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FuzzyRussianHat · 01-26-2025, 04:50 AM

South Asia Baseball’s 2024 Hall of Fame class was a strong one with three players inducted on their first ballot. The co-headliners were pitcher Ariffin Sapri (98.8%) and 1B Davavesman Toppo (97.9%) with 1B/3B Kumar Clark joining them (79.2%). CL Viaan Govindraj barely missed the 66% requirement to join them, debuting at 65.1%. Fellow reliever Khon Aye Ko debuted with a nice 59.8%. No one else was above 50% with the best returner at 44.6%.

No players were dropped after ten failed ballots. Worth a mention though was SS Dong Hung, who fell to 2.6% on his ninth ballot. He peaked at 27.9% in 2017 and had two Silver Sluggers, 2554 hits, 1174 runs, 549 doubles, 144 triples, 278 home runs, 1111 RBI, 511 steals, .275/.325/.455 slash, 123 wRC+, and 78.4 WAR. Hung was also worth a mention simply because of the innuendo from his name giving my inner teenager a sensible chuckle. While the name was HOF worthy, the resume was merely pretty good.

Ariffin Sapri – Pitcher – Visakhapatnam Volts – 98.8% First Ballot

Ariffin Sapri was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Bedong, Malaysia; a town of around 14,000 people. Sapri had filthy stuff with good control and average-at-best movement. His fastball topped out in the 99-97 mph range, but it was the least scary of his three pitches. Sapri had an incredible knuckle curve and a very good changeup, each of which were often impossible to identify until it was too late.

Sapri’s stamina was below average relative to most SAB aces. He was exclusively a reliever in his first four seasons and saw a lot of split use after that. Sapri’s durability was fantastic though, so you never had to worry about injury problems. He graded as good at holding runners and defense. Sapri was an incredibly smart pitcher who knew how to pick his spots. His work ethic and loyalty also made him a respected figure in the clubhouse.

In March 1998, Sapri was signed to a developmental deal by Visakhapatnam, making the move from Malaysia to India. He spent his entire pro career with the Volts, finally debuting in 2004 at age 22. Sapri was used exclusively as mid relief in his first four seasons with respectable results. He looked strong in a split starter/relief role in 2008 and would see more regular innings after that.

In 2009, Sapri had an all-time season with a 1.24 ERA over 218 innings, setting a single-season ERA record that still stands in SAB as of 2037. It was the seventh Triple Crown by a SAB pitcher as Sapri went 20-3 with 378 strikeouts and 9.2 WAR; all career bests. The strikeout mark is the 13^th-most in an SAB single season, giving Sapri Pitcher of the Year honors. He had a 20 strikeout performance on April 26 against Chennai. Sapri is one of ten as of 2037 with a 20+ K game in SAB, but is the only one to do his in only eight innings.

Sapri set a number of single-season rate stat records that still hold among qualifying pitchers with 162+ innings. He had a 4.33 H/9, 15.61 K/9, 0.64 WHIP, and .232 opponent’s OPS; all SAB bests. Sapri’s triple slash was .141/.182/.236; the average and on-base percentage are still records while the slugging was second-best. Among all qualifying pitchers in any league, Sapri’s H/9 ranks 23^rd, his K/9 is 40^th, his average is 17^th, OBP is 39^th, and OPS is 48^th. It’s especially impressive to make the world list when competing with pitchers from leagues with significantly less scoring.

This effort helped Visakhapatnam to its first division title, playoff berth, and winning season since 2001, although they lost in the first round. The Volts extended Sapri cautiously to a three-year, $7,880,000 deal that winter. He finished second in 2010’s Pitcher of the Year voting, although Visakhapatnam missed the playoffs. Sapri led in wins in 2011 and the Volts won a terrible South Division at 79-83. They managed to get to the Indian League Championship Series despite that, but lost to 111-win Kolkata.

Sapri finally got his big extension in March 2012 worth $27,600,000 over seven years. Sapri won his second Pitcher of the Year in 2012, leading in WAR (7.5) for the second time and wins (18-6) for the third time. He stuck out 344 over 207 innings with a 2.09 ERA. Visakhapatnam took the top seed at 106-56 and won the IL pennant, but fell to Yangon in the SAB Championship. Sapri had a 3.38 ERA over 37.1 playoff innings; a mixed bag.

Visakhapatnam repeated as IL champs in 2013 and Sapri was second in POTY voting. He was merely above average in the playoffs again with a 3.47 ERA over 36.1 innings as the Volts fell to Hanoi in the SAB Championship. Visakhapatnam was upset in the 2014 ILCS by Mumbai, although Sapri was strong in this playoff run with one run allowed over 14.2 innings. For his playoff career, Sapri had 114 innings, an 8-7 record, 3 saves, 2.84 ERA, 160 strikeouts, 30 walks, 125 ERA+, and 3.7 WAR.

