OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

FuzzyRussianHat · 01-18-2025, 05:37 AM

A fierce battle for the Australasia League title Christchurch prevail at 101-61, fending off defending Oceania Champion Sydney and Canberra both at 97-65. The Chinooks returned to the perch with their third title in four years. Christchurch won its 15^th AL pennant, tying Melbourne for the most. Brisbane (91-71) and Melbourne (89-73) were also in the mix for much of the year. For the 2006 expansion Centurions 97 wins matched their franchise best from 2012.

Auckland had a shocking collapse down to 67-95. The Avengers were only a tiebreaker game away from the pennant the prior season. The Snakes offense stole 547 bases and only struck out 921 times, both were the second-best marks behind their own 2022 efforts. Canberra was the top scoring team (804) while Brisbane allowed the fewest runs (588). The Chinooks outperformed their expected win/loss by six en route to the title.

Australasia League MVP went to Canberra RF Sumeet Singh in his third season. He was drafted in 2020 by New Caledonia, but was traded away for prospects to the Centurions for 2023. The 25-year old Fijian led in home runs (50), RBI (142), total bases (402), slugging (.681), OPS (1.058), and wRC+ (196). Singh added 7.3 WAR and a .339 batting average. He would sign a four-year, $53.6 million extension the following spring. Also of note, his Canberra teammate Ashley Chinnery had a .429 on-base percentage, setting a new OBA single-season record. The previous best was Samson Gould’s .423 from 2005.

Sydney’s Chuchuan Cao repeated as Pitcher of the Year in his second season in Australia. The 34-year old Chinese lefty was now a seven-time POTY winner overall counting his five wins in CLB with Shenyang. Cao led in wins (25-9), innings (324), strikeouts (347), quality starts (27), complete games (19), shutouts (6), FIP- (64), and WAR (10.7). He also had a 2.89 ERA and 131 ERA+.

The former two-way star only hit during his pitching starts in 2023, but added 1.0 WAR offensively with a .277/.323/.529 slash line over 127 plate appearances. Cao now had a combined career WAR of 181.0, moving to seventh all-time among all players in pro baseball history.

Port Moresby dominated the Pacific League to end a 37-year title drought going back to 1985. The Mud Hens were 102-60 and scored by far the most runs in the league with 847, 130 ahead of second place. PM had a .283 team batting average with 1596 hits, both the second-best in PL history. Port Moresby’s .332 OBP was the third-best season.

Timor was a distant second at 90-72 with Samoa third at 89-73. Two-time defending PL champ Vanuatu fell to fifth at 83-79, two behind 85-77 Guam. The Tapirs notably allowed the fewest runs at 543. Timor had been terrible prior to 2023, as this was their first winning season since joining in the 2006 expansion. Also of note was Guadalcanal falling to 76-86, their first losing season since 2008.

It was no surprise that Port Moresby had the Pacific League’s MVP and Pitcher of the Year. The former was CF Stanley Yeo, winning MVP for the second time in three years. The 27-year old hometown hero led in slugging (.673), OPS (1.068), wRC+ (200), and WAR (11.7). Yeo added 45 home runs, 115 RBI, .343 average, 115 runs, and 72 stolen bases.

Colton Stark repeated as Pitcher of the Year in his eighth season. The 30-year old Australian led in wins (27-9), ERA (2.16), WHIP (0.91), K/BB (10.4), quality starts (34), FIP- (52), and WAR (12.3). He struck out 355 over 304.2 innings, missing the Triple Crown by 24 Ks. The Mud Hens extended Stark in spring training for six years and $152 million to remain their ace.

In the 64^th Oceania Championship, Port Moresby defeated Christchurch 4-2 to win their second-ever title, joining the 1985 win. The Chinooks have lost their last five finals and are now 3-12 all-time in the finale, giving them the most runner-up finishes of any franchise in any league. League MVP Stanley Yeo was also finals MVP, going 10-23 with 7 runs, 2 triples, 3 homers, 4 RBI, and 4 steals.

