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FuzzyRussianHat · 12-30-2024, 05:56 AM

Two players were added upon their ballot debut into Austronesia Professional Baseball’s 2022 Hall of Fame class. SP Bima Idris was close to unanimous at 98.2% and OF/DH Ching-Hui Lin earned a solid 80.6%. On his tenth and final try, RF Sutanto Mangkoepradja missed the 66% requirement again at 61.5%. Three others were above 50% with SP Bagus Ranga debuting at 57.0%, SP Dwi Aditya Supandi getting 55.8% on his fourth ballot, and LF Beau Cabral at 52.1% for his fourth go.

For Mangkoepradja, he had gotten as close as 64.2% in 2020 and 63.4% in 2019 and never was below 47%. He had an 18-year APB run mostly with Depok, winning five Silver Sluggers and finishing with 1801 hits, 997 runs, 269 doubles, 470 home runs, 1011 RBI, 636 walks, 407 stolen bases, a .254/.321/.517 slash, 186 wRC+, and 81.2 WAR.

Even in the very low scoring APB, Magnkoepradja was clearly one of the most efficient hitters of his era. Despite his advanced stats, he was rarely a league leader apart from a strong 1991, played terrible defense, and was on mostly forgettable Depok teams. Still as of 2037, Mangkoepradja is 27^th in OPS among those with 3000+ plate appearances, 16^th in homers, and 45^th in WAR among position players. He typically is cited amongst APB’s biggest snubs, but the dividing line has to be drawn somewhere. Depok fans remember him fondly as his #5 uniform is retired there.

Another snub was 1B Gavin Loh, who was above 60% twice and never was below 44%. He was hurt by leaving for MLB for seven years in his 30s, as his combined pro tallies saw 2847 hits, 1439 runs, 402 doubles, 660 home runs, 1579 RBI, 975 walks, a .258/.321/.486 slash, 157 wRC+, and 105.6 WAR. With Singapore, Loh won two MVPs, one Gold Glove, and three Silver Sluggers. His 1996 season was epic with 53 homers, 114 RBI, a 1.031 OPS, and 14.0 WAR.

Loh’s APB tallies had 1734 hits, 814 runs, 249 doubles, 366 home runs, 876 RBI, 584 walks, a .256/.317/.467 slash, 174 wRC+, and 74.0 WAR. The MLB departure just kept the overall totals too low for many voters’ likings, even if he too was one of the more efficient batters of his era. Loh’s #35 is retired by Singapore, as he helped them to a pennant in 1996 and he remains a very popular figure with Sharks fans.

SS Alif Aris also fell off the ballot, although he never got quite as close. He ended at only 6.4%, but was as high as 43.5% in the beginning. Aris statistically is a major snub, finishing with 109.2 WAR, 2120 hits, 846 runs, 432 doubles, 276 home runs, 992 RBI, a .252/.287/.421 slash, and 141 wRC+. He won nine Silver Sluggers, one MVP, and helped Jakarta to the APB Championship in 2004.

For whatever reason, APB voters have been harsh towards shortstops with none inducted as of 2037. Aris is the most deserving by many metrics, still leading all shortstops in WAR, runs, total bases, doubles, homers, and RBI. He still ranks 13^th among all position players in WAR, but Aris’s great defensive value at SS didn’t move the needle. If he wasn’t good enough, one wonders what it would take for an APB shortstop to make the cut.

Bima Idris – Starting Pitcher – Davao Devil Rays – 98.2% First Ballot

Bima Idris was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Jakarta, Indonesia’s largest city. Idris had incredible stuff that graded as a 10/10 at his peak from some scouts. He had good movement as well, although his control was merely average at best. Idris had a three-pitch arsenal of a 99-101 mph fastball, slider, and changeup. He was a master at making all three look the same out of his hand until it was too late for a hitter to adjust.

Idris’s stamina was good and managed to avoid major arm injuries throughout his 14 year career, tossing 200+ innings in 12 seasons. His windup style did lead to very poor defense, but his strikeout rate often kept the ball out of play anyhow. Idris was appreciated by teammates for his loyalty and he emerged as one of his era’s most impactful aces.

Being a hard throwing lefty in a metropolis quickly gets scouts banging down your door as a teenager. One of them convinced Idris to leave Indonesia for the Philippines, signing a developmental deal in May 1995 with Davao. Idris wasn’t an overnight success though with his control issues, spending the better part of seven years in the Devil Rays developmental system. Idris debuted in 2002 at age 23 but was terrible over 63.2 innings. He only saw seven starts in 2003, but thrived in that small sample to earn the rotation spot for 2004 onward.

