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FuzzyRussianHat · 05-26-2025, 07:06 AM

After narrowly missing the playoffs in 2029 to end a six-year streak, Visakhapatnam demolished the Indian League competition in 2030. The Volts returned to the top of the South Division at 112-50, 14 games ahead of the IL’s next best team. The Volts had historic power, setting new Indian League team records for home runs (258) and team slugging percentage (.499). Their 907 runs scored were the second-most in IL history behind Delhi’s 915 from the prior year. Visakhapatnam also allowed 592 runs, the fewest in all of South Asia Baseball in 2030.

The next best team was Kanpur at 98-64 atop the Central Division, ending an 11-year playoff drought. Ahmedabad reposted a 97-65 record and earned a fifth straight West Division title. Second in the West was 92-70 Indore, earning the first wild card. The Razorbacks became the first of the four 2025 expansion teams to earn a playoff spot.

With the 2030 expansion, there were now two wild card slots. Defending SAB champ Delhi kept their repeat bid alive by grabbing this slot at 89-73, edging 88-74 Hyderabad by one game. Last year’s ILCS runner-up Nagpur was also in the mix at 86-76. Jaipur’s three-year playoff streak ended with a 78-84 finish, their first losing season since 2022.

Visakhapatnam’s powerful offense had three of the top five home run hitters in the Indian League. Duong Nguyen and Abi Talib Sheikh split the first place spot with 50 dingers, while Sheikh led in RBI (152) and just missed a Triple Crown with a .349 average. However, neither of those guys won MVP, as that was claimed by CF Nurul Sultana.

He had signed a six-year, $136,800,000 free agent deal to join the Volts in 2029 after eight years in Dhaka. In 2030, the 32-year old Bangladeshi won his seventh Silver Slugger and led the league in runs scored (130) and WAR (9.3). Sultana saw 203 hits, 41 doubles, 42 home runs, 108 RBI, 94 stolen bases, a .326/.379/.616 slash, and 170 wRC+.

For the first time in SAB history, Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year went to the same man. Indore’s Anjan Dharma took the honors as one of the oldest successful rookies in pro baseball history at age 29. Because of control issues, Dharma couldn’t find a steady roster spot. The Razorbacks had signed him in 2025, but he had only been used thrice for 10.2 innings from 2025-29.

Dharma finally earned a full-time spot in 2030 and made the most of it, leading the league with nine complete games. The lefty from Rawalpindi had a 15-10 record, 2.94 ERA, 242 innings, 305 strikeouts, 139 ERA+, and 6.1 WAR. Dharma wouldn’t replicate this success in the following few years, but he would be good enough to eat innings between Indore, Hyderabad, and Kolkata.

In the new wild card round, Indore dethroned defending champ Delhi 2-0 for their first-ever playoff wins. The Razorbacks were promptly dispatched 3-0 by top seed Visakhapatnam, sending the Volts back to the Indian League Championship Series. They had won three straight titles from 2023-25 and lost in the 2026 ILCS to Kolkata. This would be their first ILCS trip since then despite winning 119 games in 2027 and 110 in 2028.

Ahmedabad earned their third ILCS trip in four years as they swept Kanpur in their divisional series matchup. It was the sixth-time the Animals encountered the Volts in the ILCS, most recently in 2024. The series was an all-timer with Ahmedabad upsetting the top seed Visakhapatnam 4-3 for their second pennant in three years. The Animals led all teams with 17 league titles, having won 15 during their reign of terror from 1986-2002.

The Southeast Asia League had significant parity at the top with only eight wins separating the five playoff teams. After a rare playoff miss in 2029, Yangon took the top seed at 104-58. The Green Dragons dominated the new Central Division, 22 games ahead of second place Hanoi. The #2 seed was South Division champ Ho Chi Minh City at 101-61, earning repeat division titles. The Hedgehogs narrowly fended off 99-63 Colombo, who secured repeat wild cards.

HCMC’s offense was an all-timer, setting new South Asia Baseball team records for slugging percentage (.543) and home runs (327). The Hedgehogs’ 994 runs were second-most in SAB history, behind only Hanoi’s 1006 in 2008. Meanwhile the West Division champ was four-time defending SEAL champ Mandalay at 99-63, who allowed the fewest runs at 630. Dhaka was a close second at 96-66 for the second wild card, extending their impressive playoff run to 10 seasons. There was a nine-game drop to the next wild card contender with Chittagong at 87-75. All four playoff teams from 2029 made it back for the new five-time 2030 field.

