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For the first time in franchise history, Luanda finished first in the Southern Conference standings. The Landsharks had earned three prior playoff berths in 1996, 2004, and 2006; but each was as the second place team. Luanda finished 103-59 atop the SC standings for a franchise best.

After winning back-to-back AAB titles in 2006-07, Durban fell to 71-91 in 2008. The Deer bounced back in 2009, placing second at 96-66. Durban’s bullpen helped them in close games, setting a conference record with 57 saves. Harare was a distant third at 89-73.

Defending conference champ Antananarivo fell off a cliff, going from back-to-back 100 win seasons to an eighth place 70-92. Last year’s second place team Johannesburg had an even worse collapse, going from 98-64 in 2008 to last place in 2009 at 64-98.

Luanda CF Mwarami Tale repeated as Southern Conference MVP and won his fourth with a historic effort. The 28-year old Tanzanian lefty set a new AAB record for WAR by a position player at 14.4; which still stands as the all-time best as of 2037. Tale’s triple slash were all single-season records with a .382/.489/.885 mark. The OBP, slugging, and his 1.375 OPS still hold the #1 spot, while his batting average mark would be beaten in 2030.

Tale also set a new RBI record with 180, which stood until 2025 and remains fourth as of 2037. His 464 total bases also broke his own 454 from 2006 and stood as the record until 2024. It still ranks seventh in 2037. He joined elite company with his second 70+ homer season, smacking 71. Tale also led in hits (200), total bases (464), and wRC+ (237) while scoring 131 runs. He earned AAB’s second-ever batting Triple Crown, joining Abebe Chekol’s 2000 season.

Luanda also had Pitcher of the Year Paul Lambote, who led in strikeouts (279), WAR (6.0), and complete games (7). The 27-year old righty from the DR Congo had a 14-8 record and 3.29 ERA in 227.1 innings with a 132 ERA+. Lambote also set an AAB single-game record by striking out 21 on April 9 against Johannesburg. He held the record previously with 19 in 2006. As of 2037, no other AAB pitcher has reached 21 Ks.

The Landsharks also signed veteran closer Tewderos Tadesse, who became the second AAB pitcher to win five Reliever of the Year awards. The 40-year old Ethiopian had 33 saves, a 2.56 ERA, 88 innings, 121 strikeouts, and 5.0 WAR. Tadesse became the fourth to reach 300 career saves.



Defending African Series winner and three-time reigning Central Conference champ Addis Ababa again finished first place. The Brahmas were 96-66, edging out a solid 94-70 effort by Mogadishu. The Mighty Mice earned their third-ever playoff berth, joining the 1998 and 2002 seasons. Mogadishu hadn’t been above .500 since 2002. There was an 11 game drop to third place Kampala at 83-79. Last year’s wild card Kigali dropped to eighth at 74-88.

RF Felix Chaula became the first five-time MVP in AAB history. He won Central Conference MVP for the first time in his two years with Addis Ababa, having previously won the honor in 2006 with Kinshasa and from 2001-03 with Lilongwe. The 33-year old Tanzanian led in runs (135), RBI (136), total bases (389), slugging (.719), OPS (1.133), wRC+ (196), and WAR (9.2). Chaula also had 68 home runs and a .294 batting average. He earned his eighth Silver Slugger with his efforts.

His Brahmas teammate Gabriel Mandelli won Pitcher of the Year in his Addis Ababa debut. The 36-year old Italian had come to the African Association in 2007 with Cape Town after playing 11 seasons with EBF’s Milan. Mandelli led in wins (25-5), ERA (2.49), innings (257), complete games (18), and shutouts (7). He added 231 strikeouts, a 167 ERA+, and 8.3 WAR.

Luanda swept Durban to win their first-ever Southern Conference Championship. Meanwhile, Addis Ababa four-peated in the Central Conference, taking the title 4-1 over Mogadishu. The Brahmas joined Kinshasa (1997-00, 02-05) and Johannesburg (1998-01) as the only franchises to win four consecutive pennants.



Addis Ababa pulled off repeat AAB titles by winning the 15^th Africa Series 5-2 over Luanda. Conference MVP Felix Chaula was the MVP of both playoff series, making 11 starts with 15 hits, 9 runs, 5 doubles, 4 home runs, 6 RBI, a .395/.531/.842 slash, and 250 wRC+.



Luanda’s Mwarami Tale was the conference finals MVP on the other side. Tale had signed an eight-year, $20,320,000 extension in April 2005 with the Landsharks and brought them to new heights. Much to their chagrin though, he’d opt out of his deal after the 2009 season with his stock at an all-time high. He would leave for Addis Ababa on an eight-year, $29,640,000 deal. That addition would turn the Brahmas from a great dynasty into an all-time historic one in the coming years.

Other notes: Harare’s Fani Ngambi set a single-season record with 139 stolen bases. This would hold until 2019 and still ranks eighth as of 2037. Bujumbura’s Luke Tembo hit 71 home runs, joining Tale and Mohau Sibiya as the only AAB sluggers to reach 70+. Cape Town had historically bad pitching with the team’s 1.559 WHIP setting a new AAB worst. That remained the all-time worst until 2025.

Sibiya became the first to reach both 1500 career RBI and 1500 runs scored. He played two more years, ending with 1585 RBI and 1604 runs. Marley Mubiru became the fourth slugger to reach 500 career home runs. RF Enzo Cussoca won his seventh Gold Glove. 2B Gedeon Bukasa won his seventh Silver Slugger.

Henry Kibirige became the first pitcher to 200 career wins, retiring with 203. He’d be the wins leader until the early 2020s and still ranks fourth as of 2037. Joel Mwasesa became the first to 3500 strikeouts, also retiring in 2009. His 3583 Ks held as the top mark until the mid 2010s and still ranks third in 2037.

For the 2000s, AAB had a league batting average of around .245 and a league ERA around 4.14. This ranked as just below average in terms of hits, but still above average to high in terms of runs scored. No other league in the 2000s had a higher ERA than AAB.