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Defending Southern Conference champ Lusaka took first place in the standings for the third straight season and earned a fourth playoff berth in a row. The Lake Monsters finished 102-60 for a comfortable eight-game lead over second place. That went to Harare at 94-68 for their second-ever playoff berth, joining their 2010 pennant season. The Hustlers had seen back-to-back third place finishes since then.

Harare had the fewest runs allowed (594) while Lusaka scored the most (881) in the SC. Johannesburg was a close third at 91-71, ending a four-year stretch of losing seasons. Maputo, who had been second in 2011 and 2012, dropped to fourth at 89-73.

Lusaka RF Hamad Ali won Southern Conference MVP and broke AAB’s single-season runs scored record with 153. Mwarami Tale had the previous record with 146 in 2006. At the time, Ali also had the fourth-most in a season in any world league, only behind the bonkers 172, 167, and 167 by SAB’s Majed Darwish. Ali’s mark would hold in AAB until 2028 and still ranks second as of 2037.

The 28-year old Tanzanian lefty also led with 68 home runs, 155 RBI, 192 hits, 438 total bases, .711 slugging, 1.121 OPS, 192 wRC+, and 9.4 WAR. Ali would have a few more good years, but would decline sharply in his early 30s. Still, the 2013 effort was definitely one for the record books.

Pitcher of the Year went to Durban’s Amari Yimer. The 26-year old Ethiopian righty won the ERA title at 2.54 and had a 162 ERA+ and 58 FIP-. Yimer had 7.3 WAR over 208.2 innings with 255 strikeouts and a 14-5 record. Sadly, Yimer never had 100+ innings in any season after, falling off hard after a torn elbow ligament in early 2014.



Addis Ababa at 105-57 looked to continue the dynasty in the Central Conference. The five-time defending Africa Series champs finished atop the conference standings for the eighth consecutive season. This Brahmas pitching staff was historic, setting AAB team records for ERA (2.88), runs allowed (512), earned runs (474), and WHIP (1.047). Each of those remains AAB all-time bests as of 2037. AA also allowed 1123 hits with a 6.83 H/9, both ranking third in conference history.

They would see a new challenger as Nairobi took second at 94-68, earning their first-ever playoff berth. This left Lilongwe, Brazzaville, and Kampala as the only AAB teams without a playoff appearance. The Night Hawks finished five ahead of Bujumbura (89-73) and six ahead of Kinshasa (88-74). Kigali, who had been second in the prior two seasons, dropped to eighth at 70-92.

Mwarami Tale took the Central Conference MVP to become the first (and as of 2037, only) seven-time MVP in AAB history. In his fourth season with Addis Ababa, the 32-year old Tanzanian led in runs (121), RBI (138), total bases (394), slugging (.714), OPS (1.117), wRC+ (207), and WAR (10.2). Tale also smacked 64 home runs with a .308 batting average, earning his eighth Silver Slugger.

Kinshasa’s Paulin Pongo repeated as Pitcher of the Year. The 27-year old Congolese righty led in wins (20-8), quality starts (23), shutouts (3), FIP- (63), and WAR (7.6). Pongo also had a 2.61 ERA, 148 ERA+, and 269 strikeouts over 231 innings. In the offseason, Pongo signed a five-year, $32,300,000 extension with the Sun Cats.

Lusaka repeated as Southern Conference Champion, defeating Harare 4-2. On the other side, Addis Ababa downed Nairobi 4-2 for an eighth consecutive Central Conference pennant. The Brahmas joined WAB’s Kano, SAB’s Ahmedabad and OBA’s Melbourne as the only teams in any world league to win 8+ consecutive subleague titles.



In the 19^th Africa Series, Addis Ababa claimed their rematch with Lusaka 5-3 for an unprecedented sixth straight title. Conference MVP Mwarami Tale won Africa Series MVP for the third straight season and is believed to be the only player in any world league with three consecutive finals MVPs. In 13 playoff starts, Tale had 14 hits, 16 runs, 4 doubles, 7 home runs, 15 RBI, 12 walks, 263 wRC+, and 1.4 WAR.



The Brahmas became the first team in any world league to six-peat. A couple of the other great dynasties had won six in seven, including Kinshasa in AAB from 1997-2003, but AA’s six-peat stands alone in history as of 2037. It is a fair debate on if Addis Ababa or Kinshasa had the better run, since the Sun Cats also had 10 finals appearances in 11 years compared to the Brahmas’ eight straight. Regardless, it stands as one of the finest runs in baseball history.

2013 would also mark the end of their great dynasty. Addis Ababa would fall in the conference championship in 2014, then go on a decade-long streak without a playoff berth. Six-time MVP Felix Chaula left after the 2013 season for Mogadishu and Tale would leave in free agency for Johannesburg after the 2014 season.

Manager Orville Sneddon also joined former Kinshaha manager Alimayu Kiros with six championships. Only seven managers in world history have six or more titles. The Scotsman had a unique path to Ethiopia after an unremarkable pitching career from 1985-92 in Europe. Sneddon was Kigali’s bench coach from 2000-02 before taking over the Brahmas job in 2003. He won Manager of the Year seven times and would retire after the 2015 season with a 1271-835 record.

Sneddon’s .604 winning percentage is the best among any AAB manager with 1000+ games. Kiros would have him beat in total wins at 1359-909 and remained the AAB’s winngest manager until passed by Hakim Grant in 2027.

Other notes: Bujumbura 1B Luke Tembo set the AAB record for most strikeouts in a season with 241, a mark he still holds in 2037. Despite that, Tembo smacked 65 home runs in 2013, leading the conference for the seventh time. It was also his seventh 60+ homer season, which led all AAB players. It wasn’t a world record though, as the all-time home run king Nordine Soule had ten 60+ dinger seasons in his Arab League career.

Kinshasa’s Reginald Ulengo set a single-season AAB record that still holds with 4.85 hits allowed per nine innings. He allowed only 98 hits over 182 innings. However, Ulengo’s ERA+ would only be 117, since he also walked the most batters in the conference at 133.

Brazzaville’s Augustin Garba threw AAB’s second-ever perfect game. Most impressively, he did it against the champs with 14 strikeouts versus Addis Ababa on August 24. The only other perfect game had come back in 2002 by Seth Zoontjes. Ndjamena’s Simpson Ndebele had a 30-game hit streak, besting Arsenio Barroso’s record of 29 from 2004. Ndebele’s wouldn’t be passed until 2027.

Felix Chaula became the first to reach 800 career home runs. Mwarami Tale and Marlin Kimwaki both passed 1500 RBI, joining Chaula and Mohau Sibiya as the only AAB guys to do so. Chaula also became the first 12-time Silver Slugger winner. It was his first as a left fielder with the previous 11 in right field. 2B Fani Ngambi won his ninth Silver Slugger.