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FuzzyRussianHat · 02-14-2026, 12:24 PM

East Asia Baseball home run king Kunihiko Ishiguro headlined the 2040 Hall of Fame class with a near unanimous 99.0%. SS Min-Jae Lim joined him on the first ballot at 89.1%. SP Takeo Kobayashi just missed the 66% requirement with 62.9% on his eighth try. Also above 50% was SP Shin-Nin Ikegami debuting at 55.1% and DH/LF Jae-A Choi at 51.0% on his tenth and final try.

For Choi, he got as close as 62.8% in his debut and was also above 60% in 2038, although he was as low as 36.5%. Choi had a 212-year career mostly with Bucheon, playing 3028 games with 3328 hits, 1532 runs, 609 doubles, 75 triples, 508 home runs, 1771 RBI, .298/.344/.503 slash, 132 wRC+, and 71.5 WAR. His longevity put him at 12^th in games played, 35^th in runs, 9^th in hits, 19^th in total bases (5611), 3^rd in doubles, 82^nd in homers, and 18^th in RBI.

Despite that, Choi is outside the top 100 for WAR and never won a Silver Slugger or was a league leader. He also was on mostly bad Bucheon teams with only 20 playoff games over his long career. Choi was dismissed as a compiler by many voters, although it is still shocking to see a guy in the top 10 in hits over 100+ years miss the cut. No player in world history who failed to make their Hall of Fame in ten tries has more career hits.

Close Tatsuya Ueno was also dropped after ten tries, peaking at 44.0% in 2032 and ending with 10.9%. He was hurt by having his 16 year career split between EAB, CABA, and MLB. Ueno did win three Reliever of the Year awards in EAB and had 244 saves, 356 shutdowns, 2.52 ERA, 1007 innings, 1103 strikeouts, 139 ERA+, 79 FIP-, and 20.8 WAR. His combined career had 269 saves, 2.64 ERA, 1238.2 innings, 1314 Ks, 134 ERA+, 80 FIP-, and 24.1 WAR. Even most reliever-friendly voters would agree that Ueno belongs in the Hall of Pretty Good at best.

SP Tai Miura also had his tenth and final try in 2040, ending at 3.7% after a debut at 24.5%. In 13 seasons with six teams, he won three Gold Gloves with a 175-142 record, 3.14 ERA, 2936.1 innings, 2649 strikeouts, 118 ERA+, 89 FIP-, and 52.0 WAR. A fine effort, but he was only a Pitcher of the Year finalist once and struggled in limited playoff outings. Miura was another guy properly left for the HOPG.

Kunihiko Ishiguro – Outfield/Designated Hitter – Gwangju Grays – 99.0% First Ballot

Kunihiko Ishiguro was a 6’3’’, 190 pound left-handed outfielder from Ashikaga, a city with around 140,000 people in central Japan’s Tochigi Prefecture. Ishiguro was known for outstanding home run power along with impeccable durability over a 22 year career. He especially mashed against right-handed pitching with a career 1.023 OPS and 189 wRC+. Facing lefties, he had a decent .765 OPS and 121 wRC+.

Ishiguro’s 162 game average got you 46 home runs, 17 doubles, and 13 triples. Despite being a power-focused slugger, he had rock solid speed and baserunning skills. Ishiguro graded as merely above average-to-good for contact ability. He was better than most at drawing walks and had a middling strikeout rate. His ability to sock towering homers made him one of Japan’s most famous baseball superstars.

One downside is that Ishiguro was a terrible defender at any spot he tried. About half of his career starts came in right field. Most of the rest were split between left field or designated hitter with occasional use at first base. You had to get him in the lineup though and his ironman durability saw him play 145+ games in all but his rookie season. Ishiguro was appreciated for leadership skills and loyalty, but he did get criticized for a weak work ethic and occasionally resting on his laurels.

Ishiguro left Japan for South Korea in October 2008 as a teenager on a developmental deal with Gwangju. He spent most of five years in their academy, debuting in 2013 at age 20 with 74 games and six starts. Ishiguro became a full-time starter in 2014 and immediately became a superstar with a record-shattering season, winning Most Valuable Player and a Silver Slugger as a DH.

At only age 21, Ishiguro crushed 79 home runs, breaking EAB’s record of 73 by Soo-Geun Yim from 2005. This mark remains the EAB record and is tied for 14^th among all leagues. Ishiguro also set the EAB total bases record with 491, passing Yim’s 485. That mark would be passed by only Masanori Fukuoka’s 523 from 2028, but it still ranks 16^th among all world leagues. Gwangju was a perfect fit for his power, as their ballpark was very homer-friendly with only around 310 feet down the lines and 399 feet to dead center.

Ishiguro’s 163 RBI ranks as the fourth-best EAB season and his .765 slugging is ninth. It was also his lone season as the WARlord with a career best 9.8. He also led in runs (133) and wRC+(198). Gwangju at 101-61 was a wild card, their sixth playoff trip in seven years. However, the Grays yet again were unable to win it all. They upset Incheon in the divisional round, but were upset by 89-win Seongnam in the Korea League Championship Series.

