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FuzzyRussianHat · 10-02-2025, 08:45 PM

Two players were first ballot additions for the South Asia Baseball Hall of Fame in 2036. OF Rahul Gonzales was the clear headliner at 93.1%, while IF Hamidul Rahman sneaked past the 66% requirement at 70.1%. SP Siddhant Shakya narrowly missed out on his ninth try at 62.5%. LF Ganga Wong was also close with a debut at 62.2%. Also above 50% was 1B Rochana Sanson at 53.1% on his fifth attempt.

Dropped after ten ballots was SP Shafiq Khaimi, who peaked at 42.0% in 2028 and ended at 13.2%. In 16 seasons, he had a 161-147 record, 3.47 ERA, 2932.2 innings, 3593 strikeouts, 649 walks, 92 complete games, 14 shutouts, 112 ERA+, 89 FIP-, and 52.5 WAR. Khaimi got a championship ring in 2017 with Yangon, although he missed the playoff run to injury. He also led twice in strikeouts and ranks 19^th in Ks.

Despite the strikeout totals, Khaimi was never a Pitcher of the Year finalist. His WAR was comparable to some of the lower-end starters that had gotten inducted, but his ERA was higher than almost all of them. The few exceptions had gotten to 200+ wins and 4000 Ks unlike Khaimi as well, limiting him to the Hall of Pretty Good.

Rahul Gonzales – Right/Left Field – Hyderabad Hippos – 93.1% First Ballot

Rahul Gonzales was a 6’4’’, 200 pound switch-hitting corner outfielder from Hajipur, India; a city of about 147,000 people in the state of Bihar. Gonzales was a very good contact hitter with an above average eye for walks and avoiding strikeouts. His best results came facing right-handed pitching (.942 OPS, 164 wRC+) but he wasn’t bad by any means against lefties (.770 OPS, 124 wRC+). Gonzales’ power was mostly towards the gaps with a 162 game average of 33 doubles, 8 triples, and 24 home runs.

Few players were better at baserunning than Gonzales and he had good-to-great speed. He split his career between the corner outfield spots with about a 60/40 lean towards right field. Gonzales graded as a reliably solid glove man in RF with below average metrics in LF. His durability was generally strong, playing 150+ games in all but two of his 16 pro seasons.

Gonzales was the fifth overall pick in the 2014 SAB Draft by Hyderabad, who made him a full-time starter right away. He took third in 2015’s Rookie of the Year voting, then won his only Silver Slugger in 2017 in RF. Gonzales was second in 2017’s MVP voting, leading the league with career highs for hits (228), doubles (47), average (.388), OBP (.449), OPS (1.077), and wRC+ (209). He also had his top WAR at 10.1, helping the usually mediocre Hippos become a contender.

Hyderabad ended a seven-year playoff drought in 2016, but lost in the divisional round. They went 100-62 in 2017 and got to the Indian League Championship Series, but were thwarted by 101-win Kanpur. Gonzales struggled in the playoffs with .496 OPS and -0.2 WAR in eight games. Still, the Hippos felt they had a chance to contend with Gonzales at the helm, giving him an eight-year, $55,360,000 extension that fall.

Gonzales was second in 2018’s MVP voting and hit for the cycle in September against Kanpur. He led again in hits that year and fared better in the playoffs with a .989 OPS and 0.5 WAR in eight games. Hyderabad got back to the ILCS at 99-63 and this time had the top seed, but they were thwarted in a rematch with the Poison. The Hippos hovered around .500 for the next few years, ceding the South Division’s thrown to Nagpur.

After strong efforts in 2019-20, Gonzales disappointed Hyderabad fans by opting out of his contact and leaving for free agency at age 28. It was his longest and most successful tenure with 946 games in six years, 1168 hits, 595 runs, 200 doubles, 54 triples, 139 home runs, 548 RBI, 317 steals, .332/.393/.539 slash, 167 wRC+, and 41.1 WAR. Gonzales stayed very popular with fans, but some in Hippos management felt betrayed by his exit, thus his #18 uniform wasn’t retired.