Other notes: In his final season, Adrian Kali passed Arjita Gabeja’s 1683 to become OBA’s leader in runs scored with 1704. Kali’s final tally as the OBA hit king was 3467 and he became OBA’s total bases leader at 6115, besting Junia Lava’s 6014. Kali’s 650 home runs ranked 7^th at retirement and his 1979 RBI finished only ten behind Lava’s 1989 for the top spot. He finished one game short of being the fourth to play 3000 games in OBA.

Dale Harper joined that group by getting to 3055 games in 2023, ranking third all-time. Harper stayed ahead of Kali for OBA’s most doubles with the top three all incidentally ending their OBA careers in 2023. Harper finished at 596 doubles, followed by Kali at 572 and Naldo Soto at 570. Harper moved to #2 on the hits list, retiring at 3265 while Soto’s 2921 hits placed him 5^th at retirement.

Roe Kaupa and Aston Abavu became the 22^nd and 23^rd to reach 2500 hits. Kaupa won his 13^th Silver Slugger overall and his 7^th at first base. He was the first 13-time winner at any spot in OBA. Kaupa ended 2023 in striking distance of numerous top marks with 1637 runs, 774 home runs, and 1765 RBI. He was 30 homers from Vavao Brighouse’s top mark of 804 and 67 runs from Kali’s new top mark, both reachable in 2024 at age 37. Kaupa was 224 RBI away from passing Lava for first, achievable with two good years. Kaupa had 45+ homers, 100+ RBI, and 90+ runs in each of the last 13 seasons.

In other milestones, 2B Trey Cruz won his 7^th Silver Slugger. Isaac Endo became the 16^th member of the 500 home run club and Peyton McCoy became the 22^nd pitcher to 3500 strikeouts. Jayden Owens passed Scott Kyle’s 402 saves to become the new OBA leader at 409. CF Pouvalu Manu won his 9^th consecutive Gold Glove.

