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FuzzyRussianHat · 01-04-2025, 06:17 PM

Abidjan had the best overall record in West African Baseball at 104-58. It was the fourth playoff berth in five years for the Athletes and their first time in the Western League’s top spot since 2018. Conakry was second at 98-64 to grow their playoff streak to five seasons. The Coyotes allowed the fewest runs at 689. Abidjan was third in both runs scored (923) and fewest allowed (713).

For the remaining two playoff spots, Freetown (92-70) and Cape Verde (91-71) advanced with Accra (88-74) falling short. The Foresters had both their first playoff berth and winning season since 2014, while the Vulcans ended an 11-year postseason drought. CV had the most runs (964) with Freetown next (949). Defending WL champ Bamako was sixth at 83-79, which ended their seven-year postseason streak.

Cape Verde 3B Okoro Yusuf kept rolling with his third straight Western League MVP. The 25-year old Nigerian had just led his country to the World Baseball Championship title as WBC MVP. In 2022, he led the WL in hits (245), total bases (464), batting average (.404), OBP (.456), OPS (1.222), wRC+ (206), and WAR (11.5).

Yusuf’s average was the third-best in WAB history to that point and was the seventh-ever WAB effort above .400. His OBP ranked seventh-best and his OPS was third. Yusuf also had 126 runs, 52 home runs, 49 doubles, and 150 RBI. The Vulcans had wisely given him an eight-year, $113,500,000 extension the prior summer.

It took an effort that strong to overshadow Freetown’s Youssoupha Diop, who became WAB’s single-season home run king. The 25-year old Senegalais first baseman socked a nice 69 dingers, besting Shahnawaz Ikram’s 66 from 2006. Diop’s 169 RBI was the fourth-best in WAB history. Diop also had 143 runs, 1.215 OPS, 194 wRC+, and 9.1 WAR.

The Foresters would have the Pitcher of the Year Koku Omouroun in his fourth season, earning the tenth Triple Crown pitching season in WAB history. The 26-year old Togolese lefty had an 18-6 record, 2.53 ERA, and 300 strikeouts. Omouroun pitched 206.2 innings and also led in WHIP (0.95), quality starts (22), FIP- (61), and WAR (7.2). Freetown had given him a six-year, $36,540,000 extension the prior winter.

Cape Verde edged Freetown 2-1 in the first round, but got rolled 2-0 in round two by Conakry. The Coyotes earned their fourth consecutive Western League Championship Series appearance and shocked top seed Abidjan with a 3-0 sweep. Conakry secured its second pennant in three years and its fourth overall (1989, 1990, 2020, 2022).

In the Eastern League, Niamey (98-64) narrowly took the top spot from last year’s ELCS runner-up Libreville (97-65). The Atomics got their second playoff berth in four years, although they hadn’t taken first place since their 2007 pennant. For the Lakers, their playoff streak grew to three seasons. Niamey led in scoring (915) and fewest runs allowed (729).

Ibadan (93-69) and Lome (90-72) earned the remaining playoff spots, while defending WAB champ Yaounde (87-75) and Ouagadougou (85-77) were the first teams out. The Iguanas ended a four-year playoff drought while the Lasers stopped a five-year skid. The Yellow Birds’ playoff streak ended at four and Kano (74-88) had their streak end at six years.

Niamey swept the top awards with fourth-year LF Kevin Serville taking Eastern League MVP. The 25-year old Central African led in RBI (142) while adding 36 homers, 50 doubles, 17 triples, 120 runs, a .371/.405/.694 slash, 174 wRC+, and 7.4 WAR. Serville signed an eight-year, $54,760,000 extension with the Atomics the prior winter. His 2022 included hitting for the cycle during a 26-game hit streak.

Teammate Sabado Balde won his third Pitcher of the Year in four seasons. The 30-year old Bissau-Guinean led in wins (21-7), ERA (2.92), quality starts (21), and WAR (8.5). Balde struck out 290 in 249.1 innings, missing a Triple Crown by only 17 Ks. He spent one more year with Niamey, then departed for five years to MLB’s Columbus Chargers.

Ibadan beat Lome 2-0 in the first round, then knocked off Libreville 2-1 in round two. The Iguanas earned their first Eastern League Championship Series trip since 2013. They couldn’t overcome top seed Niamey as the Atomics took the ELCS 3-1. Niamey became four-time EL champs (1987, 2006, 2007, 2022).

