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Pitcher Ilwad Maxamed became the fifth member of the Arab League Baseball Hall of Fame, finally making the cut on his sixth ballot. He only barely breached the 66% requirement at 68.8%. Closer Khadr Seif fell painfully short with 65.2% for his second try. Closer Khemais Khalid had 58.0% on his sixth ballot and SP Nacerdine Rahim was at 53.9% on his fifth try. The best debut was SP Radwan Daoudi, barely staying on the ballot at 7.1%. No one was dropped after ten failed attempts.



Ilwad Maxamed – Starting Pitcher – Casablanca Bruins – 68.8% Sixth Ballot

Ilwad Maxamed was a 5’9’’, 195 pound left-handed pitcher from Bosaso, historically known as Bender Cassim. It is a city in northeastern Somalia with around 700,000. Maxamed wasn’t outstanding at anything, but he was generally above average to good in terms of stuff, movement, and control. His fastball hit the 94-96 mph range and was mixed with a curveball and changeup. Maxamed’s changeup was considered his most deadly pitch.

Maxamed did have excellent stamina and durability, leading the conference twice in innings and four times in complete games. He had excellent durability and regularly started 32+ games until his final season. Maxamed was a team captain and well respected across the game for his leadership and work ethic.

By the time Arab League Baseball started for the 1990 season, Maxamed was established in the various semi-pro and barnstorming leagues of the region. He was already 29 years old, but viewed as a potential ace for the new league. Maxamed’s first ALB deal was signed for five years and $3,970,000 with Casablanca, sending him the Somali westward to Morocco.

In his five seasons with the Bruins, Maxamed led the Western Conference in shutouts each year, complete games four times, wins twice, and innings twice. Each season was worth 5+ WAR with a career best 7.8 WAR in 1991. Maxamed was third in Pitcher of the Year voting in both 1992 and 1993, but never won the top honor. Among his shutouts was a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts and no walks on September 23, 1991 versus Damascus.

Casablanca would be one of the first successful franchises and Maxamed played a big role. The Bruins earned conference finals berths in 1990, 92, 93, and 94. They won pennants in 1993 and 1994 and earned their first Arab League Championship ring in 1994 against Medina, preventing a three-peat by the Mastodons.

In seven playoff starts, Maxamed had a 4-2 record, 2.49 ERA, 47 innings, 34 strikeouts, 11 walks, 142 ERA+, and 1.1 WAR. In total for Casablanca, Maxamed had a 94-52 record, 3.08 ERA, 1329 innings, 1306 strikeouts, 271 walks, 112/173 quality starts, 60 complete games, 22 shutouts, 112 ERA+, and 29.1 WAR.

His deal expired after the 1994 campaign and Maxamed was a free agent at age 34. Next up was a move to Egypt and a five-year, $7,400,000 deal with Cairo. Maxamed led in wins in 1996 and topped 4+ WAR four times, peaking with 6.1 in 1995. He otherwise wasn’t a league leader or awards candidate with the Pharaohs.

Cairo was the Western Conference runner-up in 1995, then won the ALB Championship in 1996. Maxamed had a 2.95 ERA over his 36.2 playoff innings for the Pharaohs, striking out 41 with 5 walks, a 129 ERA+, and 1.8 WAR. His role in leading two teams to titles garnered plenty of respect. Cairo remained good for his final three years, but couldn’t overcome a fledgling Khartoum squad in the Nile Division.

For his playoff career, Maxamed had a 6-3 record, 2.69 ERA, 83.2 innings, 75 strikeouts, 16 walks, 136 ERA+, 64 FIP-, and 2.8 WAR. He was moved to a part-time role in his last year with Cairo, finishing his tenure there with a 71-55 record, 3.78 ERA, 1122.1 innings, 996 strikeouts, 245 walks, 94/160 quality starts, 102 ERA+, and 22.9 WAR.

Maxamed was now 39 years old and still trying to play somewhere. He ended up in Russia with Samara, who just joined Eurasian Professional Baseball as an expansion team following the great exodus that winter of teams to EBF and ABF. The new Steelers squad gave Maxamed three years and $5,880,000, expecting him to help them establish themselves.

Sadly, Maxamed never played an inning for Samara. He suffered rotator cuff inflammation in spring training and never could get it to go away. A setback in May led to doctors telling Maxamed he had to retire from the game at age 39.

Maxamed finished with a 165-107 record, 3.40 ERA, 2451.1 innings, 2302 strikeouts, 516 walks, 206/333 quality starts, 80 complete games, 29 shutouts, 107 ERA+, 84 FIP-, and 52.0 WAR. Like many early days guys, Maxamed was hurt by starting his official career at age 29, thus making his final accumulations on the lower end. Advanced stats also suggested that he might have been a “Hall of Pretty Good” type guy and he lacked the awards and big stats.

Still, Maxamed had very strong playoff numbers, helping two franchises win rings. His leadership and respect across the game were major plusses. Maxamed would debut with a mere 40.2% in 2005, although he slowly climbed his way up.

By 2009, Maxamed got to 62.1%, just missing the 66% requirement. With no impressive debuts in 2010, Maxamed got the bump he needed to 68.8%. With that, he earned a sixth ballot addition as the lone 2010 inductee for the Arab League Baseball Hall of Fame.