While his entire pro career was in India, Sapri did return home to Malaysia for the World Baseball Championship from 2007-18. He was a beast on the WBC stage with a 1.74 ERA over 144.2 innings, 8-5 record, 225 strikeouts, 52 walks, 212 ERA+, and 4.8 WAR. Sapri helped the Malaysians to their first WBC division title in 2009. Among all WBC pitchers with 80+ innings as of 2037, Sapri’s ERA ranks 55^th.

Visakhapatnam’s competitive window ended in 2015, starting an eight-year playoff drought. Sapri was solid that year, but his effectiveness began to falter as his final three seasons had ERAs above three, a mark he never had as a starter prior. In 2018, Sapri became the 10^th in SAB to reach 3500 career strikeouts. He didn’t try to chase 200 wins, retiring that winter at age 37. The Volts quickly retired his #3 uniform for efforts over 15 seasons.

Sapri had a 191-107 record, 37 saves, 2.60 ERA, 2465 innings, 3722 strikeouts, 518 walks, 228/294 quality starts, 25 complete games, 7 shutouts, 136 ERA+, 75 FIP-, and 60.5 WAR. Sapri had fewer innings than a lot of other aces, ranking 75^th as of 2037. Despite that, he still ranks 16^th in strikeouts. It did lower some of the other counting stats as he was 23^rd in wins and 29^th in WAR.

Among SAB pitchers with 1000+ innings, Sapri’s ERA ranks 30^th and his 0.96 WHIP is 16^th. He ranks 24^th in H/9 (6.73), 7^th in K/9 (13.59), and 45^th in OPS (.605). Sapri’s triple slash was .206/.252/.353 , ranking 21^st/16^th/99^th. His relative few years on top keep him out of inner-circle level conversations, but Sapri was one of the most efficient starters in SAB history.

Sapri’s 2009 season also goes down in some minds as the most dominant effort by a starting pitcher in SAB history. Two Pitcher of the Year awards, a record-setting Triple Crown season, and 3500 Ks made Sapri a lock. He’s one of only two pitchers in world history to reach 3500 Ks despite not pitching 2500+ innings. Sapri received 98.8% to co-headline an impressive three-player South Asia Baseball Hall of Fame group for 2024.

