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FuzzyRussianHat · 04-09-2025, 05:57 PM

The Oceania Baseball Association had a loaded four player Hall of Fame class for 2029 with each debuting at above 89%. 1B/DH Adrian Kali (97.5%), OF Suliano Nadruku (97.2%), 1B Naldo Soto (91.2%), and SP August Lantz (89.1%) made up one of the most impressive groups in league history. 3B Dale Harper notably debuted at a solid 56.5%, but was still shy of the 66% requirement. The only returner above 50% was SP George Hudson at 50.2% for his fifth ballot. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots.

Adrian Kali – First Base/Designated Hitter – Port Moresby Mud Hens – 97.5% First Ballot

Adrian Kali was a 6’3’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. Kali was a great contact hitter with a reliably strong bat, posting 35 home runs, 31 doubles, and 3 triples per his 162 game average. He regularly hit above .300 in the lower-scoring world of OBA and was equally potent against both sides. Kal’s ability to draw walks and avoid strikeouts were both average at best.

Although he got on base a lot, Kali was a terrible baserunner with poor speed. He was a subpar defender at first base, but wasn’t a complete liability. Kali’s first few seasons were primarily as a designated hitter. He made just over 60% of his starts at 1B with basically all of the rest as a DH.

Kali was a true ironman and never missed a start to injury, starting 149+ games each year from 2005-23. He was also a hard worker and incredibly selfless and dedicated. Kali was a true fan favorite who became beloved throughout the region as he later challenged for OBA’s hit king crown. He was especially beloved in his native Papua New Guinea and became one of the country’s favorite sons.

Growing up in Port Moresby, Kali was an avid Mud Hens fan in his youth. As he progressed through the amateur ranks, his hometown team certainly kept tabs on him as a possible future star. That dream came true with the 2003 OBA Draft with Kali going fourth overall to the Mud Hens. He was mostly in their academy in 2004 with only 7 games and 2 starts. Kali was moved to a full-time starting role in 2005 and was an OBA fixture for 19 years.

Kali won Rookie of the Year in 2005 with a 1.6 WAR campaign. From 2006-09, he led the Pacific League thrice in both hits and RBI. Kali also led in RBI again in 2011 and twice socked 40+ dingers for Port Moresby. His lone Silver Slugger came in 2011 at 1B. Kali’s steady but not flashy production didn’t lend itself to many big awards. He also was competing with some of the top sluggers in the game as a DH/1B.

It also didn’t help that Port Moresby to that point had been mostly mediocre since the start of the 1990s. Although they became a 2020s dynasty, the Mud Hens were unremarkable despite Kali’s efforts. They averaged 76 wins per season while he was a starter, peaking with at 89-73 in 2010. In April 2008, Kali signed a five-year, $18,320,000 extension with his hometown team.

Port Moresby was seemingly trending upwards to start the 2010s, but fell off hard with a 65-97 campaign in 2012. The Mud Hens were sellers in the offseason, which included shipping away Kali in the last year of his deal in a five-player trade with Christchurch. For Port Moresby, Kali had 1289 games, 1504 hits, 732 runs, 232 doubles, 284 home runs, 853 RBI, .300/.345/.527 slash, 147 wRC+, and 36.1 WAR.

Although disappointed at the ending, Kali was happy to have gotten to represent his hometown for eight years and was beloved locally. His #12 uniform would later be retired and he’d be inducted in Mud Hens’ red and gold. Kali was excited to join a potential contender as Christchurch was seemingly on the cusp. 2013 started a dynasty run for the Chinooks, who went 110-52 and beat Guadalcanal in the Oceania Championship.

Kali was a one-year rental, but lived up to his role as he won finals MVP, going 10-18 in the series with 5 doubles, 2 runs, 1 homer, and 4 RBI. He remained strong in the World Baseball Championship over 19 starts with 19 hits, 15 runs, 9 homers, 2 doubles, 17 RBI, and 1.1 WAR. The Chinooks finished 8-11 for the event. These ultimately were Kali’s only career postseason appearances. He also had a career best 122 runs in his lone Christchurch season.

