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FuzzyRussianHat · 12-03-2024, 07:09 AM

RF Hongbo Wan joined Class of 2007 inductee Baoxian He as the only tenth ballot Hall of Fame inductees in Chinese League Baseball history. Wan was the only addition for 2020, making it in on his final try at 73.8%. Two others came very close to the 66% requirement. The best debut was CL Boyang Cao at 64.6%, while LF Seok-Hyeon So received 64.0% for his seventh try. Two others were above 50% with RF Minghui Ruan at 55.7% on his fifth ballot and CL Jingxing Zhang at 50.5% for his second go. No players were dropped after ten failed tries.

Hongbo “Iguana” Wan – Right Field – Qingdao Devils – 73.8% Tenth Ballot

Hongbo Wan was a 6’0’’, 190 pound left-handed right fielder from Hegang, China; a prefecture-level city of 891,000 inhabitants in the northeast near the Russian border. Nicknamed “Iguana,” Wan was a well-rounded batter with good-to-great contact, power, and eye. His 162 game average saw 22 doubles, 20 triples, and 25 home runs; strong extra-base hit numbers in the very low scoring environment of CLB. Wan’s main downside a batter was a poor strikeout rate despite his other skills.

Wan was an excellent baserunner with good speed, often creating opportunities with his legs. The majority of his starts came in right field, where he graded as reliably average defensively. Wan moved to first base in his final years with passable results. He also played a little center field early on, but didn’t have the range for that spot. Assorted injuries greatly limited Wan despite a 16-year career, as he missed a month or more in six different seasons.

He tore through China’s amateur circuit and was the #1 overall pick by Qingdao in the 1989 CLB Draft. Wan’s entire career came with the Devils and he had an impactful debut. His rookie season saw a league-best 24 triples and he became one of a select few Rookie of the Year winners with 8+ WAR in his debut season. He dipped a bit the next year, but still had 5+ WAR in each of his first seven seasons.

In 1992, Wan won Northern League MVP and his first Silver Slugger, leading the NL in runs (103), homers (38), total bases (339), slugging (.606), OPS (.971), wRC+ (212), and WAR (12.4). All these marks were career highs, as was his 158 hits, 71 stolen bases, .283 batting average, and .365 OBP. Qingdao ended a nine-year playoff drought for only their second-ever playoff berth. The Devils got to the China Series for the first time in franchise history, falling to the Dalian dynasty. Wan had 9 hits, 4 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, 5 RBI, and a 137 wRC+ in his lone playoff chance.

Qingdao the definition of mid over the next 13 years with no playoff berths and an average of 80.9 wins per season. Wan still thrived, winning additional Silver Sluggers in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, and 2000. He earned his second MVP in 1995, leading in runs (103), total bases (322), slugging (.560), and WAR (10.9). Wan was the WARlord and runs leader again in 1996, taking third in MVP voting. That year, Wan also hit 35 triples, which remains CLB’s single-season record as of 2037.

After the 1993 season, Wan signed an eight-year, $8,560,000 extension with Qingdao. 1997 saw setbacks with a fractured wrist and chronic back soreness costing him half the season. Wan would deal with smaller sporadic injuries into his 30s. He became the third player in CLB history to hit for the cycle twice, doing it in 1998 and 1999. At age 33, he signed a five-year, $24,000,000 extension after the 2000 season.

Wan also played for China from 1095-2001 in the World Baseball Championship. He was a big reason they were the runner-up in both 1995 and 1996, taking third in 1996’s MVP voting. Wan started 98 games with 97 hits, 73 runs, 17 doubles, 8 triples, 27 home runs, 66 RBI, 49 stolen bases, a .264/.351/.573 slash, 165 wRC+, and 5.9 WAR. This gave a sense of what Wan’s tallies would look like in a more neutral offensive environment.

In 2003, Wan suffered a strained PCL that kept him out roughly half the season. His hitting started to dip here with only 1.4 WAR and 119 wRC+ in 2004 despite a full load. Wan had -0.8 WAR then in 2005 which showed his time had ended. He retired that winter at age 38 and Qingdao immediately retired his #11 uniform.

Wan finished with 1781 hits, 1083 runs, 288 doubles, 258 triples, 331 home runs, 924 RBI, 776 walks, 641 stolen bases, a .241/.319/.485 slash, 164 wRC+, and 95.6 WAR. As of 2037, Wan ranks 9^th in runs scored, 61^st in hits, 21^st in total bases, 49^th in doubles, 5^th in triples, 50^th in home runs, 38^th in RBI, 29^th in stolen bases, 12^th in walks, and 26^th in WAR among position players.

Wan was also a popular player with two MVPs, but CLB voters were notoriously stingy when it came to hitters. Being on mostly forgettable Qingdao teams hurt him with some voters, although others appreciated his loyalty. Even for the low-scoring CLB, his .241 batting average was well below the normal standard for Hall of Famers with only two inductees to that point with less than .265. Supporters noted that nearly half of Wan’s hits were for extra bases.

He debuted in 2011 at 48.6% and never was lower, but he was stuck around 48% for the next two years. Wan got to 60.3% in 2014 and was above 60% each year from 2016-19. However, he just couldn’t get across the 66% requirement, peaking at 63.5%. 2020 was Wan’s tenth and final try, as well as a ballot without any strong contenders. He got the bump to 73.8% to finally secure that deserved spot. Wan was the lone CLB inductee in 2020 and the second in league history to make it on his tenth and final chance.

