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West African Baseball’s 1999 Hall of Fame voting netted three new members. Leading the way was pitcher Dalanda Soumah with a first ballot induction at 83.5%. Fellow pitcher Moussa Sidi just narrowly passed the 66% threshold at 68.3% in his third ballot. CF Stephen Tshukudu on his tenth and final shot at glory made the cut at exactly 66.0%. SP Issaka Camara almost made it a four-player crew with 64.1% in his third try. The other player above 50% was 2B Endurance Jacob with 51.4% on his eighth ballot.



The lone player dropped after ten ballots was LF George Nandjou, who had a ten year career with three teams with one MVP and two Silver Sluggers. The Cameroonian had 1309 hits, 889 runs, 286 doubles, 415 home runs, 1002 RBI, a .239/.326/.524 slash, 147 wRC+, and 40.3 WAR. His official career began at age 27, so a few more years might have gotten him accumulations that would’ve swayed the voters. He debuted at 30.7% and ended at a low of 12.4%.



Dalanda Soumah – Starting Pitcher – Lagos Lizards – 83.5% First Ballot

Dalanda Soumah was a 6’4’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Conakry, the capital of Guinea. Soumah was a hard thrower known for having great stuff, very good control, and above average movement. His fastball was great with 99-101 mph velocity and was mixed with an outstanding slider, good splitter, and rarely seen changeup. Soumah’s stamina was average and his defense graded out the same, although he did win a Gold Glove in 1990. He was outspoken and polarizing, beloved by some and despised by others his lack of tact.

Soumah was picked 18^th overall in the 1978 WAB Draft by Lagos at age 19 and spent his entire African pro career with the Lizards. Lagos had just won the West African Championship and had a loaded lineup, thus they could keep Soumah in the developmental system for a bit. The Lizards again won the title in 1979. Soumah officially debuted in 1981 at age 21 with mostly relief appearances. He would be used as a starter by the postseason, posting a lousy 4.87 ERA in 20.1 innings. Regardless, Lagos continued their dynasty and Soumah received his first championship ring as an active roster player.

Soumah was a full-time starter from 1982 onward with Lagos, leading the Eastern League that year in strikeouts. It was officially his rookie season and he picked up Rookie of the Year honors. Lagos shockingly missed the playoffs for the first time in WAB’s short history that year. However, they would win three more WAB titles during the 1980s with Soumah playing a major role as the team’s ace.

They won it all in 1983, 85, and 88. In each of those title runs, Soumah went 3-0 and posted sub-one ERAs. For his playoff career, Soumah had a 1.99 ERA, 10-3 record, 104 innings, 112 strikeouts, and 1.9 WAR. During his Lagos run, Soumah led the league in wins three times, ERA once, innings once, strikeouts thrice, WHIP twice, quality starts twice, and WAR once. He claimed Pitcher of the Year honors in 1985 and 1988, while taking second in 1983 and 1984, plus third in 1986. Soumah also finished second in MVP voting in the 1988 campaign.

Soumah had signed a five-year, $1,504,000 contract extension after the 1984 season. When his deal came up again for the 1990 season, he was still only 30 years old and a hot commodity. It was hard to pass up the allure of MLB money and the outspoken Soumah wasn’t shy about boasting that he could hang with the best of the best. Thus, he ended his WAB career after nine seasons.

With Lagos, Soumah had a 132-77 record, 2.60 ERA, 1908 innings, 2745 strikeouts, 192/258 quality starts, 137 ERA+, 71 FIP-, and 53.8 WAR. Lagos would later retire his #26 uniform as a huge part of the Lizards’ continued success in the 1980s. His short stay in WAB meant his accumulations are on the bottom end of the leaderboards, but his dominance in the 1980s was hard to deny. His 10 playoff wins are tied for the most by any WAB pitcher. Some held Soumah leaving and his personality against him, but his tenure was impressive enough to still get the first ballot induction into the WAB Hall of Fame at 83.5% in 1999.

That was only the first half of Soumah’s career. He took his talents next to Dallas, Texas; signing a six-year, $10,720,000 deal. Soumah was never the dominant elite force during his Dalmatians tenure, but he was a consistently solid starter. He had been quite durable in his 20s, but did miss half of 1992 to various injuries. Dallas only made the playoffs once during Soumah’s tenure with a first round exit.

Ultimately, Soumah played five and a half years with Dallas, posting a 79-63 record, 3.56 ERA, 1323.2 innings, 904 strikeouts, 113 ERA+, and 24.8 WAR. The Dalmatians traded him at the 1995 deadline to Atlanta for two prospects and a draft pick. The Aces hoped he’d help them continue their eight-year division title streak, but they came up five games short to Tampa. Soumah looked good in his 11 starts in Atlanta with a 2.77 ERA, giving him some shine heading back into free agency at age 36.

