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Pitcher Ametung Tirta was inducted into the Austronesia Professional Baseball Hall of Fame as the lone member of the 1984 class. On his first ballot, Tirta received 79.0% of the vote. Closer Hao-Ming Lu was close to the 66% mark in his debut, but was five percent short with 61.0%. Also above 50% were 3B Stanley Susilowati at 59.7% for his second attempt and pitcher Vitorio Pinga at 59.0% on his fifth try.



Dropped after ten tries was closer Hartriono Siagian, who stayed in the 30% range his whole time on the ballot. He never won the top award and only was in APB for five seasons, but he did lead in saves four times. Between three leagues and seven teams over eight years, Siagian had 198 saves, a 1.30 ERA, 559.1 innings, 720 strikeouts, and 25.0 WAR. Another closer, I Putu Widodo was dropped with a peak of 28.7% on the ballot. His APB run was only six years, but he won two Reliever of the Year awards. With six teams and two leagues over seven years, he had 188 saves, a 1.35 ERA, 894 strikeouts over 466.1 innings and 30.8 WAR.



Ametung Tirta – Pitcher – Surabaya Sunbirds – 79.0% First Ballot

Ametung Tirta was a 5’10’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Ambon, a city of around 350,000 people and the capital of the eastern Indonesian province of Maluku. Tirta was considered average to above average with his stuff, movement, and control. His velocity peaked at 95-97 mph velocity with an arsenal of fastball, slider, forkball, and changeup. Tirta had good stamina and durability in his 20s.

Tirta left Indonesia to play college baseball at the University of Kang Ning in Taipei. His collegiate excellence earned him the fifth overall pick by Surabaya in the 1967 APB Draft. Tirta’s full career in Austronesia Professional Baseball was with the Sunbirds, beginning with some starts and relief. He took second in Rookie of the Year voting. From year two to nine with Surabaya, he pitched 249+ innings in each season.

On two occasions, Tirta led the Sundaland Association in ERA. He finished third in Pitcher of the Year in 1971 voting, then won the award in 1972 with career and league bests in ERA (1.55), and WHIP (0.79). He’d also take third in 1973 voting. The Sunbirds earned their first playoff appearances during this three year stretch and in 1971 won their Austronesian Championship for the first time. In 58.2 playoff innings, Tirta had a 2.76 ERA with 65 strikeouts and 1.2 WAR.

By WAR, Tirta’s best season was 1975 with 8.3. He had six straight 5+ WAR seasons to that point, but saw his productivity drop with only 2.8 WAR in 1976. This was the final APB season for Tirta with the 31-year old entering free agency and getting international suitors. His stint with Surabaya was strong enough that the franchise would later retire his #6 uniform. Even with a down 1976, MLB’s San Francisco was convinced he could return to form, signing Tirta to a six-year, $3,166,000 contract.

Tirta struggled with the Gold Rush with a lousy 5.22 ERA over 172.1 innings with negative 1.0 WAR. He was reduced to the bullpen for his second year and cut before the 1979 season. Tirta had four more MLB seasons and bounced around between Denver, Oakland, Indianapolis, and the new expansion Virginia Beach squad. He got back into the rotation in his last two years, but he’d retire after the 1982 season at age 37. For his MLB career, Tirta had a 37-45 record, 4.70 ERA, 824 innings, 414 strikeouts, FIP- of 128 and -1.7 WAR.

However, his APB Hall of Fame candidacy is based on his Surabaya tenure. With the Sunbirds, he had a 156-80 record, 2.02 ERA, 2316.2 innings, 2231 strikeouts, 512 walks, FIP- of 81, and 48.8 WAR. It was a solid run over nine years and he helped them win a ring, but his totals are certainly on the low end. With a still young Hall of Fame and a lack of standouts on the 1984 ballot, enough voters decided to give Tirta a first ballot spot at 79.0%.