In the playoffs, Ishiguro had a 1.124 OPS, 190 wRC+, 12 hits, 6 runs, 4 homers, and 14 RBI. After that historic effort, the Grays gave Ishiguro an eight-year, $82,540,000 extension. Despite his continued dominance, this was Gwangju’s peak during his reign. The Grays spent the next two years around .500, then had only losing records for the rest of his tenure. Despite that, Ishiguro led the KL seven times in homers and total bases, thrice in runs, four times in RBI, five times in slugging, five times in OPS, and four times in wRC+ with Gwangju.

Ishiguro smacked 71 homers in his second full season and had his career bests for OPS (1.128) and wRC+ (203). 2016 saw his peak for runs scored at 138. Ishiguro won his second MVP in 2016 and finished second in 2015 and 2020. He was third in MVP voting for 2017, 2019, and 2021. Ishiguro won Silver Sluggers in each of his Gwangju seasons, winning four as a DH, two in LF, and one apiece in RF and 1B.

Despite all that, Gwangju was going nowhere fast and didn’t expect Ishiguro to re-sign once his deal was up after the 2022 season. Thus, he was traded in December 2021 in a seven-man deal with Hiroshima. For the Grays, Ishiguro played 1353 games with 1513 hits, 960 runs, 151 doubles, 108 triples, 501 home runs, 1061 RBI, 300 stolen bases, .314/.361/.703 slash, 184 wRC+, and 64.3 WAR. He remained a beloved franchise icon long after leaving and his #37 uniform would eventually be retired.

He ended up a one-year rental for the Hammerheads, who went 94-68 in 2022 but had the misfortunate of sharing a division with 110-win eventual champ Fukuoka. It was Ishiguro’s weakest season to that point, although he still had 41 home runs, .894 OPS, 177 wRC+, and 4.4 WAR. He left that winter for free agency at age 30 and joined Osaka on a six-year, $160,000,000 deal.

Ishiguro was still a reliably solid power hitter with the Orange Sox, but never came close to his Gwangju peaks. He won a lone Silver Slugger in 2025 (RF), but was never a league leader or MVP finalist. One downside of moving to the Japan League was the lack of DH, forcing him to display his putrid defense full-time. Osaka had posted a dynasty from 2017-20, but had fallen short of the playoffs twice prior to Ishiguro’s arrival. Osaka stayed above .500 through 2027, but their lone playoff trip was a first round wild card exit in 2025.

For Osaka, Ishiguro played 931 games with 812 hits, 544 runs, 90 doubles, 73 triples, 230 home runs, 490 RBI, .265/.330/.568 slash, 169 wRC+, and 30.2 WAR. He did hit for the cycle in 2027 facing Hamamatsu. Ishiguro also notably started reaching milestones, getting to both 700 home runs and 1500 RBI in 2026, followed by the 1500 run mark in 2027.

Even if he didn’t have league-best power anymore, Ishiguro was still regularly getting 30-45 dingers per year. With his durability and 700+ by his mid 30s, many felt he could challenge Soo-Geum Yim’s career mark of 921. Yim had retired in 2018, passing Lei Meng’s 897 homers that had held since 1971. Hitoshi Kubota also notably finished at 905 after his 2025 retirement. Now 36, Ishiguro’s next deal was for three years and $23,300,000 with Chiba. It was a big pay cut, since he was making more than that entire deal in single seasons with Osaka.

Ishiguro’s production remained remarkably steady in three years with the Comets, who hovered around .500 in his campaigns. He quickly passed the 800 home run milestone and hit for the cycle a second time in 2031 facing Kawasaki. For Chiba, Ishiguro played 465 games with 437 hits, 287 runs, 43 doubles, 47 triples, 101 home runs, 260 RBI, .277/.352/.557 slash, 162 wRC+, and 15.6 WAR. He finished his tenure at 873 home runs, tied with Hyeog-Jun Wi for fourth on the leaderboard and 48 from the record.

Now 39-years old, Ishiguro signed a two-year, $49,200,000 deal with Niigata. The Green Dragons were on a five-year playoff streak and had won two EAB titles, with Ishiguro thinking this could be his last shot at playoff glory. His debut season had 35 homers, joining the vaunted 900 home run club. At 908, he was now #2 in EAB history and only 13 from tying Yim. That season also saw Ishiguro breach the 3000 hit and 2000 RBI milestones. The Green Dragons won another division at 100-62, but lost in the divisional round. They would be one-and-done the next year as a wild card.

However, Ishiguro earned individual glory in 2033 as his 27 home runs were enough to become East Asia Baseball’s HR king. He also scored 81 runs to become the new leader for runs scored and the second to cross 2000. Hits leader Byung-Oh Tan’s 2010 runs had been the top mark since 1953. For Niigata, Ishiguro played 302 games with 263 hits, 166 runs, 24 doubles, 16 triples, 62 homers, 170 RBI, .255/.328/.489 slash, 146 wRC+, and 8.3 WAR.

