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The Asian Baseball Federation’s 2022 Hall of Fame voting almost came up blank, but 1B/OF Borzoo Atashi managed to sneak in as a first ballot pick. Atashi hit the threshold exactly at 66.0% to get in, while SP Omar Ma’mur barely missed at 64.8% in his fourth try. Three other returners cracked 50% with CF Rahman Polat taking 59.4% on his second ballot, 1B Altaf Aslam at 59.0% in his seventh go, and SP Masruq Abbas at 57.0% on his tenth and final chance.



For Abbas, his 57.0% finish was as close as he got to making it in. He was hurt by having five seasons in the European Baseball Federation and from missing all of 2001 through 2003 to injury. In ABF, he won 1995 Pitcher of the Year and helped Hyderabad to the 1999 title, finishing with a 108-55 record, 2.24 ERA, 1388.1 innings, 1336 strikeouts, 275 walks, 128 ERA+, and 21.1 WAR. The sample size was just way too small to make the cut, but Abbas did get very close to induction regardless.



Borzoo Atashi – First Base/Outfield – Gujranwala Grasshoppers – 66.0% First Ballot

Borzoo Atashi was a 5’11’’, 195 pound left-handed first baseman and corner outfielder from Khorramdarreh, a city with 68,000 people in northwest Iran. Atashi was a well-rounded bat with good to great contact and power skills. He rated as above average at drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. Atashi’s 162 game average got you 32 home runs and 35 doubles. He wasn’t going to get extra bases with his legs though as a laughably slow and sluggish baserunner.

Atashi was especially strong against right-handed pitching with a career 196 wRC+ and .918 OPS. He was plenty good against lefties too with a 151 wRC+ and .787 OPS. Atashi’s durability was largely great with 130+ starts in 13 different seasons. He was already ready to go, but the trouble was finding a spot in the field for him.

Just over 1/3 of Atashi’s starts came at first base with just under 1/3 in right field. Just over 1/5 were in left field with the rest as a designated hitter. Atashi was lousy at first and abysmal in the outfield, but the DH wasn’t an option in the ABF’s East League outside of interleague play. The other knock on Atashi was a perceived selfish and laziness. Some felt he wasn’t inclined to improve beyond his natural talent, especially defensively. That talent was still immense in spite of his flaws.

Although he grew up in a relatively small city in Iran, Atashi caught the attention of a visiting Pakistani scout. He signed a developmental deal in June 1996 with Gujranwala and spent just over five years in their academy. Atashi debuted with 18 pinch hit at-bats in 2001 at age 21, going 0-18 with 8 strikeouts. He got a part-time role the next year with decent results over 115 games and 40 starts. The Grasshoppers made Atashi a full-time starter from 2003 onward.

For Gujranwala, Atashi won Silver Sluggers from 2004-07 with the first two in left field and the next two in right. He finished second in 2005’s MVP voting, the only season he was a finalist in his career. A strong two-way season by Bishkek’s Tomas Pataki beat out Atashi despite a Triple Crown season with 50 home runs, 117 RBI, and a .323 batting average. Those were each career highs and league bests, as were his 99 runs, 193 hits, 385 total bases, .325/.370/.649 slash, 1.019 OPS, 248 wRC+, and 9.1 WAR.

The prior year in 2004, Atashi led in runs, OBP, slugging, OPS, and wRC+. In 2006, he had the top mark in hits and doubles. He generally wasn’t a league leader after that, although he still provided positive value in the lineup offensively. Gujranwala was typically around .500 in this era, but they did surprise many with an ELCS appearance in 2006 from the bottom seed. They fell to defending champ Lahore with Atashi doing alright with 9 hits, 3 runs, 2 homers, and 4 RBI in 10 starts.

Gujranwala wasn’t strong enough or had the financial success to keep Atashi long-term, thus he left for free agency after the 2007 season at age 28. With the Grasshoppers, he had 935 hits, 457 runs, 196 doubles, 208 home runs, 517 RBI, a .301/.357/.572 slash, 204 wRC+, and 35.6 WAR. It was Atashi’s longest and most successful tenure and thus the colors he was inducted in, but Atashi and Gujranwala would have a strained relationship in later years.

Atashi signed a five-year, $22 million deal with Lahore to remain in Pakistan. He never played for an Iranian pro team, but he did represent his country from 2004-14 in the World Baseball Championship. Atashi played 73 games and started 53 for Iran with 62 hits, 33 runs, 16 doubles, 16 home runs, 33 RBI, 19 walks, a .286/.346/.581 slash, 170 wRC+, and 3.0 WAR.

Lahore would suffer a first round playoff loss in 2008, then missed the playoffs the next three seasons. Atashi still did well, winning Silver Sluggers in right field in 2009 and 2010. His Longhorn bests came in 2010 with 7.6 WAR, 44 homers, and 112 RBI. It was also his only time leading the league with Lahore, posting 352 total bases. Atashi also hit for the cycle in both 2008 and 2010, an especially impressive feat for a guy with only 23 career triples.

In 2012, Lahore got back to the playoffs and won the East League pennant, falling in the ABF Championship to Baku. Atashi had a solid playoff effort in 18 starts, getting 21 hits, 8 runs, 5 doubles, 4 homers, 15 RBI, and .831 OPS. That also marked the end of his Longhorns deal, finishing with 830 hits, 394 runs, 185 doubles, 161 home runs, 472 RBI, a .310/.353/.564 slash, 192 wRC+, and 28.9 WAR.

Now 33-years old, Atashi joined Bishkek for $40 million over four seasons. His production was much weaker with the Black Sox than the prior runs, but he was still a positive value starter. Bishkek was stuck in the mid-tier during this run. They started Atashi regularly in his first three years, but moved him to a backup role mostly by 2016. With Bishkek, Atashi had 466 hits, 177 runs, 106 doubles, 75 home runs, 262 RBI, .257/.309/.443 slash, 138 wRC+, and 35.6 WAR. With his contract ending and skills diminishing, Atashi retired after the 2016 season shortly after turning 37.

Atashi’s final tallies had 2231 hits, 1028 runs, 487 doubles, 444 home runs, 1251 RBI, 591 walks, a .293/.345/.539 slash, 184 wRC+, and 73.1 WAR. As of 2037, Atashi ranks 45^th in hits, 74^th in runs, 32^nd in doubles, 38^th in home runs, 34^th in RBI, 74^th in walks, and 56^th in WAR among position players. His .883 OPS also ranks 59^th among all ABF batters with 3000+ plate appearances while his slugging ranks 61st.

He was never a tip-top guy, but a Triple Crown season and six Silver Sluggers was a solid haul. Atashi was certainly borderline, but got the benefit of debuting on a weak 2022 ballot. He received 66.0%, exactly enough to cross the line for the first ballot selection as the Asian Baseball Federation’s only 2022 Hall of Fame inductee.