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2030 APB Hall of Fame (Part 2)
Achmad Albaar – Closer – Manila Manatees – 68.6% First Ballot
Achmad Albaar was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed relief pitcher from Balikpapan, Indonesia; a city with 738,000 people and the financial center of Kalimantan. Albaar was known for having absolutely filthy stuff along with reliably solid control and decent movement. He had an impressive one-two punch of a 99-101 mph fastball and a curveball.
Albaar also had a rarely used changeup for a third option, but it wasn’t a strong enough third pitch to keep him out of the bullpen. His stamina was good and he showed great durability, avoiding the major injuries that have ruined many arms. Albaar also had a strong pickoff move and was an okay defender.
The main knock on Albaar was that he was a frankly terrible person. He was loud, obnoxious, selfish, and lazy. Albaar had no shortage of awful takes that he went out of his way to share with disinterested teammates. It did give him an audience of the worst kind of sports fans for a large Twitter following. However, it also meant Albaar didn’t stay in one place very long later in his career despite his undeniable talent.
That talent and potential caught the eye of scouts from Manila, who brought Albaar from Indonesia to the Philippines as a prospect in April 2004. He had one appearance in 2009 at age 21, then saw 42.1 innings with okay results in 2010. The Manatees moved Albaar into the closer role in 2011, which he held through 2016 for the squad with 30+ saves each year.
Albaar’s dominance picked up by the middle of the decade, taking third in 2014’s Reliever of the Year voting. He won for the first time in 2015 and was third in 2016. He had a 35 save streak from July 2014 until July 2015. In 2015, Albaar had his career best ERA at 0.86. He was never the saves leader though, in part because Manila was stuck in the middle tier during the 2010s. He wasn’t shy about his annoyance of that fact, which made Manatees management leery of giving Albaar a long term extension.
In December 2016, Albaar was traded to Taipei for three prospects heading towards his age 29 season. With Manila, Albaar had 205 saves and 250 shutdowns, 1.72 ERA, 413 games, 544.1 innings, 861 strikeouts, 111 walks, 159 ERA+, and 19.6 WAR. Despite his issues, Albaar did have his supporters for Manila and eventually got his #24 uniform retired by the squad.
Albaar won his second Reliever of the Year in his lone season for Taipei with 39 saves, 1.21 ERA, 172 strikeouts, 96.2 innings, and 6.9 WAR. The Tigercats were amidst their streak of dominance in the Taiwan League, although they were again denied in the Taiwan-Philippine Association Championship by Zamboanga. In his only playoff appearances of his career, Albaar tossed 4.1 scoreless innings with six strikeouts.
He was now a free agent for the first time heading towards age 30 and signed a three-year, $17,300,000 deal for 2018 with Jakarta. Although Albaar was now back in his native Indonesia, he had been a World Baseball Championship regular since 2013. Albaar was often a starter in the WBC with impressive results from 2013-23, posting a 16-2 record, 2.38 ERA, 147.1 innings, 256 strikeouts, 42 walks, 152 ERA+, and 4.9 WAR.
Indonesia’s deepest run with Albaar was a runner-up finish to the United States in 2014. They also picked up division titles in 2017, 2022, and 2023. Albaar’s most impressive outing was a 20 strikeout, 2 walk outing over 9.1 innings in 2022 facing Ghana.
In his one year with Jakarta, the Jaguars were historically inept at 48-114. Albaar managed 5.4 WAR despite only 23 saves and a 115 ERA+, posting an 18 FIP-. Jakarta had a fire sale in the offseason and sent Albaar to Tainan for three prospects.
Albaar was back to form in 2019 for the Titans, leading the TPA in games (75) and posting his career bests in saves (41), innings (99.2), and WAR (7.0). He was second in Reliever of the Year voting. Albaar won the honor for the third time in 2020 with 33 saves, 1.24 ERA, 6.4 WAR, 94.2 innings, and a career best 182 Ks. Tainan was a third place 91-71 in 2019, then fell to 80-82 in 2020.
