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FuzzyRussianHat · 08-04-2025, 08:47 PM

It was a very strong four-player Hall of Fame class in 2033 for the Oceania Baseball Association co-headlined by SP Akira Brady (99.7%) and 1B/DH Roe Kaupa (98.6%). SP Steve Stringer also got a first ballot nod, although his 72.3% was only a few points ahead of the 66% requirement. SP Alison Kila also sneaked past that number at 67.2% on his second ballot. 3B Dale Harper barely missed at 63.5% on his fifth try and 1B R.W. Putnam saw 55.7% for his fourth trip. No one was removed after ten failed ballots in 2033 for OBA.

Akira Brady – Starting Pitcher – Fiji Freedom – 99.7% First Ballot

Akira Brady was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed starting pitcher from Palmerston North, New Zealand; a city of around 91,000 on the North Island. Brady had exceptional stuff that many scouts rated as a 10/10 at his peak. He also had excellent control of his arsenal and above average movement. Brady’s arsenal had a 98-100 mph fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup. He was a master at changing speeds and his sidearm release was difficult for many hitters to solve.

Brady’s stamina was stellar in his prime and combined with OBA’s unique four-man rotation led to remarkable inning counts. From 2009-20, Brady was good for 310+ innings each year and he led the Pacific League six times. His durability was also great for much of his career, although the wear and tear did catch up to him in his late 30s.

He was very good at holding runners and won a Gold Glove in 2018, although his career defensive metrics were unremarkable. Brady wasn’t particularly book smart, but his raw ability and talent more than made up for that. He became extremely popular worldwide for his wild strikeout and inning counts, inserting himself into the conversation as a top five pitcher in all of professional baseball history.

Brady’s production was impossible to miss despite spending his prime seasons in a small island nation like Fiji. He left New Zealand in August 2003 as a teenager on a developmental deal with the Freedom. Brady made his debut in 2008 at age 21 with promising results, taking second in Rookie of the Year voting. In his second season, Brady led the PL in wins and complete games. He also earned notoriety across OBA with the association’s 12^th perfect game, striking out eight facing Tahiti on May 22.

From his third season in 2010 through 2020, Brady was the undisputed best pitcher in OBA and arguably the best pitcher in the world. He led all 11 years in strikeouts with 440+ each year. Brady was the WARlord ten times with eight seasons at 13+ WAR. He won five ERA titles, led in wins four times, WHIP seven times, quality starts eight times, complete games four times, and shutouts six times. Brady won Pitcher of the Year eight times (2010-13, 16, 18-20), one of nine in world history to win that honor 8+ times. He was also third in 2015 and 2017’s voting. Brady never won MVP, but was third in 2011 and second in 2016, 2018, and 2020.

As of 2037, there have been 51 seasons in world history where a pitcher struck out 450+ batters; Brady has eight of those. In 2013, Brady had only the fourth season in world history of 500+ Ks at 507, then topped it with 512 in 2018. The only seasons with more was world strikeout king Mohamed Ramos with 549 in 1936 and 514 in 1934, as well as OBA’s Tarzan Rao with 524 in 1983. Brady has five of the top ten OBA seasons for K/9, peaking at 13.33 in 2015 (fourth-best).

In 2020, Brady also set the single-season world record for innings pitched with 358. 340+ has only happened 25 times, four by Brady. Brady has seven 13+ WAR seasons, tied with legendary ABF shortstop Nizami Aghazade for the second-most in world history; only Ramos has more with eight. Brady’s highest WAR came in 2018 at 16.1 WAR, the same year as his career best for strikeouts (512) and wins (30-7). He’s one of only three in world history (all in OBA) with a 30 win season.

As of 2037, there have only been 89 qualified seasons in OBA of an ERA below two. Brady did it thrice, including his best 1.37 ERA in 2011. That stands as the third-best in OBA history behind only Flynn Rodden’s 1.29 in 1967 and Matthew Falefa’s 1.30 in 1972. Brady’s 0.69 WHIP from 2011 also is tied for third in OBA history and his .461 opponent’s OPS ranks sixth. That year’s .165/.200/.261 triple slash ranks 9^th/5^th/14^th.

In 2019, Brady posted one of only 38 seasons in world history of 10+ shutouts and one of only nine with 30+ complete games. Two of those in 2019 were no-hitters with 12 Ks and 2 walks on May 21 against Vanuatu and with 15 Ks facing Timor on June 16. Brady tossed his OBA-record fourth no-no on May 8, 2020 with 12 strikeouts and one walk against Guadalcanal. He had five 20+ strikeout games, peaking with 21 over 12 innings on 5/30/13 against Vanuatu. The only OBA ace with more was Jack Nix with 23 in 9.2 innings in 1983.

All of this dominance and the big stats made Brady an international favorite for highlight clips online. In July 2012, Fiji signed him to a seven-year, $52,500,000 extension. Brady then inked another six years and $75,600,000 in April 2019. Despite his efforts, the Freedom had limited team success. They had been historically mediocre, sans their two pennants just before his arrival in 2002 and 2006.

Brady goes down as likely the best player in baseball history to never see his league’s postseason. Fiji was usually at or around .500, averaging 77.9 wins per season during his tenure. They really only got close to the pennant once with a 92-70 finish in 2018, one game behind Samoa. He did see action in the World Baseball Championship from 2009-15 and from 2019-24 with his native New Zealand, although his stats were a mixed bag. Brady had a 3.42 ERA and 11-14 record in 229 innings, but did strikeout out 371 with 47 walks, 105 ERA+, 85 FIP-, and 5.6 WAR.

Because of the huge inning totals, Brady was soaring up the leaderboards even by his early 30s. In 2020, he became OBA’s third pitcher to 300 career wins. The year before, Brady was the sixth to reach 5000 strikeouts. He finished 2020 with 155.0 career WAR, passing pitcher Tarzan Rao (154.9) for the all-time spot within OBA. Rao’s wins record (314) and Timothy Manglona’s strikeout record (5771) both seemed like inevitable conquests.

