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FuzzyRussianHat · 02-06-2025, 11:56 AM

The Oceania Baseball Association’s 2025 Hall of Fame class had two players, both getting in on their third ballot and both best known for runs with Tahiti. SP Julian Albright led the way at 80.9%, while DH/3B Ueli Nakanelua scraped by the 66% requirement at 68.6%. The best debuts were pitchers Joel Wilson at 60.4% and SP George Hudson at 57.1%. No one else cracked 50%.

RF Asaeli Ali was removed from the ballot after ten failed tries, peaking at 31.7% in 2017 and ending at 11.9%. He had a 15-year run between Fiji and Perth with four Silver Sluggers, 2086 hits, 1047 runs, 375 doubles, 113 triples, 439 home runs, 1192 RBI, .279/.314/.536 slash, 136 wRC+, and 51.5 WAR. Ali generally wasn’t a league leader and he didn’t have the longevity to overcome the lack of black ink. Still, he was a fine power hitter for a bit over a decade, but in the Hall of Pretty Good territory.

Also dropped was RF Miakele Primo, who peaked at 18.3% in 2017 and ended at 5.3%. Injuries derailed him as despite having an 18-year career, he only played 130+ games in three seasons and 100+ games in seven. Primo won two Silver Sluggers with 1666 hits, 764 runs, 269 doubles, 91 triples, 187 home runs, 791 RBI, 338 stolen bases, .321/.360/.516 slash, 154 wRC+, and 41.7 WAR. Primo might have had a chance if he stayed healthy, but alas.

Julian Albright – Starting Pitcher – Tahiti Tropics – 80.9% Third Ballot

Julian Albright was a 6’1’’, 185 pound right-handed pitcher from Melbourne, Australia. Albright wasn’t amazing at any one thing, but he had above average to good stuff, movement, and control. His velocity peaked in the 94-96 mph range with a five-pitch arsenal of slider, curveball, cutter, circle change, and knuckle curve.

Albright’s stamina was average relative to most OBA aces. His durability was off-and-on as he managed a 19-year career, but also lost chunks of a couple seasons to injury. He was a solid defensive pitcher with a decent pickoff move. Albright was one of the good guys in the game as a respected team captain with a strong work ethic along with great leadership, loyalty, and adaptability.

In January 1995, Albright was signed to a developmental deal and moved to Samoa from Australia. He spent five full seasons in their academy, then saw limited action in 2000 and 2001. Albright started most of 2002 at age 23 with passable results, earning a full-time rotation spot after that. In 2004, he looked like a legit ace for the first time with an 8.7 WAR, 2.93 ERA effort. Albright had a big setback in 2005 with shoulder inflammation costing him four months.

Albright was healthy in 2006 and 2007 with above average results. Samoa was just above .500 for most of his time there, but they were unable to get beyond that. The 29-year old Albright decided to leave the Sun Sox for free agency after the 2007 season. With Samoa, Albright had a 90-88 record, 3.39 ERA, 1577 innings, 1515 strikeouts, 352 walks, 107 ERA+, and 29.5 WAR.

Tahiti signed Albright to a three-year, $9,840,000 deal. The Tropics had won the Pacific League title from 2003-05 and again in 2007, going 1-3 in that stretch against Melbourne in the Oceania Championship. Tahiti won the PL again in 2008 and this time bested the Mets for the title. Albright had a solid regular season, but only saw one relief appearance in the playoffs.

Albright’s production stayed steady and Tahiti gave him a two-year, $7,600,000 extension in April 2010. The Tropics took third in 2009 and second in 2010, then returned to the Pacific League throne in 2011. Tahiti won the OBA title again over Melbourne with Albright posting a 4.85 ERA over 13 playoff innings. He fared better in the World Baseball Championship with a 3-1 record in five starts, 3.45 ERA, 31.1 innings, and 29 strikeouts. Tahiti finished second in the BGC at 13-6 behind only 15-4 Tampa.

