After back-to-back years with no inductees, West Africa Baseball added two into the Hall of Fame in 2004. SP Xavi Leko was a strong first-ballot addition with 92.8%. Fellow pitcher Elodie Belem finally got the call in his seventh try, just barely scraping by at 66.2%. No other players were above 50%.

Dropped after ten ballots was SP Habib Ndiaye. He was hurt by only having an eight-year WAB career with Niamey, having left for MLB after that. With the Atomics, he had a 122-76 record, 2.96 ERA, 1911.1 innings, 2094 strikeouts, 124 ERA+, and 52.6 WAR, along with a championship ring in 1987. Ndiaye led in WAR twice as well, but never won the top award. The lack of longevity and accumulations hurt him most, as he peaked with a debut of 28.4% and fell to 10.6% by the end.
1B/DH Mohamed Sadik David also well off the ballot after ten tries. He won three Silver Sluggers in 12 years in WAB, then left for the Arab League for his final four seasons. In WAB with Accra and Benin City, David had 1393 hits, 788 runs, 288 doubles, 393 home runs, 895 RBI, a .252/.313/.523 slash, 139 wRC+, and 34.7 WAR.
David did lead the league in home runs four times, including 62 in 1980 which remained tied for the single-season record until 2003. A lack of longevity also hurt him, as did the penalty of playing DH for much of his run. David debuted at 25.1%, but ended up dropping to 8.9% by the end.

Xavi Leko – Starting Pitcher – Benin City Blue Devils – 92.8% First Ballot
Xavi Leko was a 5’10’’, 180 pound left-handed pitcher from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Leko had outstanding stuff with good control. His velocity peaked in the 97-99 mph range with an incredible slider, strong changeup, and good cutter. Despite the terrific stuff, his movement graded poorly and he struggled with allowing home runs. Leko had excellent stamina, leading the league in innings pitched twice and complete games four times.
When Leko was growing up, the baseball scene in his native Kinshasa was very underdeveloped. The only major league in Africa was West Africa Baseball, but there were WAB scouts watching elsewhere in the continent. One of them spotted Leko and brought him to Nigeria, signing him in March 1979 to a deal with Benin City. The Blue Devils had Leko in their developmental system four years, then debuted him in 1983 at age 20 as a part-time starter. With promising results, Leko earned a full-time starting role for the next seven years for Benin City.
Leko’s great stuff led to remarkable strikeout numbers. He led the Eastern League in strikeouts four straight years from 1984-87 and again in 1990. Leko’s 401 Ks in 1990 is one of only six seasons in WAB history of 400+ strikeouts. Leko also led in wins twice, innings once, complete games thrice, and shutouts five times with the Blue Devils.
Despite that, Leko didn’t win Pitcher of the Year, taking second in 1987 and 1990. His troubles with allowing home runs hurt him, as did Benin City’s general lack of success. The Blue Devils never made the playoffs in his run and only once finished with a winning season. The team did give Leko a four-year, $1,596,000 extension in April 1987. Benin City would also eventually retire Leko’s #4 uniform for his contributions.
In eight seasons for the Blue Devils, Leko had a 116-92 record, 2.91 ERA, 1869.1 innings, 2723 strikeouts, 414 walks, 149/240 quality starts, 80 complete games, 125 ERA+, and 47.5 WAR. After a strong 1990 from Leko, Benin City decided to sell high. They traded him and SP Mokili Ako to Lome for 1B Nyaya Issah and SP Junior Ijeh.
Lome had just taken runner-up in the ELCS the prior two years and hoped Leko could help them get over the hump. Before he debuted for Lome, they signed Leko to a seven-year, $7,300,000 contract extension. Despite his efforts, the Lasers would be stuck mostly in the middle of the standings. Sadly, Leko would never pitch in the postseason for his entire career. He would get four berths in the World Baseball Championship for the DR Congo from 1955-98, posting a 4.37 ERA in 45.1 innings with 56 strikeouts.
Leko looked good in his debut with the Lasers, but did miss seven weeks to biceps tendinitis. This would be a recurring injury that also cost him time in 1993 and 1998. Leko’s issues with allowing homers really plagued him with Lome, as he’d allow the most in the league thrice. He still had strikeout success, leading the league in Ks twice more for seven strikeout titles in his career.
In 1995, Leko became the second to 4000 career strikeouts. He would pass Addise Assefa as the all-time leader and become the only WAB pitcher to reach 5000+. His overall success began to wane in the later years and Leko retired after the 1998 campaign at age 35. With Lome, Leko had an 80-96 record, 3.47 ERA, 1726.2 innings, 2309 strikeouts, 339 walks, 109 ERA+, and 20.0 WAR.
Leko finished with a 196-188 record, 3.18 ERA, 3596 innings, 5032 strikeouts, 753 walks, 274/460 quality starts, 144 complete games, 30 shutouts, 117 ERA+, 88 FIP-, and 67.5 WAR. He’s the strikeout king by a large margin and also WAB’s all-time leader in complete games. Leko also had allowed the most home runs of any pitcher, although he would get passed later.
Leko’s ERA and win percentage are weaker than many later WAB Hall of Famers. As of 2037, he’s 13th in wins and 13th in WAR. His flaws did keep him from winning Pitcher of the Year, but being the undisputed strikeout king will make you a lock. Leko got 92.8% to headline WAB’s 2004 Hall of Fame class.

