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

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  • MrNFL_FanIQ
    MVP
    • Oct 2008
    • 4893

    #2431




    Lilongwe and Blantyre dominated the African Second League’s Southern Conference, both winning 100+ games with third place Antananarivo a distant 85-77. The Lightning took first at 107-55 for their second playoff trip in three years. It was the first-ever playoff berth for the Black Wolves.



    Advancing out of the Central Conference were Mwanza (96-66) and Lubumbashi (95-67) while Juba (89-73) and Bujumbura (87-75) were the first teams out. The White Tigers had never been a playoff team before. It was the first for the Loggerheads since getting relegated to A2L for 2030. With Mwanza and Blantyre’s successes, that left Juba as the only original team without a playoff trip since the league’s 2018 debut.



    Lilongwe cruised to 4-0 sweep of Blantyre in the Southern Conference Championship, while Lubumbashi upset Mwanza 4-2 for the Central Conference crown. The Lightning earned a promotion back to the African Association of Baseball’s first league after an eight-year A2L stint, while the Loggerheads had a five-year A2L run. In the Second League Championship, Lubumbashi picked up the 5-3 victory over Lilongwe.



    Other notes: Lubango’s Husain Ferdous and Juba’s Timothy Tefera both became three-time MVPs, a feat achieved by only two others in A2L. Toavina Razafintsalama became the second A2L slugger with 500 home runs.


    Comment

    • MrNFL_FanIQ
      MVP
      • Oct 2008
      • 4893

      #2432




      The European Second League’s Western Conference was very top heavy in 2034. Hamburg, who had just gotten sent down the year prior, took the top spot at 110-52. Luxembourg was close behind at 104-58, followed by Stuttgart (102-60) and Valencia (98-64). It was a ten game drop to Amsterdam at 88-74 for the next closest contender.

      The Lancers got their second playoff trip since getting relegated from the European Baseball Federation’s Elite Tier for 2031. The Silver Sabres ended a six-year playoff drought and were the only original E2L team still yet to get promoted at least once. This was the Vandals’ first playoff appearance since returning to E2L in 2028. Leeds, who had just gotten promoted from European Tier Three, was immediately relegated back down after an abysmal 37-125 season. That was the worst record in E2L history.

      Hamburg took the top spot in the double round robin at 5-1 to secure a quick promotion after only two years. Luxembourg and Stuttgart both were 3-3 and Valencia was 1-5. The Lancers advanced on the tiebreaker, keeping the Silver Sabres in E2L for another year. Luxembourg escaped after a four-year E2L stint. In the Western Conference Championship, the Hammers defeated the Lancers 4-2.




      Lviv took first in the Eastern Conference at 99-63, giving them a third straight playoff berth. The Lunkers have been a playoff team six times in eight years, but have been stuck in E2L. Their only previous promotion came in 2018, but they were relegated right back after one year.

      A tight fight for the remaining three playoff spots saw Gothenburg (93-69), Leipzig (92-70) and Sarajevo (90-72) advance. The first teams out were Malta (89-73) and Riga (88-74). The Gales got their third berth in four years, but had a similar trajectory to Lviv. Gothenburg had been promoted once before in 2012, but likewise only lasted one season in the big time.

      For the Lumberjacks, this was their first playoff berth since getting sent back down two years prior. The Salukis had just gotten demoted for 2034 after a three-year stint in the top tier. After two years in E2L, Montenegro was relegated back to ET3 with a last place 53-109. Bratislava only narrowly escaped with their own 58-104 record. For the Mountain Goats, they set new conference all-time worsts for team ERA (4.44), hits allowed (1433), runs (783), and earned runs (724).




      All four playoff teams were even at 3-3 in the double round robin, but the tiebreakers favored the top two seeds Lviv and Gothenburg. Both teams picked up their second-ever promotions with hopes of lasting longer than one year this next time around. In the Eastern Conference Championship, the Lunkers downed the Gales 4-2. However, Hamburg rolled to a 4-1 win over Lviv in the E2L Championship.





      Palermo had just gotten sent to European Tier Three, but escaped after one year with a first place 108-54. Athens also was promoted at 106-56 with the next closest being Kosovo (98-64), and Bordeaux (95-67). The roller coaster continued for the Anchors, who got relegated to ET3 in 2031, promoted back to E2L for 2033, demoted back to ET3 in 2034, and now promoted again for 2035. Athens defeated the Priests 4-2 in the ET3 Championship.


      Comment

      • MrNFL_FanIQ
        MVP
        • Oct 2008
        • 4893

        #2433




        After missing the playoffs by two wins in 2033, Johannesburg took the top spot in the Southern Conference at 97-65 in 2034. The Jackalopes got their third playoff berth in four years and have posted six straight seasons with 90+ wins. Johannesburg was the African Association of Baseball’s top scoring team with 902 runs.

        Cape Town took the second place spot at 91-71, holding off Harare (90-72) by one. Comoros (85-77) and Dar es Salaam (84-78) were the next best competitors. The Cowboys ended a three-year playoff drought and allowed the fewest runs at 680. The Hustlers now have gone 13 years without a losing season, although they’ve only been a playoff team once in the last 11 years. Defending conference champ Port Elizabeth dropped to 80-82, ending their four-year playoff streak.

        Relegated was Gaborone at 67-95, finishing four worse than Durban and seven away from Bulawayo. The Golden Bears had gotten promoted from the African Second League for 2025 and had stayed in the top tier since, although they only managed one winning campaign in their run. They had been below 70 wins five times, but had managed to escape demotion until now.