Portland picked up Soumah on a three-year, $10,920,000 deal. A dead arm cost him a month of the season, but he had his best MLB production this season with a 2.83 ERA and an American Association best 0.94 WHIP. The Pacifics were pleased with their investment, but trouble arose in 1997. A strained shoulder cost Soumah the first two months of the season. Then shortly after returning, a ruptured his UCL. That ended a promising Portland tenure with a 2.84 ERA over 250 innings, 21-9 record, 139 ERA+, and 6.0 WAR.

He was a free agent again, failing to meet the vesting criteria for his third year with Portland. The numbers were good enough that nearby Seattle was filling to give Soumah a look for 1998. He made four starts in minor league Spokane, but tore his UCL yet again. This officially ended Soumah’s career at age 38. For his MLB tenure, he had a 105-77 record, 3.41 ERA, 1661.1 innings, 1126 strikeouts, 118 ERA+, 88 FIP-, and 32.7 WAR.

For his entire pro career, Soumah had a 237-154 record, 2.98 ERA, 3569.1 innings, 3871 strikeouts, 733 walks, 315/472 quality starts, 127 ERA+, 79 FIP-, and 86.4 WAR. He certainly proved his worth as one of the first great pitchers out of West Africa. His full line is certainly HOF caliber and his WAB tenure alone was enough to get him into their elite class.



Moussa Sidi – Starting Pitcher – Kano Condors – 68.3% Third Ballot

Moussa Sidi was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from the capital of Mauritania, Nouakchott. Sidi boasted great control with good stuff and above average movement. His fastball was solid at 97-99 mph and was mixed with a great curveball, good slider, and okay changeup. Sidi’s stamina was iffy though and he dealt with injury woes throughout his career. When he was at full strength though, he was one of WAB’s most impressive arms.
Sidi began a semi-pro career just as West Africa Baseball started, therefore missing out on the early drafts despite being near that age range. His first WAB contract came with Conakry in November 1976. Sidi made only five relief appearances that year, then missed all of 1978 with a partially torn UCL. An elbow strain cost him part of 1979, but he was able to pitch much of the season with promising results. Then in 1980, he looked like a true ace with 7.1 WAR.

1981 saw more injury trouble, this time to his knee as a torn meniscus cost him four months. Sidi was great though with a full 1982 season, taking third in Pitcher of the Year voting. He was entering his last year under contract with Conakry, who had struggled in their first decade as a WAB franchise. Lagos was looking to bounce back from their first-ever season missing the playoffs, so they got Sidi and SS Osvaldo Barbosa in a trade from Conakry for three prospects. For his Coyotes tenure, Sidi had a 34-33 record, 2.75 ERA, 698.1 innings, 842 strikeouts, a 128 ERA+, and 21.2 WAR.

The one-year rental paid off for Lagos as Sidi helped them back to the playoffs and to their fourth WAB Championship. He led the league in ERA, winning Pitcher of the Year honors. Sidi also posted a 1.69 ERA over 21.1 playoff innings with 30 strikeouts. This made him the top free agent entering 1984 season. The 29-year old would stay in Nigeria, moving to Kano on a seven-year, $2,940,000 contract. The Condors had been Lagos top competitor in WAB’s Eastern League; together they had taken seven of the first nine EL pennants.

Sidi won Pitcher of the Year in his Kano debut in 1984 with league and career bests in wins (19-8), ERA (1.71), quality starts (28), and WAR (9.1), along with a career-best 304 strikeouts. The Condors claimed the EL pennant, but fell in the WAB final Sidi’s hometown team Nouakchott. Although he was 0-2 in his three starts, Sidi was still great with a 1.66 ERA over 21.2 playoff innings and 25 strikeouts. The injury bug would rear its ugly head again in 1985, suffering his second torn meniscus to miss the second half and the playoffs.

Sidi looked merely above average in 1986, but he pitched most of the season and helped Kano win the WAB Championship over Bamako, posting a 2.50 ERA in 18 playoff innings. In 1987, Sidi for the third time tore his left knee’s meniscus. A setback meant he was out a total of 10 months dealing with the injury, But again, Sidi managed to bounce back. In 1988, he led the EL in ERA and WHIP. Kano got back to the playoffs, but lost in the first round.

Sidi looked subpar in 1989 and missed some time to a strained hamstring. Kano fell off a cliff that year to 64-98 and decided to blow it up completely, which would ultimately help set the stage for a dynasty run in the late 1990s. With one year left in Sidi’s contract, he was shipped straight up to Kumasi for 1B Atim Amoah. With the Condors, Sidi had a 71-33 record, 2.50 ERA, 964 innings, 1125 strikeouts, 128 ERA+, and 21.2 WAR.