By his second full season, Idris had his first of nine 8+ WAR seasons and first of seven 350+ strikeout efforts. His rise coincided with the rise of Davao as an APB dynasty. The Devil Rays would win seven consecutive Philippine League titles from 2005-11. Davao won their first Austronesia Championship of this run in 2005 over Palembang. Idris had an excellent postseason run, allowing one run over 17.2 innings with 22 strikeouts.

Davao repeated in 2006 by beating Surabaya for the APB title. Idris led the Taiwan-Philippine Association in strikeouts at 380 and had a 2.18 ERA over 33 playoff innings. Idris also struck out 56 in the playoffs, falling three short of APB’s postseason record. He led again in strikeouts in 2006 and 2007 while also leading in wins for the first time. Idris also had his first sub-two ERA seasons, taking Pitcher of the Year in 2007. He was second in 2008’s POTY and was also second in 2007’s MVP voting. However, the Devil Rays fell in the TPA Championship both seasons.

The dynasty resumed with two more APB titles, beating Singapore in the 2009 final and Medan in 2010. Davao got their fifth TPA pennant of the run in 2011, but fell to Pekanbaru for the APB crown. Idris was especially dominant in the 2010 run with a 0.84 ERA and 38 strikeouts over 32.1 innings. His 2011 was also great with a 1.14 ERA over 23.2 innings. For his playoff career with the Devil Rays, Idris had an 11-4 record, 1.68 ERA, 155.1 innings, 204 strikeouts, 29 walks, 168 ERA+, and 6.2 WAR.

Despite being an APB playoff beast, Idris’s stats were surprisingly lackluster in the Baseball Grand Championship with Davao. He had a 6.23 ERA in 8.2 innings in 2010 and a 4.15 ERA over 30.1 innings in 2011, which were iffy even accounting for a much higher-scoring overall environment. Davao went 2-7 in the inaugural 2010 divisional BGC, then was 8-11 in the round robin format in 2011.

Idris was second in POTY voting in 2009 and that winter signed a five-year, $58 million extension with Davao. He won the top award for the second time in 2010 with career bests in ERA (1.17) and WHIP (0.66). 2010 was also notable for a no-hitter on April 26 against Hsinchu with 9 strikeouts and 2 walks. Idris would see his first major injury in 2011, missing two months to a strained hamstring.

In 2012 and 2013, Idris placed third both years in Pitcher of the Year votung. By WAR, 2012 was actually his finest season narrowly at 10.0. Davao’s run at the top had ended by this point, finishing 84-78 in 2012 to snap their PL title streak. They stayed competitive with 82 wins in 2013 and 91 in 2014. On July 8, 2013, Idris notably tossed his second no-hitter with 14 strikeouts and 5 walks over Tainan.

2015 was to be the final year of Idris’s big extension, but he was surprised as Davao voided the team option year with a $1,100,000 buyout. Thus at age 36, Idris was a free agent for the first time at age 36. With Davao, he had a 208-80 record, 1.89 ERA, 2811.1 innings, 3790 strikeouts, 575 walks, 149 ERA+, and 94.8 WAR. For his indispensible role in the Devil Rays dynasty, Idris’s #13 uniform would later be retired.

Idris returned to his home country on a three-year, $44,800,000 deal with Bandung. Despite having his best years in the Philippines, Idris did represent Indonesia regularly in the World Baseball Championship. From 2006-13, he tossed 135 innings with an 11-3 record, 3.00 ERA, 222 strikeouts, and 5.0 WAR. Indonesia’s best finish with Idris was a third place in 2008.

In his Bandung debut, Idris led in wins and maintained a strong ERA, although his velocity and strikeouts had both dipped noticeably. The Blackhawks would win the APB Championship over Taipei, giving Idris his 5^th title ring. It was statistically his weakest postseason effort though with a 3.09 ERA over 23.1 innings. On the whole though, Idris is widely viewed as one of the all-time playoff greats in APB.

For his playoff career, Idris had a 12-4 record, 1.86 ERA, 178.2 innings, 226 strikeouts, 29 walks, 20 quality starts, 5 complete games, 3 shutouts, 146 ERA+, 57 FIP-, and 6.4 WAR. As of 2037, Idris has more playoff innings than anyone else and ranks 3^rd in WAR, 2^nd in wins, and 3^rd in strikeouts. He ranked 1^st in all of those stats at retirement.

Idris had still been effective in 2015 despite his once triple-digit velocity falling into the 95-97 mph range. It plummeted further to 90-92 mph in 2016, leading to zero WAR for Idris despite throwing 226.1 innings. With this drop, he realized it was time to retire that winter shortly after his 38^th birthday. In two years for Bandung, Idris had a 2.28 ERA, 33-20 record, 481.2 innings, 383 strikeouts, 109 ERA+, and 5.2 WAR.

