, .361/.388/.594 slash, 179 wRC+, and 69.1 WAR. The short tenure keeps him out of the top 100 for any counting stat, but he does rank fifth in batting average among BSA batters with 3000+ plate appearances. Escalante’s .928 OPS is also good for 31^st and he ranks 26^th in OBP and 54^th in slugging.

Escalante’s Hall of Fame case was a tough one for some voters who valued tenure and raw accumulations. Certainly, Escalante was one of the most efficient hitters in his prime and many voters gave him at least partial credit for his ABF stats. His outstanding playoff stats and role in Santiago’s team success got him just across the line for some skeptics. At 67.5%, Escalante only barely breached the 66% induction threshold, but it was enough for a first ballot nod to cap off the four-player 2036 class.

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

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