The 48^th West African Championship saw Conakry earn their second title in three years. Like their 2020 win over Yaounde, the Coyotes got the sweep in their victory over Niamey. Conakry became three-time champs having also won back in 1990. The Coyotes finished undefeated in the playoffs at 9-0, becoming the first team in WAB history to achieve the feat.

Finals MVP was RF Romeo Volz in his second year for the Coyotes as the 32-year old French journeyman arrived after eight years in Europe. In 2022, Volz had 9 playoff starts, 12 hits, 2 doubles, 9 RBI, 7 walks, and 6 stolen bases. Reliever Mamba Diallo was also notable for going 5-0 with 2 saves in seven appearances, posting a 1.84 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 14.2 innings. Five wins set a new WAB playoff record.

Other notes: WAB hits leader Lawrence Nassif also became the RBI and doubles leader in his penultimate season. The 37-year old 1B finished the year at 2215 RBI and 671 doubles, passing Darwin Morris’s 2129 RBI and Jack Kiadii’s 659 doubles. Nassif also got to 716 home runs, joining Morris (806) and Ahamad Mathew (740) in the 700 club. He also finished 2022 at 3592 hits, becoming the first in WAB to breach 3500.

Port Harcourt’s Jacques Ahouansou set a new WAB single-game record by striking out 23 in only eight innings against Niamey on May 25. He was only the ninth in world history to fan 23+ in a game and one of only four to do it without extra innings. Ahouansou hit his mark with the fewest total outs with a remarkable 23/24 outs via strikeout.

Libreville’s Ahmed Kone had a 41-game hitting streak in the summer, falling two games short of Fares Belaid’s record 43 from the prior year. Kone himself had notably posted a 37-game streak in 2021 as well. Kone is only the 15^th player in world history to have a 40+ game hit streak and is the only player to have multiple 35+ game streaks. Belaid barely misses that cutoff, having two 34-game streaks along with his 43-game record. Belaid won his eighth Silver Slugger in 2022 and seventh as a DH.

Ibrahim Sani became the 9^th to reach 1500 RBI and Clarence Cole was the 7^th to 1500 runs scored. Cole and three others reached 2500 hits, a mark met by 21 WAB batters. Kadir Onyeali was the 7^th pitcher to reach 3500 strikeouts. 3B Seidath Boni won his 11^th consecutive Gold Glove, becoming only the third 11+ GG winner at any position in WAB. SS Romuald Assane won his seventh Gold Glove

