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Two-time defending Southern Conference champion Johannesburg took the top spot in the standings at 105-57. The Jackalopes have earned four playoff berths through the first six years of the African Association of Baseball. Johannesburg offensively had a team OBP of .371, which remains the AAB single-season record as of 2037. The second place slot easily went to Dar es Salaam at 101-61. The 1997 conference champion Sabercats returned to the playoffs after finishing just below .500 the prior two years. Antananarivo was a distant third place at 90-72. Cape Town, who had a four season postseason streak entering 2000, collapsed. The Cowboys dropped to 70-92, placing ninth in the standings.

Maputo was sixth in the standings, but they had the Southern Conference MVP in Peterson Mere. The 34-year old Haitian designated hitter was in his sixth year with the Piranhas after starting his career in CABA with Trinidad. He led in runs (121), home runs (63), RBI (150), total bases (399), and slugging (.650), while adding 5.9 WAR. His homer and RBI totals were both the second most in AAB history to that point. Pitcher of the Year also went to someone on a losing team, earned by Lilongwe’s Joel Mwasesa. The 27-year old Congolese righty led in strikeouts (319), WHIP (0.97), K/BB (4.7), quality starts (23), FIP- (63), and WAR (8.9). Mwasesa had a 2.87 ERA over 263.2 innings with an 18-14 record.



Three-time reigning AAB champion Kinshasa dominated the Central Conference again. The Sun Cats finished 105-57 and have made the playoffs in all six AAB seasons. Lubumbashi narrowly took the second place slot at 99-63, beating out last year’s wild card Bujumbura by three games.

Third-year Lubumbashi first baseman Abebe Chekol won Central Conference MVP. The Ethiopian lefty became AAB’s first-ever Triple Crown hitter with 60 home runs, 159 RBI, and .352 average. The 159 RBI was a new single-season AAB record. Chekol also led the conference in hits (210), total bases (431), OBP (.428), slugging (.723), OPS (1.151), and wRC+ (199), while adding 8.7 WAR. Kinshasa’s Ahmed Hussen Rooble won his second Pitcher of the Year, having previously earned the award in 1997 with Cape Town. The 33-year old Somali had the best ERA at 2.27, adding a 14-5 record over 198 innings, 178 strikeouts, and 5.2 WAR.

In the postseason, the defending conference champs rolled to repeat titles. Johannesburg swept Dar es Salaam, giving the Jackalopes a third straight Southern Conference pennant. Meanwhile, Kinshasa downed Lubumbashi 4-1. With that, the Sun Cats won their fourth consecutive Central Conference title and their fifth in AAB’s first six seasons.



The sixth Africa Series was the fourth time Kinshasa and Johannesburg met in the final. It would also be the first time in AAB history that the series needed all nine games. The Sun Cats took it 5-4 to four-peat as AAB champs. As of 2037, they are one of only two AAB franchises to earn four titles in a row. Veteran 1B Laurent Kouakou was finals MVP in his lone season with Kinshasa. The 38 year old Ivorian had 14 hits, 10 runs, 6 home runs, and 11 RBI in 13 playoff starts.



Other notes: Maputo’s Minguito Mateus set a still-standing AAB record with 24 complete games. Johannesburg’s Jaures Ibara set a postseason record with seven saves, posting a 0.69 ERA over 13 innings. Precious Mkandaawire had a 24-game hit streak, which tied the current AAB record. Catcher Denis Rakotoson and CF Bawaka Ngoie became the first five time Silver Slugger winners.