At age 34 in 2021, Brady saw his first notable injury setbacks. He only made 19 starts with 147.2 innings, sidelined by recurring back spasms and an undisclosed injury. Still, he passed Manglona to become OBA’s strikeout king. Brady was back healthy in 2022 and took second in Pitcher of the Year voting. It was his last excellent season with 412 Ks over 314 innings, 2.58 ERA, and 9.2 WAR. He passed Rao as the OBA wins leader and became the fifth pitcher in all of world history with 6000+ career Ks.

The world records for wins (398 by CABA/MLB’s Ulices Montero), strikeouts (7747 by Ramos), innings (5953.2 by Montero), and complete games (386 by EPB’s Alvi Tahiri) also seemed potentially reachable for Brady. Some thought he might even chase Ramos for the pitching WARlord title at 205.1. Unfortunately, injuries started to thwart those hopes. Thanks to shoulder inflammation, Brady was limited to only 61.1 innings and 10 appearances in 2023.

In 2024, Brady became only the fourth in world history with 350+ career wins. However, a ruptured finger tendon in July limited him to only 181.1 innings. Brady’s strikeout tallies were way down with 181, but he was still effective with 2.13 ERA and 4.2 WAR. His stuff and velocity had started to dip, but his excellent control still allowed for effectiveness.

After usually being mid-tier for his run, Fiji fell off a cliff in Brady’s final years with a 53-109 record in 2023 and 57-105 in 2024. His contract expired with the 2024 campaign and they mutually parted ways, sending Brady to free agency for the first time at age 37. He remained a beloved franchise and OBA icon and his #8 uniform was retired shortly after his career ended.

Brady still had value and name recognition, drawing the attention of clubs across the globe. He ended up joining Major League Baseball in March 2025 on a three-year, $79,800,000 deal with Phoenix. Brady stayed healthy in 2025-26 for the Firebirds and ate some innings, but his elite days were gone. For Phoenix, Brady had a 31-21 record, 3.84 ERA, 506 innings, 249 strikeouts, 95 walks, 113 ERA+, 99 FIP-, and 6.9 WAR.

His velocity really plummeted quickly, falling to a 92-94 mph peak in 2026 and down to 86-88 mph by 2027. Brady’s control still got him to a 3.10 ERA in 20.1 innings in 2027 for Phoenix, but only four strikeouts. They cut him in May as a salary dump. Brady returned to OBA with Port Moresby, but he only saw two relief appearances as a shell of his former shelf. The Mud Hens did win the OBA title that winter, giving Brady a championship ring for 2.1 innings of work. He retired that winter at age 40.

In OBA, Brady finished with a 351-171 record, 2.38 ERA, 4976 innings, 627 games, 592 starts, 6476 strikeouts, 736 walks, 451/592 quality starts, 328 complete games, 75 shutouts, 151 ERA+, 62 FIP-, and 173.5 WAR. As of 2037, Brady is OBA’s all-time leader in wins, complete games, shutouts, innings, strikeouts, and WAR among all players. For rate stats (1000+ innings required), Brady is 18^th in ERA, 4^th in WHIP (0.87), 9^th in K/9 (11.71), 16^th in H/9 (6.49), and 36^th in BB/9 (1.33). His .565 opponent’s OPS ranks 19^th with his .201/.238/.327 triple slash ranking 16^th/7^th/31^st.

Brady is most often cited as OBA’s best-ever pitcher and/or the best-ever player. He does have legitimate competition from aces Rao and Manglona, who both had starring roles in dynasty runs for their teams while Fiji was aggressively mid. Brady beats them for tallies and strikeouts especially, but the rate stats are comparable. Some might cite SS/SB Jimmy Caliw, the WAR leader for position players at 138.0 in OBA and 214.0 total with his MLB run. Brady’s Hall of Fame classmate Roe Kaupa also gets some consideration as the OBA leader in homers, RBI, and runs.

For his combined pro career, Brady had a 382-192 record, 2.52 ERA, 694 games, 657 starts, 5482 innings, 6725 strikeouts, 831 walks, 483 quality starts, 359 complete games, 78 shutouts, 146 ERA+, 65 FIP-, and 180.4 WAR. On the world leaderboards as of 2037, Brady ranks 2^nd in wins, 4^th in strikeouts, 6^th in innings, 2^nd in complete games, 3^rd in shutouts, 7^th in quality starts, and 3^rd in pitching WAR. Brady sits 10^th on the all-time WAR board of all players ever and leads all players born in Oceania. His ERA+ also is tied for 46^th among starters that are HOFers or retired locks.

Most scholars keep Ramos and Montero ahead of Brady when discussing the greatest pitcher in all of baseball history. Still, Brady gets mentioned in that conversation and generally gets cited as a top five or top ten ace in world history. He’s one of the game’s true immortals, easily New Zealand’s best-ever and usually considered the best-ever born in Oceania. Brady earned a near unanimous 99.7% for the Oceania Baseball Association’s four-player 2033 class, co-headlining with HR leader Roe Kaupa.

Roe Kaupa – First Base/Designated Hitter – Vanuatu Wizards – 98.6% First Ballot

Roe Kaupa was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Angoram, Papua New Guinea; a district of around 98,000 in the country’s East Sepik Province. Kaupa was renowned for his home run power, rated by most scouts as a 10/10 for most of his career. Kaupa was the Pacific League leader in home runs 11 times and smacked 40+ dingers each year from 2010-25. He also hit 50+ ten times and 60+ four times.

Kaupa wasn’t all dingers though, as he was also a good-to-great contact hitter against both sides. He also had a strong knack for drawing walks, although his strikeout rate was below average. Kaupa was especially dominant facing right-handed pitching with a career 1.073 OPS and 195 wRC+, although he was still solid against lefties with .845 OPS and 140 wRC+.

