OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

FuzzyRussianHat · 10-17-2024, 07:52 PM

Baseball quickly grew in popularity in the Arab world and Arab League Baseball began looking into expansion after 20+ years. The general thought was to eventually grow each conference’s three divisions by one team, creating three divisions of five teams each. However, getting there all at once would require adding six teams, which many franchises thought was too many too soon due to concerns about diluting the talent pool. There were others who wondered if six viable markets were ready to have a big league team.

As discussions continued in the early 2010s, eventually it was settled on expanding with four teams first, then later adding the other two to get to 30 total teams. In the interim, each conference would have two divisions with five teams and one with four. The postseason format remained the same with only the three division champions advancing. The eventual expansion year would be for the 2016 season.

The Western Conference saw the Egypt-based Suez Sabres added to the Nile Division and the Algeria-based Oran Rattlesnakes posted in the Mediterranean Division. The Eastern Conference would see a bit of realignment, as the two additions would both go into the Gulf Division; the Oman-based Muscat Threshers and the Bahrain Blitz. This required one team to switch divisions and Kuwait was sent out of the Gulf. The Whales joined the four Iraqi teams and the former Iraq Division became the Mesopotamia Division.

This left the Saudi Division and the Levant Division as the two remaining with four teams. They would each gain a team in the second expansion in 2024 with the Syria-based Aleppo Alliance for the Levant Division. Yemen would get its first team with the Sanaa Shockers and the Saudi Division would be renamed the Arabia Division.

The three Western Conference division winners took their spots by double-digits, although the gap between the #1 seed and #3 seed was only four games. Giza surprised many by earning the top seed at 101-61 atop the Nile Division. It was the Goats’ first playoff berth since 2010. Alexandria had won five-straight division titles since then, but finished third in 2016 at 86-76. Khartoum was second at 89-73 and Cairo was a respectable 81-81.

Reigning Arab League Champion Casablanca repeated in the Mediterranean Division, finishing 11 games ahead of Algiers and 15 better than Tunis. Damascus earned a third straight Levant Division crown and was the only team in the division with a winning record. The Dusters led in runs scored at 785, while Giza allowed the fewest at 565. Expansion Suez made bad history debuting at 46-116, which remains the ALB’s all-time worst record as of 2037.

Western Conference MVP went to four-year Damascus RF Tzidkiel Monnish. The 25-year old Israeli switch-hitter led in runs (121), doubles (46), OPS (1.033), wRC+ (189), and WAR (8.3). Monnish added 44 home runs, 124 RBI, and a .333 average. Although he never won MVP again, Monnish became a staple for the Dusters over the next decade, signing a massive eight-year, $136,400,000 extension in 2019.

Damascus also had the Pitcher of the Year Ziyad bin Mostafa, winning for the second time (2012). The 32-year old Jordanian lefty earned his lone ERA title at 1.99. In 212.2 innings, bin Mostafa had a 16-5 record, 234 strikeouts, 189 ERA+, and 6.2 WAR.

The first round saw a rematch of the prior year’s Western Conference Final. Damascus got revenge 2-0 over Casablanca to guarantee their third straight WCF appearance. Giza was the #1 seed in only their second-ever WCF (2006). The series needed all five games with the Dusters getting the 3-2 upset over the Goats. Damascus earned their second pennant in three years, having won their first in 2014.

Both Jeddah and Abu Dhabi had historic seasons in the Eastern Conference. The Destroyers set a franchise-record at 114-48, earning a fifth straight Gulf Division title and their sixth in seven years. However, that wasn’t good enough for the #1 seed thanks to Jeddah at 117-45. The Jackals earned an eighth consecutive Saudi Division crown and guaranteed their third EC Final appearance in four years. Jeddah’s record was the second-best in ALB history, only behind Mosul’s 121-41 from 2000.