For 2034, Ishiguro signed a one-year, $6,800,000 deal with Yokohama, who traded him near the deadline in July to Goyang. He was still quite playable with .883 OPS, 164 wRC+, and 3.7 WAR over the split season with 148 games. He went 2-11 in the playoffs as the Green Sox saw a first round exit. Ishiguro’s limited playoff experience saw 26 games, .990 OPS, 180 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR; so you can’t call him a playoff choker despite having such little team luck in his career.

In 2034, Ishiguro also passed Yim’s 7015 total bases and Hitoshi Kubota’s 3304 games played to become EAB’s career leader for both stats. He was up to #2 in RBI, but wouldn’t catch Yim’s 2279. Ishiguro wanted to keep going and seemingly still had something to offer, but he was unsigned for all of 2035. He finally officially retired that winter at age 43.

Ishiguro finished with 3359 games, 3300 hits, 2123 runs, 345 doubles, 268 triples, 963 home runs, 2157 RBI, 1050 walks, 1985 strikeouts, 7070 total bases, 809 stolen bases, .287/.346/.615 slash, .960 OPS, 172 wRC+, and 126.4 WAR. At induction, Ishiguro is East Asia Baseball’s career leader for homers, runs scored, games, and total bases. He also ranks 11^th in hits, 31^st in triples, 2^nd in RBI, 25^th in walks, and 11^th in WAR for position players. His slugging is 16^th among all EAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances and his OPS is 32^nd.

On the leaderboards for all of professional baseball history, Ishiguro is 19^th in games played, 23^rd in runs, t-10^th in home runs, and 38^th in RBI. He’s certainly one of the game’s immortals and one of the finest sluggers and ironmen ever. Ishiguro’s exact spot among EAB’s best can be contentious as certainly the counting stats places him as a top five bat for many scholars. Others rank him lower since he never had notable team success and because of his poor defense/time as a DH. Regardless, Ishiguro is an inner-circle Hall of Famer and earned the near unanimous 99.0% to headline for EAB in 2040.

Min-Jae Lim – Shortstop – Changwon Crabs – 89.1% First Ballot

Min-Jae Lim was a 6’0’’, 190 pound right-handed shortstop from the Seoul, the South Korean capital. Lim was a rock solid contact hitter with the exact same wRC+ facing lefties or righties. He didn’t have prolific power, but you still get some extra bases with 29 doubles, 14 triples, and 19 home runs per his 162 game average. Lim was better than most in EAB at avoiding strikeouts, but middling at drawing walks.

Lim was a highly skilled baserunner with very good speed for most of his career. He was a career shortstop and an excellent defender that was just a notch below Gold Glove level. Lim probably would’ve won one had he not shared a league for most of his run with 17-time winner Jae-Won Park. His durability was mostly good in his 20s, but his body was wrecked in his later years. Lim was a sparkplug and one of the scrappiest guys in the game, which made him very popular across a 20-year run.

He exceled at Seoul’s Chung-Ang University and was the #3 overall pick in the 2014 EAB Draft for Changwon. Lim was a full-time starter right away and an immediate success, earning 2015 Rookie of the Year with a .858 OPS, 6.4 WAR season. He would be worth 7.8+ WAR for the following nine years with the Crabs and helped the franchise see a remarkable turnaround.

Changwon had only made the playoffs once between 1981-2015 and had been abysmal with 64.25 wins per season from 2007-14. In Lim’s rookie season, the Crabs got back above .500 at 83-79. In 2016, they won the South Division at 92-70 and outlasted Seoul 4-3 to win the Korea League Championship Series. Changwon then swept Yokohama for the franchise’s first East Asian Championship win since 1963.

In the playoff run, Lim had 15 hits, 7 runs, 2 doubles, 3 homers, 4 RBI, 120 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR. He was average in the Baseball Grand Championship with .672 OPS, 100 wRC+, and 0.2 WAR as the Crabs finished 6-13. However, Changwon proved it wasn’t a fluke run by taking the Korea League’s top seed in 2017 at 100-62. They again bested Seoul in the KLCS, then defeated Osaka to repeat as EAB champ. Lim missed the start of the playoffs to a strained back, but had 1.050 OPS, 189 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR in nine games. He was unremarkable in the BGC with a .699 OPS, 93 wRC+, and 0.1 WAR as the Crabs finished 8-11.

2017 also was Lim’s first year representing South Korea in the World Baseball Championship. Through to 2032, he played 163 games with 159 hits, 71 runs, 30 doubles, 6 triples, 13 homers, 56 RBI, .278/.342/.420 slash, and 3.8 WAR. It was a down era for the Korean team, whose only playoff berth with Lim came in 2031.

2018 was Lim’s finest individual effort, winning MVP and his first Silver Slugger with league and career bests for hits (226), RBI (131), batting average (.391), OBP (.427), and WAR (11.3). He also had his bests for wRC+ (176), OPS (1.026), and runs (99). Changwon had their best record yet at 110-52, but was upset by Seongnam in the divisional round. That winter though, the Crabs locked up their star Lim to an eight-year, $157,400,000 extension.