In total, Idris saw a 241-100 record, 1.94 ERA, 3293 innings, 4173 strikeouts, 656 walks, 328/396 quality starts, 161 complete games, 56 shutouts, 142 ERA+, 66 FIP-, and 100.0 WAR. Despite raw dominance, his control issues meant he often threw a lot of pitches and didn’t have as many innings as you might expect, ranking 43^rd as of 2037.

Idris does still rank 16^th in pitching WAR, 9^th in wins, 17^th in strikeouts, 30^th in complete games, and 12^th in shutouts. Among all pitchers with 1000+ innings, his ERA ranks 32^nd, his 0.85 WHIP is 38^th, and his .524 opponent’s OPS is 29^th. Idris also ranks 47^th in K/9 at 11.41 and has the 39^th most walks at 656. While APB’s extremely low offense environment helps this a lot, Idris does have the 20^th best ERA of all world Hall of Fame starters as of 2037. His ERA+ only narrowly misses the top 50 though.

With so many great pitchers in APB history, Idris doesn’t often get ranked higher than the top 10 or top 15. However, he has an important place in history as a stellar playoff ace for one of APB’s best-ever dynasty runs with Davao. Idris was an undisputed Hall of Fame headliner, leading the 2022 class at 98.2%.

Ching-Hui Lin – Outfield/Designated Hitter – Taipei Tigercats – 80.6% First Ballot

Ching-Hui Lin was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed corner outfielder from Yuanlin, a city of 122,000 in western Taiwan. Lin was an excellent power hitter with very good contact skills and a respectable eye for drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He was especially dominant against right-handed pitching with a career 189 wRC+ and .954 OPS. Lin was plenty strong against lefties too with a 151 wRC+ and .796 OPS.

Nine times in his career, Lin had 40+ home runs and he had 30+ in 13 seasons. His gap power was quite solid as well with 27 doubles and 9 triples per his 162 game average. Lin was remarkably average as a baserunner, but average speed was better than you often got from your top slugger. The lack of speed did weigh Lin down though defensively.

Around 2/3s of his career starts were split between right field and left field with a slight preference towards right. In either spot, Lin was a poor defender, leading to most of his remaining starts as a designated hitter. At any spot, Lin was always ready as an ironman who played 155+ games in all but his first and final seasons. His reliability, loyalty, and impressive bat turned Lin into one of the most popular baseball stars to ever come out of Taiwan.

Lin attended National Taitung University and it was clear that he was a superstar in the making. With the first pick in the 2004 APB Draft, Lin was selected by Taipei, where he’d spend his entire APB career. He was only used for 61 games and 5 starts in his rookie year, then was a full-time starter for the rest of his Tigercats run. Lin’s second season was his first of six with Taipei leading the Taiwan-Philippine Association in home runs and the first of six as the RBI leader.

From 2007-15, Lin had 7+ WAR each season. He led the TPA in runs scored five times, homers six times, doubles once, RBI six times, total bases seven times, OBP twice, slugging five times, OPS five times, wRC+ four times, and WAR four times. Lin won Silver Sluggers each year in this run, getting five as a DH (2007-10, 15), three as a right fielder (2011-12, 14) and one in left field (2013). By the end of the 2009 season, Taipei had locked him up on an eight-year, $98,400,000 extension.

Lin became only the fourth player to that point in APB to win 5+ MVP awards, taking the top honor in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2015. He also finished third in 2009 and 2012, second in 2013, and third again in 2014. 2010 was Lin’s finest season in APB by WAR (10.4), homers (52), total bases (383), runs (107), and wRC+ (227). His best OPS (1.006), batting average (.324), OBP (.384), and RBI tallies (112) came in 2008.

With Lin’s bat, Taipei emerged as a contender again and ended a decade-long playoff drought in 2009. The Tigercats took first in the Taiwan League with Lin in 2009, 10, 12, 13, 14, and 15. They won 107+ games in five of those seasons, but Taipei couldn’t get over the playoff hump. The Tigercats finished 0-6 in the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship in that run. Taipei would eventually get a few pennants later in the decade, but that would be after Lin was gone.

While Lin’s playoff numbers weren’t bad with Taipei, they were much weaker than his usual dominant production. In 32 starts, he had 27 hits, 10 runs, 6 homers, 2 doubles, 3 triples, 18 RBI, a .220/.248/.431 slash, 122 wRC+, and 0.8 WAR. Few blamed Lin for their playoff failings, but it was a great regret for him that Taipei never won a title while he was there.

