[FuzzyRussianHat]

Austronesia Professional Baseball’s players earned a win for the 2000 season, negotiating a decrease in service time required for free agency. APB went from eight to seven years, This put them in the middle compared to the other world leagues.



Kaohsiung repeated as Taiwan League champ at 97-65 and posted the best record in the Taiwan-Philippine Association. Taichung was second at 87-75 with both Taipei and Taoyuan were 86-76. In the Philippine League, Zamboanga ended a 19-year postseason drought, taking the top spot at 91-71. Cebu was second at 83-79, while defending TPA champ Manila was third at 82-78.

Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP went to second-year Zamboanga center fielder Paolo Baptista. The 23-year old led in home runs (39), RBI (102), total bases (323), slugging (.550), and WAR (11.4). Cebu’s Ninoy Lumar repeated as Pitcher of the Year, leading in WHIP (0.75), K/BB (9.6), complete games (26), shutouts (8), and WAR (10.0). Lumar also had 355 strikeouts over 274.2 innings with a 1.67 ERA and 18-13 record.



Medan ended an 11-year postseason drought, winning the Malacca League at 97-65. Singapore was second at 92-70, while Batam dropped to 83-79. It was only the second time in eight years that the Blue Raiders missed out on the postseason. Depok and Bandung tied for first in the Java League at 88-74. The Demons won the tiebreaker game for their third title in four years. Defending Austronesia Champion Surabaya struggled to 75-87.

Medan’s Afiq Parker won his third straight Pitcher of the Year in only his fourth season and also earned Sundaland Association MVP. The 26-year old Singaporean lefty repeated as a Triple Crown winner with a 20-7 record, 1.23 ERA, and 408 strikeouts over 248.2 innings. He also led in WHIP (0.64), shutouts (10), FIP- (14), and WAR (15.2). It was the seventh-time an APB pitcher had posted a 15+ WAR season and the second time for Parker, who had a 17.27 WAR mark in 1999. Parker also had a no-hitter with 19 strikeouts and one walk on September 9 against Jakarta. These efforts earned Parker a seven-year, $15,760,000 extension at the end of the season from the Marlins.

The Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship went seven games for the first time since 1991 with Kaohsiung edging Zamboanga. It was the fifth pennant for the Steelheads and the first since their mid 1970s dynasty. The Sundaland Association Championship saw Medan down Depok 4-1. The Marlins won their seventh pennant, but first since 1989. The Demons meanwhile were runner-up for the third time in four years.



In the 36^th Austronesia Championship, Kaohsiung claimed a seven-game classic over Medan. The Steelheads joined Jakarta and Taoyuan as the only five-time champs in APB. Kaohsiung is now 5-0 in the finals with the 2000 title joining their 1970s dynasty. Finals MVP was RF Ying-Shan Hu, who had 15 hits, 7 runs, 2 doubles, 3 home runs, 9 RBI, and 7 stolen bases in 14 starts.



Other notes: Although his Marlins lost the final, MVP Afiq Parker had an all-time postseason effort. He was 4-0 in four starts with a 0.00 ERA over 33 innings, 55 strikeouts, and 2.3 WAR. The WAR mark is the all-time APB postseason record for a pitcher. Manila’s Dedi Dewi struck out 22 over 11.1 innings in a game with Taichung, the second most Ks in a game in APB.

Manila’s Yu-Ren Yang tossed APB’s 24^th perfect game, striking out 17 on June 26 against Taoyuan. His Manatees teammate Saldy Latif tossed two no-hitters; one in July against Tainan and one in August versus Cebu. Ricky Jungao became the fifth pitcher to 5000 career strikeouts. This was his final year and he finished with 5159 Ks, second all-time behind Vhon Lasam’s 5365. Jungao is still third as of 2037. River Bulseco became the fourth batter to 2500 career hits. 1B Akbar Fatchurohman won his 13^th and final Gold Glove. 3B Gede Mamuaya won his tenth Silver Slugger. DH Dwi Taufik won his seventh Silver Slugger.