Coming up on age 30, Kali was a free agent for the first time heading into 2014. The finals MVP helped earn him a seven-year, $71,400,000 deal with Gold Coast. He ultimately played six years for the Kangaroos as a regular all-star, although they were stuck near the bottom of the standings. Kali led the Australasia League with a career best 40 doubles in 2017. He also had his career best triple slash (.337/.382/.620), OPS (1.003), wRC+ (169), and WAR (6.7) in 2016.

In total, Kali played 938 games for Gold Coast with 1068 hits, 503 runs, 188 doubles, 204 home runs, 607 RBI, .304/.354/.544 slash, 142 wRC+, and 27.9 WAR. With one year left on his contract, the 36-year old Kali was traded in the offseason for prospects to Brisbane. His one year with the Black Bears saw 3.2 WAR, 30 homers, and .859 OPS.

Kali joined Guadalcanal in 2021 on a two-year, $12,400,000 deal and quickly became the third member of the 3000 hit club. He ended the season at 3129 hits, passing Junia Lava for OBA’s top spot. Kali also became the fifth to reach 1500 runs scored and the 11^th to 600 home runs, hitting all three marks in 2021. That year, he also led the PL with 112 RBI and hit 40 home runs. The Green Jackets finished 100-62, two games behind Vanuatu for the top spot.

Guadalcanal again was two games out of first in 2022, although Kali’s power dipped notably. He finished over two seasons with 351 hits, 179 runs, 55 doubles, 65 home runs, 201 RBI, .297/.335/.516 slash, and 8.1 WAR. Kali signed with Melbourne for 2023 on a two-year, $9,520,000 deal. With his longevity, the records for both runs scored and RBI were in reach.

Kali had his weakest year since his rookie campaign with 1.9 WAR, .758 OPS, and 24 homers. He did pass Arjita Gabeja (1683) for the runs scored record, although Roe Kaupa passed Kali the next year. He finished 10 RBI shy of Lava’s top mark of 1989, another mark Kaupa also eclipsed. Kali also got to 574 doubles, 22 away from the top mark held by fellow 2023 retiree Dale Harper of 596. Kali decided to retire after the 2023 campaign at age 39.

The final stats saw 2999 games, 3467 hits, 1704 runs, 574 doubles, 62 triples, 650 home runs, 1979 RBI, 805 walks, 2354 strikeouts, .300/.346/.529 slash, 143 wRC+, and 83.7 WAR. As of 2037, Kali remains OBA’s all-time hit king and is ranked 5^th in games, 3^rd in runs, 2^nd in total bases (6115), 2^nd in doubles (574), 7^th in home runs, 3^rd in RBI, 20^th in walks, 13^th in strikeouts, and 24^th in WAR for position players.

Kali‘s .875 OPS ranks 49^th among batters with 3000+ plate appearances. His triple slash of .300/.346/.529 ranks 46^th/58^th/58^th. Despite inner-circle totals, Kali was never an MVP finalist and generally wasn’t considered a top five player in his prime. Some scholars would leave him off top five or even top ten position player lists for OBA despite being so high in the final leaderboards. Playing on a lot of bad teams also didn’t help his cause there.

That said, Kali was beloved for his role as the consistent ironman and there’s something to be said for that longevity. Retiring as your league’s hit king is a remarkable accomplishment, even if he was overshadowed in his era by fellow Papuan Roe Kaupa. Kali received 97.5%, the highest percentage of the four strong inductees into the 2029 Hall of Fame class for the Oceania Baseball Association.

Suliano “Moby Dick” Nadruku – Left/Center Field – Port Moresby Mud Hens – 97.2% First Ballot

Suliano Nadruku was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed outfielder from Capiata, Fiji; a city of 198,000 people. Nadruku in his prime was an excellent contact hitter with a decent strikeout rate, although he didn’t draw too many walks. His gap power was rock solid and he got you plenty of extra base hits with a 162 game average of 31 doubles, 15 triples, and 28 home runs. Nadruku was better facing right-handed pitching (.918 OPS, 158 wRC+) but was capable facing lefties too (.791 OPS, 124 wRC+).

