[FuzzyRussianHat]

The Asian Baseball Federation’s 2027 Hall of Fame class was an impressive one with three debuts getting above 95%. 1B Ali Sungu (98.4%), OF Majd Bsharri (97.5%), and SP Ali Massoudi (95.9%) each secured their spots easily. CL Gafar Aliev barely missed the 66% threshold with a 62.7% debut. The best returner and only other guy above 50% was CL Sadri Delkashi at 56.4% for his second ballot. No one was dropped after ten failed ballots.


Ali Sungu – First Base/Designated Hitter – Baku Blackbirds – 98.4% First Ballot

Ali Sungu was a 6’4’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Corlu, Turkey; a city with around 300,000 people located just west of Istanbul. Sungu was an excellent home run hitter and an absolute beast against right-handed pitching, posting a career 1.010 OPS and 188 wRC+. He wasn’t bad against lefties though with .751 OPS and 123 wRC+.

Sungu graded as a strong contact hitter with a solid eye for walks on the whole. He did struggle though with strikeouts against both sides. Sungu’s gap power especially was much more pronounced against righties, but he had 29 doubles and 45 homers per his 162 game average overall. Sungu was a very crafty baserunner and base stealer despite having mediocre speed at best.

All of Sungu’s starts in the field came at first base with generally poor defensive metrics. Just over 70% of his career starts were at 1B with the rest as a designated hitter. While Sungu did miss time here and there, he mostly avoided major injuries over his 17 year career. He was a fan favorite, known for his intelligence, loyalty, and adaptability. Sungu was very popular in Baku, where he spent his entire pro career.

His time in the capital of Azerbaijan began in August 2001 when Sungu signed a developmental deal with Baku. He debuted mostly as a pinch hitter in 2005 at age 20 with 81 games and 10 starts. Sungu was moved to a full-time role after that and maintained that job for 16 years. 2007 would be his first of eight seasons worth 7+ WAR. Sungu would post at least 5+ WAR each year but one from 2007-2020.

Sungu emerged as elite by 2007, winning his first Silver Slugger as a DH. He won an additional DH Slugger in 2008 and four straight at first base from 2010-13 Sungu won MVP in 2010, 2012, and 2013. He was also second in 2008’s MVP voting and second in 2014. During that stretch, Sungu led the West League four times in runs, four times in homers, thrice in RBI, thrice in slugging, and twice in both OPS and wRC+.

2012 was Sungu’s finest year with league and career highs in runs (131), homers (65), RBI (148), total bases (418), OBP (.400), slugging (.706), OPS (1.106), wRC+ (216), and WAR (11.0). The 65 homers were the sixth-most in ABF history to that point and his .326 batting averages fell only seven points shy for a Triple Crown. Sungu also was above one OPS thrice more, hit 50+ homers four times total, and in seven seasons had both 100+ runs scored and 100+ RBI.

Baku had left Eurasian Professional Baseball in the big 2000 exodus of teams and had struggled in their first years in the Asian Baseball Federation. Sungu helped turn the Blackbirds into a contender, earning seven straight playoff berths and six division titles from 2009-15. They went one-and-done in their first appearance in 2009, but they knew they were cooking. That winter, Baku signed Sungu to an eight-year, $47,080,000 extension.

From that came a dynasty run with West League pennant wins in 2010, 2012, and 2013. Baku lost the 2010 ABF Championship to Rawalpindi, then lost in the first round in 2011. The Blackbirds bounced back at 108-54 in 2012, winning their first ABF Championship over Lahore. Baku was 105-57 in 2012 and got back to the final, losing the finals to Hyderabad. The Blackbirds went 104-58 in 2013 and 2014, but both campaigns ended in round one losses.

Sungu was an excellent playoff batter, winning WLCS MVP in 2010 and ABF Championship MVP in 2013. He had 81 playoff starts with 74 hits, 54 runs, 13 doubles, 26 home runs, 55 RBI, 30 walks, .258/.341/.582 slash, 164 wRC+, and 4.3 WAR. In the 2012 Baseball Grand Championship, Sungu had 13 hits, 12 runs, 6 homers, 9 RBI, .924 OPS, 158 wRC+, and 0.7 WAR over 18 games. The Blackbirds finished at 8-11 in their first BGC.

While his pro career was completely in Azerbaijan, Sungu was a strong regular for his native Turkey in the Baseball Grand Championship, helping them to division titles in 2008 and 2014. From 2007-20, Sungu played 130 games for Turkey with 111 hits, 77 runs, 20 doubles, 46 home runs, 96 RBI, .250/.363/.606 slash, and 6.3 WAR.

Baku’s playoff streak ended in 2016 as they were 86-76, one win short of a wild card. In 2017, the Blackbirds made it as far as the WLCS, but lost to a 116-win juggernaut in Tehran. Sungu’s production was down from his peak, but he was still a strong starter in his early 30s. Before the 2017 season, Sungu signed a five-year, $48,400,000 extension. Baku stayed around or just above .500 for his remaining tenure, but didn’t get back to the playoffs.

In May 2019, Sungu became only the third ABF slugger to reach 600 career home runs. He hit 43 that season to get to 632, one away from Radi Umar’s then-record 633. Sungu easily passed it in 2020 while also reaching 2000 career hits and 1500 RBI. With steady production through that year at only age 35, it seemed likely that Sungu would catch Petri Viskari’s records for runs (1446) and RBI (1685).

However, Sungu fell short of both marks as he fell completely off a cliff in 2021. Despite starting the whole year, he only hit 17 home runs with 57 runs, 54 RBI, .642 OPS, and -1.1 WAR. It was an abrupt end to such a storied career with Sungu retiring that winter at age 36. Baku immediately honored him by retiring his #13 uniform. His efforts got them their first pennants in ABF and the Blackbirds would remain a general contender through the 2020s and 2030s.

Sungu ‘s final stats saw 2435 games, 2273 hits, 1438 runs, 433 doubles, 26 triples, 683 home runs, 1571 RBI, 829 walks, 2116 strikeouts, 203 stolen bases, .277/.358/.586 slash, 172 wRC+, and 102.9 WAR. Sungu’s reign as home run king was short-lived with Habib Saquib passing him five years later. Sungu still ranks 4^th in dingers as of 2037 and also ranks 8^th in RBI, 22^nd in games, 42^nd in hits, 12^th in runs, 66^th in doubles, 16^th in total bases (4807), 19^th in walks, 38^th in strikeouts, and 12^th in WAR among position players.

Among ABF batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Sungu’s slugging ranks 23^rd, OBP ranks 52^nd, and his .944 OPS is 25^th. He was one of the best sluggers of his era in ABF and an easy Hall of Fame headliner, leading a loaded three-player 2027 class at 98.4%. Most have Sungu in ABF’s top 20 position player lists with some placing him into the top ten. He’s also usually cited in the top five among all players to come out of Turkey.