With his consistency and leadership, Albright earned a four-year, $16,420,000 extension in April 2012. He again stayed steady, but he was never a league leader or a Pitcher of the Year finalist. Tahiti fell short to Guadalcanal in both 2012 and 2013, then returned to first place in 2014 and 2015. The Tropics lost to Christchurch in the 2014 final, then got revenge over the Chinooks in 2015.

Albright missed two months in 2014 for a rotator cuff strain, but was back for the stretch run. He allowed one run in nine playoff innings, but he struggled in the BGC with a 6.37 ERA over 35.1 innings. The Tropics finished 9-10 in the 2014 event. Albright was healthy for 2015, but was relegated to a bench role with only 68.1 innings. He didn’t pitch in the Oceania Championship and had only 2.2 scoreless relief innings in the BGC. Tahiti ended up 10-9 in the 2015 Baseball Grand Championship.

He remained a part-timer for two more years with Tahiti with subpar results. Tahiti was still above .500, but their time at the top had ended. With the Tropics, Albright had a 149-79 record, 3.39 ERA, 2107.2 innings, 1984 strikeouts, 393 walks, 107 ERA+, and 36.3 WAR. He was well liked and appreciated enough by Tahiti ownership to get his #28 uniform eventually retired.

Albright wanted to still pitch somewhere, but most teams weren’t interested. He had to settle for the newly formed African Second League with Gaborone on a three-year, $13,840,000 deal. In April 2019, Albright suffered a stretched elbow ligament that knocked him out a calendar year. He decided to retire with that age 41.

In OBA, Albright had a 239-167 record, 3.39 ERA, 3684.2 innings, 3499 strikeouts, 745 walks, 318/484 quality starts, 115 complete games, 21 shutouts, 107 ERA+, 90 FIP-, and 65.8 WAR. As of 2037, Albright ranks 14^th in wins, 18^th in innings, 26^th in strikeouts, and 41^st in WAR among pitchers. By advanced stats, Albright was merely an above average pitcher. There was never a point where he was considered a top three level pitcher and he was never a league leader.

Working in his favor though was good longevity and excellent leadership skills. Albright ranked higher in the counting stats than you might expect and was above some other guys who had earned Hall of Fame nods before him. Being part of a dominant run with three titles for Tahiti also gave Albright some points.

He narrowly missed the 66% requirement for induction at 64.6% in his 2023 debut. Albright fell to 50.3% in 2024, but got the benefit of a weak group for 2025. The respect Albright had amongst his peers got him across the line with a big boost up to 80.9%. Albright won’t be considered an inner-circle level guy, but he earned a third ballot induction as part of the 2025 class for the Oceania Baseball Association.

Ueli Nakanelua – Designated Hitter/Third Base – Tahiti Tropics – 68.6% Third Ballot

Ueli Nakanelua was a 6’3’’, 200 pound switch-hitting third baseman and designated hitter from Satapuala, Samoa; a small village of just under 2000 people. Nakanelua was famous for having an incredible eye for drawing walks, leading the Pacific League in walks ten times in his career. He had a decent strikeout rate and had steady home run power. However, Nakanelua graded as an average at best contact hitter.

Nakanelua’s hitting success primarily came against right-handed pitching with a 164 wRC+ and .924 OPS. He was subpar against lefties with .654 OPS and 92 wRC+. Nakanelua’s 162 game average got you a solid 34 home runs, but his gap power was limited with only 17 doubles and 2 triples per 162. He was also a painfully sluggish and clumsy baserunner, which did limit the value of the walks he drew.

He had a respectable arm, but Nakanelua’s glove work and range were lousy. Around 20% of his career starts came at third base with terrible metrics. Thus, he posted more than 3/4s of his starts as a designated hitter. Nakanelua did have iron man durability and never missed time to injury. He was never the star of Tahiti’s 2000s dominance, but became an important part of their run.

Few fans realize that Nakanelua wasn’t drafted by Tahiti, especially since he never played a game for anyone else. He wasn’t a highly touted prospect, going 52^nd overall to Guam in the middle of the third round in the 1997 OBA Draft. Nakanelua developed slowly and was traded by the Golden Eagles after the 1999 season in a three-player deal with the Tropics. Nakanelua spent the next two years on the reserve roster for Tahiti.

