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Bahujnana “Beagle” Kaimal – Starting Pitcher – Harare Hustlers – 76.4% First Ballot

Bahujnana Kaimal was a 6’0’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Piments-Baie Topaze, Mauritius; part of the 41,000 person Rodrigues island. As of 2037, Kaimal is the only Hall of Famer from the small island nation. Nicknamed “Beagle,” his biggest strengths were excellent control and very good movement. Kaimal’s stuff was merely above average to good, but he knew how to spot his pitches.

Kaimal’s velocity peaked in the 94-96 mph range with a five pitch arsenal of slider, forkball, changeup, sinker, and splitter. He had an extreme groundball tendency and was especially dominant against fellow lefties with a career 2.58 ERA and 160 ERA+. He was plenty good versus right-handed bats with a 2.91 ERA and 141 ERA+.

AAB pitchers went the distance far more rarely than most leagues, but even by that standard Kaimal had subpar stamina for an ace. He made up for it by being an ironman who almost never missed a start to injury. Kaimal had an excellent pickoff move, but was a weak defender otherwise. Personality wise, he was fairly unremarkable with no major positive nor negative traits.

The amateur scene in Mauritius was limited, but Kaimal dominated it and drew plenty of eyes ahead of the 2003 AAB Draft. Harare selected him sixth overall and he’d spend his entire pro career with the Hustlers. Kaimal was split between the bullpen and starting in 2005, then was a part-time starter only in 2006. With decent results both years, Harare made him a full-time starter in 2007.

Without big strikeout numbers, Kaimal didn’t get a huge amount of attention. Still he kept his ERA low, winning his first of three ERA titles in 2009 at 2.95. He was third in 2008 and 2009’s Pitcher of the Year voting, then took second in 2010. 2010 was Harare’s first-ever playoff berth, winning the Southern Conference pennant. They lost in the Africa Series to the historic 120-win Addis Ababa squad. Kaimal had a 2.57 ERA over his 21 playoff innings.

Kaimal regressed to a career-worst 3.79 ERA in 2011, but bounced back with his second ERA title in 2012 at 2.34. In June 2012, he signed a three-year, $8,880,000 extension with Harare. Kaimal finished third in 2013’s POTY voting and the Hustlers got back to the playoffs, having just missed the prior two seasons. They lost to Lusaka in the conference final with Kaimal allowing five runs in five innings in his one start.

In 2014, Harare won their first-ever Africa Series, defeating Nairobi in the final. Kaimal was an absolute beast in the postseason with a 0.34 ERA over four starts and 26.2 innings with 23 strikeouts and 4 walks. That role in the Hustlers’ first title was a big reason that Kaimal’s #13 uniform was eventually retired. Harare fell four wins short of the playoffs in 2015. They then plummeted to 62-100 in 2016 and began a rebuild for the rest of the decade.

Harare finally gave Kaimal the big extension before the 2015 season at five years and $50,500,000. Kaimal earned his third ERA title in 2015 with a blistering 1.75, which was the second-best by a qualified starter in AAB history to that point behind Yves Munyaneza’s 1.59 from 1996. Kaimal’s mark still ranks third as of 2037, but he still only took third in Pitcher of the Year voting.

Kaimal took third one more time in 2017, never winning the top award. That year at age 34, he posted his career best WAR at 7.6. He dropped off a bit in 2018 with a 3.09 ERA, but still posted a very good 5.1 WAR. Kaimal surprised many by retiring with that just after his 36^th birthday despite seemingly having a few more good years left in him.

In total, Kaimal had a 175-118 record, 2.82 ERA, 2655 innings, 2358 strikeouts, 536 walks, 15 complete games, 6 shutouts, 146 ERA+, 72 FIP-, and 73.0 WAR. As of 2037, Kaimal ranks 11^th in wins, 18^th in innings, 33^rd in strikeouts, and 2^nd in pitching WAR. Among those with 1000+ innings, Kaimal’s ERA ranks 6^th. His .635 opponent’s OPS is 9^th and his 1.03 WHIP is 8^th.

