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FuzzyRussianHat · 01-31-2025, 06:32 AM

Defending West African Champion Abidjan did even better in 2024 at 114-48, the second-best record in Western League history behind their own 118-44 from 1978. The Athletes took first in the WL standings for the third consecutive year and earned their sixth playoff berth in seven years. Abidjan led in both runs scored (966) and fewest allowed (660).

17 games away in second place as Freetown at 97-65, earning their third straight wild card. There was another 15 game drop to third place Dakar at 82-80, who snapped a six-year playoff drought. It was an impressive bounce-back for the Dukes, who had lost 100+ games in three of the prior four seasons.

The fourth and final playoff spot was Bouake at 81-81, who had the weakest record by a playoff team in WAB history. Seven different teams finished within six games of the Blood Hawks with Accra three back at 78-84 and both Bamako and Conakry at 77-85. Boauke earned their third playoff berth since joining in the 2009 expansion (2013, 2020, 2024). Cape Verde, last year’s WLCS runner-up, was tenth at 75-87.

Western League MVP went to Dakar third baseman Junior Jose, who had won Rookie of the Year the prior year. The 24-year old Mozambican led in slugging (.714) and posted 201 hits, 128 runs, 45 doubles, 57 home runs, 138 RBI, 1.133 OPS, 164 wRC+, and 8.5 WAR.

Jose took the award over some tough competition. Abdel Aziz Ashraf of Abidjan was in the mix with 66 home runs, as was Cape Verde’s Okoro Yusuf with a .407 batting average. It was the third-best average in WAB history, but Yusuf was denied winning his fifth consecutive MVP.

The Dukes had another up-and-coming star in Pitcher of the Year Chidozie Iyakson. He won the award as a rookie, but was second in Rookie of the Year voting. The #1 pick from the 2023 WAB Draft debuted with an ERA title at 2.39 and a league-best 62 FIP-. Iyakson had an 11-5 record, 8 saves, 191.2 innings, 261 strikeouts, 195 ERA+, and 6.4 WAR.

Bouake beat Dakar 2-0 in the first round as that young core wasn’t fully developed yet for the Dukes. Freetown then swept the Blood Hawks to set up the expected matchup in the Western League Championship Series. This was the Foresters’ first WLCS since their 2011 pennant and they were the heavy underdog against the defending champ Abidjan. The Athletes were making their third consecutive WLCS appearance. Despite the lopsided expectations, Freetown pulled off the stunning upset over Abidjan and won the series 3-1. It was the third pennant for the capital of Sierra Leone (1977, 2011, 2024).

The Eastern League wasn’t nearly as top heavy, although Port Harcourt repeated as the first place finisher at 104-58. The Hillcats allowed the fewest runs in WAB at 602 and set new WAB team records for fewest walks allowed (218) and BB/9 (1.36). Five games back in second was Ibadan at 96-66, earning their third consecutive wild card.

Right behind the Iguanas were Niamey (95-67) and Lagos (94-68) to take the remaining playoff slots. Just missing the cut were Yaounde (90-72), Ouagadougou (89-73), and defending EL champ Kano (87-75). The Atomics earned their second playoff spot in three years, while the Lizards ended an eight-year drought. It was the first 90+ win season for Lagos since their 2008 pennant.

Although they missed the playoffs, Yaounde got plenty of attention for scoring 1003 runs, tied for the second-most in WAB history. They allowed 896 runs though, which kept them on the outside. The Yellow Birds had another historic performance from DH Fares Belaid, who took second in Eastern League MVP voting despite another record breaking campaign.

The 35-year old Tunisian broke WAB’s single-season record for runs scored with 160, passing Darwin Morris’s 152 from 2001. This was the fourth-best season in any world league, only behind SAB’s Majed Darwish’s 172, 167, and 167 from 2008-10. Belaid also had 282 hits, tying his own world record from 2020. To this point, there had been only eight seasons in world history with 260+ hits and Belaid had six of them. He also had a .403 batting average, becoming the only player ever to have four seasons above .400.

Another stellar year for Belaid allowed him to become WAB’s all-time leader in hits, doubles, and stolen bases in 2024. He finished the year with 3943 hits, passing Lawrence Nassif’s previous high mark of 3766. Belaid was now in striking distance of becoming the fifth in all of world history to join the 4k hit club. Belaid also got to 733 doubles to pass Nassif’s 704 and become the 11^th in world history with 700+ doubles. His 1252 steals passed Mandjou Adado’s 1199 for the WAB lead.

Belaid also reached 2000 runs scored for his career, a mark only previously hit in WAB by Morris. Belaid got to 2012 runs scored, needing at least two seasons still to catch Morris’s top mark of 2234. Belaid also hit for the cycle for the fifth time in his career, making him the first in world history to achieve that feat.

Despite that fanfare, it was Lagos’ Desmond Jaiyeola who won MVP, but for good reason. In his second year for the Lizards, the 30-year old Nigerian DH smacked 78 home runs, breaking the WAB record of 71 set the prior year by Abdel Aziz Ashraf. That was the sixth-most homers in any season in world history to that point.