Lin remained a massive superstar in Taiwan’s capital and across the island regardless. He was a regular for his country in the World Baseball Championship, where his numbers were quite impressive. From 2007-21, Lin had 152 games and 140 starts, 140 hits, 87 runs, 27 doubles, 41 home runs, 99 RBI, 64 walks, a .268/.357/.563 slash, 158 wRC+, and 6.9 WAR. In 2017, Lin helped Taiwan to a runner-up finish to the United States. In that run, he started 25 games with 25 hits, 15 runs, 4 doubles, 5 homers, 14 RBI, 19 walks, a .911 OPS, and 1.1 WAR.

As of 2037, Lin ranks 2nd in WAR among Taiwanese position players in the WBC, 2^nd in runs, 2^nd in hits, 2^nd in doubles, 4^th in home runs, and 1^st in RBI. He would continue to come home to Taiwan for the WBC even after his Taipei days ended. Lin remained a hugely popular star who still had a strong following even as he moved to the other side of the world. He did disappoint many with the Tigercats as he opted out of the remainder of his deal after the 2015 season, becoming a free agent at age 32.

With Taipei, Lin finished with 1762 hits, 962 runs, 266 doubles, 103 triples, 431 home runs, 1003 RBI, 478 walks, a .292/.345/.585 slash, 192 wRC+, and 84.1 WAR. Despite his early departure, Lin still ranks as of 2037 38^th in WAR among position players, 26^th in home runs, 47^th in RBI, 57^th in runs scored, and 65^th in total bases (3527).

When he left, Lin had the best OPS (.930) of any APB batter with 3000+ plate appearances. He maintained that mark until passed by the undisputed APB GOAT Binh Tang. Lin also still ranks second in slugging behind only Tang and ranks 28^th in batting average. Many speculate if Lin would’ve ended up at the top of APB’s power leaderboards had he stayed around.

There were a couple stuffy voters that marked Lin down for not staying long enough and a few that dinged him for not winning it all with Taipei. However, Lin was a consistent MVP candidate and top slugger for a decade, making him an obvious choice even without the top-end accumulations. His 80.6% debut ballot seems low, but Lin earned his first ballot spot regardless with APB’s 2022 Hall of Fame class.

Lin’s career continued for six years after leaving Taiwan as he wanted to prove himself in Major League Baseball. The paycheck wasn’t bad either, signing with Toronto at $87,200,000 over four years. Lin immediately showed he was world class, leading the National Association in his Timberwolves debut in runs (122), homers (51), RBI (143), and total bases (388). Lin had his career best triple slash (.325/.378/.658) and OPS (1.035) while adding 9.1 WAR. With that, Lin joined the very short list to win an MVP in MLB and another world league, as well as the short list of having 6+ total MVPs. He also won a Silver Slugger in RF, the tenth total Slugger of his combined career.

Toronto finished 100-62 to win the Northeast Division and they got back to the National Association Championship Series, although they fell to top seed Kansas City. Like in Taipei, Lin’s playoff stats were merely decent with 14 hits, 5 runs, 4 doubles, 3 homers, 9 RBI, a .750 OPS, and 123 wRC+. Toronto would surprisingly fall to 69-93 the next year, then finished 80-82 in 2018.

Lin wouldn’t match his MVP production, but he remained a very good starter in the next two seasons. In three years for Toronto, Lin had 527 hits, 321 runs, 82 doubles, 132 home runs, 351 RBI, a .302/.353/.592 slash, 186 wRC+, and 21.5 WAR. He declined the contract option for a fourth season with the Timberwolves, returning to free agency at age 35. Lin’s stock was still quite high and he found a three-year, $63 million deal with Salt Lake City.

His production and power specifically notably dipped with age, although Lin was still a capable starter in his first two seasons with the Loons. They were a wild card in 2019 and 2020, but couldn’t get beyond the second round. Notably in 2019 with SLC, Lin hit for the cycle in an August game against Jacksonville. Unfortunately, Lin fell off a cliff in 2021 with a terrible .621 OPS, 77 wRC+, and -1.6 WAR. He retired that winter shortly after his 38^th birthday. In Utah, Lin had 448 hits, 235 runs, 76 doubles, 68 home runs, 241 RBI, a .265/.320/.452 slash, 115 wRC+, and 6.2 WAR.

In MLB, Lin finished with 975 hits, 556 runs, 158 doubles, 200 home runs, 592 RBI, a .284/.337/.525 slash, 151 wRC+, and 27.6 WAR. For his combined pro career, Lin had 2737 hits, 1518 runs, 424 doubles, 135 triples, 631 home runs, 1595 RBI, 763 walks, a .289/.342/.562 slash, 177 wRC+, and 111.7 WAR. They’re especially impressive numbers considering the low baseline that comes from a very low scoring APB. Lin proved himself in both APB and MLB as one of the finest power hitters of his generation. He was a megastar in Taiwan for good reason and has a case as being the best-ever hitter to come out of the country.

