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Ronny Safari – Center Field/First Base – Kigali Guardians – 80.5% First Ballot

Ronny Safari was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed hitting outfielder and first baseman from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Safari was a rock solid contact hitter and was great at avoiding strikeouts, although he was mediocre at drawing walks. He had nice gap power with reliably steady home run power, posting a 162 game average of 26 home runs, 33 doubles and 6 triples. Safari was good to occasionally great in terms of speed and baserunning.

Around 60% of Safari’s career starts came in center field, mostly in the front end of his career. He was a firmly mediocre defender in CF and was moved to first base in his later years with above average results. Safari also bizarrely got some use at shortstop near the end of his career with truly abysmal defensive production. He was one of the smarter guys in the clubhouse and showed strong durability across a 21 year career.

Safari was the top prospect for the 1998 AAB Draft even as a teenager and was picked first overall by Kigali. He wasn’t quite ready, playing only 11 games and starting three in 1999 at age 19. Safari saw more use in 2000 with 74 games and 70 starts, then became a full-time starter after that. From 2001-07, Safari posted 5+ WAR each season. He led the Central Conference with 52 doubles in 2001 and led again in 2006 with 51.

He also earned batting titles and led in hits in both 2005 and 2007. Safari also led in runs in 2007, a year with career highs in runs (119), homers (41), triple slash (.334/.404/.627), OPS (1.031), and wRC+ (164). His best WAR in AAB was 6.5 in 2003, but he did finish above 6+ WAR five times. 2003 also saw his lone cycle in a game against Kampala. Safari was third in 2003’s MVP voting, second in 2005, and third in 2007. While he never won the top award, Safari did earn Silver Sluggers in CF in 2002, 04, 05, 06, 07, and 08 for Kigali.

The Guardians had been abysmal in AAB’s earliest years with their best season from 1995-02 being a mere 64-98. Safari helped give them their first winning seasons from 2003-06 and their first playoff berth in 2003, although they fell in the conference final to Kinshasa. Safari signed a five-year, $8,900,000 extension after the 2006 season. Kigali made the playoff again in 2008 but were denied by the Addis Ababa dynasty. Safari had a forgettable .773 OPS in seven playoff starts.

With Kigali, Safari had 1622 games, 1938 hits, 1057 runs, 426 doubles, 58 triples, 558 home runs, 1041 RBI, 436 walks, 450 steals, .304/.353/.549 slash, 138 wRC+, and 51.0 WAR. His production waned in his later years for the Guardians with Safari declining his contract option after the 2010 season. He was still very popular as the franchise’s first star player who helped them to their first success, which got Safari’s #21 uniform later retired.

Coming up on age 31, he signed a two-year, $6,560,000 deal with Brazzaville, where he joined the 2000 hit club. Safari had 2.3 WAR and .824 OPS in 2011 for the struggling Blowfish in his one year there. At the time, the African Association of Baseball and European Baseball Federation had an agreement that trades between the leagues could happen. Safari was sent to Zaragoza of the European Second League in the offseason for four prospects.

This temporarily ended his time in Africa, but Safari did still usually play in the World Baseball Championship for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He played from 2002-11, 13-15, and 2019 with 98 games, 88 hits, 42 runs, 16 doubles, 18 home runs, 44 RBI, .285/.321/.524 slash, and 2.7 WAR.

Safari was definitely too good for the E2L with 7.0 WAR in his one year with Zaragoza. He was an important rental as the Gold Hawks earned a promotion to the EBF Elite as E2L runner-up. Safari was now a free agent for 2013 heading towards age 33 and ended up staying in Europe. This time he was in the EBF Elite tier on a four-year, $35,600,000 deal with Lisbon.

For the Clippers, Safari was used almost exclusively as a pinch hitter, but did decent enough to earn a fifth year. He played 515 games and started 97 with 210 hits, 96 runs, 33 doubles, 18 triples, 23 home runs, 98 RBI, 34 steals, .281/.318/.465 slash, 106 wRC+, and 2.0 WAR. Safari’s run in Europe ended for 2018 as a 38-year old free agent, going back to AAB on a one-year, $800,000 deal with Kampala.