Lim was the WARlord again in 2019, 2022, and 2023 with a run of five seasons of 9+ WAR. He was second in 2019, 2021, and 2022’s MVP voting and had a streak of Silver Slugger wins through to 2025, winning eight total. He led in WAR for 2019 despite missing more than a month to a strained ACL.

Changwon remained a contender, but couldn’t reclaim the full glory of the repeat. They were the top seed in 2019 at 97-65, but again had a one-and-done; this time because of Goyang. They missed the playoffs by a tiebreaker in 2020, but rebounded with a six-year streak. The Crabs were 100-62 in 2021, but a wild card behind 109-win Busan in the South Division. Changwon had the last laugh by beating the Blue Jays 4-1 in the KLCS, but were denied the EAB title in a seven-game battle with Kyoto.

In the 2021 run, Lim had 24 hits, 7 runs, 4 extra base hits, 128 wRC+, .804 OPS, and 0.8 WAR. He struggled to .657 OPS, 81 wRC+, and 0.2 WAR in the BGC as Changwon went 6-13. The Crabs had division titles in 2022-23 including a 108-win mark in the latter, but Lim missed both runs to injury and they went one-and-done. Their last KLCS trip was in 2024 as a 92-win wild card, but Busan got revenge against them.

Changwon got additional wild cards in 2025, 26, and 28, but didn’t win any playoff series. For his playoff career with the Crabs, Lim had merely okay starts in 60 starts with 71 hits, 26 runs, 8 doubles, 5 triples, 5 homers, 30 RBI, 30 steals, .295/.331/.432 slash, 117 wRC+, and 1.8 WAR. He had a career-best 29-game hit streak in summer 2025, but missed two months to injuries. Lim declined his contract option that winter at age 33, but renegotiated to a five-year, $134,800,000 extension to stay with Changwon.

The rest of his tenure was plagued with injuries despite his heart and efforts, although he was still effective when able to play. The first big one came in May 2027 with a broken bone in his elbow. In April 2029, a ruptured finger tendon knocked him out basically the entire season. Changwon got off to a poor start in 2030 and accepted that the run was over. Lim was in the final year of his deal and they traded him at the start of July to Pyongyang for three prospects. One of them was Hideki Yamauchi, who would emerge as a respectable starter and Gold Glove-winning third baseman for the Crabs.

For Changwon, Lim played 1914 games with 2387 hits, 1173 runs, 368 doubles, 170 triples, 223 home runs, 1072 RBI, 899 steals, .331/.374/.523 slash, 149 wRC+, and 115.7 WAR. He remained a beloved franchise icon for his role in their dynasty and turnaround. Lim’s #35 uniform would be retired at the end of his career.

He had a healthy second half with Pyongyang, who was in an intense North Division battle with Goyang. The Pythons finished 109-53, but had to settle for a wild card ending three games behind the Green Sox. Pyongyang was upset in the first round by Jeonju. For the combined season, Lim had .734 OPS, 106 wRC+, and 3.9 WAR. He was now a merely decent hitter at age 38, but still was a strong defender when healthy.

Lim signed a two-year, $48 million deal with Suwon, who was that year’s KLCS runner-up. He was still a solid contributor despite some injury woes, playing 214 games with 218 hits, 124 runs, 33 doubles, 12 triples, 20 homers, 86 steals, .288/.355/.443 slash, 125 wRC+, and 7.4 WAR. The Snappers had a second round exit in 2031, then lost the 2032 KLCS against Busan. Now 40, Lim next joined Goyang on a two-year, $24,600,000 deal.

Torn ankle ligaments kept him out part of the year and kept Lim from reaching the vesting criteria for the second year of the deal. Still, he posted 3.9 WAR over 102 games with .894 OPS and 143 wRC+. Lim struggled to -0.1 WAR and .438 OPS in the playoffs as the Green Sox dropped the KLCS against Incheon. The Inferno would be his final stop for 2034, but he struggled and was limited to a bench role with 56 games and 29 starts. Lim retired that winter at age 42.

Lim finished with 2351 games, 2833 hits, 1426 runs, 427 doubles, 202 triples, 270 home runs, 1246 RBI, 610 walks, 956 strikeouts, 1046 stolen bases, 648 caught stealing, .324/.369/.512 slash, 145 wRC+, and 128.8 WAR. Lim ranks 58^th in runs, 42^nd in hits, 98^th in total bases (4474), 88^th in doubles, 88^th in triples, 25^th in steals, 15^th in caught stealing, and 8^th in WAR among position players.

Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Lim ranks 51^st in batting average and 72^nd in OBP. His career 212.0 zone rating also ranks 14^th best among East Asia Baseball shortstops. Lim’s defensive value was a big reason he was a top ten guy for WAR despite not being at the tip-top of counting stats or home run power. He ranks 3^rd in WAR specifically accrued at shortstop.

Lim might be a tough one to rank among all of EAB’s bests and might be a guy you could call under-rated. Changwon fans certainly recognize his huge role in turning the team into a contender with three pennants and two EAB titles after decades of futility. Lim received 89.1% for a first ballot Hall of Fame nod in 2040 as part of an impressive two-man group for East Asia Baseball.