12-30-2024, 05:56 AM	#1930
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,265	2022 APB Hall of Fame Two players were added upon their ballot debut into Austronesia Professional Baseball’s 2022 Hall of Fame class. SP Bima Idris was close to unanimous at 98.2% and OF/DH Ching-Hui Lin earned a solid 80.6%. On his tenth and final try, RF Sutanto Mangkoepradja missed the 66% requirement again at 61.5%. Three others were above 50% with SP Bagus Ranga debuting at 57.0%, SP Dwi Aditya Supandi getting 55.8% on his fourth ballot, and LF Beau Cabral at 52.1% for his fourth go. For Mangkoepradja, he had gotten as close as 64.2% in 2020 and 63.4% in 2019 and never was below 47%. He had an 18-year APB run mostly with Depok, winning five Silver Sluggers and finishing with 1801 hits, 997 runs, 269 doubles, 470 home runs, 1011 RBI, 636 walks, 407 stolen bases, a .254/.321/.517 slash, 186 wRC+, and 81.2 WAR. Even in the very low scoring APB, Magnkoepradja was clearly one of the most efficient hitters of his era. Despite his advanced stats, he was rarely a league leader apart from a strong 1991, played terrible defense, and was on mostly forgettable Depok teams. Still as of 2037, Mangkoepradja is 27^th in OPS among those with 3000+ plate appearances, 16^th in homers, and 45^th in WAR among position players. He typically is cited amongst APB’s biggest snubs, but the dividing line has to be drawn somewhere. Depok fans remember him fondly as his #5 uniform is retired there. Another snub was 1B Gavin Loh, who was above 60% twice and never was below 44%. He was hurt by leaving for MLB for seven years in his 30s, as his combined pro tallies saw 2847 hits, 1439 runs, 402 doubles, 660 home runs, 1579 RBI, 975 walks, a .258/.321/.486 slash, 157 wRC+, and 105.6 WAR. With Singapore, Loh won two MVPs, one Gold Glove, and three Silver Sluggers. His 1996 season was epic with 53 homers, 114 RBI, a 1.031 OPS, and 14.0 WAR. Loh’s APB tallies had 1734 hits, 814 runs, 249 doubles, 366 home runs, 876 RBI, 584 walks, a .256/.317/.467 slash, 174 wRC+, and 74.0 WAR. The MLB departure just kept the overall totals too low for many voters’ likings, even if he too was one of the more efficient batters of his era. Loh’s #35 is retired by Singapore, as he helped them to a pennant in 1996 and he remains a very popular figure with Sharks fans. SS Alif Aris also fell off the ballot, although he never got quite as close. He ended at only 6.4%, but was as high as 43.5% in the beginning. Aris statistically is a major snub, finishing with 109.2 WAR, 2120 hits, 846 runs, 432 doubles, 276 home runs, 992 RBI, a .252/.287/.421 slash, and 141 wRC+. He won nine Silver Sluggers, one MVP, and helped Jakarta to the APB Championship in 2004. For whatever reason, APB voters have been harsh towards shortstops with none inducted as of 2037. Aris is the most deserving by many metrics, still leading all shortstops in WAR, runs, total bases, doubles, homers, and RBI. He still ranks 13^th among all position players in WAR, but Aris’s great defensive value at SS didn’t move the needle. If he wasn’t good enough, one wonders what it would take for an APB shortstop to make the cut. Bima Idris – Starting Pitcher – Davao Devil Rays – 98.2% First Ballot Bima Idris was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Jakarta, Indonesia’s largest city. Idris had incredible stuff that graded as a 10/10 at his peak from some scouts. He had good movement as well, although his control was merely average at best. Idris had a three-pitch arsenal of a 99-101 mph fastball, slider, and changeup. He was a master at making all three look the same out of his hand until it was too late for a hitter to adjust. Idris’s stamina was good and managed to avoid major arm injuries throughout his 14 year career, tossing 200+ innings in 12 seasons. His windup style did lead to very poor defense, but his strikeout rate often kept the ball out of play anyhow. Idris was appreciated by teammates for his loyalty and he emerged as one of his era’s most impactful aces. Being a hard throwing lefty in a metropolis quickly gets scouts banging down your door as a teenager. One of them convinced Idris to leave Indonesia for the Philippines, signing a developmental deal in May 1995 with Davao. Idris wasn’t an overnight success though with his control issues, spending the better part of seven years in the Devil Rays developmental system. Idris debuted in 2002 at age 23 but was terrible over 63.2 innings. He only saw seven starts in 2003, but thrived in that small sample to earn the rotation spot for 2004 onward. By his second full season, Idris had his first of nine 8+ WAR seasons and first of seven 350+ strikeout efforts. His rise coincided with the rise of Davao as an APB dynasty. The