        Cape Town’s Johny Kibamba became a four-time Southern Conference MVP, having won three straight from 2028-30. The 30-year old Congolese designated hitter didn’t lead in any stats in 2034, but had 204 hits, 120 runs, 42 doubles, 41 home runs, 110 RBI, .332/.395/.616 slash, 156 wRC+, and 6.4 WAR. The prior spring, Kibamba signed a six-year, $129,600,000 extension to stick with the Cowboys.

        For the second time in three years, Pitcher of the Year was Johannesburg’s Stephen Duiker. The 27-year old Motswana righty led in ERA (2.61), wins (19-3), quality starts (22), FIP- (59), and WAR (8.9). Duiker tossed 237.2 innings and was second in strikeouts with 288, although Gaborone’s Mert Seyoum was well ahead with 344 Ks. It was a nice bounce-back for Duiker, who missed part of fall 2033 to shoulder inflammation.




        Defending Africa Series winner Kinshasa repeated as the Central Conference’s first place team at 101-61. The Sun Cats also set a new AAB all-time season attendance record with 2,127,487 tickets sold. Cross-river rival Brazzaville took second at 96-66, edging out Addis Ababa (93-69) and Mogadishu (90-72). The Blowfish got their fourth playoff trip in six years and have won 90+ games each of those six years.

        Djibouti, last year’s wild card, finished fifth at 86-76. The Brahmas led the conference with 884 runs scored and it was 84-78 Bangui who allowed the fewest at 707. Asmara was relegated at 56-106, nine games worse than the next closest team Bukavu. The Anteaters only lasted two seasons in the First League before getting sent back down.

        Brazzaville LF Asa Ngoie won his fourth Central Conference MVP (2026, 30, 32, 34) and his seventh Silver Slugger. The 33-year old Congolese lefty was the WARlord at 7.9 and had 61 home runs, 115 RBI, 171 hits, 129 runs, .299/.388/.685 slash, and 168 wRC+. There have now been eight AAB players with 4+ MVP wins. Ngoie had tough competition from Kinshasa 1B Martin Kulatilaka, who was the leader in homers (68) and RBI (145).

        Pitcher of the Year was competitive as well, but Sun Cats lefty Lawal Deffallah became the award’s first four-time winner, earning it consecutively. The 26-year old from Chad led in ERA (2.41), WHIP (0.90), and FIP- (48). Deffallah had a 20-5 record, 9.9 WAR, 227.2 innings, and 320 strikeouts. He also won his first Gold Glove.

        Deffallah’s bid for a sixth straight season leading in Ks and fifth straight as the WARlord were thwarted by Kampala’s Abdullahi Ali. It was his debut in the big league, as the Peacocks had just gotten promoted back. The 22-year old Somali lefty set a new AAB record for strikeouts with 400 and had 10.6 WAR, a 2.96 ERA, and 19-8 record in 252.2 innings. The previous Ks record was 388 by Aziz Mussa in 2026.

        Ali’s effort was also the second-best WAR ever by an AAB pitcher behind Ghebrezglabhier Alemayehu’s 11.96 from 2028. However, the better team success and ERA gave the award to Defallah, whose own WAR total ranked as the seventh-best by an AAB ace to date. On a scale from 1/10, scouts called Ali’s stuff a 12 with many expecting a legendary career ahead if he can avoid injury.

        In the Southern Conference Championship, Cape Town got the road upset on their South African rival Johannesburg 4-1, giving the Cowboys six pennants (1996, 2026, 28, 29, 30, 34). Brazzaville also got the road upset in the Central Conference final, going across the Congo River to dethrone defending champ Kinshasa 4-2. The Blowfish earned their fifth conference crown (2015, 16, 19, 29, 34).




        The 40th Africa Series was the second finals meeting between Brazzaville in Cape Town, as the Blowfish won back in 2029. For the first time since 2024, the series needed all nine games. Brazzaville was victorious again though over the Cowboys, making the Blowfish four-time AAB champs (2015, 16, 29, 34). Cape Town is now 3-3 in their finals trips.

        CF Simanga Khumalo was finals MVP in his second year with Brazzaville, arriving in 2033 in a trade after five years with Mombasa. He was more known for his defense, having won his second Gold Glove in 2034. The 28-year old Swazi in 14 playoff games had 13 hits, 12 runs, 8 home runs, 14 RBI, 13 walks, 19 strikeouts, 189 wRC+, and 0.8 WAR.




        Other notes: Dagne Mersha became the 9th AAB slugger with 700 home runs. Sayyid Pius, Asa Ngoie, and Noel Malama all joined the 500 homer club, making that group 22 members strong. Matheus Mabanza became the 16th to 1500 runs scored. Lane Maloba was the 10th pitcher to 3000 strikeouts.

        SS Djibrilla Ousseini won his 14th Silver Slugger. He’s the third in AAB with 14+ Sluggers (along with CF Mwarami Tale and OF Felix Chaula) and the 21st in all of world history with 14+ Sluggers. Ousseini is also one of four to win all 14 Sluggers at shortstop.

        Promotion/Relegation: Gaborone was relegated to the African Second League’s Southern Conference and replaced by Lilongwe. In the Central Conference, Asmara was demoted and Lubumbashi was promoted

        Comment

        • MrNFL_FanIQ
          MVP
          • Oct 2008
          • 4893

          #2434




          The Arab League’s Western Conference had a competitive field with the five playoff teams separated by only seven wins. Beirut repeated as Levant Division champ and took the top seed for the first time in franchise history at 98-64. The Bluebirds’ pitching allowed the fewest runs at 595 and allowed only 243 walks with a 1.51 BB/9. Those two walk marks were the second-best in Arab League Baseball history.