02-14-2026, 12:24 PM	#2723
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,539	2040 EAB Hall of Fame East Asia Baseball home run king Kunihiko Ishiguro headlined the 2040 Hall of Fame class with a near unanimous 99.0%. SS Min-Jae Lim joined him on the first ballot at 89.1%. SP Takeo Kobayashi just missed the 66% requirement with 62.9% on his eighth try. Also above 50% was SP Shin-Nin Ikegami debuting at 55.1% and DH/LF Jae-A Choi at 51.0% on his tenth and final try. For Choi, he got as close as 62.8% in his debut and was also above 60% in 2038, although he was as low as 36.5%. Choi had a 212-year career mostly with Bucheon, playing 3028 games with 3328 hits, 1532 runs, 609 doubles, 75 triples, 508 home runs, 1771 RBI, .298/.344/.503 slash, 132 wRC+, and 71.5 WAR. His longevity put him at 12^th in games played, 35^th in runs, 9^th in hits, 19^th in total bases (5611), 3^rd in doubles, 82^nd in homers, and 18^th in RBI. Despite that, Choi is outside the top 100 for WAR and never won a Silver Slugger or was a league leader. He also was on mostly bad Bucheon teams with only 20 playoff games over his long career. Choi was dismissed as a compiler by many voters, although it is still shocking to see a guy in the top 10 in hits over 100+ years miss the cut. No player in world history who failed to make their Hall of Fame in ten tries has more career hits. Close Tatsuya Ueno was also dropped after ten tries, peaking at 44.0% in 2032 and ending with 10.9%. He was hurt by having his 16 year career split between EAB, CABA, and MLB. Ueno did win three Reliever of the Year awards in EAB and had 244 saves, 356 shutdowns, 2.52 ERA, 1007 innings, 1103 strikeouts, 139 ERA+, 79 FIP-, and 20.8 WAR. His combined career had 269 saves, 2.64 ERA, 1238.2 innings, 1314 Ks, 134 ERA+, 80 FIP-, and 24.1 WAR. Even most reliever-friendly voters would agree that Ueno belongs in the Hall of Pretty Good at best. SP Tai Miura also had his tenth and final try in 2040, ending at 3.7% after a debut at 24.5%. In 13 seasons with six teams, he won three Gold Gloves with a 175-142 record, 3.14 ERA, 2936.1 innings, 2649 strikeouts, 118 ERA+, 89 FIP-, and 52.0 WAR. A fine effort, but he was only a Pitcher of the Year finalist once and struggled in limited playoff outings. Miura was another guy properly left for the HOPG. Kunihiko Ishiguro – Outfield/Designated Hitter – Gwangju Grays – 99.0% First Ballot Kunihiko Ishiguro was a 6’3’’, 190 pound left-handed outfielder from Ashikaga, a city with around 140,000 people in central Japan’s Tochigi Prefecture. Ishiguro was known for outstanding home run power along with impeccable durability over a 22 year career. He especially mashed against right-handed pitching with a career 1.023 OPS and 189 wRC+. Facing lefties, he had a decent .765 OPS and 121 wRC+. Ishiguro’s 162 game average got you 46 home runs, 17 doubles, and 13 triples. Despite being a power-focused slugger, he had rock solid speed and baserunning skills. Ishiguro graded as merely above average-to-good for contact ability. He was better than most at drawing walks and had a middling strikeout rate. His ability to sock towering homers made him one of Japan’s most famous baseball superstars. One downside is that Ishiguro was a terrible defender at any spot he tried. About half of his career starts came in right field. Most of the rest were split between left field or designated hitter with occasional use at first base. You had to get him in the lineup though and his ironman durability saw him play 145+ games in all but his rookie season. Ishiguro was appreciated for leadership skills and loyalty, but he did get criticized for a weak work ethic and occasionally resting on his laurels. Ishiguro left Japan for South Korea in October 2008 as a teenager on a developmental deal with Gwangju. He spent most of five years in their academy, debuting in 2013 at age 20 with 74 games and six starts. Ishiguro became a full-time starter in 2014 and immediately became a superstar with a record-shattering season, winning Most Valuable Player and a Silver Slugger as a DH. At only age 21, Ishiguro crushed 79 home runs, breaking EAB’s record of 73 by Soo-Geun Yim from 2005. This mark remains the EAB record and is tied for 14^th among all leagues. Ishiguro also set the EAB total bases record with 491, passing Yim’s 485. That mark would be passed by only Masanori Fukuoka’s 523 from 2028, but it still ranks 16^th among all world leagues. Gwangju was a perfect fit for his power, as their ballpark was very homer-friendly with only around 310 feet down the lines and 399 feet to dead center. Ishiguro’s 163 RBI ranks as the fourth-best EAB season and his .765 slugging is ninth. It was also his lone season as the WARlord with a career best 9.8. He also led in runs (133) and wRC+(198). Gwangju at 101-61 was a wild card, their sixth playoff trip in seven years. However, the Grays yet again were unable to win it all. They upset Incheon in the divisional round, but were upset by 89-win Seongnam in the Korea League Championship Series. In the playoffs, Ishiguro had a 1.124 OPS, 190 wRC+, 12 hits, 6 runs, 4 homers, and 14 RBI. After that historic effort, the Grays gave Ishiguro an eight-year, $82,540,000 extension. Despite his continued dominance, this was Gwangju’s peak during his reign. The Grays spent the next two years around .500, then had only losing records for the rest of his tenure. Despite that, Ishiguro led the KL seven times in homers and total bases, thrice in runs, four times in RBI, five times in slugging, five times in OPS, and four times in wRC+ with Gwangju. Ishiguro smacked 71 homers in his second full season and had his career bests for OPS (1.128) and wRC+ (203). 