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MVP
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2016 SAB Hall of Fame (Part 1)
For the second time in three years, South Asia Baseball inducted four players into its Hall of Fame. The 2016 crew was an impressive one with all earning first ballot induction and the top three players above 97%. 2B/1B David Rusli and RP Saroth Bora were both nearly unanimous at 99.3% with OF Kamlesh Kanmani close behind at 97.6%. RP Quang Huy Canh joined with a very solid 85.7%. No one else was above 50% with the top returner being RF Han Kywe Khant at 46.6% in his fourth try.
Dropped after ten failed ballots was P Saddam Rahman, who pitched 14 years between Mandalay, Ho Chi Minh City, and Ahmedabad. He had 179 saves and a 104-63 record over 1290.2 innings with a 2.64 ERA, 1530 strikeouts, 260 walks, 134 ERA+, and 29.7 WAR. Rahman was mostly a reliever with a few seasons of starting, which gave him an odd stat line. He didn’t have any individual awards either, but the voters still gave him 52.0% in his 2007 ballot debut. Rahman dropped down to 7.8% by the end, but was generally in the 30-50% range.
David “Fang” Rusli – Second Base/First Base – Jaipur Jokers – 99.3% First Ballot
David Rusli was a 6’0’’, 200 pound switch-hitting infielder from Sungai Kolok, Thailand, a town of 38,000 on the southern border with Malaysia. Nicknamed “Fang,” Rusli was one of the all-time great leadoff men with excellent contact ability and outstanding baserunning chops. He led the Indian League 11 times in stolen bases and was a menace when he got aboard. Rusli also was solid at drawing walks and terrific at avoiding strikeouts in his prime.
Rusli’s gap power was impressive, getting 39 doubles and 10 triples per his 162 game average. He didn’t have big home run power, but still averaged 9 per 162 games. Rusli made about 3/5 of his starts at second base with the rest at first. He graded as a terrible 2B defensively and a below average one at 1B. Strong durability meant he was rarely out of the lineup, starting 147+ games each year from 1996-2007.
With his skillset, Rusli was a very popular player with fans. However, he did clash at times with teammates and coaches due to selfishness and laziness. Despite of perceived lack of leadership and loyalty, he did play his entire career in Jaipur. A visiting scout caught wind of Rusli as a teenage amateur and gave him a developmental deal in September 1988, bringing him from Thailand to India.
Although he played his full career in the Indian League, Rusli did regularly return home for the World Baseball Championship. From 1995-2010, he had 134 games and 126 starts for the Thai national team, posting 139 hits, 65 runs, 24 doubles, 7 triples, 13 homers, 55 RBI, 73 stolen bases, a .291/.381/.453 slash, 138 wRC+, and 4.6 WAR.
Rusli’s IL debut came at age 20 in 1993 with 59 games and 8 starts. He was a regular pinch hitter and runner in 1994 and 1995, then earned a full-time starting job after that. Rusli played second base almost exclusively in his 20s, then started to shift over to first in his 30s. Even with his lackluster defense, Rusli’s batting impact was immediately felt in 1996, leading the league in triples (14), walks (78), steals (99), and OBP (.421). Sharing a position with the legendary Tirtha Upadhyaya early in his career did limit his awards potential despite regularly posting 6+ WAR.
1997 started an 11-year streak of 100+ stolen base seasons. Rusli led in doubles in 1998 and on-base percentage in 1999. Jaipur became a playoff regular with six berths from 1996-2002, but couldn’t compare with the historic Ahmedabad dynasty. In that stretch, the Jokers lost five times to the Animals in the ILCS. Still, they were pleased with Rusli’s results, giving him an eight-year, $20,840,000 extension after the 1998 season. He was one of the few big ticket players of the era to not eventually player for either Ahmedabad or Ho Chi Minh City, who hoovered up talent to maintain their dominance.
In 2001, Rusli exploded for an MVP season and his first Silver Slugger. He became SAB’s second-ever .400 hitter and led the league with career highs in hits (234), runs (135), wRC+ (239), and WAR (13.3). Rusli stole 143 bases, destroying the previous SAB single-season record of 125. To that point, that was the second most steals by any player in any world league and it remains the SAB record as of 2037. Rusli’s 13.3 WAR mark also ranks as SAB’s seventh-best season by a position player. He also had a career high 52 doubles and his .463 OBP broke the then-SAB record, although it would be topped three years later.
Rusli won two more batting titles and led in hits in both 2002 and 2003, earning Silver Sluggers both years and second place finishes in MVP voting. 2002 also saw a lead in doubles and his fourth time lading in OBP. It was one of nine seasons for Rusli worth 8+ WAR. Jaipur’s playoff streak ended in 2003, but they started a new six-year run the next year. The Jokers lost in the ILCS in 2004 and the first round in 2005 despite earning the #1 seed.