          Last year’s conference runner-up Khartoum was next at 96-66 in the Nile Division. The Cottonmouths repeated as division champs with their fourth playoff trip in five years. Khartoum was the conference’s top scoring team at 862. Only two back on Khartoum in the Nile Division was 94-68 Suez, who got the first wild card for repeat berths.

          In the Mediterranean Division, Casablanca (91-71) dethroned defending Arab League Baseball champ Algiers (90-72). The Bruins had been on a franchise-worst 11-year playoff drought, while the Arsenal had been on an 11-year streak. That came to an end, as Algiers was also one game short of the second wild card.

          Cairo and Damascus finished even for that last spot at 91-71 with Algiers 90-72, Giza 89-73, and Aleppo 86-76. The Pharaohs won the tiebreaker game over the Dusters to end a three-year playoff drought, while snapped a six-year streak for Damascus.

          Western Conference MVP went to Casablanca LF Yasuo Shoji. The 31-year old Japanese righty came to Morocco in 2032 after playing in MLB in his first nine pro seasons. In 2034 for the Bruins, Shoji had 210 hits, 108 runs, 40 doubles, 31 homers, 110 RBI, .368/.402/.632 slash, and 7.1 WAR. Casablanca would trade him in the last year of his deal in 2035 to Aleppo, then Shoji signed at five years and $114 million with Giza.

          Casablanca also had the Pitcher of the Year in Omar Ghaith in only his second season. The 22-year old Palestinian righty had a 16-7 record, 2.54 ERA, 212.1 innings, 238 strikeouts, 4 shutouts, 169 ERA+, and 5.4 WAR. Ghaith also tossed a no-hitter on September 2 with 11 strikeouts and one walk facing Muscat.

          Suez edged Cairo 2-1 in the wild card round, but was swept 2-0 by top seed Beirut. Casablanca outlasted Khartoum 2-1 on the other side, giving the Bruins their first Western Conference Final trip since 2022. The Bluebirds had only been there twice before (2013, 2004). Beirut’s only pennant was their 2004 ALB title season, but they added 2034 to that trophy case with a 3-0 sweep over Casablanca.




          Medina repeated as Arabia Division champ and took the Eastern Conference’s top seed at 103-59. This was the eighth playoff berth in a decade for the Mastodons and their seventh division title. Medina scored 975 runs, the third-best in ALB history. Their 298 homers was the second-most in conference history and their .541 team slugging was third-best in EC history.

          Basra was the only winning team in the Mesopotamia Division at 98-64, repeating a division champs. In the Gulf Division, two-time defending conference champ Doha and Muscat both extended playoff streaks, although they switched places from the prior year. The Threshers won the division at 94-68, growing their playoff streak to eight seasons. The Dash were 93-69 for their fifth straight playoff berth, four of which were wild cards. Dubai, a wild card last year, fell to 72-90.

          There was a steep drop to the second wild card, which went to the only other winning team Mecca at 84-78. Jeddah was the next closest at 80-82 with everyone else below 80 wins. The Marksmen ended a six-year playoff drought which had no winning seasons. Muscat allowed the conference’s fewest runs with 694.

          Baghdad was a non-factor at 74-88, but they had Eastern Conference MVP Abdullah Al-Hafith. The 30-year old first baseman signed with his hometown club in 2034 for $194,800,000 over seven years. This came after a decade in Tunis, including an MVP win in 2031. Al-Hafith led in RBI (159), total bases (452), OPS (1.152), and wRC+ (192). He hit 56 homers with 232 hits, 112 runs, 42 doubles, .373 average, and 9.4 WAR.

          Muscat’s Saleh Aljabry won Pitcher of the Year in only his second season, leading in wins (18-9), ERA (2.71), FIP- (67), and WAR (7.0). The 23-year old Saudi righty struck out 247 over 219.1 innings. Aljabry’s time with the Threshers would be short after dealing with shoulder inflammation for almost all of 2036. He would not get resigned and left for New Zealand with OBA’s Christchurch.

          Doha downed Mecca 2-0 in the wild card round, but their three-peat bid was thwarted in round two by Medina 2-1. Muscat swept Basra on the other side 2-0, giving the Threshers their fifth Eastern Conference Final trip in seven years. It was the fourth in eight years for the Mastodons, who had lost in 2030 and 2031 against Muscat. The top seed Medina got revenge 3-2 over the Threshers and now lead the conference with eight pennants (1992-95, 2005, 07, 27, 34).




          In the 45th Arab League Championship, Medina seemed on their way to a sweep after winning the first three games. Beirut took games 4-6, but couldn’t complete the comeback as the Mastodons prevailed in game seven. Medina was now tied with Casablanca for the most ALB rings at six (1992, 1993, 2005, 2007, 2027, 2034).

          CF Hussain bin Mogazi was finals MVP in his sixth season with Medina. He had been mediocre in the regular season with -0.1 WAR and .672 OPS in 93 games. The 29-year old Saudi in 15 playoff starts had 17 hits, 10 runs, 4 doubles, 5 home runs, and 13 RBI. He would leave for a free agent deal with Beisbol Sudamerica’s Salvador in the winter.




          Other notes: Aligiers’ Zakaria Badwan stole 152 bases, tied for the fourth-best single season in world history. The top two spots belong to ALB rival Hassan Shanshol with 159 in 2030 and 157 in 2024. Shanshol signed with Aleppo in 2034 after previously being with Jerusalem and stole 113 bags, his 12th straight year with 110+ steals. He was now at 1568 career steals, one of only 18 guys above 1500+ swipes through 2036. Aleppo’s Elnatan Gold set the ALB single-season record with 685 at-bats.