2016 saw his peak for runs scored at 138. Ishiguro won his second MVP in 2016 and finished second in 2015 and 2020. He was third in MVP voting for 2017, 2019, and 2021. Ishiguro won Silver Sluggers in each of his Gwangju seasons, winning four as a DH, two in LF, and one apiece in RF and 1B. Despite all that, Gwangju was going nowhere fast and didn’t expect Ishiguro to re-sign once his deal was up after the 2022 season. Thus, he was traded in December 2021 in a seven-man deal with Hiroshima. For the Grays, Ishiguro played 1353 games with 1513 hits, 960 runs, 151 doubles, 108 triples, 501 home runs, 1061 RBI, 300 stolen bases, .314/.361/.703 slash, 184 wRC+, and 64.3 WAR. He remained a beloved franchise icon long after leaving and his #37 uniform would eventually be retired. He ended up a one-year rental for the Hammerheads, who went 94-68 in 2022 but had the misfortunate of sharing a division with 110-win eventual champ Fukuoka. It was Ishiguro’s weakest season to that point, although he still had 41 home runs, .894 OPS, 177 wRC+, and 4.4 WAR. He left that winter for free agency at age 30 and joined Osaka on a six-year, $160,000,000 deal. Ishiguro was still a reliably solid power hitter with the Orange Sox, but never came close to his Gwangju peaks. He won a lone Silver Slugger in 2025 (RF), but was never a league leader or MVP finalist. One downside of moving to the Japan League was the lack of DH, forcing him to display his putrid defense full-time. Osaka had posted a dynasty from 2017-20, but had fallen short of the playoffs twice prior to Ishiguro’s arrival. Osaka stayed above .500 through 2027, but their lone playoff trip was a first round wild card exit in 2025. For Osaka, Ishiguro played 931 games with 812 hits, 544 runs, 90 doubles, 73 triples, 230 home runs, 490 RBI, .265/.330/.568 slash, 169 wRC+, and 30.2 WAR. He did hit for the cycle in 2027 facing Hamamatsu. Ishiguro also notably started reaching milestones, getting to both 700 home runs and 1500 RBI in 2026, followed by the 1500 run mark in 2027. Even if he didn’t have league-best power anymore, Ishiguro was still regularly getting 30-45 dingers per year. With his durability and 700+ by his mid 30s, many felt he could challenge Soo-Geum Yim’s career mark of 921. Yim had retired in 2018, passing Lei Meng’s 897 homers that had held since 1971. Hitoshi Kubota also notably finished at 905 after his 2025 retirement. Now 36, Ishiguro’s next deal was for three years and $23,300,000 with Chiba. It was a big pay cut, since he was making more than that entire deal in single seasons with Osaka. Ishiguro’s production remained remarkably steady in three years with the Comets, who hovered around .500 in his campaigns. He quickly passed the 800 home run milestone and hit for the cycle a second time in 2031 facing Kawasaki. For Chiba, Ishiguro played 465 games with 437 hits, 287 runs, 43 doubles, 47 triples, 101 home runs, 260 RBI, .277/.352/.557 slash, 162 wRC+, and 15.6 WAR. He finished his tenure at 873 home runs, tied with Hyeog-Jun Wi for fourth on the leaderboard and 48 from the record. Now 39-years old, Ishiguro signed a two-year, $49,200,000 deal with Niigata. The Green Dragons were on a five-year playoff streak and had won two EAB titles, with Ishiguro thinking this could be his last shot at playoff glory. His debut season had 35 homers, joining the vaunted 900 home run club. At 908, he was now #2 in EAB history and only 13 from tying Yim. That season also saw Ishiguro breach the 3000 hit and 2000 RBI milestones. The Green Dragons won another division at 100-62, but lost in the divisional round. They would be one-and-done the next year as a wild card. However, Ishiguro earned individual glory in 2033 as his 27 home runs were enough to become East Asia Baseball’s HR king. He also scored 81 runs to become the new leader for runs scored and the second to cross 2000. Hits leader Byung-Oh Tan’s 2010 runs had been the top mark since 1953. For Niigata, Ishiguro played 302 games with 263 hits, 166 runs, 24 doubles, 16 triples, 62 homers, 170 RBI, .255/.328/.489 slash, 146 wRC+, and 8.3 WAR. For 2034, Ishiguro signed a one-year, $6,800,000 deal with Yokohama, who traded him near the deadline in July to Goyang. He was still quite playable with .883 OPS, 164 wRC+, and 3.7 WAR over the split season with 148 games. He went 2-11 in the playoffs