Nakanelua debuted in 2002 at age 24, a fairly late introduction. He had respectable results over 110 games and 32 starts, earning a full-time gig from 2003 onward. Nakanelua’s first full year saw a league-best 92 walks along with 6.3 WAR and 42 home runs, winning a Silver Slugger as a DH. 2003 marked the start of Tahiti’s return to contention, winning their first Pacific League title in 27 years. The Tropics finished 106-56 and won the Oceania Championship over Melbourne.

Tahiti won additional Pacific League pennants in 2004, 05, 07, 08, 11, 14, and 15. They lost the Oceania Championship to Melbourne in 2004, 05, and 07; then got wins over the Mets in 08 and 11. The Tropics lost to Christchurch in the 2014 final, then defeated the Chinooks in 2015. Nakanelua was there the whole time, although his playoff stats were underwhelming. In 46 games, he had 33 hits, 15 runs, 8 doubles, 7 homers, 20 RBI, 14 walks, .208/.272/.390 slash, 85 wRC+, and 0.3 WAR.

However, Nakanelua was outstanding in his Baseball Grand Championship appearances with 45 games, 33 starts, 34 hits, 31 runs, 4 doubles, 19 home runs, 35 RBI, 29 walks, .296/.449/.826 slash, 1.275 OPS, 245 wRC+, and 2.7 WAR. Tahiti finished second in the 2011 WBC at 13-6. The Tropics finished 9-10 in 2014 and 10-9 in 2015.
Nakanelua won additional Silver Sluggers in 2005, 2007, and 2012 as a DH and in 2014 at third base. He took second in 2005’s MVP voting and third in 2007 and was a ten-time all-star. Nakanelua led the league with 118 runs in and had the best OBP in 2012 at .392. 2005 had his career best triple slash (.299/.404/.611), OPS (1.016), wRC+ (189), and WAR (6.7). He had five seasons with 5+ WAR and nine seasons worth 4+ WAR.

He stayed loyal through the run, first inking a five-year, $13,140,000 extension in October 2004. In April 2009, Nakanelua inked a six-year, $34,800,000 extension. He added another two years and $19 million after the 2014 season. He had a six-hit game in 2007 against Port Moresby and hit for the cycle in 2005 against Guam. As of 2037, Nakanelua is the only OBA player to have a six-hit game, three HR game, and hit for the cycle in his career.

Nakanelua kept fairly steady production into his mid 30s, but he started to struggle against lefties and saw his power drop as he aged. He was relegated to a platoon role in 2016 with iffy results, then was mostly a backup in 2017. Nakanelua retired after the 2017 campiagn at age 39. Tahiti immediately retired his #23 uniform for his efforts.

In total, Nakanelua played 2286 games with 1971 hits, 1219 runs, 240 doubles, 485 home runs, 1239 RBI, 1220 walks, 1262 strikeouts, .263/.367/.495 slash, 148 wRC+, and 61.6 WAR. As of 2037, Nakanelua ranks 4^th in walks, 41^st in runs, 87^th in hits, 24^th in homers, 41^st in RBI, and 65^th in WAR among position players. His OBP ranks 10^th among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances, which was impressive considering a weaker batting average. His .862 OPS ranks 65^th.

His tallies put him on the borderline compared to other Hall of Fame inductees. Nakanelua’s grand tallies were relatively underwhelming and he had being a DH working against him. His big game reputation was mixed as his Oceania Championship stats were underwhelming, but his Baseball Grand Championship stats were great. In his favor was five Silver Sluggers and four championship rings, accolades that were big plusses for many voters.

Nakanelua missed the cut in his first two ballots with 60.4% in 2023 and 58.1% in 2024. He didn’t get monumental gains in 2025, but a weak set of debuts allowed growth up to 68.6%. That got Nakanelua across the 66% line for a third ballot induction into the 2025 Hall of Fame class for the Oceania Baseball Association.