Nadruku was also one of the faster and more skilled baserunners and base stealers of his era. He played center field at the start of his career, but struggled there as his baserunning speed didn’t translate to range. Left field would prove a perfect fit with Nadruku making 75% of his starts there. He graded as a reliable good-to-great defender and won four Gold Gloves in left.

His durability was generally strong as he started 120+ games in all 16 of his professional seasons. Nadruku was adaptable, worked hard, and was a major fan favorite. His career took him to four different countries, but he endeared himself to fans and peers at every stop. Nadruku would be the third player born in Fiji to earn his way into OBA’s Hall of Fame.

Nadruku’s pro career began in Papua New Guinea as he was selected fifth overall by Port Moresby in the 2007 OBA Draft. He was only there six years, although this would be his longest tenure and possibly his most impressive. As mentioned with his HOF classmate Adrian Kali, the Mud Hens were mostly hot garbage in the 2000s and 2010s. Still, Nadruku made an impact right away, taking third in Rookie of the Year voting. In his second season, he won a Silver Slugger in CF.

In 2010, Nadruku won Pacific League MVP and a LF Silver Sugger with league bests in hits (224), average (.367), OBP (.402), OPS (1.035), wRC+ (184), and WAR (9.5). The hit tally, AVG, OBP, and WAR would be career highs as were his 89 stolen bases. Nadruku was second in 2011’s MVP voting and won another Slugger, leading in hits (212), doubles (40), and WAR (9.5). The doubles were a career high as were his 113 RBI, 1.043 OPS, and 201 wRC+. 2011 also was the first of three consecutive Gold Gloves.

Those years were the closest Port Moresby came to contending in some time with an 89-73 record in 2010 and 83-79 in 2011. They plummeted down to 65-97 in 2012 and stayed there for the next few years. Nadruku had a good 2012, but struggled to meet his previous standards in 2013 with a .770 OPS and 3.7 WAR. Apart from his first and final season, that was Nadruku’s worst OPS. It was bad timing as it was a contract year as well.

Port Moresby was worried Nadruku was going to be expensive and possibly would never return to form, thus they let him leave for free agency after the 2013 season. With the Mud Hens, Nadruku had 919 games, 1088 hits, 541 runs, 166 doubles, 79 triples, 163 home runs, 525 RBI, 384 steals, .310/.343/.541 slash, 149 wRC+, and 36.1 WAR. Coming up on his age 29 season, Nadruku found that Perth still had great interest as they signed him at six years and $60 million.

Nadruku spent five years with the Penguins and was above 7 WAR in three of those seasons. In 2016, he led the Australasia League with 220 hits and posted 8.4 WAR. In 2017, he led in hits (209), WAR (8.1), and led with a career high 121 runs. That effort earned a third place in MVP voting. Perth was in the upper half of the standings of Nadruku’s’ tenure, but ultimately couldn’t compete with the dynasty run of Christchurch. Perth’s best season was second place at 97-65 in 2016, which was paltry compared to the Chinooks world-record 126-36 mark that same year.

For Perth, Nadruku had 754 games, 964 hits, 516 runs, 169 doubles, 75 triples, 124 home runs, 463 RBI, 395 steals, .325/.353/.557 slash, 151 wRC+, and 34.0 WAR. He declined the sixth-year contract option and entered free agency again for the 2019 season at age 33. Nadruku’s next stop was Hawaii on a five-year, $61 million deal with Honolulu.

The investment immediately paid off for the Honu as Nadruku won 2019 MVP honors, leading the Pacific League with 368 total bases. Honolulu won the PL at 99-63 for their first pennant since 1996, although they fell to Sydney in the Oceania Championship in a seven-game classic. In his lone playoff series, Nadruku went 8-27 with 4 runs, 3 homers, 6 RBI, and 2 steals. It was a one-off for the Honu, although they did remain above .500 the next two seasons.