In somewhat of an upset, Ho Chi Minh City 1B Topu Ahsan won Southeast Asia League MVP. The 29-year old Bangladeshi had a fine season, although he wasn’t a league leader in any stat. Ahsan notably had 213 hits, 133 runs, 33 doubles, 54 home runs, 146 RBI, .340/.384/.684 slash, 174 wRC+, and 7.4 WAR. It was a big performance in a contract year and Ahsan would sign a seven-year, $141,400,000 free agency deal in the winter with Rajshahi.

The shock was that MVP didn’t go to Mandalay 1B Dong Vinh Lam, who led in home runs for the fourth straight year. The 29-year old Vietnamese lefty smacked 77, the most in SAB history outside of Majed Darwish’s bonkers 85, 91, and 85 from 2008-10. Lam joined Darwish and seven others as the only sluggers in world baseball history with three or more 70+ homer seasons. Lam also led in RBI (149), total bases (453), slugging (.744), OPS (1.111), wRC+ (179), and WAR (7.6), making his MVP snub even more surprising. He also hit for the cycle in May against Khulna.

Pitcher of the Year was Yangon’s Derek Khong in his tenth year with the Green Dragons. The 30-year old Vietnamese lefty won the ERA title at 2.61 and led in WHIP (0.98), and quality starts (24). Khong had a 19-4 record in 203.2 innings, 191 strikeouts, 169 ERA+, and 5.9 WAR. This earned a six-year, $74,900,000 extension in the winter for Khong, who had bounced back from a major elbow injury in 2029. Unfortunately for Yangon, Khong would be out of the rotation two years into the new deal.

Colombo edged Dhaka 2-1 in the wild card round and gave Yangon a fierce challenge in the divisional series. The Green Dragons survived 3-2 over the Catfish for their third Southeast Asia League Championship trip in five years. Mandalay’s bid for a five-peat continued as they downed Ho Chi Minh City 3-1, setting up a rematch of the 2026 and 2028 finals. In six games, Yangon thwarted Mandalay’s dynasty for their first pennant since 2022. The Green Dragons now had 13 pennants, second in SELA behind HCMC’s 15.

Two perennial powers met again for the 51^st SAB Championship. The various dynasties for Ahmedabad and Yangon had seen less overlap than you might expect, since the Animals’ prime run had them regularly contending with Ho Chi Minh City. Ahmedabad had defeated Yangon in the 1996 final, then the Green Dragons earned their first-ever title in 2001 with an upset of a 125-win Animals squad. They had not met since and Ahmedabad hadn’t won it all since their 2002 title.

The Animals ended the 27-year title drought in dominant fashion by sweeping Yangon. Ahmedabad now was 13-time champs (1986-87, 89-92, 94-96, 98-99, 2002, 2030). The only team in any world league to win their overall title more times was Eurasian Professional Baseball’s Minsk with 14 rings. 1B Jasper Ha was finals MVP with 7 hits, 5 runs, 3 doubles, 2 homers, and 5 RBI over 13 games and seven starts in the playoffs.

Other notes: Chennai’s Kamaljeet Basanta hit 59 doubles, falling one short of the SAB record set by Gotam Bhagwan in 2022. Despite finishing 70-92, Korat set a new SEAL single season team record with 362 doubles. Bangkok’s Curt Tung set a single-season record with 687 at-bats. Mumbai’s Alam Kala had a 30-game hit streak, which was only the fifth 30+ streak in SAB history. The record was 35 games by Abhiji Srivas in 2019.

Speaking of Srivas, in 2030 he became the 15^th member of SAB’s 600 home run club. Srivas also won his ninth Silver Slugger and fourth at second base. He also had won four times at first base and once in LF. Ganga Wong and Vij Kumaragupta became the 28^th and 29^th to 500 homers.

Arav Walif and Agnisika Shavita were the 31^st and 32^nd to earn 2500 hits. Walif also was the 20^th to get to 1500 RBI. In pitching milestones, Gurdip Nabendu and Dusit Kyo were the 13^th and 14^th to 200 wins. E.J. Dhananjay was the 19^th ace to 3500 strikeouts. 1B Duong Nguyen and SS Vorawan Rakok won their 7^th Gold Gloves.

