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FuzzyRussianHat · 01-26-2025, 08:45 PM

The Asian Baseball Federation’s 2024 Hall of Fame class was an impressive one with all three inductees debuting with at least 96% of the vote. The three guys would be headline worthy in their own right basically any year. 1B Petri Viskari (98.9%), SP Gevorg Qasimov (96.8%) and SP Khalil Shaan (96.1%) were the inductees. No one else was above 50% with the top returner being 1B Altaf Aslam with 46.1% in his ninth chance. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots, although Aslam was now on the chopping block for 2025.

Petri “Friar” Viskari – First Base – Istanbul Ironmen – 98.9% First Ballot

Petri Viskari was a 6’8’’, 205 pound left-handed first baseman from the capital of Finland, Helsinki. Nicknamed “Friar” for his religious beliefs, Viskari was one of the most well-rounded batters in ABF history. He was an excellent contact hitter with an excellent pop in his bat, along with a good eye for drawing walks. Viskari was a master at finding the gap with 45 doubles per his 162 game average, but he also had great home run power with 38 per 162.

Viskari was especially dominant facing right-handed pitching with a career 180 wRC+ and .994 OPS. Against lefties, he was still quite good at .804 OPS and 136 wRC+. His strikeout rate was merely decent and he was a terribly slow and sluggish baserunner. Viskari played first base exclusively defensively, but did make around 15% of his starts as a designated hitter. He graded as a mediocre gloveman.

Although he did run into some knee issues in his 30s, Viskari showed fairly good durability for his career, playing 135+ games in all but two of his 19 seasons. His reliably strong bat helped make Viskari one of ABF’s early international superstars. He would be the second-ever Finnish Hall of Famer, joining CL Theo Siitonen from Eurasian Professional Baseball’s 1974 class.

Viskari had an unlikely path to the ABF as Finland wasn’t within its general sphere of influence. The country had been EPB territory throughout the 20^th Century, but Helsinki was one of the teams that defected to the European Baseball Federation in 2000. From then forward, Finnish players and fans generally gravitated towards the EBF. Viskari’s teenage years came right around this transition point.

As a tall lefty, Viskari certainly earned attention from a young age. A scout from Baku became quite fond of him and in February 1999 convinced Viskari to sign a developmental deal with the Blackbirds. The Azerbaijani capital also left EPB in the 2000 exodus, but they went to ABF along with the other Central Asian teams. By this point, Viskari was committed to continue his career with Baku.

After three years in their academy, Viskari debuted in 2002 at age 20 and started 119 games. He won Rookie of the Year honors with 3.7 WAR and .853 OPS in his debut. The next two years were his best by home run power with 54 dingers in 2003 and 55 in 2004. Viskari was second in 2003’s MVP voting and third in 2004, combining for 19.3 WAR between the years. He also led the league in hits in 2004 with 197.

Viskari led with 122 RBI in 2005, but his overall production dropped to 5.7 WAR. Baku had struggled in their final decade in EPB and hadn’t fared much better in their first years in ABF. After the 2005 season, the Blackbirds traded Viskari to Istanbul for two pitching prospects. With Baku, Viskari had 668 hits, 351 runs, 169 doubles, 175 home runs, 448 RBI, .302/.355/.622 slash, 176 wRC+, and 28.8 WAR.

It would be in Turkey’s largest city that Viskari became a superstar. The Ironmen had earned three straight West League playoff berths, but hadn’t been able to get over the hump. Viskari was impressive right away, leading in runs (121), doubles (49), OBP (.400), OPS (1.020), and wRC+ (186). He won his first Silver Slugger and was third in MVP voting. Istanbul made the WLCS as the top seed, but was upset by defending ABF champ Shiraz.

2007 was actually a weaker year statistically for Viskari, but he finished second in MVP voting. Most importantly, he was a beast in the playoffs as MVP of the WLCS and the ABF Championship. Istanbul won it all, going 104-58 and beating Bishkek in the final. In 14 playoff starts, Viskari had 22 hits, 15 runs, 3 doubles, 10 homers, 20 RBI, a .431/.500/1.118 slash, 322 wRC+, and 2.1 WAR. Viskari set a new playoff homers record that held until 2036 and tied the then RBI record. It forever ranks as one of the most impressive runs by ABF playoff history.

Istanbul knew they had their guy and less than a week after the ABF Championship, they signed Viskari to an eight-year, $42,460,000 extension. 2008 would be Viskari’s finest season with league and career bests in runs (131), hits (213), RBI (142), total bases (410), triple slash (.370/.445/.712), OPS (1.157), wRC+ (213), and WAR (11.4). He was only two runs short of the then-ABF record. Viskari won his second Silver Slugger and his first league MVP.