Both teams had impressive pitching staffs with the fewest runs allowed in ALB, but Jeddah’s 475 was the third fewest in ALB history at that point. As of 2037, that ranks third in conference history, as does their 11.95 K/9 and 1952 strikeouts. The Jackals staff also had only 255 walks and a 1.56 BB/9, which remain all-time EC bests. While Abu Dhabi allowed 553 runs by comparison, the Destroyers led ALB in runs scored at 837.

The Mesopotamia Division was a tight battle that didn’t include defending conference champ Sulaymaniyah, as the Sultans collapsed to 60-102. Mosul at 90-72 edged out 88-74 efforts by Basra and Kuwait. The Muskies ended a 13-year playoff drought. The Whales notably bounced back from an abysmal 50-win 2015. Of note from the expansion teams, Bahrain fared the best with a 78-84 debut in the Gulf Division.

Leading the Abu Dhabi offense was Eastern Conference MVP Adham Abdallah. The 27-year old Tunisian DH led in runs (127), home runs (63), RBI (151), total bases (460), slugging (.720), OPS (1.096), and wRC+ (189). Abdallah added 8.2 WAR and his .340 average was 14 points short of a Triple Crown. The Destroyers had extended Abdallah for six years and $28,580,000 after the 2012 campaign. He was only the fourth player in ALB history to breach 150+ RBI.

Jeddah’s Khamis Sheik won Pitcher of the Year and nearly broke the ERA record at 1.56. This is still the second-lowest qualifying season in ALB history behind Hossam Bouaziz’s 1.45 from 1993. The 26-year old Somali lefty also fell one short of the wins record at 26-3 and led in WHIP (0.82), K/BB (11.7), quality starts (26), and WAR (10.4). Sheik struck out 338 batters over 231.1 innings, 12 short of a Triple Crown, and had a 260 ERA+. The Jackals gave him a four-year, $37,400,000 extension mid-season.

Mosul gave Abu Dhabi a strong challenge in the first round, but the Destroyers escaped 2-1 to set up the historic showdown with Jeddah. AD earned their third straight Eastern Conference Final appearance. They had lost to the Jackals in the 2014 conference final and in the 2013 first round. The Destroyers did have a first round win in 2012 en route to their lone pennant prior.

The 117-45 versus 114-48 matchup potentially was the most wins ever in a sub-league final in pro baseball history. Abu Dhabi earned the road upset over Jeddah 3-1 to even up their recent playoff battles at 2-2. The Jackals as the second-winningest team in ALB history suffered the same fate as the #1 team Mosul, who also lost in the conference final despite going 121-41.

The Destroyers became the third-winningest team to win a pennant in ALB history, behind only 116-win Medina (1993) and Amman (2010). Both of those all-timers went on to win it all. However, Abu Dhabi didn’t have the same luck as Damascus won the 27^th Arab League Championship handily 4-1. The Dusters became the 14^th of ALB’s original 24 franchises to win it all. Conference MVP Tzidkiel Monnish was also finals MVP for Damascus. In 12 playoff starts, he had 12 hits, 8 runs, 2 doubles, 2 homers, and 7 RBI.

Other notes: For the first time in ALB history (and as of 2037, the only time), there were two perfect games in the same season. There hadn’t been a perfecto since 2007. The 5^th perfect game came on July 3 by Tripoli’s Wilfried Niang with 13 strikeouts against Beirut. Then on July 31, Doha’s Amjad Yousif did it with seven strikeouts over Bahrain.

Farouk Adam became the fifth to reach 1500 runs scored. He eventually retired with 1817, which still sits fifth as of 2037. Moahmed Grisha became the 10^th batter to reach 2500 hits. Yahya bin Hakam was the 14^th to 500 home runs. 2B Mohamed Mustafa won his tenth Silver Slugger. It was his seventh straight at second base, having won his first three as a shortstop.

Abdullah Al-Tamtami was the second pitcher to 4000 strikeouts, passing Rashid Tariq’s 4008 for the all-time leader. This was Al-Tamtami’s last season, ending with 4035. He held the top spot for about a decade and ranks fifth as of 2037. Nour Al-Haj was the sixth reliever to reach 300 saves.