05-26-2025, 07:06 AM	#2259
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,807	2030 in SAB After narrowly missing the playoffs in 2029 to end a six-year streak, Visakhapatnam demolished the Indian League competition in 2030. The Volts returned to the top of the South Division at 112-50, 14 games ahead of the IL’s next best team. The Volts had historic power, setting new Indian League team records for home runs (258) and team slugging percentage (.499). Their 907 runs scored were the second-most in IL history behind Delhi’s 915 from the prior year. Visakhapatnam also allowed 592 runs, the fewest in all of South Asia Baseball in 2030. The next best team was Kanpur at 98-64 atop the Central Division, ending an 11-year playoff drought. Ahmedabad reposted a 97-65 record and earned a fifth straight West Division title. Second in the West was 92-70 Indore, earning the first wild card. The Razorbacks became the first of the four 2025 expansion teams to earn a playoff spot. With the 2030 expansion, there were now two wild card slots. Defending SAB champ Delhi kept their repeat bid alive by grabbing this slot at 89-73, edging 88-74 Hyderabad by one game. Last year’s ILCS runner-up Nagpur was also in the mix at 86-76. Jaipur’s three-year playoff streak ended with a 78-84 finish, their first losing season since 2022. Visakhapatnam’s powerful offense had three of the top five home run hitters in the Indian League. Duong Nguyen and Abi Talib Sheikh split the first place spot with 50 dingers, while Sheikh led in RBI (152) and just missed a Triple Crown with a .349 average. However, neither of those guys won MVP, as that was claimed by CF Nurul Sultana. He had signed a six-year, $136,800,000 free agent deal to join the Volts in 2029 after eight years in Dhaka. In 2030, the 32-year old Bangladeshi won his seventh Silver Slugger and led the league in runs scored (130) and WAR (9.3). Sultana saw 203 hits, 41 doubles, 42 home runs, 108 RBI, 94 stolen bases, a .326/.379/.616 slash, and 170 wRC+. For the first time in SAB history, Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year went to the same man. Indore’s Anjan Dharma took the honors as one of the oldest successful rookies in pro baseball history at age 29. Because of control issues, Dharma couldn’t find a steady roster spot. The Razorbacks had signed him in 2025, but he had only been used thrice for 10.2 innings from 2025-29. Dharma finally earned a full-time spot in 2030 and made the most of it, leading the league with nine complete games. The lefty from Rawalpindi had a 15-10 record, 2.94 ERA, 242 innings, 305 strikeouts, 139 ERA+, and 6.1 WAR. Dharma wouldn’t replicate this success in the following few years, but he would be good enough to eat innings between Indore, Hyderabad, and Kolkata. In the new wild card round, Indore dethroned defending champ Delhi 2-0 for their first-ever playoff wins. The Razorbacks were promptly dispatched 3-0 by top seed Visakhapatnam, sending the Volts back to the Indian League Championship Series. They had won three straight titles from 2023-25 and lost in the 2026 ILCS to Kolkata. This would be their first ILCS trip since then despite winning 119 games in 2027 and 110 in 2028. Ahmedabad earned their third ILCS trip in four years as they swept Kanpur in their divisional series matchup. It was the sixth-time the Animals encountered the Volts in the ILCS, most recently in 2024. The series was an all-timer with Ahmedabad upsetting the top seed Visakhapatnam 4-3 for their second pennant in three years. The Animals led all teams with 17 league titles, having won 15 during their reign of terror from 1986-2002. The Southeast Asia League had significant parity at the top with only eight wins separating the five playoff teams. After a rare playoff miss in 2029, Yangon took the top seed at 104-58. The Green Dragons dominated the new Central Division, 22 games ahead of second place Hanoi. The #2 seed was South Division champ Ho Chi Minh City at 101-61, earning repeat division titles. The Hedgehogs narrowly fended off 99-63 Colombo, who secured repeat wild cards. HCMC’s offense was an all-timer, setting new South Asia Baseball team records for slugging percentage (.543) and home runs (327). The Hedgehogs’ 994 runs were second-most in SAB history, behind only Hanoi’s 1006 in 2008. Meanwhile the West Division