[FuzzyRussianHat]

Pitcher Zuhair Hamad was the lone addition into the Arab League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. He wasn’t a slam dunk, but his 73.9% was plenty for a first ballot nod. SP Nacerdine Rahim barely missed the 66% cut with 61.4% in his ninth try. CL Khemais Khalid got 52.5% in his tenth and final opportunity. Also above 50% was 2B Ahmad Abbas with a 52.1% fourth ballot. The next best debut was down at 22.5%.



For Khalid, he got as high as 60.3% in 2009 and was never lower than 47%, but he didn’t quite have the longevity. He was Amman’s closer only for five seasons, but won four Reliever of the Year awards and led in saves thrice in that stretch. In total, Khalid had 229 saves, 1.66 ERA, 714.1 innings, 972 strikeouts, 218 ERA+, and 28.1 WAR. He needed a few more years in the closer role to reach the accumulations voters expected from top relievers, but Khalid had an impressive peak still.

SP Qadir Al-Khalid also was dropped after ten failed ballots, peaking at 32.4% in 2007 and ending with 20.7%. He was hurt by being a seasoned pro at age 29 when ALB officially started, limiting his accumulations. Al-Khalid won MVP and Pitcher of the Year in his ALB debut season of 1990 and helped Medina win two championships.

In ten official seasons, Al-Khalid had a 129-66 record, 2.91 ERA, 1755.2 innings, 1562 strikeouts, 327 walks, 124 ERA+, and 51.0 WAR. As of 2037, his ERA is 23^rd among any pitcher with 1000+ innings. He also had a 2.36 ERA over 80 playoff innings for the Mastodons. Al-Khalid would’ve probably been a surefire lock if his full 20s counted, but he was a victim of timing.

Also dropped after ten tries was Mohamed Abdelhafeed, who also was hurt by starting late at age 27. He won three ALB titles between Casablanca and Cairo and was 1992 Pitcher of the Year. Abdelhafeed had a 108-57 record, 2.64 ERA, 1489 innings, 1459 strikeouts, 135 ERA+, and 39.8 WAR. His ERA still ranks 10^th best, but he had even fewer accumulations after falling victim to a torn UCL in 1997. Abdelhafeed peaked at 21.3% in his debut and ended with 8.6%.



Zuhair Hamad – Starting Pitcher – Mosul Muskies – 73.9% First Ballot

Zuhair Hamad was a 5’10’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Omdurman, Sudan; the country’s second-largest city with more than two million on the other side of the Nile from Khartoum. Hamad wasn’t a hard thrower as his velocity peaked in the 91-93 mph range. Still, he graded out as having solid stuff along with respectable control and okay movement.

Hamad’s ability to change speeds was his strongest asset with his changeup and curveball typically the best pitches. He also had a forkball and fastball he could go to. Hamad’s stamina was weak compared to most aces with complete games a rarity. However, his durability was excellent for much of his career, leading to reliable innings. Hamad was also one of the hardest working guys in the game, which allowed him to succeed over a 15-year career.

Arab League Baseball officially started up in 1990 when Hamad was 16-years old. He had already earned attention in Sudan as a pitcher with great potential. Hamad caught the eye of a visiting scout from Iraq, who signed him in May 1990 to a developmental deal with Mosul. He spent around four years in the Muskies’ developmental system before debuting in 1994 at age 20. Hamad had some initial struggles with 13 starts in his rookie year and a 4.58 ERA.

Hamad earned a full-time roster spot in 1995 and became a big reason for Mosul’s dynasty run. The Muskies had their first winning season that year at 93-69, falling in the Eastern Conference Final to Medina. This started a streak of eight straight Iraq Division titles. Mosul would win 100+ games each year from 1996-2001 with conference finals berths each year.

During their playoff streak, Hamad had 4.5+ WAR each season and topped 6+ thrice. He wasn’t a league leader, but he had a sub-three ERA four times and took third in 1997 Pitcher of the Year voting; his only time as a finalist. 2001 would see career bests in strikeouts (326) and WAR (7.9).