02-06-2025, 11:56 AM	#2044
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,793	2025 OBA Hall of Fame The Oceania Baseball Association’s 2025 Hall of Fame class had two players, both getting in on their third ballot and both best known for runs with Tahiti. SP Julian Albright led the way at 80.9%, while DH/3B Ueli Nakanelua scraped by the 66% requirement at 68.6%. The best debuts were pitchers Joel Wilson at 60.4% and SP George Hudson at 57.1%. No one else cracked 50%. RF Asaeli Ali was removed from the ballot after ten failed tries, peaking at 31.7% in 2017 and ending at 11.9%. He had a 15-year run between Fiji and Perth with four Silver Sluggers, 2086 hits, 1047 runs, 375 doubles, 113 triples, 439 home runs, 1192 RBI, .279/.314/.536 slash, 136 wRC+, and 51.5 WAR. Ali generally wasn’t a league leader and he didn’t have the longevity to overcome the lack of black ink. Still, he was a fine power hitter for a bit over a decade, but in the Hall of Pretty Good territory. Also dropped was RF Miakele Primo, who peaked at 18.3% in 2017 and ended at 5.3%. Injuries derailed him as despite having an 18-year career, he only played 130+ games in three seasons and 100+ games in seven. Primo won two Silver Sluggers with 1666 hits, 764 runs, 269 doubles, 91 triples, 187 home runs, 791 RBI, 338 stolen bases, .321/.360/.516 slash, 154 wRC+, and 41.7 WAR. Primo might have had a chance if he stayed healthy, but alas. Julian Albright – Starting Pitcher – Tahiti Tropics – 80.9% Third Ballot Julian Albright was a 6’1’’, 185 pound right-handed pitcher from Melbourne, Australia. Albright wasn’t amazing at any one thing, but he had above average to good stuff, movement, and control. His velocity peaked in the 94-96 mph range with a five-pitch arsenal of slider, curveball, cutter, circle change, and knuckle curve. Albright’s stamina was average relative to most OBA aces. His durability was off-and-on as he managed a 19-year career, but also lost chunks of a couple seasons to injury. He was a solid defensive pitcher with a decent pickoff move. Albright was one of the good guys in the game as a respected team captain with a strong work ethic along with great leadership, loyalty, and adaptability. In January 1995, Albright was signed to a developmental deal and moved to Samoa from Australia. He spent five full seasons in their academy, then saw limited action in 2000 and 2001. Albright started most of 2002 at age 23 with passable results, earning a full-time rotation spot after that. In 2004, he looked like a legit ace for the first time with an 8.7 WAR, 2.93 ERA effort. Albright had a big setback in 2005 with shoulder inflammation costing him four months. Albright was healthy in 2006 and 2007 with above average results. Samoa was just above .500 for most of his time there, but they were unable to get beyond that. The 29-year old Albright decided to leave the Sun Sox for free agency after the 2007 season. With Samoa, Albright had a 90-88 record, 3.39 ERA, 1577 innings, 1515 strikeouts, 352 walks, 107 ERA+, and 29.5 WAR. Tahiti signed Albright to a three-year, $9,840,000 deal. The Tropics had won the Pacific League title from 2003-05 and again in 2007, going 1-3 in that stretch against Melbourne in the Oceania Championship. Tahiti won the PL again in 2008 and this time bested the Mets for the title. Albright had a solid regular season, but only saw one relief appearance in the playoffs. Albright’s production stayed steady and Tahiti gave him a two-year, $7,600,000 extension in April 2010. The Tropics took third in 2009 and second in 2010, then returned to the Pacific League throne in 2011. Tahiti won the OBA title again over Melbourne with Albright posting a 4.85 ERA over 13 playoff innings. He fared better in the World Baseball Championship with a 3-1 record in five starts, 3.45 ERA, 31.1 innings, and 29 strikeouts. Tahiti finished second in the BGC at 13-6 behind only 15-4 Tampa. With his consistency and leadership, Albright earned a four-year, $16,420,000 extension in April 2012. He again stayed steady, but he was