2005 saw Rusli lead in runs and OBP again, while 2006 had a lead in triples. With the Ahmedabad dynasty winding down, Jaipur finally had a chance to break through. They upset the Animals in the 2006 ILCS, then defeated Yangon for their first SAB title. Rusli was finals MVP and over 18 playoff starts in 2006 had 25 hits, 9 runs, 3 homers, 10 RBI, and 18 steals. The 18 stolen bases is a world playoff record that hasn’t been topped as of 2037, although a few have matched it.
The 33-year old Rusli signed a four-year, $10,080,000 extension in March 2006. He took third in 2007 MVP voting by batting .400 with a .480 OBP, along with league bests in hits (225), doubles (46), walks (91), and steals (110). Rusli’s 1.081 OPS and 117 RBI were also career bests. The .480 OBP ranks third-best as of 2037, behind only Ratan Canduri’s .487 in 2013 and .486 in 2006. The .400 average was rounded up, officially at .3996 for the seventh-highest in SAB history.
2008 saw injury issues for the first time as a fractured thumb, then a fractured hand, kept him out almost the entire fall, including the playoffs. Rusli was still a strong starter in 2009, but posted 5.0 WAR, his weakest full-season output. He came up big again in the playoffs as Jaipur won the IL pennant. They fell to Ho Chi Minh City in the SAB Championship, but Rusli was finals MVP in the defeat with 29 hits, 10 runs, and 10 steals over 18 playoff starts.
For his playoff career, Rusli had 103 starts with an impressive 136 hits, 60 runs, 23 doubles, 7 triples, 6 home runs, 40 RBI, 40 walks, 69 steals, a .343/.402/.481 slash, 174 wRC+, and 6.6 WAR. As of 2037, Rusli ranks third in steals, eighth in hits, and 16th in runs in SAB history.
Jaipur surprisingly struggled to 73-89 in 2010, their first losing season since 1998. A torn quad kept Rusli out for a big chunk, but his production dropped notably too. He became a free agent for the first time and looked for work in 2011, but couldn’t find a suitor. Rusli retired that winter at age 39 and Jaipur immediately brought him in to retire his #14 uniform.
Rusli finished with 2913 hits, 1478 runs, 617 doubles, 156 triples, 145 home runs, 1068 RBI, 952 walks, a 7.2% strikeout rate, 1515 stolen bases, a .338/.404/.497 slash, 179 wRC+, and 119.2 WAR. Rusli retired as the SAB steals leader, but he would get passed in the 2030s by Gunavati Candrajita. As of 2037, he ranks 18th in pro baseball history in stolen bases. Among world Hall of Famers, he also ranks 39th in batting average and 29th in on-base percentage.
On the SAB leaderboards as of 2037, Rusli is 14th in WAR among position players, 11th in hits, 26th in runs, ninth in doubles, 26th in triples, and 18th in walks drawn. Among all hitters with 3000+ plate appearances, Rusli is ninth in batting average and sixth in OBP. He’s one of seven in SAB with a career OBP above .400. Rusli’s .901 OPS ranks 82nd.
Tough competition kept Rusli from getting more awards, but few position players in his era of SAB were more reliably valuable. Despite perceived laziness, Rusli always stepped up in the playoffs and helped Jaipur break Ahmedabad’s control of the IL. He stands out even with a loaded four-player 2016 Hall of Fame class, earning co-headliner status with a near unanimous 99.3%.
Saroth “Goat” Bora – Closer – Ho Chi Minh City Hedgehogs – 99.3% First Ballot
Saroth Bora was a 6’3’’, 205 pound relief pitcher from the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. Bora had absolutely filthy stuff with good to sometimes great movement and control. He had a one-two combo of a 97-99 mph fastball and an excellent curveball. Bora had outstanding stamina and durability out of the bullpen and was almost always available to pitch. He was one of the smartest and hardest working guys in the game, thriving in a 17-year career.
Bora was spotted as a teenage amateur by a Vietnamese scout visiting Cambodia and signed in November 1988 by Ho Chi Minh City. He spent four years in the Hedgehogs academy before debuting at age 21 in 1993 with 33.1 innings. Bora earned the full-time closer the next year and led the Southeast Asia League in saves (48) and games (76).
1994 officially counted as his rookie season and Bora achieved a very unique feat of a Rookie of the Year and Reliever of the Year winner in the same campaign. Bora also was third in Pitcher of the Year voting. He led in saves again in 1995 and 1997. Bora took second in ROTY in 1995 and 1996, then won it for the second time in 1997. His 0.68 ERA, 5.5 WAR, and 532 ERA+ in 1997 were all career bests.
Ho Chi Minh City was the dynasty of SEAL with 23 straight playoff berths from 1987-2009 and 14 pennants in that run. Ahmedabad’s Indian League dynasty often got in their way in the SAB Championship in the early part of the run, beating HCMC in 1987, 89, 90, 92, 94, 95, 98, and 99. The Hedgehogs finally got their first SAB title win over the Animals in 1997. Bora was excellent in that playoff run with six saves and a 0.63 ERA over 14.1 innings with 30 strikeouts.