The Ironmen improved to 112-50 and completed the repeat, defeating Karachi in the ABF Championship. Istanbul’s 2008 squad set the new ABF record for most wins by a champion, although Tehran topped it a decade later. Viskari again won finals MVP and posted 15 hits, 7 runs, 6 doubles, 2 homers, and 11 RBI in 12 playoff starts. For his playoff career, Viskari started 40 games with 50 hits, 29 runs, 13 doubles, 13 homers, 37 RBI, .345/.429/.717 slash, 1.146 OPS, 208 wRC+, and 3.2 WAR.

While thriving in Turkey, Viskari did start coming home to Finland for the World Baseball Championship. From 2008-20, Viskari played 111 games and started 98 for the Fins with 104 hits, 61 runs, 25 doubles, 25 home runs, 59 RBI, 35 walks, .276/.351/.546 slash, 155 wRC+, and 4.4 WAR. He helped Finland to its first-ever division title in 2016. Playing in such a large market like Istanbul, Viskari earned worldwide stardom, but he was especially a hero became home in Finland.

Istanbul dropped to 87-75 and had a first round playoff loss as a wild card. That was the end of their reign at the top and they’d spend the next nine years generally around .500. Viskari continued to thrive, winning his second MVP in 2009. He won additional Sluggers in 2009 and 2014. From 2009 onward, Viskari led five more times in doubles. He didn’t lead in other big stats apart from 2014 when he had the most RBI (122), total bases (373), best OBP (.401), OPS (1.044), wRC+ (206), and WAR (9.9).

After the 2014 season, Viskari signed a four-year, $52,800,000 extension to stay loyal to Istanbul. His longevity and consistency allowed him to start rising up the leaderboards in the still young ABF. He passed Radi Umar to become the new ABF doubles leader and would become the first in ABF to get 600 doubles and the only player to breach 700. Viskari joined Umar in 2015 as the only players with 1500 RBI and joined him in 2016 as the only ones thus far to 2500 hits. Viskari had a big setback though with a torn PCL in May 2016.

Viskari bounced back with a solid 2017, but did lose the final two months of 2018 to a torn meniscus. Still, Viskari was able to pass Umar as ABF’s hits leader, runs scored leader, and RBI leader. He also got to third on the home run chart at 595 behind Umar (633) and Vahid Hadadi. Viskari also was ABF’s WARlord albeit briefly. Most of his numbers would be passed by multiple players within the next decade, but Viskari’s spots remain impressive two decades later.

With a bad knee and his 37^th birthday passed, Istanbul didn’t re-sign Viskari following the 2018 campaign, marking the end of his ABF tenure. For the Ironmen, Viskari had 2127 hits, 1095 runs, 559 doubles, 420 home runs, 1237 RBI, 716 walks, .307/.378/.581 slash, 173 wRC+, and 85.7 WAR. He would remain beloved in Istanbul and later saw his #21 uniform retired. Viskari was still wanting to play somewhere though and opened up an international search.

Viskari ended up in Russia and EPB on a two-year, $11,600,000 deal with Irkutsk. The Ice Cats were below average in this era, but Viskari provided them two decent seasons as a starter with 298 hits, 138 runs, 55 doubles, 55 home runs, 164 RBI, .252/.314/.443 slash, 121 wRC+, and 4.6 WAR. For his combined career, that run got Viskari to the 3000 hit, 1500 runs, and 650 home run clubs. He also retired third in world baseball history 783 doubles, retiring only behind SAB’s Manju Abbas (816) and ABF/MLB legend Gokhan Karatas (787). Viskari retired after the 2020 season at age 39.

For his ABF career, Viskari had 2479 games, 2795 hits, 1446 runs, 728 doubles, 43 triples, 595 home runs, 1685 RBI, 869 walks, .306/.373/.591 slash, 174 wRC+, and 114.5 WAR. As of 2037, Viskari remains ABF’s career leader in doubles. Viskari also ranks 6^th in WAR among position players, 18^th in games, 11^th in runs, 7^th in hits, 4^th in total bases (5394), 11^th in home runs, 3^rd in RBI, and 14^th in walks.

Among ABF batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Viskari’s .964 OPS ranks 20^th and his triple slash rates 50^th/23^rd/19^th. Combined with his two Irkutsk seasons, Viskari had 3093 hits, 1584 runs, 783 doubles, 650 home runs, 1849 RBI, 67 walks, .300/.366/.574 slash, 168 wRC+, and 119.1 WAR. Viskari still sits 6^th in the world’s doubles list as of 2037.

His final ranking among ABF’s all-time greats is up for debate, but most place Viskari among the top ten position players and some stick him in the top five. His starring role in a dynasty run for Istanbul also holds a lot of sway. Either way, he’s a surefire Hall of Famer and had the highest percentage (98.9%) amongst a loaded three-player 2024 class in ABF. Viskari also is widely viewed as the best-ever baseball player to come out of Finland.

