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Deepak Rahim – Left Field – Bengaluru Blazers – 68.7% First Ballot

Deepak Rahim was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed outfielder from Latur, India; a city of around 396,000 people in the state of Maharashtra. Rahim had excellent home run power, hitting 40+ in eight of his 12 pro seasons. He was also an above average contact hitter with a respectable eye and okay strikeout rate. Rahim’s power was slanted towards homers as a flyball hitter, but he did average around 20-25 doubles most years.

Rahim’s speed was only above average, but he was a very crafty base stealer, swiping bags at nearly a 71% success rate. He primarily played left field and graded out as reliably good there. Rahim did make a few starts in center, but didn’t have the range to succeed in that spot. He was a sparkplug known for his work ethic and scrappiness, becoming one of India’s most popular early baseball stars.

Rahim was highly prized as a prospect and was picked #1 overall in the 197 SAB Draft by Jaipur. He spurned the Jokers though, failing to sign and returning for another year in college. This didn’t sink his value one bit and he was #1 overall again in 1988. This time, Bengaluru was the team on the clock and Rahim signed on the dotted line. He was a full-time starter immediately and excelled, winning 1989 Rookie of the Year with a 6.4 WAR campaign.

Rahim had 5+ WAR in all 12 of his pro seasons and topped 7+ in seven seasons. In 1991, he led the Indian league with 50 home runs. The next year, Rahim won his first Silver Slugger by leading in WAR (10.2), wRC+ (205), slugging (.641), and OPS (1.002). Despite also having 48 home runs, Rahim wasn’t an MVP finalist. He wouldn’t win any more awards with Bengaluru despite his excellent results.

Rahim was popular though with Bengaluru fans and with Indian fans. He played on the national team from 1990-2001 in the World Baseball Championship, but saw limited use. Rahim only played 36 games with 14 starts, posting 19 hits, 16 runs, 9 home runs, 24 RBI, and 186 wRC+.

Bengaluru had been a top contender with seven straight playoff appearances from 1980-87. However, then had to rebuild after that and didn’t make the playoffs during Rahim’s run, averaging 73.6 wins per season. For his six year run, Rahim had 985 hits, 526 runs, 117 doubles, 241 home runs, 530 RBI, 227 stolen bases, a .278/.340/.555 slash, 180+ wRC+, and 45.4 WAR.

Rahim became a free agent after the 1995 season heading into his age 30 season. Ahmedabad was well into their dynasty at this point, having just won the title with a 124-win season. They were scooping up most of the free agent talent and Rahim was no exception, signing a five-year, $5,860,000 deal.

During that deal, he led in RBI in 1998 and put up four seasons with 40+ homers and four seasons worth 7+ WAR. Now on the top team, Rahim got attention and won five straight Silver Sluggers. He also took third in 1998 MVP voting, his only time as a finalist.

Rahim did emerge as a great playoff batter as the Animals’ dynasty rolled on. He was the SAB Championship MVP in both 1995 and 1996, then won the ILCS MVP in 1998 and 2001. Over 81 playoff starts, Rahim had 90 hits, 44 runs, 19 doubles, 25 home runs, 65 RBI, a .296/.341/.612 slash, 205 wRC+, and 4.7 WAR. Ahmedabad won the Indian League each year Rahim was there and won the SAB title in 1996, 1998, and 1999.

Rahim became a free agent after the 1999 season at age 34. He couldn’t reach a deal with Ahmedabad and no one else had the funds or willingness to pursue him. The loaded Animals squad actually only started him 101 games in 1999, but Rahim still posted a remarkable 7.5 WAR and 40 home runs anyway.

He sat out the 2000 season, but inked back up with Ahmedabad in 2001. Rahim had a stellar postseason, but suffered a partially torn labrum in the final. He was a free agent again and went unsigned in 2002, opting to retire that winter at age 36. With the Animals, Rahim had 831 hits, 509 runs, 130 doubles, 251 home runs, 621 RBI, a .273/.322/.577 slash, 188 wRC+, and 42.3 WAR.

Rahim ended with 1726 hits, 1035 runs, 247 doubles, 492 home runs, 1151 RBI, 369 stolen bases, a .276/.331/.566 slash, 184 wRC+, and 87.6 WAR. Like others of his era, he didn’t stay around long enough to rack up massive totals. Still, Rahim was excellent in his 12 year career. He earned a first ballot nod, albeit barely at 68.7%. Regardless, Rahim earned his enshrinement with the 2007 SAB class.