Kaimal was certainly one of the most efficient starting pitchers AAB has ever had, but he was somewhat under-rated since he lacked the big dramatic strikeout numbers. He also didn’t stick around to pad his stats, although he still pulled in solid tallies. Kaimal received 76.4% for his ballot debut, not considered an inner-circle type. But he was a first ballot pick and the second of three in the African Association of Baseball’s 2024 Hall of Fame class.



Paul Lambote – Starting Pitcher – Luanda Landsharks – 72.0% First Ballot

Paul Lambote was a 6’4’’, 200 pound right-handed pitcher from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lambote was really the antithesis of his Hall of Fame classmate Bahujnana Kaimal. While Kaimal was very quietly efficient with his great control, Lambote was extremely boom-or-bust. His raw stuff was awesome when he was on, but his movement was average and his control was mediocre.

Lambote’s velocity only peaked in the 94-96 mph range, but he had a tricky six-pitch arsenal of fastball, slider, curveball, screwball, forkball, and changeup. His skillset meant a lot of strikeouts, but also a ton of walks, meaning he certainly wasn’t boring. Lambote ended up with more strikeouts and more walks than anyone in AAB history.

His stamina was very good and like Kaimal, he had excellent durability. Apart from his first two years, Lambote had 220+ innings each year of his AAB run. He was a good defensive pitcher with an adequate pickoff move. Part of Lambote’s erratic results could be traced to his personality. His work ethic was lackluster and he wasn’t smart enough to make some of the corrections that would’ve helped his game.

Lambote was picked tenth in the 2003 AAB Draft by Luanda. He pitched 86.2 innings as a rookie and struggled to -0.6 WAR and a 4.47 ERA. Lambote started most of 2005 with better results, although it was his first of eight seasons leading the conference in walks. Five of those were within his first six seasons in the rotation.

However, 2006 was Lambote’s first of five straight seasons leading in strikeouts. He led eight times in his career and was above 300 K in six seasons. 2006 also had his career bests in ERA (3.17), wins (20-7), and WAR (7.0), taking third in Pitcher of the Year voting. Lambote’s highest strikeout total was 327 in 2007, one short of the then record by Joel Mwasesa. As of 2037, Lambote’s 2007 ranks as the 20^th best single-season in AAB as league strikeout rates would rise in later decades.

Luanda lost in the 2006 Southern Conference Championship to Durban. After narrowly missing the playoffs the next two years, they won their first pennant in 2009. They were denied the Africa Series title to the Addis Ababa dynasty, which won its second of six straight titles. Lambote had good playoff showings these years with 29 innings, 39 strikeouts, 2.48 ERA, and 1.0 WAR, although his record was 1-3.

2009 also was Lambote’s lone Pitcher of the Year win with a 14-8 record, 3.27 ERA, 279 strikeouts, and a conference-best 6.0 WAR. He also got his walks down to only 87 after four straight 120+ seasons. Lambote also set the AAB single game record with 21 strikeouts against Johannesburg on April 9. He broke his own league record of 19 from three years earlier. As of 2037, Lambote is the only AAB arm with a 21K game.

Lambote’s ERA jumped up to 4.27 though in 2010 and he started 2011 with 5.23 in 156.2 innings. The Landsharks had fallen to the bottom of the standings and weren’t inclined to give Lambote an extension if this is how he was going to pitch. He’d be due a deal by the following year or would enter free agency. Luanda decided to trade Lambote in the summer to Kigali for prospects.

He looked much better in the final months with the Guardians and had a solid enough effort in 2012. Kigali made the playoffs both years, but couldn’t dislodge Addis Ababa’s hold on the Central Conference’s top spot. Lambote’s three playoff starts for the Guardians saw a 4.82 ERA over 18.2 innings. In total with Kigali though, he had a 3.21 ERA over 308.2 innings, 21-10 record, 398 strikeouts, 140 walks, 125 ERA+, and 5.5 WAR.

