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Defending Taiwan-Philippine Association champ Zamboanga again sat atop the Philippine League, breaking their own franchise record at 110-52. It was the sixth time in the last decade that the Zebras won 100+ games. Great pitching led the way, setting new TPA records for ERA (1.78), runs allowed (335), earned runs (296), and WHIP (0.817). Zamboanga’s 978 hits allowed and 5.88 H/9 were both second-best in TPA history behind only 1969 Tainan.

The Zebras’ ERA, runs, and earned runs were each the second-lowest in all of Austronesia Professional Baseball history. The only team better was 1985 Jakarta with a 1.73 ERA, 324 runs, and 287 earned runs. In all of world history to that point, the 2024 Zamboanga squad had the fourth-best ERA, third-fewest runs allowed, and fourth-fewest earned runs.

In the Taiwan League, Kaohsiung was first at 96-66 to end a 12-year playoff drought. Last year’s top seed Hsinchu finished second at 90-72 with Tainan third at 86-76. The Steelheads led the association with 593 runs scored. Although the Sweathogs missed the cut, their superstar Binh Tang continued to dominate with his fifth consecutive Taiwan-Philippine Association MVP. It was amazingly Tang’s best season yet, setting APB single-season records for OPS (1.100), slugging (.702), and total bases (384).

The 24-year old Vietnamese first baseman earned his third Triple Crown with career highs to that point of 53 home runs, 119 RBI, and a .338 average. He joined Tunggul Widhyasari as the only three-time Triple Crown hitters in APB history. Tang also led in runs (102), OBP (.398), wRC+ (241), and WAR (13.5). His WAR mark was the second-best by an APB position player in a season behind Gavin Loh’s 14.0 from 1996. Tang was the fifth player in APB history to win five MVPs and he was far from done.

Pitcher of the Year was Kaohsiung lefty Shih-Hao Chuang. The 25-year old from Taiwan led in strikeouts (343), quality starts (29), shutouts (6), and WAR (9.0). Chuang had a 19-8 record and 1.69 ERA over 272.1 innings for a 161 ERA+. The Steelheads signed him to four-year, $68,100,000 extension the following spring.



Pekanbaru surprised many by posting the Sundaland Association’s best record at 93-69, getting their first playoff berth since their 2014 APB title. Defending APB champ Medan was second to the Palms in the Malacca League at 89-73 with Johor Bahru (86-76) and Kuala Lumpur (84-78) both in the mix. The Marlins missed the cut despite having the top offense with 552 runs.

In the Java Sea League, Bandung (87-75) edged out Surabaya (85-77) for first place. Last year’s JSL winner Jakarta fell to third at 80-82. The Blackhawks earned their second playoff berth in three years and allowed the fewest runs in the Sundaland Association at 404.

MVP honors went to Pekanbaru LF James Yuwono in his fourth season. The 25-yar old Indonesian led in slugging (.553), and wRC+ (206). Yuwono had 8.1 WAR, 40 homers, 78 RBI, 78 runs, and .892 OPS. This effort got Yuwono paid big time, signing an eight-year, $100,060,000 extension with the Palms in the offseason.

Surabaya’s Rahman Omar won Pitcher of the Year in his eighth season. The 29-yer old Malaysian righty led in strikeouts (384), WHIP (0.69), K/BB (16.7), FIP- (20), and WAR (13.1). Omar had a 1.66 ERA, 153 ERA+, and 16-8 record over 243.2 innings. It was the 23^rd time in APB history that a pitcher had a 13+ WAR season and as of 2037, it is the last time it happened. Prior to the season, Omar and the Sunbirds signed a four-year, $97,200,000 extension.

Despite Zamboanga’s historic pitching success, Kaohsiung easily upset the Zebras 4-1 in the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship. The Steelheads earned their seventh pennant and first since 2007. Bandung bested Pekanbaru 4-2 in the Sundaland Association Championship, also earning their seventh pennant. The Blackhawks’ last title came in 2015.



The 60^th Austronesia Championship was the third straight final to need all seven games. Bandung outlasted Kaohsiung 4-3 to become five-time APB champs (1967, 1994, 2003, 2015, 2024). Pitcher Gosner Rahmawati had a dominant run, winning Sundaland Association Championship MVP. The 36-year old three-time Pitcher of the Year went 4-0 in four starts with a 0.53 ERA over 33.2 innings, 38 strikeouts, 4 walks, and 1.5 WAR. Rahmawati became only the fourth pitcher in APB playoff history to win four games in one postseason.



Other notes: 2024 was the final season for APB home run king Wil Tabaldo, who had an impressive 17-year run with Singapore. Tabaldo retired as the APB leader in homers (766) and RBI (1658), while also retiring second in runs (1388). He got to 2524 hits, becoming the ninth to breach 2500 in APB. Tabaldo’s 121.44 WAR also placed him third among APB position players at retirement.

APB’s 49^th Perfect Game came on May 20 from Semarang’s Fakarudin Zainudin with 10 strikeouts against Medan. Yee Husin threw his second no-hitter in three years, this time with Medan after doing it for Palembang in 2022. Semarang’s offense was historically poor, scoring the fewest runs in APB history with 343 with the worst-ever OBP at .225. Their .183 batting average and 955 hits ranked as second-worst in Sundaland Association history.

Along with his epic postseason run, Gosner Rahmawati became the 6^th pitcher to 250 wins and the 21^st to 4000 strikeouts. Jay Abiad and Marco Yudho became the 14^th and 15^th to reach 300 saves. 1B Widodo Megawati won his 14^th Gold Glove, joining fellow 1B Kent Wang (15) as APB’s only 14+ time winners. C Muhammad Aqsar won his 8^th Gold Glove and SS Dale Saley won his 7^th. C Yi-Hsiang Chang won his 7^th Silver Slugger.