01-26-2025, 08:45 PM	#2012
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,430	2024 ABF Hall of Fame (Part 1) The Asian Baseball Federation’s 2024 Hall of Fame class was an impressive one with all three inductees debuting with at least 96% of the vote. The three guys would be headline worthy in their own right basically any year. 1B Petri Viskari (98.9%), SP Gevorg Qasimov (96.8%) and SP Khalil Shaan (96.1%) were the inductees. No one else was above 50% with the top returner being 1B Altaf Aslam with 46.1% in his ninth chance. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots, although Aslam was now on the chopping block for 2025. Petri “Friar” Viskari – First Base – Istanbul Ironmen – 98.9% First Ballot Petri Viskari was a 6’8’’, 205 pound left-handed first baseman from the capital of Finland, Helsinki. Nicknamed “Friar” for his religious beliefs, Viskari was one of the most well-rounded batters in ABF history. He was an excellent contact hitter with an excellent pop in his bat, along with a good eye for drawing walks. Viskari was a master at finding the gap with 45 doubles per his 162 game average, but he also had great home run power with 38 per 162. Viskari was especially dominant facing right-handed pitching with a career 180 wRC+ and .994 OPS. Against lefties, he was still quite good at .804 OPS and 136 wRC+. His strikeout rate was merely decent and he was a terribly slow and sluggish baserunner. Viskari played first base exclusively defensively, but did make around 15% of his starts as a designated hitter. He graded as a mediocre gloveman. Although he did run into some knee issues in his 30s, Viskari showed fairly good durability for his career, playing 135+ games in all but two of his 19 seasons. His reliably strong bat helped make Viskari one of ABF’s early international superstars. He would be the second-ever Finnish Hall of Famer, joining CL Theo Siitonen from Eurasian Professional Baseball’s 1974 class. Viskari had an unlikely path to the ABF as Finland wasn’t within its general sphere of influence. The country had been EPB territory throughout the 20^th Century, but Helsinki was one of the teams that defected to the European Baseball Federation in 2000. From then forward, Finnish players and fans generally gravitated towards the EBF. Viskari’s teenage years came right around this transition point. As a tall lefty, Viskari certainly earned attention from a young age. A scout from Baku became quite fond of him and in February 1999 convinced Viskari to sign a developmental deal with the Blackbirds. The Azerbaijani capital also left EPB in the 2000 exodus, but they went to ABF along with the other Central Asian teams. By this point, Viskari was committed to continue his career with Baku. After three years in their academy, Viskari debuted in 2002 at age 20 and started 119 games. He won Rookie of the Year honors with 3.7 WAR and .853 OPS in his debut. The next two years were his best by home run power with 54 dingers in 2003 and 55 in 2004. Viskari was second in 2003’s MVP voting and third in 2004, combining for 19.3 WAR between the years. He also led the league in hits in 2004 with 197. Viskari led with 122 RBI in 2005, but his overall production dropped to 5.7 WAR. Baku had struggled in their final decade in EPB and hadn’t fared much better in their first years in ABF. After the 2005 season, the Blackbirds traded Viskari to Istanbul for two pitching prospects. With Baku, Viskari had 668 hits, 351 runs, 169 doubles, 175 home runs, 448 RBI, .302/.355/.622 slash, 176 wRC+, and 28.8 WAR. It would be in Turkey’s largest city that Viskari became a superstar. The Ironmen had earned three straight West League playoff berths, but hadn’t been able to get over the hump. Viskari was impressive right away, leading in runs (121), doubles (49), OBP (.400), OPS (1.020), and wRC+ (186). He won his first Silver Slugger and was third in MVP voting. Istanbul made the WLCS as the top seed, but was upset by defending ABF champ Shiraz. 2007 was actually a weaker year statistically for Viskari, but he finished second in MVP voting. Most importantly, he was a beast in the playoffs as MVP of the WLCS and the ABF Championship. Istanbul won it all, going 104-58 and beating Bishkek in the final. In 14 playoff starts, Viskari had 22 hits, 15 runs, 3 doubles, 10 homers, 20 RBI, a .431/.500/1.118 slash, 322 wRC+, and 2.1 WAR. Viskari set a new playoff homers record that held until 2036 and tied the then RBI record. It forever ranks as one of the most impressive runs by ABF playoff history. Istanbul knew they had their guy and less than a week after the ABF Championship, they signed Viskari to an eight-year, $42,460,000 extension. 