Back to free agency for 2021, Albaar signed a three-year, $16,200,000 deal with Medan. He was third in ROTY voting in 2021 with 33 saves, 1.55 ERA, 158 Ks, and 4.5 WAR. The season also saw 28 straight scoreless innings from 7/24 to 9/24 and a 34-game scoreless streak into the following April. The Marlins were subpar though and Albaar was becoming more of a clubhouse cancer, so they traded him in the offseason straight up to Palembang for 2B Muh Sadikin, who gave Medan six solid seasons as a starter.
The Panthers were the defending APB champ and had won three straight Sundaland Association titles. They fell three wins short of the playoffs in 2022 with Albaar taking third again in ROTY voting with a 1.59 ERA, 30 saves, 157 Ks, and 4.8 WAR. Albaar also became the third member of APB’s 400 save club. He seemingly had a shot of the top mark of Metta Adam, who retired after the 2019 season with 437.
However, Albaar’s velocity dropped sharply in 2023 from his previous 99-101 mph peaks to the 95-97 mph range. He put up average results and was moved out of the full-time closing position as Palembang fell below .500. For the Panthers, Albaar had 42 saves, 1.90 ERA, 165.2 innings, 270 strikeouts, and 6.7 WAR.
Albaar still wanted to be the saves king and signed with Pekanbaru for 2024 on a one-year, $3,440,000 deal. However, he barely could hit 90 mph reliably by then and was limited to only 22 innings with two saves. Realizing he was cooked and out of chances, Albaar retired that winter at age 36.
The final stats saw an 88-85 record, 418 saves, 537 shutdowns, 1.61 ERA, 1199 innings, 1975 strikeouts, 201 walks, 165 ERA+, 39 FIP-, and 56.5 WAR. As of 2037, Albaar ranks 4th in saves and 92nd in WAR among all APB pitchers. Among APB’s Hall of Fame closers, he is 2nd in WAR, 1st in innings, and 1st in strikeouts.
Among all APB pitchers with 1000+ innings, Albaar sits 9th in ERA. His 0.74 WHIP is tied for 4th, while his 14.82 K/9 is 2nd and 5.16 H/9 is 5th. Albaar’s career .476 opponent’s OPS is good for 6th while his .165/.209/.267 triple slash is 4th/5th/9th. Amongst all HOF relievers in world history, Albaar’s ERA is 23rd. He’s also 24th in strikeouts, 24th in WAR, 33rd in shutdowns, 26th in FIP-, 17th in opponent’s OPS, and just outside of the top 50 in saves.
No doubt, Albaar could ball. Still, he was such a colossal jerk that several voters said no despite his numbers. They argued that the lack of team successes in Albaar’s run was partly attributed to his toxicity. Still, Albaar’s stats got him just across the 66% threshold for a first ballot induction at 68.6%, joining the four-member 2030 class for Austronesia Professional Baseball.

Patrick Castillo – Starting Pitcher – Jakarta Jaguars – 67.6% First Ballot
Patrick Castillo was a 6’3’’, 205 pound right-handed starting pitcher from Cavite, Philippines; a city with around 100,000 people in the province of the same name. Castillo was known for excellent movement on his pitches and very good control, although his stuff was viewed as merely above average. His fastball peaked in the 98-100 mph range and he had a fantastic circle change. Castillo also had an okay slider and poor changeup in the arsenal.
Castillo’s stamina was respectable for an APB ace, but not stellar. His durability was fantastic though, so you’d always get a full slate of starts from him. Castillo was great at holding runners, but weak defensively otherwise. He also had a good bat by pitcher standards with a career .196 average, winning a Silver Slugger in 2013. Castillo didn’t draw attention to himself, but he would give you reliable outings.
In May 2005, Castillo signed a developmental deal with Jakarta and spent around five years in their academy. He debuted with poor results in 2010 at age 21 with a 4.42 ERA over 75.1 innings. Castillo was split between relief and starting in 2011 with okay results. He got more regular use after that with 200+ innings each year until the end of his career, although Jakarta often had Castillo in a split role.
The Jaguars spent Castillo’s tenure in the middle of the standings. In 2015, he had his career best ERA at 1.56 and posted 8.1 WAR. Castillo was good for 5+ WAR each year from 2014-22, but he wasn’t dominant enough to regularly factor into awards conversation. He also almost never was a league leader in any of the big stats.