          Riyadh’s pitching staff allowed 1701 hits, the worst in Eastern Conference history. Their 10.65 H/9 was the second-worst. Cairo’s Mokhtar Bouziane hit for the cycle on August 29 against Amman, then again on September 10 against Jeddah. He became the fourth ALB batter to hit for a cycle twice in one season and became the fourth to earn 3+ in a career, having also done it in 2029.

          In hitting milestones, Abbas Hegazy, Abdulhalim Talukder, and Mohamed Neen all joined the 500 home run club, now 44-players strong. Khali Allawi and Walid Zaoui became the 26th and 27th to 1500 RBI and Azhar Eid was the 19th to 1500 runs scored. Eid, Allawi, Talukder, Shanshol, Kamal Qasim, and Gilon Bassman all got to 2500 hits, met by 35 batters. RF Ahmed Yasser Basha won his 7th Silver Slugger.

          ALB saves leader Aaron Buber became the first in the league with 500 career saves and the 13th in pro baseball history to reach the mark. Muhhamad Nour became only the 7th to 4000 strikeouts and Bakr Mahdi was the 15th to 3500 Ks. Mourad Atia became the 18th ALB ace to 200 wins. RF Nathan Nasreddine won his 12th consecutive Gold Glove, joining SS Amr Khatab as the only 12+ winners in ALB history. LF Karrar Mazloum won his 8th Gold Glove.

          Comment

          • MrNFL_FanIQ
            MVP
            • Oct 2008
            • 4893

            #2435




            Three teams finished within one game of the East League’s top seed in 2034. Pakistan Division champ Rawalpindi narrowly took it at 102-60 with both Almaty and Tashkent at 101-61 in the North Division. The Red Wings got their third straight division title and fourth consecutive playoff berth. The Assassins and Tomcats both got repeat playoff berths, although they switched spots from the prior year. By tiebreaker, Almaty was the division champ. Since 2020, they’ve only missed the playoffs twice, although they only have one pennant to show for it.

            Three-time defending EL champ and 2032 Asian Baseball Federation champ Hyderabad got the second wild card narrowly at 93-69. The Horned Frogs held off Bishkek (91-71), Lahore (91-71), and Osh (90-72) to extend their playoff streak to 11 years.

            Hyderabad set a new East League record with 300 home runs, while their 786 runs were the third-most in EL history. They also had a .473 team slugging and Rawalpindi was at .466, the second and third best in East League history. It was the third time in four years that these four teams made the playoffs out of the EL. Tashkent allowed the fewest runs at 513.

            Osh 1B Dhurakhon Asadullayev repeated as East League MVP and had an all-time effort in only his fourth year. The 26-year old Kazakh had the 13th Triple Crown hitting season in ABF history and the first since 2018. Asadullayev also set new ABF single-season records for on-base percentage (.483), OPS (1.295), and walks (125). In all of world history, Asadullayev’s OBP was the 8th-best and his OPS the 7th-best qualifying season.

            Asadullayev smacked 70 home runs, the third in ABF to do so behind Vahid Hadadi (74 in 1991) and Arytom Masharipov (73 in 2030). He led with 125 runs, 146 RBI, 442 total bases, .364/.485/.810 slash, 264 wRC+, and 13.4 WAR. It was the seventh-best WAR by an ABF position player ever and the second-best by someone not named Nizami Aghazade. Asadullayev’s slugging was the third-best in ABF history and his total bases were tied for fifth. The Oxen wisely gave him an eight-year, $158,200,000 extension after the season to be their superstar long-term. Asadullayev has led in OPS and OBP in each of his first four seasons.

            Amro Katrak won Pitcher of the Year in his debut for Lahore, arriving in a March trade from Multan. The 28-year old Pakistani righty had an 18-5 record, 2.18 ERA, 226.2 innings, 262 strikeouts, 165 ERA+, and 7.1 WAR.

            The first round matchups both went 2-1 with Rawalpindi over Hyderabad and Tashkent over Almaty. The Red Wings then edged the Tomcats 2-1 in round two to earn their second East League Championship Series trip in four years. The Horned Frogs swept the Assassins 2-0 to start the loser’s bracket, but their four-peat bid was thwarted 2-0 by Tashkent.

            The Tomcats got another shot at Rawalpindi and were making their first ELCS trip since their lone ABF titles in 2000 and 2002. The Red Wings were also shooting for their third-ever pennant (1988, 2010). Rawalpindi was also victorious in the rematch 4-2 over Tashkent. This extended the streak of Pakistani teams on top of the East League to ten consecutive seasons. Five different squads have won in that stretch, but the last non-Pakistani team to take the EL pennant was Almaty in 2024.




            Defending Asian Baseball Federation champ Baku had set the league record for wins at 118-44 in both 2032 and 2033. As part of their five straight West League pennants, the Blackbirds had also won 100 in 2029, 113 in 2030, and 114 in 2031. Yet somehow, Baku managed to top those numbers with a 124-38 season in 2034. They were only the 11th team in all of pro baseball history to win 124+ games in a season.

            The Blackbirds set a new ABF record as well for team on-base percentage at .350. Their .292 average and 1645 hits both ranked as the second-best. Baku’s pitching staff also allowed only 237 walks with a 1.46 BB/9, the second and third-best respectively in West League history. The Blackbirds were the top scoring team by a healthy margin at 910 and were second in runs allowed at 529.