Nadruku won his fourth Gold Glove and fourth Silver Slugger in 2020 and led in hits for the fifth time. He couldn’t maintain that production, but was still a solid starter for two more years with Honolulu. For the Honu, Nadruku had 593 games, 713 hits, 337 runs, 96 doubles, 58 triples, 108 home runs, 358 RBI, 233 steals, .312/.345/.547 slash, 157 wRC+, and 22.5 WAR.

Honolulu fell to 72-88 in 2022 and started a rebuild plan. Nadruku was traded in the offseason to Tahiti for two prospects. Nadruku struggled in his one year with the Tropics, posting -0.1 WAR and .711 OPS over 140 games. He did reach the 400 home run milestone, but came up short of the 3000 hit, 1500 run, and 1500 RBI thresholds that had seemed achievable a few years earlier. Nadruku retired that winter at age 38.

Nadruku finished with 2406 games, 2899 hits, 1461 runs, 457 doubles, 223 triples, 409 home runs, 1391 RBI, 445 walks, 1322 strikeouts, 1054 stolen bases, 625 caught stealing, .312/.345/.541 slash, 149 wRC+, and 92.5 WAR. As of 2037, Nadruku ranks 29^th in games, 9^th in hits, 11^th in runs, 11^th in doubles, 18^th in triples, 51^st in homers, 24^th in RBI, 12^th in total bases (5029), and 13^th in WAR among position players. Among OBA batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Nadruku’s triple slash ranks 27^th/63^rd/38^th. His .885 OPS sits 35^th.

Depending on how strict your definition of “inner-circle” is, Nadruku might make the cut. He was universally liked, but does slide down some of the all-time rankings due to lack of team success and/or big home run numbers. Nadruku’s status as a Hall of Fame lock though was undisputed. At 97.2%, he ranked second of four in the loaded 2029 class for the Oceania Baseball Association.