Devil Rays would win seven consecutive Philippine League titles from 2005-11. Davao won their first Austronesia Championship of this run in 2005 over Palembang. Idris had an excellent postseason run, allowing one run over 17.2 innings with 22 strikeouts. Davao repeated in 2006 by beating Surabaya for the APB title. Idris led the Taiwan-Philippine Association in strikeouts at 380 and had a 2.18 ERA over 33 playoff innings. Idris also struck out 56 in the playoffs, falling three short of APB’s postseason record. He led again in strikeouts in 2006 and 2007 while also leading in wins for the first time. Idris also had his first sub-two ERA seasons, taking Pitcher of the Year in 2007. He was second in 2008’s POTY and was also second in 2007’s MVP voting. However, the Devil Rays fell in the TPA Championship both seasons. The dynasty resumed with two more APB titles, beating Singapore in the 2009 final and Medan in 2010. Davao got their fifth TPA pennant of the run in 2011, but fell to Pekanbaru for the APB crown. Idris was especially dominant in the 2010 run with a 0.84 ERA and 38 strikeouts over 32.1 innings. His 2011 was also great with a 1.14 ERA over 23.2 innings. For his playoff career with the Devil Rays, Idris had an 11-4 record, 1.68 ERA, 155.1 innings, 204 strikeouts, 29 walks, 168 ERA+, and 6.2 WAR. Despite being an APB playoff beast, Idris’s stats were surprisingly lackluster in the Baseball Grand Championship with Davao. He had a 6.23 ERA in 8.2 innings in 2010 and a 4.15 ERA over 30.1 innings in 2011, which were iffy even accounting for a much higher-scoring overall environment. Davao went 2-7 in the inaugural 2010 divisional BGC, then was 8-11 in the round robin format in 2011. Idris was second in POTY voting in 2009 and that winter signed a five-year, $58 million extension with Davao. He won the top award for the second time in 2010 with career bests in ERA (1.17) and WHIP (0.66). 2010 was also notable for a no-hitter on April 26 against Hsinchu with 9 strikeouts and 2 walks. Idris would see his first major injury in 2011, missing two months to a strained hamstring. In 2012 and 2013, Idris placed third both years in Pitcher of the Year votung. By WAR, 2012 was actually his finest season narrowly at 10.0. Davao’s run at the top had ended by this point, finishing 84-78 in 2012 to snap their PL title streak. They stayed competitive with 82 wins in 2013 and 91 in 2014. On July 8, 2013, Idris notably tossed his second no-hitter with 14 strikeouts and 5 walks over Tainan. 2015 was to be the final year of Idris’s big extension, but he was surprised as Davao voided the team option year with a $1,100,000 buyout. Thus at age 36, Idris was a free agent for the first time at age 36. With Davao, he had a 208-80 record, 1.89 ERA, 2811.1 innings, 3790 strikeouts, 575 walks, 149 ERA+, and 94.8 WAR. For his indispensible role in the Devil Rays dynasty, Idris’s #13 uniform would later be retired. Idris returned to his home country on a three-year, $44,800,000 deal with Bandung. Despite having his best years in the Philippines, Idris did represent Indonesia regularly in the World Baseball Championship. From 2006-13, he tossed 135 innings with an 11-3 record, 3.00 ERA, 222 strikeouts, and 5.0 WAR. Indonesia’s best finish with Idris was a third place in 2008. In his Bandung debut, Idris led in wins and maintained a strong ERA, although his velocity and strikeouts had both dipped noticeably. The Blackhawks would win the APB Championship over Taipei, giving Idris his 5^th title ring. It was statistically his weakest postseason effort though with a 3.09 ERA over 23.1 innings. On the whole though, Idris is widely viewed as one of the all-time playoff greats in APB. For his playoff career, Idris had a 12-4 record, 1.86 ERA, 178.2 innings, 226 strikeouts, 29 walks, 20 quality starts, 5 complete games, 3 shutouts, 146 ERA+, 57 FIP-, and 6.4 WAR. As of 2037, Idris has more playoff innings than anyone else and ranks 3^rd in WAR, 2^nd in wins, and 3^rd in strikeouts. He ranked 1^st in all of those stats at retirement. Idris had still been effective in 2015 despite his once triple-digit velocity falling into the 95-97 mph range. It plummeted further to 90-92 mph in 2016, leading to zero WAR for Idris despite throwing 226.1 innings. With this drop, he realized it was time to retire that winter shortly after his 38^th birthday. In two years for Bandung, Idris had a 2.28 ERA, 33-20 record, 481.2 innings, 383 strikeouts, 109 ERA+, and 5.2 WAR. In total, Idris saw a 241-100 record, 1.94 ERA, 3293 innings, 4173 strikeouts, 656 walks, 328/396 quality starts, 161 complete games, 56 shutouts, 142 ERA+, 66 FIP-, and 100.0 WAR. Despite raw dominance, his control issues meant he often threw a lot of pitches and didn’t