01-04-2025, 06:17 PM	#1947
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,898	2022 in WAB Abidjan had the best overall record in West African Baseball at 104-58. It was the fourth playoff berth in five years for the Athletes and their first time in the Western League’s top spot since 2018. Conakry was second at 98-64 to grow their playoff streak to five seasons. The Coyotes allowed the fewest runs at 689. Abidjan was third in both runs scored (923) and fewest allowed (713). For the remaining two playoff spots, Freetown (92-70) and Cape Verde (91-71) advanced with Accra (88-74) falling short. The Foresters had both their first playoff berth and winning season since 2014, while the Vulcans ended an 11-year postseason drought. CV had the most runs (964) with Freetown next (949). Defending WL champ Bamako was sixth at 83-79, which ended their seven-year postseason streak. Cape Verde 3B Okoro Yusuf kept rolling with his third straight Western League MVP. The 25-year old Nigerian had just led his country to the World Baseball Championship title as WBC MVP. In 2022, he led the WL in hits (245), total bases (464), batting average (.404), OBP (.456), OPS (1.222), wRC+ (206), and WAR (11.5). Yusuf’s average was the third-best in WAB history to that point and was the seventh-ever WAB effort above .400. His OBP ranked seventh-best and his OPS was third. Yusuf also had 126 runs, 52 home runs, 49 doubles, and 150 RBI. The Vulcans had wisely given him an eight-year, $113,500,000 extension the prior summer. It took an effort that strong to overshadow Freetown’s Youssoupha Diop, who became WAB’s single-season home run king. The 25-year old Senegalais first baseman socked a nice 69 dingers, besting Shahnawaz Ikram’s 66 from 2006. Diop’s 169 RBI was the fourth-best in WAB history. Diop also had 143 runs, 1.215 OPS, 194 wRC+, and 9.1 WAR. The Foresters would have the Pitcher of the Year Koku Omouroun in his fourth season, earning the tenth Triple Crown pitching season in WAB history. The 26-year old Togolese lefty had an 18-6 record, 2.53 ERA, and 300 strikeouts. Omouroun pitched 206.2 innings and also led in WHIP (0.95), quality starts (22), FIP- (61), and WAR (7.2). Freetown had given him a six-year, $36,540,000 extension the prior winter. Cape Verde edged Freetown 2-1 in the first round, but got rolled 2-0 in round two by Conakry. The Coyotes earned their fourth consecutive Western League Championship Series appearance and shocked top seed Abidjan with a 3-0 sweep. Conakry secured its second pennant in three years and its fourth overall (1989, 1990, 2020, 2022). In the Eastern League, Niamey (98-64) narrowly took the top spot from last year’s ELCS runner-up Libreville (97-65). The Atomics got their second playoff berth in four years, although they hadn’t taken first place since their 2007 pennant. For the Lakers, their playoff streak grew to three seasons. Niamey led in scoring (915) and fewest runs allowed (729). Ibadan (93-69) and Lome (90-72) earned the remaining playoff spots, while defending WAB champ Yaounde (87-75) and Ouagadougou (85-77) were the first teams out. The Iguanas ended a four-year playoff drought while the Lasers stopped a five-year skid. The Yellow Birds’ playoff streak ended at four and Kano (74-88) had their streak end at six years. Niamey swept the top awards with fourth-year LF Kevin Serville taking Eastern League MVP. The 25-year old Central African led in RBI (142) while adding 36 homers, 50 doubles, 17 triples, 120 runs, a .371/.405/.694 slash, 174 wRC+, and 7.4 WAR. Serville signed an eight-year, $54,760,000 extension with the Atomics the prior winter. His 2022 included hitting for the cycle during a 26-game hit streak. Teammate Sabado Balde won his third Pitcher of the Year in four seasons. The 30-year old Bissau-Guinean led in wins (21-7), ERA (2.92), quality starts (21), and WAR (8.5). Balde struck out 290 in 249.1 innings, missing a Triple Crown by only 17 Ks. He spent one more year with Niamey, then departed for five years to MLB’s Columbus Chargers. Ibadan beat Lome 2-0 in the first round, then knocked off Libreville 2-1 in round two. The Iguanas earned their first Eastern League Championship Series trip since 2013. They couldn’t overcome top seed Niamey as the Atomics took the ELCS 3-1. Niamey became four-time EL champs (1987, 2006, 2007, 2022). The 48^th West African Championship saw Conakry earn their second title in three years. Like their 2020 win over Yaounde, the Coyotes got the sweep in their victory over Niamey. Conakry became three-time champs having also won back in 1990. The Coyotes finished undefeated in the playoffs at 9-0, becoming the first team in WAB history to achieve the feat. Finals MVP was RF Romeo Volz in his second year for the Coyotes as the 32-year old French journeyman arrived after eight years in Europe. In 2022, Volz had 9 playoff starts, 12 hits, 2 doubles, 9 RBI, 7 walks, and 6 stolen bases. Reliever Mamba Diallo was also notable for going 5-0 with 2 saves in seven appearances, posting a 1.84 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 14.2 innings. Five wins set a new WAB playoff record. Other notes: WAB hits leader Lawrence Nassif also became the RBI and doubles leader in his penultimate season. The 37-year old 1B finished the year at 2215 RBI and 671 doubles, passing Darwin Morris’s 2129 RBI and Jack Kiadii’s 659 doubles. Nassif also got to 716 home runs, joining Morris (806) and Ahamad Mathew (740) in the 700 club. He also finished 2022 at 3592 hits, becoming the first in WAB to breach 3500. Port Harcourt’s Jacques Ahouansou set a new WAB single-game record by striking out 23 in only eight innings against Niamey on May 25. He was only the ninth in world history to fan 23+ in a game and one of only four to do it without extra innings. Ahouansou hit his mark with the fewest total outs with a remarkable 23/24 outs via strikeout. Libreville’s Ahmed Kone had a 41-game hitting streak in the summer, falling two games short of Fares Belaid’s record 43 from the prior year. Kone himself had notably posted a 37-game streak in 2021 as well. Kone is only the 15^th player in world history to have a 40+ game hit streak and is the only player to have multiple 35+ game streaks. Belaid barely misses that cutoff, having two 34-game streaks along with his 43-game record. Belaid won his eighth Silver Slugger in 2022 and seventh as a DH. Ibrahim Sani became the 9^th to reach 1500 RBI and Clarence Cole was the 7^th to 1500 runs scored. Cole and three others reached 2500 hits, a mark met by 21 WAB batters. Kadir Onyeali was the 7^th pitcher to reach 3500 strikeouts. 3B Seidath Boni won his 11^th consecutive Gold Glove, becoming only the third 11+ GG winner at any position in WAB. SS Romuald Assane won his seventh Gold Glove __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)