            Tabriz allowed the fewest runs at 505, allowing them to fend off Mashhad by one game in the Central Division. The Tiger Sharks were 105-57 for their fourth playoff berth in five years and first division title since 2024. The Mercury got the first wild card at 104-58 and extended their ABF-record playoff streak to 14 seasons. It was Mashhad’s third straight year with 104+ wins and their seventh time winning 100+ in the streak.

            It was a 13 game drop to the second wild card Ahvaz at 91-71, who held off Gaziantep (90-72) and Adana (89-73). This was a banner season for the Athletics, who were a 2030 expansion team. Prior to 2034, their best effort was a lousy 69-93 in their inaugural season. Istanbul, who won 105 games last year, fell to 84-78. Ankara also notably fell to 70-92, their first losing season since 2026.

            Baku 1B Artyom Masharipov won his fourth West League MVP in five years, leading in runs (135), homers (69), RBI (156), total bases (451), and slugging (.725). He became the fifth ABF player to win 4+ MVPs. It was the fifth straight year the 30-year old Azeri lefty led in homers, RBI, and slugging.

            Masharipov was five homers short of the ABF record and both his RBI tally and total bases ere the fourth-best in ABF history. Masharipov’s run tally was also the seventh-best single-season in ABF. He added 205 hits, 31 doubles, .330 average, 201 wRC+, and 9.5 WAR.

            Blackbirds ace Agshin Jumayev joined Yazeed Anwari as the only seven-time Pitcher of the Year winners in ABF. The 33-year old Tajik lefty had also won in 2025, 27, 29, 30, 31, and 33 for Baku. He led in wins (22-7) and strikeouts (379) while posting a 3.12 ERA over 262.1 innings, 120 ERA+, and 7.0 WAR. It was notably his first season with an ERA above three since his 2024 sophomore campaign. The Blackbirds signed Jumayev in May to a five-year, $124 million extension.

            The upstart Ahvaz shocked Baku 2-1 in the first round while Tabriz bested Mashhad 2-0. The Tiger Sharks then swept the Athletics 2-0 in round two, earning their second trip to the West League Championship Series in five years. The Blackbirds had previously used the double-elimination format to prolong the dynasty and looked to do so again, defeating the Mercury 2-1 to start the loser’s bracket.

            However, Ahvaz again stunned Baku 2-1 in their rematch, ending the six-peat bid despite their best-ever record. Of the 11 teams in world history to win 124+ games, the Blackbirds became the fourth to fail to advance to the subleague final. This was one of the great disappointments and upsets ever, especially considering the wild card Athletics were a five-year old franchise that had never posted a winning season previously.

            While Ahvaz had Baku’s number, they didn’t have Tabriz’s. Just like in round two, the Tiger Sharks swept the Athletics, this time 4-0 in the WLCS. Tabriz became three-time West League champs, having gone on to win it all in both 2019 and 2023.




            Tabriz claimed that third ring by defeating Rawalpindi 4-2 in the 50th ABF Championship. They were the first Iranian champ since Tehran in 2028. 3B Zahra Rezvani won finals MVP in his sixth season for the Tiger Sharks. In 14 playoff starts, the 28-year old Iranian had 18 hits, 5 runs, 4 doubles, 1 homer, and 4 RBI.

            Another notable was 1B Jason Perazzo, who set the ABF playoff record with 21 RBI. Over 14 games, he had 17 hits, 14 runs, 3 doubles, and 9 homers, missing the ABF homers record by one. The 39-year old American had a likely 17-year MLB Hall of Fame career with San Diego’s dynasty, but came to Iran on a three-year, $10,440,000 deal with Tabriz in 2033. Perazzo had more than 2000+ career pro RBI and was approaching 900 home runs and 2000 runs scored.




            Other notes: Rawalpindi’s Zahir Yazdani had a four home run game on June 15 against Karachi, the fifth four-homer game in ABF history. On April 12, Mashhad’s Farhad Hedayat had only the 17th six-hit game against Adana. Adana’s Jordane Gosselar set a bad single-season record by allowing 141 walks.

            In hitting milestones, Sultan Han became the 10th slugger to 1500 career RBI. Cihat Cetinkaya became the 19th to 2500 hits. Artyom Masharipov, Bakhtiyar Kasymov, and Emir Han became the 44th, 45th, and 46th members of the 400 home run club. In pitching milestones, Hasan Yousefi was the 7th to reach 4500 strikeouts. Hamid Osam and Sistani Ahmadzai became the 25th and 26th to 3500 Ks. Osam also became the 20th to 200 wins. Sabri Erdelhun was the 6th to 300 saves.

            Catcher Ali Mahdian won his 15th Gold Glove, becoming one of only 12 players in world history to win the honor 15+ times. He’s the only catcher to ever do it and joined RF Hana Zuhair as ABF’s only 15-time Gold Glovers. LF Cihat Cetinkaya won his 7th Gold Glove. Two-way player Safdar Kalhwan won his 12th Silver Slugger as a pitcher. SS Vugar Sodikov won his 10th Silver Slugger and Khalaf bin Abdullah won his 8th with six in CF and two in RF.

            Comment

            • MrNFL_FanIQ
              MVP
              • Oct 2008
              • 4893

              #2436
              With the 2034 season, the Asian Baseball Federation became the latest of the Global Baseball Alliance major leagues to complete 50 seasons. ABF has evolved quite a bit in its relatively short tenure. When it began in 1985, it was just a collection of teams from Pakistan, Turkey, and Iran. The first major expansion came in 2000 with the exodus of teams from Eurasian Professional Baseball. This brought in the established Central Asian franchises from EPB. ABF added its own expansion teams again in 2009, 2020, and 2030 to get to the current lineup.