Hoai Truong – Third Base – Ho Chi Minh City – 66.7% Eighth Ballot

Hoai Truong was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed third baseman from Hai Phong, Vietnam’s third largest city. Truong was a great contact hitter that was excellent at avoiding strikeouts. His gap power was terrific with 33 doubles and 15 triples per his 162 game average. Truong also got you around 20 home runs per year and was decent at drawing walks. His baserunning speed and ability were considered above average.

Defensively, Truong played only at third base. He had an absolute cannon arm, which allowed him to grade out as a respectable defender despite having merely average range and glovesmanship. Truong did have sporadic injury issues, but still gave you strong numbers each year. He was a fan favorite known for his loyalty and work ethic. Truong ended up becoming one of the first major Vietnamese baseball superstars.

While many greats joined Ho Chi Minh City later on after the dynasty started, Truong was there from the very beginning. The Hedgehogs picked him ninth overall in the 1981 SAB Draft and put him into the starting lineup immediately. Truong posted 5.5 WAR in his debut season, winning the 1982 Rookie of the Year. He was the full-time starter for the next 12 years, only missing time to sporadic injuries.

Truong was merely okay in year two with 2.9 WAR and 108 wRC+, but he became a reliably great starter after that. He had seven seasons worth 6+ WAR, winning Silver Sluggers in 1984 and 1988. Truong generally wasn’t a league leader, but did lead in triples in both 1983 and 1985. 1988 was his finest season, winning a batting title at .337 and posting a career best 9.2 WAR. That was Truong’s lone MVP.

Ho Chi Minh City gave him a five-year, $926,000 extension after the 1984 season. Then in summer 1989, Truong got a six-year, $5,100,000 extension. He was a home grown talent as the Hedgehogs began their dominance of the Southeast Asia League. 1982 and 1986 were the only seasons they missed the playoffs during Truong’s run.

HCMC made it to the SEAL Championship seven times from 1987-94, winning the pennant in 1987, 89, 90, 92, and 94. Each of those years though, they lost to Ahmedabad’s dynasty in the SAB Championship. Truong never got the SAB ring, but you couldn’t blame him. In 120 playoff starts, he had 131 hits, 64 runs, 18 doubles, 11 triples, 16 home runs, 57 RBI, a .281/.340/.470 slash, 133 wRC+, and 3.8 WAR. Truong was also the SEAL Championship MVP in 1989.

Truong also was a regular for Vietnam in the World Baseball Championship. From 1982-95, he played 107 games with 95 starts, getting 83 hits, 40 runs, 16 doubles, 13 home runs, 36 RBI, a .232/.297/.409 slash, 101 wRC+, and 1.1 WAR. Although he wasn’t dominant in the WBC, that and his role with HCMC made Truong one of Vietnam’s favorite baseball starts.

Truong had a streak from 1987-91 of 6+ WAR seasons, even posting it in 1990 despite losing two months to injuries. He started to decline a bit in 1992 and was relegated to a part-time role in 1993. Truong was back as a full-timer in 1994 and still provided 3.3 WAR, although his hitting was an unremarkable 106 wRC+.

Truong’s gap power and contact skills were both starting to fade. Ho Chi Minh City bought out the last year of his contract for $130,000, making him a free agent after the 1994 season. Truong still played for Vietnam in the 1995 WBC, but couldn’t find a home that season. Truong still hoped to catch on somewhere in 1996, but finally retired that winter at age 37.

Truong’s final stats saw 1977 hits, 942 runs, 352 doubles, 162 triples, 223 home runs, 1051 RBI, a .300/.347/.504 slash, 140 wRC+, and 71.1 WAR. It was a very solid career, but he lacked the league leading stats and big hardware apart from his one MVP. Truong was very popular, but he didn’t pop out on the absolutely loaded HCMC squads of the era.

The debut for Truong saw 41.7% and he stayed mostly in the 40s for his first few years on the ballot. He got a bump to 57.6% in 2005, but dropped back down to 48.8% in 2006. On his eighth try in 2007, Truong barely crossed the line at 66.7%. He was the third and final member of SAB’s 2007 class.