12-03-2024, 07:09 AM	#1850
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,952	2020 CLB Hall of Fame RF Hongbo Wan joined Class of 2007 inductee Baoxian He as the only tenth ballot Hall of Fame inductees in Chinese League Baseball history. Wan was the only addition for 2020, making it in on his final try at 73.8%. Two others came very close to the 66% requirement. The best debut was CL Boyang Cao at 64.6%, while LF Seok-Hyeon So received 64.0% for his seventh try. Two others were above 50% with RF Minghui Ruan at 55.7% on his fifth ballot and CL Jingxing Zhang at 50.5% for his second go. No players were dropped after ten failed tries. Hongbo “Iguana” Wan – Right Field – Qingdao Devils – 73.8% Tenth Ballot Hongbo Wan was a 6’0’’, 190 pound left-handed right fielder from Hegang, China; a prefecture-level city of 891,000 inhabitants in the northeast near the Russian border. Nicknamed “Iguana,” Wan was a well-rounded batter with good-to-great contact, power, and eye. His 162 game average saw 22 doubles, 20 triples, and 25 home runs; strong extra-base hit numbers in the very low scoring environment of CLB. Wan’s main downside a batter was a poor strikeout rate despite his other skills. Wan was an excellent baserunner with good speed, often creating opportunities with his legs. The majority of his starts came in right field, where he graded as reliably average defensively. Wan moved to first base in his final years with passable results. He also played a little center field early on, but didn’t have the range for that spot. Assorted injuries greatly limited Wan despite a 16-year career, as he missed a month or more in six different seasons. He tore through China’s amateur circuit and was the #1 overall pick by Qingdao in the 1989 CLB Draft. Wan’s entire career came with the Devils and he had an impactful debut. His rookie season saw a league-best 24 triples and he became one of a select few Rookie of the Year winners with 8+ WAR in his debut season. He dipped a bit the next year, but still had 5+ WAR in each of his first seven seasons. In 1992, Wan won Northern League MVP and his first Silver Slugger, leading the NL in runs (103), homers (38), total bases (339), slugging (.606), OPS (.971), wRC+ (212), and WAR (12.4). All these marks were career highs, as was his 158 hits, 71 stolen bases, .283 batting average, and .365 OBP. Qingdao ended a nine-year playoff drought for only their second-ever playoff berth. The Devils got to the China Series for the first time in franchise history, falling to the Dalian dynasty. Wan had 9 hits, 4 runs, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, 5 RBI, and a 137 wRC+ in his lone playoff chance. Qingdao the definition of mid over the next 13 years with no playoff berths and an average of 80.9 wins per season. Wan still thrived, winning additional Silver Sluggers in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, and 2000. He earned his second MVP in 1995, leading in runs (103), total bases (322), slugging (.560), and WAR (10.9). Wan was the WARlord and runs leader again in 1996, taking third in MVP voting. That year, Wan also hit 35 triples, which remains CLB’s single-season record as of 2037. After the 1993 season, Wan signed an eight-year, $8,560,000 extension with Qingdao. 1997 saw setbacks with a fractured wrist and chronic back soreness costing him half the season. Wan would deal with smaller sporadic injuries into his 30s. He became the third player in CLB history to hit for the cycle twice, doing it in 1998 and 1999. At age 33, he signed a five-year, $24,000,000 extension after the 2000 season. Wan also played for China from 1095-2001 in the World Baseball Championship. He was a big reason they were the runner-up in both 1995 and 1996, taking third in 1996’s MVP voting. Wan started 98 games with 97 hits, 73 runs, 17 doubles, 8 triples, 27 home runs, 66 RBI, 49 stolen bases, a .264/.351/.573 slash, 165 wRC+, and 5.9 WAR. This gave a sense of what Wan’s tallies would look like in a more neutral offensive environment. In 2003, Wan suffered a strained PCL that kept him out roughly half the season. His hitting started to dip here with only 1.4 WAR and 119 wRC+ in 2004 despite a full load. Wan had -0.8 WAR then in 2005 which showed his time had ended. He retired that winter at age 38 and Qingdao immediately retired his #11 uniform. Wan finished with 1781 hits, 1083 runs, 288 doubles, 258 triples, 331 home runs, 924 RBI, 776 walks, 641 stolen bases, a .241/.319/.485 slash, 164 wRC+, and 95.6 WAR. As of 2037, Wan ranks 9^th in runs scored, 61^st in hits, 21^st in total bases, 49^th in doubles, 5^th in triples, 50^th in home runs, 38^th in RBI, 29^th in stolen bases, 12^th in walks, and 26^th in WAR among position players. Wan was also a popular player with two MVPs, but CLB voters were notoriously stingy when it came to hitters. Being on mostly forgettable Qingdao teams hurt him with some voters, although others appreciated his loyalty. Even for the low-scoring CLB, his .241 batting average was well below the normal standard for Hall of Famers with only two inductees to that point with less than .265. Supporters noted that nearly half of Wan’s hits were for extra bases. He debuted in 2011 at 48.6% and never was lower, but he was stuck around 48% for the next two years. Wan got to 60.3% in 2014 and was above 60% each year from 2016-19. However, he just couldn’t get across the 66% requirement, peaking at 63.5%. 2020 was Wan’s tenth and final try, as well as a ballot without any strong contenders. He got the bump to 73.8% to finally secure that deserved spot. Wan was the lone CLB inductee in 2020 and the second in league history to make it on his tenth and final chance. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)