01-18-2025, 05:37 AM	#1987
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,897	2023 in OBA A fierce battle for the Australasia League title Christchurch prevail at 101-61, fending off defending Oceania Champion Sydney and Canberra both at 97-65. The Chinooks returned to the perch with their third title in four years. Christchurch won its 15^th AL pennant, tying Melbourne for the most. Brisbane (91-71) and Melbourne (89-73) were also in the mix for much of the year. For the 2006 expansion Centurions 97 wins matched their franchise best from 2012. Auckland had a shocking collapse down to 67-95. The Avengers were only a tiebreaker game away from the pennant the prior season. The Snakes offense stole 547 bases and only struck out 921 times, both were the second-best marks behind their own 2022 efforts. Canberra was the top scoring team (804) while Brisbane allowed the fewest runs (588). The Chinooks outperformed their expected win/loss by six en route to the title. Australasia League MVP went to Canberra RF Sumeet Singh in his third season. He was drafted in 2020 by New Caledonia, but was traded away for prospects to the Centurions for 2023. The 25-year old Fijian led in home runs (50), RBI (142), total bases (402), slugging (.681), OPS (1.058), and wRC+ (196). Singh added 7.3 WAR and a .339 batting average. He would sign a four-year, $53.6 million extension the following spring. Also of note, his Canberra teammate Ashley Chinnery had a .429 on-base percentage, setting a new OBA single-season record. The previous best was Samson Gould’s .423 from 2005. Sydney’s Chuchuan Cao repeated as Pitcher of the Year in his second season in Australia. The 34-year old Chinese lefty was now a seven-time POTY winner overall counting his five wins in CLB with Shenyang. Cao led in wins (25-9), innings (324), strikeouts (347), quality starts (27), complete games (19), shutouts (6), FIP- (64), and WAR (10.7). He also had a 2.89 ERA and 131 ERA+. The former two-way star only hit during his pitching starts in 2023, but added 1.0 WAR offensively with a .277/.323/.529 slash line over 127 plate appearances. Cao now had a combined career WAR of 181.0, moving to seventh all-time among all players in pro baseball history. Port Moresby dominated the Pacific League to end a 37-year title drought going back to 1985. The Mud Hens were 102-60 and scored by far the most runs in the league with 847, 130 ahead of second place. PM had a .283 team batting average with 1596 hits, both the second-best in PL history. Port Moresby’s .332 OBP was the third-best season. Timor was a distant second at 90-72 with Samoa third at 89-73. Two-time defending PL champ Vanuatu fell to fifth at 83-79, two behind 85-77 Guam. The Tapirs notably allowed the fewest runs at 543. Timor had been terrible prior to 2023, as this was their first winning season since joining in the 2006 expansion. Also of note was Guadalcanal falling to 76-86, their first losing season since 2008. It was no surprise that Port Moresby had the Pacific League’s MVP and Pitcher of the Year. The former was CF Stanley Yeo, winning MVP for the second time in three years. The 27-year old hometown hero led in slugging (.673), OPS (1.068), wRC+ (200), and WAR (11.7). Yeo added 45 home runs, 115 RBI, .343 average, 115 runs, and 72 stolen bases. Colton Stark repeated as Pitcher of the Year in his eighth season. The 30-year old Australian led in wins (27-9), ERA (2.16), WHIP (0.91), K/BB (10.4), quality starts (34), FIP- (52), and WAR (12.3). He struck out 355 over 304.2 innings, missing the Triple Crown by 24 Ks. The Mud Hens extended Stark in spring training for six years and $152 million to remain their ace. In the 64^th Oceania Championship, Port Moresby defeated Christchurch 4-2 to win their second-ever title, joining the 1985 win. The Chinooks have lost their last five finals and are now 3-12 all-time in the finale, giving them the most runner-up finishes of any franchise in any league. League MVP Stanley Yeo was also finals MVP, going 10-23 with 7 runs, 2 triples, 3 homers, 4 RBI, and 4 steals. Other notes: In his final season, Adrian Kali passed Arjita Gabeja’s 1683 to become OBA’s leader in runs scored with 1704. Kali’s final tally as the OBA hit king was 3467 and he became OBA’s total bases leader at 6115, besting Junia Lava’s 6014. Kali’s 650 home runs ranked 7^th at retirement and his 1979 RBI finished only ten behind Lava’s 1989 for the top spot. He finished one game short of being the fourth to play 3000 games in OBA. Dale Harper joined that group by getting to 3055 games in 2023, ranking third all-time. Harper stayed ahead of Kali for OBA’s most doubles with the top three all incidentally ending their OBA careers in 2023. Harper finished at 596 doubles, followed by Kali at 572 and Naldo Soto at 570. Harper moved to #2 on the hits list, retiring at 3265 while Soto’s 2921 hits placed him 5^th at retirement. Roe Kaupa and Aston Abavu became the 22^nd and 23^rd to reach 2500 hits. Kaupa won his 13^th Silver Slugger overall and his 7^th at first base. He was the first 13-time winner at any spot in OBA. Kaupa ended 2023 in striking distance of numerous top marks with 1637 runs, 774 home runs, and 1765 RBI. He was 30 homers from Vavao Brighouse’s top mark of 804 and 67 runs from Kali’s new top mark, both reachable in 2024 at age 37. Kaupa was 224 RBI away from passing Lava for first, achievable with two good years. Kaupa had 45+ homers, 100+ RBI, and 90+ runs in each of the last 13 seasons. In other milestones, 2B Trey Cruz won his 7^th Silver Slugger. Isaac Endo became the 16^th member of the 500 home run club and Peyton McCoy became the 22^nd pitcher to 3500 strikeouts. Jayden Owens passed Scott Kyle’s 402 saves to become the new OBA leader at 409. CF Pouvalu Manu won his 9^th consecutive Gold Glove. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)