              Of the original teams, Hyderabad has easily been the most dominant overall with the most playoff berths, championships, and LCS trips. Since their 2000 arrival, Baku has been the most impressive with their dynasty runs. Bishkek has nearly the same winning percentage as the Blackbirds, although they’ve found less in terms of postseason success.

              The rest of the original teams have had a decent amount of parity. All of the original teams have been to the ABF Championship at least once and only Izmir is without a championship from that group. While many of the former EPB teams have had success, ABF’s organic expansion teams still lack a finals appearance, although they’re still young.

              Comment

              • MrNFL_FanIQ
                MVP
                • Oct 2008
                • 4893

                #2437




                Ahmedabad took the India League’s top seed at 105-57 in 2034, growing their playoff and West Division title streaks to nine seasons. In South Asia Baseball’s 55 seasons, the Animals have made the playoffs a remarkable 42 times. Ahmedabad allowed the fewest runs in 2034 with 565 and was the #1 seed for the second time in three years.

                Delhi bounced back from a 76-86 season in 2033 and were close behind the Animals for the top seed. The Drillers won the Central Division at 103-59 for their fifth playoff berth in six years, although it was their first division title since winning it all in 2029. Delhi was the IL’s top scoring team at 845 runs.

                Hyderabad dethroned Visakhapatnam’s dynasty in the South Division with the Hippos on top at 98-64. Although it was Hyderbad’s fourth straight postseason berth, their last division title was 2022. Since then, the Volts had won the division each year except 2029 and had six pennants. The two-time defending SAB champ and three-time defending Indian League champ finished at 86-76. Visakhapatnam missed the playoffs for only the second time in 12 years.

                In the wild card race, it was Mumbai (95-67) and last year’s ILCS runner-up Kolkata (94-68) advancing. The Meteors snapped an 11-year playoff drought, while the Cosmos got back-to-back berths. Lucknow was the first team out at 92-70, denying them a third straight playoff berth.

                1B Advik Jagur won Indian League MVP in his third season with Delhi. The 34-year old righty had been mostly a journeyman before joining the Drillers, previously playing for Visakhapatnam, Mandalay, Patna, and Jaipur. Jagur led in RBI (146) and total bases (392). He had 224 hits, 120 runs, 45 doubles, 39 home runs, .360/.399/.630 slash, 185 wRC+, and 7.5 WAR.

                In his second year as a full-time starter, Lucknow’s Rahul Katti won Pitcher of the Year. The 27-year old Indian righty was the eighth overall pick in the 2029 SAB Draft for the Larks. He won the ERA title in 2034 at 2.60 and had the best FIP- at 62. Katti had a 13-10 record and 11 saves, 187 innings, 271 strikeouts, and 5.9 WAR. His efforts earned a five-year, $63,120,000 extension signed in late June. Also of note, Visakhapatnam’s Hari Zulfikkur won his third Reliever of the Year award.

                Mumbai swept Kolkata in the wild card round 2-0, then upset Ahmedabad 3-2 in the divisional series. It is the second time in three years that the Animals got the #1 seed and won 100+ games, but went one-and-done in the postseason. For the Meteors, they hadn’t gotten to the Indian League Championship Series since their last playoff berth and pennant back in 2022.

                Delhi downed Hyderabad 3-1 on the other side, giving the Drillers their second ILCS trip in three years. They had been the SAB Champion as recently as 2029. Mumbai seemed on their way by winning the first three games of the series, but Delhi pulled off the rally from down 3-0 to win the series in seven. It was only the second time the Indian League Championship Series had seen a 3-0 rally, joining Jaipur’s 2009 comeback against Kolkata. It was only the third time that the pennant went to India’s capital region (2021, 2029, 2034).




                Ho Chi Minh City for the sixth consecutive seasons won 100+ games and the South Division title. The Hedgehogs had their best record of the run at 111-51 to earn the Southeast Asia League’s top seed. HCMC’s offense set new SAB team records for batting average (.305), slugging (.543), and hits (1791). They also had the third-highest season attendance in SEAL history at 2,247,156. Ho Chi Minh City was unsurprisingly the top scoring team at 975 runs.

                Defending SEAL champ Yangon was the #2 seed at 100-62 for a fifth consecutive Central Division title. In a 40 year stretch, the Green Dragons have only missed the playoffs twice and only missed a winning season once. Dhaka got the West Division title at 97-65. The Dobermans have only missed the playoffs once in 14 years, although this was only their second division title in nine years. Mandalay had controlled things in recent memory, but their eight-year playoff streak came to an end. The Mammoths were six games behind Dhaka in the divisional race at 91-71.

                Mandalay also ended up three games short of the second wild card spot. Bangkok got the first at 96-66 and Hanoi was second at 94-68. Colombo was also in the mix but missed at 90-72. The Bobcats earned a fourth consecutive wild card and had 96 team triples, the second-most in SAB history. For the once dominant Hounds, this ended a decade-long playoff drought, although they had generally hovered around .500 and had rarely been outright terrible. The Mammoths had allowed the league’s fewest runs at 621.

                Yangon’s Khan Nishar won Southeast Asia League MVP for the second time in three years. The 34-year old Indian DH led in runs (140), walks (98), OBP (.413), slugging (.664), OPS (1.077), and wRC+ (181). Nishar added 190 hits, 43 doubles, 47 homers, 126 RBI, .317 average, and 8.2 WAR. It was only the 11th time in SAB that a player scored 140+ runs, which Nishar had already done with 142 in 2032. This was the fifth and final year for Nishar with the Green Dragons, as he’d return to free agency in the winter and ink a four-year, $83,200,000 deal with Delhi.