01-26-2025, 04:50 AM	#2010
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,414	2024 SAB Hall of Fame (Part 1) South Asia Baseball’s 2024 Hall of Fame class was a strong one with three players inducted on their first ballot. The co-headliners were pitcher Ariffin Sapri (98.8%) and 1B Davavesman Toppo (97.9%) with 1B/3B Kumar Clark joining them (79.2%). CL Viaan Govindraj barely missed the 66% requirement to join them, debuting at 65.1%. Fellow reliever Khon Aye Ko debuted with a nice 59.8%. No one else was above 50% with the best returner at 44.6%. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots. Worth a mention though was SS Dong Hung, who fell to 2.6% on his ninth ballot. He peaked at 27.9% in 2017 and had two Silver Sluggers, 2554 hits, 1174 runs, 549 doubles, 144 triples, 278 home runs, 1111 RBI, 511 steals, .275/.325/.455 slash, 123 wRC+, and 78.4 WAR. Hung was also worth a mention simply because of the innuendo from his name giving my inner teenager a sensible chuckle. While the name was HOF worthy, the resume was merely pretty good. Ariffin Sapri – Pitcher – Visakhapatnam Volts – 98.8% First Ballot Ariffin Sapri was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Bedong, Malaysia; a town of around 14,000 people. Sapri had filthy stuff with good control and average-at-best movement. His fastball topped out in the 99-97 mph range, but it was the least scary of his three pitches. Sapri had an incredible knuckle curve and a very good changeup, each of which were often impossible to identify until it was too late. Sapri’s stamina was below average relative to most SAB aces. He was exclusively a reliever in his first four seasons and saw a lot of split use after that. Sapri’s durability was fantastic though, so you never had to worry about injury problems. He graded as good at holding runners and defense. Sapri was an incredibly smart pitcher who knew how to pick his spots. His work ethic and loyalty also made him a respected figure in the clubhouse. In March 1998, Sapri was signed to a developmental deal by Visakhapatnam, making the move from Malaysia to India. He spent his entire pro career with the Volts, finally debuting in 2004 at age 22. Sapri was used exclusively as mid relief in his first four seasons with respectable results. He looked strong in a split starter/relief role in 2008 and would see more regular innings after that. In 2009, Sapri had an all-time season with a 1.24 ERA over 218 innings, setting a single-season ERA record that still stands in SAB as of 2037. It was the seventh Triple Crown by a SAB pitcher as Sapri went 20-3 with 378 strikeouts and 9.2 WAR; all career bests. The strikeout mark is the 13^th-most in an SAB single season, giving Sapri Pitcher of the Year honors. He had a 20 strikeout performance on April 26 against Chennai. Sapri is one of ten as of 2037 with a 20+ K game in SAB, but is the only one to do his in only eight innings. Sapri set a number of single-season rate stat records that still hold among qualifying pitchers with 162+ innings. He had a 4.33 H/9, 15.61 K/9, 0.64 WHIP, and .232 opponent’s OPS; all SAB bests. Sapri’s triple slash was .141/.182/.236; the average and on-base percentage are still records while the slugging was second-best. Among all qualifying pitchers in any league, Sapri’s H/9 ranks 23^rd, his K/9 is 40^th, his average is 17^th, OBP is 39^th, and OPS is 48^th. It’s especially impressive to make the world list when competing with pitchers from leagues with significantly less scoring. This effort helped Visakhapatnam to its first division title, playoff berth, and winning season since 2001, although they lost in the first round. The Volts extended Sapri cautiously to a three-year, $7,880,000 deal that winter. He finished second in 2010’s Pitcher of the Year voting, although Visakhapatnam missed the playoffs. Sapri led in wins in 2011 and the Volts won a terrible South Division at 79-83. They managed to get to the Indian League Championship Series despite that, but lost to 111-win Kolkata. Sapri finally got his big extension in March 2012 worth $27,600,000 over seven years. Sapri won his second Pitcher of the Year in 2012, leading in WAR (7.5) for the second time and wins (18-6) for the third time. He stuck out 344 over 207 innings with a 2.09 ERA. Visakhapatnam took the top seed at 106-56 and won the IL pennant, but fell to Yangon in the SAB Championship. Sapri had a 3.38 ERA over 37.1 playoff innings; a mixed bag. Visakhapatnam repeated as IL champs in 2013 and Sapri was second in POTY voting. He was merely above average in the playoffs again with a 3.47 ERA over 36.1 innings as the Volts fell to Hanoi in the SAB Championship. Visakhapatnam was upset in the 2014 ILCS by Mumbai, although Sapri was strong in this playoff run with one run allowed over 14.2 innings. For his playoff career, Sapri had 114 innings, an 8-7 record, 3 saves, 2.84 ERA, 160 strikeouts, 30 walks, 125 ERA+, and 3.7 WAR. While his entire pro career was in India, Sapri did return home to Malaysia for the World Baseball Championship from 2007-18. He was a beast on the WBC stage with a 1.74 ERA over 144.2 innings, 8-5 record, 225 strikeouts, 52 walks, 212 ERA+, and 4.8 WAR. Sapri helped the Malaysians to their first WBC division title in 2009. Among all WBC pitchers with 80+ innings as of 2037, Sapri’s ERA ranks 55^th. Visakhapatnam’s competitive window ended in 2015, starting an eight-year playoff drought. Sapri was solid that year, but his effectiveness began to falter as his final three seasons had ERAs above three, a mark he never had as a starter prior. In 2018, Sapri became the 10^th in SAB to reach 3500 career strikeouts. He didn’t try to chase 200 wins, retiring that winter at age 37. The Volts quickly retired his #3 uniform for efforts over 15 seasons. Sapri had a 191-107 record, 37 saves, 2.60 ERA, 2465 innings, 3722 strikeouts, 518 walks, 228/294 quality starts, 25 complete games, 7 shutouts, 136 ERA+, 75 FIP-, and 60.5 WAR. Sapri had fewer innings than a lot of other aces, ranking 75^th as of 2037. Despite that, he still ranks 16^th in strikeouts. It did lower some of the other counting stats as he was 23^rd in wins and 29^th in WAR. Among SAB pitchers with 1000+ innings, Sapri’s ERA ranks 30^th and his 0.96 WHIP is 16^th. He ranks 24^th in H/9 (6.73), 7^th in K/9 (13.59), and 45^th in OPS (.605). Sapri’s triple slash was .206/.252/.353 , ranking 21^st/16^th/99^th. His relative few years on top keep him out of inner-circle level conversations, but Sapri was one of the most efficient starters in SAB history. Sapri’s 2009 season also goes down in some minds as the most dominant effort by a starting pitcher in SAB history. Two Pitcher of the Year awards, a record-setting Triple Crown season, and 3500 Ks made Sapri a lock. He’s one of only two pitchers in world history to reach 3500 Ks despite not pitching 2500+ innings. Sapri received 98.8% to co-headline an impressive three-player South Asia Baseball Hall of Fame group for 2024. __________________ 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)