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Austronesia Professional Baseball had a two-player Hall of Fame class for 2003. Both were first ballot starting pitchers, although they got in with very different margins. Yao-Tsung Chang was a firm addition at 90.2%, while Chandra Igbonefo only barely crossed the 66% requirement at 68.4%. Closer Hong Quinonez barely missed joining them with 65.8% on his seventh try.



Dropped after ten ballots was reliever Ervin Tat, whose APB career was only eight years between Pekanbaru and Quezon. He had an unremarkable MLB tenure after that. Tat had 129 saves and 179 shutdowns, a 1.59 ERA, 842.2 innings, 1220 strikeouts, 151 ERA+, and 32.5 WAR, plus one Reliever of the Year. Tat had a lot of WAR for a short time, but lacked the important counting stats voters wanted. He still managed 33.1% as a ballot peak in 1995 before ending with 15.8%.



Yao-Tsung Chang – Starting Pitcher – Taipei Tigercats – 90.2% First Ballot

Yao-Tsung Chang was a 6’2’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Yungkang, Taiwan; a district of roughly 230,000 within Tainan. Chang had great movement on his pitches with good stuff, but below average control. His best pitch was a 94-96 mph cutter which he mixed with a strong curveball, nice sinker, and decent changeup. Chang had respectable stamina and was great at holding runners. He showed very sturdy durability and could be relied upon for a full slate of starts each year.

Chang was signed in April 1979 as a teenage amateur by Taipei. He’d spend nearly his entire career in the capital city. Chang officially debuted with one appearance in 1983 at age 21. 1984 was his first year as a full-time starter, a role he’d keep for the Tigercats for 13 years. In his earliest seasons, Chang was consistently good, but not viewed as the best of the best.

After around 15 years of mostly mediocrity, Taipei found success in the late 1980s. They won five Taiwan League titles from 1988-93 and took the Taiwan-Philippine Association title in 1988, 89, and 93. In 1988, The Tigercats were Austronesia Championships, winning the final against Semarang. In his playoff career for Taipei, Chang had a 10-3 record over 115.1 innings, 2.42 ERA, 96 strikeouts, 116 ERA+, and 2.2 WAR. Chang made history in the 1993 APB Championship. Although Taipei lost the series to Jakarta, Chang tossed a no-hitter in the finals, striking out five with one walk.

1990 would be his first time as a Pitcher of the Year finalist, taking third. Chang was third again in 1992 and 1993, but never got closer. He would lead the TPA in wins three times and quality starts once, although he otherwise didn’t have any black ink. His best season by WAR was 7.0 in 1991. Steady and reliable was the trick for Chang. Taipei was pleased with that, giving him a six-year, $6,360,000 extension in early 1991.

Chang regressed in his final two seasons with Taipei with a sub-100 ERA+. The Tigercats had fallen towards the middle of the standings by this point and were looking to rebuild. Just before the start of the 1997 season, Chang was moved to Manila for three prospects. He maintained a good relationship with Taipei officials and his #10 uniform would get retired shortly after.

Chang had a good season in Manila with 5.8 WAR, his best effort in a few years. The Manatees had the best record in the TPA, but lost the Association Championship to Taoyuan. Chang gave up three runs (two earned) over eight innings in his one playoff start. It seemed like Chang still had enough in the tank to keep going, but he was content to call it a career there at age 36.

Chang had a 228-143 record, 2.43 ERA, 3583.1 innings, 3510 strikeouts, 835 walks, 356/457 quality starts, 111 complete games, 114 ERA+, 88 FIP-, and 66.0 WAR. Slow and steady won the race for Chang, whose totals aren’t eye-popping much like his yearly results. But he was consistently quite solid for 14 years and helped Taipei earn three pennants. Chang received 90.2% to headline APB’s 2003 Hall of Fame class.



Chandra Igbonefo - Starting Pitcher – Depok Demons – 68.4% First Ballot

Chandra Igbonefo was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Tarub, Indonesia, a city of 75,000 people in the Central Java province. Igbonefo was a fireballer known for his overpowering stuff, which made up for his subpar movement and control. He had a 99-101 mph fastball and was excellent at confusing hitters with a good changeup and solid splitter. Igbonefo had excellent stamina and was great at holding the runners he did allow on base. He also had a reputation in the clubhouse as a prankster.