Gonzales signed a five-year, $44,500,000 deal with Da Nang and generally maintained the same production levels in 2021-22 with 313 games, 383 hits, 201 runs, 70 doubles, 43 homers, 200 RBI, 101 steals, .326/.382/.518 slash, 140 wRC+, and 11.0 WAR. He hit for the cycle for the second time in July 2022 against Mandalay.

Da Nang got a division title in 2021 at 96-66 and made it to the Southeast Asia League Championship, but got upset by wild card Dhaka. This was Gonzales’ best playoff effort with 20 hits, 8 runs, 1.070 OPS, 182 wRC+, and 0.8 WAR. The Drillers had the same record in 2022, but fell two wins short of the playoffs. After only two seasons, Gonzales opted out of that deal and returned to free agency at age 30. He went back to India on a five-year, $60,700,000 deal with Delhi.

The Drillers were the 2021 SAB champ and finished 102-60 in Gonzales’ 2023 debut, but lost in the divisional round. That year, Gonzales won his lone MVP, leading in hits (213), and OBP (.422) while adding 1.011 OPS, 187 wRC+, and 8.7 WAR. He was still good in 2024, but down to .842 OPS and 4.3 WAR. Delhi lost a tiebreaker game to Kolkata that year to miss the playoffs at 90-63.

Gonzales yet again took advantage of his opt-out clause, leaving the Indian capital after only two seasons. For the Drillers, Gonzales had 315 games, 393 hits, 201 runs, 75 doubles, 46 home runs, 197 RBI, .330/.394/.533 slash, 167 wRC+, and 13.1 WAR. Now 32-years old, Gonzales signed a five-year, $70 million deal with Patna, who was debuting as an expansion team for 2025. Many assumed he’d opt out again eventually given his history, but Gonzales actually spent six seasons total with the Pointers.

His first two years in Patna had some injuries, most notably hamstring woes in 2026. Gonzales was back to all-star levels the next two years and solid in 2029, although expansion Patna was awful in their first decade. Gonzales’ deal ran out for 2030 and he went back to free agency, but signed a new two-year, $12 million deal to stay with the Pointers.

2030 finally saw the sharp decline with age, posting .692 OPS, 85 wRC+, and 0.1 WAR over 158 games. Gonzales retired that winter at age 38 and finished his Patna tenure with 854 games, 906 hits, 453 runs, 148 doubles, 126 home runs, 445 RBI, 215 steals, .299/.362/.493 slash, 141 wRC+, and 23.3 WAR.

Gonzales played 2428 games with 2850 hits, 1450 runs, 493 doubles, 113 triples, 354 home runs, 1390 RBI, 800 walks, 1619 strikeouts, 725 steals, .320/.381/.520 slash, 155 wRC+, and 88.5 WAR. Gonzales ranks 40^th in games, 30^th in runs, 14^th in hits, 34^th in total bases (4631), 45^th in doubles, 72^nd in triples, 46^th in RBI, 38^th in walks, and 33^rd in WAR for position players. His .901 OPS is 84^th among those with 3000+ plate appearances and he ranks 30^th in batting average and 25^th in OBP.

You probably wouldn’t call Gonzales an inner-circle Hall of Famer since he didn’t have a ton of big accolades or jaw-dropping seasons. However, few bats were more reliably and consistently solid in the 2010s and 2020s for South Asia Baseball. Almost all voters felt Gonzales hit the totals needed to make the cut, earning a strong 93.1% to headline the two-man class for 2036.

Hamidul “Turbo” Rahman – Second/First Base – Hai Phong Prowlers – 70.1% First Ballot

Hamidul Rahman was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed infielder from Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. The nickname “Turbo” came from Rahman’s energy and work ethic, although he was never a fan of the attention. He was incredibly humble and quiet, but also fiercely loyal, selfless, and intelligent. Rahman was a good to occasionally great contact and power hitter against both sides. His 162 game average got you 34 home runs, 34 doubles, and 3 triples.

Rahman was above average at drawing walks, but was middling at avoiding strikeouts. He was an incredibly crafty base stealer with an impressive success rate considering his speed was subpar at best. Roughly half of his career starts came at second base with the rest split between first and designated hitter. Rahman was a lousy defensive 2B, but a perfectly average 1B. His durability was largely good with 134+ starts each year from 2016-28.

