[FuzzyRussianHat]

DH/RF Afzal Koveshnikov stood alone for induction into the Eurasian Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2034 at 90.6% on his debut. 1B Zygmunt Socha barely missed out on his second ballot at 63.4%, less than three points away from the 66% requirement. Two others were above 50% with CL Oleh Khmelovskyi at 53.8% on his debut and SP Yaroslav Alalykin at 53.4% in his second try. No players were dropped after ten failed ballots.



Closer Dato Aschepkov deserves a quick mention falling below 5% on his eighth try. He only had an eight-year EPB run before leaving for MLB, but he won three Reliever of the Year awards. Aschepkov also helped Krasnodar win the 2017 EPB title and was ELCS MVP in 2018. He had a 1.80 ERA, 192 saves, 505 innings, 738 strikeouts, 181 ERA+, 56 FIP-, and 20.0 WAR. Aschepkov had the pace if he stayed in EPB, but alas.



Afzal Koveshnikov – Designated Hitter/Right Field – Ulaanbaatar Boars – 90.6% First Ballot

Afzal Koveshnikov was a 6’5’’, 190 pound left-handed right fielder and designated hitter from Ivanovskaya, Russia; a town of just over 9,000 people in the Krasnodar Krai. Koveshnikov was a good-to-great contact and power hitter fairly equally against both sides. He was better than most at avoiding strikeouts, but below average at drawing walks. Koveshnikov’s 162 game average got you 32 home runs, 26 doubles, and 5 triples.

Koveshnikov was a below average baserunner, but wasn’t a complete oaf unlike most guys with his build that are designated hitters. Just over half of his starts came as a DH with most of his defensive starts in right field. Koveshnikov was a subpar defender, but he wasn’t completely abysmal like you’d expect from a career DH. He had very high character and was a respected team captain known for his leadership and work ethic. His durability was also excellent, starting 140+ games in all but one season rom 2014-28. Unsurprisingly, Koveshnikov became a very popular player of his era.

While he was well liked back home in Russia, his main popularity came in Mongolia since his entire career was with Ulaanbaatar. Koveshnikov did come home from 2016-22 for the World Baseball Championship, but his numbers were unremarkable with 31 games, 14 starts, .754 OPS, and 0.3 WAR. In August 2007 as a teenager, Koveshnikov signed a developmental deal with the Boars.

Koveshnikov debuted with 13 games and two starts in 2012 at age 21. He saw 98 games and 42 starts in 2013, but still wasn’t ready as he struggled to -0.3 WAR. Spots weren’t immediately available as Ulaanbaatar had some success. They were the Asian League runner-up in 2012 and won the pennant in 2013, falling to Rostov in the EPB Championship. Koveshnikov did notably go 4-10 with a solo homer in the 2013 playoff run.

He earned the starting gig in 2014 and was the MVP and a Silver Slugger winner in 2015. Koveshnikov posted only the tenth Triple Crown hitting season in EPB history, leading in runs (105), hits (220), home runs (45), RBI (108), total bases (400), average (.351), slugging (.638), OPS (1.034), wRC+ (204), and WAR (9.7). The hits, homers, total bases, average, OBP (.396), slugging, wRC+, and WAR would all be career highs. Ulaanbaatar remained above .500, but they spent 2014-16 just short of the playoffs.

In August 2017, the Boars signed Koveshnikov to an eight-year, $57,340,000 extension. He was third in MVP voting that year and Ulaanbaatar got the wild card at 95-67. They beat Omsk in the ALCS, but lost the EPB Championship to Krasnodar. Koveshnikov had a nice playoff run with 11 hits, 5 runs, 4 doubles, 2 homers, and 7 RBI. His overall playoff career stats would be merely decent with 38 games, 25 starts, 30 hits, 14 runs, 8 doubles, 6 home runs, 18 RB, .265/.294/.496 slash, 127 wRC+, and 1.0 WAR.

Ulaanbaatar wouldn’t win any more pennants with Koveshnikov, although they were rarely outright bad. They got wild cards in 2020, 21, 25, and 26; but lost in the first round each year. Otherwise, they generally hovered right around .500. Koveshnikov remained steady through it all and won his second MVP in 2020, leading in RBI (126), total bases (373), triple slash (.338/.378/.621), OPS (.999), wRC+ (188), and WAR (9.1).

He won a Silver Slugger in 2020 and 2011 in right field. Koveshnikov was third in 2021’s MVP voting, leading again in total bases. His production dipped a bit in 2022-23, but he was back to more solid numbers in 2024-25. Now 34-years old, Ulaanbaatar gave Koveshnikov a four-year, $67,200,000 extension after the 2025 season.

Koveshnikov had two more respectable seasons, then age fully caught him in 2028. That year, he had -0.2 WAR, .609 OPS, and only 20 home runs. He had hoped to get to the 500 homer and 1500 RBI milestones, but it was clear his time as a starter was ending. Koveshnikov retired after the 2028 campaign at age 37 and immediately had his #4 uniform retired for his 17 seasons with the Boars.

In total, Koveshnikov had 2430 games, 2631 hits, 1196 runs, 386 doubles, 69 triples, 478 home runs, 1463 RBI, 562 walks, 1627 strikeouts, .291/.332/.507 slash, 147 wRC+, and 74.8 WAR. As of 2037, Koveshnikov ranks 59^th in games, 50^th in runs, 23^rd in hits, 21^st in total bases (4589), 57^th in doubles, 36^th in home runs and 16^th in RBI. In part because he was a DH, Koveshnikov does miss the top 100 for WAR among position players.

You certainly wouldn’t rank Koveshnikov as an inner-circle level Hall of Famer. However, his tallies and longevity with Ulaanbaatar was plenty for most voters. Two MVPs and a Triple Crown silenced most other doubters. Koveshnikov received 90.6% to stand alone for induction in 2034 for Eurasian Professional Baseball.