as the Green Sox saw a first round exit. Ishiguro’s limited playoff experience saw 26 games, .990 OPS, 180 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR; so you can’t call him a playoff choker despite having such little team luck in his career. In 2034, Ishiguro also passed Yim’s 7015 total bases and Hitoshi Kubota’s 3304 games played to become EAB’s career leader for both stats. He was up to #2 in RBI, but wouldn’t catch Yim’s 2279. Ishiguro wanted to keep going and seemingly still had something to offer, but he was unsigned for all of 2035. He finally officially retired that winter at age 43. Ishiguro finished with 3359 games, 3300 hits, 2123 runs, 345 doubles, 268 triples, 963 home runs, 2157 RBI, 1050 walks, 1985 strikeouts, 7070 total bases, 809 stolen bases, .287/.346/.615 slash, .960 OPS, 172 wRC+, and 126.4 WAR. At induction, Ishiguro is East Asia Baseball’s career leader for homers, runs scored, games, and total bases. He also ranks 11^th in hits, 31^st in triples, 2^nd in RBI, 25^th in walks, and 11^th in WAR for position players. His slugging is 16^th among all EAB batters with 3000+ plate appearances and his OPS is 32^nd. On the leaderboards for all of professional baseball history, Ishiguro is 19^th in games played, 23^rd in runs, t-10^th in home runs, and 38^th in RBI. He’s certainly one of the game’s immortals and one of the finest sluggers and ironmen ever. Ishiguro’s exact spot among EAB’s best can be contentious as certainly the counting stats places him as a top five bat for many scholars. Others rank him lower since he never had notable team success and because of his poor defense/time as a DH. Regardless, Ishiguro is an inner-circle Hall of Famer and earned the near unanimous 99.0% to headline for EAB in 2040. Min-Jae Lim – Shortstop – Changwon Crabs – 89.1% First Ballot Min-Jae Lim was a 6’0’’, 190 pound right-handed shortstop from the Seoul, the South Korean capital. Lim was a rock solid contact hitter with the exact same wRC+ facing lefties or righties. He didn’t have prolific power, but you still get some extra bases with 29 doubles, 14 triples, and 19 home runs per his 162 game average. Lim was better than most in EAB at avoiding strikeouts, but middling at drawing walks. Lim was a highly skilled baserunner with very good speed for most of his career. He was a career shortstop and an excellent defender that was just a notch below Gold Glove level. Lim probably would’ve won one had he not shared a league for most of his run with 17-time winner Jae-Won Park. His durability was mostly good in his 20s, but his body was wrecked in his later years. Lim was a sparkplug and one of the scrappiest guys in the game, which made him very popular across a 20-year run. He exceled at Seoul’s Chung-Ang University and was the #3 overall pick in the 2014 EAB Draft for Changwon. Lim was a full-time starter right away and an immediate success, earning 2015 Rookie of the Year with a .858 OPS, 6.4 WAR season. He would be worth 7.8+ WAR for the following nine years with the Crabs and helped the franchise see a remarkable turnaround. Changwon had only made the playoffs once between 1981-2015 and had been abysmal with 64.25 wins per season from 2007-14. In Lim’s rookie season, the Crabs got back above .500 at 83-79. In 2016, they won the South Division at 92-70 and outlasted Seoul 4-3 to win the Korea League Championship Series. Changwon then swept Yokohama for the franchise’s first East Asian Championship win since 1963. In the playoff run, Lim had 15 hits, 7 runs, 2 doubles, 3 homers, 4 RBI, 120 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR. He was average in the Baseball Grand Championship with .672 OPS, 100 wRC+, and 0.2 WAR as the Crabs finished 6-13. However, Changwon proved it wasn’t a fluke run by taking the Korea League’s top seed in 2017 at 100-62. They again bested Seoul in the KLCS, then defeated Osaka to repeat as EAB champ. Lim missed the start of the playoffs to a strained back, but had 1.050 OPS, 189 wRC+, and 0.5 WAR in nine games. He was unremarkable in the BGC with a .699 OPS, 93 wRC+, and 0.1 WAR as the Crabs finished 8-11. 2017 also was Lim’s first year representing South Korea in the World Baseball Championship. Through to 2032, he played 163 games with 159 hits, 71 runs, 30 doubles, 6 triples, 13 homers, 56 RBI, .278/.342/.420 slash, and 3.8 WAR. It was a down era for the Korean team, whose only playoff berth with Lim came in 2031. 