Safari played shortstop for the Peacocks and won a Silver Slugger with a .848 OPS in 118 games, although his terrible defense meant only 1.4 WAR. Still, it plugged a hole for Kampala, who finished 111-51 for their first-ever playoff berth. The Peacocks went all the way and won the Africa Series over Johannesburg. Safari had only seven plate appearances in the playoffs and 14 in the Baseball Grand Championship, where they finished 10-9.

He joined Luanda in 2019 in a backup role, but hit very well over 100 games and 38 starts with .992 OPS, 173 wRC+, and 2.1 WAR. Safari went 9-25 in the playoffs with 6 runs, 2 homers, and 5 RBI, helping the Landsharks to an Africa Series win over Brazzaville. Safari played 12 games and started 3 in the Baseball Grand Championship as Luanda went 9-10. Safari was one of a small group to have played in consecutive BGC events but with different teams.

Safari joined the Blowfish in 2020 for a second run, but couldn’t replicate the prior year’s offense with 0.2 WAR and .734 OPS in 84 games and 55 starts. He had one pinch hit double in the playoffs as Brazzaville lost the conference championship. Safari retired that winter at age 40.

For his AAB career, Safari had 2082 games, 2323 hits, 1236 runs, 507 doubles, 75 triples, 390 home runs, 1242 RBI, 545 walks, 1073 strikeouts, 544 steals, .301/.352/.539 slash, 136 wRC+, and 57.0 WAR. As of 2037, Safari is 35^th in games, 19^th in hits, 33^rd in runs, 22^nd in doubles, 35^th in triples, 58^th in homers, 35^th in RBI, 62^nd in steals, and 33^rd in WAR among position players. Safari’s .890 OPS is 90^th among AAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances and his batting average is 42^nd.

Safari’s tallies aren’t at the tip-top, but were pretty solid compared to his peers. Voters noted accolades like seven Silver Sluggers, two batting titles, and three times as a MVP finalist as huge plusses. The two championship rings at the end helped too, even if he was a mere role player by then. Most voters were sold even in a loaded five-player Hall of Fame class for 2026. At 80.5%, Safari was a first ballot inductee and joined the African Association of Baseball’s greats.



Jose “Boxy” Santarem – First Base – Mogadishu Mighty Mice – 74.9% First Ballot

Jose Santarem was a 6’4’’, 195 pound left-handed hitting first baseman from Ndalatando, Angola; a city of around 161,500 in the country’s northwest. He would become the second Angolan Hall of Famer, joining class of 2020 OF Arsenio Barroso. Santarem was the traditional leadoff man with excellent contact ability and blistering speed. He was outstanding at putting the ball in play with a 5.4% career strikeout rate. Santarem was also decent at drawing walks.

Santarem was a nightmare for pitchers to hold once he got on base as he was one of the best-ever base stealers and runners. Most of his batting success came versus right-handed pitching with a career .333 average, .891 OPS, and 138 wRC+. He had no power against lefties with a .268 average, .677 OPS, and 83 wRC+. His gap power was excellent on the whole with 41 doubles and 11 triples per his 162 game average. Santarem didn’t hit many dingers, but he did crack double-digits thrice in his career.

He had the unusual profile as a speedy leadoff guy who played first base exclusively on defense. Santarem graded as a firmly mediocre defender he simply lacked grace with his glove. He did also make just under ¼ of his starts as a designated hitter, mostly in his later seasons. Santarem was adaptable, but also a bit of a dummy. Being an ironman helped prolong his career, playing 148+ games in all but the first and final season of a 16-year career.

Santarem was signed by Mogadishu to a developmental contract in April 2001. He spent most of five years in their academy in Somalia, debuting in 2005 at age 20 with 20 games and 8 starts. Santarem became a full-time starter the next year and led the Central Conference in batting average (.352), hits (210), and triples (13), earning 2006 Rookie of the Year honors. This also started a streak of ten consecutive seasons with 100+ stolen bases. Santarem would get 100+ steals in 13 seasons overall.

From 2007-11, he was the leader in steals, peaking with 134 in 2012. At the time, that was the second-best AAB season behind his Hall of Fame classmate Fani Ngambi’s 139 from 2009. During that stretch, he also won two more batting titles and led trice in both hits and triples. Santarem’s 228 hits in 2008 set an AAB single-season record that held until 2025. It still ranks ninth as of 2037. Santarem also had career highs in runs (112), doubles (60), triple slash (.362/.418/.537) and OPS (.955) that year.