Yet another injury befell Sidi in his one season with the Monkeys, suffering a torn labrum in the summer. This knocked him out 10 months and put his career in serious jeopardy. Now 36-years old, Lagos brought him back in to be a reliever. He was good in his limited use, and had one strong start in the 1991 postseason, allowing one run in 5.1 innings. The Lizards won another WAB Championship, giving Sidi the third ring of his career. He decided to retire that winter at age 36.

Sidi’s final stats saw a 130-79 record, 2.59 ERA, 1999.2 innings, 2343 strikeouts, 319 walks, 171/292 quality starts, 138 ERA+, 71 FIP-, and 54.9 WAR. Despite having almost twice as many years in WAB as his HOF classmate Dalanda Soumah, Sidi barely had more innings due to injuries. His rate stats looked remarkably similar. Both guys had two Pitcher of the Year awards and both had great playoff numbers. Sidi had a 1.74 ERA in 72.1 playoff innings with 94 strikeouts. Yet, the voters were more underwhelmed by Sidi’s resume compared to Soumah. Sidi missed out on his first two ballots at 57.4% and 51.0%. However, he won enough voters over in 1999 to squeak in at 68.3% as a third ballot inductee.



Stephen Tshukudu – Center Field – Kano Candors – 66.0% Tenth Ballot

Stephen Tshukudu was a 6’2’’, 200 pound switch hitting center fielder from Lobatse, a town of just under 30,000 people in southeastern Botswana. Tshukudu was an excellent home run hitter who had seven straight seasons with 40+ dingers. He did that despite being a lousy contact hitter that struck out a ton. Tshukudu’s gap power was solid and he could stretch out extra bases when the ball was in play, as he had very good speed and baserunning skills. Tshukudu was a career center fielder and while not Gold Glove caliber, he was considered quite good defensively with excellent range.

Tshukudu had already been a barnstorming pro throughout southern Africa for a few years when West Africa Baseball was formed. The 26-year old Motswana finally had a chance to make a more steady living on the continent and his power did attract suitors. His first WAB deal came for two years and $160,000 with Kano, sending Tshukudu to Nigeria.

A strained abdominal cost him about six weeks, but he still hit 38 home runs in 120 games for his debut season. Tshukudu smacked five homers with 11 RBI in the playoffs, helping Kano win the first-ever WAB Championship against Abidjan. The Condors repeated in 1976, beating Bamako in the final. Tshukudu had 4 home runs and 8 RBI in that postseason run. The next year would be his finest, although Kano was upset by Lagos in the ELCS. Tshukudu smacked 58 home runs and posted 9.0 WAR. He earned his first Silver Slugger and was second in MVP voting. That effort convinced the Condors to sign Tshukudu to a six-year, $1,326,000 contract extension.

He led the Eastern League in home runs twice in this stretch and had a career-best 59 dingers in 1979. Tshukudu’s batting average was still poor with a lot of strikeouts, but he became very popular for his power. He won additional Silver Sluggers in 1978, 79, 80, and 81. Tshukudu took third in 1979 MVP voting as well. Kano remained a contender, but wouldn’t get back to the final during Tshukudu’s tenure. He had a .186/.233/.504 playoff slash in 36 starts with the Condors, adding 25 hits, 17 runs, 13 home runs, and 26 RBI.

Tshukudu became a free agent after the 1983 season at age 35. In March, he signed a one-year deal with Kumasi. This was ultimately the weakest year of his career with a .172 average and 92 wRC+. Still, his reputation for towering homers and popularity reached across the Atlantic Ocean. MLB’s Denver Dragons signed Tshukudu to a two-year, $2,560,000 deal. He was abysmal in his one year as a part-time starter for the Dragons and retired that winter at age 37.

For his WAB career, Tshukudu had 1202 hits, 901 runs, 183 doubles, 452 home runs, 945 RBI, a .215/.279/.523 slash, 128 wRC+, and 52.2 WAR. Tshukudu was the first WAB slugger to 400 career home runs, but his accumulations were hurt both by starting at age 26 and because of his propensity for whiffing. Fans loved him, but many voters thought he was too limited of a player to belong. Tshukudu debuted at 44.6% and hovered around that range for his first few ballots, although he slowly climbed a bit.

By 1998, he reached a peak of 57.3%. For his final chance, supporters made it a point to highlight his role on Kano’s first two championship teams. Tshukudu won the exact number of voters over he needed to get exactly to the 66.0% threshold. He was only the sixth player in any world league to earn induction on the tenth and final ballot. Tshukudu proved yet again that chicks (and Hall of Fame voters) dig the long ball.