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Accra earned first place in the WAB Western League standings for the first time in franchise history with a 101-61 record in 1996. It was repeat playoff berths for the Alligators and their third all-time. Freetown ended a two-year playoff ski and finished second at 90-72. Abidjan, who had won the WL pennant four consecutive years, narrowly extended their postseason streak. The Athletes at 87-75 finished third for the second wild card, topping Nouakchott by three games.

Leading Accra’s efforts was DH Seydou Badara, who fell one short of the WAB home run record with 61. The 26-year old Malian also led in RBI (135), walks (100) and total bases (346), but also led in strikeouts with 203. He had a .251 average and 5.6 WAR with nearly half of his career WAR in this one breakout season. Despite Monrovia being below .500, they saw Angelo Costa win Pitcher of the Year. At only 23-years old, the Cape Verdean lefty led in wins (21-9), innings (292.1), strikeouts (384), quality starts (28), complete games (20), FIP- (55), and WAR (11.3). He was second in ERA at 2.28. Costa’s 20 complete games also set a still-standing WAB single-season record.

Freetown survived 2-1 over Abidjan in the wild card round, ending the Athletes’ hope at a five-peat. It was only the second time the Foresters had ever made the Western League Championship Series, joining their 1977 title season. It was the second for Accra, who was runner-up the prior year. The Alligators earned their first pennant by outlasting Freetown 3-2 in the WLCS.



Ibadan had the best overall record, leading the Eastern League at 112-50. The Iguanas extended their postseason streak to seven seasons. Second place was defending WAB champ Port Harcourt at 102-60, extending their impressive playoff streak to eight. Kano, who was the ELCS runner-up last year, placed third at 99-63. Lagos came close to taking the final playoff spot from the Condors, but finished fourth at 95-67.

Two-way Ibadan star Rudy Bambara won his fourth Eastern League MVP as well as his first Pitcher of the Year. On the mound, the 30-year old Burkinabe was the leader in ERA (1.82), quality starts (29), FIP- (60), and WAR (9.4). He added a 23-3 record, 266.1 innings, and 307 strikeouts. On top of that, he had 94 games at the plate and starts at third base, smacking 35 home runs, 110 hits, 82 RBI, with a .317/.364/.677 slash and 5.3 WAR. This incredible effort made Bambara a massively sought after free agent in the offseason, leaving for MLB on a five-year, $19,000,000 deal with Edmonton.

Kano upset Port Harcourt with a 2-0 sweep in the wild card round, sending the Condors back to the Eastern League Championship Series. Ibadan was making their fourth ELCS berth in five years. The Iguanas took the series 3-1 to win their third pennant in four years (1993, 94, 96).



In the 22^nd West African Championship, Accra became a first-time champion. The Alligators bested Ibadan 4-1, making the Iguanas 1-2 in their finals appearances. With Accra’s win, 10 of WAB’s 20 teams have won it all. Leading the effort was 3B Antoine Samson, who won WLCS MVP. In 10 playoff starts, he had 10 hits, 2 runs, 1 home run, 4 RBI, and 5 walks.



Other notes: Xavi Leko, who had passed Addise Assefa for WAB’s all-time strikeout lead, became the first pitcher to fan 4500 hitters. Daouda Kadri became the sixth to 400 home runs. Abel Alemu and Arnaud Issaka became the third and fourth hitters to score 1000 runs.