His gap power was also solid with 24 doubles and 10 triples per his 162 game average. Add that to his massive home run tallies and nearly 50% of Kaupa’s career hits went for extra bases. He rated as just below average on the basepaths, but he wasn’t a complete liability there like many big sluggers. Kaupa had an extreme pull tendency on groundballs but was a spray hitter for flyballs.

Kaupa’s biggest weakness was defense as a subpar first baseman, but you could do worse. Close to 60% of his starts came at 1B with the rest as a designated hitter. Kaupa’s durability was fantastic, starting 140+ games each year from 2009-26. He became an absolute megastar across Oceania and his towering homers made him world famous.

His power potential was obvious as Kaupa dominated the amateur ranks of Papua New Guinea. He was the #1 overall pick in the 2006 OBA Draft by Timor, who was one of the four expansion teams starting play that season. The Tapirs didn’t throw Kaupa immediately into the fire with only 11 games in 2007 and 87 with 33 starts in 2008. He earned a full-time starting gig in 2009 and started his streak of 40+ homer seasons in 2010.

Kaupa arrived as a truly elite hitter in 2011, winning his first MVP and a Silver Slugger as a DH. He led the Pacific League in homers (59), total bases (411), slugging (.712), OPS (1.108), and wRC+ (215). Kaupa led with 123 RBI in 2012 and won a Silver Slugger at first base. Despite his efforts, Timor was still atrocious in their early years. 2012 was a new franchise record for them, but it isn’t saying much when 68-94 is your best effort after seven seasons. The Tapirs also didn’t have the financial means to afford the mammoth money a guy like Kaupa was expected to get on the market.

He left for free agency after the 2012 season heading towards only age 26. With Timor, Kaupa had 730 games, 742 hits, 393 runs, 118 doubles, 49 triples, 173 home runs, 425 RBI, .297/.356/.592 slash, 168 wRC+, and 24.2 WAR. Christchurch won the sweepstakes for Kaupa’s services on an eight-year, $117,400,000 deal. The Chinooks were on a 13-year pennant drought, having spent that gap generally in the middle of the standings.

Kaupa helped turn Christchurch into a dynasty with four consecutive Australasia League pennants from 2013-16. He was the MVP in 2013, 14, and 16 with a second place in 2015. Kaupa won Silver Sluggers each year as a DH and was the leader in homers and runs scored all four seasons. In 2013, Kaupa’s 134 runs fell two short of the OBA single-season record. He also had his first 60+ homer season (63) and added 1.144 OPS, 212 wRC+, and 10.0 WAR.

In 2014, Kaupa’s 159 RBI fell two short of Vavao Brighouse’s single-season record from 1995 and his 66 homers fell three short of Brighouse’s 1988 and 1995 efforts. These would be career bests for Kaupa, who got only the ninth hitting Triple Crown in OBA history. His .335/.410/.771 triple slash and 10.1 WAR would be career bests, as would his 467 total bases and 38 triples.

The 467 total bases ranks second in OBA history behind Merlin Megson’s 472 from 2013. Interestingly enough, Kaupa and Megson hold the top six seasons in OBA for total bases, all taking place from 2012-16. Kaupa’s 1.180 OPS from 2014 also ranks second in OBA history behind only Megson’s 1.209 from 2013. In 2016, Kaupa’s 142 runs broke the single-season OBA record and still holds as of 2037. Kaupa also holds the #2, #6, #7, and #8 seasons for OPS in OBA history from this run. He also hit for the cycle in July 2016 against Melbourne.

Christchurch went 110-52 in 2013 and defeated 115-win Guadalcanal in the Oceania Championship. Kaupa was surprisingly weak in the series with -0.1 WAR, but he fared better with .859 OPS and 0.7 WAR in the Baseball Grand Championship with the Chinooks at 8-11.

In 2014, Christchurch repeated as OBA champ at 105-57, knocking off Tahiti in the final. Kaupa had .956 OPS in the series and 1.139 OPS in the BGC, pushing the Chinooks to a third place finish at 13-6. He was second in Tournament MVP honors with 12 homers, 19 hits, 16 runs, 32 RBI, and 1.3 WAR. The 32 RBI set the event record which has only been matched once since.

The Chinooks narrowly took the 2015 AL title and lost in a finals rematch with Tahiti. Christchurch then had an historic 126-36 season, tying the world record for wins with Ho Chi Minh City from the 1993 South Asia Baseball season. Like the Hedgehogs, the Chinooks were unable to win it all, getting upset by 107-win Guam in the Oceania Championship. Kaupa’s stats in the OBA final overall was merely decent over 24 starts with 21 hits, 10 runs, 4 doubles, 5 homers, 12 RBI, .844 OPS, 120 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR.

Kaupa was a beast again though in the Baseball Grand Championship as Christchurch was the at-large in 2016. He had 19 hits, 13 runs, 9 homers, 19 RBI, 1.046 OPS, 210 wRC+, and 1.2 WAR. The Chinooks finished 11-8 in a five-way tie for fifth, while Guam took top honors at 13-6. It goes down as a “what if?” for 2016 Christchurch, who if not for the Golden Eagles might have made a case as the greatest team in baseball history.

In 2017, Christchurch fell one game short of the AL pennant to Brisbane. Kaupa still won a Silver Slugger as a DH, but had a comparatively down year although he still led in slugging at .651. His contract still had three years left, but Kaupa surprised many by opting out after the 2017 campaign. This sent him to free agency for the second time ahead of his age 31 season.

In five seasons for the Chinooks, Kaupa played 801 games, 983 hits, 652 runs, 154 doubles, 65 triples, 299 home runs, 660 RBI, .326/.395/.717 slash, 196 wRC+, and 44.6 WAR. The Christchurch run launched Kaupa to superstardom and certainly was his most impactful tenure. He’d remain extremely popular in New Zealand for his starring role in the Chinooks dynasty.

