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FuzzyRussianHat · 01-04-2025, 05:12 AM

The Asian Baseball Federation’s East League had the same playoff teams for the third straight year, although some positions were switched in the North Division. Dushanbe went from a 2021 wild card to the top seed at 109-53. The Dynamo now stood alone with the longest playoff streak in ABF history at ten seasons. Almaty (99-63) got their third straight wild card and last year’s division champ Bishkek earned the second wild card at 97-65.

Over in the South Division, reigning ABF champ Faisalabad rolled to a fourth straight division title at 105-57. The Fire narrowly beat Dushanbe for the most wins in the EL (747 to 741) and was just behind Bishkek for the fewest allowed (494 to 503). Multan was the next closest at 88-74, 17 short in the division race and nine away from the second wild card.

After missing part of 2021 to a fractured hand, Dushanbe shortstop Nizami Aghazade returned to the perch as East League MVP for the eighth time. This was the ABF record and to this point, only six players in world history had won more MVPs. Aghazade also got his ninth Silver Slugger in his 11^th season for the Dynamo.

The 34-year old Kazakh righty led in runs (109), total bases (361), OBP (.413), OPS (1.049), and WAR (12.5). Aghazade added 42 home runs, 120 RBI, and a 219 wRC+. In all eight of his MVP seasons, Aghazade posted at least 12.5 WAR; amazingly this was his weakest outing as he grew to an ABF-best 130.6 career WAR. The prior seven MVP seasons held seven of the top eight WAR seasons by an ABF position player. Aghazade would sign another three year, $66,600,000 extension with Dushanbe after the 2023 season to remain their franchise icon.

Pitcher of the Year went to Almaty righty Stanislav Mukhamadiev in his second season in the rotation. The 23-year old Russian led in shutouts (6) while adding a 2.47 ERA over 248 innings, 17-6 record, 326 strikeouts, and 6.5 WAR.

Top seed Dushanbe was shocked with a first round sweep loss to Bishkek, while Faisalabad survived 3-2 against Almaty. This set up an East League Championship Series rematch between the EL’s most recent champs. The Fire beat the Black Sox in 2021, while Bishkek beat Faisalabad in the 2020 first round end route to a title. Round three saw the Black Sox continue to roll on the road, taking the series 4-1. This was Bishkek’s third pennant since joining ABF (2007, 2020, 2022) and their 12^th when factoring in their Eurasian Professional Baseball days.

Tabriz’s reign atop the West League Central Division continued for a fifth straight year with the Tiger Sharks’ playoff streak growing to seven seasons. At 103-59, Tabriz also earned the top overall seed for the fifth year running. They took it by just one game over West Division champ Baku this year. The 102-60 Blackbirds ended a four-year playoff drought with their effort.

ABF doesn’t use tiebreaker games, which made the wild card race tricky with three teams tying for two spots. Isfahan, Mashhad, and Ankara each were 90-72 with the spots going to the Imperials and Mercury. Isfahan ended a decade-long playoff drought while Mashhad earned repeat berths. Last year’s WL champ Izmir and Asgabat both finished 85-77. The Ice Caps had a four-year postseason streak ended and the Alphas saw their five-year run ruined.

Bursa was right at .500, scoring the most runs (805) but allowing the second most (792). Leading the offense was West League MVP Emre Fez in his fifth season. The 25-year old Turkish left fielder led in runs (139), hits (217), RBI (143), total bases (415), average (.360), slugging (.689), OPS (1.103), wRC+ (177), and WAR (11.1). Fez added 44 homers, 38 doubles, 14 triples, and 85 stolen bases. He would remain with the Blue Claws for the long haul, inking an eight-year, $117,400,000 extension after the 2023 campaign.

Istanbul veteran Temuri Omarov won Pitcher of the Year in his ninth season. The 30-year old Georgian righty won the ERA title at 2.16 and led in WHIP (0.87), quality starts (22), ERA+ (190), FIP- (59), and WAR (7.4). Omarov struck out 299 over 212.1 innings with a 14-9 record and 7 saves.