Jaiyeola also led in RBI with 160, which was the 11^th-best in WAB history thus far. He led in total bases (457) and slugging (.721) while adding 1.068 OPS, 160 wRC+, 6.3 WAR, 128 runs, and 189 hits. Jaiyeola was a very rare case of a batter winning MVP but not the Silver Slugger at his position, which fell to Belaid for DH. It was the ninth Slugger for Belaid with all but one as a DH. However, the voters thought the dingers and ending the Lizards’ playoff drought gave the edge to Jaiyeola.

Pitcher of the Year was Port Harcourt left Ngalle Eto’o in his fourth season. The 25-year old Cameroonian lefty led in wins (20-3), ERA (2.17), WHIP (0.80), K/BB (29.3), quality starts (25), FIP- (48), and WAR (9.3). He pitched 207.1 innings with a 218 ERA+, 293 strikeouts, and only 10 walks. The Hillcats eventually locked Eto’o up after the 2025 season to a seven-year, $174,400,000 extension.

Lagos edged Niamey 2-1 in the first round, but fell 2-1 in a tough second round battle with Ibadan. The Iguanas earned their second Eastern League Championship Series trip in three years, while it was a repeat try for Port Harcourt. The top seeded Hillcats won with a 3-0 sweep, earning their seventh pennant and first since 2015.

Port Harcourt kept rolling in the 50^th West African Championship, sweeping Freetown 4-0 to become five-time WAB champs (1980, 1989, 1995, 2015, 2024). The five rings tied them with Abidjan for the third most, while Kano (12) and Lagos (80) were still well ahead. The 2024 Hillcats (7-0) joined 2022 Conakry (9-0) as the only teams in WAB history to go undefeated in the postseason.

1B Biano Beckley was the star of the playoffs for Port Harcourt, winning finals MVP and ELCS MVP. The 28-year old first baseman from Sierra Leone had a relatively undistinguished career, but went 12-25 in his 7 playoff starts with 6 runs, 6 doubles, 3 homers, 9 RBI, 1.560 OPS, and 0.8 WAR.

Other notes: Kano’s Hadj Sagna had 64 doubles, which tied for the 4^th-most in WAB history. The top mark was Adrian Kollie’s 70 from 2021. Ibrahim Sani became the 4^th member of the 600 home run club and the 8^th to reach 1500 runs scored. Clarence Cole was the 13^th to reach 500 homers. 3B Seidath Boni won his 12^th Gold Glove, a WAB position record. Boni was only the third at any spot to win 12 GGs.