have as many innings as you might expect, ranking 43^rd as of 2037. Idris does still rank 16^th in pitching WAR, 9^th in wins, 17^th in strikeouts, 30^th in complete games, and 12^th in shutouts. Among all pitchers with 1000+ innings, his ERA ranks 32^nd, his 0.85 WHIP is 38^th, and his .524 opponent’s OPS is 29^th. Idris also ranks 47^th in K/9 at 11.41 and has the 39^th most walks at 656. While APB’s extremely low offense environment helps this a lot, Idris does have the 20^th best ERA of all world Hall of Fame starters as of 2037. His ERA+ only narrowly misses the top 50 though. With so many great pitchers in APB history, Idris doesn’t often get ranked higher than the top 10 or top 15. However, he has an important place in history as a stellar playoff ace for one of APB’s best-ever dynasty runs with Davao. Idris was an undisputed Hall of Fame headliner, leading the 2022 class at 98.2%. Ching-Hui Lin – Outfield/Designated Hitter – Taipei Tigercats – 80.6% First Ballot Ching-Hui Lin was a 6’3’’, 200 pound left-handed corner outfielder from Yuanlin, a city of 122,000 in western Taiwan. Lin was an excellent power hitter with very good contact skills and a respectable eye for drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He was especially dominant against right-handed pitching with a career 189 wRC+ and .954 OPS. Lin was plenty strong against lefties too with a 151 wRC+ and .796 OPS. Nine times in his career, Lin had 40+ home runs and he had 30+ in 13 seasons. His gap power was quite solid as well with 27 doubles and 9 triples per his 162 game average. Lin was remarkably average as a baserunner, but average speed was better than you often got from your top slugger. The lack of speed did weigh Lin down though defensively. Around 2/3s of his career starts were split between right field and left field with a slight preference towards right. In either spot, Lin was a poor defender, leading to most of his remaining starts as a designated hitter. At any spot, Lin was always ready as an ironman who played 155+ games in all but his first and final seasons. His reliability, loyalty, and impressive bat turned Lin into one of the most popular baseball stars to ever come out of Taiwan. Lin attended National Taitung University and it was clear that he was a superstar in the making. With the first pick in the 2004 APB Draft, Lin was selected by Taipei, where he’d spend his entire APB career. He was only used for 61 games and 5 starts in his rookie year, then was a full-time starter for the rest of his Tigercats run. Lin’s second season was his first of six with Taipei leading the Taiwan-Philippine Association in home runs and the first of six as the RBI leader. From 2007-15, Lin had 7+ WAR each season. He led the TPA in runs scored five times, homers six times, doubles once, RBI six times, total bases seven times, OBP twice, slugging five times, OPS five times, wRC+ four times, and WAR four times. Lin won Silver Sluggers each year in this run, getting five as a DH (2007-10, 15), three as a right fielder (2011-12, 14) and one in left field (2013). By the end of the 2009 season, Taipei had locked him up on an eight-year, $98,400,000 extension. Lin became only the fourth player to that point in APB to win 5+ MVP awards, taking the top honor in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2015. He also finished third in 2009 and 2012, second in 2013, and third again in 2014. 2010 was Lin’s finest season in APB by WAR (10.4), homers (52), total bases (383), runs (107), and wRC+ (227). His best OPS (1.006), batting average (.324), OBP (.384), and RBI tallies (112) came in 2008. With Lin’s bat, Taipei emerged as a contender again and ended a decade-long playoff drought in 2009. The Tigercats took first in the Taiwan League with Lin in 2009, 10, 12, 13, 14, and 15. They won 107+ games in five of those seasons, but Taipei couldn’t get over the playoff hump. The Tigercats finished 0-6 in the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship in that run. Taipei would eventually get a few pennants later in the decade, but that would be after Lin was gone. While Lin’s playoff numbers weren’t bad with Taipei, they were much weaker than his usual dominant production. In 32 starts, he had 27 hits, 10 runs, 6 homers, 2 doubles, 3 triples, 18 RBI, a .220/.248/.431 slash, 122 wRC+, and 0.8 WAR. Few blamed Lin for their playoff failings, but it was a great regret for him that Taipei never won a title while he was there. Lin remained a massive superstar in Taiwan’s capital and across the island regardless. He was a regular for his country in the World Baseball Championship, where his numbers were quite impressive. From 2007-21, Lin had 152 games and 140 starts, 140 hits, 87 runs, 27 doubles, 