Kaupa’s longest tenure came next with Vanuatu, signing at $94,700,000 over seven years. The Wizards had joined in the same expansion as Timor, although they had at least made it to .500 or better throughout the mid 2010s. The hope for Vanuatu was that Kaupa could deliver them their first-ever title. He never reached his Christchurch peak again, but Kaupa remained an elite slugger with the Wizards.

From 2019-24, Kaupa led the Pacific League each year in home runs and just missed in 2018. In that seven year stretch, he also led thrice in RBI, once in runs, twice in walks, twice in total bases, thrice in OBP, five times in slugging, five times in OPS, and four times in wRC+. Kaupa was a full-time first baseman for Vanuatu and won Silver Sluggers each year from 2018-25. He finished as 15-time winner, leading all OBA players. As of 2037, only 13 players in world history have earned 15+ Sluggers in their career.

Kaupa was also a regular MVP finalist with the Wizards. He was third in 2018, 19, 20, and 21; then took second in 2022. Kaupa won his fifth MVP in 2024, which had his Vanuatu career bests for runs (112), hits (178), homers (61), RBI (126), walks (81), total bases (398), OBP (.406), slugging (.712), OPS (1.118), wRC+ (211), and WAR (9.9). That spring, the Wizards gave Kaupa a three-year, $65 million extension. Kaupa also hit for the cycle that summer against Samoa and is one of only 18 in OBA history to reach the cycle multiple times.

Vanuatu took third in the 2019 PL standings and second in 2020, the closest they had come yet to a pennant. The Wizards broke through in 2021 at 102-60 and were the first expansion team to claim the Oceania Championship, defeating a resurgent Christchurch. Kaupa had .960 OPS over the seven game series and had another strong BGC with 1.108 OPS, 6 homers, 14 RBI, 16 hits, and 11 runs. Vanuatu finished 11-8, one of five teams tied for fourth.

Kaupa’s stats in the BGC stage were especially impressive against the world’s best teams. In 76 games, he had 74 hits, 53 runs, 9 doubles, 33 homers, 74 RBI, .273/.354/.679 slash, and 4.2 WAR. As of 2037, Kaupa ranks 14^th in home runs, 9^th in RBI, 22^nd in runs, and 21^st in WAR for position players in event history. His 184 total bases also rank 18^th.

Vanuatu repeated as PL champ in 2022, but lost the Oceania Championship to Sydney. They stayed in the top half of the standings for the rest of Kaupa’s tenure, but ceded the top spot to Port Moresby’s dynasty. Kaupa’s overall stats in the OBA final weren’t bad, but weren’t as epic as his regular season or BGC numbers. In 35 games, he had 32 hits, 17 runs, 4 doubles, 11 homers, 22 RBI, .250/.333/.555 slash, 136 wRC+, and 1.1 WAR.

In his later years, Kaupa began soaring up the OBA leaderboards. In 2024, he joined Brighouse as the only OBA sluggers with 800+ homers and quickly raced by his 804 to become the OBA king. Kaupa went onto get 930 homers, one of only 23 in world history in the 900 club as of 2037. In 2022, Kaupa was the sixth to 1500 runs scored in OBA and passed Adrian Kali’s 1704 to become the runs leader in 2024. He finished 2025 with 1998 RBI, passing Junia Lava’s 1989 to become the OBA leader there.

Kaupa’s power numbers dipped in 2026 to 36 homers, 85 RBI, and .836 OPS. However, that got him to the 900 home run club. He joined the 3000 hit club in 2026 as OBA’s fifth member. Some thought he had a shot at Kali for OBA’s hit king (3467), but Kaupa would fall short there. He did notably race past Kali to become OBA’s leader in total bases. Kaupa moved into #2 in WAR for position players, although he would fail to pass Jimmy Caliw’s 138.0.

He was still starter quality for 2026, but Kaupa declined sharply in 2027 with 16 homers, .650 OPS, and -0.5 WAR over 100 games. He retired that winter at age 40 and immediately had his #21 retired by Vanuatu, the first number retired by the franchise. For the Wizards, Kaupa played 1488 games with 1475 hits, 918 runs, 184 doubles, 74 triples, 458 home runs, 1042 RBI, .286/.365/.617 slash, 177 wRC+, and 59.1 WAR.

Kaupa’s grand totals had 3019 games, 3200 hits, 1963 runs, 456 doubles, 188 triples, 930 home runs, 2127 RBI, 1117 walks, 2432 strikeouts, 340 steals, .300/.372/.639 slash, 1.011 OPS, 180 wRC+, and 127.9 WAR. As of 2037, Kaupa remains the OBA all-time leader in runs, total bases (6822), homers, and RBI. He also ranks 4^th in games, 4^th in hits, 12^th in doubles, 5^th in walks, and 8^th in strikeouts.

Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Kaupa’s OPS is second only to Merlin Megson’s 1.044. Kaupa also ranks 48^th in batting average, 3^rd in OBP, and 2^nd in slugging. Against the world’s Hall of Famers and retired locks, Kaupa is 34^th in OPS and 27^th in slugging. As of 2037, Kaupa is 16^th in the world for homers, 37^th in RBI, and 45^th in runs.

Kaupa is certainly on the shortlist for greatest sluggers and pure hitters in baseball history. Many suggest he’s the best batter ever to come from the Oceania Baseball Association. Kaupa does lose some points for spending a lot of time as a DH. The best position player for OBA often goes to SS/2B Jimmy Caliw, who had 138 WAR in OBA and over 200 when adding his later MLB totals.

In any result, Kaupa makes almost all top ten lists and most top fives when discussing OBA’s best-ever position players. It’s hard to top the resume of five MVPs; the leader in runs, homers, and RBI; three OBA titles, six league pennants, and 15 Silver Sluggers. Kaupa was key to Christchurch’s dynasty and to Vanuatu’s first titles. At 98.6%, he co-headlined the impressive four-player 2033 HOF class for OBA alongside Akira Brady.

