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Mohamed Wael – Starting Pitcher – Khartoum Cottonmouths – 98.4% First Ballot

Mohamed Wael was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Shubra El Kheima, Egypt’s fourth largest city. It has around 1,240,000 people and is part of the greater Cairo area. Wael had excellent stuff with above average to good movement and control. His fastball his the 96-98 mph range and was complimented by a forkball, changeup, and curveball.

Wael’s stamina was average to below average relative to other ALB aces. However, he was an ironman that started 34+ games in all 13 of his full ALB seasons. Wael was one of the hardest working guys in the game and his popularity and notoriety at times rivaled his Hall of Fame classmate Rashid Tariq.

Like Tariq, Wael was a top prospect in the first rookie draft in 1990. He was picked 11^th overall by Khartoum, but only saw eight relief appearances in 1991. Wael was moved to the rotation full-time the next year and took second in 1992 Rookie of the Year voting. He was a dominant ace by 1993 and from 1993-1997, Wael led the Western Conference in both strikeouts and WAR four times.

Wael was second in 1993 Pitcher of the Year voting, leading in WAR (10.5), strikeouts (314), K/BB (10.1), and WHIP (0.70). He took second despite setting multiple single-season records that still hold in 2037. Wael’s 0.70 WHIP, 5.14 H/9, opponent’s triple slash (.165/.202/.258), and opponent’s OPS (.460) are each all-time single-season ALB bests.

In 1994, Wael again led in WAR (10.5) and strikeouts (338), but this time led in wins too at 21-4. He won Pitcher of the Year and finished second in ERA at 1.83. Wael finished second in POTY voting in 1995, again leading in wins and WHIP. In 1996, Wael led in Ks (300) and WAR (8.7) again, but took second. 1996 also featured a no-hitter on May 18 against Beirut with nine strikeouts and four walks.

Despite his efforts, Khartoum was stuck in the middle tier, averaging 82 wins per season in Wael’s first six years. Things changed with 1997, which saw Wael’s second Pitcher of the Year. It was his first ERA title (2.36) and he also led in strikeouts and WAR again. Khartoum earned its first-ever playoff berth and the top seed at 105-57. Wael posted a 2.08 ERA in 13 playoff innings with the Cottonmouths winning the Western Conference title, falling to Doha in the ALB Championship.

Wael won a third Pitcher of the Year in 1998 with his second ERA title and fourth time leading in WHIP. He struggled in the playoffs with a 6.00 ERA over 21 innings, but Khartoum repeated regardless as conference champs despite dropping to 86-76. They lost the Arab League Championship matchup against Mosul.

All the while, Wael had pitched for his native Egypt in the World Baseball Championship regularly. He had 203.1 innings from 1993-2008 and posted a 9-13 record, 3.14 ERA, 272 strikeouts, 57 walks, 115 ERA+, and 5.5 WAR. Wael continued to pitch for Egypt even after he left the Arab League.

May 1999 saw a five-year, $7,880,000 extension for Wael, although the season had a 3.19 ERA, a career worst to that point. He tossed seven shutout innings in his one playoff start as Khartoum had the #1 seed, but was upset by Amman in the conference final. The Cottonmouths would be stuck back around .500 for the remainder of Wael’s run. He had an unremarkable 3.73 ERA over his seven playoff starts there.

Wael bounced back with his fifth WARlord season in 2000, taking third in Pitcher of the Year voting. He was respectable, but not outstanding in 2001 and 2002. In 2003, Wael returned to form and led in strikeouts for the fifth time, WAR for the sixth time, and WHIP for the fifth time. He finished third in POTY voting.

One year remained on his Khartoum deal, but they opted to trade the 34-year old ace within the division to Alexandria for outfield prospects Mido bin Zahoor and Hamza Moheisen. His one year with the Astronauts was excellent, earning the second-ever pitching Triple Crown season with a 22-8 record, 2.36 ERA, and career best 359 strikeouts. This made Wael a four-time Pitcher of the Year winner.

Alexandria took the top seed at 106-56, but lost to Beirut in the conference final. Wael struggled in six playoff innings, allowing 10 runs. It was a lackluster way to end an otherwise brilliant run in the Arab League. A free agent at age 35, Wael left for Major League Baseball on a three-year, $29,400,000 deal with Quebec City.

In ALB, Wael had a 225-105 record, 2.47 ERA, 3087.1 innings, 3977 strikeouts, 569 walks, 331/462 quality starts, 26 complete games, 152 ERA+, and 101.9 WAR. He was often right there with HOF classmate Tariq on the pitching leaderboards. Some thought Wael might get more play in the GOAT conversations had his final five seasons stayed in ALB.

As of 2037, he’s still fifth in WAR, eighth in strikeouts, eighth in wins, and 16^th in innings. His rate stats are tremendous and he still ranks first in 2037 among all pitchers with 1000+ innings in WHIP (0.91) and opponent’s OBP (.248). Wael also is third in ERA and second in OPS (.576). He has the best OPS of starters, behind fellow 2011 HOFer Khadr Seif.

Certainly, you could see how Wael might have made a run at some of Tariq’s all-time numbers. Four POTYs versus seven, plus Wael’s mediocre playoff stats, certainly puts Tariq ahead in the minds of most. But Wael’s resume was still a lock and he finished with the same 98.4% as Tariq. Thus, they co-headlined the 2011 ALB Hall of Fame class as the top pitchers of their era.