never a league leader or a Pitcher of the Year finalist. Tahiti fell short to Guadalcanal in both 2012 and 2013, then returned to first place in 2014 and 2015. The Tropics lost to Christchurch in the 2014 final, then got revenge over the Chinooks in 2015. Albright missed two months in 2014 for a rotator cuff strain, but was back for the stretch run. He allowed one run in nine playoff innings, but he struggled in the BGC with a 6.37 ERA over 35.1 innings. The Tropics finished 9-10 in the 2014 event. Albright was healthy for 2015, but was relegated to a bench role with only 68.1 innings. He didn’t pitch in the Oceania Championship and had only 2.2 scoreless relief innings in the BGC. Tahiti ended up 10-9 in the 2015 Baseball Grand Championship. He remained a part-timer for two more years with Tahiti with subpar results. Tahiti was still above .500, but their time at the top had ended. With the Tropics, Albright had a 149-79 record, 3.39 ERA, 2107.2 innings, 1984 strikeouts, 393 walks, 107 ERA+, and 36.3 WAR. He was well liked and appreciated enough by Tahiti ownership to get his #28 uniform eventually retired. Albright wanted to still pitch somewhere, but most teams weren’t interested. He had to settle for the newly formed African Second League with Gaborone on a three-year, $13,840,000 deal. In April 2019, Albright suffered a stretched elbow ligament that knocked him out a calendar year. He decided to retire with that age 41. In OBA, Albright had a 239-167 record, 3.39 ERA, 3684.2 innings, 3499 strikeouts, 745 walks, 318/484 quality starts, 115 complete games, 21 shutouts, 107 ERA+, 90 FIP-, and 65.8 WAR. As of 2037, Albright ranks 14^th in wins, 18^th in innings, 26^th in strikeouts, and 41^st in WAR among pitchers. By advanced stats, Albright was merely an above average pitcher. There was never a point where he was considered a top three level pitcher and he was never a league leader. Working in his favor though was good longevity and excellent leadership skills. Albright ranked higher in the counting stats than you might expect and was above some other guys who had earned Hall of Fame nods before him. Being part of a dominant run with three titles for Tahiti also gave Albright some points. He narrowly missed the 66% requirement for induction at 64.6% in his 2023 debut. Albright fell to 50.3% in 2024, but got the benefit of a weak group for 2025. The respect Albright had amongst his peers got him across the line with a big boost up to 80.9%. Albright won’t be considered an inner-circle level guy, but he earned a third ballot induction as part of the 2025 class for the Oceania Baseball Association. Ueli Nakanelua – Designated Hitter/Third Base – Tahiti Tropics – 68.6% Third Ballot Ueli Nakanelua was a 6’3’’, 200 pound switch-hitting third baseman and designated hitter from Satapuala, Samoa; a small village of just under 2000 people. Nakanelua was famous for having an incredible eye for drawing walks, leading the Pacific League in walks ten times in his career. He had a decent strikeout rate and had steady home run power. However, Nakanelua graded as an average at best contact hitter. Nakanelua’s hitting success primarily came against right-handed pitching with a 164 wRC+ and .924 OPS. He was subpar against lefties with .654 OPS and 92 wRC+. Nakanelua’s 162 game average got you a solid 34 home runs, but his gap power was limited with only 17 doubles and 2 triples per 162. He was also a painfully sluggish and clumsy baserunner, which did limit the value of the walks he drew. He had a respectable arm, but Nakanelua’s glove work and range were lousy. Around 20% of his career starts came at third base with terrible metrics. Thus, he posted more than 3/4s of his starts as a designated hitter. Nakanelua did have iron man durability and never missed time to injury. He was never the star of Tahiti’s 2000s dominance, but became an important part of their run. Few fans realize that Nakanelua wasn’t drafted by Tahiti, especially since he never played a game for anyone else. He wasn’t a highly touted