[MrNFL_FanIQ]

The 2016 Hall of Fame ballot for Arab League Baseball lacked impactful debuts with the top newcomer at only 17.7%. That helped open up the field for 2B Ahmad Abbas in his sixth ballot. His 66.2% barely crossed the 66% requirement, but it was enough to be the lone 2016 inductee. Also close was CL Adlen Sharif at 60.8% on his second try.



Four other returners were above 50%. SP Ahmad Abu Kabeer had 57.7% in his second ballot and LF Hassan El Mubarak saw 56.5% for his fifth. SP Ali Al-Shakal’s fourth ballot got 52.7% and LF Ibrahim Ahmed Raafat received 51.9% for his ninth opportunity. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots.



Ahmad “Torch” Abbas – Second Base – Tripoli Privateers – 66.2% Sixth Ballot

Ahmad Abbas was a 6’2’’, 200 pound switch-hitting second baseman from Fes, Morocco; the country’s second-largest city with over one million people. Abbas earned the nickname “Torch” for his impressive speed and baserunning ability. He was the traditional leadoff hitter who pared the speed with solid contact skills and gap power. Despite the solid contact ability, Abbas rarely drew walks and was merely average at avoiding strikeouts.

Abbas knew how to find the gap and leg it out, leading the conference six times in triples. His 162 game average saw 36 doubles and 19 triples, but he wasn’t going to smack dingers with only 28 career home runs. Abbas primarily played second base and was an excellent defender, winning two Gold Gloves. He stayed fairly healthy in his 20s, but dealt with injury woes in his 30s. Abbas was hard working, intelligent, and loyal, garnering the respect of his peers.

The 1991 ALB Draft was the second rookie draft for the still new league. Tripoli picked Abbas 21^nd overall and made him a full-time starter immediately, leading the Western Conference in at-bats as a rookie. Abbas earned his two Gold Gloves in 1994 and 1995 and his lone Silver Slugger in 1996. From 1995-1997, he led the conference in hits and triples. Abbas had 28 triples in 1997, setting the ALB single-season record which has been matched twice since, but not beaten.

1997 also saw his lone batting title (.362), as well as both league and career highs in runs (115) and hits (215). Abbas also had career bests in WAR (9.2), OPS (.942), and total bases (322), earning a third place in MVP voting. Tripoli made it to the conference final that year to break a five-year playoff drought, but lost to Khartoum. The Privateers would miss the playoffs for the next four years.

After the 1997 season, Tripoli locked Abbas up for eight years and $10,020,000. He played his entire pro career in Libya, but did return home to Morocco for the World Baseball Championship. He had 91 games and 84 starts from 1994-2004 with 77 hits, 36 runs, 13 doubles, 4 triples, 40 stolen bases, a .238/.285/.313 slash, and 0.5 WAR.

1999 had his career best in stolen bases with 107 and was his third time leading in steals. His bat regressed closed to league average in the next few years, but Abbas’ defense still made him a positive value player. 2002 would be a rough year due to a concussion in spring training that kept him out almost the entire season. Abbas made it back in the final month and Tripoli made the conference final, losing to Alexandria.

Abbas bounced back for a solid 2003, but struggled and was benched in 2004 with only 49 starts of 98 games. He saw only three pinch-hit at-bats in the playoffs as Tripoli fell in the first round. Abbas fared little better in 2005 and saw the season end with a broken bone in his elbow. His contract expired and he had no suitors for 2006, retiring that winter at age 37. Abbas was popular in Tripoli and his service was rewarded with his #34 uniform’s retirement.

In total, Abbas had 2122 hits, 1039 runs, 404 doubles, 218 triples, 28 home runs, 559 RBI, 993 stolen bases, a .296/.328/.425 slash, 108 wRC+, and 59.4 WAR. He was the all-time triples leader at retirement, although two players would pass him. As of 2037, he ranks 80^th in hits, 100^th in runs, 16^th in stolen bases, and 62^nd in WAR among position players. Abbas is sixth in WAR accrued at second base.

It wasn’t easy for leadoff guys to get noticed with the low power numbers. Plus with his few walks, sabremetric markers viewed Abbas as a slightly above average bat. He did have strong defense and some black ink, but his awards were limited. Tripoli was generally a middling team in his run and Abbas was unimpressive in his limited playoff appearances.

The resume was definitely borderline and he debuted at a measly 38.2%. Abbas climbed his way into the 50s by 2013 and got to 59.4% in 2015. With no notables up for the 2016 class, Abbas just barely got across the line for the sixth ballot add into the Arab League Hall of Fame. Especially as ALB aged, Abbas in retrospect ranks as one of the weakest inductees, but he’s in regardless.