Santarem also set an AAB record in 2009 with 19 triples, which would only be passed twice. Despite his efforts, his lack of home run power at a powerful spot like first base or DH meant Santarem never won a Silver Slugger. Mogadishu was just below .500 in his earliest years, but they did earn playoff trips in 2009 and 2010. Both years, they were summarily dispatched by Addis Ababa’s dynasty in the Central Conference Championship.

The Mighty Mice fully collapsed with a 65-97 record in 2012 and began a fire sale during the season. At the trade deadline, Santarem was sent to Maputo for three prospects. His contributions were enough though that Mogadishu eventually retired his #14 uniform. For the Mighty Mice, Santarem had 1068 games, 1357 hits, 702 runs, 309 doubles, 82 triples, 61 home runs, 428 RBI, 443 walks, 781 steals, .333/.398/.494 slash, 137 wRC+, and 32.6 WAR.

Santarem had a nice second half with Maputo, who had been the Southern Conference champ the prior year. The Piranhas got back to the conference final, but were denied by Lusaka. They didn’t make the playoffs the next three years, but also didn’t have a losing season. Maputo kept Santarem around, signing him to a six-year, $52,200,000 extension in March 2013.

For the Piranhas, Santarem led in steals four times, triples twice, and doubles once. He won his fourth batting title in 2016 with a .336 average and was the OBP leader for the only time in 2018 at .412. Maputo made it back to the playoffs with a conference finals loss in 2016 to Johannesburg.

In 2017, Maputo finished first in the standings and defeated Luanda for their second pennant with Santarem taking conference finals MVP. They would be denied the Africa Series title against Santarem’s former team Mogadishu. In 13 playoff starts, Santarem had 13 hits, 7 runs, 3 doubles, 3 RBI, and 7 steals. The Piranhas would be just above .500 for the next two years.

With Maputo, Santarem played 1154 games with 1305 hits, 669 runs, 267 doubles, 75 triples, 43 homers, 523 RBI, 406 walks, 808 steals, .305/.365/.433 slash, 116 wRC+, and 23.3 WAR. At the time, he was racing his HOF classmate Fani Ngambi for the most steals in AAB history. They were the first two to reach 1500+ for their careers. Santarem ended up edging out Ngambi by 27 and also retired as the AAB leader in triples.

Santarem’s bat had fallen off to a mere .688 OPS and 1.9 WAR in his last year with Maputo, making it unlikely that he might chase the 3000 hit milestone. Santarem signed with Lilongwe for 2020, but struggled to -0.1 WAR and .623 OPS over 67 games and 21 starts. He was unsigned in 2021 and retired that winter at age 37.

The final tallies had 2289 games, 2690 hits, 1387 runs, 581 doubles, 159 triples, 105 home runs, 964 RBI, 859 walks, 513 strikeouts, 1602 stolen bases, 518 caught stealing, .318/.380/.461 slash, 125 wRC+, and 55.8 WAR. As of 2037, Santarem is second in both steals and triples as Djibrilla Ousseini would pass him for both top marks in the mid 2030s.

Santarem also ranks 22^nd in games, 12^th in hits, 21^st in runs, 8^th in doubles, 33^rd in total bases (3904), 79^th in RBI, 2^nd in caught stealing, and 39^th in WAR among position players. Santarem’s batting average ranks 14^th among AAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances and his OBP is 28^th. He also notably ranks 14^th in steals for all of professional baseball as of 2037.

Although he had better stealing success and a higher batting average, most still ranked Ngambi above Santarem as a more valuable leadoff man for the era because of his high walk rate and much better defensive value. Santarem didn’t have the big awards, but he had enough statistical notables to get a strong look. Four batting titles and a boatload of steals get you some prompts even if people expect big power from the position.

His incredibly low strikeout rate was especially impressive and as of 2037, he’s the only AAB Hall of Famer to have 2000+ hits with less than 1000 strikeouts. Santarem was the weakest in a loaded five-player Hall of Fame class, but he still got 74.9% to secure a first ballot induction. This capped off the historic 2026 group for the African Association of Baseball.