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After taking second in the Australasia League last year, the 1974 OBA champ Adelaide found itself back at the top. The Aardvarks dominated the field at 109-53, leading in runs scored (686) and fewest allowed (455). Brisbane was a distant second at 88-74 while last year’s league winner Auckland was third at 83-79.

Leading Adelaide was Jimmy Caliw with his historic eighth Australasia League MVP. It was even by his high standards his best-ever season and one of the best ever by a position player in any league. His 16.1 WAR set the OBA single-season record that still stands as of 2037 (Caliw holds the top five OBA seasons). At this point in history, it was the first-ever 16+ WAR season by a pure position player and as of 2037, 16+ has happened only thrice from a non-pitcher/two-way player. Caliw was the league leader in runs (104), home runs (48), RBI (115), total bases (382), slugging (.661), OPS (1.032), and wRC+ (210), adding a .315 average and his ninth Gold Glove. The 30-year old Filipino posted a 21.7 zone rating and 1.079 EFF at shortstop. For Caliw, he has already accumulated 111.6 WAR in nine full seasons. He has won nine Silver Sluggers and nine Gold Gloves.

Brisbane’s Nathaniel Doloran won his fifth Pitcher of the Year with the 29-year old lefty leading for the seventh straight season in strikeouts, this time with 467. He also led in WAR (11.5), K/BB (11.7), quality starts (32), and FIP- (57), adding a 24-11 record and 2.13 ERA over 330 innings. Doloran has struck out 3188 hitters in seven seasons.



Defending Oceania Champion Tahiti won their third straight Pacific League title. The Tropics finished 97-65, fending off challenges from 94-68 Samoa and 89-73 Fiji. Tahiti set a number of Pacific League pitching records that still stand decades later, allowing only 392 runs, 988 hits, 6.03 H/9, 10.79 K/9, and 0.845 WHIP. Their 1768 strikeouts is second best in the PL to Samoa’s 1796 two years prior.

Leading Tahiti’s pitching staff was Pitcher of the Year Bernard Cooper, a 27-year old American who joined OBA after playing college baseball for the Texas Longhorns. Auckland traded him to Tahiti for the 1976 campaign and Cooper had a breakout year with the lead in wins (22-10), strikeouts (437), WHIP (0.74), quality starts (36), K/BB (7.8), FIP- (56), and WAR (10.9). The Tropics also had the MVP as 3B Ieremia Tenakanai won for the third time. The 32-year old Papuan was the leader in hits with 169, adding 6.7 WAR, a .280 average, 29 home runs, and 89 RBI. He won his ninth Silver Slugger as well.

The 17^th Oceania Championship was a rematch of the 1974 edition. Adelaide won the series 4-2 to win their second title in three years and deny Tahiti their repeat. The Aardvarks have won five OBA titles so far, more than any other franchise. Pitcher Rex Noble was the finals MVP with a complete game shutout in his first start and seven scoreless innings in his second. He struck out 12 and allowed six hits in 16 scoreless.





Other notes: Adelaide’s Charlie Buckland had a .370 batting average, setting the OBA single-season record. This held as the OBA record until 2016. Daniel Barnes drew 105 walks in 1976, setting a single-season record that still stands in 2037. Sione Hala became the first OBA hitter to 500 home runs and the first to 1000 runs scored. Hugo Georgakopoulou became the second pitcher to 3500 career strikeouts. CF Roger Kasiray won his eighth Gold Glove.