2008 would be Viskari’s finest season with league and career bests in runs (131), hits (213), RBI (142), total bases (410), triple slash (.370/.445/.712), OPS (1.157), wRC+ (213), and WAR (11.4). He was only two runs short of the then-ABF record. Viskari won his second Silver Slugger and his first league MVP. The Ironmen improved to 112-50 and completed the repeat, defeating Karachi in the ABF Championship. Istanbul’s 2008 squad set the new ABF record for most wins by a champion, although Tehran topped it a decade later. Viskari again won finals MVP and posted 15 hits, 7 runs, 6 doubles, 2 homers, and 11 RBI in 12 playoff starts. For his playoff career, Viskari started 40 games with 50 hits, 29 runs, 13 doubles, 13 homers, 37 RBI, .345/.429/.717 slash, 1.146 OPS, 208 wRC+, and 3.2 WAR. While thriving in Turkey, Viskari did start coming home to Finland for the World Baseball Championship. From 2008-20, Viskari played 111 games and started 98 for the Fins with 104 hits, 61 runs, 25 doubles, 25 home runs, 59 RBI, 35 walks, .276/.351/.546 slash, 155 wRC+, and 4.4 WAR. He helped Finland to its first-ever division title in 2016. Playing in such a large market like Istanbul, Viskari earned worldwide stardom, but he was especially a hero became home in Finland. Istanbul dropped to 87-75 and had a first round playoff loss as a wild card. That was the end of their reign at the top and they’d spend the next nine years generally around .500. Viskari continued to thrive, winning his second MVP in 2009. He won additional Sluggers in 2009 and 2014. From 2009 onward, Viskari led five more times in doubles. He didn’t lead in other big stats apart from 2014 when he had the most RBI (122), total bases (373), best OBP (.401), OPS (1.044), wRC+ (206), and WAR (9.9). After the 2014 season, Viskari signed a four-year, $52,800,000 extension to stay loyal to Istanbul. His longevity and consistency allowed him to start rising up the leaderboards in the still young ABF. He passed Radi Umar to become the new ABF doubles leader and would become the first in ABF to get 600 doubles and the only player to breach 700. Viskari joined Umar in 2015 as the only players with 1500 RBI and joined him in 2016 as the only ones thus far to 2500 hits. Viskari had a big setback though with a torn PCL in May 2016. Viskari bounced back with a solid 2017, but did lose the final two months of 2018 to a torn meniscus. Still, Viskari was able to pass Umar as ABF’s hits leader, runs scored leader, and RBI leader. He also got to third on the home run chart at 595 behind Umar (633) and Vahid Hadadi. Viskari also was ABF’s WARlord albeit briefly. Most of his numbers would be passed by multiple players within the next decade, but Viskari’s spots remain impressive two decades later. With a bad knee and his 37^th birthday passed, Istanbul didn’t re-sign Viskari following the 2018 campaign, marking the end of his ABF tenure. For the Ironmen, Viskari had 2127 hits, 1095 runs, 559 doubles, 420 home runs, 1237 RBI, 716 walks, .307/.378/.581 slash, 173 wRC+, and 85.7 WAR. He would remain beloved in Istanbul and later saw his #21 uniform retired. Viskari was still wanting to play somewhere though and opened up an international search. Viskari ended up in Russia and EPB on a two-year, $11,600,000 deal with Irkutsk. The Ice Cats were below average in this era, but Viskari provided them two decent seasons as a starter with 298 hits, 138 runs, 55 doubles, 55 home runs, 164 RBI, .252/.314/.443 slash, 121 wRC+, and 4.6 WAR. For his combined career, that run got Viskari to the 3000 hit, 1500 runs, and 650 home run clubs. He also retired third in world baseball history 783 doubles, retiring only behind SAB’s Manju Abbas (816) and ABF/MLB legend Gokhan Karatas (787). Viskari retired after the 2020 season at age 39. For his ABF career, Viskari had 2479 games, 2795 hits, 1446 runs, 728 doubles, 43 triples, 595 home runs, 1685 RBI, 869 walks, .306/.373/.591 slash, 174 wRC+, and 114.5 WAR. As of 2037, Viskari remains ABF’s career leader in doubles. Viskari also ranks 6^th in WAR among position players, 18^th in games, 11^th in runs, 7^th in hits, 4^th in total bases (5394), 11^th in home runs, 3^rd in RBI, and 14^th in walks. Among ABF batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Viskari’s .964 OPS ranks 20^th and his triple slash rates 50^th/23^rd/19^th. Combined with his two Irkutsk seasons, Viskari had 3093 hits, 1584 runs, 783 doubles, 650 home runs, 1849 RBI, 67 walks, .300/.366/.574 slash, 168 wRC+, and 119.1 WAR. Viskari still sits 6^th in the world’s doubles list as of 2037. His final ranking among ABF’s all-time greats is up for debate, but most place Viskari among the top ten position players and some stick him in the top five. His starring role in a dynasty run for Istanbul also holds a lot of sway. Either way, he’s a surefire Hall of Famer and had the highest percentage (98.9%) amongst a loaded three-player 2024 class in ABF. Viskari also is widely viewed as the best-ever baseball player to come out of Finland. __________________ 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)