After an excellent amateur career, Rahman was the #1 overall pick in the 2014 SAB Draft by Hai Phong. The Prowlers were an expansion team from 2008 and still hadn’t posted a winning season to that point. After playing only 98 games and starting 33 in 2015, Rahman got the full-time gig from 2016-onward. He led the Southeast Asia League with 50 doubles in 2016, a career best. Rahman won his first Silver Slugger at 2B in 2017 with a career high 7.8 WAR season.

Rahman won another Slugger and was second in 2018’s MVP voting with a 7.7 WAR, .944 campaign, prompting Hai Phong to extend him that winter for eight years at $60,420,000. He won another Slugger in 2019 and the Prowlers finished 84-78, their first-ever winning season. The next three years would see their first division titles with 97, 101, and 102 wins; earning the top seed in 2021 and 2022. Rahman led in OBP in 2020 at .393 and was second in 2022’s MVP voting. On August 31, 2020; Rahman also notably hit four homers against Mandalay, one of only 11 such games in SAB history.

Hai Phong was unable to claim the pennant though in their brief run. They lost the SEAL Championship in both 2020 and 2022 to Yangon, while suffering a divisional series defeat in 2021 to Dhaka. Rahman missed the 2022 playoffs because of an elbow sprain. In his 12 playoff games for the Prowlers, he had a .734 OPS, 98 wRC+, and 0.3 WAR.

Rahman did also have some big game experience as a regular in the World Baseball Championship with Bangladesh. From 2017-29, he played 97 games with 84 starts and posted 70 hits, 38 runs, 17 doubles, 18 home runs, 51 RBI, .232/.312/.480 slash, 129 wRC+, and 2.4 WAR.

In 2023-24, Rahman dropped off noticeably with only 4.3 WAR between the two seasons, although he bounced back to 6.3 and 4.9 WAR the next two years. His lone Silver Slugger at 1B came in 2025 with a career-best 45 home runs. Hai Phong hovered in the mid-tier for the rest of his run with Rahman’s contract expiring after the 2026 season, becoming a free agent for the first time at age 35.

For Hai Phong, Rahman played 1810 games with 1943 hits, 1073 runs, 396 doubles, 35 triples, 406 home runs, 1236 RBI, 536 walks, 186 steals, .294/.346/.548 slash, 145 wRC+, and 62.2 WAR. He would be the franchise’s first Hall of Famer and his #28 uniform was the first to be retired by the club. Rahman signed a four-year, $43,100,000 deal next with regular contender Yangon.

Rahman was a decent starter in 2027-28 and had strong playoff numbers for the Green Dragons with a 1.078 OPS and 0.9 WAR in 14 starts. Yangon had a division title in 2027, but suffered a divisional round defeat. They won a weak division in 2028 at 85-77, falling to 124-win Mandalay in the SEAL Championship. Rahman started to struggle and had a reduced role with only 65 games in 2029 and 41 in 2030.

Yangon missed the 2029 playoffs, but won the SEAL title in 2030 with an SAB Championship loss to Ahmedabad. Rahman was cooked by that point and wasn’t on the postseason roster, retiring that winter at age 38. With the Green Dragons, he had 399 games, 354 hits, 182 runs, 70 doubles, 56 home runs, 206 RBI, 103 walks, .277/.330/.468 slash, 116 wRC+, and 4.8 WAR.

Rahman played 2209 games with 2297 hits, 1255 runs, 466 doubles, 38 triples, 462 homers, 1442 RBI, 639 walks, 1768 strikeouts, 213 steals, .291/.344/.535 slash, 140 wRC+, and 67.0 WAR. Rahman ranks 72^nd in games, 51^st in runs, 62^nd in hits, 57^th in total bases (4225), 55^th in doubles, 55^th in homers, 38^th in RBI, 80^th in walks, and 91^st in WAR among position players.

His totals were definitely borderline compared to other South Asia Baseball Hall of Famers and Rahman very rarely was a league leader. Still, he got a lot of praise for being Hai Phong’s first star player, helping the young franchise to contention for the first time. Rahman debuted on the 2036 ballot at 70.1%, narrowly crossing the 66% induction threshold for a first ballot selection.