Despite being from relatively humble origins in Indonesia, Igbonefo was spotted by a Taiwanese scout in June 1977. He signed a deal with Taoyuan, although he never played an inning for the Tsunami. In the 1982 offseason, the 22-year old Igbonefo was traded to Depok straight up for catcher Prince Hunoz. The Demons gave Igbonefo a split load between starting and relief in 1983 with respectable results. He became a full-time starter after that.

Depok was a terrible team in this era with Igbonefo’s tenure in the middle of a nearly 20 year playoff drought. He pitched solidly, but didn’t get awards attention. Igbonefo had a career best 389 strikeouts and 7.6 WAR in 1987, posting 8 shutouts. Even in his best seasons though, Igbonefo wasn’t a league leader.

Disaster would strike in August 1990 with a torn rotator cuff, knocking Igbonefo out 15-16 months. Even with the injury, the Demons gave him a two-year, $1,660,000 extension in late 1990 with the hopes that he’d bounce back. Igbonefo did return in late 1991 and looked good in seven starts. In total with Depok,Igbonefo had a 97-121 record, 2.45 ERA, 2022 innings, 2582 strikeouts, 495 walks, 99 ERA+, 91 FIP-, and 34.4 WAR. The Demons would later retire his #4 uniform for his contributions.

However, Depok did buy out the final year of his deal, making Igbonefo a free agent for the 1992 season at age 31. Medan inked him to a two-year, $1,700,000 deal. Igbonefo had a quite solid first year with the Marlins, but was more average into 1993. Near the deadline, he was shipped to Jakarta for three prospects. With Medan, he had a 22-24 record, 2.46 ERA, 562 strikeouts, 9.0 WAR, and 101 ERA+.

Igbonefo was merely average with the Jaguars, but he helped them win the APB Championship. He allowed 3 earned runs in 8.2 innings in his one playoff start, a victory. A free agent again at age 33, Batam gave him a four-year, $6,400,000 contract. Igbonefo lived up to the deal with initially with a second place in Pitcher of the Year voting in 1994, his only time as a finalist. Igbonefo had a career-best 1.67 ERA that year with 32 quality starts, 371 strikeouts, and 7.4 WAR.

Igbonefo was respectable in the next two years for Batam, who earned playoff berths in 1994, 95, and 97. Igbonefo had a 2.16 ERA in his four playoff starts as a Blue Raider with 37 strikeouts. He had 18 innings with a 1.00 ERA in 1997 as Batam won the Sundaland Association pennant, although they dropped the APB final to Taoyuan.

Despite his playoff success in 1997, Igbonefo had regressed in that final season of his deal. An elbow strain cost him seven weeks and his velocity dropped towards the mid 90s after previously being triple-digits. Igbonefo was the eighth APB pitcher to 4000 strikeouts though while with Batam. In total there, he had a 58-34 record, 2.21 ERA, 866 innings, 1073 strikeouts, 14.0 WAR, and 114 ERA+. Igbonefo went unsigned in 1998 and retired that winter at age 38.

For his career, Igbonefo finished with a 181-186 record, 2.41 ERA, 3433.1 innings, 4353 strikeouts, 770 walks, 326/427 quality starts, 168 complete game, 102 ERA+, 91 FIP-, and 58.9 WAR. He was ninth all-time in strikeouts at induction and still sits 15^th as of 2037. However, Igbonefo wasn’t a league leader or Pitcher of the Year type. Traditionalist voters also didn’t want to induct a guy with a losing record. The advanced stats were mixed with the ERA+ suggesting slightly above average and FIP- saying he was a victim of poor support at points.

Many voters like strikeouts though, which helped Igbonefo’s case that was otherwise borderline. When looking back with later inductees, Igbonefo stands out as one of the weaker additions from the mound. However, he managed to get 68.4% on his debut, forever earning a first ballot spot with the 2003 class.