08-04-2025, 08:47 PM	#2365
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,406	2033 OBA Hall of Fame (Part 1) It was a very strong four-player Hall of Fame class in 2033 for the Oceania Baseball Association co-headlined by SP Akira Brady (99.7%) and 1B/DH Roe Kaupa (98.6%). SP Steve Stringer also got a first ballot nod, although his 72.3% was only a few points ahead of the 66% requirement. SP Alison Kila also sneaked past that number at 67.2% on his second ballot. 3B Dale Harper barely missed at 63.5% on his fifth try and 1B R.W. Putnam saw 55.7% for his fourth trip. No one was removed after ten failed ballots in 2033 for OBA. Akira Brady – Starting Pitcher – Fiji Freedom – 99.7% First Ballot Akira Brady was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed starting pitcher from Palmerston North, New Zealand; a city of around 91,000 on the North Island. Brady had exceptional stuff that many scouts rated as a 10/10 at his peak. He also had excellent control of his arsenal and above average movement. Brady’s arsenal had a 98-100 mph fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup. He was a master at changing speeds and his sidearm release was difficult for many hitters to solve. Brady’s stamina was stellar in his prime and combined with OBA’s unique four-man rotation led to remarkable inning counts. From 2009-20, Brady was good for 310+ innings each year and he led the Pacific League six times. His durability was also great for much of his career, although the wear and tear did catch up to him in his late 30s. He was very good at holding runners and won a Gold Glove in 2018, although his career defensive metrics were unremarkable. Brady wasn’t particularly book smart, but his raw ability and talent more than made up for that. He became extremely popular worldwide for his wild strikeout and inning counts, inserting himself into the conversation as a top five pitcher in all of professional baseball history. Brady’s production was impossible to miss despite spending his prime seasons in a small island nation like Fiji. He left New Zealand in August 2003 as a teenager on a developmental deal with the Freedom. Brady made his debut in 2008 at age 21 with promising results, taking second in Rookie of the Year voting. In his second season, Brady led the PL in wins and complete games. He also earned notoriety across OBA with the association’s 12^th perfect game, striking out eight facing Tahiti on May 22. From his third season in 2010 through 2020, Brady was the undisputed best pitcher in OBA and arguably the best pitcher in the world. He led all 11 years in strikeouts with 440+ each year. Brady was the WARlord ten times with eight seasons at 13+ WAR. He won five ERA titles, led in wins four times, WHIP seven times, quality starts eight times, complete games four times, and shutouts six times. Brady won Pitcher of the Year eight times (2010-13, 16, 18-20), one of nine in world history to win that honor 8+ times. He was also third in 2015 and 2017’s voting. Brady never won MVP, but was third in 2011 and second in 2016, 2018, and 2020. As of 2037, there have been 51 seasons in world history where a pitcher struck out 450+ batters; Brady has eight of those. In 2013, Brady had only the fourth season in world history of 500+ Ks at 507, then topped it with 512 in 2018. The only seasons with more was world strikeout king Mohamed Ramos with 549 in 1936 and 514 in 1934, as well as OBA’s Tarzan Rao with 524 in 1983. Brady has five of the top ten OBA seasons for K/9, peaking at 13.33 in 2015 (fourth-best). In 2020, Brady also set the single-season world record for innings pitched with 358. 340+ has only happened 25 times, four by Brady. Brady has seven 13+ WAR seasons, tied with legendary ABF shortstop Nizami Aghazade for the second-most in world history; only Ramos has more with eight. Brady’s highest WAR came in 2018 at 16.1 WAR, the same year as his career best for strikeouts (512) and wins (30-7). He’s one of only three in world history (all in OBA) with a 30 win season. As of 2037, there have only been 89 qualified seasons in OBA of an ERA below two. Brady did it thrice, including his best 1.37 ERA in 2011. That stands as the third-best in OBA history behind only Flynn Rodden’s 1.29 in 1967 and Matthew Falefa’s 1.30 in 1972. Brady’s 0.69 WHIP from 2011 also is tied for third in OBA history and his .461 opponent’s OPS ranks sixth. That year’s .165/.200/.261 triple slash ranks 9^th/5^th/14^th. In 2019, Brady posted one of only 38 seasons in world history of 10+ shutouts and one of only nine with 30+ complete games. Two of those in 2019 were no-hitters with 12 Ks and 2 walks on May 21 against Vanuatu and with 15 Ks facing Timor on June 16. Brady tossed his OBA-record fourth no-no on May 8, 2020 with 12 strikeouts and one walk against Guadalcanal. He had five 20+ strikeout games, peaking with 21 over 12 innings on 5/30/13 against Vanuatu. The only OBA ace with more was Jack Nix with 23 in 9.2 innings in 1983. All of this dominance and the big stats made Brady an international favorite for highlight clips online. In July 2012, Fiji signed him to a seven-year, $52,500,000 extension. Brady then inked another six years and $75,600,000 in April 2019. Despite his efforts, the Freedom had limited team success. They had been historically mediocre, sans their two pennants just before his arrival in 2002 and 2006. Brady goes down as likely the best player in baseball history to never see his league’s postseason. Fiji was usually at or around .500, averaging 77.9 wins per season during his tenure. They really only got close to the pennant once with a 92-70 finish in 2018, one game behind Samoa. He did see action in the World Baseball Championship from 2009-15 and from 2019-24 with his native New Zealand, although his stats were a mixed bag. Brady had a 3.42 ERA and 11-14 record in 229 innings, but did strikeout out 371 with 47 walks, 105 ERA+, 85 