10-02-2025, 08:45 PM	#2481
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,106	2036 SAB Hall of Fame Two players were first ballot additions for the South Asia Baseball Hall of Fame in 2036. OF Rahul Gonzales was the clear headliner at 93.1%, while IF Hamidul Rahman sneaked past the 66% requirement at 70.1%. SP Siddhant Shakya narrowly missed out on his ninth try at 62.5%. LF Ganga Wong was also close with a debut at 62.2%. Also above 50% was 1B Rochana Sanson at 53.1% on his fifth attempt. Dropped after ten ballots was SP Shafiq Khaimi, who peaked at 42.0% in 2028 and ended at 13.2%. In 16 seasons, he had a 161-147 record, 3.47 ERA, 2932.2 innings, 3593 strikeouts, 649 walks, 92 complete games, 14 shutouts, 112 ERA+, 89 FIP-, and 52.5 WAR. Khaimi got a championship ring in 2017 with Yangon, although he missed the playoff run to injury. He also led twice in strikeouts and ranks 19^th in Ks. Despite the strikeout totals, Khaimi was never a Pitcher of the Year finalist. His WAR was comparable to some of the lower-end starters that had gotten inducted, but his ERA was higher than almost all of them. The few exceptions had gotten to 200+ wins and 4000 Ks unlike Khaimi as well, limiting him to the Hall of Pretty Good. Rahul Gonzales – Right/Left Field – Hyderabad Hippos – 93.1% First Ballot Rahul Gonzales was a 6’4’’, 200 pound switch-hitting corner outfielder from Hajipur, India; a city of about 147,000 people in the state of Bihar. Gonzales was a very good contact hitter with an above average eye for walks and avoiding strikeouts. His best results came facing right-handed pitching (.942 OPS, 164 wRC+) but he wasn’t bad by any means against lefties (.770 OPS, 124 wRC+). Gonzales’ power was mostly towards the gaps with a 162 game average of 33 doubles, 8 triples, and 24 home runs. Few players were better at baserunning than Gonzales and he had good-to-great speed. He split his career between the corner outfield spots with about a 60/40 lean towards right field. Gonzales graded as a reliably solid glove man in RF with below average metrics in LF. His durability was generally strong, playing 150+ games in all but two of his 16 pro seasons. Gonzales was the fifth overall pick in the 2014 SAB Draft by Hyderabad, who made him a full-time starter right away. He took third in 2015’s Rookie of the Year voting, then won his only Silver Slugger in 2017 in RF. Gonzales was second in 2017’s MVP voting, leading the league with career highs for hits (228), doubles (47), average (.388), OBP (.449), OPS (1.077), and wRC+ (209). He also had his top WAR at 10.1, helping the usually mediocre Hippos become a contender. Hyderabad ended a seven-year playoff drought in 2016, but lost in the divisional round. They went 100-62 in 2017 and got to the Indian League Championship Series, but were thwarted by 101-win Kanpur. Gonzales struggled in the playoffs with .496 OPS and -0.2 WAR in eight games. Still, the Hippos felt they had a chance to contend with Gonzales at the helm, giving him an eight-year, $55,360,000 extension that fall. Gonzales was second in 2018’s MVP voting and hit for the cycle in September against Kanpur. He led again in hits that year and fared better in the playoffs with a .989 OPS and 0.5 WAR in eight games. Hyderabad got back to the ILCS at 99-63 and this time had the top seed, but they were thwarted in a rematch with the Poison. The Hippos hovered around .500 for the next few years, ceding the South Division’s thrown to Nagpur. After strong efforts in 2019-20, Gonzales disappointed Hyderabad fans by opting out of his contact and leaving for free agency at age 28. It was his longest and most successful tenure with 946 games in six years, 1168 hits, 595 runs, 200 doubles, 54 triples, 139 home runs, 548 RBI, 317 steals, .332/.393/.539 slash, 167 wRC+, and 41.1 WAR. Gonzales stayed very popular with fans, but some in Hippos management felt betrayed by his exit, thus his #18 uniform wasn’t retired. Gonzales signed a five-year, $44,500,000 deal with Da Nang and generally maintained the same production