01-31-2025, 06:32 AM	#2025
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,900	2024 in WAB Defending West African Champion Abidjan did even better in 2024 at 114-48, the second-best record in Western League history behind their own 118-44 from 1978. The Athletes took first in the WL standings for the third consecutive year and earned their sixth playoff berth in seven years. Abidjan led in both runs scored (966) and fewest allowed (660). 17 games away in second place as Freetown at 97-65, earning their third straight wild card. There was another 15 game drop to third place Dakar at 82-80, who snapped a six-year playoff drought. It was an impressive bounce-back for the Dukes, who had lost 100+ games in three of the prior four seasons. The fourth and final playoff spot was Bouake at 81-81, who had the weakest record by a playoff team in WAB history. Seven different teams finished within six games of the Blood Hawks with Accra three back at 78-84 and both Bamako and Conakry at 77-85. Boauke earned their third playoff berth since joining in the 2009 expansion (2013, 2020, 2024). Cape Verde, last year’s WLCS runner-up, was tenth at 75-87. Western League MVP went to Dakar third baseman Junior Jose, who had won Rookie of the Year the prior year. The 24-year old Mozambican led in slugging (.714) and posted 201 hits, 128 runs, 45 doubles, 57 home runs, 138 RBI, 1.133 OPS, 164 wRC+, and 8.5 WAR. Jose took the award over some tough competition. Abdel Aziz Ashraf of Abidjan was in the mix with 66 home runs, as was Cape Verde’s Okoro Yusuf with a .407 batting average. It was the third-best average in WAB history, but Yusuf was denied winning his fifth consecutive MVP. The Dukes had another up-and-coming star in Pitcher of the Year Chidozie Iyakson. He won the award as a rookie, but was second in Rookie of the Year voting. The #1 pick from the 2023 WAB Draft debuted with an ERA title at 2.39 and a league-best 62 FIP-. Iyakson had an 11-5 record, 8 saves, 191.2 innings, 261 strikeouts, 195 ERA+, and 6.4 WAR. Bouake beat Dakar 2-0 in the first round as that young core wasn’t fully developed yet for the Dukes. Freetown then swept the Blood Hawks to set up the expected matchup in the Western League Championship Series. This was the Foresters’ first WLCS since their 2011 pennant and they were the heavy underdog against the defending champ Abidjan. The Athletes were making their third consecutive WLCS appearance. Despite the lopsided expectations, Freetown pulled off the stunning upset over Abidjan and won the series 3-1. It was the third pennant for the capital of Sierra Leone (1977, 2011, 2024). The Eastern League wasn’t nearly as top heavy, although Port Harcourt repeated as the first place finisher at 104-58. The Hillcats allowed the fewest runs in WAB at 602 and set new WAB team records for fewest walks allowed (218) and BB/9 (1.36). Five games back in second was Ibadan at 96-66, earning their third consecutive wild card. Right behind the Iguanas were Niamey (95-67) and Lagos (94-68) to take the remaining playoff slots. Just missing the cut were Yaounde (90-72), Ouagadougou (89-73), and defending EL champ Kano (87-75). The Atomics earned their second playoff spot in three years, while the Lizards ended an eight-year drought. It was the first 90+ win season for Lagos since their 2008 pennant. Although they missed the playoffs, Yaounde got plenty of attention for scoring 1003 runs, tied for the second-most in WAB history. They allowed 896 runs though, which kept them on the outside. The Yellow Birds had another historic performance from DH Fares Belaid, who took second in Eastern League MVP voting despite another record breaking campaign. The 35-year old Tunisian broke WAB’s single-season record for runs scored with 160, passing Darwin Morris’s 152 from 2001. This was the fourth-best season in any world league, only behind SAB’s Majed Darwish’s 172, 167, and 167 from 2008-10. Belaid also had 282 hits, tying his own world record from 2020. To this point, there had been only eight seasons in world history with 260+ hits and Belaid had six of them. He also had a .403 batting average, becoming the only player ever to have four seasons above .400. Another stellar year for Belaid allowed him to become WAB’s all-time leader in hits, doubles, and stolen bases in 2024. He finished the year with 3943 hits, passing Lawrence Nassif’s previous high mark of 3766. Belaid was now in striking distance of becoming the fifth in all of world history to join the 4k hit club. Belaid also got to 733 doubles to pass Nassif’s 704 and become the 11^th in world history with 700+ doubles. His 1252 steals passed Mandjou Adado’s 1199 for the WAB lead. Belaid also reached 2000 runs scored for his career, a mark only previously hit in WAB by Morris. Belaid got to 2012 runs scored, needing at least two seasons still to catch Morris’s top mark of 2234. Belaid also hit for the cycle for the fifth time in his career, making him the first in world history to achieve that feat. Despite that fanfare, it was Lagos’ Desmond Jaiyeola who won MVP, but for good reason. In his second year for the Lizards, the 30-year old Nigerian DH smacked 78 home runs, breaking the WAB record of 71 set the prior year by Abdel Aziz Ashraf. That was the sixth-most homers in any season in world history to that point. Jaiyeola also led in RBI with 160, which was the 11^th-best in WAB history thus far. He led in total bases (457) and slugging (.721) while adding 1.068 OPS, 160 wRC+, 6.3 WAR, 128 runs, and 189 hits. Jaiyeola was a very rare case of a batter winning MVP but not the Silver Slugger at his position, which fell to Belaid for DH. It was the ninth Slugger for Belaid with all but one as a DH. However, the voters thought the dingers and ending the Lizards’ playoff drought gave the edge to Jaiyeola. Pitcher of the Year was Port Harcourt left Ngalle Eto’o in his fourth season. The 25-year old Cameroonian lefty led in wins (20-3), ERA (2.17), WHIP (0.80), K/BB (29.3), quality starts (25), FIP- (48), and WAR (9.3). He pitched 207.1 innings with a 218 ERA+, 293 strikeouts, and only 10 walks. The Hillcats eventually locked Eto’o up after the 2025 season to a seven-year, $174,400,000 extension. Lagos edged Niamey 2-1 in the first round, but fell 2-1 in a tough second round battle with Ibadan. The Iguanas earned their second Eastern League Championship Series trip in three years, while it was a repeat try for Port Harcourt. The top seeded Hillcats won with a 3-0 sweep, earning their seventh pennant and first since 2015. Port Harcourt kept rolling in the 50^th West African Championship, sweeping Freetown 4-0 to become five-time WAB champs (1980, 1989, 1995, 2015, 2024). The five rings tied them with Abidjan for the third most, while Kano (12) and Lagos (80) were still well ahead. The 2024 Hillcats (7-0) joined 2022 Conakry (9-0) as the only teams in WAB history to go undefeated in the postseason. 1B Biano Beckley was the star of the playoffs for Port Harcourt, winning finals MVP and ELCS MVP. The 28-year old first baseman from Sierra Leone had a relatively undistinguished career, but went 12-25 in his 7 playoff starts with 6 runs, 6 doubles, 3 homers, 9 RBI, 1.560 OPS, and 0.8 WAR. Other notes: Kano’s Hadj Sagna had 64 doubles, which tied for the 4^th-most in WAB history. The top mark was Adrian Kollie’s 70 from 2021. Ibrahim Sani became the 4^th member of the 600 home run club and the 8^th to reach 1500 runs scored. Clarence Cole was the 13^th to reach 500 homers. 3B Seidath Boni won his 12^th Gold Glove, a WAB position record. Boni was only the third at any spot to win 12 GGs. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)