Tabriz survived 3-2 against Mashhad in the first round and Baku cruised to a sweep of Isfahan. The Tiger Sharks earned their fourth West League Championship Series try in five years, while it was the first since 2017 for the Blackbirds. Baku pulled off the win 4-2 on the road to secure their fourth pennant (2010, 2012, 2013, 2022). Despite five straight years as the top seed, Tabriz only had their 2019 title to show for it, going 1-3 in the WLCS.

In the 38^th ABF Championship, Bishkek continued its impressive run as the #4 seed by besting Baku 4-2, winning their second title in three years. Veteran LF Ramin Abilov won finals MVP, having signed with the Black Sox in 2021 after 14 years between Tehran and Dushanbe. The 33-year old Uzbek in 14 playoff starts had 18 hits, 10 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 3 RBI, and 1.028 OPS.

Other notes: Mehmet Fatih Canaydin became ABF’s new career hits leader, passing the previous high mark of 2795 by Petri Viskari. The 37-year old Canaydin finished 2022 at 2829 hits. He also got to 1412 runs scored, just behind Viskari’s 1446. Shadi Alam (1408) was also in position to surpass Viskari’s mark in the next season. Canaydin was also the stolen bases leader at this point by a healthy margin at 1284.

Rafkat Kudabergenov, Emmanouil Karakostas, and Eser Haspolatli all reached 2500 hits, making eight ABF batters to do so. Fakhri Rajavi became the 4th member of the 600 home run club and Habib Saquib became the 12^th to reach 500 home runs. Ozgur Ermalci was the 10^th pitcher to 200 wins and Dabir Arif was the 13^th to reach 3500 strikeouts.

Rawalpindi and Samarkand’s offenses both drew only 249 walks, setting a new ABF team worst. The Spurs’ pitching staff also had a 4.48 ERA, the third-worst in East League history. Shahid Safaq had a 31-game hit streak, tying the fifth-longest in ABF history.

3B Eser Haspolatli won his 14^th straight and final Gold Glove. He has won the award more than any other ABF player and is just one of 12 to win the award 14 times in any world league. Haspolatli is one of four in that group that were third basemen. RF Hana Zuhair won his tenth consecutive Gold Glove. CF Bardia Petrosian won his seventh Silver Slugger.