04-09-2025, 05:57 PM	#2199
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,811	2029 OBA Hall of Fame (Part 1) The Oceania Baseball Association had a loaded four player Hall of Fame class for 2029 with each debuting at above 89%. 1B/DH Adrian Kali (97.5%), OF Suliano Nadruku (97.2%), 1B Naldo Soto (91.2%), and SP August Lantz (89.1%) made up one of the most impressive groups in league history. 3B Dale Harper notably debuted at a solid 56.5%, but was still shy of the 66% requirement. The only returner above 50% was SP George Hudson at 50.2% for his fifth ballot. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots. Adrian Kali – First Base/Designated Hitter – Port Moresby Mud Hens – 97.5% First Ballot Adrian Kali was a 6’3’’, 200 pound right-handed first baseman from Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. Kali was a great contact hitter with a reliably strong bat, posting 35 home runs, 31 doubles, and 3 triples per his 162 game average. He regularly hit above .300 in the lower-scoring world of OBA and was equally potent against both sides. Kal’s ability to draw walks and avoid strikeouts were both average at best. Although he got on base a lot, Kali was a terrible baserunner with poor speed. He was a subpar defender at first base, but wasn’t a complete liability. Kali’s first few seasons were primarily as a designated hitter. He made just over 60% of his starts at 1B with basically all of the rest as a DH. Kali was a true ironman and never missed a start to injury, starting 149+ games each year from 2005-23. He was also a hard worker and incredibly selfless and dedicated. Kali was a true fan favorite who became beloved throughout the region as he later challenged for OBA’s hit king crown. He was especially beloved in his native Papua New Guinea and became one of the country’s favorite sons. Growing up in Port Moresby, Kali was an avid Mud Hens fan in his youth. As he progressed through the amateur ranks, his hometown team certainly kept tabs on him as a possible future star. That dream came true with the 2003 OBA Draft with Kali going fourth overall to the Mud Hens. He was mostly in their academy in 2004 with only 7 games and 2 starts. Kali was moved to a full-time starting role in 2005 and was an OBA fixture for 19 years. Kali won Rookie of the Year in 2005 with a 1.6 WAR campaign. From 2006-09, he led the Pacific League thrice in both hits and RBI. Kali also led in RBI again in 2011 and twice socked 40+ dingers for Port Moresby. His lone Silver Slugger came in 2011 at 1B. Kali’s steady but not flashy production didn’t lend itself to many big awards. He also was competing with some of the top sluggers in the game as a DH/1B. It also didn’t help that Port Moresby to that point had been mostly mediocre since the start of the 1990s. Although they became a 2020s dynasty, the Mud Hens were unremarkable despite Kali’s efforts. They averaged 76 wins per season while he was a starter, peaking with at 89-73 in 2010. In April 2008, Kali signed a five-year, $18,320,000 extension with his hometown team. Port Moresby was seemingly trending upwards to start the 2010s, but fell off hard with a 65-97 campaign in 2012. The Mud Hens were sellers in the offseason, which included shipping away Kali in the last year of his deal in a five-player trade with Christchurch. For Port Moresby, Kali had 1289 games, 1504 hits, 732 runs, 232 doubles, 284 home runs, 853 RBI, .300/.345/.527 slash, 147 wRC+, and 36.1 WAR. Although disappointed at the ending, Kali was happy to have gotten to represent his hometown for eight years and was beloved locally. His #12 uniform would later be retired and he’d be inducted in Mud Hens’ red and gold. Kali was excited to join a potential contender as Christchurch was seemingly on the cusp. 2013 started a dynasty run for the Chinooks, who went 110-52 and beat Guadalcanal in the Oceania Championship. Kali was a one-year rental, but lived up to his role as he won finals MVP, going 10-18 in the series with 5 doubles, 2 runs, 1 homer, and 4 RBI. He remained strong in the World Baseball Championship over 19 starts with 19 hits, 15 runs, 9 homers, 2 doubles, 17 RBI, and 1.1 WAR. The Chinooks finished 8-11 for the event. These ultimately were Kali’s only career postseason appearances. He also had a career best 122 runs in his lone Christchurch season. Coming up on age 30, Kali was a free agent for the first time heading into 2014. The finals MVP helped earn him a seven-year, $71,400,000 deal with Gold Coast. He ultimately played six years for the Kangaroos as a regular all-star, although they were stuck near the bottom of the standings. Kali led the Australasia League with