10-17-2024, 07:52 PM	#1710
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,961	2016 in ALB Baseball quickly grew in popularity in the Arab world and Arab League Baseball began looking into expansion after 20+ years. The general thought was to eventually grow each conference’s three divisions by one team, creating three divisions of five teams each. However, getting there all at once would require adding six teams, which many franchises thought was too many too soon due to concerns about diluting the talent pool. There were others who wondered if six viable markets were ready to have a big league team. As discussions continued in the early 2010s, eventually it was settled on expanding with four teams first, then later adding the other two to get to 30 total teams. In the interim, each conference would have two divisions with five teams and one with four. The postseason format remained the same with only the three division champions advancing. The eventual expansion year would be for the 2016 season. The Western Conference saw the Egypt-based Suez Sabres added to the Nile Division and the Algeria-based Oran Rattlesnakes posted in the Mediterranean Division. The Eastern Conference would see a bit of realignment, as the two additions would both go into the Gulf Division; the Oman-based Muscat Threshers and the Bahrain Blitz. This required one team to switch divisions and Kuwait was sent out of the Gulf. The Whales joined the four Iraqi teams and the former Iraq Division became the Mesopotamia Division. This left the Saudi Division and the Levant Division as the two remaining with four teams. They would each gain a team in the second expansion in 2024 with the Syria-based Aleppo Alliance for the Levant Division. Yemen would get its first team with the Sanaa Shockers and the Saudi Division would be renamed the Arabia Division. The three Western Conference division winners took their spots by double-digits, although the gap between the #1 seed and #3 seed was only four games. Giza surprised many by earning the top seed at 101-61 atop the Nile Division. It was the Goats’ first playoff berth since 2010. Alexandria had won five-straight division titles since then, but finished third in 2016 at 86-76. Khartoum was second at 89-73 and Cairo was a respectable 81-81. Reigning Arab League Champion Casablanca repeated in the Mediterranean Division, finishing 11 games ahead of Algiers and 15 better than Tunis. Damascus earned a third straight Levant Division crown and was the only team in the division with a winning record. The Dusters led in runs scored at 785, while Giza allowed the fewest at 565. Expansion Suez made bad history debuting at 46-116, which remains the ALB’s all-time worst record as of 2037. Western Conference MVP went to four-year Damascus RF Tzidkiel Monnish. The 25-year old Israeli switch-hitter led in runs (121), doubles (46), OPS (1.033), wRC+ (189), and WAR (8.3). Monnish added 44 home runs, 124 RBI, and a .333 average. Although he never won MVP again, Monnish became a staple for the Dusters over the next decade, signing a massive eight-year, $136,400,000 extension in 2019. Damascus also had the Pitcher of the Year Ziyad bin Mostafa, winning for the second time (2012). The 32-year old Jordanian lefty earned his lone ERA title at 1.99. In 212.2 innings, bin Mostafa had a 16-5 record, 234 strikeouts, 189 ERA+, and 6.2 WAR. The first round saw a rematch of the prior year’s Western Conference Final. Damascus got revenge 2-0 over Casablanca to guarantee their third straight WCF appearance. Giza was the #1 seed in only their second-ever WCF (2006). The series needed all five games with the Dusters getting the 3-2 upset over the Goats. Damascus earned their second pennant in three years, having won their first in 2014. Both Jeddah and Abu Dhabi had historic seasons in the Eastern Conference. The Destroyers set a franchise-record at 114-48, earning a fifth straight Gulf Division title and their sixth in seven years. However, that wasn’t good enough for the #1 seed thanks to Jeddah at 117-45. The Jackals earned an eighth consecutive Saudi Division crown and guaranteed their third EC Final appearance in four years. Jeddah’s