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FuzzyRussianHat · 01-25-2024, 05:28 AM

1991 very nearly had no new Hall of Famers for Chinese League Baseball, but starting pitcher Lixuan Xiao made it in just barely. On his second ballot, Xiao crossed the 66% requirement with 66.9%. RF Xinze Yan barely missed joining him with 65.4% on his second ballot. 1B Shenchao An had a solid debut, but missed out at 60.3%. The other player above 50% was SP Li Jin with 52.1% in his fifth ballot. No players were dropped after their tenth ballot.

Lixuan Xiao – Starting Pitcher – Shanghai Seawolves – 66.9% Second Ballot

Lixuan Xiao was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Fushun, a city with around 1,850,000 people in Northeast China’s Liaoning Province. Xiao had strong control and movement on his pitches, which allowed him to succeed despite having merely average stuff. His velocity peaked at 93-95 mph with a six pitch arsenal. His sinker, splitter, and forkball were his best pitches, although he also had a changeup, curveball, and knuckle curve. Xiao had excellent stamina and led the league twice in innings pitched. He also had pretty good durability and reliably gave you 200+ innings each season.

Xiao was picked 23^rd overall by Shanghai in the 1971 CLB Draft. The Seawolves only used him as an occasional reliever in his first two seasons. Xiao earned a spot in the rotation in 1974 and was a regular starter for the rest of his run in China. In 1975, he emerged almost out of nowhere as an ace, leading the Northern League in ERA (1.42) and posting 9.5 WAR. This got Xiao the Pitcher of the Year and helped Shanghai to a playoff appearance.

Xiao had a career best 9.9 WAR in 1976 and led the league in wins at 23-6, taking second in Pitcher of the Year voting. He wasn’t great in his two playoff starts, but Xiao helped Shanghai get to the China Series for the first time, where they lost to Xi’an. The Seawolves fell off after that, but Xiao earned his second Pitcher of the Year in 1977, leading the league with a 0.76 WHIP. On May 1, 1977, he tossed CLB’s seventh perfect game, striking out 13 against Harbin.

In total with Shanghai, Xiao had an 80-56 record, 1.91 ERA, 1418.2 innings, 1352 strikeouts, 228 walks, and 40.6 WAR. The franchise considered him an important enough early era player to retire his #4 uniform in 1988. His run with the Seawolves ended in the summer of 1979, as he put up middling stats in the first half. Shanghai traded him in July to Nanjing for LF Jingbo Zhang and RF Weiwei Mewlan.

Xiao pitched better in the second half with the Nuggets and gave them a respectable 1980 effort, although he wouldn’t be an awards finalist ever again. Xiao became a free agent after the 1980 season at age 32 and signed a four-year, $2,160,000 deal with Wuhan. He was steady with the Wolverines, twice posting 7+ WAR seasons. In total with Wuhan, Xiao had a 50-43 record, 2.20 ERA, 963.1 innings, 909 strikeouts, and 23.4 WAR.

In his final season with the Wolverines, Xiao missed two months to an elbow strain. Some teams were weary of his value as he was a now a 36-year old free agent. Xiao would leave China, finding a job in Haiti on a two-year, $1,600,000 deal. He was below average in his two seasons with the Herons, posting a 4.15 ERA and 2.2 WAR with an ERA+ of 84. He went to Costa Rica in 1987 and got a CABA Championship ring. He only tossed 24.2 innings with the Rays before suffering a catastrophic torn rotator cuff. This put Xiao out 12 months, but he didn’t want to retire. A setback in December 1987 meant another 15 months of recovery. He finally relented and retired in late 1988 at age 40.

Xiao’s final stats in CLB: 153-114 record, 2.02 ERA, 2776.1 innings, 2688 strikeouts, 392 walks, 280/346 quality starts, 118 complete games, 72 FIP-, and 72.9 WAR. Xiao didn’t have big totals, but the advanced stats suggested he was pretty good even when adjusted for the very low offense of Chinese baseball. The CLB voters were also far more favorable to pitchers, as evidenced by the other eight Hall of Famers before Xiao all being pitchers. He missed out at 55.7% on his debut, but in a weak 1991 class, got the bump to 66.9% to just cross the line.