41 home runs, 99 RBI, 64 walks, a .268/.357/.563 slash, 158 wRC+, and 6.9 WAR. In 2017, Lin helped Taiwan to a runner-up finish to the United States. In that run, he started 25 games with 25 hits, 15 runs, 4 doubles, 5 homers, 14 RBI, 19 walks, a .911 OPS, and 1.1 WAR. As of 2037, Lin ranks 2nd in WAR among Taiwanese position players in the WBC, 2^nd in runs, 2^nd in hits, 2^nd in doubles, 4^th in home runs, and 1^st in RBI. He would continue to come home to Taiwan for the WBC even after his Taipei days ended. Lin remained a hugely popular star who still had a strong following even as he moved to the other side of the world. He did disappoint many with the Tigercats as he opted out of the remainder of his deal after the 2015 season, becoming a free agent at age 32. With Taipei, Lin finished with 1762 hits, 962 runs, 266 doubles, 103 triples, 431 home runs, 1003 RBI, 478 walks, a .292/.345/.585 slash, 192 wRC+, and 84.1 WAR. Despite his early departure, Lin still ranks as of 2037 38^th in WAR among position players, 26^th in home runs, 47^th in RBI, 57^th in runs scored, and 65^th in total bases (3527). When he left, Lin had the best OPS (.930) of any APB batter with 3000+ plate appearances. He maintained that mark until passed by the undisputed APB GOAT Binh Tang. Lin also still ranks second in slugging behind only Tang and ranks 28^th in batting average. Many speculate if Lin would’ve ended up at the top of APB’s power leaderboards had he stayed around. There were a couple stuffy voters that marked Lin down for not staying long enough and a few that dinged him for not winning it all with Taipei. However, Lin was a consistent MVP candidate and top slugger for a decade, making him an obvious choice even without the top-end accumulations. His 80.6% debut ballot seems low, but Lin earned his first ballot spot regardless with APB’s 2022 Hall of Fame class. Lin’s career continued for six years after leaving Taiwan as he wanted to prove himself in Major League Baseball. The paycheck wasn’t bad either, signing with Toronto at $87,200,000 over four years. Lin immediately showed he was world class, leading the National Association in his Timberwolves debut in runs (122), homers (51), RBI (143), and total bases (388). Lin had his career best triple slash (.325/.378/.658) and OPS (1.035) while adding 9.1 WAR. With that, Lin joined the very short list to win an MVP in MLB and another world league, as well as the short list of having 6+ total MVPs. He also won a Silver Slugger in RF, the tenth total Slugger of his combined career. Toronto finished 100-62 to win the Northeast Division and they got back to the National Association Championship Series, although they fell to top seed Kansas City. Like in Taipei, Lin’s playoff stats were merely decent with 14 hits, 5 runs, 4 doubles, 3 homers, 9 RBI, a .750 OPS, and 123 wRC+. Toronto would surprisingly fall to 69-93 the next year, then finished 80-82 in 2018. Lin wouldn’t match his MVP production, but he remained a very good starter in the next two seasons. In three years for Toronto, Lin had 527 hits, 321 runs, 82 doubles, 132 home runs, 351 RBI, a .302/.353/.592 slash, 186 wRC+, and 21.5 WAR. He declined the contract option for a fourth season with the Timberwolves, returning to free agency at age 35. Lin’s stock was still quite high and he found a three-year, $63 million deal with Salt Lake City. His production and power specifically notably dipped with age, although Lin was still a capable starter in his first two seasons with the Loons. They were a wild card in 2019 and 2020, but couldn’t get beyond the second round. Notably in 2019 with SLC, Lin hit for the cycle in an August game against Jacksonville. Unfortunately, Lin fell off a cliff in 2021 with a terrible .621 OPS, 77 wRC+, and -1.6 WAR. He retired that winter shortly after his 38^th birthday. In Utah, Lin had 448 hits, 235 runs, 76 doubles, 68 home runs, 241 RBI, a .265/.320/.452 slash, 115 wRC+, and 6.2 WAR. In MLB, Lin finished with 975 hits, 556 runs, 158 doubles, 200 home runs, 592 RBI, a .284/.337/.525 slash, 151 wRC+, and 27.6 WAR. For his combined pro career, Lin had 2737 hits, 1518 runs, 424 doubles, 135 triples, 631 home runs, 1595 RBI, 763 walks, a .289/.342/.562 slash, 177 wRC+, and 111.7 WAR. They’re especially impressive numbers considering the low baseline that comes from a very low scoring APB. Lin proved himself in both APB and MLB as one of the finest power hitters of his generation. He was a megastar in Taiwan for good reason and has a case as being the best-ever hitter to come out of the country. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports The Level Playing Field: Alternate MLB History From 1884-Onward Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)