Mosul won the Eastern Conference pennant in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2001. The Muskies were also Arab League champs in 1998, 1999, and 2001. 2000 had a historic 121-41 record, which remains the most wins ever in an ALB season as of 2037. However, they were stunned by 83-win Kuwait in the conference final. Still, the Mosul dynasty stands as one of the all-time runs in ALB history.

Hamad was a big reason they had that run, although his playoff career was a very mixed bag. He had a great 1998 run with a 2.01 ERA in three starts and also looked good in his lone starts from 1995 and 2000. However, Hamad struggled in many of his other appearances. His career line with Mosul is mediocre with a 5.21 ERA over 96.2 innings, 5-6 record in 16 starts, 119 strikeouts, 28 walks, and 73 ERA+.

Still, Mosul would later retire his #41 uniform for his role in their success. In total with the Muskies, Hamad had a 139-61 record, 3.10 ERA, 1853.2 innings, 2194 strikeouts, 391 walks, 122 ERA+, and 44.1 WAR. 2002 would be a contract year for a 28-year old Hamad who wanted to secure the bag in a growing ALB. This would be the last year of Mosul’s playoff streak, although they didn’t get to the conference final.

Figuring a rebuild was coming and that Hamad would be too expensive, Mosul traded him in July 2002 to Medina for veteran 1B Javid Serik and prospect Maadh Siddiqui. The Mastodons ended a four-year stretch of losing seasons, but missed out on the division title by a game to Riyadh. Hamad had a nice second-half with Medina, who gave him a one-year extension for $2,360,000.

Medina won the Saudi Division in 2003 with Hamad posting a 5.7 WAR. He had a 4.26 ERA in his two playoff starts as they lost the conference final to Dubai. With the Mastodons, Hamad had a 19-14 record, 3.12 ERA, 297 innings, 392 strikeouts, 125 ERA+, and 8.8 WAR. He couldn’t come to terms long-term with Medina and opted for free agency at age 30.

Although he bounced around the Arab World in his career, Hamad did return home to Sudan regularly for the World Baseball Championship. Unlike his playoff woes in ALB, Hamad was quite dominant on the world stage. From 1995-2006, he had 109 innings, an 11-1 record, 1.65 ERA, 126 strikeouts, 27 walks, 212 ERA+, and 3.3 WAR. As of 2037, amongst all pitchers with 100+ WBC innings, Hamad’s ERA ranks 36^th.

Hamad signed a five-year, $8,540,000 deal with Kuwait. The Whales were stuck in the mid-tier for most of his run, although he started with three straight 4+ WAR seasons. Hamad’s first major injury setback came in September 2006 with a damaged elbow ligament, costing him 10 months. He was back for the summer of 2007, but lost part of the fall to a partially torn labrum.

In April 2008, Hamad became the third ALB pitcher to reach 200 career wins. He had a full load, but struggled to a 4.55 ERA over 164.1 innings. Kuwait broke their playoff drought, but Hamad wasn’t used as they lost in the first round to Medina. In total with the Whales, Hamad had a 50-34 record, 3.16 ERA, 797.2 innings, 841 strikeouts, 172 walks, 127 ERA+, and 17.7 WAR.

Hamad was a free agent again at age 35, but most ALB teams felt he was done. He found an unlikely home in Argentina with Salta, who was a Beisbol Sudamerica expansion team for 2009. Hamad stunk though in only 28 innings mostly out of the bullpen with a 6.43 ERA. He would retire that winter at age 36.

For his ALB career, Hamad had a 208-109 record, 3.12 ERA, 2948.1 innings, 3427 strikeouts, 615 walks, 124 ERA+, and 70.7 WAR. As of 2037, he ranks 14^th in wins, 19^th in strikeouts, and 17^th in WAR among pitchers. Hamad’s ERA sits 44^th among all pitchers with 1000+ career innings and his opponents’ OPS of .649 is 45^th.

Hamad was never considered THE top pitcher during his run and he didn’t have the dominant black ink. However, he was a reliably solid guy for a team that won three ALB titles during a dynasty run. It was fitting that even as a first ballot inductee, Hamad didn’t have an eye-popping percentage. 73.9% was enough though to make Hamad the lone inductee for Arab League Baseball in 2014.