a career best 40 doubles in 2017. He also had his career best triple slash (.337/.382/.620), OPS (1.003), wRC+ (169), and WAR (6.7) in 2016. In total, Kali played 938 games for Gold Coast with 1068 hits, 503 runs, 188 doubles, 204 home runs, 607 RBI, .304/.354/.544 slash, 142 wRC+, and 27.9 WAR. With one year left on his contract, the 36-year old Kali was traded in the offseason for prospects to Brisbane. His one year with the Black Bears saw 3.2 WAR, 30 homers, and .859 OPS. Kali joined Guadalcanal in 2021 on a two-year, $12,400,000 deal and quickly became the third member of the 3000 hit club. He ended the season at 3129 hits, passing Junia Lava for OBA’s top spot. Kali also became the fifth to reach 1500 runs scored and the 11^th to 600 home runs, hitting all three marks in 2021. That year, he also led the PL with 112 RBI and hit 40 home runs. The Green Jackets finished 100-62, two games behind Vanuatu for the top spot. Guadalcanal again was two games out of first in 2022, although Kali’s power dipped notably. He finished over two seasons with 351 hits, 179 runs, 55 doubles, 65 home runs, 201 RBI, .297/.335/.516 slash, and 8.1 WAR. Kali signed with Melbourne for 2023 on a two-year, $9,520,000 deal. With his longevity, the records for both runs scored and RBI were in reach. Kali had his weakest year since his rookie campaign with 1.9 WAR, .758 OPS, and 24 homers. He did pass Arjita Gabeja (1683) for the runs scored record, although Roe Kaupa passed Kali the next year. He finished 10 RBI shy of Lava’s top mark of 1989, another mark Kaupa also eclipsed. Kali also got to 574 doubles, 22 away from the top mark held by fellow 2023 retiree Dale Harper of 596. Kali decided to retire after the 2023 campaign at age 39. The final stats saw 2999 games, 3467 hits, 1704 runs, 574 doubles, 62 triples, 650 home runs, 1979 RBI, 805 walks, 2354 strikeouts, .300/.346/.529 slash, 143 wRC+, and 83.7 WAR. As of 2037, Kali remains OBA’s all-time hit king and is ranked 5^th in games, 3^rd in runs, 2^nd in total bases (6115), 2^nd in doubles (574), 7^th in home runs, 3^rd in RBI, 20^th in walks, 13^th in strikeouts, and 24^th in WAR for position players. Kali‘s .875 OPS ranks 49^th among batters with 3000+ plate appearances. His triple slash of .300/.346/.529 ranks 46^th/58^th/58^th. Despite inner-circle totals, Kali was never an MVP finalist and generally wasn’t considered a top five player in his prime. Some scholars would leave him off top five or even top ten position player lists for OBA despite being so high in the final leaderboards. Playing on a lot of bad teams also didn’t help his cause there. That said, Kali was beloved for his role as the consistent ironman and there’s something to be said for that longevity. Retiring as your league’s hit king is a remarkable accomplishment, even if he was overshadowed in his era by fellow Papuan Roe Kaupa. Kali received 97.5%, the highest percentage of the four strong inductees into the 2029 Hall of Fame class for the Oceania Baseball Association. Suliano “Moby Dick” Nadruku – Left/Center Field – Port Moresby Mud Hens – 97.2% First Ballot Suliano Nadruku was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed outfielder from Capiata, Fiji; a city of 198,000 people. Nadruku in his prime was an excellent contact hitter with a decent strikeout rate, although he didn’t draw too many walks. His gap power was rock solid and he got you plenty of extra base hits with a 162 game average of 31 doubles, 15 triples, and 28 home runs. Nadruku was better facing right-handed pitching (.918 OPS, 158 wRC+) but was capable facing lefties too (.791 OPS, 124 wRC+). Nadruku was also one of the faster and more skilled baserunners and base stealers of his era. He played center field at the start of his career, but struggled there as his baserunning speed didn’t translate to range. Left field would prove a perfect fit with Nadruku making 75% of his starts there. He graded as a reliable good-to-great defender and won four Gold Gloves in left. His durability was generally strong as he started 120+ games in all 16 of his professional seasons. Nadruku was adaptable, worked hard, and was a major fan favorite. His career took him to four different countries, but he endeared himself to fans and peers at every stop. Nadruku would be the third player born in Fiji to earn his way into OBA’s Hall of Fame. Nadruku’s pro career began in Papua New Guinea as he was selected fifth overall by Port Moresby in the 2007 OBA Draft. He was only there six years, although this would be his longest tenure and possibly his most impressive. As mentioned with his HOF classmate Adrian Kali, the Mud Hens were mostly hot garbage in the 2000s and 2010s. Still, Nadruku made an impact right away, taking third in Rookie of the Year voting. In his second season, he won a Silver Slugger in CF. In 2010, Nadruku won Pacific League MVP and a LF Silver Sugger with league bests in hits (224), average (.367), OBP (.402), OPS (1.035), wRC+ (184), and WAR (9.5). The hit tally, AVG, OBP, and WAR would be career highs as were his 89 stolen bases. Nadruku was second in 2011’s MVP voting and won another Slugger, leading in hits (212), doubles (40), and WAR (9.5). The doubles were a career high as were his 113 RBI, 1.043 OPS, and 201 wRC+. 