01-04-2025, 05:12 AM	#1945
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,900	2022 in ABF The Asian Baseball Federation’s East League had the same playoff teams for the third straight year, although some positions were switched in the North Division. Dushanbe went from a 2021 wild card to the top seed at 109-53. The Dynamo now stood alone with the longest playoff streak in ABF history at ten seasons. Almaty (99-63) got their third straight wild card and last year’s division champ Bishkek earned the second wild card at 97-65. Over in the South Division, reigning ABF champ Faisalabad rolled to a fourth straight division title at 105-57. The Fire narrowly beat Dushanbe for the most wins in the EL (747 to 741) and was just behind Bishkek for the fewest allowed (494 to 503). Multan was the next closest at 88-74, 17 short in the division race and nine away from the second wild card. After missing part of 2021 to a fractured hand, Dushanbe shortstop Nizami Aghazade returned to the perch as East League MVP for the eighth time. This was the ABF record and to this point, only six players in world history had won more MVPs. Aghazade also got his ninth Silver Slugger in his 11^th season for the Dynamo. The 34-year old Kazakh righty led in runs (109), total bases (361), OBP (.413), OPS (1.049), and WAR (12.5). Aghazade added 42 home runs, 120 RBI, and a 219 wRC+. In all eight of his MVP seasons, Aghazade posted at least 12.5 WAR; amazingly this was his weakest outing as he grew to an ABF-best 130.6 career WAR. The prior seven MVP seasons held seven of the top eight WAR seasons by an ABF position player. Aghazade would sign another three year, $66,600,000 extension with Dushanbe after the 2023 season to remain their franchise icon. Pitcher of the Year went to Almaty righty Stanislav Mukhamadiev in his second season in the rotation. The 23-year old Russian led in shutouts (6) while adding a 2.47 ERA over 248 innings, 17-6 record, 326 strikeouts, and 6.5 WAR. Top seed Dushanbe was shocked with a first round sweep loss to Bishkek, while Faisalabad survived 3-2 against Almaty. This set up an East League Championship Series rematch between the EL’s most recent champs. The Fire beat the Black Sox in 2021, while Bishkek beat Faisalabad in the 2020 first round end route to a title. Round three saw the Black Sox continue to roll on the road, taking the series 4-1. This was Bishkek’s third pennant since joining ABF (2007, 2020, 2022) and their 12^th when factoring in their Eurasian Professional Baseball days. Tabriz’s reign atop the West League Central Division continued for a fifth straight year with the Tiger Sharks’ playoff streak growing to seven seasons. At 103-59, Tabriz also earned the top overall seed for the fifth year running. They took it by just one game over West Division champ Baku this year. The 102-60 Blackbirds ended a four-year playoff drought with their effort. ABF doesn’t use tiebreaker games, which made the wild card race tricky with three teams tying for two spots. Isfahan, Mashhad, and Ankara each were 90-72 with the spots going to the Imperials and Mercury. Isfahan ended a decade-long playoff drought while Mashhad earned repeat berths. Last year’s WL champ Izmir and Asgabat both finished 85-77. The Ice Caps had a four-year postseason streak ended and the Alphas saw their five-year run ruined. Bursa was right at .500, scoring the most runs (805) but allowing the second most (792). Leading the offense was West League MVP Emre Fez in his fifth season. The 25-year old Turkish left fielder led in runs (139), hits (217), RBI (143), total bases (415), average (.360), slugging (.689), OPS (1.103), wRC+ (177), and WAR (11.1). Fez added 44 homers, 38 doubles, 14 triples, and 85 stolen bases. He would remain with the Blue Claws for the long haul, inking an eight-year, $117,400,000 extension after the 2023 campaign. Istanbul veteran Temuri Omarov won Pitcher of the Year in his ninth season. The 30-year old Georgian righty won the ERA title at 2.16 and led in WHIP (0.87), quality starts (22), ERA+ (190), FIP- (59), and WAR (7.4). Omarov struck out 299 over 212.1 innings with a 14-9 record and 7 saves. Tabriz survived 3-2 against Mashhad in the first round and Baku cruised to a sweep of Isfahan. The Tiger Sharks earned their fourth West League Championship Series try in five years, while it was the first since 2017 for the Blackbirds. Baku pulled off the win 4-2 on the road to secure their fourth pennant (2010, 2012, 2013, 2022). Despite five straight years as the top seed, Tabriz only had their 2019 title to show for it, going 1-3 in the WLCS. In the 38^th ABF Championship, Bishkek continued its impressive run as the #4 seed by besting Baku 4-2, winning their second title in three years. Veteran LF Ramin Abilov won finals MVP, having signed with the Black Sox in 2021 after 14 years between Tehran and Dushanbe. The 33-year old Uzbek in 14 playoff starts had 18 hits, 10 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 3 RBI, and 1.028 OPS. Other notes: Mehmet Fatih Canaydin became ABF’s new career hits leader, passing the previous high mark of 2795 by Petri Viskari. The 37-year old Canaydin finished 2022 at 2829 hits. He also got to 1412 runs scored, just behind Viskari’s 1446. Shadi Alam (1408) was also in position to surpass Viskari’s mark in the next season. Canaydin was also the stolen bases leader at this point by a healthy margin at 1284. Rafkat Kudabergenov, Emmanouil Karakostas, and Eser Haspolatli all reached 2500 hits, making eight ABF batters to do so. Fakhri Rajavi became the 4th member of the 600 home run club and Habib Saquib became the 12^th to reach 500 home runs. Ozgur Ermalci was the 10^th pitcher to 200 wins and Dabir Arif was the 13^th to reach 3500 strikeouts. Rawalpindi and Samarkand’s offenses both drew only 249 walks, setting a new ABF team worst. The Spurs’ pitching staff also had a 4.48 ERA, the third-worst in East League history. Shahid Safaq had a 31-game hit streak, tying the fifth-longest in ABF history. 3B Eser Haspolatli won his 14^th straight and final Gold Glove. He has won the award more than any other ABF player and is just one of 12 to win the award 14 times in any world league. Haspolatli is one of four in that group that were third basemen. RF Hana Zuhair won his tenth consecutive Gold Glove. CF Bardia Petrosian won his seventh Silver Slugger. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)