record was the second-best in ALB history, only behind Mosul’s 121-41 from 2000. Both teams had impressive pitching staffs with the fewest runs allowed in ALB, but Jeddah’s 475 was the third fewest in ALB history at that point. As of 2037, that ranks third in conference history, as does their 11.95 K/9 and 1952 strikeouts. The Jackals staff also had only 255 walks and a 1.56 BB/9, which remain all-time EC bests. While Abu Dhabi allowed 553 runs by comparison, the Destroyers led ALB in runs scored at 837. The Mesopotamia Division was a tight battle that didn’t include defending conference champ Sulaymaniyah, as the Sultans collapsed to 60-102. Mosul at 90-72 edged out 88-74 efforts by Basra and Kuwait. The Muskies ended a 13-year playoff drought. The Whales notably bounced back from an abysmal 50-win 2015. Of note from the expansion teams, Bahrain fared the best with a 78-84 debut in the Gulf Division. Leading the Abu Dhabi offense was Eastern Conference MVP Adham Abdallah. The 27-year old Tunisian DH led in runs (127), home runs (63), RBI (151), total bases (460), slugging (.720), OPS (1.096), and wRC+ (189). Abdallah added 8.2 WAR and his .340 average was 14 points short of a Triple Crown. The Destroyers had extended Abdallah for six years and $28,580,000 after the 2012 campaign. He was only the fourth player in ALB history to breach 150+ RBI. Jeddah’s Khamis Sheik won Pitcher of the Year and nearly broke the ERA record at 1.56. This is still the second-lowest qualifying season in ALB history behind Hossam Bouaziz’s 1.45 from 1993. The 26-year old Somali lefty also fell one short of the wins record at 26-3 and led in WHIP (0.82), K/BB (11.7), quality starts (26), and WAR (10.4). Sheik struck out 338 batters over 231.1 innings, 12 short of a Triple Crown, and had a 260 ERA+. The Jackals gave him a four-year, $37,400,000 extension mid-season. Mosul gave Abu Dhabi a strong challenge in the first round, but the Destroyers escaped 2-1 to set up the historic showdown with Jeddah. AD earned their third straight Eastern Conference Final appearance. They had lost to the Jackals in the 2014 conference final and in the 2013 first round. The Destroyers did have a first round win in 2012 en route to their lone pennant prior. The 117-45 versus 114-48 matchup potentially was the most wins ever in a sub-league final in pro baseball history. Abu Dhabi earned the road upset over Jeddah 3-1 to even up their recent playoff battles at 2-2. The Jackals as the second-winningest team in ALB history suffered the same fate as the #1 team Mosul, who also lost in the conference final despite going 121-41. The Destroyers became the third-winningest team to win a pennant in ALB history, behind only 116-win Medina (1993) and Amman (2010). Both of those all-timers went on to win it all. However, Abu Dhabi didn’t have the same luck as Damascus won the 27^th Arab League Championship handily 4-1. The Dusters became the 14^th of ALB’s original 24 franchises to win it all. Conference MVP Tzidkiel Monnish was also finals MVP for Damascus. In 12 playoff starts, he had 12 hits, 8 runs, 2 doubles, 2 homers, and 7 RBI. Other notes: For the first time in ALB history (and as of 2037, the only time), there were two perfect games in the same season. There hadn’t been a perfecto since 2007. The 5^th perfect game came on July 3 by Tripoli’s Wilfried Niang with 13 strikeouts against Beirut. Then on July 31, Doha’s Amjad Yousif did it with seven strikeouts over Bahrain. Farouk Adam became the fifth to reach 1500 runs scored. He eventually retired with 1817, which still sits fifth as of 2037. Moahmed Grisha became the 10^th batter to reach 2500 hits. Yahya bin Hakam was the 14^th to 500 home runs. 2B Mohamed Mustafa won his tenth Silver Slugger. It was his seventh straight at second base, having won his first three as a shortstop. Abdullah Al-Tamtami was the second pitcher to 4000 strikeouts, passing Rashid Tariq’s 4008 for the all-time leader. This was Al-Tamtami’s last season, ending with 4035. He held the top spot for about a decade and ranks fifth as of 2037. Nour Al-Haj was the sixth reliever to reach 300 saves. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)