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

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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.

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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.

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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 40^th 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 9^th 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 16^th to 1500 runs scored. Lane Maloba was the 10^th pitcher to 3000 strikeouts.

SS Djibrilla Ousseini won his 14^th Silver Slugger. He’s the third in AAB with 14+ Sluggers (along with CF Mwarami Tale and OF Felix Chaula) and the 21^st 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

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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 45^th 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 12^th 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 26^th and 27^th to 1500 RBI and Azhar Eid was the 19^th 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 7^th Silver Slugger.

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

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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 13^th 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 8^th-best and his OPS the 7^th-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 11^th 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 50^th 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 17^th 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 10^th slugger to 1500 career RBI. Cihat Cetinkaya became the 19^th to 2500 hits. Artyom Masharipov, Bakhtiyar Kasymov, and Emir Han became the 44^th, 45^th, and 46^th members of the 400 home run club. In pitching milestones, Hasan Yousefi was the 7^th to reach 4500 strikeouts. Hamid Osam and Sistani Ahmadzai became the 25^th and 26^th to 3500 Ks. Osam also became the 20^th to 200 wins. Sabri Erdelhun was the 6^th to 300 saves.

Catcher Ali Mahdian won his 15^th 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 7^th Gold Glove. Two-way player Safdar Kalhwan won his 12^th Silver Slugger as a pitcher. SS Vugar Sodikov won his 10^th Silver Slugger and Khalaf bin Abdullah won his 8^th with six in CF and two in RF.

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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.