levels in 2021-22 with 313 games, 383 hits, 201 runs, 70 doubles, 43 homers, 200 RBI, 101 steals, .326/.382/.518 slash, 140 wRC+, and 11.0 WAR. He hit for the cycle for the second time in July 2022 against Mandalay. Da Nang got a division title in 2021 at 96-66 and made it to the Southeast Asia League Championship, but got upset by wild card Dhaka. This was Gonzales’ best playoff effort with 20 hits, 8 runs, 1.070 OPS, 182 wRC+, and 0.8 WAR. The Drillers had the same record in 2022, but fell two wins short of the playoffs. After only two seasons, Gonzales opted out of that deal and returned to free agency at age 30. He went back to India on a five-year, $60,700,000 deal with Delhi. The Drillers were the 2021 SAB champ and finished 102-60 in Gonzales’ 2023 debut, but lost in the divisional round. That year, Gonzales won his lone MVP, leading in hits (213), and OBP (.422) while adding 1.011 OPS, 187 wRC+, and 8.7 WAR. He was still good in 2024, but down to .842 OPS and 4.3 WAR. Delhi lost a tiebreaker game to Kolkata that year to miss the playoffs at 90-63. Gonzales yet again took advantage of his opt-out clause, leaving the Indian capital after only two seasons. For the Drillers, Gonzales had 315 games, 393 hits, 201 runs, 75 doubles, 46 home runs, 197 RBI, .330/.394/.533 slash, 167 wRC+, and 13.1 WAR. Now 32-years old, Gonzales signed a five-year, $70 million deal with Patna, who was debuting as an expansion team for 2025. Many assumed he’d opt out again eventually given his history, but Gonzales actually spent six seasons total with the Pointers. His first two years in Patna had some injuries, most notably hamstring woes in 2026. Gonzales was back to all-star levels the next two years and solid in 2029, although expansion Patna was awful in their first decade. Gonzales’ deal ran out for 2030 and he went back to free agency, but signed a new two-year, $12 million deal to stay with the Pointers. 2030 finally saw the sharp decline with age, posting .692 OPS, 85 wRC+, and 0.1 WAR over 158 games. Gonzales retired that winter at age 38 and finished his Patna tenure with 854 games, 906 hits, 453 runs, 148 doubles, 126 home runs, 445 RBI, 215 steals, .299/.362/.493 slash, 141 wRC+, and 23.3 WAR. Gonzales played 2428 games with 2850 hits, 1450 runs, 493 doubles, 113 triples, 354 home runs, 1390 RBI, 800 walks, 1619 strikeouts, 725 steals, .320/.381/.520 slash, 155 wRC+, and 88.5 WAR. Gonzales ranks 40^th in games, 30^th in runs, 14^th in hits, 34^th in total bases (4631), 45^th in doubles, 72^nd in triples, 46^th in RBI, 38^th in walks, and 33^rd in WAR for position players. His .901 OPS is 84^th among those with 3000+ plate appearances and he ranks 30^th in batting average and 25^th in OBP. You probably wouldn’t call Gonzales an inner-circle Hall of Famer since he didn’t have a ton of big accolades or jaw-dropping seasons. However, few bats were more reliably and consistently solid in the 2010s and 2020s for South Asia Baseball. Almost all voters felt Gonzales hit the totals needed to make the cut, earning a strong 93.1% to headline the two-man class for 2036. Hamidul “Turbo” Rahman – Second/First Base – Hai Phong Prowlers – 70.1% First Ballot Hamidul Rahman was a 6’0’’, 200 pound right-handed infielder from Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. The nickname “Turbo” came from Rahman’s energy and work ethic, although he was never a fan of the attention. He was incredibly humble and quiet, but also fiercely loyal, selfless, and intelligent. Rahman was a good to occasionally great contact and power hitter against both sides. His 162 game average got you 34 home runs, 34 doubles, and 3 triples. Rahman was above average at drawing walks, but was middling at avoiding strikeouts. He was an incredibly crafty base stealer with an impressive success rate considering his speed was subpar at best. Roughly half of his career starts came at second base with the rest split between first and designated hitter. Rahman was a lousy defensive 2B, but a perfectly average 1B. His durability was largely