2018 was Lim’s finest individual effort, winning MVP and his first Silver Slugger with league and career bests for hits (226), RBI (131), batting average (.391), OBP (.427), and WAR (11.3). He also had his bests for wRC+ (176), OPS (1.026), and runs (99). Changwon had their best record yet at 110-52, but was upset by Seongnam in the divisional round. That winter though, the Crabs locked up their star Lim to an eight-year, $157,400,000 extension. Lim was the WARlord again in 2019, 2022, and 2023 with a run of five seasons of 9+ WAR. He was second in 2019, 2021, and 2022’s MVP voting and had a streak of Silver Slugger wins through to 2025, winning eight total. He led in WAR for 2019 despite missing more than a month to a strained ACL. Changwon remained a contender, but couldn’t reclaim the full glory of the repeat. They were the top seed in 2019 at 97-65, but again had a one-and-done; this time because of Goyang. They missed the playoffs by a tiebreaker in 2020, but rebounded with a six-year streak. The Crabs were 100-62 in 2021, but a wild card behind 109-win Busan in the South Division. Changwon had the last laugh by beating the Blue Jays 4-1 in the KLCS, but were denied the EAB title in a seven-game battle with Kyoto. In the 2021 run, Lim had 24 hits, 7 runs, 4 extra base hits, 128 wRC+, .804 OPS, and 0.8 WAR. He struggled to .657 OPS, 81 wRC+, and 0.2 WAR in the BGC as Changwon went 6-13. The Crabs had division titles in 2022-23 including a 108-win mark in the latter, but Lim missed both runs to injury and they went one-and-done. Their last KLCS trip was in 2024 as a 92-win wild card, but Busan got revenge against them. Changwon got additional wild cards in 2025, 26, and 28, but didn’t win any playoff series. For his playoff career with the Crabs, Lim had merely okay starts in 60 starts with 71 hits, 26 runs, 8 doubles, 5 triples, 5 homers, 30 RBI, 30 steals, .295/.331/.432 slash, 117 wRC+, and 1.8 WAR. He had a career-best 29-game hit streak in summer 2025, but missed two months to injuries. Lim declined his contract option that winter at age 33, but renegotiated to a five-year, $134,800,000 extension to stay with Changwon. The rest of his tenure was plagued with injuries despite his heart and efforts, although he was still effective when able to play. The first big one came in May 2027 with a broken bone in his elbow. In April 2029, a ruptured finger tendon knocked him out basically the entire season. Changwon got off to a poor start in 2030 and accepted that the run was over. Lim was in the final year of his deal and they traded him at the start of July to Pyongyang for three prospects. One of them was Hideki Yamauchi, who would emerge as a respectable starter and Gold Glove-winning third baseman for the Crabs. For Changwon, Lim played 1914 games with 2387 hits, 1173 runs, 368 doubles, 170 triples, 223 home runs, 1072 RBI, 899 steals, .331/.374/.523 slash, 149 wRC+, and 115.7 WAR. He remained a beloved franchise icon for his role in their dynasty and turnaround. Lim’s #35 uniform would be retired at the end of his career. He had a healthy second half with Pyongyang, who was in an intense North Division battle with Goyang. The Pythons finished 109-53, but had to settle for a wild card ending three games behind the Green Sox. Pyongyang was upset in the first round by Jeonju. For the combined season, Lim had .734 OPS, 106 wRC+, and 3.9 WAR. He was now a merely decent hitter at age 38, but still was a strong defender when healthy. Lim signed a two-year, $48 million deal with Suwon, who was that year’s KLCS runner-up. He was still a solid contributor despite some injury woes, playing 214 games with 218 hits, 124 runs, 33 doubles, 12 triples, 20 homers, 86 steals, .288/.355/.443 slash, 125 wRC+, and 7.4 WAR. The Snappers had a second round exit in 2031, then lost the 2032 KLCS against Busan. Now 40, Lim next joined Goyang on a two-year, $24,600,000 deal. Torn ankle ligaments kept him out part of the year and kept Lim from reaching the vesting criteria for the second year of the deal. Still, he posted 3.9 WAR over 102 games with .894 OPS and 143 wRC+. Lim struggled to -0.1 WAR and .438 OPS in the playoffs as the Green Sox dropped the KLCS against Incheon. The Inferno would be his final stop for 2034, but he struggled and was limited to a bench role with 56 games and 29 starts. Lim retired that winter at age 42. Lim finished with 2351 games, 2833 hits, 1426 runs, 427 doubles, 202 triples, 270 home runs, 1246 RBI, 610 walks, 956 strikeouts, 1046 stolen bases, 648 caught stealing, .324/.369/.512 slash, 145 wRC+, and 128.8 WAR. Lim ranks 58^th in runs, 42^nd in hits, 98^th in total bases (4474), 88^th in doubles, 88^th in triples, 25^th in steals, 15^th in caught stealing, and 8^th in WAR among position players. Among batters with 3000+ plate appearances, Lim ranks 51^st in batting average and 72^nd in OBP. His career 212.0 zone rating also ranks 14^th best among East Asia Baseball shortstops. Lim’s defensive value was a big reason he was a top ten guy for WAR despite not being at the tip-top of counting stats or home run power. He ranks 3^rd in WAR specifically accrued at shortstop. Lim might be a tough one to rank among all of EAB’s bests and might be a guy you could call under-rated. Changwon fans certainly recognize his huge role in turning the team into a contender with three pennants and two EAB titles after decades of futility. Lim received 89.1% for a first ballot Hall of Fame nod in 2040 as part of an impressive two-man group for East Asia Baseball. __________________ 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)