[FuzzyRussianHat]

Three players earned their way into the South Asia Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. Each did it on their first ballot with SP Arvind Lal and OF K.C. Choudhury being slam dunks at 98.7% and 98.3%, respectively. OF Dhavalapaksa Dattatreya joined them with 72.4% in his debut. OF Indirjeet Dayada only narrowly missed the 66% requirement with 59.8% on his sixth ballot. Also above 50% was 2B Abdul Deepkaran with a 57.1% debut. No one was dropped after ten ballots.



Arvind Lal – Starting Pitcher – Kanpur Poison – 98.7% First Ballot

Arvind Lal was a 6’4’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Pune, India’s eighth most populous metropolitan area with more than seven million inhabitants. Lal was a well-rounded pitcher with very solid stuff and control, plus good movement. His fastball regularly was in the 97-99 mph range and was countered with an outstanding curveball, great splitter, and rarely used changeup. Lal’s stamina was viewed as above average compared to other SAB aces.

Lal was quite durable and got you 200+ innings pretty much each year. He was also a very good defensive pitcher, winning Gold Gloves in his final two seasons. Perhaps his greatest asset was his leadership as a team captain. Lal was one of the most respected and praised clubhouse figures of the era. That and his talent made him a superstar pitcher of Indian baseball in the 1980s and 1990s.

Lal was signed as a teenage amateur in June 1980 by Kanpur. He would debut in 1984 at age 20, making 27 appearances and one start. Lal earned a full-time starting role in 1985 and was a fixture atop the rotation for the next nine years with the Poison. He would post seven consecutive seasons worth 5+ WAR for Kanpur.

In 1987 and 1988, Lal was named the Indian League Pitcher of the Year, leading in ERA, K/BB, and WHIP both seasons. 1987 had career bests in ERA (1.63), and WHIP (0.82) with the ERA mark sitting as the 12^th best qualifying season in SAB history as of 2037. Lal also led in wins that year, then led in WAR in 1988. 1988 was also his first of four seasons with 300+ strikeouts, although it was the only time he reached that mark with Kanpur.

Lal was a big reason Kanpur became a contender for the first time in franchise history. 1987 was their first-ever playoff appearance, although they were one-and-done and he got rocked in his lone start. Lal redeemed himself as the Poison went 104-58 in 1988 and won the South Asia Baseball Championship against Phnom Penh. In 29.2 playoff innings, Lal had a 4-1 record and 1 save, 1.21 ERA, 38 strikeouts, and 7 walks. He played a big role in them upsetting Ahmedabad in the ILCS, denying the Animals a three-peat.

Kanpur had a shocking collapse to 66-96 in 1989, but that was an aberration. They earned seven straight playoff berths from 1990-96, although Ahmedabad’s dynasty was in full swing at this point. The Poison were one-and-done in 1990, 91, and 92, but pulled off a surprising ILCS win in 1993 as a wild card. They would drop the SAB Championship that year to Johor Bahru. In his playoff career for Kanpur, Lal had a 7-5 record, 2.51 ERA over 93.1 innings, 129 strikeouts, 22 walks, 130 ERA+, and 2.6 WAR.

The Poison had given Lal a six-year, $3,150,000 extension after winning the 1987 POTY. He wasn’t as dominant in his later years in Kanpur, but did take second in 1990’s POTY voting. Lal also began pitching for India in the World Baseball Championship, tossing 142.1 innings from 1987-98. He had a 3.16 ERA, 10-5 record, 176 strikeouts, 35 walks, 116 ERA+, and 2.3 WAR.

In total with Kanpur, Lal had a 143-63 record, 73 saves, 2.42 ERA, 1945 innings, 2402 strikeouts, 414 walks, 162 quality starts, 32 complete games, 138 ERA+, 69 FIP-, and 52.6 WAR. He would remain beloved by Kanpur fans despite leaving and his #24 uniform would get retired for his role in their first-ever title. Like many other teams though, Kanpur wasn’t in position to match a big free agent deal for Lal. At this point, the Ahmedabad and Ho Chi Minh City dynasties were far and away financially ahead of the rest of SAB.

Lal did negotiate with both teams, but decided to sit out the 1994 season, apart from the WBC. He came back though for age 31, signing a two-year deal beginning in 1995 with Ahmedabad. Lal ended up pitching six years total with the Animals, inking a four-year, $7,060,000 deal after the 1996 campaign. All six seasons saw 5.8+ WAR or better.

In his Ahmedabad debut, Lal led in wins with a career-best 24-4 record, earning his third Pitcher of the Year. The next year had a career and league best 365 strikeouts, plus a league-best 8.9 WAR, but he surprisingly wasn’t a finalist. Lal took second in 1997 by leading in wins, then took second again in 1998 with the lead in ERA.

Lal was excellent in the postseason as Ahmedabad’s dynasty rolled on. They won the Indian League pennant all six years he was there and won the SAB title in 1995, 96, 98, and 99. He would miss the 1999 playoff run to bone chips in his elbow, but was strong in the other playoff outings. He had an 11-2 record over 18 starts and 134.1 innings, a 2.14 ERA, 166 strikeouts, 29 walks, 146 ERA+, and 4.1 WAR.

Between Ahmedabad and Kanpur, Lal’s playoff stats saw a 2.29 ERA and 139 ERA+, 227.2 innings, 18-7 record, 295 strikeouts, 51 walks, 25/31 quality starts, and 6.7 WAR. As of 2037, he’s SAB’s all-time playoff pitching leader in WAR, wins, innings, and strikeouts. You could argue Lal is the greatest playoff pitcher in SAB history with that stat line, plus five SAB rings and eight Indian League pennants to his name.

In 2000, Lal joined Zainal bin Aziz as the only SAB pitchers with 250+ career wins and 4000+ career strikeouts. He would pass bin Aziz as the all-time wins leader, but fell short on Ks. Lal still looked good in 2000 with a 5.8 WAR effort, but it would be his last season. He remained officially on the market in 2001, but went un-signed and retired that winter. For his Ahmedabad run, Lal had a 116-41 record, 2.40 ERA, 1453.1 innings, 1799 strikeouts, 231 walks, 139/186 quality starts, 49 complete games, 130 ERA+, and 42.3 WAR.

Lal finished with a 259-104 record, 2.41 ERA, 3398.1 innings, 4201 strikeouts, 645 walks, 301/421 quality starts, 81 complete games, 35 shutouts, 134 ERA+, 69 FIP-, and 94.8 WAR. He was the all-time wins leader until 2029. As of 2037, Lal is still second in wins, seventh in innings, seventh in strikeouts, and fourth in WAR.

Zainal bin Aziz’s raw dominance often overshadowed Lal in the same era, but Lal wasn’t far behind. Both certainly sit in the top five of almost any conversation regarding SAB’s all-time best pitchers. He was an easy lock to be inducted on the first ballot, getting 98.7% on the 2006 ballot.