Elodie Belem – Starting Pitcher – Cotonou Copperheads – 66.2% Seventh Ballot
Elodie Belem was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Belem had excellent control, very good movement, and respectable stuff. His fastball was solid despite only peaking in the 93-95 mph range, expertly mixed with a good curveball and splitter. Belem had excellent stamina among WAB pitchers, leading four times in innings pitched.
He had good defense and was considered good at holding runners as well. Belem had excellent stamina and almost never missed a start prior to his career-ending injury. Belem was a fan favorite who had great adaptability and a strong work ethic. He became one of the most well-known and popular pitchers in the early days of African baseball.
Coming out of high school, Belem was getting attention from scouts. In the 1981 WAB Draft, Belem was picked 13th overall by Port Harcourt. He decided to begin his amateur career instead and didn’t sign with the Hillcats. Belem’s stock went up in the next two years and he was picked second overall by Cotonou in the 1983 Draft. Belem’s entire WAB career would come with the Copperheads, who made him a full-time starter immediately.
Belem took third in Rookie of the Year voting and led the league in innings as a rookie. He was a reliable arm with eight straight seasons worth 5+ WAR for the Copperheads. Belem wasn’t a league leader though generally outside of eating innings. He did lead in wins at 22-12 in 1989, earning second in Pitcher of the Year voting. That was Belem’s only time as a finalist.
Cotonou earned a playoff spot in 1987, falling in the Eastern League Championship Series to Niamey. Belem had a 2.41 ERA over 18.2 playoff innings with 13 strikeouts. After that effort, Cotonou gave Belem a five-year, $2,764,000 extension. This would be his only time in the playoffs, as the Copperheads were generally just above .500, but not strong enough to advance.
Belem would be popular back home in Burkina Faso as the ace for the country in the World Baseball Championship. From 1982-95, he had a 11-9 record over 211.1 innings, 2.77 ERA, 202 strikeouts, 65 walks, 131 ERA+, and 3.8 WAR. In 1989, Belem was third in Best Pitcher Voting as he tossed 17.2 scoreless innings with 19 strikeouts. In 1995, Belem also tossed a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts and one walk against Egypt.
Belem was coming up on his age 32 season when his Cotonou contract expired after the 1992 season. He decided to leave Benin and Africa altogether as he had big money offers elsewhere. His #1 uniform would be later retired by the Copperheads for his nine-year tenure with the squad. Belem would be MLB bound, inking a six-year, $13,920,000 contract with the Washington Admirals.
Belem ultimately pitched three seasons for Washington. While not elite, he was quite solid and respectable for a then-struggling Admirals squad. Belem had a 40-43 record, 2.99 ERA, 704.2 innings, 396 strikeouts, 122 walks, 115 ERA+, and 14.5 WAR.
Belem’s career met a tragically early end. After having great durability most of his run, he suffered a torn rotator cuff in August 1995. Doctors said he’d miss six months, giving Belem hope that he’d be back in 1996. However, a setback required surgery and added another 15 months to that time. Thus, he retired in winter 1996 at age 36.
With Cotonou and in WAB, Belem had a 149-120 record, 2.98 ERA, 2377.1 innings, 2451 strikeouts, 356 walks, 198/292 quality starts, 112 complete games, 122 ERA+, and 55.4 WAR. That was a good nine-year run and his rate stats weren’t out of place among all-time aces. However, Belem lacked the longevity and accumulations many voters wanted. Plus, he didn’t have a Pitcher of the Year to his name or any sustained playoff success.
As such, Belem was stuck in the “Hall of Pretty Good” mindset with many voters. He debuted in 1998 at 42.7%, but slowly grew into the 50s from 2000-2002. In 2003, Belem was painfully short at 65.8% on his sixth ballot. Some wondered if that would be as close as he’d get. He won over one or two voters in 2004 to cross the 66% line at 66.2%. Belem got a seventh-ballot addition as the second member of the 2004 WAB Hall of Fame Class.
Comment