Castillo was set to be free agency eligible after the 2017 season and Jakarta wasn’t inclined to give him a long-term deal. They were also planning a full rebuild after being stuck in mediocrity. Castillo had a slower start to 2017, but still had plenty of suitors as a trade rental. On July 3, Castillo and $6,820,000 were sent to Pekanbaru for five prospects, none of which ended up having any major successes.
For the Jaguars, Castillo had an 89-75 record, 2.31 ERA, 1545.2 innings, 1567 strikeouts, 457 walks, 40 complete games, 109 ERA+, and 28.8 WAR. He was still liked enough that despite a relatively short tenure, his #16 uniform would get retired in Jakarta.
As for the Palms, they hoped to make a late playoff push and ultimately fell three games short of the Malacca League title to Johor Bahru. Castillo held up his end with a 1.35 ERA over 127 innings in the second half. He finished third in Pitcher of the Year voting with a career best 9.5 WAR split between the teams. Castillo and Pekanbaru couldn’t come to terms on an extension, sending him to free agency at age 28.
Castillo returned to the Philippines with a six-year, $88,300,000 deal with Davao. He had seen limited use for his country in the World Baseball Championship, but was notably part of the 2015 championship squad. From 2014-24, Castillo had a 3.39 ERA over 63.2 innings, 2-2 record, 67 strikeouts, and 0.4 WAR. He made only three starts over his 23 games pitched in the WBC.
He ultimately spent four productive years with Davao, although the Devil Rays were mostly lousy during his run. Castillo led the Taiwan-Philippine Association in wins (21-6) in 2019, his only time leading a major stat. That was his top season there by WAR at 8.1. For Davao, Castillo had a 56-41 record, 2.23 ERA, 983.2 innings, 916 strikeouts, 126 ERA+, and 26.8 WAR.
Davao was going nowhere fast though and traded the soon-to-be 33-year old Castillo in March 2022 to Quezon for CF Rich Lacandile and SS/2B Naresh Nihar. Nihar notably was a respectable starter for a decade with the Devil Rays, winning a Silver Slugger in 2025. The Zombies were making a push at this point to end their longstanding mediocrity and Castillo played an important role.
In 2022, Castillo took second in Pitcher of the Year voting, the closest he came to the top honor, posting a 1.84 ERA, 8.1 WAR, and 258 Ks in 255 innings. Quezon went all the way, defeating Medan in the Austronesia Championship. Castillo was merely okay in the playoff run with a 3.09 ERA in 32 innings, 90 ERA+, 30 Ks, 2-2 record, and 0.2 WAR. Still, his addition to the rotation helped get them over the hump. Although Quezon was a lackluster 5-14 in the Baseball Grand Championship, Castillo had a 2.36 ERA over 34.1 innings with 24 Ks, 145 ERA+, and 1.3 WAR.
Castillo fell off in 2023 with a 3.47 ERA, the worst full season of his career. Quezon also fell off hard down to 64-98 and stayed near the bottom for the next few years. Castillo played his role with a 29-25 record, 2.64 ERA, 504.1 innings, 478 strikeouts, and 11.1 WAR with the Zombies. He was now back to free agency for 2024 at age 34.
Manila gave Castillo a look on a two-year, $11,100,000 deal. He was an innings eater for a below average Manatees squad in 2024 with a 3.09 ERA over 235.2 innings, 195 Ks, 90 ERA+, and 2.7 WAR. Manila voided the team option second year of his deal and Castillo opted for retirement at age 35.
Castillo finished with a 197-160 record, 2.35 ERA, 3396.1 innings, 3296 strikeouts, 710 walks, 317/406 quality starts, 113 ERA+, 80 FIP-, and 74.1 WAR. As of 2037, Castillo ranks 34th in wins, 39th in innings, 68th in complete games, 41st in shutouts, 50th in strikeouts, and 37th in WAR among pitchers. He misses the top 100 in rate stats, but still hit some nice career bench marks.
His resume was a tough one since he was never overwhelmingly dominant. Castillo wasn’t often looked at as a top five pitcher in his peak and he was on a lot of forgettable teams. Still, his numbers impressed a lot of Hall of Fame voters even with the stiff competition for pitchers in Austronesia Professional Baseball. Castillo debuted at 67.6%, sneaking across the 66% requirement line for a first ballot nod. He wrapped up a rock solid four-player class for 2030 in APB.
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