FIP-, and 5.6 WAR. Because of the huge inning totals, Brady was soaring up the leaderboards even by his early 30s. In 2020, he became OBA’s third pitcher to 300 career wins. The year before, Brady was the sixth to reach 5000 strikeouts. He finished 2020 with 155.0 career WAR, passing pitcher Tarzan Rao (154.9) for the all-time spot within OBA. Rao’s wins record (314) and Timothy Manglona’s strikeout record (5771) both seemed like inevitable conquests. At age 34 in 2021, Brady saw his first notable injury setbacks. He only made 19 starts with 147.2 innings, sidelined by recurring back spasms and an undisclosed injury. Still, he passed Manglona to become OBA’s strikeout king. Brady was back healthy in 2022 and took second in Pitcher of the Year voting. It was his last excellent season with 412 Ks over 314 innings, 2.58 ERA, and 9.2 WAR. He passed Rao as the OBA wins leader and became the fifth pitcher in all of world history with 6000+ career Ks. The world records for wins (398 by CABA/MLB’s Ulices Montero), strikeouts (7747 by Ramos), innings (5953.2 by Montero), and complete games (386 by EPB’s Alvi Tahiri) also seemed potentially reachable for Brady. Some thought he might even chase Ramos for the pitching WARlord title at 205.1. Unfortunately, injuries started to thwart those hopes. Thanks to shoulder inflammation, Brady was limited to only 61.1 innings and 10 appearances in 2023. In 2024, Brady became only the fourth in world history with 350+ career wins. However, a ruptured finger tendon in July limited him to only 181.1 innings. Brady’s strikeout tallies were way down with 181, but he was still effective with 2.13 ERA and 4.2 WAR. His stuff and velocity had started to dip, but his excellent control still allowed for effectiveness. After usually being mid-tier for his run, Fiji fell off a cliff in Brady’s final years with a 53-109 record in 2023 and 57-105 in 2024. His contract expired with the 2024 campaign and they mutually parted ways, sending Brady to free agency for the first time at age 37. He remained a beloved franchise and OBA icon and his #8 uniform was retired shortly after his career ended. Brady still had value and name recognition, drawing the attention of clubs across the globe. He ended up joining Major League Baseball in March 2025 on a three-year, $79,800,000 deal with Phoenix. Brady stayed healthy in 2025-26 for the Firebirds and ate some innings, but his elite days were gone. For Phoenix, Brady had a 31-21 record, 3.84 ERA, 506 innings, 249 strikeouts, 95 walks, 113 ERA+, 99 FIP-, and 6.9 WAR. His velocity really plummeted quickly, falling to a 92-94 mph peak in 2026 and down to 86-88 mph by 2027. Brady’s control still got him to a 3.10 ERA in 20.1 innings in 2027 for Phoenix, but only four strikeouts. They cut him in May as a salary dump. Brady returned to OBA with Port Moresby, but he only saw two relief appearances as a shell of his former shelf. The Mud Hens did win the OBA title that winter, giving Brady a championship ring for 2.1 innings of work. He retired that winter at age 40. In OBA, Brady finished with a 351-171 record, 2.38 ERA, 4976 innings, 627 games, 592 starts, 6476 strikeouts, 736 walks, 451/592 quality starts, 328 complete games, 75 shutouts, 151 ERA+, 62 FIP-, and 173.5 WAR. As of 2037, Brady is OBA’s all-time leader in wins, complete games, shutouts, innings, strikeouts, and WAR among all players. For rate stats (1000+ innings required), Brady is 18^th in ERA, 4^th in WHIP (0.87), 9^th in K/9 (11.71), 16^th in H/9 (6.49), and 36^th in BB/9 (1.33). His .565 opponent’s OPS ranks 19^th with his .201/.238/.327 triple slash ranking 16^th/7^th/31^st. Brady is most often cited as OBA’s best-ever pitcher and/or the best-ever player. He does have legitimate competition from aces Rao and Manglona, who both had starring roles in dynasty runs for their teams while Fiji was aggressively mid. Brady beats them for tallies and strikeouts especially, but the rate stats are comparable. Some might cite SS/SB Jimmy Caliw, the WAR leader for position players at 138.0 in OBA and 214.0 total with his MLB run. Brady’s Hall of Fame classmate Roe Kaupa also gets some consideration as the OBA leader in homers, RBI, and runs. For his combined pro career, Brady had a 382-192 record, 2.52 ERA, 694 games, 657 starts, 5482 innings, 6725 strikeouts, 831 walks, 483 quality starts, 359 complete games, 78 shutouts, 146 ERA+, 65 FIP-, and 180.4 WAR. On the world leaderboards as of 2037, Brady ranks 2^nd in wins, 4^th in strikeouts, 6^th in innings, 2^nd in complete games, 3^rd in shutouts, 7^th in quality starts, and 3^rd in pitching WAR. Brady sits 10^th on the all-time WAR board of all players ever and leads all players born in Oceania. His ERA+ also is tied for 46^th among starters that are HOFers or retired locks. Most scholars keep Ramos and Montero ahead of Brady when discussing the greatest pitcher in all of baseball history. Still, Brady gets mentioned in that conversation and generally gets cited as a top five or top ten ace in world history. He’s one of the game’s true immortals, easily New Zealand’s best-ever and usually considered the best-ever born in Oceania. Brady earned a near unanimous 99.7% for the Oceania Baseball Association’s four-player 2033 class, co-headlining with HR leader Roe Kaupa. Roe Kaupa – First Base/Designated Hitter – Vanuatu Wizards – 98.6% First Ballot Roe Kaupa was a 6’2’’, 200 pound left-handed first baseman from Angoram, Papua New Guinea; a district of around 98,000 in the country’s East Sepik Province. Kaupa was renowned for his home run power, rated by most scouts as a 10/10 for most of his career. Kaupa was the Pacific League leader in home runs 11 times and smacked 40+ dingers each year from 2010-25. He also hit 50+ ten times and 60+ four times. Kaupa wasn’t all dingers though, as he was also a good-to-great contact hitter against both sides. He also had a strong knack for drawing