Bora took second in Reliever of the Year in both 1998 and 1999. This wrapped up his first HCMC run with 29.7 WAR and 250 saves over seven years, an impressive haul for a closer. Now 28-years old, he switched sides in the great rivalry and spent the next two years with Ahmedabad. Bora saw limited mid relief use in 2000, which saw a finals loss to HCMC.
The Animals won the IL with a historic 125-37 record in 2001, but were upset by Yangon in the SAB Championship. Bora reclaimed the closer role and tied the SAB record for saves with 52, a mark that still holds as of 2037. That earned him his third Reliever of the Year win. With Ahmedabad, Bora had a 1.75 ERA over 133.2 innings, 252 strikeouts, 181 ERA+, and 5.2 WAR.
Now 30-years old, Bora returned to Ho Chi Minh City, winning back-to-back ROTYs in 2002 and 2003. He also took second in 2002’s POTY voting, posting a league-best 47 saves that year with a 1.09 ERA in 90.2 innings and 5.1 WAR. The Hedgehogs lost in the 2002 LCS, but won the SAB title in 2003 against Bengaluru. This ended his second run with HCMC, as Bora was picked sixth overall by Lucknow in the 2003 expansion draft.
Bora spent the front end of 2004 with the Larks, who traded him at the deadline to Yangon for three prospects. The Green Dragons fell in the first round of the playoffs and didn’t sign Bora long-term. He decided to go back “home” for a third tenure with Ho Chi Minh City from 2005-2007. He wouldn’t be the closer during this stretch, but still was an important mid relief guy. HCMC won the 2005 SAB Championship, giving Bora his third ring.
His playoff exploits were impressive at all of his stops, playing 84 games with 152.1 total. In that run, Bora had 42 saves and 52 shutdowns, a 12-8 record, 2.36 ERA, 279 strikeouts, 31 walks, 155 ERA+, and 5.6 WAR. As of 2037, he’s the world record holder in playoff saves and appearances by a healthy margin. Bora also ranks second in playoff strikeouts and third in WAR among all SAB pitchers, starters included.
In 2001, Bora had an all-time great playoff run by tossing 19.2 scoreless innings in 11 games, posting six saves and 37 strikeouts. He’s one of only three pitchers in SAB playoff history with a zero ERA and 15+ innings. He had eight saves in the 2003 run, which is the SAB record still as of 2037.
In 2008, Bora signed with Kanpur and had his worst ERA to date at 3.62 in a part-time closing role, posting 0.7 WAR in 97 innings. HCMC then brought him back for a fourth tour in 2009, returning to the closer role. Bora wasn’t as dominant with 1.8 WAR and a 2.71 ERA in 73 innings, but he led in saves for the sixth time with 41. Bora also posted six playoff saves as HCMC won their final SAB title of the dynasty, beating Jaipur in the final.
Over 13 seasons between the four runs with Ho Chi Minh City, Bora had 387 saves and 420 shutdowns, a 1.71 ERA, 721 games, 941.1 innings, 1720 strikeouts, 220 walks, a 217 ERA+, and 45.4 WAR. His role in their dominance was certainly noticed by management, who later retired his #8 uniform After his last year with HCMC, Bora had 498 saves, inches away from becoming their first 500+ save closer.
Sadly, he didn’t get it as his velocity dropped steeply in 2010. Bora signed with Bangkok but only got one save with a 3.98 ERA over 40.2 innings, posting -0.5 WAR for the season. Instead of trying to hang around, Bora was content holding SAB’s #1 save spot and retired that winter at age 39.
For his career, Bora had a 95-84 record, 499 saves, 1.90 ERA, 976 games, 1307 innings, 2350 strikeouts, 290 walks, 546 shutdowns, a 191 ERA+, and 55.6 WAR. He remained the saves leader until passed by Amu Singh in the late 2020s. As of 2037, Bora is second in saves and third in games. Among all pitchers, he ranks 41st in WAR.
Bora’s rate stats are impressive and as of 2037, he leads all SAB pitchers with 1000+ innings in WHIP (0.83), opponent’s average (.170) and opponent’s OBP (.225). His slugging (.294) ranks fifth and both ERA and his OPS (.520) ranks second only to his contemporary Taj Kanikaraja. These two and Singh are the only closers to win five SAB Reliever of the Year awards (Kanikaraja has six). Bora is second only to Singh in strikeouts amongst SAB relievers and leads them all in WAR.
It is often a debate pitting Bora against Kanikaraja in the SAB GOAT closer conversation, as Singh had more accumulations but less dominance. For many, Bora’s playoff heroics put him in the pole position and you could argue he’s the most prolific playoff closer in pro baseball history.
Among the world’s best relievers as of 2037, Bora ranks 14th in saves, 27th in shutdowns, 4th in strikeouts, 26th in WAR, 38th in games, and 35th in ERA+, Rarely do even the best relievers get close to unanimous inductions, but Bora’s 99.3% was well deserved as a co-headliner in SAB’s loaded 2016 Hall of Fame class.
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