2011 also was the first of three consecutive Gold Gloves. Those years were the closest Port Moresby came to contending in some time with an 89-73 record in 2010 and 83-79 in 2011. They plummeted down to 65-97 in 2012 and stayed there for the next few years. Nadruku had a good 2012, but struggled to meet his previous standards in 2013 with a .770 OPS and 3.7 WAR. Apart from his first and final season, that was Nadruku’s worst OPS. It was bad timing as it was a contract year as well. Port Moresby was worried Nadruku was going to be expensive and possibly would never return to form, thus they let him leave for free agency after the 2013 season. With the Mud Hens, Nadruku had 919 games, 1088 hits, 541 runs, 166 doubles, 79 triples, 163 home runs, 525 RBI, 384 steals, .310/.343/.541 slash, 149 wRC+, and 36.1 WAR. Coming up on his age 29 season, Nadruku found that Perth still had great interest as they signed him at six years and $60 million. Nadruku spent five years with the Penguins and was above 7 WAR in three of those seasons. In 2016, he led the Australasia League with 220 hits and posted 8.4 WAR. In 2017, he led in hits (209), WAR (8.1), and led with a career high 121 runs. That effort earned a third place in MVP voting. Perth was in the upper half of the standings of Nadruku’s’ tenure, but ultimately couldn’t compete with the dynasty run of Christchurch. Perth’s best season was second place at 97-65 in 2016, which was paltry compared to the Chinooks world-record 126-36 mark that same year. For Perth, Nadruku had 754 games, 964 hits, 516 runs, 169 doubles, 75 triples, 124 home runs, 463 RBI, 395 steals, .325/.353/.557 slash, 151 wRC+, and 34.0 WAR. He declined the sixth-year contract option and entered free agency again for the 2019 season at age 33. Nadruku’s next stop was Hawaii on a five-year, $61 million deal with Honolulu. The investment immediately paid off for the Honu as Nadruku won 2019 MVP honors, leading the Pacific League with 368 total bases. Honolulu won the PL at 99-63 for their first pennant since 1996, although they fell to Sydney in the Oceania Championship in a seven-game classic. In his lone playoff series, Nadruku went 8-27 with 4 runs, 3 homers, 6 RBI, and 2 steals. It was a one-off for the Honu, although they did remain above .500 the next two seasons. Nadruku won his fourth Gold Glove and fourth Silver Slugger in 2020 and led in hits for the fifth time. He couldn’t maintain that production, but was still a solid starter for two more years with Honolulu. For the Honu, Nadruku had 593 games, 713 hits, 337 runs, 96 doubles, 58 triples, 108 home runs, 358 RBI, 233 steals, .312/.345/.547 slash, 157 wRC+, and 22.5 WAR. Honolulu fell to 72-88 in 2022 and started a rebuild plan. Nadruku was traded in the offseason to Tahiti for two prospects. Nadruku struggled in his one year with the Tropics, posting -0.1 WAR and .711 OPS over 140 games. He did reach the 400 home run milestone, but came up short of the 3000 hit, 1500 run, and 1500 RBI thresholds that had seemed achievable a few years earlier. Nadruku retired that winter at age 38. Nadruku finished with 2406 games, 2899 hits, 1461 runs, 457 doubles, 223 triples, 409 home runs, 1391 RBI, 445 walks, 1322 strikeouts, 1054 stolen bases, 625 caught stealing, .312/.345/.541 slash, 149 wRC+, and 92.5 WAR. As of 2037, Nadruku ranks 29^th in games, 9^th in hits, 11^th in runs, 11^th in doubles, 18^th in triples, 51^st in homers, 24^th in RBI, 12^th in total bases (5029), and 13^th in WAR among position players. Among OBA batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Nadruku’s triple slash ranks 27^th/63^rd/38^th. His .885 OPS sits 35^th. Depending on how strict your definition of “inner-circle” is, Nadruku might make the cut. He was universally liked, but does slide down some of the all-time rankings due to lack of team success and/or big home run numbers. Nadruku’s status as a Hall of Fame lock though was undisputed. At 97.2%, he ranked second of four in the loaded 2029 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)