walks, although his strikeout rate was below average. Kaupa was especially dominant facing right-handed pitching with a career 1.073 OPS and 195 wRC+, although he was still solid against lefties with .845 OPS and 140 wRC+. His gap power was also solid with 24 doubles and 10 triples per his 162 game average. Add that to his massive home run tallies and nearly 50% of Kaupa’s career hits went for extra bases. He rated as just below average on the basepaths, but he wasn’t a complete liability there like many big sluggers. Kaupa had an extreme pull tendency on groundballs but was a spray hitter for flyballs. Kaupa’s biggest weakness was defense as a subpar first baseman, but you could do worse. Close to 60% of his starts came at 1B with the rest as a designated hitter. Kaupa’s durability was fantastic, starting 140+ games each year from 2009-26. He became an absolute megastar across Oceania and his towering homers made him world famous. His power potential was obvious as Kaupa dominated the amateur ranks of Papua New Guinea. He was the #1 overall pick in the 2006 OBA Draft by Timor, who was one of the four expansion teams starting play that season. The Tapirs didn’t throw Kaupa immediately into the fire with only 11 games in 2007 and 87 with 33 starts in 2008. He earned a full-time starting gig in 2009 and started his streak of 40+ homer seasons in 2010. Kaupa arrived as a truly elite hitter in 2011, winning his first MVP and a Silver Slugger as a DH. He led the Pacific League in homers (59), total bases (411), slugging (.712), OPS (1.108), and wRC+ (215). Kaupa led with 123 RBI in 2012 and won a Silver Slugger at first base. Despite his efforts, Timor was still atrocious in their early years. 2012 was a new franchise record for them, but it isn’t saying much when 68-94 is your best effort after seven seasons. The Tapirs also didn’t have the financial means to afford the mammoth money a guy like Kaupa was expected to get on the market. He left for free agency after the 2012 season heading towards only age 26. With Timor, Kaupa had 730 games, 742 hits, 393 runs, 118 doubles, 49 triples, 173 home runs, 425 RBI, .297/.356/.592 slash, 168 wRC+, and 24.2 WAR. Christchurch won the sweepstakes for Kaupa’s services on an eight-year, $117,400,000 deal. The Chinooks were on a 13-year pennant drought, having spent that gap generally in the middle of the standings. Kaupa helped turn Christchurch into a dynasty with four consecutive Australasia League pennants from 2013-16. He was the MVP in 2013, 14, and 16 with a second place in 2015. Kaupa won Silver Sluggers each year as a DH and was the leader in homers and runs scored all four seasons. In 2013, Kaupa’s 134 runs fell two short of the OBA single-season record. He also had his first 60+ homer season (63) and added 1.144 OPS, 212 wRC+, and 10.0 WAR. In 2014, Kaupa’s 159 RBI fell two short of Vavao Brighouse’s single-season record from 1995 and his 66 homers fell three short of Brighouse’s 1988 and 1995 efforts. These would be career bests for Kaupa, who got only the ninth hitting Triple Crown in OBA history. His .335/.410/.771 triple slash and 10.1 WAR would be career bests, as would his 467 total bases and 38 triples. The 467 total bases ranks second in OBA history behind Merlin Megson’s 472 from 2013. Interestingly enough, Kaupa and Megson hold the top six seasons in OBA for total bases, all taking place from 2012-16. Kaupa’s 1.180 OPS from 2014 also ranks second in OBA history behind only Megson’s 1.209 from 2013. In 2016, Kaupa’s 142 runs broke the single-season OBA record and still holds as of 2037. Kaupa also holds the #2, #6, #7, and #8 seasons for OPS in OBA history from this run. He also hit for the cycle in July 2016 against Melbourne. Christchurch went 110-52 in 2013 and defeated 115-win Guadalcanal in the Oceania Championship. Kaupa was surprisingly weak in the series with -0.1 WAR, but he fared better with .859 OPS and 0.7 WAR in the Baseball Grand Championship with the Chinooks at 8-11. In 2014, Christchurch repeated as OBA champ at 105-57, knocking off Tahiti in the final. Kaupa had .956 OPS in the series and 1.139 OPS in the BGC, pushing the Chinooks to a third place finish at 13-6. He was second in Tournament MVP honors with 12 homers, 19 hits, 16 runs, 32 RBI, and 1.3 WAR. The 32 RBI set the event record which has only been matched once since. The Chinooks narrowly took the 2015 AL title and lost in a finals rematch with Tahiti. Christchurch then had an historic 126-36 season, tying the world record for wins with Ho Chi Minh City from the 1993 South Asia Baseball season. Like the Hedgehogs, the Chinooks were unable to win it all, getting upset by 107-win Guam in the Oceania Championship. Kaupa’s stats in the OBA final overall was merely decent over 24 starts with 21 hits, 10 runs, 4 doubles, 5 homers, 12 RBI, .844 OPS, 120 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR. Kaupa was a beast again though in the Baseball Grand Championship as Christchurch was the at-large in 2016. He had 19 hits, 13 runs, 9 homers, 19 RBI, 1.046 OPS, 210 wRC+, and 1.2 WAR. The Chinooks finished 11-8 in a five-way tie for fifth, while Guam took top honors at 13-6. It goes down as a “what if?” for 2016 Christchurch, who if not for the Golden Eagles might have made a case as the greatest team in baseball history. In 2017, Christchurch fell one game short of the AL pennant to Brisbane. Kaupa still won a Silver Slugger as a DH, but had a comparatively down year although he still led in slugging at .651. His contract still had three years left, but Kaupa surprised many by opting out after the 2017 campaign. This sent him to free agency for the second time ahead of his age 31 season. In five seasons for the Chinooks, Kaupa played 801 games, 983 hits, 652 runs, 154 doubles, 65 triples, 299 home runs, 660 RBI, .326/.395/.717 slash, 196 wRC+, and 44.6 WAR. The Christchurch run launched Kaupa to superstardom