Wael debuted in MLB in 2005 and looked below average, getting demoted to a part-time role. He made it back to a full-time spot with strong numbers in 2006 with a 2.63 ERA and 5.0 WAR. Wael had 4.3 WAR and a 3.93 in 2007. He also had a 1.54 ERA over 11.2 playoff innings as Quebec City lost in the 2005 National Association Championship Series and the second round in 2006.

With the Nordiques, Wael had a 40-27 record, 3.36 ERA, 646.1 innings, 525 strikeouts, 144 walks, 101 ERA+, and 11.2 WAR. A free agent again and now 38, Austin gave him a two-year, $14,200,000 deal. Wael looked decent in 12 starts with a 3.15 ERA and 2.0 WAR, but the Amigos surprisingly cut him loose in June.

Portland picked him up soon after, although a hamstring strain knocked him out in September. He had a 3.41 ERA and 1.3 WAR over 108.1 innings. This ended his MLB tenure, but Wael still wanted to pitch somewhere. He posted a 51-35 record, 3.34 ERA, 851.2 innings, 661 strikeouts, 104 ERA+, and 14.6 WAR in his MLB career.

West African Baseball’s Port Harcourt gave him a three-year, $7,800,000 deal with expectations of solid things. Wael struggled in his one season with the Hillcats, posting a 4.57 ERA and 2.6 WAR over 203 innings. He remained on roster for all of 2010, but never saw the field. Wael retired from the game that winter at age 41.

For his entire career, Wael had a 285-151 record, 2.75 ERA, 4142 innings, 4799 strikeouts, 837 walks, 411/598 quality starts, 135 ERA+, and 119.0 WAR. He was certainly one of the strongest pitchers to come from Arab League Baseball’s first decade of play and is often a part of any conversation about ALB’s top five pitchers ever.



Khadr Seif – Closer – Amman Aviators – 67.4% Third Ballot

Khadr Seif was a 6’0’’, 205 pound right-handed relief pitcher from Irbid, Jordan; the nation’s third largest city with around 569,000 inhabitants. Seif had terrific stuff with an impressive 98-100 mph fastball and an even better splitter. His movement was reliably good, but his control was below average to poor. Seif had excellent durability, but a lack of stamina and a third pitch confined him to the bullpen.

Seif had just started a pro career by the time Arab League Baseball formed for the 1990 season, giving him free agency at age 22 to start. He signed with his home country team Amman. Seif was the starting closer for five seasons and won Reliever of the Year honors in 1993 with a 1.69 ERA and 136 strikeouts over 90.1 innings with 31 saves. Seif was third in ROTY voting in 1994.

Amman finished below .500 in their first five seasons. Seif had a reduced role in 1995, but had a 0.79 ERA over 45.1 innings. The Aviators won their first-ever division title, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to Cairo. This ended Seif’s first run with Amman after six seasons with 167 saves, 841 strikeouts, 523.2 innings, 2.02 ERA, and 19.4 WAR.

Just before the 1996 season started, Seif was traded to Cairo for three prospects and a draft pick. He was a part-time closer with the Pharaohs in 1996, but helped them win the Arab League Championship over Mosul. They missed the playoffs in 1997, but Seif saw his only season as the saves leader with 39. That secured him his second Reliever of the Year.

A free agent at age 30, Seif signed a three-year, $2,220,000 deal with Basra. He repeated as Reliever of the Year in 1998, but was moved out of the closer role by his third season with the Bulldogs. In three seasons there, he had a .238 ERA, 77 saves, 230.1 innings, 320 strikeouts, and 5.3 WAR. While there, he also became the first ALB reliever to 300 career saves.

Seif signed a one-year deal in 2001 with Kuwait, but was traded to Cairo in the summer. He had 66 saves, a 1.86 ERA, 169.1 innings, 257 strikeouts, and 7.2 WAR between his Cairo stints. Seif’s only playoff appearances came with the Pharaohs with 3 runs allowed over 6 innings with 9 strikeouts. In 2002, Seif started in Beirut and was traded to Jeddah in June.

Amman brought him back in 2003, but he was traded in July to Khartoum. That was his last ALB season, although he saw stints in AAB with Johannesburg and Dar es Salaam in 2004. He earned a championship ring in 2004 with the Sabercats, although he only had one appearance with them. Seif retired after the 2004 season at age 37.

In ALB, Seif had 357 saves and 444 shutdowns over 1118.1 innings, a 2.19 ERA, 1715 strikeouts, 413 walks, 166 ERA+, and 34.8 WAR. Combining his brief AAB run, he had 1136.2 innings, 1731 strikeouts, and 35.1 WAR. Seif retired as ALB’s saves leader and still ranks third as of 2037.

His rate stats were also excellent. As of 2037, Seif leads all pitchers with 1000+ innings in career ERA, H/9 (5.71), opponent’s batting average (.180), slugging (.301), and OPS (.564). However, Seif’s lack of postseason success hurt him with some voters. Others thought the first-ever reliever into the Hall of Fame needed more eye-popping numbers.

Seif barely missed the cut in his first two ballots. He fell short of the 66% requirement by less than one point at 65.1% and 65.2%. His third ballot got the very slight bump to 67.4%. Seif was the third member of the 2011 ALB Hall of Fame class and the first relief pitcher to earn the nod.