[FuzzyRussianHat]

For the third consecutive season, Taoyuan posted the top record in the Taiwan-Philippine Association. The Tsunami took the Taiwan League at 103-59, finishing 14 games ahead of second place Kaohsiung. In the Philippine League, Cebu had an impressive bounce back after winning only 66 games in 1965. The Crows finished 91-71 to end a three-year playoff drought. Defending Austronesia Champion Davao was tied for second at 81-81 with Manila.

Although Tainan was a terrible 69-93, third-year Titans center fielder Chen-Hua Wang won the TPA MVP. The 24-year old lefty led in runs (82), OBP (.360), slugging (.504), OPS (.864), wRC+ (175), total bases (301), and WAR (8.7). Taoyuan’s Heng-Hsiao Laio scored Pitcher of the Year, leading in ERA (1.44), WHIP (0.75), and FIP- (45). Liao added 8.3 WAR, a 13-7 record, and 261 strikeouts in 206.2 innings. Also of note, Davao’s Wei-Min Chiang won his third straight Reliever of the Year, posting a 1.10 ERA and 4.4 WAR over 65.1 innings with 26 saves and 101 strikeouts.



For only the second time in franchise history (1982), Singapore won the Malacca League. The Sharks had the Sundaland Association’s best record at 105-57, finishing 11 games ahead of Batam. For the Blue Raiders, this is only the second time they’ve missed the playoffs in seven years. Despite missing the playoffs, Batam set a team record for fewest hits allowed (956), which stood as the APB record until 2005. Defending SA champ Bandung won the Java League for the third consecutive season with their 93-69 mark. Surabaya (89-73) and Jakarta (86-76) were competitive, but just short.

Singapore 1B Gavin Loh won repeat Sundaland Association MVPs and set a single-season APB record by a hitter with 14.0 WAR. That still stands as the top mark as of 2037. He won a Gold Glove and led in runs (107), home runs (53), RBI (114), total bases (376), slugging (.649), OPS (1.031), and wRC+ (266) with a .314 average. This was the final year with the Sharks for the 32-year old Indonesian, as he left for MLB and a five-year, $19,600,000 deal with Denver in the offseason.

Batam’s Wisnu Mahmudiana was Pitcher of the Year for the fourth consecutive season. The 29-year old righty led in WAR (13.4), and WHIP (0.60), while adding a 21-6 record, 1.43 ERA, and 441 strikeouts over 227 innings. Mahmudiana also threw two no-hitters, giving him three for his career. It was a year of great pitching, as despite setting a career record in Ks, he was beaten by Surabaya’s Wen-Yang Kuo with 445 Ks. Jakarata’s Hadi Ningsih also posted an incredible 0.98 ERA and 10.6 WAR, but he didn’t have as many innings or strikeouts to get the top honor. Still, Ningsih’s ERA was the third-lowest by a qualifying starter in APB history. Also of note, Chang-Heng Chang won his fourth Reliever of the Year in a season split between Medan and Jakarta. He was the fifth APB reliever to win the award four times and used it to cash in on MLB money after the 1997 campaign.

The Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship saw Taoyuan sweep Cebu, giving the Tsunami their second title in three years. It was Taoyuan’s sixth pennant overall, which leads all TPA teams. The Sundaland Association Championship was a seven game classic that saw Singapore defeat Bandung for their first-ever title. Game seven went 11 innings with the Sharks taking it 2-1. With Singapore’s pennant, that leaves Depok as the only Sundaland Association team without at least one pennant. The only TPA team without one is Zamboanga.



The 32nd Austronesia Championship was also a seven game classic that needed extra innings in the finale. Game seven saw a 6-5 Taoyuan win over Singapore in 12 innings, ending with a walk off solo home run by SS Abdul Haris Basri. RF Fernando Reyes was the playoff hero overall, winning MVP of the TPA final and APB final. The 29-year old Filipino missed half of the regular season to injury, but in 11 playoff games had 15 hits, 10 runs, 2 doubles, 6 home runs, and 9 RBI. The Tsunami are now four time APB champs (1978, 82, 83, 96). This ties Taoyuan with Kaohsiung for the second-most titles, while Jakarta’s five rings remain the most.



Other notes: The 23rd APB perfect game came on May 5 from Jakarta’s Wahyu Toy, striking out 11 against Batam. Singapore’s Jianbua Wong set a playoff record with a .476 batting average, going 10-21 over 11 games and 4 starts. Hadi Ningsih became the fourth pitcher to 4500 strikeouts, while four other pitchers (Ronald Purnomo, Chandra Igbonefo, Mulya Dayanti, Ricky Jungao) crossed 4000 Ks in 1996. Ten APB pitchers are now in the 4k club. Ningsih also became the third to reach 250 wins. He would pitch two more years and end at 277, passing Dave Hermillo’s 269 to take the all-time lead. Ningsih stayed the wins leader until 2027. He also would be the WARlord at 144.49 until the 2020s.