champ was four-time defending SEAL champ Mandalay at 99-63, who allowed the fewest runs at 630. Dhaka was a close second at 96-66 for the second wild card, extending their impressive playoff run to 10 seasons. There was a nine-game drop to the next wild card contender with Chittagong at 87-75. All four playoff teams from 2029 made it back for the new five-time 2030 field. In somewhat of an upset, Ho Chi Minh City 1B Topu Ahsan won Southeast Asia League MVP. The 29-year old Bangladeshi had a fine season, although he wasn’t a league leader in any stat. Ahsan notably had 213 hits, 133 runs, 33 doubles, 54 home runs, 146 RBI, .340/.384/.684 slash, 174 wRC+, and 7.4 WAR. It was a big performance in a contract year and Ahsan would sign a seven-year, $141,400,000 free agency deal in the winter with Rajshahi. The shock was that MVP didn’t go to Mandalay 1B Dong Vinh Lam, who led in home runs for the fourth straight year. The 29-year old Vietnamese lefty smacked 77, the most in SAB history outside of Majed Darwish’s bonkers 85, 91, and 85 from 2008-10. Lam joined Darwish and seven others as the only sluggers in world baseball history with three or more 70+ homer seasons. Lam also led in RBI (149), total bases (453), slugging (.744), OPS (1.111), wRC+ (179), and WAR (7.6), making his MVP snub even more surprising. He also hit for the cycle in May against Khulna. Pitcher of the Year was Yangon’s Derek Khong in his tenth year with the Green Dragons. The 30-year old Vietnamese lefty won the ERA title at 2.61 and led in WHIP (0.98), and quality starts (24). Khong had a 19-4 record in 203.2 innings, 191 strikeouts, 169 ERA+, and 5.9 WAR. This earned a six-year, $74,900,000 extension in the winter for Khong, who had bounced back from a major elbow injury in 2029. Unfortunately for Yangon, Khong would be out of the rotation two years into the new deal. Colombo edged Dhaka 2-1 in the wild card round and gave Yangon a fierce challenge in the divisional series. The Green Dragons survived 3-2 over the Catfish for their third Southeast Asia League Championship trip in five years. Mandalay’s bid for a five-peat continued as they downed Ho Chi Minh City 3-1, setting up a rematch of the 2026 and 2028 finals. In six games, Yangon thwarted Mandalay’s dynasty for their first pennant since 2022. The Green Dragons now had 13 pennants, second in SELA behind HCMC’s 15. Two perennial powers met again for the 51^st SAB Championship. The various dynasties for Ahmedabad and Yangon had seen less overlap than you might expect, since the Animals’ prime run had them regularly contending with Ho Chi Minh City. Ahmedabad had defeated Yangon in the 1996 final, then the Green Dragons earned their first-ever title in 2001 with an upset of a 125-win Animals squad. They had not met since and Ahmedabad hadn’t won it all since their 2002 title. The Animals ended the 27-year title drought in dominant fashion by sweeping Yangon. Ahmedabad now was 13-time champs (1986-87, 89-92, 94-96, 98-99, 2002, 2030). The only team in any world league to win their overall title more times was Eurasian Professional Baseball’s Minsk with 14 rings. 1B Jasper Ha was finals MVP with 7 hits, 5 runs, 3 doubles, 2 homers, and 5 RBI over 13 games and seven starts in the playoffs. Other notes: Chennai’s Kamaljeet Basanta hit 59 doubles, falling one short of the SAB record set by Gotam Bhagwan in 2022. Despite finishing 70-92, Korat set a new SEAL single season team record with 362 doubles. Bangkok’s Curt Tung set a single-season record with 687 at-bats. Mumbai’s Alam Kala had a 30-game hit streak, which was only the fifth 30+ streak in SAB history. The record was 35 games by Abhiji Srivas in 2019. Speaking of Srivas, in 2030 he became the 15^th member of SAB’s 600 home run club. Srivas also won his ninth Silver Slugger and fourth at second base. He also had won four times at first base and once in LF. Ganga Wong and Vij Kumaragupta became the 28^th and 29^th to 500 homers. Arav Walif and Agnisika Shavita were the 31^st and 32^nd to earn 2500 hits. Walif also was the 20^th to get to 1500 RBI. In pitching milestones, Gurdip Nabendu and Dusit Kyo were the 13^th and 14^th to 200 wins. E.J. Dhananjay was the 19^th ace to 3500 strikeouts. 1B Duong Nguyen and SS Vorawan Rakok won their 7^th Gold Gloves. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)