and certainly was his most impactful tenure. He’d remain extremely popular in New Zealand for his starring role in the Chinooks dynasty. Kaupa’s longest tenure came next with Vanuatu, signing at $94,700,000 over seven years. The Wizards had joined in the same expansion as Timor, although they had at least made it to .500 or better throughout the mid 2010s. The hope for Vanuatu was that Kaupa could deliver them their first-ever title. He never reached his Christchurch peak again, but Kaupa remained an elite slugger with the Wizards. From 2019-24, Kaupa led the Pacific League each year in home runs and just missed in 2018. In that seven year stretch, he also led thrice in RBI, once in runs, twice in walks, twice in total bases, thrice in OBP, five times in slugging, five times in OPS, and four times in wRC+. Kaupa was a full-time first baseman for Vanuatu and won Silver Sluggers each year from 2018-25. He finished as 15-time winner, leading all OBA players. As of 2037, only 13 players in world history have earned 15+ Sluggers in their career. Kaupa was also a regular MVP finalist with the Wizards. He was third in 2018, 19, 20, and 21; then took second in 2022. Kaupa won his fifth MVP in 2024, which had his Vanuatu career bests for runs (112), hits (178), homers (61), RBI (126), walks (81), total bases (398), OBP (.406), slugging (.712), OPS (1.118), wRC+ (211), and WAR (9.9). That spring, the Wizards gave Kaupa a three-year, $65 million extension. Kaupa also hit for the cycle that summer against Samoa and is one of only 18 in OBA history to reach the cycle multiple times. Vanuatu took third in the 2019 PL standings and second in 2020, the closest they had come yet to a pennant. The Wizards broke through in 2021 at 102-60 and were the first expansion team to claim the Oceania Championship, defeating a resurgent Christchurch. Kaupa had .960 OPS over the seven game series and had another strong BGC with 1.108 OPS, 6 homers, 14 RBI, 16 hits, and 11 runs. Vanuatu finished 11-8, one of five teams tied for fourth. Kaupa’s stats in the BGC stage were especially impressive against the world’s best teams. In 76 games, he had 74 hits, 53 runs, 9 doubles, 33 homers, 74 RBI, .273/.354/.679 slash, and 4.2 WAR. As of 2037, Kaupa ranks 14^th in home runs, 9^th in RBI, 22^nd in runs, and 21^st in WAR for position players in event history. His 184 total bases also rank 18^th. Vanuatu repeated as PL champ in 2022, but lost the Oceania Championship to Sydney. They stayed in the top half of the standings for the rest of Kaupa’s tenure, but ceded the top spot to Port Moresby’s dynasty. Kaupa’s overall stats in the OBA final weren’t bad, but weren’t as epic as his regular season or BGC numbers. In 35 games, he had 32 hits, 17 runs, 4 doubles, 11 homers, 22 RBI, .250/.333/.555 slash, 136 wRC+, and 1.1 WAR. In his later years, Kaupa began soaring up the OBA leaderboards. In 2024, he joined Brighouse as the only OBA sluggers with 800+ homers and quickly raced by his 804 to become the OBA king. Kaupa went onto get 930 homers, one of only 23 in world history in the 900 club as of 2037. In 2022, Kaupa was the sixth to 1500 runs scored in OBA and passed Adrian Kali’s 1704 to become the runs leader in 2024. He finished 2025 with 1998 RBI, passing Junia Lava’s 1989 to become the OBA leader there. Kaupa’s power numbers dipped in 2026 to 36 homers, 85 RBI, and .836 OPS. However, that got him to the 900 home run club. He joined the 3000 hit club in 2026 as OBA’s fifth member. Some thought he had a shot at Kali for OBA’s hit king (3467), but Kaupa would fall short there. He did notably race past Kali to become OBA’s leader in total bases. Kaupa moved into #2 in WAR for position players, although he would fail to pass Jimmy Caliw’s 138.0. He was still starter quality for 2026, but Kaupa declined sharply in 2027 with 16 homers, .650 OPS, and -0.5 WAR over 100 games. He retired that winter at age 40 and immediately had his #21 retired by Vanuatu, the first number retired by the franchise. For the Wizards, Kaupa played 1488 games with 1475 hits, 918 runs, 184 doubles, 74 triples, 458 home runs, 1042 RBI, .286/.365/.617 slash, 177 wRC+, and 59.1 WAR. Kaupa’s grand totals had 3019 games, 3200 hits, 1963 runs, 456 doubles, 188 triples, 930 home runs, 2127 RBI, 1117 walks, 2432 strikeouts, 340 steals, .300/.372/.639 slash, 1.011 OPS, 180 wRC+, and 127.9 WAR. As of 2037, Kaupa remains the OBA all-time leader in runs, total bases (6822), homers, and RBI. He also ranks 4^th in games, 4^th in hits, 12^th in doubles, 5^th in walks, and 8^th in strikeouts. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Kaupa’s OPS is second only to Merlin Megson’s 1.044. Kaupa also ranks 48^th in batting average, 3^rd in OBP, and 2^nd in slugging. Against the world’s Hall of Famers and retired locks, Kaupa is 34^th in OPS and 27^th in slugging. As of 2037, Kaupa is 16^th in the world for homers, 37^th in RBI, and 45^th in runs. Kaupa is certainly on the shortlist for greatest sluggers and pure hitters in baseball history. Many suggest he’s the best batter ever to come from the Oceania Baseball Association. Kaupa does lose some points for spending a lot of time as a DH. The best position player for OBA often goes to SS/2B Jimmy Caliw, who had 138 WAR in OBA and over 200 when adding his later MLB totals. In any result, Kaupa makes almost all top ten lists and most top fives when discussing OBA’s best-ever position players. It’s hard to top the resume of five MVPs; the leader in runs, homers, and RBI; three OBA titles, six league pennants, and 15 Silver Sluggers. Kaupa was key to Christchurch’s dynasty and to Vanuatu’s first titles. At 98.6%, he co-headlined the impressive four-player 2033 HOF class for OBA alongside Akira Brady. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports The Level Playing Field: Alternate MLB History From 1884-Onward Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)