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Bengaluru again had the best record in the Indian League, although they dropped from their impressive 116 wins the prior year. The Blazers finished 96-66, still plenty strong to run away with the South Division. Visakhapatnam, the wild card last year, was a non-factor at 73-89. In the West Division, Ahmedabad earned their first-ever division title at 92-70, unseating two-time defending South Asian Champion Pune. The Purple Knights still made it back to the playoffs with the wild card spot, although they needed to beat Mumbai in a one-game playoff to do it. Pune was 87-76 with the Meteors at 86-77. The Central Division needed a tiebreaker game as well with both Jaipur and Kanpur ending at 82-80, while Delhi was 81-81. The Jokers won the tiebreaker, making it six straight division titles for them to start the IL’s history. Jaipur, Bengaluru, and Pune have made the playoffs each of the first six seasons in SAB, while the Animals have made it four times.

Delhi 2B V.J. Williams won back-to-back Indian League MVPs. The 25-year old Indian native was the leader in WAR (11.6), triple slash (.337/.418/.653), OPS (1.071), wRC+ (224), total bases (374), and runs (127). Williams added 45 home runs and 111 RBI. Bengaluru’s Vannak Thai was the Pitcher of the Year. The 32-year old from Thailand led in ERA (1.69) and wins (18-7), posting 278 strikeouts and 6.9 WAR in 240 innings.

In the first round of the playoffs, Bengaluru ousted defending champ Pune in a 3-2 battle, while Jaipur upset Ahmedabad 3-1. After getting early exits in the prior two postseasons, the Blazers claimed the Indian League Championship Series 4-1 over the Jokers. Bengaluru now has two league pennants, having also won the 1982 title.



Defending Southeast Asia League Champion Dhaka had the best record again and earned a fifth straight playoff berth. The Dobermans won the North Division at 103-59, fending off solid challenges from Hanoi and Chittagong. They took the wild card spots with the Hounds at 97-65 and the Commandos at 93-69, both earning their first-ever playoff berth. Yangon finished 81-81, missing the playoffs for the first time. In the North Division, Ho Chi Minh City took first for the third straight season. The Hedgehogs were 88-74, besting Vientiane by four games.

Chittagong CF Van Loi Phung won the Southeast Asia League MVP with the third-ever 13+ WAR season for a SAB hitter. The 24-year old Vietnamese righty won a Gold Glove and led in WAR (13.5), triple slash (.354/.404/.717), OPS (1.120), wRC+ (208), total bases (435), runs (122), and RBI (142). He also had 53 home runs and 215 hits. Dhaka’s Indradu Rajeeb won the Pitcher of the Year. The 33-year old Indian lefty had bounced around between other teams before signing with the Dobermans for 1985. He led in ERA (2.31), WHIP (0.95), and complete games (14), adding 7.4 WAR and 279 strikeouts over 260.2 innings with a 19-10 record.

In the first round, both wild card teams upset the division champs. Hanoi took it 3-2 over Ho Chi Minh City, while Chittagong stunned defending champ Dhaka in four. This sent two first time participants to the Southeast Asian League Championship Series. The Hounds defeated the Commandos 4-2 to advance to the SAB Championship.



Hanoi would fall in five to Bengaluru as the Blazers became two-time SAB Champions. SS Advaith Ravi was the finals MVP, having joined Bengaluru as a free agent in the offseason. The 34-year old lefty had 16 hits, 9 runs, 4 home runs, 7 RBI, and 9 walks over 15 playoff starts. In SAB’s first six years, five of the titles have gone to Indian League teams.



Other notes: 1985 had the first perfect game in South Asia Baseball history on August 2. Ahmedabad’s Ynilo Naranjo did it with 10 strikeouts against Mumbai. Al-Amin Kundu became the first SAB hitter to reach 300 career home runs. Kundu is also the only player to win a Silver Slugger in each of SAB’s first six seasons.