prospect, going 52^nd overall to Guam in the middle of the third round in the 1997 OBA Draft. Nakanelua developed slowly and was traded by the Golden Eagles after the 1999 season in a three-player deal with the Tropics. Nakanelua spent the next two years on the reserve roster for Tahiti. Nakanelua debuted in 2002 at age 24, a fairly late introduction. He had respectable results over 110 games and 32 starts, earning a full-time gig from 2003 onward. Nakanelua’s first full year saw a league-best 92 walks along with 6.3 WAR and 42 home runs, winning a Silver Slugger as a DH. 2003 marked the start of Tahiti’s return to contention, winning their first Pacific League title in 27 years. The Tropics finished 106-56 and won the Oceania Championship over Melbourne. Tahiti won additional Pacific League pennants in 2004, 05, 07, 08, 11, 14, and 15. They lost the Oceania Championship to Melbourne in 2004, 05, and 07; then got wins over the Mets in 08 and 11. The Tropics lost to Christchurch in the 2014 final, then defeated the Chinooks in 2015. Nakanelua was there the whole time, although his playoff stats were underwhelming. In 46 games, he had 33 hits, 15 runs, 8 doubles, 7 homers, 20 RBI, 14 walks, .208/.272/.390 slash, 85 wRC+, and 0.3 WAR. However, Nakanelua was outstanding in his Baseball Grand Championship appearances with 45 games, 33 starts, 34 hits, 31 runs, 4 doubles, 19 home runs, 35 RBI, 29 walks, .296/.449/.826 slash, 1.275 OPS, 245 wRC+, and 2.7 WAR. Tahiti finished second in the 2011 WBC at 13-6. The Tropics finished 9-10 in 2014 and 10-9 in 2015. Nakanelua won additional Silver Sluggers in 2005, 2007, and 2012 as a DH and in 2014 at third base. He took second in 2005’s MVP voting and third in 2007 and was a ten-time all-star. Nakanelua led the league with 118 runs in and had the best OBP in 2012 at .392. 2005 had his career best triple slash (.299/.404/.611), OPS (1.016), wRC+ (189), and WAR (6.7). He had five seasons with 5+ WAR and nine seasons worth 4+ WAR. He stayed loyal through the run, first inking a five-year, $13,140,000 extension in October 2004. In April 2009, Nakanelua inked a six-year, $34,800,000 extension. He added another two years and $19 million after the 2014 season. He had a six-hit game in 2007 against Port Moresby and hit for the cycle in 2005 against Guam. As of 2037, Nakanelua is the only OBA player to have a six-hit game, three HR game, and hit for the cycle in his career. Nakanelua kept fairly steady production into his mid 30s, but he started to struggle against lefties and saw his power drop as he aged. He was relegated to a platoon role in 2016 with iffy results, then was mostly a backup in 2017. Nakanelua retired after the 2017 campiagn at age 39. Tahiti immediately retired his #23 uniform for his efforts. In total, Nakanelua played 2286 games with 1971 hits, 1219 runs, 240 doubles, 485 home runs, 1239 RBI, 1220 walks, 1262 strikeouts, .263/.367/.495 slash, 148 wRC+, and 61.6 WAR. As of 2037, Nakanelua ranks 4^th in walks, 41^st in runs, 87^th in hits, 24^th in homers, 41^st in RBI, and 65^th in WAR among position players. His OBP ranks 10^th among all batters with 3000+ plate appearances, which was impressive considering a weaker batting average. His .862 OPS ranks 65^th. His tallies put him on the borderline compared to other Hall of Fame inductees. Nakanelua’s grand tallies were relatively underwhelming and he had being a DH working against him. His big game reputation was mixed as his Oceania Championship stats were underwhelming, but his Baseball Grand Championship stats were great. In his favor was five Silver Sluggers and four championship rings, accolades that were big plusses for many voters. Nakanelua missed the cut in his first two ballots with 60.4% in 2023 and 58.1% in 2024. He didn’t get monumental gains in 2025, but a weak set of debuts allowed growth up to 68.6%. That got Nakanelua across the 66% line for a third ballot induction into the 2025 Hall of Fame class for the Oceania Baseball Association. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)