good with 134+ starts each year from 2016-28. After an excellent amateur career, Rahman was the #1 overall pick in the 2014 SAB Draft by Hai Phong. The Prowlers were an expansion team from 2008 and still hadn’t posted a winning season to that point. After playing only 98 games and starting 33 in 2015, Rahman got the full-time gig from 2016-onward. He led the Southeast Asia League with 50 doubles in 2016, a career best. Rahman won his first Silver Slugger at 2B in 2017 with a career high 7.8 WAR season. Rahman won another Slugger and was second in 2018’s MVP voting with a 7.7 WAR, .944 campaign, prompting Hai Phong to extend him that winter for eight years at $60,420,000. He won another Slugger in 2019 and the Prowlers finished 84-78, their first-ever winning season. The next three years would see their first division titles with 97, 101, and 102 wins; earning the top seed in 2021 and 2022. Rahman led in OBP in 2020 at .393 and was second in 2022’s MVP voting. On August 31, 2020; Rahman also notably hit four homers against Mandalay, one of only 11 such games in SAB history. Hai Phong was unable to claim the pennant though in their brief run. They lost the SEAL Championship in both 2020 and 2022 to Yangon, while suffering a divisional series defeat in 2021 to Dhaka. Rahman missed the 2022 playoffs because of an elbow sprain. In his 12 playoff games for the Prowlers, he had a .734 OPS, 98 wRC+, and 0.3 WAR. Rahman did also have some big game experience as a regular in the World Baseball Championship with Bangladesh. From 2017-29, he played 97 games with 84 starts and posted 70 hits, 38 runs, 17 doubles, 18 home runs, 51 RBI, .232/.312/.480 slash, 129 wRC+, and 2.4 WAR. In 2023-24, Rahman dropped off noticeably with only 4.3 WAR between the two seasons, although he bounced back to 6.3 and 4.9 WAR the next two years. His lone Silver Slugger at 1B came in 2025 with a career-best 45 home runs. Hai Phong hovered in the mid-tier for the rest of his run with Rahman’s contract expiring after the 2026 season, becoming a free agent for the first time at age 35. For Hai Phong, Rahman played 1810 games with 1943 hits, 1073 runs, 396 doubles, 35 triples, 406 home runs, 1236 RBI, 536 walks, 186 steals, .294/.346/.548 slash, 145 wRC+, and 62.2 WAR. He would be the franchise’s first Hall of Famer and his #28 uniform was the first to be retired by the club. Rahman signed a four-year, $43,100,000 deal next with regular contender Yangon. Rahman was a decent starter in 2027-28 and had strong playoff numbers for the Green Dragons with a 1.078 OPS and 0.9 WAR in 14 starts. Yangon had a division title in 2027, but suffered a divisional round defeat. They won a weak division in 2028 at 85-77, falling to 124-win Mandalay in the SEAL Championship. Rahman started to struggle and had a reduced role with only 65 games in 2029 and 41 in 2030. Yangon missed the 2029 playoffs, but won the SEAL title in 2030 with an SAB Championship loss to Ahmedabad. Rahman was cooked by that point and wasn’t on the postseason roster, retiring that winter at age 38. With the Green Dragons, he had 399 games, 354 hits, 182 runs, 70 doubles, 56 home runs, 206 RBI, 103 walks, .277/.330/.468 slash, 116 wRC+, and 4.8 WAR. Rahman played 2209 games with 2297 hits, 1255 runs, 466 doubles, 38 triples, 462 homers, 1442 RBI, 639 walks, 1768 strikeouts, 213 steals, .291/.344/.535 slash, 140 wRC+, and 67.0 WAR. Rahman ranks 72^nd in games, 51^st in runs, 62^nd in hits, 57^th in total bases (4225), 55^th in doubles, 55^th in homers, 38^th in RBI, 80^th in walks, and 91^st in WAR among position players. His totals were definitely borderline compared to other South Asia Baseball Hall of Famers and Rahman very rarely was a league leader. Still, he got a lot of praise for being Hai Phong’s first star player, helping the young franchise to contention for the first time. Rahman debuted on the 2036 ballot at 70.1%, narrowly crossing the 66% induction threshold for a first ballot selection. __________________ 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)