                Colombo’s Sanjit Ali won Pitcher of the Year with the ERA title at 2.41. The 25-year old Bangladeshi lefty had a 17-2 record, 216.1 innings, 277 strikeouts, 177 ERA+, 69 FIP-, and 6.2 WAR. The Catfish had picked him seventh overall in the 2028 SAB Draft. In the offseason, Aliwould sign a team-friendly five-year, $56,580,000 extension.

                Bangkok swept Hanoi 2-0 in the wild card round and gave Ho Chi Minh City a battle in the divisional series, although the Hedgehogs survived 3-2. Despite six straight 100+ win seasons, this was only the second time in that stretch (2029) that HCMC had advanced to the Southeast Asia League Championship. The Hedgehogs’ last pennant was 2024, their only title since the great dynasty run from 1987-2009.

                Yangon outlasted Dhaka 3-2 on the other side of the bracket, giving the defending champs a chance at their fourth pennant in five years. These were SEAL’s two most decorated teams with a storied playoff rivalry, but they hadn’t met in the LCS since 2009. Both squads had won 15 SEAL titles, the most in league history. The matchup had a lot of hype, but it ended up being non-competitive with a Ho Chi Minh City sweep for their first pennant in a decade.




                The 55th SAB Championship went to Delhi 4-2 over Ho Chi Minh City, making the Drillers three-time overall champs (2021, 2029, 2034). League MVP Advik Jagur was also finals MVP, getting 27 hits, 14 runs, 6 doubles, 2 homers, and 11 RBI over 17 playoff starts.



                Other notes: Rajshahi’s Naung Zar had 62 doubles, breaking the SAB single-season record of 60 which had been reached twice. 62+ doubles has only happened 43 times in all of pro baseball history. Nagpur at 61-101 set a few Indian League records, most of which were bad. The one good one was that they stole 427 bases, breaking the record 411 they set two years prior. On the bad side, the Patriots set new IL worsts for runs allowed (872), hits allowed (1666), and H/9 (10.49). Kanpur also had historically bad pitching, as their 5.03 ERA, 797 earned runs, and 1.475 WHIP were each the second-worst in IL history.

                In milestones, Agnisika Dhavita became the 8th member of the 3000 hit club. Cong Bui, Randall Batin, and Pyae Sin Nyo became the 40th, 41st, and 42nd to 2500 hits. Bui also became the 25th to 1500 RBI. Alfonso Giraldes was the 35th to reach 500 home runs. Eight guys crossed 400 homers, bringing that group to 73 SAB sluggers.

                2B Hamidul Islam won his 8th Silver Slugger and second at second base, having previously won six as a DH. C Channam Naina won his 7th Silver Slugger. Mat Toe Moe became the 20th closer to 300 saves. 1B Gurdip Anand and 3B Vatish Bharat won their 7th Gold Gloves.

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                • MrNFL_FanIQ
                  MVP
                  • Oct 2008
                  • 4893

                  #2438




                  2034 was unusual in the Western League as the top five records all came out of the North Division. However, West African Baseball’s playoff formatting had only the top two from each division advance to the postseason. Reigning WAB champ Bamako and Dakar finished even atop the North at 99-63, followed by Nouakchott (95-67), Banjul (92-70), and Conakry (92-70).

                  The tiebreaker formula favored the Bullfrogs, which was critical since that guaranteed them a repeat spot in the Western League Championship Series. The Dukes would have to climb the ladder for a third straight LCS trip, although their playoff streak grew to an impressive 11 seasons. Dakar was the leading scorer at 919 runs while Bamako allowed the fewest at 637.

                  From the South Division, Freetown finished first at 87-75. Monrovia took the second place slot at 84-78, one ahead of 83-79 Kumasi. The Foresters are back after going 77-85 in 2033, which was only their second playoff miss since 2022. The Diplomats earned a third consecutive playoff trip and their fourth berth in five years.

                  In his 17th season starting for Freetown, 1B Youssoupha Diop won his first Western League MVP. The 37-year old lefty from Senegal won his eighth Silver Slugger, but he had never taken the top honor despite being a Hall of Fame lock. Diop led in RBI (148) and had 58 home runs, 210 hits, 124 runs, 34 doubles, .347/.415/.690 slash, 181 wRC+, and 8.0 WAR.

                  It was a remarkable comeback season, as he had posted career worsts across the board the prior year with an .817 OPS and 0.9 WAR; leading many to think he was washed. Diop became WAB’s 5th member of the 800 home run club and the 5th to 2000 runs scored. He was one of 31 players in all of pro baseball history with 2000+ runs. Diop had also previously reached 3000 hits and 2000 RBI. Diop and Abdel Aziz Ashraf were both within striking distance of passing Lawrence Nassif’s 2338 RBI for the WAB career record.

                  He earned MVP despite some stiff competition, including the two-time defending winner Emmanuel Marshall with Accra. The 28-year old RF missed time to a strained back, but still in 127 games led in homers (63), OBP (.431), slugging (.822), OPS (1.253), wRC+ (214), and WAR (8.8). Marshall’s slugging was a new WAB single-season record, beating the previous best .799 by Haji Mussa from 2026.