Lambote looked good enough with the Guardians though to rebuild his stock entering free agency at age 31. He had also pitched for his native DR Congo with mixed results from 2006-14 in the World Baseball Championship. Lambote had 97 WBC inning with a 7-6 record, 4.36 ERA, 124 strikeouts, 58 walks, 82 ERA+, and 1.2 WAR.

His next stop would be Chad, signing a six-year, $32,400,000 deal with Ndjamena. The Magic had been at the bottom tier to start the decade and stayed there with no winning seasons in the 2010s. Lambote had his usual inconsistent stats, leading twice in strikeouts and twice in walks. In five seasons with Ndjamena, Lambote had a 64-73 record, 4.08 ERA, 1181.1 innings, 1432 strikeouts, 574 walks, 98 ERA+, and 16.7 WAR.

While there though in 2014, Lambote became the second in AAB history to 3000 strikeouts. He finished 2016 with 3591 Ks, passing Joel Mwasesa’s 3583 to become AAB’s strikeout king. During the run, he had also passed Osama Nour’s 1296 to have the most walks in AAB history. With one year left on his deal, the Magic traded Lambote after the 2017 season to Luanda for two prospects.

Lambote had one final season back in Angola and became the first (and as of 2037, only) AAB pitcher with 4000 strikeouts. He struggled in his one playoff start as the Landsharks lost the conference final to Johannesburg. For his playoff career, Lambote had a 3.35 ERA over 51 innings, 2-3 record, 68 strikeouts, 24 walks, 118 ERA+, and 1.1 WAR. His role in the 2009 pennant was a big reason that his #14 uniform would later be retired by Luanda.

Between stints with the Landsharks, Lambote had a 113-90 record, 3.85 ERA, 1846 innings, 2263 strikeouts, 972 walks, 106 ERA+, and 30.6 WAR. That was the end of his career in Africa, although Lambote had two more seasons as a below average starter in the European Baseball Federation. He spent 2019 in Amsterdam and 2020 in Frankfurt, posting a 19-12 record, 4.29 ERA, 262.1 innings, 246 strikeouts, 78 walks, 91 ERA+, and 2.6 WAR between the two seasons. Lambote was unsigned for 2021 and finally retired that winter at age 40.

For his AAB career, Lambote had a 198-173 record, 3.87 ERA, 3336 innings, 4093 strikeouts, 1686 walks, 94 complete games, 17 shutouts, 105 ERA+, 94 FIP-, and 52.8 WAR. As of 2037, Lambote remains AAB’s all-time leader in both walks and strikeouts. He also ranks third among all world pitchers in walks behind only Casey Esnault’s 1810 and Arul Anustasravas’ 1780.

In AAB, Lambote ranks 5^th in wins, 2^nd in innings, 8^th in complete games, 8^th in shutouts, but only 30^th in WAR among pitchers. His 11.04 K/9 is 17^th among AAB pitchers with 1000+ innings. Among all of the Hall of Fame starters in world history as of 2037, Lambote has the second-worst ERA. While AAB’s higher-offense environment is part of that, the advanced stats generally rate Lambote’s overall value as merely above average.

By efficiency metrics, his HOF classmate Kaimal was a far more effective pitcher. Still, if you asked fans on the street who was better, many would still say Lambote. Striking out a ton of guys is sexy. Lambote also had the longevity to hit other counting benchmarks that rate him favorably.

As mentioned earlier, Lambote certainly wasn’t boring. Some argued he was way too inefficient to belong, but most thought that being AAB’s strikeout king was a clincher by itself. At 72.0%, Lambote got enough for the first ballot nod to cap off a three-player 2024 Hall of Fame class for the African Association of Baseball.