01-25-2024, 05:28 AM	#911
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,901	1991 CLB Hall of Fame 1991 very nearly had no new Hall of Famers for Chinese League Baseball, but starting pitcher Lixuan Xiao made it in just barely. On his second ballot, Xiao crossed the 66% requirement with 66.9%. RF Xinze Yan barely missed joining him with 65.4% on his second ballot. 1B Shenchao An had a solid debut, but missed out at 60.3%. The other player above 50% was SP Li Jin with 52.1% in his fifth ballot. No players were dropped after their tenth ballot. Lixuan Xiao – Starting Pitcher – Shanghai Seawolves – 66.9% Second Ballot Lixuan Xiao was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Fushun, a city with around 1,850,000 people in Northeast China’s Liaoning Province. Xiao had strong control and movement on his pitches, which allowed him to succeed despite having merely average stuff. His velocity peaked at 93-95 mph with a six pitch arsenal. His sinker, splitter, and forkball were his best pitches, although he also had a changeup, curveball, and knuckle curve. Xiao had excellent stamina and led the league twice in innings pitched. He also had pretty good durability and reliably gave you 200+ innings each season. Xiao was picked 23^rd overall by Shanghai in the 1971 CLB Draft. The Seawolves only used him as an occasional reliever in his first two seasons. Xiao earned a spot in the rotation in 1974 and was a regular starter for the rest of his run in China. In 1975, he emerged almost out of nowhere as an ace, leading the Northern League in ERA (1.42) and posting 9.5 WAR. This got Xiao the Pitcher of the Year and helped Shanghai to a playoff appearance. Xiao had a career best 9.9 WAR in 1976 and led the league in wins at 23-6, taking second in Pitcher of the Year voting. He wasn’t great in his two playoff starts, but Xiao helped Shanghai get to the China Series for the first time, where they lost to Xi’an. The Seawolves fell off after that, but Xiao earned his second Pitcher of the Year in 1977, leading the league with a 0.76 WHIP. On May 1, 1977, he tossed CLB’s seventh perfect game, striking out 13 against Harbin. In total with Shanghai, Xiao had an 80-56 record, 1.91 ERA, 1418.2 innings, 1352 strikeouts, 228 walks, and 40.6 WAR. The franchise considered him an important enough early era player to retire his #4 uniform in 1988. His run with the Seawolves ended in the summer of 1979, as he put up middling stats in the first half. Shanghai traded him in July to Nanjing for LF Jingbo Zhang and RF Weiwei Mewlan. Xiao pitched better in the second half with the Nuggets and gave them a respectable 1980 effort, although he wouldn’t be an awards finalist ever again. Xiao became a free agent after the 1980 season at age 32 and signed a four-year, $2,160,000 deal with Wuhan. He was steady with the Wolverines, twice posting 7+ WAR seasons. In total with Wuhan, Xiao had a 50-43 record, 2.20 ERA, 963.1 innings, 909 strikeouts, and 23.4 WAR. In his final season with the Wolverines, Xiao missed two months to an elbow strain. Some teams were weary of his value as he was a now a 36-year old free agent. Xiao would leave China, finding a job in Haiti on a two-year, $1,600,000 deal. He was below average in his two seasons with the Herons, posting a 4.15 ERA and 2.2 WAR with an ERA+ of 84. He went to Costa Rica in 1987 and got a CABA Championship ring. He only tossed 24.2 innings with the Rays before suffering a catastrophic torn rotator cuff. This put Xiao out 12 months, but he didn’t want to retire. A setback in December 1987 meant another 15 months of recovery. He finally relented and retired in late 1988 at age 40. Xiao’s final stats in CLB: 153-114 record, 2.02 ERA, 2776.1 innings, 2688 strikeouts, 392 walks, 280/346 quality starts, 118 complete games, 72 FIP-, and 72.9 WAR. Xiao didn’t have big totals, but the advanced stats suggested he was pretty good even when adjusted for the very low offense of Chinese baseball. The CLB voters were also far more favorable to pitchers, as evidenced by the other eight Hall of Famers before Xiao all being pitchers. He missed out at 55.7% on his debut, but in a weak 1991 class, got the bump to 66.9% to just cross the line. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)