                  Marshall’s slugging ranks as the 17th-best qualifying mark in all of pro baseball history. His OPS was also the third-best in WAB and 29th in world history, one of only 32 times a player was above 1.250. This got Marshall paid handsomely by the Alligators with an eight-year, $308,500,000 extension signed in May.

                  Bamako’s Vinny Nga won Pitcher of the Year and was the second closer in WAB history to win the award, joining Francis Koomson (2006, 07). Despite that, Nga actually didn’t win Reliever of the Year, as that went to Dakar’s Irad Lawali with 40 saves, a 1.27 ERA, and 4.4 WAR.

                  For the 28-year old Cameroonian, he led in saves with 43 and had a 0.95 ERA over 85.3 innings, 69 games, 186 strikeouts, 14 walks, 481 ERA+, and 5.1 WAR. Nga would’ve been only the fifth Reliever of the Year winner with a sub-one ERA had he won that award. He would parlay this into a MLB deal in 2036 with Halifax.

                  Dakar edged Monrovia in the first round 2-1, then fell 2-0 at Freetown in round two. The Foresters earned their eighth trip to the Western League Championship Series since 2024, having won three pennants in that stretch. They took the defending champ Bamako to the limit, but the Bullfrogs escaped 3-2 for the repeat. Bamako became ten-time WL champs (1976, 83, 86, 2003, 15, 17, 19, 21, 33, 34).




                  Libreville set a franchise record at 106-56 to win the Coastal Division and take the top seed in the Eastern League. The Lakers had only been the top seed or a division champ once before with their lone pennant in 2016. Libreville hadn’t been a playoff team since 2022 and last made the ELCS in 2021. The Lakers had been building with a near miss at 90-72 the prior year, but that had been their first winning season in 11 years. They had to fend off defending EL champ Douala, who easily took second at 98-64 for their third straight playoff berth.

                  The Dingos didn’t match their record-setting offense from 2033 and it was Libreville who led WAB with 995 runs. Douala still scored a strong 922 runs and had a .318 team batting average and .364 on-base percentage, second-best in WAB history behind their .326/.369 from the prior year. The Dingos also only struck out 1101 times, which was the second-best in EL history. Notably down in the division was Cotonou at 77-85, ending their eight-year playoff streak.

                  Ibadan won the Interior Division by a firm margin at 97-65 and allowed the EL’s fewest runs at 710. This ended a six-year playoff drought for the Iguanas. Second place had a tie at 88-74 between Benin City and Niamey, followed by Kano (82-80) and Ouagadougou (81-81). The Blue Devils won the tiebreaker game for their third straight playoff berth and fifth in six years.

                  Douala’s Ram Lengani repeated as Eastern League MVP, leading in runs (134), RBI (164), triple slash (.381/.439/.695), OPS (1.134), wRC+ (173), and WAR (9.1). The 26-year old Burkinabe second baseman added 231 hits, 49 doubles, and 44 home runs. The former #1 overall pick eventually got a mammoth extension with the Dingos in March 2036 at eight years and $374,500,000.

                  Ibadan’s Yakubu Babwo won his second Pitcher of the Year, having also done it in his sophomore 2031 campaign. The 26-year old Nigerian lefty won the ERA title (2.44) and led in WHIP (1.02). Babawo had a 17-8 record, 181 innings, 270 strikeouts, 194 ERA+, and 7.0 WAR. He missed a few starts in the early spring to a strained shoulder. The Iguanas gave Babawo a five-year, $35,520,000 extension in May.

                  Benin City ousted the defending EL champ Douala 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs. The Blue Devils fell 2-0 to Ibadan in round two, sending the Iguanas to their first Eastern League Championship Series since 2027. The series went all five games, but top seed Libreville held to win their second pennant (2016, 2034).




                  The 60th West African Championship had Bamako defeat Libreville 4-1. After losing their first eight finals trips, the Bullfrogs were now repeat champs. Finals MVP went to Lakers’ RF Kadhiri Sassou in a losing effort, getting 13 hits, 8 runs, 3 homers, and 9 RBI in 10 playoff starts. Bamako is the fourth WAB franchise to earn a repeat, joining Lagos (1978-79, 91-92), Cotonou (2010-11, 26-27), and Kano (1975-76, 97-99, 2001-03).



                  Other notes: Dakar’s Cedric St-Pierre notably had 709 at-bats, 271 hits, 127 runs, 444 total bases, a .382 average, and 7.6 WAR. The at-bats tied the world record set by WAB’s Justin Karefa-Smart in 709. It was only the third-time in world history that anyone had 270+ hits, as WAB legend and world hit king Fares Belaid had twice gotten to 282. 260+ hits has only happened 11 times ever; St-Pierre has now done it twice (260 in 2033) and Belaid did it six times. St-Pierre also had a 32-game hitting streak in the fall.

                  Amazingly, there were three longer streaks in 2034 with Popeye Bukola and Rodrigue Adoum both going 35 games. The clear standout was Banjul’s William Green at 45 games, breaking Belaid’s WAB record 43 from 2021. This was only the 17th streak in pro baseball history of 40+ games and one of six at 45+ games. The world record remains 54 by Sandile Nyambi in the 2018 CABA season.

                  Junior Jose became the 14th member of the 600 home run club and Julus Emmanuel was the 28th to 500 dingers. Jose and Edward Mumini became the 26th and 27th to 1500 career RBI. Tigui Ekanga was the 21st to 1500 runs scored. El Hadj Sghair was the 42nd to 2500 hits. Jose won his 9th Silver Slugger at 3B and SS Prince Kofi won his 7th. Guillaume Mbimbiangoye was the 2nd closer to 300 saves. The record is 377 by Christopher James.

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